Solomon John found the Italian dictionary, and seated himself by
his Italian; Agamemnon, with the German dictionary, by the
German. The little boys took their copy of the "Arabian Nights" to
the Turk. Mr. Peterkin attempted to explain to the Russian that he
had no Russian dictionary, as he had hoped to learn Sanscrit of
him, while Mrs. Peterkin was trying to inform her teacher that she
had no books in Spanish. She got over all fears of the Inquisition,
he looked so sad, and she tried to talk a little, using English
words, but very slowly, and altering the accent as far as she knew
how. The Spaniard bowed, looked gravely interested, and was
very polite.
Elizabeth Eliza, meanwhile, was trying her grammar phrases with
the Parisian.
She found it easier to talk French than to understand him. But he
understood perfectly her sentences. She repeated one of her
vocabularies, and went on with"J'ai le livre." "As-tu le pain? "
"L'enfant a une poire." He listened with great attention, and
replied slowly. Suddenly she started after making out one of his
sentences, and went to her mother to whisper, "They have made
the mistake you feared. They think they are invited to lunch! He
has just been thanking me for our politeness in inviting them to
d?je?ner,that means breakfast!"
"They have not had their breakfast!" exclaimed Mrs. Peterkin,
looking at her Spaniard; "he does look hungry! What shall we
do?"
Elizabeth Eliza was consulting her father.
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