He persisted in declaring that he should go by the first in the morning, and Louis persuaded him to go to bed, after Charlotte had brought them some tea, which, he said, choked him.  Deciding on sleeping at No. 5, Louis sent home the carriage, with a note to his father; and Charlotte pressed her hands together in a transport of gratitude when she found that he was not going to abandon her master.  She did her best to make the forlorn house comfortable; but it was but cold comfort, with all the fires gone out, and he was too sad and anxious to heed it.

She was at his door early the next morning, with a summons more alarming than surprising.  She was sure that master was very ill.

There was James lying across his bed, half-dressed, turned away from the dim morning light, and more frightfully pale than ever.  He started angrily at Louis’s entrance, and sprang up, but fell back, insisting with all his might that nothing ailed him but a common headache, which needed only to be left quiet for an hour or two.  He said it venomously.

‘A very uncommon headache,’ thought Louis.  ’My belief is, that it is little short of brain fever!  If I could only feel his pulse!  But it would be very like taking a mad dog’s hand.  There’s nothing for it but to fetch old Walby.  He may have some experience of refractory patients.’

‘Go home, Louis,’ reiterated James, savagely, on opening his eyes and finding him not gone.  ’I tell you I want nobody.  I shall be in London before night.’

And starting up, he tried to draw the curtain at his feet, to shut out the tardy dawn; but too giddy to persevere, he sank back after one noisy pull.

Louis drew it completely, shaded the window, and would have settled the pillows, but was not allowed; and obtaining an impatient grunt by way of dismissal, he ran down stairs, caught up hat and stick, and set off to summon Mr. Walby from his comfortable family breakfast-table.  The good old doctor was more concerned than amazed.  He could hardly surmount the shock to his trustee conscience, on hearing of the consequence of yesterday’s proceedings.

‘I was much grieved at the time,’ he said, as they walked to the Terrace together.  ’You will believe me that I was no willing party, my Lord.’

’I could never believe that you would do anything hard towards any one, Mr. Walby,’ said Louis, kindly; and a few more like assurances led the old man to volunteer the history of the case in confidence.

Ramsbotham had brought before the meeting of the trustees a serious mass of charges, on which he founded a motion that Mr. Frost should be requested to resign.  Every one rejected such a measure, and the complaints were sifted.  Some were palpably false, others exaggerated, others related to matters of principle; but deducting these, it still was proved that the Sunday attendance and evening lectures were too visibly the test of his favour, and that the boys were sometimes treated with undue severity, savouring of violent temper.  ‘I must confess, my Lord,’ said Mr. Walby, sinking his voice, ’I am afraid Mr. Frost is too prompt with his hand.  A man does not know how hard he hits, when he knocks a boy over the ears with a book.  Mrs. Barker’s little boy really had a gathering under the ear in consequence;—­I saw it myself.’