What he could not imagine was, that till they had gone a little farther in elementary knowledge, and without the theatre, which comes in to meet the intellectual law that perception and imitation are among the first acts of the mental powers of a child, or an undeveloped man or woman, any of the Polleys, with the exception of ’Liza, could derive the smallest benefit or satisfaction from the mass of books, which, to be sure, they left untouched. He ceased also to be surprised that the Polley family should be in the section of Mr. Holland’s congregation, the members of which composed themselves, after the prayers and hymns, to look round on their neighbours and manifestly take stock of their presence, looks and clothes, or who openly nodded and audibly snored throughout their clergyman’s finest peroration, with which, however, they would not have consented to dispense, since they took a reflected pride in his fervid eloquence as contrasted with the vicar’s well-bred conversation in the pulpit. Oliver had ceased to get impatient with what he had been accustomed to consider Holland’s violent transitions in a variety of bad styles—from the strongly sensational to the familiarly anecdotal—bordering on the facetious, when the critic was better able to estimate the order of intelligence with which, to a large extent, the preacher had to deal. Oliver began to pity the poor teacher, who was bound alike by his calling and his conscience to impart the highest truths which could be addressed to humanity, to these dense minds and stolid hearts. Oliver found the girls by fits and starts furiously busy, or, in spite of their mother, absolutely idle. It was clear that notwithstanding, or because of, their mental vacuity, they luxuriated in idleness a little after the fashion of the dwellers in Eastern zenanas. The Polleys still regarded idleness much as their poor young drudge of a maid-of-all-work, taken from the workhouse school, looked upon it, with more reason, as one of the great gains of having risen and prospered in business and the world. To do nothing save gabble idle gossip was next best to wearing fine clothes every day of the week and every hour of the day, and eating at every meal early lamb and salmon, pastry, plum-cake, and strawberry ices, which the Polleys’ class are now in circumstances to add to their more primitive dainties of pork-pies, muffins, and shrimps. Idleness was one of the established privileges of ladies to which the girls gave full credit, and of which they were not slow to avail themselves when they had the opportunity. It might pall in time, and so might the fine clothes and fine food in unlimited quantities, but such satiety the Polley girls were not likely to attain so long as they lived under their mother’s rule. And they prized their advantages the more because they were still reduced to snatch at and make the most of them when these only came in their way occasionally, by the arbitrary will of Mrs. Polley.