"What kind was it?"

"I was thinking, and remembering —"

"Pray, what were you remembering?"

"Things at home — and other things."

"Things and things," said Miss Pinshon. "That is not a very
elegant way of speaking. Let me hear how much you have
learned."

I began. About all of the "threes" was on my tongue; the rest
had got mixed up hopelessly with Molly Skelton and teaching
Bible reading. Miss Pinshon was not pleased.

"You must learn attention," she said. "I can do nothing with
you until you have succeeded in that. You _must_ attend. Now I
shall give you a motive for minding what you are about. Go and
sit down again and study this table till you know the threes
and the fours and the fives and the sixes, perfectly. Go and
sit down."

I sat down, and the life was all out of me. Tears in the first
place had a great mind to come, and would put themselves
between me and the figures in the multiplication table. I
governed them back after a while. But I could not study to
purpose. I was tired and down-spirited; I had not energy left
to spring to my task and accomplish it. Over and over again I
tried to put the changes of the numbers in my head; it seemed