She boasted of beautiful paintings of landscapes and flowers by them executed; of songs they could sing and pieces they could play, of purses they could net, of French books they could translate; till my spirit was moved to emulation as I listened.
Bessie mi vantava i bei paesaggi, i fiori graziosi dipinti da loro; poi sapevan cantare romanze, recitare e tradurre libri francesi. Ascoltando Bessie, il mio spirito era stato colpito, e sentivo destarsi in me l'emulazione.