"I never can do it; come upstairs, my dear Valerie, and help me off with my stays. I must be _a l'abandon_." I followed her, and having removed these impediments we returned to the boudoir. "There," said she, sitting down, "I think I shall manage it now: I feel as if I could." "Manage what?" inquired I. "My dear, I am about to write a love scene, very warm and impassioned, and I could not do it, confined as I was. Now that I am loose, I can give loose to the reins of my imagination, and delineate with the arrow of Cupid's self. My heroine is reclining, with her hand on her cheek; put yourself in that attitude, my dear dear Valerie, as if you were meditating upon the prolonged absence of one dear to you. Exactly-- beautiful--true to nature--but I forgot, a page enters--don't move, I'll ring the bell." Lionel answered quickly, as usual. "Here, Lionel, I want you to play the page." "I've no time for play, my lady; I'm page in earnest. There's all the knives to clean." "Never mind the knives just now. Observe, Lionel, you are supposed to be sent a message to that lovely girl, who is sitting absorbed in a soft reverie. You enter her presence unperceived, and are struck with her beauty; you lean against a tree, in a careless but graceful attitude, with your eyes fixed upon her lovely features. Now lean against the door, as I have described, and then I shall be able to write." I could not help smiling at the absurdity of this scene, the more so as Lionel, just passing his fingers through his hair, and then pulling up his shirt collar, took his position, saying, "Now, Miss Valerie, we'll see who performs best: I think you will be sooner tired of sitting than I shall be of looking at you." "Excellent, Lionel!--exactly the position that I wished," said Lady R--, scribbling as fast as she could; "that stare of yours is true to nature--Cymon and Iphigenia--a perfect tableau!--don't move, I beg; I only require ten minutes." I looked up at Master Lionel, and he made such a grimace, that I could hardly keep my countenance, and I did not exactly feel satisfied at thus performing, as it were, with a servant; but still, that servant was Lionel, who was very unlike other servants. In ten minutes, as promised, we were released, much to my satisfaction. Lionel went off to clean his knives, and I took up my book, and really when I perceived the delight of Lady R--, at what she called her success, I no longer felt anything like annoyance at having complied with her wishes. One morning, when Lady R--had walked out, and the page Lionel was in the room, I entered into conversation with him, and asked how it was that he had been so much better educated than were lads in his position in general?