days you take riding lessons; and I should wish you to spend this
time at your usual studies, except Latin, which will be of no use
to you. From two till half-past four you are to learn carpentering.
I have made an agreement with Mr. Jones to pay him so much to take
you as a sort of apprentices for the next nine months. In the
evening we will all work together at Spanish. It will be hard work;
but if you want to be of any real use to me, it is absolutely
necessary that you should be able to use a spade and to do rough
carpentering. As the time draws on, too, I shall ask one of the
farmers near to let you go out with his men and get some notion of
plowing. Well, what do you say to all that?"

Hubert looked a little downcast at this recital of the preparatory
work to be gone through, but Charley said at once, "It sounds
rather hard, papa, but, as you say, we shall have to work hard out
there, and it is much better to accustom one's self to it at once;
besides, of course, we should be of no use at all to you unless we
knew something about work."

"And what are we to learn, mamma?" Maud asked.

"Not a very great deal, my dear," Mrs. Hardy said. "Spanish to
begin with, then cooking. I shall teach you at any rate, to make
simple dishes and puddings, and to boil vegetables properly. I
shall myself practice until I am perfect, and then I shall teach
you. Besides that, it will be as well for you to learn to attend to
poultry; and that is all I know of at present, except that you must
both take pains to improve yourselves at sewing. We shall have to
make everything for ourselves out there."