agreeable that, in order to have peace in the house, little Edward was persuaded to yield up his play- things to him. When the children were a little older, Georgie be- came a heavy expense in one respect: he took no care of his clothes; consequently, he shone frequently in new ones, which was not the case with Eddie. The boys grew apace. Eddie was an increasing com- fort, Georgie an increasing solicitude. It was al- ways sufficient to say, in answer to Eddie's petitions, "I would rather you would not do it "--meaning swimming, skating, picnicking, berrying, circusing, and all sorts of things which boys delight in. But no answer was sufficient for Georgie; he had to be humored in his desires, or he would carry them with a high hand. Naturally, no boy got more swimming, skating, berrying, and so forth than he; no boy ever had a better time. The good Brants did not allow the boys to play out after nine in summer evenings; they were sent to bed at that hour; Eddie honorably remained, but Georgie usually slipped out of the window toward ten, and enjoyed himself till mid- night. It seemed impossible to break Georgie of this bad habit, but the Brants managed it at last by hiring him, with apples and marbles, to stay in. The good Brants gave all their time and attention to vain endeavors to regulate Georgie; they said, with grate- ful tears in their eyes, that Eddie needed no efforts of theirs, he was so good, so considerate, and in all ways so perfect. By and by the boys were big enough to work, so they were apprenticed to a trade: Edward went vol- -210- |