The Secret Lives of Ernest Beaux

My grandmother told me the Whites who wound up in our neck of the woods (whose fortunes had been in real estate and imperial bonds) wound up finishing up their days teaching suburban kids things like piano, painting, riding, etc.

One of the latter taught the father of my best friend at the time, and so I borrowed his biography once; in it I found the amusing tale of how he first realised that instead of propagating the didactic methods used on him during empire (including not only yelling but also use of the whip), he would have to come up with new methodology, for a "new world" clientele who, if they weren't exactly seeking edutainment, at least preferred to enjoy their moments of instruction.