"No, sir," I said.
"May I ask where you were educated?"
"I was graduated at Lynchburg College."
"Is that in England?"
"Oh, no, sir," said I, with astonishment at his ignorance, and then recollecting myself just as I was about to inform him that Lynchburg was the fifth town in population in Virginia, was on the south bank of the James River, one hundred and sixteen miles from the capital of the State, and within view of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Peaks of Otter, I stopped short, embarrassed by my imprudence. The professor, taking no notice of my confusion, went on to say:
"And so you were graduated there? My class here has just finished Cæsar. Do you remember how Cæsar commences?"
"Yes, sir," I said, and repeated: "Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres."
"You have the Continental pronunciation, I see."
He gave me several sentences to translate; then an ode from Horace and some selections from Catullus and Tibullus. By this time the pupils were silent, and Miss McIntosh's expression was changed.
He then asked me to write and parse a sentence, which I did, saying sotto voce as he took the chalk from me: