"Even on my first visit to the establishment, I made these observations," continued Lori, while she assumed a stern tone, and shook back one spiral curl that fell over her face, "the themes which you give to the pupils are totally unsuitable, just so the theme for the last composition, 'Why did Egmont not marry Klärchen?' That does not appear to be the proper manner of introducing our classics."
"There our views differ, dear Fräulein! Upon reflection, you will find how improving such tasks are. They accustom the girls to grasp the most important questions in life in an independent manner, and, above all, to treat them with tact. Besides, I avoid themes which lead to commonplaces, and which have already been written upon hundreds of times. New questions which cause independent thought--that is my object. I should like to wager that hitherto even you have not thought over my questions."
"I must decline, Herr Doctor, to be placed on a par with my pupils."
"I am far from doing so, excepting on one point, namely, youth and loveliness."
"You forget to whom you are speaking. Such susceptibility, however, is a superfluous quality in the masters at my school."
"What would a teacher of youth be, who possessed no susceptibility for the beautiful?"
"Many pupils and their parents complain of your partiality. I find that they are right. I have examined the corrected copy-books very closely. You show such partiality to that fat Iduna; orthographical mistakes, which, for the others, you mark with thick red lines, in her case you treat as clerical errors, which you do not count, which you do not put down in the margin or add up. Thus Iduna always receives a good notice. And yet that girl brought forward the unutterable nonsense that Egmont did not marry Klärchen because it would have been inconvenient, and marriage, especially owing to ladies' dress, costs too much money; although lace was made in Brussels and Flanders, and was cheaper than with us. And this sentence you did not even cross out, while you accompany the poetical ideas of other girls with red notes of interrogation."
"Iduna possesses sound common sense, although she is of a prosaic nature. We must encourage it. On the other hand, it is a master's duty to eradicate betimes all that is too fantastic; life does not fulfil such foolish dreams."
"As well as Iduna, you favour Clara, who is not her inferior as to voluptuous form; it seems that you like full-blown roses."
"You are mistaken, Fräulein; besides, my private taste has nothing to do with my profession and your establishment. It is thoroughly feminine to recognise no principles, and to impute everything to the affections."