 entrance.
He patted Minny's neck, and said she was a bonny beast, and appeared as if he
wanted me to speak to him. I only told him to leave my horse alone, or else it
would kick him.
    He answered in his vulgar accent.
    It wouldn't do mitch hurt if it did; and surveyed its legs with a smile.
    I was half inclined to make it try; however, he moved off to open the door,
and, as he raised the latch, he looked up to the inscription above, and said,
with a stupid mixture of awkwardness, and elation:
    Miss Catherine! I can read yon, nah.
    Wonderful, I exclaimed. Pray let us hear you - you are grown clever!
    He spelt, and drawled over by syllables, the name -
    Hareton Earnshaw.
    And the figures? I cried, encouragingly, perceiving that he came to a dead
halt.
    I cannot tell them yet, he answered.
    Oh, you dunce! I said, laughing heartily at his failure.
    The fool stared, with a grin hovering about his lips, and a scowl gathering
over his eyes, as if uncertain whether he might not join in my mirth; whether it
were not pleasant familiarity, or what it really was, contempt.
    I settled his doubts by suddenly retrieving my gravity, and desiring him to
walk away, for I came to see Linton not him.
    He reddened - I saw that by the moonlight - dropped his hand from the latch,
and skulked off, a picture of mortified vanity. He imagined himself to be as
accomplished as Linton, I suppose, because he could spell his own name; and was
marvellously discomfited that I didn't think the same.«
    »Stop Miss Catherine, dear!« I interrupted. »I shall not scold, but I don't
like your conduct there. If you had remembered that Hareton was your cousin, as
much as Master Heathcliff, you would have felt how improper it was to behave in
that way. At least, it was praiseworthy ambition for him to desire to be as
accomplished as Linton: and probably he did not learn merely to show off; you
had made him ashamed of his ignorance, before: I have no doubt; and he wished to
remedy it and please you. To sneer at his imperfect attempt was very bad
breeding - had you been brought up in his circumstances, would you be less rude?
he was as quick and as intelligent a child as ever you were, and I'm hurt that
he should be despised now
