Elsie Dinsmore

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Elsie Dinsmore

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Title: Elsie Dinsmore
Author: Martha Finley
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ELSIE DINSMORE
BY
MARTHA FINLEY
CHAPTER FIRST
"I never saw an eye so bright, And yet so soft as hers; It sometimes
swam in liquid light, And sometimes swam in tears; It seemed a beauty
set apart For softness and for sighs." --MRS. WELBY.
The school-room at Roselands was a very pleasant apartment; the
ceiling, it is true, was somewhat lower than in the more modern portion
of the building, for the wing in which it was situated dated back to the
old-fashioned days prior to the Revolution, while the larger part of the
mansion had not stood more than twenty or thirty years; but the effect
was relieved by windows reaching from floor to ceiling, and opening
on a veranda which overlooked a lovely flower-garden, beyond which
were fields and woods and hills. The view from the veranda was very

beautiful, and the room itself looked most inviting, with its neat
matting, its windows draped with snow-white muslin, its comfortable
chairs, and pretty rosewood desks.
Within this pleasant apartment sat Miss Day with her pupils, six in
number. She was giving a lesson to Enna, the youngest, the spoiled
darling of the family, the pet and plaything of both father and mother. It
was always a trying task to both teacher and scholar, for Enna was very
wilful, and her teacher's patience by no means inexhaustible.
"There!" exclaimed Miss Day, shutting the book and giving it an
impatient toss on to the desk; "go, for I might as well try to teach old
Bruno. I presume he would learn about as fast."
And Enna walked away with a pout on her pretty face, muttering that
she would "tell mamma."
"Young ladies and gentlemen," said Miss Day, looking at her watch, "I
shall leave you to your studies for an hour; at the end of which time I
shall return to hear your recitations, when those who have attended
properly to their duties will be permitted to ride out with me to visit the
fair."
"Oh! that will be jolly!" exclaimed Arthur, a bright-eyed,
mischief-loving boy of ten.
"Hush!" said Miss Day sternly; "let me hear no more such exclamations;
and remember that you will not go unless your lessons are thoroughly
learned. Louise and Lora," addressing two young girls of the respective
ages of twelve and fourteen, "that French exercise must be perfect, and
your English lessons as well. Elsie," to a little girl of eight, sitting alone
at a desk near one of the windows, and bending over a slate with an
appearance of great industry, "every figure of that example must be
correct, your geography lesson recited perfectly, and a page in your
copybook written without a blot."
"Yes, ma'am," said the child meekly, raising a pair of large soft eyes of
the darkest hazel for an instant to her teacher's face, and then dropping

them again upon her slate.
"And see that none of you leave the room until I return," continued the
governess. "Walter, if you miss one word of that spelling, you will have
to stay at home and learn it over."
"Unless mamma interferes, as she will be pretty sure to do," muttered
Arthur, as the door closed on Miss Day, and her retreating footsteps
were heard passing down the hall.
For about ten minutes after her departure, all was quiet in the
school-room, each seemingly completely absorbed in study. But at the
end