Etherington--you know his worth, and must have full confidence in
such a man."

"Nothing would give me greater satisfaction, my dear Betsey; and if
Dr. Etherington will consent to receive him, I will send Jack to his
house this very evening; for, to own the truth, I am but little
qualified to take charge of a child under a year old. A hundred a
year, more or less, shall not spoil so good a bargain."

The divine was a gentleman, and he looked grave at this speech,
though, meeting the anxious eyes of my mother, his own lost their
displeasure in a glance of reassurance and pity.

"The charges of his education will be easily settled, Mr.
Goldencalf," added my mother; "but the Doctor has consented with
difficulty to take the responsibility of my poor babe, and that only
under two conditions."

The stock-dealer required an explanation with his eyes.

"One is, that the child shall be left solely to his own care, after
he has reached his fourth year; and the other is, that you make an
endowment for the support of two poor scholars, at one of the
principal schools."

As my mother got out the last words, she fell back on her pillow,
whence her interest in the subject had enabled her to lift her head
a little, and she fairly gasped for breath, in the intensity of her
anxiety to hear the answer. My ancestor contracted his brow, like
one who saw it was a subject that required reflection.