第24章

saidLaurie。

“Rather。“

“Don’tyouthinktheEnglishnationperfectineveryrespect？“

askedSallie。

“IshouldbeashamedofmyselfifIdidn’t。“

“He’satrueJohnBull。Now，MissSallie，youshallhaveachancewithoutwaitingtodraw。I’llharrrowupyourfeelingsfirstbyaskingifyoudon’tthinkyouaresomethingofaflirt，“

saidLaurie，asJonoddedtoFredasasignthatpeacewasdeclared。

“Youimpertinentboy!OfcourseI’mnot，“exclaimedSallie，withanairthatprovedthecontrary。

“Whatdoyouhatemost？“askedFred。

“Spidersandricepudding。“

“Whatdoyoulikebest？“askedJo。

“DancingandFrenchgloves。“

“Well，IthinkTruthisaverysillyplay。Let’shaveasensiblegameofAuthorstorefreshourminds，“proposedJo。

Ned，frank，andthelittlegirlsjoinedinthis，andwhileitwenton，thethreeelderssatapart，talking。MissKatetookouthersketchagain，andMargaretwatchedher，whileMr。Brookelayonthegrasswithabook，whichhedidnotread。

“Howbeautifullyyoudoit!IwishIcoulddraw，“saidMeg，withmingledadmirationandregretinhervoice。

“Whydon’tyoulearn？Ishouldthinkyouhadtasteandtalentforit，“repliedMissKategraciously。

“Ihaven’ttime。“

“Yourmammaprefersotheraccomplishments，Ifancy。Sodidmine，butIprovedtoherthatIhadtalentbytakingafewlessonsprivately，andthenshewasquitewillingIshouldgoon。Can’tyoudothesamewithyourgoverness？“

“Ihavenone。“

“IforgotyoungladiesinAmericagotoschoolmorethanwithus。Veryfineschoolstheyare，too，Papasays。Yougotoaprivateone，Isuppose？“

“Idon’tgoatall。Iamagovernessmyself。“

“Oh。indeed!“saidMissKate，butshemightaswellhavesaid，“Dearme，howdreadful!“forhertoneimpliedit，andsomethinginherfacemadeMegcolor，andwishshehadnotbeensofrank。

Mr。Brookelookedupandsaidquickly，YoungladiesinAmericaloveindependenceasmuchastheirancestorsdid，andareadmiredandrespectedforsupportingthemselves。“

“Oh，yes，ofcourseit’sveryniceandproperinthemtodoso。Wehavemanymostrespectableandworthyyoungwomenwhodothesameandareemployedbythenobility，because，beingthedaughtersofgentlemen，theyarebothwellbredandaccomplished，youknow，“saidMissKateinapatronizingtonethathurtMeg’spride，andmadeherworkseemnotonlymoredistasteful，butdegrading。

“DidtheGermansongsuit，MissMarch？“inquiredMr。Brooke，breakinganawkwardpause。

“Oh，yes!Itwasverysweet，andI’mmuchobligedtowhoevertranslateditforme。“AndMeg’sdowncastfacebrightenedasshespoke。

“Don’tyoureadGerman？“askedMissKatewithalookofsurprise。

“Notverywell。Myfather，whotaughtme，isaway，andIdon’tgetonveryfastalone，forI’venoonetocorrectmypronunciation。“

“Tryalittlenow。HereisSchiller’sMaryStuartandatutorwholovestoteach。“AndMr。Brookelaidhisbookonherlapwithaninvitingsmile。

“It’ssohardI’mafraidtotry，“saidMeg，grateful，butbashfulinthepresenceoftheaccomplishedyoungladybesideher。

“I’llreadabittoencourageyou。“AndMissKatereadoneofthemostbeautifulpassagesinaperfectlycorrectbutperfectlyexpressionlessmanner。

Mr。BrookemadenocommentasshereturnedthebooktoMeg，whosaidinnocently，“Ithoughtitwaspoetry。“

“Someofitis。Trythispassage。“

TherewasaqueersmileaboutMr。Brooke’smouthasheopenedatpoorMary’slament。

Megobedientlyfollowingthelonggrass-bladewhichhernewtutorusedtopointwith，readslowlyandtimidly，unconsciouslymakingpoetryofthehardwordsbythesoftintonationofhermusicalvoice。Downthepagewentthegreenguide，andpresently，forgettingherlistenerinthebeautyofthesadscene，Megreadasifalone，givingalittletouchoftragedytothewordsoftheunhappyqueen。Ifshehadseenthebrowneyesthen，shewouldhavestoppedshort，butsheneverlookedup，andthelessonwasnotspoiledforher。

“Verywellindeed!“saidMr。Brooke，asshepaused，quiteignoringhermanymistakes，andlookingasifhedidindeedlovetoteach。

MissKateputupherglass，and，havingtakenasurveyofthelittletableaubeforeher，shuthersketchbook，sayingwithcondescension，“You’veaniceaccentandintimewillbeacleverreader。Iadviseyoutolearn，forGermanisavaluableaccomplishmenttoteachers。ImustlookafterGrace，sheisromping。“

AndMissKatestrolledaway，addingtoherselfwithashrug，“I

didn’tcometochaperoneagoverness，thoughsheisyoungandpretty。WhatoddpeopletheseYankeesare。I’mafraidLauriewillbequitespoile