Charlie could hardly suppress a smile, but said nothing; and Mr Noel continued, "Who is your chief friend, Evson, among my boys?" "Bliss, sir," said Charlie, with alacrity. "Bliss!" answered Mr Noel in surprise. "What makes you like him so much? Is he not very backward and stupid?" But Charlie would not hear a word against Bliss, and speaking with all the open trustfulness of a new boy, he exclaimed, "O sir, Bliss is an excellent fellow; I wish there were many more like him; he's a capital fellow, sir, I like him very much; he's the best fellow in the house, and the only one who stands by me when I am in trouble." "Well, I'm glad you've found _one_ friend, Evson," said Mr Noel; "no matter who he is." One way in which Bliss showed his friendship was by going privately to Kenrick, and complaining of the way in which Charlie was bullied. "Why don't you interfere, Kenrick?" he asked. "Interfere, pooh! It will do the young cub good; he's too conceited, by half." "I never saw a little fellow _less_ conceited, anyhow." Kenrick stared at him. "What business is it of yours, I should like to know?" "It _is_ business of mine; he is a good little fellow, and he's only kicked because the others can't make him as bad a lot as they are themselves; there's that Wilton--" "Shut up about Wilton, he's a friend of mine." "Then more shame for you," said Bliss. "He's worth fifty such chickens as little Evson, any day." "Chickens!" said Bliss, with a tone as nearly like contempt as he had ever assumed; "it's clear you don't know much about him; I wish, Kenrick, you'd do your duty more, and then the house would not be so bad as it is." Kenrick opened his eyes wide; he had never heard Bliss speak like this before. "I don't want the learned, the clever, the profound Bliss to teach _me my_ duty," he said, with a proud sneer; "what business have you to abuse the house, because it is not full of young ninnies like Evson? You're no monitor of mine, let me tell you." "You may sneer, Kenrick, at my being stupid, if you like; but, for all your cleverness, I wouldn't be you for something; and if you won't interfere, as you ought, _I will_, if I can." And as Bliss said this, with clear flaming anger, and fixed on Kenrick his eyes, which were lighted up with honest purpose, Kenrick thought he had never seen him look so handsome, or so fine a fellow. "Yes, even _he_ is superior to me now," he thought, with a sigh, as Bliss left the room. Poor Ken-- there was no unhappier boy at Saint Winifred's; as he ate and ate of those ashy fruits of sin, they grew more and more dusty and bitter to his parched taste; as he drank of that napthaline river of wayward pride, it scorched his heart and did _not_ quench his thirst. CHAPTER THIRTY THREE. MARTYRDOM.