"But he will not be home till September; it is such a long time to wait," returned Beryl disconsolately.
"Only a few weeks," said Miss Burton, "and we shall have time to think of some plan to which Mr. Hollys may not object. It is never well to begin things in too great a hurry."
"I think papa will be sure to agree, if you ask him," said Beryl.
"Oh, I do not promise to take that upon me," said Miss Burton, with a little laugh.
After this, the arrangement of a Sunday school was eagerly discussed by the children, and many a grand idea conceived, which proved upon examination to be impracticable.
Meanwhile, the Sunday afternoons, which the children passed with their governess, were very pleasant. Miss Burton gave them little formal religious instruction. She did not believe in teaching children catechisms, or in giving them doses of theology, however infinitesimal. She had no desire to make Coral and Beryl precociously self-conscious. But she did try to keep them healthy, happy children, whose child-life was all the more beautiful and joyous because they loved and trusted the children's Friend. She taught them to sing glad hymns, such as in all ages children have loved to sing. She tried to make the "old, old story" real and clear to their childish minds.
She had brought many books with her to Egloshayle, such as all children love, and she used to read them to her young charges on Sunday afternoons, as they sat in the garden or in some safe and shady nook on the beach. In this way, Coral and Beryl became acquainted with "Ministering Children," "The Wide, Wide World," and the charming stories which make up "The Golden Ladder."
Beryl enjoyed these readings intensely. She was so interested in the lives of the various heroines that she scarcely knew how to wait from week to week for the unfolding of their experiences, and at last her impatience in this respect proved a means of temptation to her.
For the first few weeks things had gone very pleasantly in the schoolroom. Beryl, influenced by the charm of her governess's winning manner, and her own eager desire to improve, had been so industrious and obedient, that Miss Burton began to wonder what could have made her aunt describe her as an unruly, self-willed child.
But a change became apparent. In the hot days of August, Beryl grew listless and careless, and seemed to lose interest in her lessons. Up to this time, a word from her governess had been sufficient to control her; but now Beryl's old habits were regaining power, and she showed plainly that she had not yet learned to appreciate the virtue of obedience. Miss Burton often had to speak twice and even three times before she could command her pupil's attention. Beryl fancied she could treat her governess's commands with the indifference she had always shown to her aunt's.