Her work was to be "Professor of Elocution," as Mr. Roberts gaily called
her when the workers were alone together. It had been discovered that
she could read both prose and poetry with effect. So a reading-class was
organized, and they chose for the first evening, not one of Bryant's or
Whittier's gems, nor selections from Milton or Shakespeare, which would
have suited part of the company, nor yet the "Easy Readings" in some
standard spelling-book, which would have fitted the capacity of the
others, but with great care and much discussion, one of Will Carleton's
descriptive poems, full of homely, yet tender language, full of pathos
and of humor, was unanimously selected.

The first evening reading had been commenced with nuts and apples. There
are those who can see no connection between this and the intellectual;
happily for the characters with whom she had to deal, Mrs. Roberts was
not one of them. While the others were still enjoying the refreshments
she took the book and read. This was her quiet little sacrifice. It was
not pleasant to her to become a public reader. It required courage to
get through with one verse, with Dr. Everett sitting opposite, and
Gracie Dennis on a low seat at her side, and her husband listening
intently. Mrs. Roberts was not a good reader, and was aware of it. She
pronounced the words correctly, it is true; but when you had said that,
you had said all that there was to offer in praise of her effort. She
had some exasperating faults. But she bravely read the two verses, and
some of the boys listened, and one of them laughed; he had caught a
gleam of the fun in the poem. This, of course, was Nimble Dick.

Then Alfred Ried made the same effort on the same verses; his
performance was very little better, and he, too, knew it. He could
write, but he was by no means a public reader; this was his offering to
the general good. If those fellows, by reason of his mistakes, could be