FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155  
156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   >>   >|  
f in frequent fits of idleness, both talking and laughing a great deal, and generally forgetting everything but the pleasure of being together. They wrote little notes as exercises--Amy in French, Casimer in English, and each corrected the other's. All very well for a time; but as the notes increased the corrections decreased, and at last nothing was said of ungrammatical French or comical English and the little notes were exchanged in silence. As Amy took her place that day she looked forlorn, and when her pupil came her only welcome was a reproachful-- "You are very late, sir." "It is fifteen of minutes yet to ten clocks," was Casimer's reply, in his best English. "Ten o'clock, and leave out 'of' before minutes. How many times must I tell you that?" said Amy, severely, to cover her first mistake. "Ah, not many times; soon all goes to finish, and I have none person to make this charming English go in my so stupide head." "What will you do then?" "I _jeter_ myself into the lake." "Don't be foolish; I'm dull to-day, and want to be cheered up; suicide isn't a pleasant subject." "Good! See here, then--a little _plaisanterie_--what you call joke. Can you will to see it?" and he laid a little pink cocked-hat note on her lap, looking like a mischievous boy as he did so. "'Mon Casimer Teblinski;' I see no joke;" and Amy was about to tear it up, when he caught it from destruction, and holding it out of reach, said, laughing wickedly,-- "The 'mon' is one abbreviation of 'monsieur,' but you put no little--how do you say?--period at the end of him; it goes now in English--_My_ Casimer Teblinski,' and that is of the most charming address." Amy colored, but had her return shot ready. "Don't exult; that was only an oversight, not a deliberate deception like that you put upon me. It was very wrong and rude, and I shall not forgive it." "_Mon Dieu_! where have I gone in sinning! I am a _polisson_, as I say each day, but not a villain, I swear to you. Say to me that which I have made of wrong, and I will do penance." "You told me '_Ma drogha_' was the Polish for 'My pupil,' and let me call you so a long time; I am wiser now," replied Amy, with great dignity. "Who has said stupidities to you, that you doubt me?" and Casimer assumed an injured look, though his eyes danced with merriment. "I heard Hoffman singing a Polish song to little Roserl, the burden of which was, '_Ma drogha, Ma drogha_,' an
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155  
156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
English
 

Casimer

 

drogha

 

Polish

 

minutes

 
charming
 
Teblinski
 

laughing

 
French
 

merriment


wickedly

 

period

 
monsieur
 

danced

 
abbreviation
 

Roserl

 
mischievous
 
burden
 

destruction

 

holding


caught

 

singing

 

Hoffman

 

dignity

 

polisson

 

villain

 

sinning

 

replied

 

frequent

 

penance


forgive

 
idleness
 

return

 

address

 

assumed

 
colored
 

oversight

 
deliberate
 

stupidities

 
cocked

deception
 

injured

 
pleasant
 
fifteen
 

reproachful

 

clocks

 
forlorn
 

looked

 
exercises
 

ungrammatical