The Schoolboy: Saint-Leons 



In this picture of the schoolmaster and 

 the school we have lost sight for a time of 

 our little Jean-Henri. What becomes of 

 him? What does he do in such a school, 

 under such a master? To begin with, no 

 one takes a greater interest in the visits of 

 hens and piglings, no one appreciates more 

 keenly the delights of school in the open air. 

 In the meanwhile, his love of plants and ani- 

 mals finds expression in all directions, even 

 on the cover of his penny spelling-book: 



Embellished with a crude picture of a pigeon 

 which I study and contemplate much more zeal- 

 ously than the A, B, C. Its round eye, with its 

 circlet of dots, seems to smile upon me. Its wing, 

 of which I count the feathers one by one, tells 

 me of flights on high, among the beautiful clouds; 

 it carries me to the beeches, raising their smooth 

 trunks above a mossy carpet studded with white 

 mushrooms that look like eggs dropped by some 

 vagrant hen; it takes me to the snow-clad peaks 

 where the birds leave the starry print of their 

 red feet. He is a fine fellow, my pigeon-friend: 

 he consoles me for the woes hidden behind the 

 cover of my book. Thanks to him, I sit quietly 

 on my bench and wait more or less till school 

 is over. 



School out of doors has other charms. When 

 the master takes us to kill the snails in the box 

 borders, I do not always scrupulously fulfil my 



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