tamed the fiery distrust and enmity of
Palmyre, would present his opinions without the thought of a reservation
either in himself or his hearers. On their part, they would sit in deep
attention, shielding their faces from the fire, and responding to
enunciations directly contrary to their convictions with an occasional
"yes-seh," or "ceddenly," or "of coze," or,--prettier affirmation
still,--a solemn drooping of the eyelids, a slight compression of the
lips, and a low, slow declination of the head.

"The bane of all Creole art-effort"--(we take up the apothecary's words
at a point where Clotilde was leaning forward and slightly frowning in
an honest attempt to comprehend his condensed English)--"the bane of all
Creole art-effort, so far as I have seen it, is amateurism."

"Amateu--" murmured Clotilde, a little beclouded on the main word and
distracted by a French difference of meaning, but planting an elbow on
one knee in the genuineness of her attention, and responding with a bow.

"That is to say," said Frowenfeld, apologizing for the homeliness of his
further explanation by a smile, "a kind of ambitious indolence that lays
very large eggs, but can neither see the necessity for building a nest
beforehand, nor command the patience to hatch the eggs afterward."

"Of coze," said Aurora.

"It is a great pity," said the sermonizer, looking at the face of
Clotilde, elongated in the brass andiron; and, after a pause: "Nothing
on earth can take the place of hard and patient labor. But that, in this
community, is not esteemed; most sorts of it are contemned; the humbler
sorts are despised, and the higher are regarded with mingled patronage
and commiseration. Most of those who come to my shop with their efforts
at art hasten to explain, either that they are merely seeking pastime,
or else that they are driven to their course by want; and if I advise
them to take their work back and finish it, they take it back and never
return. Industry is not only despised, but has been degraded and
disgraced, handed over into the hands of African savages."

"Doze Creole' is _lezzy_," said Aurora.

"That is a hard word to apply to those who do not _consciously_ deserve
it," said Frowenfeld; "but if they could only wake up to the fact,--find
it out themselves--"

"Ceddenly," said Clotilde.

"'Sieur Frowenfel'," said Aurora, leaning her head on one side, "some
pipple thing it is doze climade; 'ow you lag doze climade?"

"I do not supp