CHAPTER XI.

SCHOLARS.

Good spelling—A spelling match—Choosing sides—Evils attending spelling matches—An incident—Jessie blamed for an act of kindness—Another incident—The last of choosing sides—Jessie’s rank in school—Disadvantages—Secret of her success—Good and poor memories—Abby’s memory—Lord Adolphus D’Orsay—The list of irregular verbs—Saying over lessons before sleep—A contrast—The good and the poor scholar—Concentrating the mind—Luther’s testimony—Anecdote of St. Bernard—Power of early culture and discipline—Why Jessie and Abby associated—Novel reading—Its effects on Abby—Objections to it—Jessie proof against the temptation, 209