"Ah," said I to myself, "how I wish I was in
the Third Year to have such a beautiful teacher always in front of me!" She
read to us and told us stories almost all the afternoon, and never punished
anybody, and on coming out of school her two little brothers ran to embrace
her affectionately. "Hurry up, dear sister," said one of them, "Mama is
waiting for us on the porch."
"My! How beautiful she is," I murmured to myself. "How I do love her! Mlle.
Virtud would never be so gentle with her little brothers, if she ever had
any." Then suddenly I stopped, for it seemed to me that I heard Paula
saying to me sadly, "Are you not ashamed of yourself, Lisita?" And I looked
up to see Paula exchanging a few words with a poorly-dressed child just
before she joined me. "Lisita, it is true," Paula said, "Mademoiselle
Virtud is quite ill; she tried to get up this morning and wasn't able to
raise her head. Victoria, the little girl who was speaking to me just now,
knows her very well; in fact, she lives in the same courtyard."
"Who is taking care of her?" I said.
"No one, as far as I can find out. Do you think Teresa would let us go to
see her?"
"No, I am sure she wouldn't, and for one thing, I'd never go.
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