According to St. John

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. She and the black Venus had both been very homesick during the first six months. The constant staccato roll of the unfamiliar French had chilled and bewildered them. N ow, after two years of hard work, Venus could comprehend a few ordinary sentences, although her great, good-humoured lips found it impossible to shape themselves to the delicate form of the strange words; while Jean spoke quite fluently with a pretty accent and a method of construction totally original. When she had first come she had tutoye'd everyone impartially, and such Frenchmen as visited the Maison Roget had found this especially delightful. Even now, when not thinking, she assumed this habit with a calmness which made it doubly amusing.