Page:De Amicis - Heart, translation Hapgood, 1922.djvu/382

348 you, teacher!—May your health be good!—Remember us!”

When I went away, I felt oppressed by the commotion. We all ran out confusedly. Boys were coming from all the other class-rooms also. There was a great mixing and tumult of boys and parents, bidding the masters and mistresses good-bye, and exchanging greetings among themselves. The mistress with the red feather had four or five children close to her, and twenty around her, depriving her of breath; and they had half torn off the little nun's bonnet, and had thrust a dozen bunches of flowers in the button-holes of her black dress, and in her pockets. Many were making much of Robetti, who had that day, for the first time, abandoned his crutches. On all sides one could hear:—

“Good-bye until next year!—Until the twentieth of October!”

We greeted each other, too. Ah! now all disagreements were forgotten! Votini, who had always been so jealous of Derossi, was the first to throw himself on him with open arms. I embraced the “little mason,” and kissed him, just at the moment when he was making me his last hare's face, dear boy! I embraced Precossi. I embraced Garoffi, who announced to me the approach of his last lottery, and gave me a little weight of majolica, with a broken corner. I said farewell to all the others. It was fine to see poor Nelli clinging to Garrone, so that he could not be taken from him. All crowded around Garrone, and it was, “Farewell, Garrone!—Good-bye until we meet again!” And they touched him, and pressed his hands, and