68 WHEAT AND WOMAN 



playground, and in the interested and intelligent 

 faces of the children. One glorious summer after- 

 noon I had driven some English visitors over to the 

 schools, and after much inspection and more inquiry ; 

 after having climbed the tower, and talked with the 

 saddler, the bootmaker, the carpenter and the baker, 

 we leaned over the balcony rail and rested from our 

 labours whilst the kind nun related to us the history 

 of one or two fair small people among the darker 

 family, the main point of which was that Father 

 Hugenard, who is one of the very few absolutely 

 practical clever persons with whom " the quality of 

 mercy " is always at home, finds in himself a god- 

 father and godmother on desperate occasions, and 

 all the nuns nod Amen. Suddenly there was the 

 impression of the opening of a great big door and a 

 sense of wide liberty, followed by the crescendoing 

 chorus of joy then the patter of many bare feet 

 treading the path of pleasure. The children were 

 off for their daily swim in the lake, the nun explained. 

 And we listened to the resounding splash and 

 watched that jolly band of bathers not without envy. 

 All visitors are impressed with the good manners 

 of those boys and girls. In Britain we unveil our 

 sense of the fitness and beauty and power of this 

 grace in great places. How proud are we yet of the 

 beautiful manners of King Edward VII, which 

 persuaded the French nation to forgive 1871, and 

 forget the long bill they had against us ; and in 

 St. Paul's Cathedral on the tomb of our great 

 soldier, General Gordon, all who pass by read 

 " Manners makyth man " ; but in the industrial 

 school at Le Bret " Manners maketh man " is 

 carved in " Everyman." 



