So he slunk off, muttering to himself, to the disgust of the boys who hoped for a row, and I strutted out of my corner, while George went back to his rounders, after looking round and saying, “Just let me hear any of you call my brother ‘Cad’ again.” I don’t think I ever heard _that_ nickname again at our first school, and it must have been very shortly after that he wrote home, “I find I like Tom better at school than I do at home, and yet I do not know the reason.” The strongest and most generous natures are always fondest of those who lean on them. But I am getting on faster than I intended. We have not quite got away from home yet. And now let me turn again to my story. You will, I am sure, be interested by the following letter, which was written to us by Miss Edgeworth. You probably have never read her books; but in our day, when there were very few children’s books, they were our great delight, and almost the only ones we possessed, after “Robinson Crusoe,” “The Pilgrim’s Progress,” and “Sandford and Merton.” I forget how we discovered that the lady who wrote “Frank and Rosamond” was really alive, and that our grandmother actually had met her, and knew her. But, having made the discovery; we laid our heads together, and wrote two letters, asking her to tell us what were the contents of the remaining drawers in the wonderful Indian cabinet. Our grandmother sent her the letters, and in due time we received the following reply:— “EDGEWORTH’S TOWN, _July 20th, 1828_. “To my dear young readers, GEORGE and THOMAS HUGHES. “I am glad that you can write as well as read; your two letters were both very well written, and I had pleasure in reading them. I am glad that you like Harry and Lucy and Frank and Rosamond. I wish I could tell you anything more that would entertain you about the other nine drawers of the India cabinet; but what I am going to tell you will disappoint you I daresay, and I cannot help it. When Rosamond opened the 4th drawer she found in it—nothing—but a sheet of white paper at the bottom of the drawer, and on the paper was written only the word _China_. The writing was in a large round hand, like that in which your letter to me was written. Rosamond shut this drawer and opened the next, which was the 5th—empty! On the paper at the bottom of this drawer, in the same handwriting, was _Constantinople_. The 6th, the 7th, the 8th which she opened, one after another as fast as she could, were all empty! On the paper in the 6th drawer, which was very deep, was written—_The North Pole and Iceland—Norway—Sweden and Lapland_. In the 8th drawer was written _Rome and Naples—Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii_. At the bottom of the 9th drawer, _Persia—Arabia and India_.