He had gone through some of the best passages of Racine and Corneille, and then had heard the echo of his own deep tones in the girl's voice, that modulated itself faithfully on his. "Le chne et le Roseau," that most beautiful of La Fontaine's fables, had been recited, well recited, by the tutor, and the pupil had animatedly availed herself of the lesson. Perhaps a simultaneous feeling seized them now, that their enthusiasm had kindled to a glow, which the slight fuel of French poetry no longer sufficed to feed; perhaps they longed for a trunk of English oak to be thrown as a Yule log to the devouring flame. Moore observed, "And these are our best pieces! And we have nothing more dramatic, nervous, natural!"
And then he smiled and was silent. His whole nature seemed serenely alight. He stood on the hearth, leaning his elbow on the mantelpiece, musing not unblissfully.
Twilight was closing on the diminished autumn day. The schoolroom windows--darkened with creeping plants, from which no high October winds had as yet swept the sere foliage--admitted scarce a gleam of sky; but the fire gave light enough to talk by.

He went through some of the best passages of Racine and Corneille, and heard the echo of his own deep tones in the girl's voice, that modulated itself faithfully on his. Their enthusiasm had kindled to a glow, which the slight fuel of French poetry no longer sufficed to feed; perhaps they longed for a trunk of English oak to be thrown on the flame.
Moore observed, "And these are our best pieces! We have nothing more dramatic or natural." And then he smiled and was silent. He stood on the hearth, leaning his elbow on the mantelpiece, serenely alight.
Twilight was closing on the autumn day. The schoolroom windows admitted scarce a gleam of sky; but the fire gave light enough to talk by.
