The girl spoke French, and her brother German,
with what seemed to him remarkable proficiency.
Their young minds were the repositories of an astounding
amount of information: they knew who Charles the Bold was;
they pointed out to their uncle the distinction between
Gothic and Romanesque arches; they explained what was the
matter with the Anabaptists; they told him that the story
of the Bishop and the rats at Bingen was a baseless myth,
and that probably there had never been any such man
as William Tell. Nor did they get all this out of the
guide-books which they pored over with such zest.
It was impossible not to see that they were familiar with
large numbers of the subjects that these books discussed,
and that the itinerary which they marked out had reference
to desires and interests that they had cultivated for themselves.
Julia, upon even first sight, made a much pleasanter
impression than her mother's hesitating description
had prepared him for. As he came to know her well,
he ceased to remember that there was a question in any mind
as to her being a pretty girl. There was less colour
in her face than he could have wished. Her smooth,
pallid skin, almost waxen in texture, had a suggestion
of delicate health which sometimes troubled him a little,
but which appealed to the tenderness in his nature all
the time.
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