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4 BIOGRAPHY.
on one side, stepping back now and then to take a survey
of the effect of the powdering process, powdered my
father’s head and face so thoroughly, that he was unable to
open his eyes until the footman had handed him a basin of
water and a towel. This ceremony amused us exceed-
ingly, and we were permitted to look on for a short time.
When we hatl curtsied to my father, we had our break-
fast, and afterwards went to Miss Frumerie to read and
work from nine till one o’clock.
My mother had laid down three inviolable principles for
the education of her children. They were to grow up in
perfect ignorance of every thing evil in the world; they
were to learn (acquire knowledge) as much as possible ;
and they were to — eat as little as possible. The first of
these principles was founded upon my mother’s conviction
that unacquaintance with all evil would preserve in her
children an innocent mind, and accustom them to an at-
mosphere of purity, which would beneficially influence
their whole development. I am grateful for this beautiful
idea, emanating from my mother’s own innate innocence,
and I believe that it has in us led to purity of thought and
mind; although, when we came. out into the world, we
found ourselves painfully deceived in all our imaginations,
when one illusion after the other vanished. In order to
gain the desired object, we were never permitted to re-
main in the drawing-room when my parents had any vis-
itors or company, — at the utmost perhaps only a few
minutes, — for fear that our innocent ears should listen
to something which they ought not to hear; and we were
strictly forbidden to speak to the servants, except to old
Lena, who again was forbidden to tell us any thing.
We did not require any incitement to read or to learn ;
it was our, and especially Fredrika’s, greatest pleasure.
Within a couple of years we learnt to read and speak
French, and we learnt to repeat by heart out of Madame
de Genlis’s plays, “ L’Ile Heureuse,” “La Rosiére,” “ Les
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