After pretty severe reproaches, she told me her son was delicate, that he was the sole heir of the family, his life must be preserved at all costs, and she would not have him contradicted.  In that I thoroughly agreed with her, but what she meant by contradicting was not obeying him in everything.  I saw I should have to treat the mother as I had treated the son.  “Madam,” I said coldly, “I do not know how to educate the heir to a fortune, and what is more, I do not mean to study that art.  You can take that as settled.”  I was wanted for some days longer, and the father smoothed things over.  The mother wrote to the tutor to hasten his return, and the child, finding he got nothing by disturbing my rest, nor yet by being ill, decided at last to get better and to go to sleep.

You can form no idea of the number of similar caprices to which the little tyrant had subjected his unlucky tutor; for his education was carried on under his mother’s eye, and she would not allow her son and heir to be disobeyed in anything.  Whenever he wanted to go out, you must be ready to take him, or rather to follow him, and he always took good care to choose the time when he knew his tutor was very busy.  He wished to exercise the same power over me and to avenge himself by day for having to leave me in peace at night.  I gladly agreed and began by showing plainly how pleased I was to give him pleasure; after that when it was a matter of curing him of his fancies I set about it differently.

In the first place, he must be shown that he was in the wrong.  This was not difficult; knowing that children think only of the present, I took the easy advantage which foresight gives; I took care to provide him with some indoor amusement of which he was very fond.  Just when he was most occupied with it, I went and suggested a short walk, and he sent me away.  I insisted, but he paid no attention.  I had to give in, and he took note of this sign of submission.

The next day it was my turn.  As I expected, he got tired of his occupation; I, however, pretended to be very busy.  That was enough to decide him.  He came to drag me from my work, to take him at once for a walk.  I refused; he persisted.  “No,” I said, “when I did what you wanted, you taught me how to get my own way; I shall not go out.”  “Very well,” he replied eagerly, “I shall go out by myself.”  “As you please,” and I returned to my work.

He put on his things rather uneasily when he saw I did not follow his example.  When he was ready he came and made his bow; I bowed too; he tried to frighten me with stories of the expeditions he was going to make; to hear him talk you would think he was going to the world’s end.  Quite unmoved, I wished him a pleasant journey.  He became more and more perplexed.  However, he put a good face on it, and when he was ready to go out he told his foot man to follow him.  The footman, who had his instructions, replied that he had no time, and