Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. In a very few days, Kate had been settled into the ways of the household in Bruton Street; and found one day so like another, that she sometimes asked herself whether she had not been living there years instead of days. She was always to be ready by half-past seven. Her French maid, Josephine, used to come in at seven, and wash and dress her quietly, for if there were any noise Aunt Barbara would knock and be displeased. Aunt Barbara rose long before that time, but she feared lest Aunt Jane should be disturbed in her morning's sleep ; and Kate thought she had the ears of a dragon for the least sound of voice or laugh. At half-past seven, Kate met Mrs. Lacy in the school-room, read the Psalms and Second Lesson, and learnt some answers to questions on the Catechism, to be repeated to Lady Barbara on a Sunday. For so far from playing at cards in a bird of paradise turban all Sunday, the aunts were quite as particular about these things as Mr. Wardour—more inconveniently so, the countess thought; for he always let heranswer his examinations out of her own head, and never gave her answers to learn by heart; ' Answers that I know before quite well,' said Kate,' only not made tiresome with fine words.' ' That is not a right way of talking, Lady Caergwent,' gravely said Mrs. Lacy; and Kate gave herself an ill-tempered wriggle, and felt cross and rebellious. It was a trial; but if Kate had taken it humbly, she would have found that even the stiff hard words and set phrases gave accuracy to her ideas; and the learning of the texts quoted would have been clear gain, if she had been in a meeker spirit. This done, Mrs. Lacy gave her a music lesson. This was grievous work, for the question was not how the learning should be managed, but whether the thing should be...