’Lena reddened, for she knew that, whether deservedly or not, she bore
the reputation of being an excellent scholar, for one of her age, and
now she rather tartly answered, “I study geography, arithmetic,
grammar, and——” history, she was going to add, but her uncle stopped
her, saying, “That’ll do, that’ll do. You study all these? Now I don’t
suppose you know what one of ’em is.”
“Yes, I do,” said ’Lena, with a good deal of spirit. “Olney’s geography
is a description of the earth; Colburn’s arithmetic is the science of
numbers: Smith’s grammar teaches us how to speak correctly.”
“Why don’t you do it then,” asked her uncle.
“Do what?” said ’Lena, and her uncle continued, “Why don’t you make
some use of your boasted knowledge of grammar? Why, my Anna has never
seen the inside of a grammar, as I know of, but she don’t _talk like
you do_.”
“Don’t _what_, sir?” said ’Lena,
“Don’t _talk like you do_,” repeated her uncle, while ’Lena’s eyes
fairly danced with mischief as she asked, “if that were good grammar.”
Mr. Livingstone colored, thinking it just possible that he himself
might sometimes be guilty of the same things for which he had so
harshly chided ’Lena, of whom from this time he began to think more
favorably. It could hardly be said that he treated her with any more
attention, and still there was a difference which she felt, and which
made her very happy.
CHAPTER IV.
ON THE ROAD.
At last the packing-up process came to an end, everything too poor to
sell, and too good to give away, had found a place—some here, some
there, and some in John’s trunk, among his ruffled bosoms, collars,
dickeys, and so forth. Miss Nancy, who stood by until the last, was
made the receiver of sundry cracked teacups, noseless pitchers, and
iron spoons, which could not be disposed of elsewhere.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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