refused to lend us his books, and made no inquiries as to why we
wanted them; but he was intensely strict about their proper treatment,
so that we early learnt to turn over leaves from the top, to avoid
dogs' ears, and generally to treat books properly and put them away
punctually. Thus I got the grammar, and carried it off to the swing.
Alas! it was not even Russian and English. It was a fat old French
edition, interleaved for notes. The notes were my father's, and in
English, which was of some assistance, and I set myself resolutely to
learn the alphabet. But my progress was slow, and at last I got my
father to write _Reka Dom_ for me in Russian character, as I had
determined to master these few letters first and then proceed. I soon
became familiar with them, and was not a little proud of the
achievement. I made a large copy to fasten upon the nursery wall; I
wrote it in all my books; and Fatima, who could not be induced to
attack the fat grammar with me, became equally absorbed on her part in
the effort to reduce the inscription to cross-stitch for the benefit
of her sampler.

"I borrowed the fat grammar again, and, in spite of my father's
warnings that it was too difficult for me as yet, I hoped soon to be
proficient in the language of the little Russians. But warnings from
one's elders are apt to come true, and after a few vain efforts I left
the tough old volume in its corner and took to easier pastimes.

"I had always an inventive turn, and was, as a rule, the
director-in-chief of our amusements. I know I was often very tiresome
and tyrannical in the ensuing arrangements, and can only hope the
trouble I took on these occasions on behalf of my brothers and
sisters, served in their eyes to balance my defects. I remember one
device of mine that proved particularly troublesome.