to take for granted that she would behave badly
and never do right; indeed there were days when, after she had been
scolded and punished very often, a spirit of obstinacy entered her small
frame, and her whole being was bent upon ill-behaviour and mischief.

Susan looked on in dismay, and counted up the farthings as one after the
other they were recklessly forfeited by some fresh piece of naughtiness.

"You've lost two week's money," she whispered in Sophia Jane's ear,
hoping to check her; but its only result was to urge her to wilder acts,
and the next minute she was detected in making a grimace at Margaretta,
whom she specially disliked. Sophia Jane was certainly not a pleasant
child, and it was not surprising that no one loved her.

"Look at Susan," they said to her constantly, "how well Susan behaves!
how upright Susan sits! how perfectly Susan says her lessons! how good
Susan is!"--but Sophia Jane took no heed, it did not improve her a bit,
but if possible made her worse to have this shining example held up for
her to copy. As to Susan, she now heard her own praises so often that
she began to think not only that Sophia Jane was very bad, but that she
herself must be uncommonly good. At home it had always been taken as a
matter of course that she would be quiet, obedient, and useful, and
learn her lessons properly; it had never been considered anything
remarkable. Here, however, she was continually called "clever," and
"good," and "dear little thing," when she did the most common things, so
that she soon began to hold her head higher and to look down upon Sophia
Jane with a very condescending air.

Meanwhile there was one thing she dreaded, and that was Monsieur La
Roche's French lesson in which she was to join; she had now been a week
at Ramsgate, and the day was approaching. Whenever he was mentioned
Margaretta had always some giggling joke to make, and Sophia Jane echoed
them. They imitated the way in which he spoke English, and the way in
which he bowed when he came into the room, and the way in which he
smiled and rubbed his hands; everything he did appeared to be laughable,
and though Susan had not found it so on the steamboat, she now began to
think that they must be right. Even Maria, she remembered, had called
him "a figure of fun." How she hoped that he would not say anything
about that journey! Her cheeks grew quite hot when she thought of how
she had told him her name, and where she lived, an