Miriam repeated these words in her mind trying to dwell on the beauty of Fräulein's middle tones. "And the day shall come, I shall wish, for all of you, that the sanctity of a home shall be within your hands. What then shall be the shame, what the regret of those who before the coming of that sacred time did think thoughts of men, did speak of them? _Shame, shame_," whispered Fräulein amidst the sobbing of the girls. "With the thoughts of those who have this impure nature I can do nothing. For them it is freely to acknowledge this evil in the heart and to pray that the heart may be changed and made clean. "But a thing I can do and I do.... I will have no more of this talking. In my school I will have no more.... Do you hear, all? Do you hear?" She struck the table with both fists and brandished them in mid-air. "Eh-h," she sneered. "I know, _I_ know who are the culprits. I have always known." She gasped. "It shall cease--these talks--this vile talk of men. Do you understand? It shall cease. I--will--not--have--it.... The school shall be clean ... from pupil to pupil ... from room to room.... Every day ... every hour.... Shameless!" she screamed. "Shameless. Ah! I know. I know you." She stood with her arms folded, swaying, and gave a little laugh. "You think to deceive me. You do not deceive me. I know. I have known and I shall know. This school is mine. Mine! My place! I will have it as I will have it. That is clear and plain, and you all shall help me. I shall say no more. But I shall know what to do." Mechanically Miriam went downstairs with the rest of the party. With the full force of her nerves she resisted the echoes of Fräulein's onslaught, refusing to think of anything she had said and blotting out her image every time it rose. The essential was that she would be dismissed as Mademoiselle had been dismissed. That was the upshot of it all for her. Fräulein was a mad, silly, pious female who would send her away and go on glowering over the Bible. She would have to go, go, _go_ in a sort of disgrace. The girls were talking all round her, excitedly. She despised them for showing that they were disturbed by Fräulein's despotic nonsense. As they reached the basement she remembered the letter crushed in her hand and sat down on the last step to glance through it. 12 "Dearest Mim. I have a wonderful piece of news for you. I wonder what you will say? It is about Harriett. She has asked me to tell you as she does not like to write about it herself."