MRS. S. It is very well known that your daughters are obliged to play
the whole day long.

DOMINIE. And not all night too? You probably might explain their skill
in that way. I am astonished that you have not heard that too, since
you have picked up so many shocking stories about me and my daughters.

MRS. S. (_dismisses the subject, and asks suddenly_). Now just how old
is your daughter Emma?

DOMINIE. She is just sixteen years and seven weeks old.

MRS. S. Does she speak French?

DOMINIE. Oui, elle parle Français, and in musical tones, too,--a
language which is understood all over the world.

MRS. S. But she is so silent! Does she like to play?

DOMINIE. You have given her no opportunity to speak, she is certainly
not forth-putting. For the last two years she has taken great pleasure
in playing.

MRS. S. You acknowledge, then, that formerly you had to force her to it?

DOMINIE. In the earlier years of her natural development, as she was a
stranger to vanity and other unworthy motives, she certainly played, or
rather pursued her serious studies, chiefly from obedience and habit.
Does your daughter of thirteen years old always practise her exercises