the dining room there to wait till the light refreshment he had asked for was served to him � i m prepared for anything i he has begun to write v declared � nurse gave him a pencil and paper just to keep him quiet and he wrote all over it in the sweetest running hand don t laugh dick it s really wonderful i of course there are no real words on the paper � it s only � but still it shows that he wants to write doesn t it i m afraid it does said with an air of mock gravity � and a very bad sign it shows that holy orders we must keep the boy down � him in the bud for if he were to be clever � what then you know you don t want him to be a clever man � you ve often said so and looked a little cross i didn t mean that way � she said � of course i want him to know how to read and write why demanded richard why should he possess such doubtful accomplishments for if he reads he will perhaps think � and if he thinks he may possibly want to utter his thoughts to a wider audience than his mother and father � and so he may perhaps become that dreadful dangerous and thing � an author � and what should we do then what should we do with such a son suppose he were to turn out a second shakespeare i m sure it would break our hearts he laughed and his light luncheon being brought in at this juncture he made haste to dispose of it his wife watched him looking rather like a child will you be with that man long she asked i don t know it will depend on � not on me he answered � and i think � yes i think you must go and see his poor wife to morrow morning � sit with her a little and cheer her up � it will do the poor thing a world of good to see your bright pretty face bending over her she was silent in her heart she hated visiting poor people especially when they were ill it was so painful she said � and sometimes things were not very clean but she made no objection to her husband s suggestion he finished his hasty meal and looked at her go won t you dear he said oh yes she replied with a little go he took no notice of the touch of hesitation in her manner young is dying fast � he went on � so mr brand tells me i suppose � he paused and then went on i suppose � you as a woman � cannot do anything with miller the tragedy of a quiet life she flushed suddenly oh dick how can i miller is a real bad girl it isn t only bob � she s a brute to others as weu i know he said sorrowfully � but is dying � and he her he would like to see her again just once � and she will not go near him well if she won t i cannot make her � said � so don t ask me to try dick very well he laid his hands on her shoulders and for a moment bent an earnest rather wistful gaze upon her then he kissed her gently you must do as you think best you won t be long away will you she pleaded as she followed him out of the dining room into the hall no � certainly not longer than i can help � he answered and in another couple of minutes he was gone horrible villagers and uttering this exclamation to herself gave a little stamp of her foot to enforce it � they are just simply awful oh they are drink drink drink and gossip gossip gossip all day long they come to church on sundays and stare at each other and pretend to say their prayers and then they go home and run each other down as and as they can and they actually call themselves christians i she gave a toss of her pretty head and ran upstairs to her precious baby never considering for a moment that perhaps she herself was not altogether christian in the sentiments she had just expressed concerning the inhabitants of nurse � she as she tripped lightly into the pretty airy room where master was just now considering the possibilities of a square wooden block with the first letter of the painted � mr has had to go down into the village again to see after that terrible and he s only had a cup of soup and a it s too bad there is such a lot of holy orders in the place it s simply a and yet nearly all the come to church and pretend to be good nurse smiled oh well ma am she said � if s not only in that they do that paid no heed to this remark she flung herself down on the floor beside her small son who stared at her with gravely sweet blue eyes and a little wondering smile baby darling she said � oh baby darling you ve no idea what horrid people there are in the world baby darling certainly had not he wore an expression of heavenly peace and contentment � and only manifested a slight surprise when his mother to attract his attention held up a toy dog which had a bell in its inside and shook it at him now he had left that interesting animal purposely in a comer � and he could not quite understand why it had been brought out to him suddenly when he was busy with the letter a in the strong he had 