Indeed, he
was so much used to favour, that it needed all the awe-struck pity of
the rest to prove to him its withdrawal; and he was so much in the
habit of thrusting himself before Samuel, that even the sight and
sound of the First Book of Euclid, all day long, failed to convince
him that his brother could be preferred; above all, as Nurse Freeman
had been collecting his clean shirts as well as Sam's, and all the
portmanteaus and trunks in the house had been hunted out of the roof.
Once, either the spirit of imitation, or his usual desire of showing
himself off, made him break in when Sam was knitting his brows
frightfully over a sum in proportion. Hal could do it in no time!
So he did; but he put the third term first, and multiplied the hours
into the minutes, instead of reducing them to the same denomination;
so that he made out that twenty-five men would take longer to cut a
field of grass than three, and then could not see that he was wrong;
but Miss Fosbrook and Sam both looked so much grieved for him, that a
start of fright went through him.
Some minds really do not understand a fault till they see it severely
visited; and "at least" and "couldn't help" had so blinded Henry's
eyes that he had thought himself more unlucky than to blame, till his
father's manner forced it on him that he had done something dreadful.
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