Page:The Complete Works of William Makepeace Thackeray Vol.20.pdf/206

178 of all he said and did; and the same with French, Italian, and all other languages—she learned them from the

teacher who came to Angelica. When the Princess was going out of an evening she would say, “My good Betsinda, you may as well ﬁnish what I have begun.” “Yes, Miss,” Betsinda would say, and sit down very cheerful, not to ﬁnish what Angelica began, but to do it.

For instance, the Princess would begin a head of a warrior, let us say, and when it was begun it was something like this:

But when it was done, the warrior was like this:—(only handsomer still if possible), and the Princess put her name to the drawing; and the Court and King and Queen, and above all poor Giglio, admired the picture of all things, and said, “Was there ever a genius like Angelica?” So, I am sorry to say, was it with the Princess’s embroidery and other accomplishments; and Angelica actually believed that she did

these things herself, and received all the ﬂattery of the Court as if every word of it was true. Thus she began to think that there was no young woman in all the world equal to herself, and that no young man was good enough for her. for Betsinda, as she heard none of these praises, she was not puffed up by them, and being a most graceful, good-natured girl, she was only too anxious to do everything which might give her mistress pleasure. Now you begin to perceive that Angelica had faults of her own, and was by no means such a wonder of wonders as people represented her Royal Highness to be.