Tales and Novels — Volume 01: Moral TalesEdgeworth, Maria
General
Tales and Novels — Volume 01: Moral Tales
Edgeworth, Maria
Fiction
To instruct her nephew in the learned languages, she engaged a good
scholar and a man of sense: his name--for a man is nothing without a
name--was Russell{1}. Little Charles did not at first relish Latin;
he used sometimes to come from his Latin lessons with a very dull,
stupified face, which gradually brightened into intelligence, after he
had talked for a few minutes with his aunt. Mrs. Howard, though pleased
to perceive that he was fond of her, had not the weakness to sacrifice
his permanent advantage to her transient gratification. One evening
Charles came running up-stairs to his aunt, who was at tea; several
people happened to be present. "I have done with Mr. Russell, and my
Latin, ma'am, thank goodness--now may I have the elephant and the camel,
or the bear and her cubs, that you marked for me last night?"
{Footnote 1: RUSSELL.--This name is chosen for that of a good tutor,
because it was the name of Mr. Edgeworth's tutor, at Oxford: Mr. Russell
was also tutor to the late Mr. Day. Both by Mr. Day and Mr. Edgeworth he
was respected, esteemed, and beloved, in no common degree.}
The company laughed at this speech of Charles: and a silly lady--for
even Mrs. Howard could not make all her acquaintance wise--a silly lady
whispered to Charles, "I've a notion, if you'd tell the truth, now, that
you like the bear and her cubs a great deal better than you do Latin and
Mr. Russell."
"I like the bear a great deal better than I do Latin, to be sure," said
the boy; "but as for Mr. Russell--why, I think," added he, encouraged by
the lady's smiles, "I think I like the bear better than Mr. Russell."
The lady laughed affectedly at this sally.
"I am sure," continued Charles, fancying that every person present was
delighted with his wit, "I am sure, at any rate, I like the learned pig
fifty times better than Mr. Russell!"
The judicious lady burst into a second fit of laughter. Mrs. Howard
looked very grave. Charles broke from the lady's caresses, and going up
to his aunt, timidly looking up in her face, said, "Am I a fool?"
"You are but a child," said Mrs. Howard; and, turning away from him, she
desired the servant, who waited at tea, to let Mr. Russell know that
she desired the _honour_ of his company. Mrs. Holloway--for that was the
silly lady's name--at the words, "honour of his company," resumed her
gravity, but looked round to see what the rest of the company thought.
"Give me leave, Mr. Russell," said Mrs. Howard, as soon as he came into
the room, "to introduce you to a gentleman, for whose works I know you
have a great esteem." The gentleman was a celebrated traveller, just
returned from abroad, whose conversation was as much admired as his
writings.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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