“I will do an exercise to-morrow, Reuben,” said Marten.  “Papa does not expect any done, and if I have one for every other day to shew him, he will be very much pleased, I know.”

Reuben, as may be supposed, could not make a suitable reply to this; for all he understood about it was, that Marten was going out with him instead of staying at home to do that troublesome Latin.  So Reuben was pleased and Marten was thoughtless, and out together they went and enjoyed themselves not a little, in the pleasant autumn weather.

Thus hours passed on, and the third day brought a letter from Mrs. Mortimer, which was not quite satisfactory, for it said that the business which took her and her husband from home could not be easily settled, and they feared they would be detained a whole fortnight at Portsmouth.  Mrs. Mortimer, however, was not uneasy about her boys, for she knew that the servants, with whom she had left them, were quiet steady persons, who would not allow them to do what was wrong without speaking to them; and then Reuben was such an universal favourite, that she felt sure no one would be wilfully unkind to him.  But above all, Mrs. Mortimer trusted her children with Him who “knoweth our frame and remembereth we are but dust.”  Psal. ciii. 14.

Mrs. Mortimer had been absent about a week, and Marten was still in ignorance of the weakness of human nature, at least as far as he was himself personally concerned, when one morning Reuben came running to him in great distress, to say that the doves were missing—­his mamma’s own pretty birds that she loved so much; and Reuben, whose tears were somewhat too ready, began to cry, for he feared, poor child, the cat had eaten them, or some other misfortune equally distressing had befallen them.

“Was the door of the aviary open?” asked Marten.  “Are you sure it was open, Reuben? or did you open it yourself?”

“It was open,” said Reuben, “wide, wide open—­so wide, Marten;” and he made his brother understand that he had gone inside without stirring it the least little bit.

“It was open, you say,” replied the elder boy, “but how could that be?  You or some one have been careless, very careless, Reuben; for it is certain the birds could not open it for themselves.”  Reuben was about to cry again, but Marten soothed him, for all at once Marten remembered that the careless—­very careless person was none other than himself; for on the day before, whilst Reuben was sweeping out the aviary, Marten had called him hurriedly, and though the child had once proposed to return, his brother had kept him by his side for some trifling purpose, and so they had both forgotten the aviary door was open.  However, the doves were gone, and they must be reclaimed, if alive, but if dead—­what a sad story would there be for Mrs. Mortimer.  So the books were put by, and the two boys went out in search of the birds, and Reuben, who understood their ways, took the precaution to carry with him the box in which their food was usually placed.  On this occasion there was a nice piece of cake put into the box, which was to be crumbled for the doves, and Reuben knew that they liked cake as well as he did himself, and more especially the kind of cake which cook had given him.