Ah! she said to herself, how stupid she had been not to see this at once, and how strange that Percy had not thought of doing it when he must at least have suspected the truth after applying to Hannah.
Mrs. Rush took up the second paper and glanced over it, then laughed.
"This is Lily's," she said. "Spelling does not seem to be her strong point."
"No," answered Lena, "she says she never can spell, and I do not think she tries very hard. Miss Ashton takes a great deal of trouble with her, too; but Lily just laughs at her own spelling and does not seem to think that it matters very much. But she is so nice," she added, apologetically, "and we all like her so much."
"Yes," answered Mrs. Rush, "Lily is a dear child, and so truly noble and upright and conscientious, in spite of her sometimes careless way of speaking of right and wrong. Shall I read this, Lena; do you care to hear it?" For she had noticed that Lena appeared distraite during the reading of Frankie's composition.
"Oh, yes, if you please, Aunt Marian," answered Lena, more cheerfully than she had spoken before. "Lily's compositions are always rather droll, even if they are not very correct."
"But does Miss Ashton leave it to Lily's own choice to say whether she will write compositions or no?" asked Mrs. Rush.
"Oh, no," answered Lena, "she has to write them regularly, as the rest of us do; but she has never before been willing to have one read in the club, and even this she will not allow to go in our book."
"'Good Resolutions' is the title of the piece," said Mrs. Rush, beginning to read from the paper in her hand.
"Good resolutions are capitle things if you keep them, but generally they are made to be broken; at least I am afraid mine are. I think I've made about a thousand in my life, and about nine hundred and ninety-seven have been broken. But there is one good resolution I made I have never broken and never shall, and that is, forever and ever and ever to hate Oliver Cromwell. I shall always kepe that. I know of lots of bad men, but I think he was the worst I ever knew. He made believe he was very pious, but he was not at all, he was a hipokrit and deceiver; and he made believe he had the king killed for writeousness' sake, and I know he only did it so as to take the head place himself. I think I can't bear Cromwell more than any one I ever knew. I just hate him, and it is no use for any one to say he was doing what he thought was best for his country and he meant well. I don't believe it, and I hate people who mean well; they are always tiresome. The poor dear king! I would like to have been there when they tryed him, and I would have been like Lady Fairfax and would have called out, 'Oliver Cromwell is a rogue and a traitor,' and not been afrade of anybody when I wanted to stand up for my king. I love Lady Fairfax."