n was ever reconquered, the
knowledge of the tribal languages must be of immense benefit to her
son; and she therefore insisted, from the first, that the woman should
always talk to him in one or other of the languages that she knew.

Thus Gregory, almost unconsciously, acquired several of the dialects
used in the Soudan. Arabic formed the basis of them all, except the
Negro tongue. At first he mixed them up, but as he grew, Mrs. Hilliard
insisted that his nurse should speak one for a month, and then use
another; so that, by the time he was twelve years old, the boy could
speak in the Negro tongue, and half a dozen dialects, with equal
facility.

His mother had, years before, engaged a teacher of Arabic for him. This
he learned readily, as it was the root of the Egyptian and the other
languages he had picked up. Of a morning, he sat in the school and
learned pure Arabic and Turkish, while the boys learned English; and
therefore, without an effort, when he was twelve years old he talked
these languages as well as English; and had, moreover, a smattering of
Italian and French, picked up from boys of his own age, for his mother
had now many acquaintances among the European community.

While she was occupied in the afternoon, with her pupils, the boy had
liberty to go about as he pleased; and indeed she encouraged him to
take long walks, to swim, and to join in all games and exercises.

"English boys at home," she said, "have many games, and it is owing to
these that they grow up so strong and active. They have more
opportunities than you, but you must make the most of those that you
have. We may go back to England some day, and I should not at all like
you to be less strong than others."

As, however, such opportunities were very small, she had an apparatus
of poles, horizontal bars, and ropes set up, such as those she had
seen, in England, in use by the boys of one of the families where she
had taught, before her marriage; and insisted upon Gregory's exercising
himself upon it for an hour every morning, soon after sunrise. As she
had heard her husband once say that fencing was a splendid exercise,
not only for developing the figure, but for giving a good carriage as
well as activity and alertness, she arranged with a Frenchman who had
served in the army, and had gained a prize as a swordsman in the
regiment, to give the boy lessons two mornings in the week.

Thus, at fifteen, Gregory was well grown and athletic, and