"Miss Huntington."
"Well, dear."
"May—may I have oysters for my lunch?"
"Ah! those oysters! Were ever such tender things so hard to be disposed of?" But she took courage from the form of the request and the appealing tone.
"No, dear," she quietly answered.
"Why?" imperatively.
"Because I have said, once, that you cannot have them, and have given Mary orders to provide them for your breakfast to-morrow morning," was the calm response; then she added: "Now, let us talk no more about the unpleasant subject, but attend to our duties. It is time for your geography lesson."
"I do not want my geography. I must do my history first," was the rebellious response.
"The history hour is past, and will not come again until to-morrow," Violet replied.
She knew that the child was very much interested in her history—she always listened attentively while she read it to her, and seldom had to be prompted in repeating it; but the lessons had all been assigned for certain hours in the day, and she did not intend to break her rules or be governed by the caprices of this spoiled girl of twelve.