ot
know thirty words of the language."

"Better to be ignorant of it," said L'Isle with a sneer, "than learn
it as Dona Carlotta did."

"I know not how she acquired it," said Mrs. Shortridge, "but I am told
that here on the continent every educated person speaks French. We
English are far behind them in that."

"Be proud rather than ashamed of that," said L'Isle. "Monsieur has
taught all Europe his language except ourselves. Flagellation is a
necessary part of schooling. As he has never been able to thrash us,
we are the worst French scholars in Europe, and those he has thrashed
oftenest, are the best. They should blush at their knowledge; we plume
ourselves on our ignorance. Thank God you have an English tongue in
your head, and never mar a better language with a Gallic phrase. There
is in every country a class who are prone to denationalize themselves;
at this day, they generally ape the Frenchman. Now, I can tolerate a
genuine Frenchman, without having any great liking for him; but if
there is any one whom I feel at liberty to despise and distrust, it is
a German, Spaniard or Englishman, who is trying to Frenchify
himself. Such people are much akin to the self-styled citizen of the
world, who professes to have rid himself of all local and national
prejudice. I have usually met _no-prejudice_ and _no-principle_
walking hand in hand together. The French," he continued, "have the
impudence to call theirs the universal language; and in diplomacy and
war, they have been long too much encouraged in this. My Lord
Wellington here is much to blame in giving way to their pretensions on
this point. Whenever I have an independent command," said L'Isle
laughing, "I will not let a Frenchman capitulate but in good English,
or for want of it, in some other language than his own. I have
already put that in practice in a small way," said he, as he handed
Mrs. Shortridge down to dinner. "I once waylaid a foraging, _anglice_,
a plundering party, returning laden to Merida. They showed fight, but
we soon tumbled them into a _barranca_, where we had them quite in our
power. But I would not listen to a word of their French, or let them
surrender, until they found a renegade Spaniard to act as
interpreter. When I want anything of them, I may speak French; but
when they want anything of me, they must ask it in another tongue."

The dinner went off as large dinners usually do. The wrong parties got
seated together, and suitable companions