IV. Have you seen the screen version of the play? Did you like it? What title does it come under?

III. What is the attitude of B. and C. towards the girl?

II. Who is the girl they are talking about? What do you know about her?

I. What is the title of the play? What are the names of the characters who take part in the conversation?

III. What thoughts in the extract strike you as most humorous?

II. What aim do you set yourself when you travel or go hiking?

I. How does the author characterize a modern disease the name of which is travel? Are you taken with a similar disease when your summer or winter vacations are coming?

XIII

A. How does your housekeeper get on with your pupil?

B. Oh, she's jolly glad to get so much taken off her hands; for before the girl came, she used to have to find things and remind rne of my appointments. But she's got some silly bee in her bonnet about the girl. She keeps saying "You don't think, sir", doesn't she, Pick?

C. Yes, that's the formula "You don't think, sir". That's the end of every conversation about our pupil.

В. As if I ever stop thinking about the girl and her confounded vowels and consonants. I'm worn out, thinking about her, and watching her lips and her teeth and her tongue, not to mention her soul, which is the quaintest of the lot.

A. You certainly are a pretty pair of babies playing with your live doll.

B. Playing! The hardest job I ever tackled: make no mistake about that, mother.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

XIV

The sight of a tailor-shop gave me a sharp longing to throw off my rags, and clothe myself decently once more. Could I afford it? No; I had nothing in the world but a million pounds. So I forced myself to go on. But soon I was drifting back again. The temptation persecuted me cruelly. I must have passed the shop back and forth six times during that manful struggle. At last I gave in; I had to. 1 asked if they had a misfit suit that had been thrown on their hands. The fellow I spoke to nodded his head toward another fellow, and gave me no answer. I went to the indicated fellow, and he indicated another fellow with his head, and no words. I went to him, and he said: "'Tend to you presently."

I waited till he was done with what he was doing. Then he took me into a back room, looked through a pile of rejected suits, and selected the cheapest one for me. I put it on. It didn't fit, and wasn't in any way attractive, but it was new, and I was anxious to have it; so I didn't find any fault, but said shyly:

"Could you possibly wait a few days for the money? I haven't any small change about me."

The fellow looked at me sarcastically, and said:

"Oh, you haven't? Well, of course,.! didn't expect it. I'd expect gentleman like you to carry only large bills."

I was hurt and said:

"My friend, you shouldn't judge a stranger always by the clothes he wears. I am quite able to pay for this suit. I simply didn't wish to put you to the trouble of changing a large note."

He modified his style a little at that, and said:.

"I didn't mean any harm, but why did you jump to the conclusion that we couldn't change any note that you might happen to be.carrying around? On the contrary, we can."

I handed the note to him,-and said:

"Oh, very well; 1 apologize."

He received it with a smile, one of those large smiles which goes all around over the face, and has folds in it, and wrinkles, and spirals, and looks like the place where you have thrown a brick in a pond; and then in the act of his taking a glimpse at the bill this smile froze solid, and turned yellow, and looked like those wavy spreads of lava which you find hardened on the side of the Vesuvius.

The man stood there holding the bill, and looking like that, and the proprietor hurried up to see what was the matter and said briskly:

"Well, what's up? What's the trouble? What's wrong?"

QUESTIONS AND EXERC/SES

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