past.
First
,
Eton
.
All
in
that
picture
is
in
far
perspective
,
receding
,
diminutive
;
but
freshly
coloured
,
green
,
dewy
,
with
a
spring
sky
,
piled
with
glittering
yet
showery
clouds
;
for
my
childhood
was
not
all
sunshine
—
it
had
its
overcast
,
its
cold
,
its
stormy
hours
.
Second
,
X
—
—
,
huge
,
dingy
;
the
canvas
cracked
and
smoked
;
a
yellow
sky
,
sooty
clouds
;
no
sun
,
no
azure
;
the
verdure
of
the
suburbs
blighted
and
sullied
—
a
very
dreary
scene
.
Third
,
Belgium
;
and
I
will
pause
before
this
landscape
.
As
to
the
fourth
,
a
curtain
covers
it
,
which
I
may
hereafter
withdraw
,
or
may
not
,
as
suits
my
convenience
and
capacity
.
At
any
rate
,
for
the
present
it
must
hang
undisturbed
.
Belgium
!
name
unromantic
and
unpoetic
,
yet
name
that
whenever
uttered
has
in
my
ear
a
sound
,
in
my
heart
an
echo
,
such
as
no
other
assemblage
of
syllables
,
however
sweet
or
classic
,
can
produce
.
Belgium
!
I
repeat
the
word
,
now
as
I
sit
alone
near
midnight
.
It
stirs
my
world
of
the
past
like
a
summons
to
resurrection
;
the
graves
unclose
,
the
dead
are
raised
;
thoughts
,
feelings
,
memories
that
slept
,
are
seen
by
me
ascending
from
the
clouds
—
haloed
most
of
them
—
but
while
I
gaze
on
their
vapoury
forms
,
and
strive
to
ascertain
definitely
their
outline
,
the
sound
which
wakened
them
dies
,
and
they
sink
,
each
and
all
,
like
a
light
wreath
of
mist
,
absorbed
in
the
mould
,
recalled
to
urns
,
resealed
in
monuments
.
Farewell
,
luminous
phantoms
!
This
is
Belgium
,
reader
.
Look
!
don’t
call
the
picture
a
flat
or
a
dull
one
—
it
was
neither
flat
nor
dull
to
me
when
I
first
beheld
it
.
When
I
left
Ostend
on
a
mild
February
morning
,
and
found
myself
on
the
road
to
Brussels
,
nothing
could
look
vapid
to
me
.
My
sense
of
enjoyment
possessed
an
edge
whetted
to
the
finest
,
untouched
,
keen
,
exquisite
.
I
was
young
;
I
had
good
health
;
pleasure
and
I
had
never
met
;
no
indulgence
of
hers
had
enervated
or
sated
one
faculty
of
my
nature
.
Liberty
I
clasped
in
my
arms
for
the
first
time
,
and
the
influence
of
her
smile
and
embrace
revived
my
life
like
the
sun
and
the
west
wind
.
Yes
,
at
that
epoch
I
felt
like
a
morning
traveller
who
doubts
not
that
from
the
hill
he
is
ascending
he
shall
behold
a
glorious
sunrise
;
what
if
the
track
be
strait
,
steep
,
and
stony
?
he
sees
it
not
;
his
eyes
are
fixed
on
that
summit
,
flushed
already
,
flushed
and
gilded
,
and
having
gained
it
he
is
certain
of
the
scene
beyond
.
He
knows
that
the
sun
will
face
him
,
that
his
chariot
is
even
now
coming
over
the
eastern
horizon
,
and
that
the
herald
breeze
he
feels
on
his
cheek
is
opening
for
the
god’s
career
a
clear
,
vast
path
of
azure
,
amidst
clouds
soft
as
pearl
and
warm
as
flame
.
Difficulty
and
toil
were
to
be
my
lot
,
but
sustained
by
energy
,
drawn
on
by
hopes
as
bright
as
vague
,
I
deemed
such
a
lot
no
hardship
.
I
mounted
now
the
hill
in
shade
;
there
were
pebbles
,
inequalities
,
briars
in
my
path
,
but
my
eyes
were
fixed
on
the
crimson
peak
above
;
my
imagination
was
with
the
refulgent
firmament
beyond
,
and
I
thought
nothing
of
the
stones
turning
under
my
feet
,
or
of
the
thorns
scratching
my
face
and
hands
.
I
gazed
often
,
and
always
with
delight
,
from
the
window
of
the
diligence
(
these
,
be
it
remembered
,
were
not
the
days
of
trains
and
railroads
)
.
Well
!
and
what
did
I
see
?
I
will
tell
you
faithfully
.
Green
,
reedy
swamps
;
fields
fertile
but
flat
,
cultivated
in
patches
that
made
them
look
like
magnified
kitchen-gardens
;
belts
of
cut
trees
,
formal
as
pollard
willows
,
skirting
the
horizon
;
narrow
canals
,
gliding
slow
by
the
road-side
;
painted
Flemish
farmhouses
;
some
very
dirty
hovels
;
a
gray
,
dead
sky
;
wet
road
,
wet
fields
,
wet
house-tops
:
not
a
beautiful
,
scarcely
a
picturesque
object
met
my
eye
along
the
whole
route
;
yet
to
me
,
all
was
beautiful
,
all
was
more
than
picturesque
.
It
continued
fair
so
long
as
daylight
lasted
,
though
the
moisture
of
many
preceding
damp
days
had
sodden
the
whole
country
;
as
it
grew
dark
,
however
,
the
rain
recommenced
,
and
it
was
through
streaming
and
starless
darkness
my
eye
caught
the
first
gleam
of
the
lights
of
Brussels
.
I
saw
little
of
the
city
but
its
lights
that
night
.
Having
alighted
from
the
diligence
,
a
fiacre
conveyed
me
to
the
Hotel
de
—
—
,
where
I
had
been
advised
by
a
fellow-traveller
to
put
up
;
having
eaten
a
traveller’s
supper
,
I
retired
to
bed
,
and
slept
a
traveller’s
sleep
.
Next
morning
I
awoke
from
prolonged
and
sound
repose
with
the
impression
that
I
was
yet
in
X
—
—
,
and
perceiving
it
to
be
broad
daylight
I
started
up
,
imagining
that
I
had
overslept
myself
and
should
be
behind
time
at
the
counting-house
.
The
momentary
and
painful
sense
of
restraint
vanished
before
the
revived
and
reviving
consciousness
of
freedom
,
as
,
throwing
back
the
white
curtains
of
my
bed
,
I
looked
forth
into
a
wide
,
lofty
foreign
chamber
;
how
different
from
the
small
and
dingy
,
though
not
uncomfortable
,
apartment
I
had
occupied
for
a
night
or
two
at
a
respectable
inn
in
London
while
waiting
for
the
sailing
of
the
packet
!
Yet
far
be
it
from
me
to
profane
the
memory
of
that
little
dingy
room
!
It
,
too
,
is
dear
to
my
soul
;
for
there
,
as
I
lay
in
quiet
and
darkness
,
I
first
heard
the
great
bell
of
St.
Paul’s
telling
London
it
was
midnight
,
and
well
do
I
recall
the
deep
,
deliberate
tones
,
so
full
charged
with
colossal
phlegm
and
force
.
From
the
small
,
narrow
window
of
that
room
,
I
first
saw
the
dome
,
looming
through
a
London
mist
.
I
suppose
the
sensations
,
stirred
by
those
first
sounds
,
first
sights
,
are
felt
but
once
;
treasure
them
,
Memory
;
seal
them
in
urns
,
and
keep
them
in
safe
niches
!
Well
—
I
rose
.
Travellers
talk
of
the
apartments
in
foreign
dwellings
being
bare
and
uncomfortable
;
I
thought
my
chamber
looked
stately
and
cheerful
.
It
had
such
large
windows
—
croisées
that
opened
like
doors
,
with
such
broad
,
clear
panes
of
glass
;
such
a
great
looking-glass
stood
on
my
dressing-table
—
such
a
fine
mirror
glittered
over
the
mantelpiece
—
the
painted
floor
looked
so
clean
and
glossy
;
when
I
had
dressed
and
was
descending
the
stairs
,
the
broad
marble
steps
almost
awed
me
,
and
so
did
the
lofty
hall
into
which
they
conducted
.
On
the
first
landing
I
met
a
Flemish
housemaid
:
she
had
wooden
shoes
,
a
short
red
petticoat
,
a
printed
cotton
bedgown
,
her
face
was
broad
,
her
physiognomy
eminently
stupid
;
when
I
spoke
to
her
in
French
,
she
answered
me
in
Flemish
,
with
an
air
the
reverse
of
civil
;
yet
I
thought
her
charming
;
if
she
was
not
pretty
or
polite
,
she
was
,
I
conceived
,
very
picturesque
;
she
reminded
me
of
the
female
figures
in
certain
Dutch
paintings
I
had
seen
in
other
years
at
Seacombe
Hall
.
I
repaired
to
the
public
room
;
that
,
too
,
was
very
large
and
very
lofty
,
and
warmed
by
a
stove
;
the
floor
was
black
,
and
the
stove
was
black
,
and
most
of
the
furniture
was
black
:
yet
I
never
experienced
a
freer
sense
of
exhilaration
than
when
I
sat
down
at
a
very
long
,
black
table
(
covered
,
however
,
in
part
by
a
white
cloth
)
,
and
,
having
ordered
breakfast
,
began
to
pour
out
my
coffee
from
a
little
black
coffee-pot
.
The
stove
might
be
dismal-looking
to
some
eyes
,
not
to
mine
,
but
it
was
indisputably
very
warm
,
and
there
were
two
gentlemen
seated
by
it
talking
in
French
;
impossible
to
follow
their
rapid
utterance
,
or
comprehend
much
of
the
purport
of
what
they
said
—
yet
French
,
in
the
mouths
of
Frenchmen
,
or
Belgians
(
I
was
not
then
sensible
of
the
horrors
of
the
Belgian
accent
)
was
as
music
to
my
ears
.
One
of
these
gentlemen
presently
discerned
me
to
be
an
Englishman
—
no
doubt
from
the
fashion
in
which
I
addressed
the
waiter
;
for
I
would
persist
in
speaking
French
in
my
execrable
South-of-England
style
,
though
the
man
understood
English
.
The
gentleman
,
after
looking
towards
me
once
or
twice
,
politely
accosted
me
in
very
good
English
;
I
remember
I
wished
to
God
that
I
could
speak
French
as
well
;
his
fluency
and
correct
pronunciation
impressed
me
for
the
first
time
with
a
due
notion
of
the
cosmopolitan
character
of
the
capital
I
was
in
;
it
was
my
first
experience
of
that
skill
in
living
languages
I
afterwards
found
to
be
so
general
in
Brussels
.
I
lingered
over
my
breakfast
as
long
as
I
could
;
while
it
was
there
on
the
table
,
and
while
that
stranger
continued
talking
to
me
,
I
was
a
free
,
independent
traveller
;
but
at
last
the
things
were
removed
,
the
two
gentlemen
left
the
room
;
suddenly
the
illusion
ceased
,
reality
and
business
came
back
.
I
,
a
bondsman
just
released
from
the
yoke
,
freed
for
one
week
from
twenty-one
years
of
constraint
,
must
,
of
necessity
,
resume
the
fetters
of
dependency
.
Hardly
had
I
tasted
the
delight
of
being
without
a
master
when
duty
issued
her
stern
mandate
:
“
Go
forth
and
seek
another
service
.
”
I
never
linger
over
a
painful
and
necessary
task
;
I
never
take
pleasure
before
business
,
it
is
not
in
my
nature
to
do
so
;
impossible
to
enjoy
a
leisurely
walk
over
the
city
,
though
I
perceived
the
morning
was
very
fine
,
until
I
had
first
presented
Mr.
Hunsden’s
letter
of
introduction
,
and
got
fairly
on
to
the
track
of
a
new
situation
.
Wrenching
my
mind
from
liberty
and
delight
,
I
seized
my
hat
,
and
forced
my
reluctant
body
out
of
the
Hotel
de
—
—
into
the
foreign
street
.
It
was
a
fine
day
,
but
I
would
not
look
at
the
blue
sky
or
at
the
stately
houses
round
me
;
my
mind
was
bent
on
one
thing
,
finding
out
“
Mr.
Brown
,
Numero
—
,
Rue
Royale
,
”
for
so
my
letter
was
addressed
.
By
dint
of
inquiry
I
succeeded
;
I
stood
at
last
at
the
desired
door
,
knocked
,
asked
for
Mr.
Brown
,
and
was
admitted
.
Being
shown
into
a
small
breakfast-room
,
I
found
myself
in
the
presence
of
an
elderly
gentleman
—
very
grave
,
business-like
,
and
respectable-looking
.
I
presented
Mr.
Hunsden’s
letter
;
he
received
me
very
civilly
.
After
a
little
desultory
conversation
he
asked
me
if
there
was
anything
in
which
his
advice
or
experience
could
be
of
use
.
I
said
,
“
Yes
,
”
and
then
proceeded
to
tell
him
that
I
was
not
a
gentleman
of
fortune
,
travelling
for
pleasure
,
but
an
ex-counting-house
clerk
,
who
wanted
employment
of
some
kind
,
and
that
immediately
too
.
He
replied
that
as
a
friend
of
Mr.
Hunsden’s
he
would
be
willing
to
assist
me
as
well
as
he
could
.
After
some
meditation
he
named
a
place
in
a
mercantile
house
at
Liege
,
and
another
in
a
bookseller’s
shop
at
Louvain
.
“
Clerk
and
shopman
!
”
murmured
I
to
myself
.
“
No.
”
I
shook
my
head
.
I
had
tried
the
high
stool
;
I
hated
it
;
I
believed
there
were
other
occupations
that
would
suit
me
better
;
besides
I
did
not
wish
to
leave
Brussels
.
“
I
know
of
no
place
in
Brussels
,
”
answered
Mr.
Brown
,
“
unless
indeed
you
were
disposed
to
turn
your
attention
to
teaching
.
I
am
acquainted
with
the
director
of
a
large
establishment
who
is
in
want
of
a
professor
of
English
and
Latin
.
”
I
thought
two
minutes
,
then
I
seized
the
idea
eagerly
.
“
The
very
thing
,
sir
!
”
said
I
.
“
But
,
”
asked
he
,
“
do
you
understand
French
well
enough
to
teach
Belgian
boys
English
?
”
Fortunately
I
could
answer
this
question
in
the
affirmative
;
having
studied
French
under
a
Frenchman
,
I
could
speak
the
language
intelligibly
though
not
fluently
.
I
could
also
read
it
well
,
and
write
it
decently
.
“
Then
,
”
pursued
Mr.
Brown
,
“
I
think
I
can
promise
you
the
place
,
for
Monsieur
Pelet
will
not
refuse
a
professor
recommended
by
me
;
but
come
here
again
at
five
o’clock
this
afternoon
,
and
I
will
introduce
you
to
him
.
”
The
word
“
professor
”
struck
me
.
“
I
am
not
a
professor
,
”
said
I
.
“
Oh
,
”
returned
Mr.
Brown
,
“
professor
,
here
in
Belgium
,
means
a
teacher
,
that
is
all
.
”
My
conscience
thus
quieted
,
I
thanked
Mr.
Brown
,
and
,
for
the
present
,
withdrew
.
This
time
I
stepped
out
into
the
street
with
a
relieved
heart
;
the
task
I
had
imposed
on
myself
for
that
day
was
executed
.
I
might
now
take
some
hours
of
holiday
.
I
felt
free
to
look
up
.
For
the
first
time
I
remarked
the
sparkling
clearness
of
the
air
,
the
deep
blue
of
the
sky
,
the
gay
clean
aspect
of
the
white-washed
or
painted
houses
;
I
saw
what
a
fine
street
was
the
Rue
Royale
,
and
,
walking
leisurely
along
its
broad
pavement
,
I
continued
to
survey
its
stately
hotels
,
till
the
palisades
,
the
gates
,
and
trees
of
the
park
appearing
in
sight
,
offered
to
my
eye
a
new
attraction
.
I
remember
,
before
entering
the
park
,
I
stood
awhile
to
contemplate
the
statue
of
General
Belliard
,
and
then
I
advanced
to
the
top
of
the
great
staircase
just
beyond
,
and
I
looked
down
into
a
narrow
back
street
,
which
I
afterwards
learnt
was
called
the
Rue
d’Isabelle
.
I
well
recollect
that
my
eye
rested
on
the
green
door
of
a
rather
large
house
opposite
,
where
,
on
a
brass
plate
,
was
inscribed
,
“
Pensionnat
de
Demoiselles
.
”
Pensionnat
!
The
word
excited
an
uneasy
sensation
in
my
mind
;
it
seemed
to
speak
of
restraint
.
Some
of
the
demoiselles
,
externats
no
doubt
,
were
at
that
moment
issuing
from
the
door
—
I
looked
for
a
pretty
face
amongst
them
,
but
their
close
,
little
French
bonnets
hid
their
features
;
in
a
moment
they
were
gone
.
I
had
traversed
a
good
deal
of
Brussels
before
five
o’clock
arrived
,
but
punctually
as
that
hour
struck
I
was
again
in
the
Rue
Royale
.
Re-admitted
to
Mr.
Brown’s
breakfast-room
,
I
found
him
,
as
before
,
seated
at
the
table
,
and
he
was
not
alone
—
a
gentleman
stood
by
the
hearth
.
Two
words
of
introduction
designated
him
as
my
future
master
.
“
M
.
Pelet
,
Mr.
Crimsworth
;
Mr.
Crimsworth
,
M
.
Pelet
,
”
a
bow
on
each
side
finished
the
ceremony
.
I
don’t
know
what
sort
of
a
bow
I
made
;
an
ordinary
one
,
I
suppose
,
for
I
was
in
a
tranquil
,
commonplace
frame
of
mind
;
I
felt
none
of
the
agitation
which
had
troubled
my
first
interview
with
Edward
Crimsworth
.
M
.
Pelet’s
bow
was
extremely
polite
,
yet
not
theatrical
,
scarcely
French
;
he
and
I
were
presently
seated
opposite
to
each
other
.
In
a
pleasing
voice
,
low
,
and
,
out
of
consideration
to
my
foreign
ears
,
very
distinct
and
deliberate
,
M
.
Pelet
intimated
that
he
had
just
been
receiving
from
“
le
respectable
M
.
Brown
,
”
an
account
of
my
attainments
and
character
,
which
relieved
him
from
all
scruple
as
to
the
propriety
of
engaging
me
as
professor
of
English
and
Latin
in
his
establishment
;
nevertheless
,
for
form’s
sake
,
he
would
put
a
few
questions
to
test
my
powers
.
He
did
,
and
expressed
in
flattering
terms
his
satisfaction
at
my
answers
.
The
subject
of
salary
next
came
on
;
it
was
fixed
at
one
thousand
francs
per
annum
,
besides
board
and
lodging
.
“
And
in
addition
,
”
suggested
M
.
Pelet
,
“
as
there
will
be
some
hours
in
each
day
during
which
your
services
will
not
be
required
in
my
establishment
,
you
may
,
in
time
,
obtain
employment
in
other
seminaries
,
and
thus
turn
your
vacant
moments
to
profitable
account
.
”
I
thought
this
very
kind
,
and
indeed
I
found
afterwards
that
the
terms
on
which
M
.
Pelet
had
engaged
me
were
really
liberal
for
Brussels
;
instruction
being
extremely
cheap
there
on
account
of
the
number
of
teachers
.
It
was
further
arranged
that
I
should
be
installed
in
my
new
post
the
very
next
day
,
after
which
M
.
Pelet
and
I
parted
.
Well
,
and
what
was
he
like
?
and
what
were
my
impressions
concerning
him
?
He
was
a
man
of
about
forty
years
of
age
,
of
middle
size
,
and
rather
emaciated
figure
;
his
face
was
pale
,
his
cheeks
were
sunk
,
and
his
eyes
hollow
;
his
features
were
pleasing
and
regular
,
they
had
a
French
turn
(
for
M
.
Pelet
was
no
Fleming
,
but
a
Frenchman
both
by
birth
and
parentage
)
,
yet
the
degree
of
harshness
inseparable
from
Gallic
lineaments
was
,
in
his
case
,
softened
by
a
mild
blue
eye
,
and
a
melancholy
,
almost
suffering
,
expression
of
countenance
;
his
physiognomy
was
“
fine
et
spirituelle
.
”
I
use
two
French
words
because
they
define
better
than
any
English
terms
the
species
of
intelligence
with
which
his
features
were
imbued
.
He
was
altogether
an
interesting
and
prepossessing
personage
.
I
wondered
only
at
the
utter
absence
of
all
the
ordinary
characteristics
of
his
profession
,
and
almost
feared
he
could
not
be
stern
and
resolute
enough
for
a
schoolmaster
.
Externally
at
least
M
.
Pelet
presented
an
absolute
contrast
to
my
late
master
,
Edward
Crimsworth
.
Influenced
by
the
impression
I
had
received
of
his
gentleness
,
I
was
a
good
deal
surprised
when
,
on
arriving
the
next
day
at
my
new
employer’s
house
,
and
being
admitted
to
a
first
view
of
what
was
to
be
the
sphere
of
my
future
labours
,
namely
the
large
,
lofty
,
and
well-lighted
schoolrooms
,
I
beheld
a
numerous
assemblage
of
pupils
,
boys
of
course
,
whose
collective
appearance
showed
all
the
signs
of
a
full
,
flourishing
,
and
well-disciplined
seminary
.
As
I
traversed
the
classes
in
company
with
M
.
Pelet
,
a
profound
silence
reigned
on
all
sides
,
and
if
by
chance
a
murmur
or
a
whisper
arose
,
one
glance
from
the
pensive
eye
of
this
most
gentle
pedagogue
stilled
it
instantly
.
It
was
astonishing
,
I
thought
,
how
so
mild
a
check
could
prove
so
effectual
.
When
I
had
perambulated
the
length
and
breadth
of
the
classes
,
M
.
Pelet
turned
and
said
to
me
—
“
Would
you
object
to
taking
the
boys
as
they
are
,
and
testing
their
proficiency
in
English
?
”
The
proposal
was
unexpected
.
I
had
thought
I
should
have
been
allowed
at
least
three
days
to
prepare
;
but
it
is
a
bad
omen
to
commence
any
career
by
hesitation
,
so
I
just
stepped
to
the
professor’s
desk
near
which
we
stood
,
and
faced
the
circle
of
my
pupils
.
I
took
a
moment
to
collect
my
thoughts
,
and
likewise
to
frame
in
French
the
sentence
by
which
I
proposed
to
open
business
.
I
made
it
as
short
as
possible
:
—
“
Messieurs
,
prenez
vos
livres
de
lecture
.
”
“
Anglais
ou
Francais
,
monsieur
?
”
demanded
a
thickset
,
moon-faced
young
Flamand
in
a
blouse
.
The
answer
was
fortunately
easy
:
—
“
Anglais
.
”
I
determined
to
give
myself
as
little
trouble
as
possible
in
this
lesson
;
it
would
not
do
yet
to
trust
my
unpractised
tongue
with
the
delivery
of
explanations
;
my
accent
and
idiom
would
be
too
open
to
the
criticisms
of
the
young
gentlemen
before
me
,
relative
to
whom
I
felt
already
it
would
be
necessary
at
once
to
take
up
an
advantageous
position
,
and
I
proceeded
to
employ
means
accordingly
.
“
Commencez
!
”
cried
I
,
when
they
had
all
produced
their
books
.
The
moon-faced
youth
(
by
name
Jules
Vanderkelkov
,
as
I
afterwards
learnt
)
took
the
first
sentence
.
The
“
livre
de
lecture
”
was
the
“
Vicar
of
Wakefield
,
”
much
used
in
foreign
schools
because
it
is
supposed
to
contain
prime
samples
of
conversational
English
;
it
might
,
however
,
have
been
a
Runic
scroll
for
any
resemblance
the
words
,
as
enunciated
by
Jules
,
bore
to
the
language
in
ordinary
use
amongst
the
natives
of
Great
Britain
.
My
God
!
how
he
did
snuffle
,
snort
,
and
wheeze
!
All
he
said
was
said
in
his
throat
and
nose
,
for
it
is
thus
the
Flamands
speak
,
but
I
heard
him
to
the
end
of
his
paragraph
without
proffering
a
word
of
correction
,
whereat
he
looked
vastly
self-complacent
,
convinced
,
no
doubt
,
that
he
had
acquitted
himself
like
a
real
born
and
bred
“
Anglais
.
”
In
the
same
unmoved
silence
I
listened
to
a
dozen
in
rotation
,
and
when
the
twelfth
had
concluded
with
splutter
,
hiss
,
and
mumble
,
I
solemnly
laid
down
the
book
.
“
Arretez
!
”
said
I
.
There
was
a
pause
,
during
which
I
regarded
them
all
with
a
steady
and
somewhat
stern
gaze
;
a
dog
,
if
stared
at
hard
enough
and
long
enough
,
will
show
symptoms
of
embarrassment
,
and
so
at
length
did
my
bench
of
Belgians
.
Perceiving
that
some
of
the
faces
before
me
were
beginning
to
look
sullen
,
and
others
ashamed
,
I
slowly
joined
my
hands
,
and
ejaculated
in
a
deep
“
voix
de
poitrine
”
—
“
Comme
c’est
affreux
!
”
They
looked
at
each
other
,
pouted
,
coloured
,
swung
their
heels
;
they
were
not
pleased
,
I
saw
,
but
they
were
impressed
,
and
in
the
way
I
wished
them
to
be
.
Having
thus
taken
them
down
a
peg
in
their
self-conceit
,
the
next
step
was
to
raise
myself
in
their
estimation
;
not
a
very
easy
thing
,
considering
that
I
hardly
dared
to
speak
for
fear
of
betraying
my
own
deficiencies
.
“
Ecoutez
,
messieurs
!
”
said
I
,
and
I
endeavoured
to
throw
into
my
accents
the
compassionate
tone
of
a
superior
being
,
who
,
touched
by
the
extremity
of
the
helplessness
,
which
at
first
only
excited
his
scorn
,
deigns
at
length
to
bestow
aid
.
I
then
began
at
the
very
beginning
of
the
“
Vicar
of
Wakefield
,
”
and
read
,
in
a
slow
,
distinct
voice
,
some
twenty
pages
,
they
all
the
while
sitting
mute
and
listening
with
fixed
attention
;
by
the
time
I
had
done
nearly
an
hour
had
elapsed
.
I
then
rose
and
said
:
—
“
C’est
assez
pour
aujourd’hui
,
messieurs
;
demain
nous
recommencerons
,
et
j’espere
que
tout
ira
bien
.
”
With
this
oracular
sentence
I
bowed
,
and
in
company
with
M
.
Pelet
quitted
the
school-room
.
“
C’est
bien
!
c’est
tres
bien
!
”
said
my
principal
as
we
entered
his
parlour
.
“
Je
vois
que
monsieur
a
de
l’adresse
;
cela
,
me
plait
,
car
,
dans
l’instruction
,
l’adresse
fait
tout
autant
que
le
savoir
.
”
From
the
parlour
M
.
Pelet
conducted
me
to
my
apartment
,
my
“
chambre
,
”
as
Monsieur
said
with
a
certain
air
of
complacency
.
It
was
a
very
small
room
,
with
an
excessively
small
bed
,
but
M
.
Pelet
gave
me
to
understand
that
I
was
to
occupy
it
quite
alone
,
which
was
of
course
a
great
comfort
.
Yet
,
though
so
limited
in
dimensions
,
it
had
two
windows
.
Light
not
being
taxed
in
Belgium
,
the
people
never
grudge
its
admission
into
their
houses
;
just
here
,
however
,
this
observation
is
not
very
a
propos
,
for
one
of
these
windows
was
boarded
up
;
the
open
windows
looked
into
the
boys’
playground
.
I
glanced
at
the
other
,
as
wondering
what
aspect
it
would
present
if
disencumbered
of
the
boards
.
M
.
Pelet
read
,
I
suppose
,
the
expression
of
my
eye
;
he
explained
:
—
“
La
fenêtre
fermée
donne
sur
un
jardin
appartenant
à
un
pensionnat
de
demoiselles
,
”
said
he
,
“
et
les
convenances
exigent
—
enfin
,
vous
comprenez
—
n’est-ce
pas
,
monsieur
?
”
“
Oui
,
oui
,
”
was
my
reply
,
and
I
looked
of
course
quite
satisfied
;
but
when
M
.
Pelet
had
retired
and
closed
the
door
after
him
,
the
first
thing
I
did
was
to
scrutinize
closely
the
nailed
boards
,
hoping
to
find
some
chink
or
crevice
which
I
might
enlarge
,
and
so
get
a
peep
at
the
consecrated
ground
.
My
researches
were
vain
,
for
the
boards
were
well
joined
and
strongly
nailed
.
It
is
astonishing
how
disappointed
I
felt
.
I
thought
it
would
have
been
so
pleasant
to
have
looked
out
upon
a
garden
planted
with
flowers
and
trees
,
so
amusing
to
have
watched
the
demoiselles
at
their
play
;
to
have
studied
female
character
in
a
variety
of
phases
,
myself
the
while
sheltered
from
view
by
a
modest
muslin
curtain
,
whereas
,
owing
doubtless
to
the
absurd
scruples
of
some
old
duenna
of
a
directress
,
I
had
now
only
the
option
of
looking
at
a
bare
gravelled
court
,
with
an
enormous
“
pas
de
geant
”
in
the
middle
,
and
the
monotonous
walls
and
windows
of
a
boys’
school-house
round
.
Not
only
then
,
but
many
a
time
after
,
especially
in
moments
of
weariness
and
low
spirits
,
did
I
look
with
dissatisfied
eyes
on
that
most
tantalizing
board
,
longing
to
tear
it
away
and
get
a
glimpse
of
the
green
region
which
I
imagined
to
lie
beyond
.
I
knew
a
tree
grew
close
up
to
the
window
,
for
though
there
were
as
yet
no
leaves
to
rustle
,
I
often
heard
at
night
the
tapping
of
branches
against
the
panes
.
In
the
daytime
,
when
I
listened
attentively
,
I
could
hear
,
even
through
the
boards
,
the
voices
of
the
demoiselles
in
their
hours
of
recreation
,
and
,
to
speak
the
honest
truth
,
my
sentimental
reflections
were
occasionally
a
trifle
disarranged
by
the
not
quite
silvery
,
in
fact
the
too
often
brazen
sounds
,
which
,
rising
from
the
unseen
paradise
below
,
penetrated
clamorously
into
my
solitude
.
Not
to
mince
matters
,
it
really
seemed
to
me
a
doubtful
case
whether
the
lungs
of
Mdlle
.
Reuter’s
girls
or
those
of
M
.
Pelet’s
boys
were
the
strongest
,
and
when
it
came
to
shrieking
the
girls
indisputably
beat
the
boys
hollow
.
I
forgot
to
say
,
by-the-by
,
that
Reuter
was
the
name
of
the
old
lady
who
had
had
my
window
bearded
up
.
I
say
old
,
for
such
I
,
of
course
,
concluded
her
to
be
,
judging
from
her
cautious
,
chaperon-like
proceedings
;
besides
,
nobody
ever
spoke
of
her
as
young
.
I
remember
I
was
very
much
amused
when
I
first
heard
her
Christian
name
;
it
was
Zoraide
—
Mademoiselle
Zoraide
Reuter
.
But
the
continental
nations
do
allow
themselves
vagaries
in
the
choice
of
names
,
such
as
we
sober
English
never
run
into
.
I
think
,
indeed
,
we
have
too
limited
a
list
to
choose
from
.
Meantime
my
path
was
gradually
growing
smooth
before
me
.
I
,
in
a
few
weeks
,
conquered
the
teasing
difficulties
inseparable
from
the
commencement
of
almost
every
career
.
Ere
long
I
had
acquired
as
much
facility
in
speaking
French
as
set
me
at
my
ease
with
my
pupils
;
and
as
I
had
encountered
them
on
a
right
footing
at
the
very
beginning
,
and
continued
tenaciously
to
retain
the
advantage
I
had
early
gained
,
they
never
attempted
mutiny
,
which
circumstance
,
all
who
are
in
any
degree
acquainted
with
the
ongoings
of
Belgian
schools
,
and
who
know
the
relation
in
which
professors
and
pupils
too
frequently
stand
towards
each
other
in
those
establishments
,
will
consider
an
important
and
uncommon
one
.
Before
concluding
this
chapter
I
will
say
a
word
on
the
system
I
pursued
with
regard
to
my
classes
:
my
experience
may
possibly
be
of
use
to
others
.
It
did
not
require
very
keen
observation
to
detect
the
character
of
the
youth
of
Brabant
,
but
it
needed
a
certain
degree
of
tact
to
adopt
one’s
measures
to
their
capacity
.
Their
intellectual
faculties
were
generally
weak
,
their
animal
propensities
strong
;
thus
there
was
at
once
an
impotence
and
a
kind
of
inert
force
in
their
natures
;
they
were
dull
,
but
they
were
also
singularly
stubborn
,
heavy
as
lead
and
,
like
lead
,
most
difficult
to
move
.
Such
being
the
case
,
it
would
have
been
truly
absurd
to
exact
from
them
much
in
the
way
of
mental
exertion
;
having
short
memories
,
dense
intelligence
,
feeble
reflective
powers
,
they
recoiled
with
repugnance
from
any
occupation
that
demanded
close
study
or
deep
thought
.
Had
the
abhorred
effort
been
extorted
from
them
by
injudicious
and
arbitrary
measures
on
the
part
of
the
Professor
,
they
would
have
resisted
as
obstinately
,
as
clamorously
,
as
desperate
swine
;
and
though
not
brave
singly
,
they
were
relentless
acting
en
masse
.
I
understood
that
before
my
arrival
in
M
.
Pelet’s
establishment
,
the
combined
insubordination
of
the
pupils
had
effected
the
dismissal
of
more
than
one
English
master
.
It
was
necessary
then
to
exact
only
the
most
moderate
application
from
natures
so
little
qualified
to
apply
—
to
assist
,
in
every
practicable
way
,
understandings
so
opaque
and
contracted
—
to
be
ever
gentle
,
considerate
,
yielding
even
,
to
a
certain
point
,
with
dispositions
so
irrationally
perverse
;
but
,
having
reached
that
culminating
point
of
indulgence
,
you
must
fix
your
foot
,
plant
it
,
root
it
in
rock
—
become
immutable
as
the
towers
of
Ste.
Gudule
;
for
a
step
—
but
half
a
step
farther
,
and
you
would
plunge
headlong
into
the
gulf
of
imbecility
;
there
lodged
,
you
would
speedily
receive
proofs
of
Flemish
gratitude
and
magnanimity
in
showers
of
Brabant
saliva
and
handfuls
of
Low
Country
mud
.
You
might
smooth
to
the
utmost
the
path
of
learning
,
remove
every
pebble
from
the
track
;
but
then
you
must
finally
insist
with
decision
on
the
pupil
taking
your
arm
and
allowing
himself
to
be
led
quietly
along
the
prepared
road
.
When
I
had
brought
down
my
lesson
to
the
lowest
level
of
my
dullest
pupil’s
capacity
—
when
I
had
shown
myself
the
mildest
,
the
most
tolerant
of
masters
—
a
word
of
impertinence
,
a
movement
of
disobedience
,
changed
me
at
once
into
a
despot
.
I
offered
then
but
one
alternative
—
submission
and
acknowledgment
of
error
,
or
ignominious
expulsion
.
This
system
answered
,
and
my
influence
,
by
degrees
,
became
established
on
a
firm
basis
.
“
The
boy
is
father
to
the
man
,
”
it
is
said
;
and
so
I
often
thought
when
looked
at
my
boys
and
remembered
the
political
history
of
their
ancestors
.
Pelet’s
school
was
merely
an
epitome
of
the
Belgian
nation
.
CHAPTER
VIII
.
AND
Pelet
himself
?
How
did
I
continue
to
like
him
?
Oh
,
extremely
well
!
Nothing
could
be
more
smooth
,
gentlemanlike
,
and
even
friendly
,
than
his
demeanour
to
me
.
I
had
to
endure
from
him
neither
cold
neglect
,
irritating
interference
,
nor
pretentious
assumption
of
superiority
.
I
fear
,
however
,
two
poor
,
hard-worked
Belgian
ushers
in
the
establishment
could
not
have
said
as
much
;
to
them
the
director’s
manner
was
invariably
dry
,
stern
,
and
cool
.
I
believe
he
perceived
once
or
twice
that
I
was
a
little
shocked
at
the
difference
he
made
between
them
and
me
,
and
accounted
for
it
by
saying
,
with
a
quiet
sarcastic
smile
—
“
Ce
ne
sont
que
des
Flamands
—
allez
!
”
And
then
he
took
his
cigar
gently
from
his
lips
and
spat
on
the
painted
floor
of
the
room
in
which
we
were
sitting
.
Flamands
certainly
they
were
,
and
both
had
the
true
Flamand
physiognomy
,
where
intellectual
inferiority
is
marked
in
lines
none
can
mistake
;
still
they
were
men
,
and
,
in
the
main
,
honest
men
;
and
I
could
not
see
why
their
being
aboriginals
of
the
flat
,
dull
soil
should
serve
as
a
pretext
for
treating
them
with
perpetual
severity
and
contempt
.
This
idea
,
of
injustice
somewhat
poisoned
the
pleasure
I
might
otherwise
have
derived
from
Pelet’s
soft
affable
manner
to
myself
.
Certainly
it
was
agreeable
,
when
the
day’s
work
was
over
,
to
find
one’s
employer
an
intelligent
and
cheerful
companion
;
and
if
he
was
sometimes
a
little
sarcastic
and
sometimes
a
little
too
insinuating
,
and
if
I
did
discover
that
his
mildness
was
more
a
matter
of
appearance
than
of
reality
—
if
I
did
occasionally
suspect
the
existence
of
flint
or
steel
under
an
external
covering
of
velvet
—
still
we
are
none
of
us
perfect
;
and
weary
as
I
was
of
the
atmosphere
of
brutality
and
insolence
in
which
I
had
constantly
lived
at
X
—
—
,
I
had
no
inclination
now
,
on
casting
anchor
in
calmer
regions
,
to
institute
at
once
a
prying
search
after
defects
that
were
scrupulously
withdrawn
and
carefully
veiled
from
my
view
.
I
was
willing
to
take
Pelet
for
what
he
seemed
—
to
believe
him
benevolent
and
friendly
until
some
untoward
event
should
prove
him
otherwise
.
He
was
not
married
,
and
I
soon
perceived
he
had
all
a
Frenchman’s
,
all
a
Parisian’s
notions
about
matrimony
and
women
.
I
suspected
a
degree
of
laxity
in
his
code
of
morals
,
there
was
something
so
cold
and
blasé
in
his
tone
whenever
he
alluded
to
what
he
called
“
le
beau
sexe
;
”
but
he
was
too
gentlemanlike
to
intrude
topics
I
did
not
invite
,
and
as
he
was
really
intelligent
and
really
fond
of
intellectual
subjects
of
discourse
,
he
and
I
always
found
enough
to
talk
about
,
without
seeking
themes
in
the
mire
.
I
hated
his
fashion
of
mentioning
love
;
I
abhorred
,
from
my
soul
,
mere
licentiousness
.
He
felt
the
difference
of
our
notions
,
and
,
by
mutual
consent
,
we
kept
off
ground
debateable
.
Pelet’s
house
was
kept
and
his
kitchen
managed
by
his
mother
,
a
real
old
Frenchwoman
;
she
had
been
handsome
—
at
least
she
told
me
so
,
and
I
strove
to
believe
her
;
she
was
now
ugly
,
as
only
continental
old
women
can
be
;
perhaps
,
though
,
her
style
of
dress
made
her
look
uglier
than
she
really
was
.
Indoors
she
would
go
about
without
cap
,
her
grey
hair
strangely
dishevelled
;
then
,
when
at
home
,
she
seldom
wore
a
gown
—
only
a
shabby
cotton
camisole
;
shoes
,
too
,
were
strangers
to
her
feet
,
and
in
lieu
of
them
she
sported
roomy
slippers
,
trodden
down
at
the
heels
.
On
the
other
hand
,
whenever
it
was
her
pleasure
to
appear
abroad
,
as
on
Sundays
and
fete-days
,
she
would
put
on
some
very
brilliant-coloured
dress
,
usually
of
thin
texture
,
a
silk
bonnet
with
a
wreath
of
flowers
,
and
a
very
fine
shawl
.
She
was
not
,
in
the
main
,
an
ill-natured
old
woman
,
but
an
incessant
and
most
indiscreet
talker
;
she
kept
chiefly
in
and
about
the
kitchen
,
and
seemed
rather
to
avoid
her
son’s
august
presence
;
of
him
,
indeed
,
she
evidently
stood
in
awe
.
When
he
reproved
her
,
his
reproofs
were
bitter
and
unsparing
;
but
he
seldom
gave
himself
that
trouble
.
Madame
Pelet
had
her
own
society
,
her
own
circle
of
chosen
visitors
,
whom
,
however
,
I
seldom
saw
,
as
she
generally
entertained
them
in
what
she
called
her
“
cabinet
,
”
a
small
den
of
a
place
adjoining
the
kitchen
,
and
descending
into
it
by
one
or
two
steps
.
On
these
steps
,
by-the-by
,
I
have
not
unfrequently
seen
Madame
Pelet
seated
with
a
trencher
on
her
knee
,
engaged
in
the
threefold
employment
of
eating
her
dinner
,
gossiping
with
her
favourite
servant
,
the
housemaid
,
and
scolding
her
antagonist
,
the
cook
;
she
never
dined
,
and
seldom
indeed
took
any
meal
with
her
son
;
and
as
to
showing
her
face
at
the
boys’
table
,
that
was
quite
out
of
the
question
.
These
details
will
sound
very
odd
in
English
ears
,
but
Belgium
is
not
England
,
and
its
ways
are
not
our
ways
.
Madame
Pelet’s
habits
of
life
,
then
,
being
taken
into
consideration
,
I
was
a
good
deal
surprised
when
,
one
Thursday
evening
(
Thursday
was
always
a
half-holiday
)
,
as
I
was
sitting
all
alone
in
my
apartment
,
correcting
a
huge
pile
of
English
and
Latin
exercises
,
a
servant
tapped
at
the
door
,
and
,
on
its
being
opened
,
presented
Madame
Pelet’s
compliments
,
and
she
would
be
happy
to
see
me
to
take
my
“
gouter
”
(
a
meal
which
answers
to
our
English
“
tea
”
)
with
her
in
the
dining-room
.
“
Plait-il
?
”
said
I
,
for
I
thought
I
must
have
misunderstood
,
the
message
and
invitation
were
so
unusual
;
the
same
words
were
repeated
.
I
accepted
,
of
course
,
and
as
I
descended
the
stairs
,
I
wondered
what
whim
had
entered
the
old
lady’s
brain
;
her
son
was
out
—
gone
to
pass
the
evening
at
the
Salle
of
the
Grande
Harmonie
or
some
other
club
of
which
he
was
a
member
.
Just
as
I
laid
my
hand
on
the
handle
of
the
dining-room
door
,
a
queer
idea
glanced
across
my
mind
.
“
Surely
she’s
not
going
to
make
love
to
me
,
”
said
I
.
“
I’ve
heard
of
old
Frenchwomen
doing
odd
things
in
that
line
;
and
the
gouter
?
They
generally
begin
such
affairs
with
eating
and
drinking
,
I
believe
.
”
There
was
a
fearful
dismay
in
this
suggestion
of
my
excited
imagination
,
and
if
I
had
allowed
myself
time
to
dwell
upon
it
,
I
should
no
doubt
have
cut
there
and
then
,
rushed
back
to
my
chamber
,
and
bolted
myself
in
;
but
whenever
a
danger
or
a
horror
is
veiled
with
uncertainty
,
the
primary
wish
of
the
mind
is
to
ascertain
first
the
naked
truth
,
reserving
the
expedient
of
flight
for
the
moment
when
its
dread
anticipation
shall
be
realized
.
I
turned
the
door-handle
,
and
in
an
instant
had
crossed
the
fatal
threshold
,
closed
the
door
behind
me
,
and
stood
in
the
presence
of
Madame
Pelet
.
Gracious
heavens
!
The
first
view
of
her
seemed
to
confirm
my
worst
apprehensions
.
There
she
sat
,
dressed
out
in
a
light
green
muslin
gown
,
on
her
head
a
lace
cap
with
flourishing
red
roses
in
the
frill
;
her
table
was
carefully
spread
;
there
were
fruit
,
cakes
,
and
coffee
,
with
a
bottle
of
something
—
I
did
not
know
what
.
Already
the
cold
sweat
started
on
my
brow
,
already
I
glanced
back
over
my
shoulder
at
the
closed
door
,
when
,
to
my
unspeakable
relief
,
my
eye
,
wandering
mildly
in
the
direction
of
the
stove
,
rested
upon
a
second
figure
,
seated
in
a
large
fauteuil
beside
it
.
This
was
a
woman
,
too
,
and
,
moreover
,
an
old
woman
,
and
as
fat
and
as
rubicund
as
Madame
Pelet
was
meagre
and
yellow
;
her
attire
was
likewise
very
fine
,
and
spring
flowers
of
different
hues
circled
in
a
bright
wreath
the
crown
of
her
violet-coloured
velvet
bonnet
.
I
had
only
time
to
make
these
general
observations
when
Madame
Pelet
,
coming
forward
with
what
she
intended
should
be
a
graceful
and
elastic
step
,
thus
accosted
me
:
“
Monsieur
is
indeed
most
obliging
to
quit
his
books
,
his
studies
,
at
the
request
of
an
insignificant
person
like
me
—
will
Monsieur
complete
his
kindness
by
allowing
me
to
present
him
to
my
dear
friend
Madame
Reuter
,
who
resides
in
the
neighbouring
house
—
the
young
ladies’
school
.
”
“
Ah
!
”
thought
I
,
“
I
knew
she
was
old
,
”
and
I
bowed
and
took
my
seat
.
Madame
Reuter
placed
herself
at
the
table
opposite
to
me
.
“
How
do
you
like
Belgium
,
Monsieur
?
”
asked
she
,
in
an
accent
of
the
broadest
Bruxellois
.
I
could
now
well
distinguish
the
difference
between
the
fine
and
pure
Parisian
utterance
of
M
.
Pelet
,
for
instance
,
and
the
guttural
enunciation
of
the
Flamands
.
I
answered
politely
,
and
then
wondered
how
so
coarse
and
clumsy
an
old
woman
as
the
one
before
me
should
be
at
the
head
of
a
ladies’
seminary
,
which
I
had
always
heard
spoken
of
in
terms
of
high
commendation
.
In
truth
there
was
something
to
wonder
at
.
Madame
Reuter
looked
more
like
a
joyous
,
free-living
old
Flemish
fermiere
,
or
even
a
maitresse
d’auberge
,
than
a
staid
,
grave
,
rigid
directrice
de
pensionnat
.
In
general
the
continental
,
or
at
least
the
Belgian
old
women
permit
themselves
a
licence
of
manners
,
speech
,
and
aspect
,
such
as
our
venerable
granddames
would
recoil
from
as
absolutely
disreputable
,
and
Madame
Reuter’s
jolly
face
bore
evidence
that
she
was
no
exception
to
the
rule
of
her
country
;
there
was
a
twinkle
and
leer
in
her
left
eye
;
her
right
she
kept
habitually
half
shut
,
which
I
thought
very
odd
indeed
.
After
several
vain
attempts
to
comprehend
the
motives
of
these
two
droll
old
creatures
for
inviting
me
to
join
them
at
their
gouter
,
I
at
last
fairly
gave
it
up
,
and
resigning
myself
to
inevitable
mystification
,
I
sat
and
looked
first
at
one
,
then
at
the
other
,
taking
care
meantime
to
do
justice
to
the
confitures
,
cakes
,
and
coffee
,
with
which
they
amply
supplied
me
.
They
,
too
,
ate
,
and
that
with
no
delicate
appetite
,
and
having
demolished
a
large
portion
of
the
solids
,
they
proposed
a
“
petit
verre
.
”
I
declined
.
Not
so
Mesdames
Pelet
and
Reuter
;
each
mixed
herself
what
I
thought
rather
a
stiff
tumbler
of
punch
,
and
placing
it
on
a
stand
near
the
stove
,
they
drew
up
their
chairs
to
that
convenience
,
and
invited
me
to
do
the
same
.
I
obeyed
;
and
being
seated
fairly
between
them
,
I
was
thus
addressed
first
by
Madame
Pelet
,
then
by
Madame
Reuter
.
“
We
will
now
speak
of
business
,
”
said
Madame
Pelet
,
and
she
went
on
to
make
an
elaborate
speech
,
which
,
being
interpreted
,
was
to
the
effect
that
she
had
asked
for
the
pleasure
of
my
company
that
evening
in
order
to
give
her
friend
Madame
Reuter
an
opportunity
of
broaching
an
important
proposal
,
which
might
turn
out
greatly
to
my
advantage
.
“
Pourvu
que
vous
soyez
sage
,
”
said
Madame
Reuter
,
“
et
a
vrai
dire
,
vous
en
avez
bien
l’air
.
Take
one
drop
of
the
punch
”
(
or
ponche
,
as
she
pronounced
it
)
;
“
it
is
an
agreeable
and
wholesome
beverage
after
a
full
meal
.
”
I
bowed
,
but
again
declined
it
.
She
went
on
:
“
I
feel
,
”
said
she
,
after
a
solemn
sip
—
“
I
feel
profoundly
the
importance
of
the
commission
with
which
my
dear
daughter
has
entrusted
me
,
for
you
are
aware
,
Monsieur
,
that
it
is
my
daughter
who
directs
the
establishment
in
the
next
house
?
”
“
Ah
!
I
thought
it
was
yourself
,
madame
.
”
Though
,
indeed
,
at
that
moment
I
recollected
that
it
was
called
Mademoiselle
,
not
Madame
Reuter’s
pensionnat
.
“
I
!
Oh
,
no
!
I
manage
the
house
and
look
after
the
servants
,
as
my
friend
Madame
Pelet
does
for
Monsieur
her
son
—
nothing
more
.
Ah
!
you
thought
I
gave
lessons
in
class
—
did
you
?
”
And
she
laughed
loud
and
long
,
as
though
the
idea
tickled
her
fancy
amazingly
.
“
Madame
is
in
the
wrong
to
laugh
,
”
I
observed
;
“
if
she
does
not
give
lessons
,
I
am
sure
it
is
not
because
she
cannot
;
”
and
I
whipped
out
a
white
pocket-handkerchief
and
wafted
it
,
with
a
French
grace
,
past
my
nose
,
bowing
at
the
same
time
.
“
Quel
charmant
jeune
homme
!
”
murmured
Madame
Pelet
in
a
low
voice
.
Madame
Reuter
,
being
less
sentimental
,
as
she
was
Flamand
and
not
French
,
only
laughed
again
.
“
You
are
a
dangerous
person
,
I
fear
,
”
said
she
;
“
if
you
can
forge
compliments
at
that
rate
,
Zoraide
will
positively
be
afraid
of
you
;
but
if
you
are
good
,
I
will
keep
your
secret
,
and
not
tell
her
how
well
you
can
flatter
.
Now
,
listen
what
sort
of
a
proposal
she
makes
to
you
.
She
has
heard
that
you
are
an
excellent
professor
,
and
as
she
wishes
to
get
the
very
best
masters
for
her
school
(
car
Zoraide
fait
tout
comme
une
reine
,
c’est
une
veritable
maitresse-femme
)
,
she
has
commissioned
me
to
step
over
this
afternoon
,
and
sound
Madame
Pelet
as
to
the
possibility
of
engaging
you
.
Zoraide
is
a
wary
general
;
she
never
advances
without
first
examining
well
her
ground
.
I
don’t
think
she
would
be
pleased
if
she
knew
I
had
already
disclosed
her
intentions
to
you
;
she
did
not
order
me
to
go
so
far
,
but
I
thought
there
would
be
no
harm
in
letting
you
into
the
secret
,
and
Madame
Pelet
was
of
the
same
opinion
.
Take
care
,
however
,
you
don’t
betray
either
of
us
to
Zoraide
—
to
my
daughter
,
I
mean
;
she
is
so
discreet
and
circumspect
herself
,
she
cannot
understand
that
one
should
find
a
pleasure
in
gossiping
a
little
—
”
“
C’est
absolument
comme
mon
fils
!
”
cried
Madame
Pelet
.
“
All
the
world
is
so
changed
since
our
girlhood
!
”
rejoined
the
other
:
“
young
people
have
such
old
heads
now
.
But
to
return
,
Monsieur
.
Madame
Pelet
will
mention
the
subject
of
your
giving
lessons
in
my
daughter’s
establishment
to
her
son
,
and
he
will
speak
to
you
;
and
then
to-morrow
,
you
will
step
over
to
our
house
,
and
ask
to
see
my
daughter
,
and
you
will
introduce
the
subject
as
if
the
first
intimation
of
it
had
reached
you
from
M
.
Pelet
himself
,
and
be
sure
you
never
mention
my
name
,
for
I
would
not
displease
Zoraide
on
any
account
.
”
“
Bien
!
bien
!
”
interrupted
I
—
for
all
this
chatter
and
circumlocution
began
to
bore
me
very
much
;
“
I
will
consult
M
.
Pelet
,
and
the
thing
shall
be
settled
as
you
desire
.
Good
evening
,
mesdames
—
I
am
infinitely
obliged
to
you
.
”
“
Comment
!
vous
vous
en
allez
deja
?
”
exclaimed
Madame
Pelet
.
“
Prenez
encore
quelquechose
,
monsieur
;
une
pomme
cuite
,
des
biscuits
,
encore
une
tasse
de
cafe
?
”
“
Merci
,
merci
,
madame
—
au
revoir
.
”
And
I
backed
at
last
out
of
the
apartment
.
Having
regained
my
own
room
,
I
set
myself
to
turn
over
in
my
mind
the
incident
of
the
evening
.
It
seemed
a
queer
affair
altogether
,
and
queerly
managed
;
the
two
old
women
had
made
quite
a
little
intricate
mess
of
it
;
still
I
found
that
the
uppermost
feeling
in
my
mind
on
the
subject
was
one
of
satisfaction
.
In
the
first
place
it
would
be
a
change
to
give
lessons
in
another
seminary
,
and
then
to
teach
young
ladies
would
be
an
occupation
so
interesting
—
to
be
admitted
at
all
into
a
ladies’
boarding-school
would
be
an
incident
so
new
in
my
life
.
Besides
,
thought
I
,
as
I
glanced
at
the
boarded
window
,
“
I
shall
now
at
last
see
the
mysterious
garden
:
I
shall
gaze
both
on
the
angels
and
their
Eden
.
”
CHAPTER
IX
.
M
.
PELET
could
not
of
course
object
to
the
proposal
made
by
Mdlle
.
Reuter
;
permission
to
accept
such
additional
employment
,
should
it
offer
,
having
formed
an
article
of
the
terms
on
which
he
had
engaged
me
.
It
was
,
therefore
,
arranged
in
the
course
of
next
day
that
I
should
be
at
liberty
to
give
lessons
in
Mdlle
.
Reuter’s
establishment
four
afternoons
in
every
week
.
When
evening
came
I
prepared
to
step
over
in
order
to
seek
a
conference
with
Mademoiselle
herself
on
the
subject
;
I
had
not
had
time
to
pay
the
visit
before
,
having
been
all
day
closely
occupied
in
class
.
I
remember
very
well
that
before
quitting
my
chamber
,
I
held
a
brief
debate
with
myself
as
to
whether
I
should
change
my
ordinary
attire
for
something
smarter
.
At
last
I
concluded
it
would
be
a
waste
of
labour
.
“
Doubtless
,
”
thought
I
,
“
she
is
some
stiff
old
maid
;
for
though
the
daughter
of
Madame
Reuter
,
she
may
well
number
upwards
of
forty
winters
;
besides
,
if
it
were
otherwise
,
if
she
be
both
young
and
pretty
,
I
am
not
handsome
,
and
no
dressing
can
make
me
so
,
therefore
I’ll
go
as
I
am
.
”
And
off
I
started
,
cursorily
glancing
sideways
as
I
passed
the
toilet-table
,
surmounted
by
a
looking-glass
:
a
thin
irregular
face
I
saw
,
with
sunk
,
dark
eyes
under
a
large
,
square
forehead
,
complexion
destitute
of
bloom
or
attraction
;
something
young
,
but
not
youthful
,
no
object
to
win
a
lady’s
love
,
no
butt
for
the
shafts
of
Cupid
.
I
was
soon
at
the
entrance
of
the
pensionnat
,
in
a
moment
I
had
pulled
the
bell
;
in
another
moment
the
door
was
opened
,
and
within
appeared
a
passage
paved
alternately
with
black
and
white
marble
;
the
walls
were
painted
in
imitation
of
marble
also
;
and
at
the
far
end
opened
a
glass
door
,
through
which
I
saw
shrubs
and
a
grass-plat
,
looking
pleasant
in
the
sunshine
of
the
mild
spring
evening
—
for
it
was
now
the
middle
of
April
.
This
,
then
,
was
my
first
glimpse
of
the
garden
;
but
I
had
not
time
to
look
long
,
the
portress
,
after
having
answered
in
the
affirmative
my
question
as
to
whether
her
mistress
was
at
home
,
opened
the
folding-doors
of
a
room
to
the
left
,
and
having
ushered
me
in
,
closed
them
behind
me
.
I
found
myself
in
a
salon
with
a
very
well-painted
,
highly
varnished
floor
;
chairs
and
sofas
covered
with
white
draperies
,
a
green
porcelain
stove
,
walls
hung
with
pictures
in
gilt
frames
,
a
gilt
pendule
and
other
ornaments
on
the
mantelpiece
,
a
large
lustre
pendent
from
the
centre
of
the
ceiling
,
mirrors
,
consoles
,
muslin
curtains
,
and
a
handsome
centre
table
completed
the
inventory
of
furniture
.
All
looked
extremely
clean
and
glittering
,
but
the
general
effect
would
have
been
somewhat
chilling
had
not
a
second
large
pair
of
folding-doors
,
standing
wide
open
,
and
disclosing
another
and
smaller
salon
,
more
snugly
furnished
,
offered
some
relief
to
the
eye
.
This
room
was
carpeted
,
and
therein
was
a
piano
,
a
couch
,
a
chiffonniere
—
above
all
,
it
contained
a
lofty
window
with
a
crimson
curtain
,
which
,
being
undrawn
,
afforded
another
glimpse
of
the
garden
,
through
the
large
,
clear
panes
,
round
which
some
leaves
of
ivy
,
some
tendrils
of
vine
were
trained
.
“
Monsieur
Creemsvort
,
n’est
ce
pas
?
”
said
a
voice
behind
me
;
and
,
starting
involuntarily
,
I
turned
.
I
had
been
so
taken
up
with
the
contemplation
of
the
pretty
little
salon
that
I
had
not
noticed
the
entrance
of
a
person
into
the
larger
room
.
It
was
,
however
,
Mdlle
.
Reuter
who
now
addressed
me
,
and
stood
close
beside
me
;
and
when
I
had
bowed
with
instantaneously
recovered
sang-froid
—
for
I
am
not
easily
embarrassed
—
I
commenced
the
conversation
by
remarking
on
the
pleasant
aspect
of
her
little
cabinet
,
and
the
advantage
she
had
over
M
.
Pelet
in
possessing
a
garden
.
“
Yes
,
”
she
said
,
“
she
often
thought
so
;
”
and
added
,
“
it
is
my
garden
,
monsieur
,
which
makes
me
retain
this
house
,
otherwise
I
should
probably
have
removed
to
larger
and
more
commodious
premises
long
since
;
but
you
see
I
could
not
take
my
garden
with
me
,
and
I
should
scarcely
find
one
so
large
and
pleasant
anywhere
else
in
town
.
”
I
approved
her
judgment
.
“
But
you
have
not
seen
it
yet
,
”
said
she
,
rising
;
“
come
to
the
window
and
take
a
better
view
.
”
I
followed
her
;
she
opened
the
sash
,
and
leaning
out
I
saw
in
full
the
enclosed
demesne
which
had
hitherto
been
to
me
an
unknown
region
.
It
was
a
long
,
not
very
broad
strip
of
cultured
ground
,
with
an
alley
bordered
by
enormous
old
fruit
trees
down
the
middle
;
there
was
a
sort
of
lawn
,
a
parterre
of
rose-trees
,
some
flower-borders
,
and
,
on
the
far
side
,
a
thickly
planted
copse
of
lilacs
,
laburnums
,
and
acacias
.
It
looked
pleasant
,
to
me
—
very
pleasant
,
so
long
a
time
had
elapsed
since
I
had
seen
a
garden
of
any
sort
.
But
it
was
not
only
on
Mdlle
.
Reuter’s
garden
that
my
eyes
dwelt
;
when
I
had
taken
a
view
of
her
well-trimmed
beds
and
budding
shrubberies
,
I
allowed
my
glance
to
come
back
to
herself
,
nor
did
I
hastily
withdraw
it
.
I
had
thought
to
see
a
tall
,
meagre
,
yellow
,
conventual
image
in
black
,
with
a
close
white
cap
,
bandaged
under
the
chin
like
a
nun’s
head-gear
;
whereas
,
there
stood
by
me
a
little
and
roundly
formed
woman
,
who
might
indeed
be
older
than
I
,
but
was
still
young
;
she
could
not
,
I
thought
,
be
more
than
six
or
seven
and
twenty
;
she
was
as
fair
as
a
fair
Englishwoman
;
she
had
no
cap
;
her
hair
was
nut-brown
,
and
she
wore
it
in
curls
;
pretty
her
features
were
not
,
nor
very
soft
,
nor
very
regular
,
but
neither
were
they
in
any
degree
plain
,
and
I
already
saw
cause
to
deem
them
expressive
.
What
was
their
predominant
cast
?
Was
it
sagacity
?
—
sense
?
Yes
,
I
thought
so
;
but
I
could
scarcely
as
yet
be
sure
.
I
discovered
,
however
,
that
there
was
a
certain
serenity
of
eye
,
and
freshness
of
complexion
,
most
pleasing
to
behold
.
The
colour
on
her
cheek
was
like
the
bloom
on
a
good
apple
,
which
is
as
sound
at
the
core
as
it
is
red
on
the
rind
.
Mdlle
.
Reuter
and
I
entered
upon
business
.
She
said
she
was
not
absolutely
certain
of
the
wisdom
of
the
step
she
was
about
to
take
,
because
I
was
so
young
,
and
parents
might
possibly
object
to
a
professor
like
me
for
their
daughters
:
“
But
it
is
often
well
to
act
on
one’s
own
