Howard goes to a day-school not far from the Rue de Courcelles every morning, and comes home at two o'clock and shows with pride the book the teacher gives him to show. They must mean it to be shown, otherwise so much trouble would not be taken to make such lengthy and marvelous accounts of his prowess, the numbers running up in the thousands, and notations all through, such as très bien, verbes sans faute, and dictés parfaits. He can repeat all the departments of France backward and forward, and goes through the verbs, regular and irregular, like a machine. The French love these irregular verbs, so irregular sometimes that they border on frivolity. He has learned some rather inane patriotic poetry, which he recites with a childish dramatic swagger.
This is about all they teach in this school; but the rapports are worth the money: they deceive the parents, making them believe their geese are swans of the first water.
PARIS, May.
We have had real pleasure in hearing a young pianiste from Venezuela called Teresa Careño. She is a wunderkind. Her mother says she is nine years old; she looks twelve, but may be sixteen. No one can ever tell how old a wunderkind really is. Her playing is marvelous, her technic perfect. She knows about two hundred pieces by heart, is extremely pretty and attractive, and performs whenever she is asked. I think she has a great career before her, and she has already got the toss-back of her black hair in the most approved pianist manner. "Elle ne manque rien," the great Saint-Saëns said. One can't imagine that she could play better than she does; but she thinks that she is by no means perfect.
Though I said that I had led a dolce-far-niente existence, and had been lazy, I have been dreadfully busy and have been on the go from morning till night: I might call it a dolce-far-molto existence. I spend hours, which ought to be better spent, in shops. I simply revel in them.
You have heard of the famous actress Sarah Bernhardt. Well, she is not only an actress, but she is a sculptress, and is a very good one. She is now playing at the Vaudeville. But I must begin at the beginning, the whole thing was so amusing,
You remember Mrs. Bradley? You used to scold me for calling her "the Omelette." They are living now in Paris; her hair and complexion are just as yellow as they used to be; but her dresses are yellower. Beaumont said that she was "Une étude en jaune."
The other evening she had a box at the theater, and asked me to go to hear Sarah Bernhardt in "Le fils Giboyer." Her son, the immaculate Bostonian, went with us. He is a duplicate of his mother's yellowness. I took Nina, who looked extremely pretty: she was beaming with excitement; her cheeks were flushed, and her curly, golden hair made a halo about her delicate features. Every one stared at her when we entered the box. During the second act I let her take my place in front, and, observe how virtue is rewarded! In the following entr'acte the ouvreuse came in suddenly without knocking (ouvreuses never knock! that is one of their many privileges) and begged to parler à Monsieur. Imagine the chaste George's feelings when he was told that the famous Sarah wished to speak with him, and, moreover, desired him to come behind the scenes to her dressing-room. What a situation! His red hair blushed to the very roots, and his yellow face became n sunset. However, one is or one is not a man. He proved himself to be one who could face danger when the time came.
Trembling at the thought of Boston, the virtuous, hearing of it, he saw in his mind's eye the height the Puritan brows of his most distinguished family would reach when the news would be spread over the town, and a certain biblical scene passed before his mental vision.
He gave his lemon-colored mustache a final fascinating twist, and, humming to himself "Hail, the conquering hero comes!" he buckled on his sword and went—all his colors flying.