nor before arriving at the college age she
is, of course, hopeless. The faculty have other things to do besides
watching the manners as well as the mental attributes, of the students.

Ruth and her friends learned that they were not to leave the college
grounds before six in the morning.

"And who'd want to?" demanded Heavy. "That's the best time to sleep."

However, the fleshy girl soon learned that if she was to have a
reasonable time for breakfast she must be up betimes. The meal was
served from seven to a quarter to eight. Chapel was at eight-thirty, but
not compulsory. Recitations began at nine and lunch was at twelve.

Recitations and lectures (these latter did not interest our freshmen,
for they had no lectures the first year) ended at three-thirty, when,
all the girls were supposed to take gymnastics of some kind. Otherwise,
their time was their own until dinner at six o'clock.

The girls had the time free from seven till seven-thirty. The following
two hours were those devoted to quiet study (or should be) in their own
rooms, or in the reference department of the library. At ten all were
supposed to retire.

The students might leave the grounds at any time during the day, but
never in the evening without a chaperon. These rules and requirements
seemed easy enough to the trio from Briarwood Hall, used as they were to
the far stricter oversight of the teachers in the preparatory
institution.

More girls appeared at Ardmore that day, and the one following would see
the opening of the semester and, as Jennie Stone said, "the buckling
down to real work." A notice was posted on the bulletin boards already
commanding all freshmen to meet at Hoskin Hall after dinner that
evening, signed by the president of the sophomore class.

"What's _she_ got to do with _us_?" Helen demanded, with a sniff.

"Aren't we allowed to run our own class affairs here?" Heavy asked.

"I fancy not," Ruth rejoined. "Miss Dexter told me that the sophs and
freshies were usually lined up against the two older classes. The sophs
need us, and we need them."

"I have an idea," said Heavy, with a warning shake of her head, "that
some of the sophs don't care so much for us."

The trio were returning from the college hall as they chatted. Helen
suddenly exclaimed:

"Girls! did you ever see so many tam-o'-shanters in your little lives?
And such a wealth of colors?"

It was true that every girl in sight (and there were "just hundreds!" to