only  to  look  well  at  things,  and  draw  them  over  and
over  again.  What  you  do  wrong  once,  you  can  alter
the  next  time."

"But  haven't  you  been  taught  anything V  said
Tom,  beginning  to  have  a  puzzled  suspicion  that
Philip's  crooked  back  might  be  the  source  of  remark-
able faculties.  "  I  thought  you'd  been  to  school  a  long
while."

"Yes,"  said  Philip,  smiling,  "IVe  been  taught
Latin,  and  Greek,  and  mathematics, — and  writing,
and  such  things."

"  0  but,  I  say,  you  don't  like  Latin,  though,  do
you  ? "  said  Tom,  lowering  his  voice  confidentially.
"  Pretty  well ;  I  don't  care  much  about  it,"  said
Philip.
"  Ah,  but  perhaps  you  haven't  got  into  the  Pro-
price  quce  maribus"  said  Tom,  nodding  his  head
sideways,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  that  was  the  test :  it
was  easy  talking  till  you  came  to  that/'

Philip  felt  some  bitter  complacency  in  the  pro-
mising stupidity  of  this  well-made  active-looking
boy ;  but  made  polite  by  his  own  extreme  sensitive-
ness, as  well  as  by  his  desire  to  conciliate,  he  checked
his  inclination  to  laugh,  and  said,  quietly,

"  I've  done  with  the  grammar ;  I  don't  learn  that
any  more."


THE   MILL   ON   THE   FLOSS.  305

"Then  you  won't  have  the  same  lessons  as  I
shall?"  said  Tom,  with  a  sense  of  disappointment.
"  No ;  but  I  daresay  I  can  help  you.  I  shall  be
very  glad  to  help  you  if  I  can."

Tom  did  not  say  "  Thank  you,"  for  he  was  quite
absorbed  in  the  thought  that  Wakem's  son  dii
not  seem  so  spiteful  a  fellow  as  might  have  been
expected.
