“These are things, unfortunately, that I cannot give you any assistance with,” said Jane, recovering her presence of mind, “and perhaps you would not like to have masters and mistresses coming in for yourself.  Any other branch of study we could go on with together, and that would be pleasanter.  Music demands so very much time if you wish to make rapid progress.”

“Emily only practises an hour and Hariett half an hour a day now, and though their master wished them to practise twice as long, they seem to get on much better since you said they should not be so long at the piano.”

“Because it is practising, not amusing themselves or dawdling, and because it is an hour and half an hour, neither more nor less, and not an uncertain time, which is left to the performer’s pleasure.  To make any progress with music after you are grown up, you must give three or four hours a day to its acquirement, and that you would find it difficult—­almost impossible—­to keep up.  But, as I said before, music is a thing I am so ignorant of that I can give you no assistance and no advice on the subject.”

“I would like your assistance,” said Mrs. Phillips, “for the children do get on with you, and they say that you make their lessons an amusement.”

“Should you not like to be with us while we are at study, and see if you think you could derive any benefit from my method?  Come into the schoolroom to-morrow with us?”

Mrs. Phillips agreed to this, and thought the lessons were very pleasant.  Sometimes Jane made the little girls repeat their lessons to their mamma, still exercising the supervision which made them feel they must be as careful as heretofore.  The oral instruction which accompanied the lessons studied from the book, seemed to Mrs. Phillips as well as to the children, the most interesting part of it, and as the language was simplified for the comprehension of the little pupils, it was not at all too abstract for their mother.  She declared herself delighted with the morning at school, and tried to persuade herself that she was only going there to see how her governess did her duty by her children.  In this way, by sitting two hours every forenoon with Miss Melville, she contrived to pick up something, and though both her husband and Jane would have been glad if the studies had been prosecuted a little further, they were very much pleased with so much improvement.

The idea of learning music still haunted Mrs. Phillips, and she obtained her husband’s consent to her having lessons from Emily’s master; but her progress was so slow that she tired of it in a month, and blamed her teacher for his stupid dry way of setting her to work.  If Miss Melville had only understood music, she knew she would have got on ever so much better, for she had such a knack of teaching people.  On the whole, Jane was satisfied with her situation, and with the manner in which she filled it, and when Mr. Phillips paid her her first quarter’s salary,