Miss Patten's School 



any undue use of my pocket-handkerchief, 

 she said : " O my ! look here, ' here's a 

 pretty ! " showing me generally something 

 which I did not consider in the least pretty, 

 while I resented the remark as being only 

 suitable for use in conversation with infants 

 in arms. 'Sometimes she varied it with, 

 *' Come, come, this will never do, we must 

 stop crying soon, or your eyes and your 

 nose will be red as a rose ! " in a tone of 

 aggressive cheerfulness. 



Weeping I went to bed, and awoke in 

 the morning tired and unrefreshed, and 

 miserably shy at the thought of facing the 

 other children and Miss Patten. This day 

 was no brighter than the day before. My 

 tears obliterated my sums before I could 

 prove them, and dropped on the boiled 

 mutton I could not swallow at dinner-time; 

 and so it went on for three days and 

 nights, while I felt myself the forlornest, 

 forsakenest little creature upon earth. 



On Thursday afternoon (I had come on 

 the Monday — ^Black Monday for me !) I 

 was plodding hopelessly through the three- 

 times table, when Miss Patten's niece, who 

 came in to do the housework, appeared in 

 the schoolroom-doorway, and said that 

 some one had called to see Master Hyde. 

 Quite forgetful of school proprieties, I 



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