Mr. Benson caught the new look of shrinking shame in Leonard's
eye, as it first sought, then shunned, meeting his. He was
pained, too, by the sight of the little sorrowful, anxious face,
on which, until now, hope and joy had been predominant. The
constrained voice, the few words the boy spoke, when formerly
there would have been a glad and free utterance--all this grieved
Mr. Benson inexpressibly, as but the beginning of an unwonted
mortification, which must last for years. He himself made no
allusion to any unusual occurrence; he spoke of Ruth as sitting,
overcome by headache, in the study for quietness: he hurried on
the preparations for tea, while Leonard sat by in the great
arm-chair, and looked on with sad, dreamy eyes. He strove to
lessen the shock which he knew Leonard had received, by every
mixture of tenderness and cheerfulness that Mr. Benson's gentle
heart prompted; and now and then a languid smile stole over the
boy's face. When his bedtime came, Mr. Benson told him of the
hour, although he feared that Leonard would have but another
sorrowful crying of himself to sleep; but he was anxious to
accustom the boy to cheerful movement within the limits of
domestic law, and by no disobedience to it to weaken the power of
glad submission to the Supreme; to begin the new life that lay
before him, where strength to look up to God as the Law-giver and
Ruler of events would be pre-eminently required.
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