Over such feeble fledglings the directress spread a wing of kindliest protection: it was to their bedside she came at night to tuck them warmly in; it was after them she looked in winter to see that they always had a comfortable seat by the stove; it was they who by turns were summoned to the salon to receive some little dole of cake or fruit--to sit on a footstool at the fireside--to enjoy home comforts, and almost home liberty, for an evening together--to be spoken to gently and softly, comforted, encouraged, cherished--and when bedtime came, dismissed with a kiss of true tenderness.

As to Julia and Georgiana G----, daughters of an English baronet, as to Mdlle.

Mathilde de -- --, heiress of a Belgian count, and sundry other children of patrician race, the directress was careful of them as of the others, anxious for their progress, as for that of the rest--but it never seemed to enter her head to distinguish them by a mark of preference; one girl of noble blood she loved dearly--a young Irish baroness--lady Catherine -- --; but it was for her enthusiastic heart and clever head, for her generosity and her genius, the title and rank went for nothing.
My afternoons were spent also in college, with the exception of an hour that my wife daily exacted of me for her establishment, and with which she would not dispense.

She said that I must spend that time amongst her pupils to learn their characters, to be AU COURANT with everything that was passing in the house, to become interested in what interested her, to be able to give her my opinion on knotty points when she required it, and this she did constantly, never allowing my interest in the pupils to fall asleep, and never making any change of importance without my cognizance and consent.

She delighted to sit by me when I gave my lessons (lessons in literature), her hands folded on her knee, the most fixedly attentive of any present.