ematics. She had
paused in her figuring somewhere about the beginning of long division,
but even where she had paused she could not be said to be very steadily
fixed.

The musical part of this education belonged to just about the same date
as the part which Miss Asenath had supervised. For all the pieces
Arethusa had learned "by heart," which was the only way to learn music
properly so as to be able to give pleasure to others, were pieces which
Miss Letitia herself had practised with painstaking care for expression
over fifty years ago. Both musicians were quite proficient in mazurkas
and polkas and old-fashioned reels and ballads, and let us not forget
to mention variations of every conceivable variety, for Miss Letitia
possessed a whole book of variations, and it was quite a thick book.

Just at present, Arethusa was busily engaged in committing to memory
"The Babbling Brook."

But her brook did not babble just precisely as Miss Letitia's did.
There was something far more fantastic and wild about the runs the
younger musician made on the tinkling square piano; runs which Miss
Letitia considered were not at all in keeping with the character of the
music she was playing. Effort had been expended by both to bring
Arethusa's brook to the state of really flowing as a brook should flow;
but it seemed so far to be hopeless.

Arethusa played it through once and Miss Letitia kept time for her with
a threaded needle.

"No, dearie," she shook her head, "you don't get it at all. You play
just a bit too fast sometimes, and not quite fast enough others."

So it was played all over again from the beginning by the pupil; but
still it was no better. Miss Letitia looked troubled.

"I just don't see how I can make you do it differently."

Miss Asenath liked Arethusa's way of playing this particular piece and
she did not want it changed.

"Perhaps," she suggested gently, "the child is tired. It's been a very
hot day, and it's very hard to do anything just right on such a day. It
seems to take all the life out of one."

Miss Letitia agreed. "It does so. Well, she can learn it the right way
before she leaves. There's plenty of time still."

"Play something else for us, dear," said Miss Asenath. "Play some of
the ballads."

Arethusa turned again to the piano and filled the room with the soft
sounds of "Auld Robin Gray" and "The Low-backed Car" and "Annie
Laurie."

Under cover of the music Timothy slipped in and found a chai