“Never at any public school?”
“Never, except you call a village school a public one.”
Brand's eyes glistened, and Baynes's returned the sparkle.
“Are you a proficient in French?”
“Far from it. I could spell out a fable, or a page of 'Telemachus,' and even that would push me hard.”
“Do you write a good hand?”
“It is legible, but it's no beauty.”
“And your arithmetic?”
“Pretty much like my French,—the less said about it the better.”
“I think that will do, Brand,” whispered Baynes.