ough it; I had measured the enormous pillars and great
gateways, and studied the sculpture on the walls, and paced up and
down the great avenue of sphinxes. Sethos, and Amunoph and Rameses,
the second and third, were all known and familiar to me; and I knew
just where Shishak had recorded his triumphs over the land of Judea. I
wrote my composition with the greatest delight. The only danger was
that I might make it too long.

One evening I was using the last of the light, writing in the window
recess of the school parlour, when I felt a hand laid on my shoulders.

"You are so hard at work!" said the voice of Mlle. Genevieve.

"Yes, mademoiselle, I like it."

"Have you got all the books and all that you want?"

"Books, mademoiselle?"--I said wondering.

"Yes; have you got all you want?"

"I have not got any books," I said; "there are none that I want in the
school library."

"Have you never been in madame's library?"

"No, mademoiselle."

"Come!"

I jumped up and followed her, up and down stairs and through halls and
turnings, till she brought me into a pretty room lined with books from
floor to ceiling. Nobody was there. Mademoiselle lit the gas with
great energy, and then turned to me, her great black eyes shining.

"Now what do you want, _mon enfant_? here is everything."

"Is there anything about Egypt?"

"Egypt! Are you in Egypt? See here--look, here is Denon--here is
Laborde; here are two or three more. Do you like that? Ah! I see by
the way your grey eyes grow big--Now sit down, and do what you like.
Nobody will disturb you. You can come here every evening for the hour
before tea."

Mademoiselle scarce stayed for my thanks, and left me alone. I had not
seen either Laborde or Denon in my grandfather's library at Magnolia;
they were after his time. The engravings and illustrations also had
not been very many or very fine in his collection of travellers'
books. It was the greatest joy to me to see some of those things in
Mme. Ricard's library, that I had read and dreamed about so long in my
head. It was adding eyesight to hearsay. I found a good deal too that
I wanted to read, in these later authorities. Evening after evening I
was in madame's library, lost among the halls of the old Egyptian
conquerors.

The interest and delight of my work quite filled me, so that the fate of
my composition hardly came into my thoughts, or the fact that other
people were writing compositions too. And when it was