Charlotte made no disguise of her disinclination to undertake to help them.

Mr. Langenau expressed his willingness so unenthusiastically, that I think Mrs. Hollenbeck was staggered.  I saw her glance anxiously at him, as if to know what really he might mean.  She concluded to interpret according to the context, however, and went on.

“But it will be so much better for all to undertake it, if one does.  Suppose they try and see how it will work, either before or after our lesson.”

“De tout mon coeur,” said Mr. Langenau, as if, however, his coeur had very little interest in the matter.

“Well, about the hour?” said Charlotte, the woman of business; “we haven’t settled that after all our talking.”

There was a great deal more, oh, a great deal more, and then it was settled that five in the afternoon should be considered the German hour—­subject to alteration as circumstances should arise.

Mrs. Hollenbeck very discreetly ordered that a beginning should not be made till the next day but one.  “The gentlemen will all be here to-morrow, and there may be something else going on.”  I knew very well she was afraid of Richard, and thought he would not approve her zeal for our improvement.

The first lesson was very dull work for me.  It was agreed that Mary Leighton and I should take our lesson after the others, sitting beside them, however, for the benefit of such crumbs of information as might fall to us.

Mr. Langenau took no special notice of me then, and very little that was flattering when Mary Leighton and I began our lesson proper.  Mrs. Hollenbeck, Charlotte, and Henrietta took up their books and left, when the infant class was called.  I do not think Mr. Langenau took great pains to make the study of the German tongue of interest to Miss Leighton.  She was unspeakably bored, and never even learned the alphabet.  She was very much unused to mental application, undoubtedly, and was annoyed at appearing dull.  There was but one door open to her; to vote German a bore, and give up the class.  She made her exit by that door on the occasion of the second lesson, and Mr. Langenau and I were left to pursue our studies undisturbed.  The rendezvous was the piazza in fine weather, and the library when it was damp or cloudy.  The fidelity with which the senior Germans gathered up their books and left, when their hour was over, was mainly due to the kind thoughtfulness of Mrs. Hollenbeck, who was always prompt, and always found some excuse for carrying away Charlotte and Henrietta with her when she went.

It can be imagined what those hours were to me, those soft, golden afternoons.  Sometimes we took our books and went out under the trees to some shaded seats, and sat there till the maid came out to call us in to tea.  Happy, happy hours in dreamland!  But what peril to me, and perhaps to him.  It is vain to go over it all:  it is enough that of all the happy days, that hour from six o’clock till tea-time was the happiest:  and that with strange smoothness, day after day passed on without bringing interruption to it.  At six the others went to ride or walk; I was never called, and did not even wonder at it.