THE LAST LESSON 7

stopped short, balancing myself on my
bench, with bursting heart, not daring
to raise my head. I heard M. Hamel
speak to me:

‘I shall not scold thee, my little
Franz, thou must be punished enough
—see how it is. Every day one says,
“Bah! There is time enough I
shall learn to-morrow.” And then see
what happens. Ah! that has been
the great mistake of our Alsace,
always to defer its lesson until to-
morrow. Now those folk have a right
to say to us, “What! you pretend to
be French and you cannot even speak
or write your language!” In all that,
my poor Franz, it is not only thou
that art guilty. We must all bear
our full share in the blame. Your
parents have not cared enough to
have you _ taught. They liked
better to send you to work on the
land or at the factory to gain a few
more pence. And I too, have I
nothing to reproach myself with?