CHAP. ii. BELL HILL AND THE BEASTS. 25 



it with joy. The father then remarked that grannie 

 should " beware of going so near the edge of such a 

 dirty place." Then Tom felt himself reprieved, and 

 shortly after fell asleep. 



The scapegrace returned to school. He did not 

 learn a great deal. He had been taught by his 

 mother his ABC, and to read words of three letters. 

 He did not learn much more at Bell Hill's school. 

 Bell's qualifications as a teacher were not great. 

 Nevertheless, the education that she gave was a 

 religious education. She prayed, or as Edward called 

 it, " groaned " with the children twice a day. And it 

 was during one of her devotional exercises that the 

 circumstance occurred which compelled Bell Hill to 

 expel Tom Edward from her school. 



Edward had been accustomed to bring many of 

 his " beasts " with him to school. The scholars were 

 delighted with his butterflies ; but few of them cared 

 to be bitten or stung by his other animals. And to 

 have horse-leeches crawling about them was unendur- 

 able. Thus Edward became a source of dread and 

 annoyance to the whole school. He was declared to 

 be a "perfect mischief." When Bell Hill was in- 

 formed of the beasts he brought with him, she used 

 to say to the boy, " Now, do not bring any more of 

 these nasty and dangerous things here again." 

 Perhaps he promised, but generally he forgot. 



At last he brought with him an animal of a much 

 larger sort than usual. It was a Kae, or jackdaw. 



