" Besides which, he was sure now to have the
coldest seat around the fire, the darkest place at the table, the
backward ride in the carriage, and to get the necks of chickens and the
tails of fishes for his share of the dinner. Boys were always put upon
by the girls, and sorry enough he was, he said, that any were coming to
the house. And he vowed a boyish vow--"by thunder and lightning"--that
he would torment the girls to the very best of his ability.
Girls, forsooth! girls coming to live there day and night, and eat, and
drink, and sleep, and sit, and sew, and walk up and down through the
halls, and parlors, and chambers of Dell-Delight--girls, with their
airs, and affectations, and pretensions, and exactions--girls--pah! the
idea was perfectly disgusting and offensive. He really did wonder at
"Brother," but then he already considered "Brother" something of an old
bachelor, and old bachelors would be queer.
But Thurston well knew how to smite the rock, and open the fountain of
sympathy in the lad's heart. He said nothing in reply to the boy's saucy
objections, but on the evening that little Miriam arrived, he beckoned
Paul into the parlor, where the child sat, alone, and pointing her out
to him, said in a low tone:
"Look at her; she has lost all her friends--she has just come from her
mother's grave--she is strange, and sad, and lonesome.
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