setting a good example to your schoolfellows.
Never mind; go to your mother."

The schoolmaster turned his back on his
astonished son. Philihert, who had perfectly
done all his tasks and lessons during the week;
Philibert, who only yesterday had risen to the
top of his class; seemed to have struck root in
the middle of the court, as he mechanically
repeated, " Greek! Greek! I don't know a word
of it. I only know that the A is called alpha,
and the O omega. Oh! if I could but manage,
before I go for my walk, to say the Gospel to
papa in Greek! How can it be done?"

All at once a bright idea shot through the
scholar's little brain. He darted away into the
schoolroom, and, after half an hour's absence at
most, he re-entered the court, just as the
schoolmaster was crossing it the second time.

"Papa! papa!" cried the delighted child,
holding out a book to his father. " Papa, I
know my Gospel in Greek. Take the book.
Shall I say it to you?"

The reader may fancy that the father
manifested some surprise at this extraordinary
announcement on the part of a child who, only
thirty minutes beforehand, had avowed with
truth his complete ignorance of the language of
Homer. No such thing; the rigid schoolmaster
was not to be moved by such a trifle. He
merely said to his son, gently pushing back the
book, " Recite it; I have no need of the text.
At your age I knew all the Gospels by heart, in
French, in Latin, and in Greek."

Philibert did not wait to be ordered twice,
and regarding all the while his learned parent
with astonished eyes, he said by heart, all in
one breath and without a single mistake, the
Gospel which concludes with the words of Jesus
when consulted by the disciples of the Pharisees
and the Herodians, " Render unto Cæsar the
things which belong to Cæsar, and unto God
the things which belong to God."

Philibert's endeavours to satisfy his father's
desire by an effort of memory, deserved at least
an affectionate caress; but the schoolmaster, as
we are aware, did not like to be caught in the
fact of giving way to astonishment or
admiration.

"It is not bad," he said to Philibert. " It is
not bad; but you must tell me how you
contrived to learn so quickly, a dozen lines
of Greek. Answer frankly."

"Yes, papa. I went to the great boys' class,
and I said to M. Chevalier, the usher who
knows Greek so beautifully, ' You don't know,
Monsieur Chevalier, what has happened. Papa
just now asked me why I did not know my
Gospel in Greek, and I should much like to be
able to say it to him; so I am come to beg you
to dictate it to me.' M. Chevalier at first replied
that I was a little madman, since I did
not even know the characters of the Greek
alphabet. ' You shall see,' I answered. 'Dictate
to me the words in Greek; I will write
them down in French letters, and, as I have a
good memory, I shall soon get them by heart.'
M. Chevalier laughed heartily, and began his
dictation.  You know, papa, that the Gospel
begins with the words E? ?????? ?? ?????;
well, as M. Chevalier dictated, I wrote in
French the sounds which struck my ear.  For
the word E? I wrote enne; for ?????? I wrote
ekeino, and so on to the end of the gospel.  Are
you not pleased with me?"

The schoolmaster probably did not choose
either to say Yes or No, for he answered his son
with this inquiry: " How much pocket-money
does your mother give you a week?"

"Papa, she gives me five sous on Thursdays
and five sous on Sundays."

"Here are twenty sou?. As you are going
to see your sister, you can carry her a few
bonbons.  And now be off to your mother."

"'Tis rather my sister," cried Philibert, as
he made his escape, "who gives me bonbons.
And yet she is not rich, at her school, my dear
good sister; but I shall pay off some of my old
debts to-day!"

Philibert spoke the truth when he said that
his sister Eugénie was not rich. Painful and
straitened, truly, is the position of a teacher in
a ladies' school. What was done in the time of
Philibert's sister is done now more shamefully
than ever, principally in the provinces, and even
(the fact will scarcely be believed) in the most
fashionable boarding-schools of Paris. A well-
educated young person, who has obtained a
diploma of the first degree, which allows her to
become a governess, presents herself to the
mistress of an establishment for young ladies. If
she be accepted, she is taken in at par; that is
to say, she is boarded and lodged, without salary
—boarded, God knows how. In return for these
great advantages, she is bound daily to instruct
and watch over the pupils, from six in the
morning until ten o'clock at night, on an average.
And it is not every one who can obtain a
diploma of the first degree. Out of fifty candidates,
at least half fail in passing their examination. But,
suppose you were to make an offer
to any man or woman-servant to take a place in
a school, either for boys or girls, or in any other
household whatsoever, at par—the probabilities
are in favour of the man or the maid-servant's
sending you at once about your business.

After spending six months, or sometimes a
year, at par, the young governesses receive a
salary of from two to three hundred francs a
year: or from eight to twelve pounds English.
If M. Gandon's assertions are doubted, he
would have no difficulty in citing a dozen
establishments in Paris in which these things
are now so managed. Eugénie, Philibert's sister,
had been highly favoured in being offered, from
the very outset, the enormous sum of ten francs,
or eight and fourpence English, per month; but
then she had passed so brilliant an examination,
that each of her lady-examiners determined to
secure her, regardless of expense. These worthy
persons were three in number; the first offered
par and a gratification of fifty francs at the
expiration of the first year; the second added to
the above conditions a stipend of five francs a
month—very nearly a shilling a week; the third,