hall come home in September or not.
Madame Heger has made a proposal for both me and Emily to stay another
half-year, offering to dismiss her English master, and take me as
English teacher; also to employ Emily some part of each day in
teaching music to a certain number of the pupils. For these services
we are to be allowed to continue our studies in French and German, and
to have board, &c., without paying for it; no salaries, however, are
offered. The proposal is kind, and in a great selfish city like
Brussels, and a great selfish school, containing nearly ninety pupils
(boarders and day pupils included), implies a degree of interest which
demands gratitude in return. I am inclined to accept it. What think
you? I don't deny I sometimes wish to be in England, or that I have
brief attacks of home sickness; but, on the whole, I have borne a very
valiant heart so far; and I have been happy in Brussels, because I
have always been fully occupied with the employments that I like.
Emily is making rapid progress in French, German, music, and drawing.
Monsieur and Madame Heger begin to recognise the valuable parts of her
character, under her singularities.

"If the national character of the Belgians is to be measured by the
character of most of the girls is this school, it in a character
singularly cold, selfish, animal, and inferior. They are very
mutinous and difficult for the teachers to manage; and their
principles are rotten to the core. We avoid them, which it is not
difficult to do, as we have the brand of Protestantism and Anglicism
upon us. People talk of the danger which Protestants expose
themselves to in going to reside in Catholic countries, and thereby
running the chance of changing their faith. My advice to all
Protestants who are tempted to do anything so besotted as turn
Catholics, is, to walk over the sea on to the Continent; to attend
mass sedulously for a time; to note well the mummeries thereof; also
the idiotic, mercenary aspect of all the priests; and then, if they
are still disposed to consider Papistry in any other light than a most
feeble, childish piece of humbug, let them turn Papists at once--that's
all. I consider Methodism, Quakerism, and the extremes of High and
Low Churchism foolish, but Roman Catholicism beats them all. At the
same time, allow me to tell you, that there are some Ca