'I do not think I can promise,' said Phyllis.
'O yes, you can,' said Reginald, 'you know they are not his.'
'Promise you will not let out any insects I may get,' said Maurice, 'or I shall say you are as cross as two sticks.'
'I'll tell you what, Maurice,' said Phyllis, 'I do wish you would not make me promise, for I do not think I can keep it, for I cannot bear to see the beautiful live things killed.'
'Nonsense,' said Maurice, fiercely, 'I am very angry indeed, you naughty child; promise-'
'I cannot,' said Phyllis, beginning to cry.
'Then,' said Maurice, 'I will not speak to you all day.'
'No, no,' shouted Reginald, 'we will only treat her like the horse-stinger; you wanted a puella, Maurice-here is one for you, here, give her a dose of the turpentine.'
'Yes,' said Maurice, advancing with his bottle; 'and do you take the poker down to Naylor's to be sharpened, it will just do to stick through her back. Oh! no, not Naylor's-the girls have made a hash there, as they do everything else; but we will settle her before they come out again.'
Phyllis screamed and begged for mercy-her last ally had deserted her.
'Promise!' cried the boys.
'Oh, don't!' was all her answer.
Reginald caught her and held her fast, Maurice advanced upon her, she struggled, and gave a scream of real terror. The matter was no joke to any one but Reginald, for Maurice was very angry and really meant to frighten her.
'Hands off, boys, I will not have her bullied,' said Claude, half rising.
Maurice gave a violent start, Reginald looked round laughing, and exclaimed, 'Who would have thought of Claude sneaking there?' and Phyllis ran to the protecting arm, which he stretched out. To her great surprise, he drew her to him, and kissed her forehead, saying, 'Well done, Phyl!'
'Oh, I knew he was not going to hurt me,' said Phyllis, still panting from the struggle.
'To be sure not,' said Maurice, 'I only meant to have a little fun.'
Claude, with his arm still round his sister's waist, gave Maurice a look, expressing, 'Is that the truth?' and Reginald tumbled head over heels, exclaiming, 'I would not have been Phyl just them.'
Ada now came running up to them, saying, 'Maurice and Redgie, you are to come in; Mr. and Mrs. Burnet heard your voices, and begged to see you, because they never saw you last holidays.'
'More's the pity they should see us now,' said Maurice.
'I shall not go,' said Reginald.
'Papa is there, and he sent for you,' said Ada.
'Plague,' was the answer.
'See what you get by making such a row,' said Claude. 'If you had been as orderly members of society as I am-'
'Oh, but Claude,' said Ada, 'papa told me to see if I could find you. Dear Claude, I wish,' she proceeded, taking his hand, and looking engaging, 'I wish you would put your arm round me as you do round Phyl.'
'You are not worth it, Ada,' said Reginald, and Claude did not contradict him.
CHAPTER VIII-THE BROTHERS
'But smiled to hear the creatures he had known
So long were now in class and order shown -
Genus and species. "Is it meet," said he,
"This creature's name should one so sounding be -
'Tis but a fly, though first-born of the spring,
Bombylius Majus, dost thou call the thing?"
It was not till Sunday, that Lily's eager wish was fulfilled, of introducing her friend and her brothers; but, as she might have foreseen, their first meeting did not make the perfections of either party very clear to the other. Claude never spoke to strangers more than he could help, Maurice and Reginald were in the room only a short time; so that the result of Miss Weston's observations, when communicated in reply to Lily's eager inquiries, was only that Claude was very like his father and eldest brother, Reginald very handsome, and Maurice looked like a very funny fellow.
On Monday, Reginald and Maurice were required to learn what they had always refused to acknowledge, that the holidays were not intended to be spent in idleness. A portion of each morning was to be devoted to study, Claude having undertaken the task of tutor-and hard work he found it; and much did Lily pity him, when, as not unfrequently happened, the summons to the children's dinner would bring him from the study, looking thoroughly fagged-Maurice in so sulky a mood that he would hardly deign to open his lips-Reginald talking fast enough, indeed, but only to murmur at his duties in terms, which, though they made every one laugh, were painful to hear. Then Claude would take his brothers back to the study, and not appear for an hour or more, and when he did come forth, it was with a bad headache. Sometimes, as if to show that it was only through their own fault that their tasks were wearisome, one or both boys would finish quite early, when Reginald would betake himself to the schoolroom and employ his idle time in making it nearly impossible for Ada and Phyllis to learn, by talking, laughing, teasing the canary, overturning everything in pursuing wasps, making Emily fretful by his disobedience, and then laughing at her, and, in short, proving his right to the title he had given himself at the end of the only letter he had written since he first went to school, and which he had subscribed, 'Your affectionate bother, R. Mohun.' So that, for their own sake, all would have preferred the inattentive mornings.
Lily often tried to persuade Claude to allow her to tell her father how troublesome the boys were, but never with any effect. He once took up a book he had been using with them, and pointing to the name in the first page, in writing, which Lily knew full well, 'Henry Mohun,' she perceived that he meant to convince her that it was useless to try to dissuade him, as he thought the patience and forbearance his brother had shown to him must be repaid by his not shrinking from the task he had imposed upon himself with his young brothers, though he was often obliged to sit up part of the night to pursue his own studies.
If Claude had rather injudiciously talked too much to Lilias of 'her principle,' and thus kept it alive in her mind, yet his example might have made its fallacy evident. She believed that what she called love had been the turning point in his character, that it had been his earnest desire to follow in Henry's steps, and so try to comfort his father for his loss, that had roused him from his indolence; but she was beginning to see that nothing but a sense of duty could have kept up the power of that first impulse for six years. Lily began to enter a little into his principle, and many things that occurred during these holidays made her mistrust her former judgment. She saw that without the unvarying principle of right and wrong, fraternal love itself would fail in outward acts and words. Forbearance, though undeniably a branch of love, could not exist without constant remembrance of duty; and which of them did not sometimes fail in kindness, meekness, and patience? Did Emily show that softness, which was her most agreeable characteristic, in her whining reproofs-in her complaints that 'no one listened to a word she said'-in her refusal to do justice even to those who had vainly been seeking for peace? Did Lily herself show any of her much valued love, by the sharp manner in which she scolded the boys for roughness towards herself? or for language often used by them on purpose to make her displeasure a matter of amusement? She saw that her want of command of temper was a failure both in love and duty, and when irritated, the thought of duty came sooner to her aid than the feeling of love.
And Maurice and Reginald were really very provoking. Maurice loved no amusement better than teasing his sisters, and this was almost the only thing in which Reginald agreed with him. Reginald was affectionate, but too reckless and violent not to be very troublesome, and he too often flew into a passion if Maurice attempted to laugh at him; the little girls were often frightened and made unhappy; Phyllis would scream and roar, and Ada would come sobbing to Emily, to be comforted after some rudeness of Reginald's. It was not very often that quarrels went so far, but many a time in thought, word, and deed was the rule of love transgressed, and more than once did Emily feel ready to give up all her dignity, to have Eleanor's hand over the boys once more. Claude, finding that he could do much to prevent mischief, took care not to leave the two boys long together with the elder girls. They were far more inoffensive when separate, as Maurice never practised his tormenting tricks when no one was present to laugh with him, and Reginald was very kind to Phyllis and Ada, although somewhat rude.