“‘Sometimes, yes; yet we know it is our duty to obey Monsieur, and if he tells us to practise extra hours, we must do so.’
“‘How long do you practise each day?’
“‘Four, often five hours.’
“‘Oh, that must be very dull!’
“‘I am sure I think it is,’ exclaimed Inez, who was the most petulant of the two; ‘I often wish I were a woman, and an actress; I should at least be my own mistress, and obtaining money for myself; here I have been for the last three, and you for the last two years; the same old monotonous round of school duties to perform every day; no change, no home to go to in vacation, always here. I don’t believe I shall ever live to get away; when you have been here as long as we have, you will be tired of it too, Genevra!’
“‘I don’t know; I hardly think I shall grow very tired; I like the school; I love you and Blanche, and I am glad and grateful to have some one to take care of me, and a home to stay in.’
“‘In a few years,’ said Blanche, ‘we shall leave the school, and go out into the great world, to make our own way alone; then, perhaps, we may look back and wish we were at school again.’
“At this moment one of the teachers made her appearance at the door, and called us to our studies. Time passed quietly and regularly on for two weeks; I learned my alphabet, and began to spell in words of two syllables; the girls became used to my appearance, and no longer stared and whispered when they saw me, as girls always do upon the advent of a new scholar at a school. Inez was fourteen, Blanche twelve, and I eight years old. In the course of a year or two, Monsieur Belmont intended withdrawing Inez from Madame Deville’s, to teach her the art of acting, preparatory to her entree into the gay world. That world, of which she, nor any of us, as yet knew anything, and from which, in after years, I so often turned away, disgusted with its heartlessness and insincerity, and wished myself buried amid the inaccessible solitudes of Mount Lebanon.
“It wanted but a few days of the monthly ‘soiree;’ the servants were cleaning and arranging the saloon, where it was to be given. Inez, Blanche, and myself, had been running furious races together during the recess; I felt fatigued, from the violent exercise, and sat down where a strong current of air, from a door, blew full upon me for some minutes; when we returned to our desks in the school-room, my cheeks burnt like fire, and my head felt heavy; I could not take my usual interest in my lesson; for anxious to improve, I diligently applied myself; the letters seemed to turn red, blue, and yellow, and swam before my eyes; late in the afternoon, noticing my languor, as I sat leaning my head on Blanche’s shoulder, Madame Deville asked me, if I felt unwell; I answered, ‘no, I did not, but my head ached.’
“‘You don’t look well, my dear; I am afraid you are going to be sick; you must go to the infirmary to-night, and be attended to. Wilhelmina,’ addressing a tall, stout, flaxen-haired German girl, ‘take Genevra to the infirmary, and tell Miss Jones to attend to her, and put her name on the sick list, at least till to-morrow, when I will see how she is. Go my dear.’