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Dinh The Luc

Multiobjective
Linear
Programming
An Introduction
Multiobjective Linear Programming
Dinh The Luc

Multiobjective Linear
Programming
An Introduction

123
Dinh The Luc
Avignon University
Avignon
France

ISBN 978-3-319-21090-2 ISBN 978-3-319-21091-9 (eBook)

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-21091-9

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015943841

Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part
of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission
or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar
methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from
the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or
for any errors or omissions that may have been made.

Printed on acid-free paper

Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland is part of Springer Science+Business Media

(www.springer.com)
To Dieu Huyen,
Liuli and The Duc
Preface

Multiobjective optimization problems arise in decision-making processes in many

areas of human activity including economics, engineering, transportation, water
resources, and the social sciences. Although most real-life problems involve non-
linear objective functions and constraints, solution methods are principally
straightforward in problems with a linear structure. Apart from Zeleny’s classic
1974 work entitled “Linear Multiobjective Programming” and Steuer’s 1986 book
“Multiple Criteria Optimization: Theory, Computation and Application,” nearly all
textbooks and monographs on multiobjective optimization are devoted to non-
convex problems in a general setting, sometimes with set-valued data, which are not
always accessible to practitioners. The main purpose of this book is to introduce
readers to the field of multiobjective optimization using problems with fairly simple
structures, namely those in which the objective and constraint functions are linear.
By working with linear problems, readers will easily come to grasp the fundamental
concepts of vector problems, recognize parallelisms in more complicated problems
with scalar linear programming, analyze difficulties related to multi-dimensionality
in the outcome space, and develop effective methods for treating multiobjective
problems.
Because of the introductory nature of the book, we have sought to present the
material in as elementary a fashion as possible, so as to require only a minimum of
mathematical background knowledge. The first part of the book consists of two
chapters providing the necessary concepts and results on convex polyhedral sets
and linear programming to prepare readers for the new area of optimization with
several objective functions. The second part of the book begins with an examination
of the concept of Pareto optimality, distinguishing it from the classical concept of
optimality used in traditional optimization. Two of the most interesting topics in
this part of the book involve duality and stability in multiple objective linear
programming, both of which are discussed in detail. The third part of the book is
devoted to numerical algorithms for solving multiple objective linear programs.
This includes the well-known multiple objective simplex method, the outcome
space method, and a recent method using normal cone directions.

vii
viii Preface

Although some new research results are incorporated into the book, it is well
suited for use in the first part of a course on multiobjective optimization for
undergraduates or first-year graduate students in applied mathematics, engineering,
computer science, operations research, and economics. Neither integer problems
nor fuzzy linear problems are addressed. Further, applications to other domains are
not tackled, though students will certainly have no real difficulty in studying them,
once the basic results of this book assimilated.
During the preparation of this manuscript I have benefited from the assistance of
many people. I am grateful to my Post-Ph.D. and Ph.D. students Anulekha Dhara,
Truong Thi Thanh Phuong, Tran Ngoc Thang, and Moslem Zamani for their careful
reading of the manuscript. I would also like to thank Moslem Zamani for the
illustrative figures he made for this book. I want to take this opportunity to give
special thanks to Juan-Enrique Martinez-Legaz (Autonomous University of
Barcelona), Boris Mordukhovich (Wayne State University), Nguyen Thi Bach Kim
(Hanoi Polytechnical University), Panos Pardalos (University of Florida), Michel
Thera (University of Limoges), Majid Soleimani-Damaneh (University of Tehran),
Ralph E. Steuer (University of Georgia), Michel Volle (University of Avignon), and
Mohammad Yaghoobi (University of Kerman) for their valued support in this
endeavor.

Avignon Dinh The Luc

December 2014
Contents

1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Part I Background

2 Convex Polyhedra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.1 The Space Rn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2 System of Linear Inequalities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.3 Convex Polyhedra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.4 Basis and Vertices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

3 Linear Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3.1 Optimal Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3.2 Dual Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
3.3 The Simplex Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Part II Theory

4 Pareto Optimality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
4.1 Pareto Maximal Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
4.2 Multiobjective Linear Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
4.3 Scalarization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
4.4 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

5 Duality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
5.1 Dual Sets and Dual Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
5.2 Ideal Dual Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
5.3 Strong Dual Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
5.4 Weak Dual Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
5.5 Lagrangian Duality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

ix
x Contents

5.6 Parametric Duality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

5.7 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

6 Sensitivity and Stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

6.1 Parametric Convex Polyhedra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
6.2 Sensitivity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
6.3 Error Bounds and Stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
6.4 Post-optimal Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
6.5 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Part III Methods

7 Multiobjective Simplex Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

7.1 Description of the Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
7.2 The Multiobjective Simplex Tableau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
7.3 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

8 Normal Cone Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

8.1 Normal Index Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
8.2 Positive Index Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
8.3 The Normal Cone Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
8.4 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284

9 Outcome Space Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

9.1 Analysis of the Efficient Set in the Outcome Space . . . . . . . . . . 289
9.2 Free Disposal Hull . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
9.3 Outer Approximation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
9.4 The Outcome Space Algorithm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
9.5 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

Bibliographical Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Notations

N Natural numbers
R Real numbers
Rn Euclidean n-dimensional space
LðRn ; Rm Þ Space of m  n matrices
Bn Closed unit ball in Rn
Sn Unit sphere in Rn
Bmn Closed unit ball in LðRn ; Rm Þ
e Vector of ones
ei i-th coordinate unit vector
Δ Standard simplex
k xk Euclidean norm
k x k1 Max-norm
hx; yi Canonical scalar product
5 Less than or equal to
 Less than but not equal to
\ Strictly less than
affðAÞ Affine hull

clðAÞ, A Closure
intðAÞ Interior
riðAÞ Relative interior
coðAÞ Convex hull
coðAÞ Closed convex hull
coneðAÞ Conic hull
posðAÞ Positive hull
MaxðAÞ Set of maximal elements
WMaxðAÞ Set of weakly maximal elements
MinðAÞ Set of minimal elements
WMinðAÞ Set of weakly minimal elements
S(MOLP) Efficient solution set
WS(MOLP) Weakly efficient solution set

xi
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xii Notations

supðAÞ Supremum
IðxÞ Active index set at x
A? Orthogonal
A Negative polar cone
A1 Recession/asymptotic cone
NA ðxÞ Normal cone
dðx; CÞ Distance function
hðA; BÞ Hausdorff distance
grðGÞ Graph
suppðxÞ Support
Chapter 1
Introduction

Mathematical optimization studies the problem of finding the best element from a set
of feasible alternatives with regard to a criterion or objective function. It is written
in the form

optimize f (x)
subject to x ∈ X,

where X is a nonempty set, called a feasible set or a set of feasible alternatives, and
f is a real function on X , called a criterion or objective function. Here “optimize”
stands for either “minimize” or “maximize” which amounts to finding x̄ ∈ X such
that either f (x̄)  f (x) for all x ∈ X , or f (x̄)  f (x) for all x ∈ X .
This model offers a general framework for studying a variety of real-world and
theoretical problems in the sciences and human activities. However, in many practical
situations, we tend to encounter problems that involve not just one criterion, but a
number of criteria, which are often in conflict with each other. It then becomes
impossible to model such problems in the above-mentioned optimization framework.
Here are some instances of such situations.
Automotive design The objective of automotive design is to determine the technical
parameters of a vehicle to minimize (1) production costs, (2) fuel consumption, and
(3) emissions, while maximizing (4) performance and (5) crash safety. These criteria
are not always compatible; for instance a high-performance engine often involves
very high production costs, which means that no design can optimally fulfill all
criteria.
House purchase Buying property is one of life’s weightiest decisions and often
requires the help of real estate agencies. An agency suggests a number of houses
or apartments which roughly meet the potential buyer’s budget and requirements. In
order to make a decision, the buyer assesses the available offers on the basis of his
or her criteria. The final choice should satisfy the following: minimal cost, minimal
maintenance charges, maximal quality and comfort, best environment etc. It is quite

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 1

D.T. Luc, Multiobjective Linear Programming,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-21091-9_1
2 1 Introduction

natural that the higher the quality of the house, the more expensive it is; as such, it
is impossible to make the best choice without compromising.
Distributing electrical power In a system of thermal generators the chief problem
concerns allocating the output of each generator in the system. The aim is not only
to satisfy the demand for electricity, but also to fulfill two main criteria: minimizing
the costs of power generation and minimizing emissions. Since the costs and the
emissions are measured in different units, we cannot combine the two criteria into one.
Queen Dido’s city Queen Dido’s famous problem consists of finding a territory
bounded by a line which has the maximum area for a given perimeter. According to
elementary calculus, the solution is known to be a circle. However, as it is incon-
ceivable to have a city touching the sea without a seashore, Queen Dido set another
objective, namely for her territory to have as large a seashore as possible. As a result,
a semicircle partly satisfies her two objectives, but fails to maximize either aspect.
As we have seen, even in the simplest situations described above there can be
no alternative found that simultaneously satisfies all criteria, which means that the
known concepts of optimization do not apply and there is a real need to develop new
notions of optimality for problems involving multiple objective functions. Such a
concept was introduced by Pareto (1848–1923), an Italian economist who explained
the Pareto optimum as follows: “The optimum allocation of the resources of a society
is not attained so long as it is possible to make at least one individual better off in his
own estimation while keeping others as well off as before in their own estimation.”
Prior to Pareto, the Irish economist Edgeworth (1845–1926) had defined an optimum
for the multiutility problem of two consumers P and Q as “a point (x, y) such that in
whatever direction we take an infinitely small step, P and Q do not increase together
but that, while one increases, the other decreases.” According to the definition put
forward by Pareto, among the feasible alternatives, those that can simultaneously be
improved with respect to all criteria cannot be optimal. And an alternative is optimal
if any alternative better than it with respect to a certain criterion is worse with respect
to some other criterion, that is, if a tradeoff takes place when trying to find a better
alternative. From the mathematical point of view, if one defines a domination order
in the set of feasible alternatives by a set of criteria—an alternative a dominates
an alternative b if the value of every criterion function at a is bigger than that at
b—then an alternative is optimal in the Pareto sense if it is dominated by no other
alternatives. In other words, an alternative is optimal if it is maximal with respect
to the above order. This explains the mathematical origin of the theory of multiple
objective optimization, which stems from the theory of ordered spaces developed by
Cantor (1845–1918) and Hausdorff (1868–1942).
A typical example of ordered spaces, frequently encountered in practice, is the
finite dimensional Euclidean space Rn with n ≥ 2, in which two vectors a and b
are comparable, let’s say a is bigger than or equal to b if all coordinates of a are
bigger than or equal to the corresponding coordinates of b. A multiple objective
optimization problem is then written as
1 Introduction 3

Maximize F(x) := ( f 1 (x), . . . , f k (x))

subject to x ∈ X,

where f 1 , . . . , f k are real objective functions on X and “Maximize” signifies finding

an element x̄ ∈ X such that no value F(x), x ∈ X is bigger than the value F(x̄). It
is essential to note that the solution x̄ is not worse than any other solution, but in no
ways it is the best one, that is, the value F(x̄) cannot be bigger than or equal to all
values F(x), x ∈ X in general. A direct consequence of this observation is the fact
that the set of “optimal values” is not a singleton, which forces practitioners to find
a number of “optimal solutions” before making a final decision. Therefore, solving
a multiple objective optimization problem is commonly understood as finding the
entire set of “optimal solutions” or “optimal values”, or at least a representative
portion of them. Indeed, this is the point that makes multiple objective optimization
a challenging and fascinating field of theoretical research and application.
 Part I
Background
Chapter 2
Convex Polyhedra

We begin the chapter by introducing basic concepts of convex sets and linear func-
tions in a Euclidean space. We review some of fundamental facts about convex
polyhedral sets determined by systems of linear equations and inequalities, includ-
ing Farkas’ theorem of the alternative which is considered a keystone of the theory
of mathematical programming.

2.1 The Space Rn

Throughout this book, Rn denotes the n-dimensional Euclidean space of real column
n-vectors. The norm of a vector x with components x1 , · · · , xn is given by
 n 1/2

x = (xi ) 2
.
i=1

The inner product of two vectors x and y in Rn is expressed as


n
x, y = xi yi .
i=1

The closed unit ball, the open unit ball and the unit sphere of Rn are respectively
defined by
 
Bn := x ∈ Rn : x  1 ,
 
int(Bn ) := x ∈ Rn : x < 1 ,
 
Sn := x ∈ Rn : x = 1 .

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 7

D.T. Luc, Multiobjective Linear Programming,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-21091-9_2
8 2 Convex Polyhedra

Given a nonempty set Q ⊆ Rn , we denote the closure of Q by cl(Q) and its interior
by int(Q). The conic hull, the positive hull and the affine hull of Q are respectively
given by
 
cone(Q) := ta : a ∈ Q, t ∈ R, t  0 ,
 k 

pos(Q) := ti a i : a i ∈ Q, ti ∈ R, ti  0, i = 1, · · · , k with k ∈ N ,
i=1
 

k 
k
aff(Q) := ti a : a ∈ Q, ti ∈ R, i = 1, · · · , k and
i i
ti = 1 with k ∈ N ,
i=1 i=1

where N denotes the set of natural numbers (Figs. 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3).

Fig. 2.1 Conic hull (with

Q = Q1 ∪ Q2) cone(Q)

Q1

cone(Q)
Q2

Fig. 2.2 Positive hull (with

Q = Q1 ∪ Q2)
pos(Q)
Q1

Q2
2.1 The Space Rn 9

Fig. 2.3 Affine hull (with

Q = Q1 ∪ Q2)
af f (Q)
Q1

Q2

Among the sets described above cone(Q) and pos(Q) are cones, that is, they are
invariant under multiplication by positive numbers; pos(Q) is also invariant under
addition of its elements; and aff(Q) is an affine subspace of Rn . For two vectors x
and y of Rn , inequalities x > y and x  y mean respectively xi > yi and xi  yi
for all i = 1, · · · , n. When x  y and x = y, we write x ≥ y. So a vector x is
positive, that is x  0, if its components are non-negative; and it is strictly positive
if its components are all strictly positive. The set of all positive vectors of Rn is the
positive orthant Rn+ . Sometimes row vectors are also considered. They are transposes
of column vectors. Operations on row vectors are performed in the same manner as
on column vectors. Thus, for two row n-vectors c and d, their inner product is
expressed by

n
c, d = c T , d T  = ci di ,
i=1

where the upper index T denotes the transpose. On the other hand, if c is a row vector
and x is a column vector, then the product cx is understood as a matrix product which
is equal to the inner product c T , x.

Convex sets
We call a subset Q of Rn convex if the segment joining any two points of Q lies entirely
in Q, which means that for every x, y ∈ Q and for every real number λ ∈ [0, 1], one
has λx + (1 − λ)y ∈ Q (Figs. 2.4, 2.5). It follows directly from the definition that the
intersection of convex sets, the Cartesian product of convex sets, the image and inverse
image of a convex set under a linear transformation, the interior and the closure of a
convex set are convex. In particular, the sum Q 1 + Q 2 := {x + y : x ∈ Q 1 , y ∈ Q 2 }
of two convex sets Q 1 and Q 2 is convex; the conic hull of a convex set is convex.
The positive hull and the affine hull of any set are convex.
The convex hull of Q, denoted co(Q) (Fig. 2.6), consists of all convex combina-
tions of elements of Q, that is,
10 2 Convex Polyhedra

Fig. 2.4 Convex set

y

Fig. 2.5 Nonconvex set

x
y

 

k 
k
co(Q) := λi x : x ∈ Q, λi  0, i = 1, · · · , k and
i i
λi = 1 with k ∈ N .
i=1 i=1

It is the intersection of all convex sets containing Q. The closure of the convex hull
of Q will be denoted by co(Q), which is exactly the intersection of all closed convex
sets containing Q. The positive hull of a set is the conic hull of its convex hull. A
k
convex combination i=1 λi x i is strict if all coefficients λi are strictly positive.
Given a nonempty convex subset Q of Rn , the relative interior of Q, denoted
ri(Q), is its interior relative to its affine hull, that is,
 
ri(Q) := x ∈ Q : (x + εBn ) ∩ aff(Q) ⊆ Q for some ε > 0 .

Equivalently, a point x in Q is a relative interior point if and only if for any point y in
Q there is a positive number δ such that the segment joining the points x − δ(x − y)
and x + δ(x − y) entirely lies in Q. As a consequence, any strict convex combination
of a finite collection {x 1 , · · · , x k } belongs to the relative interior of its convex hull
(see also Lemma 6.4.8). It is important to note also that every nonempty convex set
in Rn has a nonempty relative interior. Moreover, if two convex sets Q 1 and Q 2 have
at least one relative interior point in common, then ri(Q 1 ∩ Q 2 ) = ri(Q 1 ) ∩ ri(Q 2 ).

Fig. 2.6 Convex hull of Q

co(Q)
Q
2.1 The Space Rn 11

Fig. 2.7 The standard

simplex in R3

Example 2.1.1 (Standard simplex) Let ei be the ith coordinate unit vector of Rn ,
that is its components are all zero except for the ith component equal to one. Let Δ
denote the convex hull of e1 , · · · , en . Then a vector x with components x1 , · · · , xn is
n
an element of Δ if and only if xi  0, i = 1, · · · , n and i=1 xi = 1. This set has no
interior point. However, its relative interior consists of x with xi > 0, i = 1, · · · , n
n
and i=1 xi = 1. The set Δ is called the standard simplex of Rn (Fig. 2.7).

Caratheodory’s theorem
It turns out that the convex hull of a set Q in the space Rn can be obtained by convex
combinations of at most n + 1 elements of Q. First we see this for positive hull.

Theorem 2.1.2 Let {a 1 , · · · , a k } be a collection of vectors in Rn . Then for every

nonzero vector x from the positive hull pos{a 1 , · · · , a k } there exists an index set
I ⊆ {1, · · · , k} such that
(i) the vectors a i , i ∈ I are linearly independent;
(ii) x belongs to the positive hull pos{a i , i ∈ I }.

Proof Since the collection {a 1 , · · · , a k } is finite, we may choose an index set I of

minimum cardinality such that x ∈ pos{a i , i ∈ I }. It is evident that there are strictly
positive numbers ti , i ∈ I such that x = i∈I ti a i . We prove that (i) holds for this
I . Indeed, if not, one can find an index j ∈ I and real numbers si such that

aj − si a i = 0.
i∈I \{ j}

Set ti
ε = min t j and − : i ∈ I with si < 0
si

and express
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12 2 Convex Polyhedra
 
x= ti a i − ε a j − si a i
i∈I i∈I \{ j}

= (t j − ε)a + j
(ti + εsi )a i .
i∈I \{ j}

It is clear that in the latter sum those coefficients corresponding to the indices that
realize the minimum in the definition of ε are equal to zero. By this, x lies in the
positive hull of less than |I | vectors of the collection. This contradiction completes
the proof. 

A collection of vectors {a 1 , · · · , a k } in Rn is said to be affinely independent if

the dimension of the subspace aff{a 1 , · · · , a k } is equal to k − 1. By convention a set
consisting of a solitary vector is affinely independent. The next result is a version of
Caratheodory’s theorem and well-known in convex analysis.

Corollary 2.1.3 Let {a 1 , · · · , a k } be a collection of vectors in Rn . Then for every

x ∈ co{a 1 , · · · , a k } there exists an index set I ⊆ {1, · · · , k} such that
(i) the vectors a i , i ∈ I are affinely independent
(ii) x belongs to the convex hull of a i , i ∈ I.

Proof We consider the collection of vectors v i = (a i , 1), i = 1, · · · , k in the space

Rn × R. It is easy to verify that x belongs to the convex hull co{a 1 , · · · , a k } if
and only if the vector (x, 1) belongs to the positive hull pos{v 1 , · · · , v k }. Applying
Theorem 2.1.2 to the latter positive hull we deduce the existence of an index set
I ⊆ {1, · · · , k} such that the vector (x, 1) belongs to the positive hull pos{v i , i ∈ I }
and the collection {v i , i ∈ I } is linearly independent. Then x belongs to the convex
hull co{a i , i ∈ I } and the collection {a i , i ∈ I } is affinely independent. 

Linear operators and matrices

A mapping φ : Rn → Rk is called a linear operator between Rn and Rk if
(i) φ(x + y) = φ(x) + φ(y),
(ii) φ(t x) = tφ(x)
for every x, y ∈ Rn and t ∈ R. The kernel and the image of φ are the sets
 
Kerφ = x ∈ Rn : φ(x) = 0 ,
 
Imφ = y ∈ Rk : y = φ(x) for some x ∈ Rn .

These sets are linear subspaces of Rn and Rk respectively.

We denote the k × n-matrix whose columns are c1 , · · · , cn by C, where ci is the
vector image of the ith coordinate unit vector ei by φ. Then for every vector x of Rn
one has
φ(x) = C x.
2.1 The Space Rn 13

The mapping x → C x is clearly a linear operator from Rn to Rk . This explains

why one can identify a linear operator with a matrix. The space of k × n matrices
is denoted by L(Rn , Rk ). The transpose of a matrix C is denoted by C T . The norm
and the inner product in the space of matrices are given by
  1/2
C = |ci j |2 ,
i=1,··· ,n j=1,··· ,n
 
C, B = ci j bi j .
i=1,··· ,n j=1,··· ,n

The norm C is called also the Frobenius norm.

The inner product C, B is nothing but the trace of the matrix C B T . Sometimes
the space L(Rn , Rk ) is identified with the n × k-dimensional Euclidean space Rn×k .

Linear functionals
A particular case of linear operators is when the value space is one-dimensional. This
is the space of linear functionals on Rn and often identified with the space Rn itself.
Thus, each linear functional φ is given by a vector dφ by the formula

φ(x) = dφ , x.

When dφ = 0, the kernel of φ is called a hyperplane; the vector dφ is a normal vector

to this hyperplane. Geometrically, dφ is orthogonal to the hyperplane Kerφ. The sets
 
x ∈ Rn : dφ , x  0 ,
 
x ∈ Rn : dφ , x  0

are closed halfspaces and the sets

 
x ∈ Rn : dφ , x > 0 ,
 
x ∈ Rn : dφ , x < 0

are open halfspaces bounded by the hyperplane Kerφ. Given a real number α and a
nonzero vector d of Rn , one also understands a hyperplane of type
 
H (d, α) = x ∈ Rn : d, x = α .

The sets
 
H+ (d, α) = x ∈ Rn : d, x  α ,
 
H− (d, α) = x ∈ Rn : d, x  α

are positive and negative halfspaces and the sets

14 2 Convex Polyhedra
   
int H+ (d, α) = x ∈ Rn : d, x > α ,
   
int H− (d, α) = x ∈ Rn : d, x < α

are positive and negative open halfspaces.

Theorem 2.1.4 Let Q be a nonempty convex set in Rn and let d, . be a positive
functional on Q, that is d, x  0 for every x ∈ Q. If d, x = 0 for some relative
interior point x of Q, then d, . is zero on Q.

Proof Let y be any point in Q. Since x is a relative interior point, there exists a
positive number δ such that x + t (y − x) ∈ Q for |t|  δ. Applying d, . to this
point we obtain
d, x + t (y − x) = td, y  0

for all t ∈ [−δ, δ]. This implies that d, y = 0 as requested. 

2.2 System of Linear Inequalities

We shall mainly deal with two kinds of systems of linear equations and inequalities.
The first system consists of k inequalities

a i , x  bi , i = 1, · · · , k, (2.1)

where a 1 , · · · , a k are n-dimensional column vectors and b1 , · · · , bk are real num-

bers; and the second system consists of k equations which involves positive vectors
only

a i , x = bi , i = 1, · · · , k (2.2)
x  0.

Denoting by A the k × n-matrix whose rows are the transposes of a 1 , · · · , a k and

by b the column k-vector of components b1 , · · · , bk , we can write the systems (2.1)
and (2.2) in matrix form
Ax  b (2.3)

and

Ax = b (2.4)
x  0.

Notice that any system of linear equations and inequalities can be converted to the
two matrix forms described above. To this end it suffices to perform three operations:
2.2 System of Linear Inequalities 15

(a) Express each variable xi as difference of two non-negative variables xi = xi+ −

xi− where

xi+ = max{xi ; 0},

xi− = max{−xi ; 0}.

(b) Introduce a non-negative slack variable yi in order to obtain equivalence between

inequality a i , x  bi and equality a i , x + yi = bi . Similarly, with a non-
negative surplus variable z i one may express inequality a i , x  bi as equality
a i , x − z i = bi .
(c) Express equality a i , x = bi by two inequalities a i , x  bi and a i , x  bi .

Example 2.2.1 Consider the following system

x1 + 2x2 = 1,
−x1 − x2  0.

It is written in form (2.3) as

⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
1 2   1
⎝ −1 −2 ⎠ x1  ⎝ −1 ⎠
x2
1 1 0

and in form (2.4) with a surplus variable y as

   
1 −1 2 −2 0  + − + − T 1
x1 , x1 , x2 , x2 , y = ,
−1 1 −1 1 −1 0
(x1+ , x1− , x2+ , x2− , y)T  0.

Redundant equation
Given a system (2.4) we say it is redundant if at least one of the equations (called
redundant equation) can be expressed as a linear combination of the others. In other
words, it is redundant if there is a nonzero k-dimensional vector λ such that

A T λ = 0,
b, λ = 0.

Moreover, redundant equations can be dropped from the system without changing
its solution set. Similarly, an inequation of (2.1) is called redundant if its removal
from the system does not change the solution set.
16 2 Convex Polyhedra

Proposition 2.2.2 Assume that k  n and that the system (2.4) is consistent. Then
it is not redundant if and only if the matrix A has full rank.
Proof If one of equations, say a 1 , x = b1 , is redundant, then a 1 is a linear combina-
tion of a 2 , · · · , a k . Hence the rank of A is not maximal, it is less than k. Conversely,
when the rank of A is maximal (equal to k), no row of A is a linear combination of
the others. Hence no equation of the system can be expressed as a linear combination
of the others. 

Farkas’ theorem
One of the theorems of the alternative that are pillars of the theory of linear and
nonlinear programming is Farkas’ theorem or Farkas’ lemma. There are a variety of
ways to prove it, the one we present here is elementary.
Theorem 2.2.3 (Farkas’ theorem) Exactly one of the following systems has a
solution:
(i) Ax = b and x  0;
(ii) A T y  0 and b, y < 0.
Proof If the first system has a solution x, then for every y with A T y  0 one has

b, y = Ax, y = x, A T y  0,

which shows that the second system has no solution.

Now suppose the first system has no solution. Then either the system

Ax = b

has no solution, or it does have a solution, but every solution of it is not positive. In the
first case, choose m linearly independent columns of A, say a1 , · · · , am , where m is
the rank of A. Then the vectors a1 , · · · , am , b are linearly independent too (because
b does not lie in the space spanned by a1 , · · · , am ). Consequently, the system

ai , y = 0, i = 1, · · · , m,
b, y = −1

admits a solution. This implies that the system (ii) has solutions too. It remains to
prove the solvability of (ii) when Ax = b has solutions and they are all non-positive.
We do it by induction on the dimension of x. Assume n = 1. If the system ai1 x1 =
bi , i = 1, · · · , k has a negative solution x1 , then y = −(b1 , · · · , bk )T is a solution
of (ii) because A T y = −(a11 2 + · · · + a 2 )x > 0 and b, y = −(b2 + · · · + b2 ) < 0.
k1 1 1 k
Now assume n > 1 and that the result is true for the case of dimension n −1. Given an
n-vector x, denote by x the (n − 1)-vector consisting of the first (n − 1) components
of x. Let Ā be the matrix composed of the first (n − 1) columns of A. It is clear that
the system
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girl faced about just in time to catch the amused expression and to
guess at its cause. A sudden burst of tears followed, and Mrs.
Beckwith was at her daughter’s side instantly.
“My poor, misguided child! Don’t, I beg of you, allow yourself to
weep over—a pan of soiled dishes!”
“As Bonny would say, I’ll spoil the water! Is that it, Mother?” cried
Belle, beginning to laugh almost hysterically.
“Because it is so unworthy of you, my artist.”
“Artist! This looks like it, doesn’t it?”
“Exactly like it. It is your very finely strung nature which makes
these trivial trials so distasteful to you. It isn’t laziness or selfishness
or vanity; no, I am sure it is not.”
Belle dropped the wooden-handled dish-cloth with a splash, and
gazed at her mother in astonishment. “Why—Mother! Did—you—
think it was?”
“No, darling, I did not. Others might think so.”
“Motherkin, I—hate it!”
“You must kill the hatred.”
“I can’t; it’s born in me.”
“Unfortunately, it is the fault of my mistaken training.”
“No, no, no. Please don’t say that. I am ashamed of it, but I can’t
help it.”
“A girl who has the talent, nay, more, the genius, that you have is
too strong a person to say that, mentally too strong.”
“Mother, if I am talented, as you flatter me by saying—”
“I never flatter, dear. Flattery is untruth.”
“Well, if I have talent isn’t it wasted here?”
“I think not. I have never had patience with the theory that geniuses
should be exempt from the general burdens of life. The greater the
intelligence the greater the endurance and courage should be. I
don’t believe the dear Lord ever made a nature lop-sided; though
there are so many lop-sided folks in the world, it sometimes seems
so.”
“Tell me what you mean, Mother. I don’t want to be a kill-joy in the
family, but I felt five minutes ago as if I were ready to give up life, if
it were to be all—housework!”
Mrs. Beckwith began unwinding her spools of silk and rewinding
them on her rude frame preparatory to the bleaching process, and
Isabelle watched her curiously.
“I think it is this way. A body has one characteristic more marked
than another; and straightway his or her mistaken friends set about
developing it to the detriment of all the other characteristics, which
being less pronounced are left without training and cultivation till
they really become insignificant. We were in danger of just that for
you, but dish-washing happened in time to prevent. That ‘hated’ task
will make you a symmetrical and noble woman, my Belle, mentally,
as you bid fair to become physically.”
“Mother, you are the dearest, oddest little reasoner in the world!”
“Thank you. But let’s look at this matter practically. Is there not
some way by which you can lessen the distastefulness of your task?
Can you not study nature, landscape ‘effects,’ at the same time, or
learn something of your favorite authors?”
“I see no way. That is why—one why—it is disagreeable. I am here
in the midst of a lovely country, but if I do the housework as it
should be, as Miss Brook assures me it should be, I shall have no
time for anything else.”
“There you go again, twisting your mind out of balance toward the
other side. If I were you, I would certainly combine art with dish-
washing and literature with my other domestic duties. You can,
easily.”
“Please tell me,” begged Isabelle, now interested and smiling, and in
this new mood forgetting to take account of her hands otherwise
than that they fulfilled their present task well.
“That window over the sink looks out upon as lovely a bit of country
as God ever made. Now, suppose you take a large sheet of
wrapping-paper and cover the lower sash before which you stand,
leaving out the size of one pane. Then through that loop-hole, as it
were, do your studying. Take the foliage, as it expands. Note the
different tones and shades of green; the forms of the young buds,
their manner of growth from the first appearing to the full
perfection. It seems to me that will give you a knowledge of detail
which will help you wonderfully in your ‘technique’ when you come
to put your brush to canvas. So with the cloud and sky tints; they
are never-ending in variety. I would keep a little note-book beside
me and jot down the colors your studies suggest to you; then when
you have leisure verify these suggestions by actual trial. You can
vary your outlook continually, and I think you will become so
interested in the experiment that you will acquire the other
knowledge—of how to despatch the dish-washing neatly and rapidly
—without thinking much about it.”
Belle mused for a few moments; her face softening under the
conviction that she would not thus be debarred from all connection
with the one sort of labor she had heretofore loved. Then she asked:
“You said literature, too. How can I read while about the house?”
“This way. Have a wide piece sewn across the bottom of your
gingham aprons, with pockets stitched in it; and in these pockets
carry one of your ‘Handy Volume’ series or one of your art ‘Primers.’
Take out your book from time to time and memorize anything which
pleases you. You can thus, if you choose, gain more actual
understanding of the world’s best minds during one dinner-getting
than during a class-hour at school. I know; I’ve tried it myself.”
“Oh, Mother! is that the way you came to know so many of the
poets by heart?”
“Yes, dearie, the very way. And the knowledge has been ‘meat and
drink’ to me many and many a time. When you were all small, and
my darkest hours were upon me, I had to get right straight out of
myself to enable me just to live. If I had dwelt upon my own
hardships, I should have broken down physically long ago. But I just
wouldn’t. I said to these sweet singers and teachers: ‘You must bear
my burdens for me. God made you stronger than He made me, and
I shall utilize you!’ The beauty of it was that they did support me,
and lost no whit of strength themselves.”
“My set of poets is so nicely bound. They were my prizes at school,
you know. If I had a cheaper edition—”
“Darling, would you rather have a white book or a white soul?”
“Why, Motherkin!”
“Which?” asked Mrs. Beckwith, persistently, gently winding at her
bits of skeins.
“The soul, of course. But—”
“Ah, yes, I thought so. If I had an edition de luxe, even, of any
author who had words of cheer for me, I would not hesitate to put it
to the use I have suggested,—not for the twentieth part of a second.
Oh! I could groan sometimes, over the books that are wasted by
lying on library shelves unread, when there are so many hungry
minds going unfed through life.”
Mrs. Beckwith had waxed enthusiastic, as was her wont when books
were her subject; but she had succeeded in banishing the dolorous
expression from her daughter’s face and the forebodings which had
troubled her from her own mind. She rose and fastened her
stretcher of silken thread in the southern window, and then she
went out, remarking: “It is time I looked after Robert. He has been
ominously quiet ever since breakfast-time.”
She sought him in the poultry-house, where, despite his fear of
snakes, he passed much of his time watching the sitting hens with
which Miss Brook had stocked his establishment. He repaired thither
each morning with a firm belief that nature must work a miracle on
his behalf, and that the ordinary three weeks of time required to
change eggs into chickens would be shortened to one, “’cause no
little boy ever wanted chicks so bad.”
“Robert!” called the mother, entering the little house.
There was no reply.
“I wonder, would he disobey me and go fishing or swimming after he
had promised not!”
One of the prospective mother biddies clucked loudly as if to
suggest, “No strangers allowed!” and Mrs. Beckwith retreated.
Just outside the yard she met Mr. Dolloway. “Good-morning, ma’am.
Where’s that boy?”
“I’m looking for him now.”
“H’m-m! I came to tell him he’d probably addled all them eggs a
handling ’em so much, and I’d brought him a few fresh ones.
Yesterday he took a whole nest full and punched a pin-hole in ’em,
to see the chicks inside. He’s—he’s a great one!”
Mr. Dolloway’s tone betokened more amusement than anger, and
Mrs. Beckwith eagerly exclaimed: “I was sure you would like my little
son, after you understood him thoroughly.”
“H’m-m! I defy anybody to do that, ma’am,—understand him,
begging your pardon for my freedom. Ho—hello! What—what— Look
yonder!”
The mother wheeled about anxiously, and followed her neighbor’s
gaze houseward. There on the ridge-pole of the old roof sat the lad
they sought. The house was three stories high in one part, but
sloped downward to within a few feet of the ground on the
“Revolutionary” side, after the fashion of buildings of that period.
This long slope of roof was on the north, and almost directly below
the eaves was the cistern, which for purposes of cleaning and
repairing was that morning uncovered.
“Oh! my boy! if he should slip!”
“As he probably will.”
At that instant Robert stood up to examine the ancient weather-cock
which had attracted him to his perilous perch, and forgetting where
he was began to twist the dingy “chanticleer” upon its rod.
Suddenly there was a rush, a cry—a sudden downward flash of
knickerbockered legs, and “Humpty-Dumpty” had disappeared in the
cistern.
 CHAPTER XIV.
APIS MELLIFICA.

“GOOD-MORNING, my dear, good-morning. I am pleased to see you

so punctual.”
Bonny looked up brightly. There was surely nothing stern or
forbidding about the fine old face which smiled genially upon her
from the museum window, and she was instantly ashamed of her
earlier “dread” concerning the new task that day to be begun.
“Good-morning, Mr. Brook. Of course I would be punctual this first
day. The trouble will be to keep it up. I’m a lazy sort of a girl.”
“Humph! I’ve seen no evidence of it heretofore, and I shall not
watch for faults. How is the good little mother this morning?”
“Well; really growing stronger, thank you. I have her own word for
it.”
“Then we can get to work with a light heart. I’ve laid out a pile of it,
I assure you. Like many other people who defer what they should
not till over-late in life, now I’ve set myself the task I am all
impatience to get through it. Come in, please.”
Beatrice knew the way well enough. Till that morning the great
apartment had been a fascinating wonderland to her, with its rows of
shelves and cases, each filled with creatures curious, ugly, or
beautiful; and the thought that she was now to learn all about them
in a business way did appear quite formidable. However, she
reminded herself of her mother’s frequent advice, “Take one thing at
a time,” and found comfort in the knowledge that she could write of
only one insect at one instant. Collectively they might be something
dreadful; individually they were poor little dried-up affairs!
Then her eye fell upon the table by the opposite window and her
face brightened. “The typewriter! When did it come?”
“Last evening. The man brought it down from Newburgh and put it
into working order for you. I am anxious to see you use it. He did so
for a moment, but I did not like to detain him. It is a wonderful
instrument, is it not?”
“I suppose so. Anyway I am very fond of using it.” The girl sat down
before the firm little table which the machine agent had prepared for
her, and, placing a sheet of paper in position, clicked off Mr. Brook’s
name and address with a rapidity and correctness which delighted
him.
“Really, my dear! That is fine! If you can do as well with the rest as
with that, you will be a grand success, you will, indeed.”
“But I shall not be able. We may as well face that matter first as last.
At the beginning I shall be very stupid. I shall spell every Latin name
wrong, perhaps, and not know the difference.”
“Ah, my dear! Do you think I have not prepared for that? Why, you
must know that the change of a single letter in some names or
descriptions would result in the utmost confusion; and in any
scientific work perfect orthography is absolutely necessary. But I
have picked up a few little primers on the subject of our task, and
you are to consult them continually. You will soon see that there is a
general principle in the construction of all terms, and that spelling
Latin is, after all, easier than spelling English. It is to me. I
frequently have to pause to think out an English word, oftentimes
the simpler the more puzzling, but a Latin one never.”
“Happy mortal—I mean, sir! I fear I shall be a terrible trial to you.
And you must know that you can send me about my business at the
first blunder, if you feel so inclined. Dear me! That doesn’t sound
right! What I want to say, only I am such an old stupid, is: Please do
not let your friendship for us prevent your dismissing me if I don’t
suit you.”
“Why! Why, my dear!” exclaimed Mr. Brook, very much surprised. “I
thought you were a girl whose vocabulary did not contain the word
‘fail.’”
“It used to be that way. But now—I guess I’m not as conceited as I
was awhile ago. The older I get the less I feel that I know. And—”
“Tut, tut! Though that is an excellent state of things, too. There is
hope of a person conscious of his own deficiencies. But all this in
due time. By the way, have you yet discovered the secret of the
linden-trees, the source of your wealth that is to be?”
Beatrice opened her eyes widely at this abrupt change of subject,
but answered promptly: “Oh, no, indeed! I had almost forgotten
that! But what lovely trees they are! They will soon be in bloom!”
“So I suppose, so I suppose. Therefore we will make our first lesson,
or our first day’s work, upon the Apis mellifica. You are upon my
mind; after I get your affairs settled more satisfactorily, I shall be
better able to attend to my own. Yes, yes, that matter first; the
other in due time.”
Bonny could not conceal her astonishment. How Mr. Brook’s talk did
wander, from technical and scientific terms to a fable of hidden
wealth in a row of old trees! She wondered if her mother had ever
observed anything like this, and if that were what she meant when
she so earnestly counselled patience. Was her beloved old friend in
his second childhood?
He lifted his bright eyes from the page he had been reading and
caught her own questioning gaze. “Out with it, my dear, out with it!
How have I surprised you?”
The young secretary hesitated, then answered frankly, “I did not see
the connection between my ‘treasure’ and your science.”
“If you are not a deal more stupid than I have taken you to be, you
will see it within the next few hours. And you need not fear, I am all
right mentally, my dear; thank God, quite sound-minded, if I am an
octogenarian.” And the queer old gentleman crossed the room,
laughing so mischievously that Bonny was forced to join him, though
believing that she was making mirth at her own expense.
Mr. Brook came back to his own table beside that of his secretary,
bearing an open case of what she considered very uninteresting
“dried bugs,” and placing the case before her pointed to one and
another of the objects therein with kindling enthusiasm. “These are
different specimens of the Apis, in perfect forms, in abnormal ones,
in portions, and groups. Every organ is here represented; this
minute affair, for instance. Ah! you cannot see it as it is, even with
your young eyes. Take the magnifier. See? Isn’t it wonderful?”
Beatrice took the magnifying-glass and examined the speck of insect
anatomy which her employer had designated. “Why, it looks like a
little saw!”
“Exactly, exactly. A saw so tiny, yet so thorough in its work that it
can pierce a heavy buckskin glove if the mechanic who wields it so
desires. Ah! I have been studying these little fellows for many years,
yet I am freshly amazed each time I see them.”
The enthusiasm was inspiring. Bonny took up the different cards
from the case, and began to examine them through the microscope.
She had always loved to watch living creatures, but dead ones had
heretofore held little interest for her. She found her ideas rapidly
changing. “Has this queer little saw a name, a common name, that
would mean something to me?”
“Certainly. It is a sting, a bee’s sting. Apis mellifica is honey-bee.”
“And it is that mite of a thing which hurts?”
“Exactly. A point so small that the finest cambric needle is larger, yet
look! Here are the two hollows between the saws which, lying face
to face, form a pipe for the poison to flow through. This is the
poison bag. These curious little affairs are the handles which pump
the sting, the saws, down into the flesh. One side first, making a
wedge-like opening, through which the other saw is promptly forced.
Then by another motion down goes the fluid which poisons, or the
sac itself is pushed into the wound. Talk about guns and cannons!
Here you have something far more complete than either, and in
proportion to its size far more dreadful in its effects. Why, one of
these stings has sometimes killed a man, though I did not mean to
refer to that! Such cases are rare, indeed. And usually a bee-sting
amounts to very little.”
“Well, but you need not reassure me, dear Mr. Brook! After this
exhibition I shall not interfere with any bees whose acquaintance I
may chance to make.”
“Don’t be too positive, my dear, don’t be too positive. You may have
to change your mind.”
“Why, I thought our work lay among dead things, all these of your
collection. I did not know that we were to hunt among new fields.”
“We are not; but you may, of your own accord, before I have done
with you. I hope so. Yes, I foresee that you will often leave me in
the midst of a very busy day just because of my friend Apis, alive
and buzzing.”
Again that gay laugh, and again Beatrice’s utter mystification.
“Well, well, well. Suppose we read a bit of natural history this
morning; or, rather, I will dictate to you and you take down what I
have to say. I am writing a little treatise on the fellow Apis,—
something quite apart from the collection, as a whole. I mean to
publish it for the benefit of just such bright girls and boys as you and
your brothers. Yes; I’ll give you a chapter now.”
There was more business in this arrangement, and it was business
which Bonny had come for; so she rapidly made ready, and with
fingers poised above the keys of her machine waited for the opening
sentence.
“‘Foods for the Honey-bee.’ That is the chapter title, and its number
is seven. The other half-dozen are already prepared, though in my
own handwriting. You will have to copy them sometime, before
publication; but—ready?”
“Quite.”
The dictation began. Mr. Brook found it a little difficult to keep his
current of thought as clear as usual, for the racket of the typewriter
was so foreign to his accustomed quiet; and besides this the
frequent liftings of the typewritist’s head, the amused glances of her
dark eyes, were so distracting to the lover of young folks that he felt
more than half inclined to give up the task for a while and go out
upon a search for the new “subjects” they two might find together.
However, he did his best, and at the end of a few paragraphs Bonny
sprang up from her chair in a state of great excitement.
“Oh! I’ve guessed it, I have, I have! I know what my ‘source of
wealth’ will be!”
“Hoity, toity! I thought you were writing from dictation!” returned
her old patron, smiling quite as brightly as herself.
“Yes, sir. Oh, yes, in a minute. Just, please, let me ask you one or
two things. May I? Can I?”
“How am I to prevent a headstrong young woman like yourself?”
“Do you believe I could manage them all myself?”
“Manage what? Here, Joanna, please!” called the pleased old
gentleman to his sister crossing the veranda.
Miss Brook came and leaned upon the window-ledge, and smiled in
upon them. “Well, I must say I don’t know which is the more
enthusiastic! Brother, dear, how old are you? Do you contemplate
going into the business for yourself?”
“Eighty, my dear, eighty, if a day! But look at the child! Hear her ask
me, ‘Can she? May she?’ when already she is feeling herself a
millionaire.”
 “‘Let me ask you one or two things. May I?’”
All this time not a word which an outsider could have understood
had been spoken; and as this thought flashed over Bonny she
laughed again. “Dear Mr. Brook, I thought at first that you were ‘not
quite yourself’ this morning! Beg pardon, but I did. And now I am as
bad. Maybe, after all, we are not talking about the same thing.”
“Maybe not! Oh! I dare say not,” replied the merry old gentleman,
pacing rapidly back and forth.
“And quite difficult for me, I think!” added Miss Joanna, smiling too.
“Will you please tell me your thought, Mr. Brook?” asked Beatrice,
eagerly.
“With pleasure. I would have done so long ago, only you didn’t ask
it. I think the scheme I have formulated—”
“But I have not heard it in words, Brother!”
“The scheme I have formulated, Joanna, will keep this growing girl
out of doors, as she should be, and make a wise recreation after her
hours of labor here. It will teach her more of real natural history
than I can preach to her, and will make her far more interested in
my work. It will fill her small pocket with some needed extra cash.
Last, but not least, it will give that unquiet small brother of hers a
chance to get rid of his surplus energy in a legitimate way. He can
do all the tree-climbing, for which I should, if I were a girl with such
an irrepressible relative, give him a small share in the business. It—
Go on, Miss. How can you wish to interrupt such a flow of
argument?”
As if he had been the grandfather he had himself suggested, Bonny
crossed swiftly to her employer’s side and laid her hand upon his
shoulder. “Because I thank you for showing me how to help myself.
The one word which will tell my thought is—”
At that moment Mr. Dolloway’s solemn face appeared above Miss
Joanna’s own with such suddenness that Bonny’s “word” waited for
his. He had evidently come freighted with ill news.
“Oh, sir, what is it? Is my mother—”
Mr. Dolloway shook his head dolefully, but a genuine distress was in
the gesture. “’Tain’t your mother, Miss Beatrice. It’s that pesky, dear
little brother of yours.”
“What’s happened him? Anything new? The hens?”
“Hens! If it was only hens! But hens it isn’t this time. It’s roofs an’
cisterns an’ bangs an’ black-an’-blues. If he ain’t dead—”
Poor Bonny did not pause to remember that she was a salaried
employee, but, without leave or license, darted from the house and
across the fields with an aching heart.
 CHAPTER XV.
STREAKS OF HUMAN NATURE.

“IT must be something dreadful this time! Roland has left his
ploughing, and the old horse is walking about as she pleases. The
men are not working upon the cistern, and— Can it be he is
drowned?”
These thoughts flashed through the sister’s mind as she hurried
homeward, past the field of sweet-smelling, freshly turned sods
where her brother’s plough stood idly in the furrow; and as she burst
into the sitting-room her face was white and her breath well spent.
But nothing so very dreadful met her gaze. Robert was, indeed, lying
upon the lounge well wrapped in blankets, but his dark eyes were
the first to discover Bonny’s entrance, and his voice the one to
demand: “What you home for, Bon?”
“Why—why—you precious darling! Aren’t you killed?”
“Wull—wull—I guess not! What’s the matter with you, anyway?
What’s the matter with everybody? Can’t a feller slide offen a roof
’ithout stirrin’ up the hull neighborhood, I’d like to know!”
Belle had been sitting, watching the patient, but at this outburst of
remonstrance she laughed and left her post. “I’ll find Mother now,
and tell her you’ve come in. I think Bob is all right, anyway.”
“Course I am. Who said I wasn’t?”
“Your ‘chum,’ Mr. Dolloway.”
“H’m-m! What’d he say?”
“I don’t remember exactly. Oh, yes, I do, too. He said ‘roofs,’
‘cisterns,’ ‘bangs,’ ‘blacks and blues,’ etc. What did he mean?”
“Nothin’. Only I slid offen the roof into the cistern. Nen he an’ my
mother come an’ made a dretful time. They said I was ’bout killed,
but I wasn’t. An’ my mother she sent Roland off fer a doctor-man,
’cause she’s boun’ I’ve broke some o’ my insides. She says a feller
couldn’t jest slide that little bit ’ithout hurtin’ hisself somehow. It
wasn’t no use I tellin’ her. Roland went quick as lightnin’. Nen the
carpenter an’ mortar man they went away to get some more stuff to
fix the thing up so’s I can’t slide in no more; an’ that’s all.”
“All! Robert, you certainly will scare my mother to death with your
behavior, even if you don’t get killed yourself. And if you’re not hurt,
why are you lying here wrapped up this fashion?”
“’Cause my mother made me. What’s more, she took my clothes
away, an’ says they’ve got to be washed an’ I’ll have ter lie still till
they dry. I think it’s mean I can’t wear my Sunday ones; don’t you?”
“I think it is a wise precaution. But how in the world did you manage
to slide off the roof? What were you doing up there? Tell me the
whole story.”
“I wanted ter make the rooster turn round faster. He’s rusty on his
hinges, Mr. Dolloway says, ’cause he, the rooster, is awful old, old as
Mr. Brook maybe. An’ I got my mother’s oil-can, ’cause he said old
things needs oilin’, an’ I clumb up. I was goin’ to s’prise you all, an’—
It’s mean. I can climb like anything now, Bon.”
“How did you fall? On your head?”
“Pooh! What fools girls is! If I’d ’a’ fell on my head, I would ’a’ been
hurt, you bet. But I just slid inter that pile o’ mortar the men had
mixed ter fix the cistern with. My feet went in clear up to my waist!
Nen, when my mother caught hold o’ me, she had a nawful job to
pull me out. She got all over dirt herself, too; so she’s got to have
her clothes washed too!”
“But the bruises? Where are they?”
Robert struggled to unwind himself from the folds of blanket in
which maternal anxiety had enswathed his plump little limbs and
displayed those members with a look of triumph.
“Shades of Jacob’s coat—Joseph’s, I mean! There is not an inch of
originally colored skin upon you! But see here, young man! Those
are not all new bruises; though, if Mr. Dolloway saw them, I don’t
wonder he thought you were about killed. Those are the scars of
many battles with misfortune, if I’m not much mistaken!”
“Wull, who said they wasn’t? That yeller an’ green patch, that come
the time I fell out the cherry-tree, the first day I got here. That—”
“Never mind the enumeration. You are beautifully mottled, sort of
like a tortoise-shell cat. And I’ve run away from my work, scared
poor Miss Joanna into a fit, and behaved altogether badly, just
because you slid off a roof! Now I must take my bit of lunch quickly
and get back. And, by the way, Bob, if you’ll promise not to do
anything more to plague Motherkin all this day till I get home again,
I’ll tell you a secret, a good one.”
The child’s face lighted eagerly, and a rash promise was on his
tongue’s end, but he bethought himself of the chrysanthemum affair
and paused in time. “Pooh! I s’pose it’s som’thin’ to get me inter
another scrape. Nen—”
“Don’t be so wise, my dear. I am going to tell my mother the first.
But I thought it would please you to know, too, and you could be
making happy plans while you were obliged to lie here. Heigho!
There comes Roland and somebody in a phaeton! The doctor, I
suppose. Now, my sweet, you’re in for it! I hope it will be a lesson to
you!”
“Oh, Bon, don’t go away! You wouldn’t leave a feller in a trouble,
would you? An’ if he should, mebbe he will, find I was smashed up
inside somewhere, how bad you’d feel about fersakin’ your poor little
brother, wouldn’t you? I—I wish you’d stay, Bon!”
“I must let the professional gentleman in first, then find my mother.
But if you behave like a little soldier he won’t hurt you very much,
not so very much!”
Beatrice felt a little guilty in frightening the unlucky child as she was
doing; still she believed that it might result in future relief to the rest
of the family, and persisted. Robert had never been placed under a
physician’s care before; for the innumerable bumps and bruises he
had suffered at the mischance of fate or his own mischief had been
cared for by maternal hands alone. Ditto all the childish diseases
with which he, in common with the rest of the juvenile world, had
been afflicted; and it was, perhaps, one of the reasons for the young
Beckwiths’ good health that their mother had been too poor to dose
them with drugs, but had relied as far as might be on Doctor Nature
instead.
“She must have been terribly frightened this time, to have sent for a
physician!” thought Beatrice, as she admitted the gentleman; and it
was not until she had questioned Isabelle that she learned how
serious the boy’s hurt had at first been supposed.
“He lay unconscious for more than an hour, Bonny; and I never saw
Mother so distressed. She thought he had been injured internally,
and could not rest until she had somebody examine him. Poor little
chap! he’ll be felt of from head to foot now; and I, too, hope it will
be a lesson to him. I actually fear he will be killed sometime in some
of these ‘accidents.’”
“Not a bit of it! At least I don’t think so now, though Mr. Dolloway
did frighten me. But what a pretty little luncheon you have set out!
Did you make that batch of biscuits, or Motherkin?”
“I—I myself. And, Bonny, I’m sorry I was so hateful about the
housework. Mother has been talking with me and showing me how I
can manage. She thinks after I have learned I may be almost as
quick as you; and if I plan my work systematically from day to day,
that I will be able to get some hours each day for painting or
sketching. If I do not have to give up all I dreamed, I shall not mind
it so much.”
Bonny threw her arms about her sister’s neck, and gave her a loving
kiss. “I think that’s splendid of you, Belle! I have wished I could do
both your share and that for which Mr. Brook has offered me
payment. But I cannot; and something I read the other night may be
a help to all of us. It was about ‘traditions,’ binding ourselves to do
just as everybody has settled is the best way for the majority to do.
I am not a lucid explainer, but it is like this: I’ve heard you quote
dear Miss Joanna for authority in housekeeping matters, country
housekeeping; and her servants say she is a ‘model.’ Certainly the
great mansion is always spick and span from top to bottom; but that
is for her, not for us. There are so many things we can let go, or
rather, never undertake, that are wholly unnecessary. The article
said that, given a perfect cleanliness, many other ideas about ‘dirt’
were just ‘fussiness.’ In the first place, she who wishes to do
something else with her time besides housekeeping should never
burden her rooms with knick-knacks. ‘Trash,’ that writer called the
lots of things one generally strews about on tables and shelves.
Every extra article put into a room means so much extra dusting and
cleaning, and so much time to do that in. And a lot more talk like
that. It seemed to me, when I had finished reading, that housework
might be made ever so much simpler and shorter if one studied how
in the same way one studies to learn anything else. For instance,
when I began my typewriting it seemed to me that I should never
be able to write fast enough to earn my salt; but after a while it
came easier, till, for a girl of my age, I really think I do quite well
both at that and lecturing! Don’t you?”
“I think you have certainly talked faster than you have eaten; but
the notion is a good one. It is ever so much like what Mother told
me this morning. Must you go? Won’t you wait to see her first?”
“I ought not. She is closeted with the doctor, and bent upon finding
broken bones somewhere about Bob’s anatomy. With that end in
view she will be unseeable for some time to come. And look! Roland
is chasing that nag, the first time I ever saw her gallop in her life!
Poor boy! Give him my kindest regards, accept the same for yourself,
and believe me, yours truly, Bon! Really, Belle, I think you’re
splendid, and your lunch was fine; and Roland is a pattern,—my
mother says so,—and Robert is the dearest, roughest, most exciting
little chap in the world. We are a brilliant family! And I have another
fine scheme which I will divulge to the assembled multitude this
evening. No; it’s not my scheme, either, it’s Mr. Brook’s; so, sure to
be right. Good-bye.”
“Farewell! But, say, Bonny!”
“Well?” turning upon the doorstep, with a bit of impatience showing
on her merry face.
“Do you talk all the time when you are at Mr. Brook’s, or—”
“Isabelle!” called Mrs. Beckwith’s voice from the sitting-room.
“Yes, Mother.”
“Please make a cup of tea and bring it to the doctor, with a plate of
biscuit. He has a long drive before him, and must not be let to go
without something.”
“Dear, dear me! My mother’s hospitality is something formidable!
The very first biscuits I ever made! And this tea doesn’t taste like
that we used to get in town! But if she had only a glass of cold
water and a bit of hard-tack, she’d offer it to the Queen of England,
with just that same easy grace. Well, one thing I foresee in the
country is the frequency of ‘droppers in,’ as Mr. Dolloway calls them.
But the next caller who comes shall have better biscuits than these,
even if Bonny did praise them. And after all, it’s rather pleasant to
think people are willing to be social with you, as country folks seem
inclined, without knowing all about your past life. That’s one thing I
like! And there’s something very pleasant in the word ‘neighbor.’ I
love to hear Miss Joanna say it, in her low voice; and if I am to be a
house-mistress I’m going to be a good ‘neighbor,’ too, with her for a
pattern as well as my little Motherkin.”
Whether the reflections with which Isabelle prepared her tray of
simple refreshments had anything to do with the grace of the
serving may be guessed; certainly, instead of the half-frown which
Mrs. Beckwith feared to see, the girl’s manner was so genial and
withal so modest that the plain fare acquired a keen relish for the
hungry physician, who had still many miles to drive before he could
find leisure for his own table; and he went away with the thought in
mind: “That family is an addition to the town. I like them. I like them
all, from the fragile-looking mother down to the rough little boy. But
he’s a shaver! I took good care to punch hardest on the sorest
places, for he needs a lesson! Well, that may be my first visit, but I
think it will not be my last to The Lindens, under the new régime!”
“Dear, I am pleased with you!” said Mrs. Beckwith, warmly, giving
her daughter a motherly caress. “I was afraid you would find it a
trial to be hospitable.”
“It was, Motherkin! But I—conquered.”
A second kiss followed the first, and Isabelle resolved that the next
tax put upon her “neighborliness” should not be matter of so much
surprise to her little mother.
“Is Bob all right?”
“Yes, fortunately, though he is badly scared. And he is the strangest
child. He will never climb upon that slippery roof again, but he is as
certain to do something quite as bad and not to be anticipated, the
moment he has his liberty. I wish there was a good school near; but
that is the drawback to this place.”
“Bonny used to be almost as ingenious for mischief, didn’t she? I
remember when some ‘flats’ were building on the block next our
home you forbade her ‘ever playing on that pile of lumber again.’
She never did, but she played on another pile which you hadn’t
mentioned and broke her arm. Still, she is a pretty good sort of a girl
now, and very clever, everybody says. She was the youngest, you
know, in our typewriting class, and I shouldn’t wonder if she were
the very first to get a situation.”
“Oh, yes, I have faith, perfect faith, in all my dear ones, Isabelle. But
now, if there are any more of those biscuits left, please call Roland
in and we will have our lunch. This has been one of the days when
housekeeping could not go by rule and measure.”
“I hope there won’t be many such!” exclaimed the daughter,
earnestly, and went to summon her elder brother. But she presently
returned with a disappointed face. “He says he cannot come, that he
does not care for anything to eat. He has lost so much time already,
and he had set out to accomplish just so much of that ploughing this
morning.”
There was a moment’s hesitation; then Mrs. Beckwith herself went
to the door and called pleasantly: “Roland! lunch is ready.”
“I’m not coming, Mother; I can’t.”
“You must. I cannot allow you to go without eating regularly, now
that you are doing hard labor for the first time in your life. Please
come at once, and do not hinder Isabelle any longer. She, too, has
had a disappointing morning in some ways.”
Now Roland was but seventeen. If he had been ten years older, he
would not have answered as he did. “Oh, Mother, I wish you’d let me
alone! I’m not a baby to be ordered like Robert! And I am not—
going—to eat—one mouthful till I—am ready.”
Isabelle could scarce believe that she heard the words, which were
only too distinct through the open doorway. “Humph! That’s what
comes of making a stripling the ‘head of the family.’ That sounds like
one of those young roosters of Miss Joanna’s trying to crow. That’s
what comes of sacrificing ‘womenkind to our young man.’ The horrid
thing!”
“Isabelle!”
Startled by the sharpness of pain which the tone evinced, Belle
looked swiftly into her mother’s eyes, and read there that the matter
was not a theme for jest.
“Poor little woman!” thought the girl, as she cleared away the lunch
things; “how it does hurt her when she discovers that we are coarse
barnyard fowls, after all! Poor little woman! She’d die for any of us, if
it were necessary, but we just make her heart ache with
‘cussedness’! H’m-m! I begin to think the Beckwiths are not that
brilliant collection of perfections Bonny claimed! Bob spoiled the
morning, and now Roland has finished the afternoon! Though I must
admit I began the list of sorrows by behaving like a selfish, silly
thing, crying over the dishes!”
For somehow upon the bright spring landscape a shadow seemed to
have fallen; and though Roland carried his point and finished the
number of furrows he desired, the sods he turned no longer greeted
his nostrils with that sweet odor which had given him such pleasure
heretofore, and between himself and the ground appeared all
through that afternoon the gentle reproachful face of a mother
aggrieved.
 CHAPTER XVI.
A MODERN KING ARTHUR.

“The ploughman he’s a bonny lad,

His mind is ever true, jo;
His garters knit below his knee,
His bonnet it is blue, jo.
Then up wi’ my ploughman lad,
And hey my merry ploughman!
Of all the trades that I do ken,
Commend me to the ploughman.”
BONNY brought her song to an end beside her brother at the door of
the little stable, whither, at the close of the afternoon, he had guided
his horse; and though her rich young voice was music in his ears,
Roland turned toward his sister a face which did not respond to the
mirth of hers.
“Hello, Bon! Back? Well, how does it seem to be a day-laborer?”
“Ah! my laddie, how does it seem to be a ploughman? Prettier in
song than reality, eh? Why, Roland!”
“Well, what?”
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.”
“Stuff!”
“I tell you there isn’t anything the matter with—me. I’m not
accountable for other people’s whims.”
The lad dropped the head-stall, and Nan, set free of her harness,
walked quietly into her own place; while Beatrice, perching herself
upon the manger’s front, threw her arms about her brother’s neck
and gave him a resounding smack.
“There! That’s for ‘my ploughman, my jo’! Say, my dear, you have
the heart-ache!”
“Don’t bother, Bon!”
“I’d rather bother Roland! What is it, Laureate? You will have to tell
me sometime, you know; you might as well now. Besides, I’m dying
to tell you something in return.”
“Well, tell. Then, maybe—”
“‘A swarm of bees in May is worth a load of hay!’ How did you
guess?”
“Guess what? I wish you wouldn’t be silly, Bon. My head aches, I’m
awfully tired, and I’m crosser than cross.”
“That last is an axiom,—a self-evident fact, you know; and I’m sorry
for the head, but sorrier for the heart. Something has gone wrong,
ever so far wrong. What is it, Bubsey?”
“Beatrice, if you don’t stop using that ridiculous name for me, I’ll—”
“Kiss me, Roland, and make up. I declare it makes me feel as down-
spirited as Mr. Dolloway in a rheumatic attack to come home all full
of my scheme and have you throw cold water on me this way.
Really, dear, you must tell me. You know I always tease till I find
out.”
Roland looked at her angrily; but there was something so genuinely
loving and sympathetic in the piquant face before him that he felt
moved to unburden his mind of the load it had carried. Not a very
big load, some lads might think, but, to a nature as earnest and
chivalrous as Roland Beckwith’s, quite bitter enough. “Well, then, I
have behaved outrageously to my mother.”
“Roland—Beckwith! You!”
In two minutes the little story had been told.
“What did Motherkin say?”
“Not one word. If she’d only scold!”
“No; that’s one disobliging thing about our mother. I ‘sym,’ dear; I’ve
been there myself. I’ve often felt as if a good, downright nagging
wouldn’t hurt one-thousandth part as much as one of those
astonished glances of hers. They cut like a knife just home from the
sharpener’s. Well, so you didn’t have any luncheon?”
“I didn’t want any; I couldn’t have eaten it, after that.”
“That accounts for the headache; so both head and heart pains are
settled for. Now, the cure. Come along with me.”
“No, I’d rather not. If Mother happened out here, I’d talk it over with
her. I’m a confounded idiot, Bon. I felt so big and manly, somehow,
thinking I had the whole ‘farm’ under my own control; and then I
was mad at that young one everlastingly getting into trouble for
somebody else to be plagued with; and I’d made up my mind to
accomplish just so much of the ploughing, no matter what
happened. And it is awful hard work. I wouldn’t acknowledge it
before; but it seems sometimes as if I couldn’t drag one foot after
the other. And look at my hands!”
The flood-gates of his pride and reserve opened at last, all the trials
and actual sufferings the untaught lad had experienced during his
brief experiment of farming tumbled over Roland’s lips in a torrent of
words. He felt perfectly secure in making these confidences, for
whatever her faults might be, Beatrice “never blabbed,” and she
loved him so dearly that all he felt was shared by her in almost a
stronger degree. When he had finished there were tears in her
bright eyes; and she forced Roland to take a portion of the sharp-
edged seat she occupied, so that she might “cuddle to him” with her
warm sympathy.
“I’ll tell you what it is, Laureate! Brother Dolloway is right! ‘Life isn’t
all catnip! They’s consid’able burdock an’ puss’ley mixed through it.’
But we’ve got to get along with it the best we can; and all the
matter with us is we’re too ‘all-fired’ smart!”
“Bon! don’t laugh!”
“If I don’t I shall cry; and I’m only copying my respected mother
when I say I’d ‘ruther laugh.’ But I mean it. We’re smart. We’re
dangerously clever, and we know it; that’s all the trouble. You are a
seventeen-year-older and you’ve been attempting to do and to be a
grown-up man,—I mean, to do what a man long trained to hard
work would do; and that has made you feel as if you were a man in
every respect. If you can just get back to be Roland the lad, you’ll be
all right. And I’m not a-preachin’ no sermons what I isn’t willin’ ter
take home to myself. No, sir. I’ve been that conceited an’ ‘sot up’
that I actually felt as if there could nobody take my place at home;
yet at the same time there was nobody could take my place abroad,
so to speak, and abroad being Mr. Brook’s study. But I’ve been a
dunce. All I have to do for Mr. Brook anybody with a reasonable
amount of intelligence—not so much as mine, of course! but an
ordinary capacity, like anybody’s not a Beckwith—could do. I made
heaps of blunders when we really set to work this afternoon, and my
blessed old gentleman came mighty near losing his temper. He didn’t
quite lose it, however, though he danced around on the edge of the
precipice for a few minutes, and it would have gone over, I think, if
Miss Joanna hadn’t appeared. It all came from my self-conceit, every
bit of it. I read a few rules for the orthography and then I thought I
knew it all; and off I dashed, hot foot, and had three whole pages to
rewrite, besides the annoyance to my employer of the wasted time.
But that won’t happen again. I’ve put on the brakes and I mean to
go slow next time, probably too slow; but—”
Roland knew that the only way to stem the current of Beatrice’s talk
was to interrupt, which he did without ceremony. “Do you suppose
my mother would come out here to me?”
“I suppose she would walk on her head if we asked her; but I
shouldn’t think it a manly thing to do.”
“Why not? I hate to make a talk before Belle and—everybody.”
“Roland, don’t think I’m hateful, but you didn’t hesitate to speak
horridly to Mother before ‘everybody,’ did you?”
“I was mad then.”
“And you’re sad now. No, a King Arthur kind of a fellow would go
just as manfully to make his apologies as he did to commit his error.
It will make Mother happy to hear your regret, no matter how you
express it; but it will make her proud as well if you do so openly.
Besides, what a shining example you will be to Bob-o’-Lincoln!”
“Dear little chap! I thought he was a goner, this morning. I tell you
he looked awful when we got him out of that mortar heap!”
“I should think he must! But if Nan has enough to eat, let’s go into
the peace-room and have a happy time. I do wonder, every time I’m
bad, why I can’t remember then how horrid it feels to be unhappy. I
never do, and good resolutions aren’t worth very much above par in
my case.”
For a moment Roland did not answer, but went about putting his
little stable into order for the night, and finding in the sense of
proprietorship this gave him a slight solace for his wounded pride.
For it was that, rather than actual repentance, which had tortured
him all that afternoon. His nature, prone to idealize everything, had
set up a standard of perfect gentlemanliness to be achieved, and the
thought that he had been so petty as to lose temper with a woman,
and that woman his mother, whom he was most bound to protect,
had mortified him intolerably. It may not have been the highest sort
of standard, but it was ennobling as far as it went.
When he could find no further excuse for loitering, he went to the
pump and begged his sister to dash a stream of cold water over his
aching temples; then rising, shook himself like a young water dog,
and strode valiantly out of the building.
Bonny did not glance at him again, but taking up her Scottish
melody went carolling into the house as if to herald a coming joy.
“Well, darling! Home again! After a long day of work. It is sweet of
you to come so gayly, for you must be very tired.”
“And it is perfectly lovely of you, Motherkin, to take each little bit of
decency in your offspring and magnify it into a virtue. But you’ll have
your reward, my Madonna! You’re going to have part of it—
instantly!” cried the girl, nodding her head sagely, and crossing
immediately to Robert’s lounge, where she dropped down and fell to
caressing that imprisoned piece of activity.
Roland did nothing by halves. He walked directly toward his mother,
and said in a clear voice, so that the dreaded “everybody” might
hear: “Mother, I beg your pardon. I behaved like a ruffian.”
The ready tears sprung to the mother’s eyes as her tall son bent to
kiss her, but she answered as she would have answered any other
who had trespassed upon good manners: “Don’t mention it, dear.
And I’m glad you are both in together, for Isabelle and I have been
experimenting in the kitchen, and by the odor from thence I think
our chicken-patties are done and ripe for eating!” Then she rose,
took the arm of her “knight,” and led the way to the table.
“Wull, wull, ain’t I a-goin’ ter have nothin’?” demanded the “invalid,”
indignantly, as Bonny rose also, and he was threatened with
apparent neglect.
“Mother, don’t you think it’s about time for Sunday clothes?” asked
that young person, coaxingly.
“Ye-s; if Robert will be—”
“I’ll be as good as a gold boy, Motherkin! I’ll be as good as Roland, if
I can!”
A general laugh greeted this promise, and under cover of it, Bonny
lifted her little brother from his couch of punishment and bore him
aloft, to return in about five minutes looking perfectly cherubic in a
clean face and the aforementioned holiday attire.
“Now,” said Bonny, after the supper things had been cleared away
and the little household had gathered before the blaze upon the