That was good in them.
"But now I must tell it all myself; he says for me to do it at once, and I won't go on disobeying him by waiting; besides, I may as well have it over." Her writing-desk stood on a table near at hand, and opening it, she set to work without delay.
She began with a truthful report of her efforts to escape becoming one of Signor Foresti's pupils and its failure; giving verbatim the conversations on the subject in which she had taken part; then described with equal faithfulness all that had passed between the signor and herself on the day of their collision, and all that followed in the school-room and at Viamede.
She told of the fortnight in which all her time at home had to be spent in the confinement of her own room, then of the long weeks passed as a boarding-scholar at Oakdale Academy, describing her bedroom there, the sort of meals served in the dining-room, the rules that she found so irksome, and the treatment received at the hands of teachers and fellow-boarders; repeating as she went along every conversation that she felt belonged to the confession required of her.
But the long story was not all told in that one day; it took several; for Lulu was too young and inexperienced in composition and penmanship to make very rapid work of it.
Evelyn was taken into her confidence, Capt.

Raymond's letter read to her, then parts of the confession as it progressed from day to day, till she had heard the whole.
"Do you think I have told papa everything I ought, Eva ?" Lulu asked when she had finished reading aloud the last page of her report.
"Yes; I can't see that you've kept back a single thing: I'm sure your father is right in saying that you are open and honest as the day! And Oh, Lulu! what a nice, good father he must be! I don't wonder his children all love him so dearly, or that you and Max were so distressed when that bad news came." "No," Lulu said, hastily brushing away a tear, "but I am sure you must wonder how I can ever be disobedient to such a dear father; and I often wonder too, and just hate myself for it.
"Now my report is ready; I'm glad it's done; it seems an immense load off my mind; but I must write a little note to go with it." "Of course you must," said Evelyn; "and I'll run away and talk to Cousin Molly while you do it." She hastened from the room, and Lulu's pen was again set to work.
"My own dear, dear papa, I have your letter--such a nice, kind one to be written to such a bad, disobedient girl: it came last Wednesday, and this is Saturday; for though I did obey you about the report, by beginning at once to write it, I had to make it so long that I couldn't finish it till now.
"I have tried to tell 'the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,' and Eva thinks I have succeeded.
"Papa, I am really and truly sorry for having been so disobedient and obstinate; passionate, too; but I'm always being naughty and then sorry, then naughty again.
"I don't see how you can keep on loving such a bad child; but oh, I'm so glad you do! Though it makes me sorrier than ever, and oh, so ashamed! I know I deserve punishment at your hands, and I have no doubt you would inflict it if you were here.

I'm afraid you will say I must be sent away to a boarding-school; but oh, dear papa, please don't.

I do intend to be good, and not give any trouble to Grandpa Dinsmore or any of the rest.

I think I was the first part of the winter, and would have been all the time if they hadn't forced me to take lessons of that horrid man.
"Papa, I've always thought you wouldn't have said I must go back to him after he struck me.