a great deal of French from my cousin's Swiss nurse. And so, in our
way, we did, although I think Susette learned English a great deal
faster than we learned French. Yet, when we wished to coax her, the
French words came fast enough, such as they were.

But I am afraid grandmamma did not think that we were learning quite
enough, for one day she called Lottie and me, and told us that she had
just seen such a nice young lady, and that she had promised to come and
be our governess. What an excitement this news caused us all! How we
talked it over all day long. We had many different ideas as to what she
was to be like; in fact, the elder boys made pictures of her, which, as
it turned out, were anything but good portraits.

How we did look at her that first evening! She was very young, very fair
and in deep mourning. That is my earliest impression of her. We had a
kind of unconfessed idea that she did not take half pains enough to make
us like her. She did not seem to care whether we did or not--hardly, I
fancy, to think about the matter. It was just the very end of April,
almost the bright May-time, and grandmamma went round the garden with
her, Lottie and I making our remarks from a distance. I think we were a
little surprised to see our new governess so much at her ease, laughing
merrily and talking away to grandmamma, just as if there were no little
critics taking note of all. By and by, she came in and sat down in "the
schoolroom"--such a new word that seemed!--to write a letter. Lottie and
I pretended to be very busy with our dolls in one corner, but we were
keeping up our watch, and every now and then we met her eye with a merry
twinkle in it, looking greatly amused at us.

"She looks so young, only a girl! she will never be able to manage us,
Jane says," Lottie remarked very softly to me; "but then, I daresay, she
can be cross enough when she likes, governesses always are!"

All of a sudden, a merry laugh startled us both, and in another minute
Lottie found herself flat on the floor, being tickled and kissed and
laughed over all at once. I don't think she quite liked it, though she
couldn't help laughing, too, but her cheeks were very red, when Miss
Grant raised her own head. She kept Lottie flat on her back, and looked
down at her, the most thorough amusement all over her face.

"Cross enough, do you think? Oh, yes, to be sure I can! Cross enough to
eat you up at one mouthful, and little Sissy after you!"

How