ten A.M.
Mrs. Crull 's all-embracing kindness would have extended to the widow Pillbody too -LRB- in whom she was much interested from the daughter 's accounts of her -RRB- , but for the shrewd objection which she entertained against intrusting any one with the secret of her pupilage . Miss Pillbody was often and particularly enjoined by her not to tell any one -- not even her mother -- of it ; and she saw the advantages of carefully observing the request . Great pains were taken to keep Mr. Crull , and the housemaid , cook , and coachman , from a knowledge of the mystery . On Miss Pillbody 's arrival daily at ten A.M. , she was ushered into the drawing room , where Mrs. Crull was always anxiously awaiting her . The servant was told to say to callers that `` Mistress is out '' -LRB- Mrs. Crull bolted at this trifling deception at first , but soon got used to it -RRB- , and the lesson began . Mrs. Crull at first thought she was competent to learn her native tongue and French together , in a series of half-hour lessons ; but she soon found out that the latter language had some eccentric peculiarities quite beyond her powers of articulation , and that the spelling of a word did not afford the slightest clue to the method of pronouncing it . After floundering about heroically but hopelessly through the introductory chapter of the first French grammar , she gave up the polite tongue in despair , consoling herself with the reflection , that speaking bad French was worse than speaking no French at all .