If Laura and Harry left any breakfast, Mrs. Crabtree kept it carefully till dinner time, when they were obliged to finish the whole before tasting meat; and if they refused it at dinner, the remains were kept for supper. Mrs. Crabtree always informed them that she did it “for their good,” [16] ]though Harry never could see any good that it did to either of them; and when she mentioned how many poor children would be glad to eat what they despised, he often wished the hungry beggars had some of his own hot dinner, which he would gladly have spared to them; for Harry was really so generous, that he would have lived upon air, if he might be of use to anybody. Time passed on, and Lady Harriet engaged a master for some hours a-day to teach the children lessons, while even Mrs. Crabtree found no other fault to Harry and Laura, except that in respect to good behaviour their memories were like a sieve, which let out every thing they were desired to keep in mind. They seemed always to hope, somehow or other, when Mrs. Crabtree once turned her back, she would never shew her face again; so their promises of better conduct were all “wind without rain,”—very loud and plenty of them, but no good effect to be seen afterwards.

Among her many other torments, Mrs. Crabtree rolled up Laura’s hair every night on all sides of her head, in large stiff curl-papers, till they were as round and hard as walnuts, after which, she tied on a night-cap, as tightly as possible above all, saying this would curl the hair still better. Laura could not lay any part of her head on the pillow, without suffering so much pain that, night after night, she sat up in bed, after Mrs. Crabtree had bustled out of the room, and quietly took the cruel papers out, though she was punished so severely for doing so, that she obeyed orders at last and lay wide awake half the night with torture; and it was but small comfort to Laura afterwards, that Lady Harriet’s visitors frequently admired the forest of long glossy ringlets that adorned her head, and complimented Mrs. Crabtree on the trouble it must cost her to keep that charming hair in order. Often did Laura wish that it were ornamenting any wig-block, rather than her own head; and one day Lady Harriet laughed heartily, when some strangers [17] ]admired her little grand-daughter’s ringlets, and Laura asked, very anxiously, if they would like to cut off a few of the longest, and keep them for her sake.

“Your hair does curl like a cork-screw,” said Frank, laughing. “If I want to draw a cork out of a beer bottle any day, I shall borrow one of those ringlets, Laura!”

“You may laugh, Frank, for it is fun to you and death to me,” answered poor Laura, gravely shaking her curls at him. “I wish we were all bald, like uncle David! During the night, I cannot lie still on account of those tiresome curls, and all day I dare not stir for fear of spoiling them, so they are never out of my head.”

“Nor off your head! How pleasant it must be to have Mrs. Crabtree combing and scolding, and scolding and combing, for hours every day! Poor Laura! we must get Dr. Bell to say that they shall be taken off on pain of death, and then, perhaps, grandmama would order some Irish reapers to cut them down with a sickle.”

“Frank! what a lucky boy you are to be at school, and not in the nursery! I wish next year would come immediately, for then I shall have a governess, after which good-bye to Mrs. Crabtree, and the wearisome curl-papers.”

“I don’t like school!” said Harry. “It is perfect nonsense to plague me with lessons now. All big people can read and write, so, of course, I shall be able to do like others. There is no hurry about it!”

Never was there a more amiable, pious, excellent boy than Frank, who read his Bible so attentively, and said his prayers so regularly every morning and evening, that he soon learned both to know his duty and to do it. Though he laughed heartily at the scrapes which Harry and Laura so constantly fell into, he often also helped them out of their difficulties; being very different from most elderly boys, who find an odd kind of pleasure in teazing younger children—pulling their hair—pinching their arms—twitching [18] ]away their dinners—and twenty more plans for tormenting, which Frank never attempted to enjoy, but he often gave Harry and Laura a great deal of kind, sober, good advice, which they listened to very attentively while they were in any new distress, but generally forgot again as soon as their spirits rose. Frank came home only upon Saturdays and Sundays, because he attended during most of the week at Mr. Lexicon’s academy, where he gradually became so clever, that the masters all praised his extraordinary attention, and covered him with medals, while Major Graham often filled his pockets with a reward of money, after which he ran towards the nearest shop to spend his little fortune in buying a present for somebody. Frank scarcely ever wanted anything for himself, but he always wished to contrive some kind generous plan for other people; and Major Graham used to say, “if that boy had only sixpence in the world, he would lay it all out on penny tarts to distribute among half-a-dozen of his friends.” He even saved his pocket-money once, during three whole months, to purchase a gown for Mrs. Crabtree, who looked almost good-humoured during the space of five minutes, when Frank presented it to her, saying, in his joyous merry voice, “Mrs. Crabtree! I wish you health to wear it, strength to tear it, and money to buy another!”

Certainly there never was such a gown before! It had been chosen by Frank and Harry together, who thought nothing could be more perfect. The colour was so bright an apple-green, that it would have put any body’s teeth on edge to look at it, and the whole was dotted over with large round spots of every colour, as if a box of wafers had been showered upon the surface. Laura wished Mrs. Crabtree might receive a present every day, as it put her in such good-humour, and nearly three weeks after passed this, without a single scold being heard in the nursery; so [19] ]Frank observed that he thought Mrs. Crabtree would soon be quite out of practice.

“Laura!” said Major Graham, looking very sly one morning, “have you heard all the new rules that Mrs. Crabtree has made?”