oguestilleditinstantly.Itwasastonishing,Ithought,howsomildacheckcouldprovesoeffectual.WhenIhadperambulatedthelengthandbreadthoftheclasses,M.Peletturnedandsaidtome—
“Wouldyouobjecttotakingtheboysastheyare,andtestingtheirproficiencyinEnglish?”
Theproposalwasunexpected.IhadthoughtIshouldhavebeenallowedatleastthreedaystopreparebutitisabadomentocommenceanycareerbyhesitation,soIjuststeppedtotheprofessor’sdesknearwhichwestood,andfacedthecircleofmypupils.Itookamomenttocollectmythoughts,andlikewisetoframeinFrenchthesentencebywhichIproposedtoopenbusiness.Imadeitasshortaspossible:—
“Messieurs,prenezvoslivresdelecture.”
“AnglaisouFrancais,monsieur?”demandedathickset,moon-facedyoungFlamandinablouse.Theanswerwasfortunatelyeasy:—
“Anglais.”
Ideterminedtogivemyselfaslittletroubleaspossibleinthislessonitwouldnotdoyettotrustmyunpractisedtonguewiththedeliveryofexplanationsmyaccentandidiomwouldbetooopentothecriticismsoftheyounggentlemenbeforeme,relativetowhomIfeltalreadyitwouldbenecessaryatoncetotakeupanadvantageousposition,andIproceededtoemploymeansaccordingly.
“Commencez!”criedI,whentheyhadallproducedtheirbooks.Themoon-facedyouth(bynameJulesVanderkelkov,asIafterwardslearnt)tookthefirstsentence.The“livredelecture”wasthe“VicarofWakefield,”muchusedinforeignschoolsbecauseitissupposedtocontainprimesamplesofconversationalEnglishitmight,however,havebeenaRunicscrollforanyresemblancethewords,asenunciatedbyJules,boretothelanguageinordinaryuseamongstthenativesofGreatBritain.MyGod!howhedidsnuffle,snort,andwheeze!Allhesaidwassaidinhisthroatandnose,foritisthustheFlamandsspeak,butIheardhimtotheendofhisparagraphwithoutprofferingawordofcorrection,whereathelookedvastlyself-complacent,convinced,nodoubt,thathehadacquittedhimselflikearealbornandbred“Anglais.”InthesameunmovedsilenceIlistenedtoadozeninrotation,andwhenthetwelfthhadconcludedwithsplutter,hiss,andmumble,Isolemnlylaiddownthebook.
“Arretez!”saidI.Therewasapause,duringwhichIregardedthemallwithasteadyandsomewhatsterngazeadog,ifstaredathardenoughandlongenough,willshowsymptomsofembarrassment,andsoatlengthdidmybenchofBelgians.Perceivingthatsomeofthefacesbeforemewerebeginningtolooksullen,andothersashamed,Islowlyjoinedmyhands,andejaculatedinadeep“voixdepoitrine”—
“Commec’estaffreux!”
Theylookedateachother,po