In the meantime Mr. Hardy had succeeded in obtaining the services
of a young Spanish lady, who had come to England to learn the
language, as governess; and of an evening the whole family worked
at Spanish, and made such progress that they were soon able to
establish the rule that no other language should be spoken at
mealtimes. The girls here soon surpassed their brothers, as they
had the advantage of morning lessons in the language, besides which
young children can always pick up a language sooner than their
elders; and they had many a hearty laugh at the ridiculous mistakes
Charley and Hubert made in their efforts to get through a long
sentence. In six months, however, all could speak with tolerable
fluency.
Maud and Ethel were as amused and as diligent at learning household
work as their brothers were in their departments, and might have
been seen every afternoon in the kitchen, in their little white
pinafores, engaged in learning the mysteries of cooking.
One day, after they had been so engaged for about four months, Mrs.
Hardy said at breakfast: "I am going to try an experiment. I have
given the cook leave to go out for the day. Mr. and Mrs. Partridge
are coming to dinner, and I intend handing over the kitchen to the
girls, and letting them make their first essay.
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