"We shall begin to study," continued Forester, "at nine o'clock, and
leave off at twelve. That will give you half an hour to run about and
play before dinner."
"And a recess?" said Marco, - "I ought to have a recess."
"Why, there's a difficulty about a recess," said Forester. "I shall
have it on my mind every day, to tell you when it is time for the
recess, and when it is time to come in."
"O no," replied Marco, "I can find out when it is time for the recess.
Let it be always at ten o'clock, and I can look at the watch."
Marco referred to a watch belonging to Forester's father, which was
kept hung up over the mantel-piece in their little study.
"I think it probable you would find out when it was time for the
recess to _begin_," said Forester, "but you would not be so
careful about the end of it. You would get engaged in play, and would
forget how the time was passing, and I should have to go out and call
you in."
"Couldn't you have a little bell?" said Marco.
"But I don't wish to have any thing of that kind to do," said
Forester, "I am going to instruct you half an hour every morning,
beginning at nine o'clock, and I want to have it all so arranged, that
after that, I shall be left entirely to myself, so that I can go
on with my studies, as well as you with yours. If we can do this
successfully, then, when noon comes, I shall feel that I have done my
morning's work well, and you and I can go off in the afternoon on all
sorts of expeditions. But if I have to spend the whole morning in
attending to you, then I must stay at home and attend to my own
studies in the afternoon."
"Well," said Marco, "I think I can find out when to come in."
"We'll try it one or two mornings, but I have no idea that you will
succeed. However, we can give up the plan if we find that you stay
out too long. You may have five minutes' recess every day, at eleven
o'clock. On the whole it shall be _ten_ minutes. And this shall
be the plan of your studies for the morning. At nine o'clock, I shall
give you instruction for half an hour. Then you may study arithmetic
for one hour; then write half an hour; then have a recess for ten
minutes: then read for the rest of the last hour. That will bring it
to twelve o'clock."
"But I can't study arithmetic, alone," said Marco.
"Yes," said Forester, "I shall show you how, in the first half-hour
when I am giving you my instructions.
