第10章
加入书架 A- A+

  “Godwillrewardyou,Ihope,“repliedtheabbe,gentlyjoininghishandsandraisingthemtowardsheavenasifheweremakingabriefmentalprayer。

  So,fromthetimeshewassixyearsoldthelittleorphanlivedunderthereligiousinfluenceoftheabbe,justasshehadalreadycomeundertheeducationaltrainingofherfriendJordy。

  Thecaptain,formerlyaprofessorinamilitaryacademy,havingatasteforgrammarandforthedifferencesamongEuropeanlanguages,hadstudiedtheproblemofauniversaltongue。Thislearnedman,patientasmostoldscholarsare,delightedinteachingUrsulatoreadandwrite。HetaughtheralsotheFrenchlanguageandallsheneededtoknowofarithmetic。Thedoctor’slibraryaffordedachoiceofbookswhichcouldbereadbyachildforamusementaswellasinstruction。

  Theabbeandthesoldierallowedtheyoungmindtoenrichitselfwiththefreedomandcomfortwhichthedoctorgavetothebody。Ursulalearnedassheplayed。Religionwasgivenwithduereflection。Lefttofollowthedivinetrainingofanaturethatwasledintoregionsofpuritybythesejudiciouseducators,Ursulainclinedmoretosentimentthantoduty;shetookasherruleofconductthevoiceofherownconscienceratherthanthedemandsofsociallaw。Inher,nobilityoffeelingandactionwouldeverbespontaneous;herjudgmentwouldconfirmtheimpulseofherheart。Shewasdestinedtodorightasapleasurebeforedoingitasanobligation。ThisdistinctionisthepeculiarsignofChristianeducation。Theseprinciples,altogetherdifferentfromthosethataretaughttomen,weresuitableforawoman,——thespiritandtheconscienceofthehome,thebeautifierofdomesticlife,thequeenofherhousehold。AllthreeoftheseoldpreceptorsfollowedthesamemethodwithUrsula。Insteadofrecoilingbeforetheboldquestionsofinnocence,theyexplainedtoherthereasonsofthingsandthebestmeansofaction,takingcaretogivehernonebutcorrectideas。When,aproposofaflower,astar,abladeofgrass,herthoughtswentstraighttoGod,thedoctorandtheprofessortoldherthatthepriestalonecouldanswerher。Noneofthemintrudedontheterritoryoftheothers;thedoctortookchargeofhermaterialwell-beingandthethingsoflife;Jordy’sdepartmentwasinstruction;moralandspiritualquestionsandtheideasappertainingtothehigherlifebelongedtotheabbe。Thisnobleeducationwasnot,asitoftenis,counteractedbyinjudiciousservants。LaBougival,havingbeenlecturedonthesubject,andbeing,moreover,toosimpleinmindandcharactertointerfere,didnothingtoinjuretheworkofthesegreatminds。Ursula,aprivilegedbeing,grewupwithgoodgeniusesroundher;andhernaturallyfinedispositionmadethetaskofeachasweetandeasyone。Suchmanlytenderness,suchgravitylightedbysmiles,suchlibertywithoutdanger,suchperpetualcareofsoulandbodymadelittleUrsula,whennineyearsofage,awell-trainedchildanddelightfultobehold。

  Unhappily,thispaternaltrinitywasbrokenup。Theoldcaptaindiedthefollowingyear,leavingtheabbeandthedoctortofinishhiswork,ofwhich,however,hehadaccomplishedthemostdifficultpart。

......

购买会员看全站小说,或者下载APP免费观看所有作品 点击立即下载,搜索"Ursula",免费读到尾
点击下载App,搜索"Ursula",免费读到尾