"I am glad to see you take an interest in that poor child. Miss Davis
thinks her lamentably ignorant. I am really sorry I accepted her, but
her father wrote such urgent, sensible letters. Her mother must be a
very foolish body and the girl is extremely backward. It is asking a
good deal of you to take a little pains with her, but I see that you
have an attractive way with you. You will make an excellent teacher, and
I hope to keep you a long while."

"Oh, thank you, I will try to do my best," Lilian returned, delighted
with the praise.

Miss Arran always came in the study room, generally bringing a bit of
embroidery for it was not expected that Miss Boyd should attend to the
upper division with some girls older than herself. The other class were
quite at the lower end of the room, ranged around the table. Miss Boyd
seated herself next to Miss Nevins and patiently explained, but it was
very hard to keep the girl's attention to the subject in hand. She
thought she had never seen any one so utterly indifferent and with so
little ambition. There had been stolid, slow-witted girls among the
operatives in Laconia in the grammar school, but they really desired to
learn.

Miss Davis paused the next day to say--

"Miss Boyd your good training does begin to take effect. Miss Nevins had
such excellent recitations today that I was pleased beyond measure. You
are way up in Mrs. Barrington's good graces, I can tell you."

Lilian flushed at the commendation.

For the next hour the girls could have a social time in each others'
rooms or the library. There was a crowd of eager talkers with Miss
Rosewald.

"Yes," she was saying. "I ran over the housekeeper just as she was
coming out of Rinsey's. Zay will be here by the 20th, and she's coming
right to school, for the Major and Mrs. Crawford are going to the
Mediterranean. The German doctors and the baths did wonders for her and
she can walk without crutches. A friend is to take them on his yacht and
they'll be home at Christmas, and there will be Vincent's graduation.
Dear me! I hope I can go up to West Point. They say the balls are
splendid. The Crawford house is to be all done over, and no doubt there
will be a big housewarming there."

"Oh, it will be just delightful to have Zay back again. I suppose that's
the reason Miss White was put in with Buttons and that room fixed up so
nice. Mrs. Barrington has had word, of course. We just need her to round
out, I was going to say