Her complexion took a deadly, pasty hue, one eye was almost entirely closed, and to a superficial observer she perhaps did look--what Madame always pronounced her--sulky.

Then, no matter how fully any lesson was at her fingers' ends, she stumbled through a series of childish blunders to utter downfall; and Madame's wrath was only equalled by her irony.

To do Matilda justice, she often used almost incredible courage in her efforts to learn a task in spite of herself.

Now and then she was successful in defying pain; but by some odd revenge of nature, what she learned in such circumstances was afterwards wiped as completely from her memory as an old sum is sponged from a slate.
To headache and backache, to vain cravings for more fresh air, and to an inequality of spirits and temper to which Eleanor and I patiently submitted, Matilda still added a cough, which seemed to exasperate Madame as much as her stupidity.
Not that our French governess was cruelly disposed.

When she took Matilda's health in hand and gave her a tumbler of warm water every morning before breakfast, she did so in all good faith.