"C'est assez, ma bonne amie; a present je ne veux pas vous
retenir davantage."
Without reply, Mdlle. Henri turned away; dissatifaction was
plainly evinced in her face, and a smile, slight and brief, but
bitter, distrustful, and, I thought, scornful, curled her lip as
she took her place in the class; it was a secret, involuntary
smile, which lasted but a second; an air of depression succeeded,
chased away presently by one of attention and interest, when I
gave the word for all the pupils to take their reading-books. In
general I hated the reading-lesson, it was such a torture to the
ear to listen to their uncouth mouthing of my native tongue, and
no effort of example or precept on my part ever seemed to effect
the slightest improvement in their accent. To-day, each in her
appropriate key, lisped, stuttered, mumbled, and jabbered as
usual; about fifteen had racked me in turn, and my auricular
nerve was expecting with resignation the discords of the
sixteenth, when a full, though low voice, read out, in clear
correct English-
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