"And what kind of stories am I to tell, Frances? Any kind that keeps them quiet? Fayre is not like New York, where there are lots of people with wealth, but no place nor time to amuse their children. People here won't care about having their children entertained," said Rob, sensibly.
"Oh, I forgot that part," said Frances, eagerly. "No, of course, it couldn't be any kind of story. You are to tell them a set of Grecian Mythology stories, for instance; then a Round Table set, then a Crusading set, then, maybe a Shakespeare set, and stories of Rome, Greece, Egypt—goodness! There's no end to the series you can get up! Now wait!" she added, as Rob started to speak. "You know when we were little you read all these things, and loved them; we thought them dry, and nothing would have induced us to read them for ourselves. But when you told us about them we were like so many young robins, when the big bird chops up food too solid for them—we were all agape for more, and you had the faculty of making us see the beauty, and not missing a point. It was enthusiasm and magnetism, mamma says. Well, you have those gifts just as much now."
"I'll try to believe in my talents," said Rob, meekly.
"You'd better. Mamma told me to lay the plan before you all, and, if you approve, to say she will guarantee Rob a class of not less than twenty to begin with, and she will find the children for her. Will you try it, Rob?" asked Frances, eagerly.
"How good your mother is; how kind you both are!" exclaimed Mrs. Grey.
"Oh, France always was clear, unadulterated splendidness," said Rob, getting up to hug the one girl friend she had ever really loved. "How can I help but try it, when it is all done for me? Of course, I'll be only too glad to try it, Francie, and I'll do my best."
"I couldn't possibly fail to approve, approve gladly and gratefully," said Mrs. Grey.
"I think it's a beautiful plan—an inspiration, Frances," said Wythie. "And I know Rob can do it like no one else; she does such things with her face and voice that she always makes one see what she sees." And Oswyth smiled proudly on Rob.
"I should hate to fail, after your mother had done so much to launch me," said Rob.
"'Screw your courage to the sticking-point and we'll not fail,'" said Frances, who could hardly have been less like Lady Macbeth.