his time. They could not bear that genteel service very long; one after
another tried and failed at it. These and the housekeeper, and little
Harry Esmond, had a table of their own. Poor ladies their life was far
harder than the page's. He was sound asleep, tucked up in his little
bed, whilst they were sitting by her ladyship reading her to sleep, with
the "News Letter" or the "Grand Cyrus." My lady used to have boxes of
new plays from London, and Harry was forbidden, under the pain of a
whipping, to look into them. I am afraid he deserved the penalty pretty
often, and got it sometimes. Father Holt applied it twice or thrice,
when he caught the young scapegrace with a delightful wicked comedy of
Mr. Shadwell's or Mr. Wycherley's under his pillow.

These, when he took any, were my lord's favorite reading. But he
was averse to much study, and, as his little page fancied, to much
occupation of any sort.

It always seemed to young Harry Esmond that my lord treated him with
more kindness when his lady was not present, and Lord Castlewood would
take the lad sometimes on his little journeys a-hunting or a-birding;
he loved to play at cards and tric-trac with him, which games the boy
learned to pleasure his lord: and was growing to like him better daily,
showing a special pleasure if Father Holt gave a good report of him,
patting him on the head, and promising that he would provide for the
boy. However, in my lady's presence, my lord showed no such marks of
kindness, and affected to treat the lad roughly, and rebuked him sharply
for little faults, for which he in a manner asked pardon of young Esmond
when they were private, saying if he did not speak roughly, she would,
and his tongue was not such a bad one as his lady's--a point whereof the
boy, young as he was, was very well assured.