her concurrence in this censure. But my lady said, with sublime
indifference: "What matters Colonel L'Isle's absence hitherto, since
he has now come in time to interpret between us and our Portuguese
friends? I have exhausted my stock of Portuguese," she continued,
addressing L'Isle; "and find that they do not always comprehend my
Spanish. Major Warren, indeed, has been lending me his aid; but I
think the interpreter the harder to be understood of the two. Is it
not strange these ladies do not understand me better; for their
language is but bad Spanish, and mine is surely bad enough."

"Do not say that to the Portuguese," said L'Isle. "They will be justly
offended; for their tongue is rather the elder sister of the Spanish
than a corruption of it."

"Pray, lend me your tongue, Colonel L'Isle," said Mrs.
Shortridge. "Here Dona Carlotta Sequiera has been jabbering at me in
what I now find out to be French, but I am ashamed to say, I do not
know thirty words of the language."

"Better to be ignorant of it," said L'Isle with a sneer, "than learn
it as Dona Carlotta did."

"I know not how she acquired it," said Mrs. Shortridge, "but I am told
that here on the continent every educated person speaks French. We
English are far behind them in that."

"Be proud rather than ashamed of that," said L'Isle. "Monsieur has
taught all Europe his language except ourselves. Flagellation is a
necessary part of schooling. As he has never been able to thrash us,
we are the worst French scholars in Europe, and those he has thrashed