Читать книгу The Manor School онлайн

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The world knew nothing about Christian. They saw a dull little girl who flitted through life demurely and never expressed any strong feelings about anything.

"She is a child without character," her French governess said of Christian.

"She is a good girl, but she will never play—at least, except in the ordinary way," her music-master said.

"If she had only a little imagination she would do so much better over her poetry and history," her English mistress declared.

It was only her dancing-mistress who now and then expressed approval as Christian flitted about on her small feet, curvetting and curtsying, bending and bowing, and doing all these things with an inborn grace.

"Ah, that child!" said this discerning person; "has she not the very essence of poetry—the thing itself?"

But Christian did not even hear her dancing-mistress praise her. She was accustomed to being found fault with: even her mother only bestowed faint praise upon her; and as to her father, he scarcely noticed her at all.