* * * * *
Our German mistress, Fraeulein Anna Braun, was a worthy, hearty woman,
of about forty-five; she ought, perhaps, to have lived in the days of
Queen Elizabeth, as she habitually consumed, for her first and second
breakfasts, beer and beef: also, her direct and downright Deutsch
nature seemed to suffer a sensation of cruel restraint from what she
called our English reserve; though we thought we were very cordial
with her: but we did not slap her on the shoulder, and if we consented
to kiss her cheek, it was done quietly, and without any explosive
smack. These omissions oppressed and depressed her considerably;
still, on the whole, we got on very well. Accustomed to instruct
foreign girls, who hardly ever will think and study for themselves--
who have no idea of grappling with a difficulty, and overcoming it by
dint of reflection or application--our progress, which in truth was
very leisurely, seemed to astound her. In her eyes, we were a pair of
glacial prodigies, cold, proud, and preternatural.
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