t's not
the place of a new girl to show off in this way, and you'll gain
nothing by it. I am responsible for St. Chad's, and I don't mean to
have this kind of nonsense going on there; so please understand, Honor
Fitzgerald, that if you give any more trouble, you may expect to find
yourself thoroughly well sat upon!"

CHAPTER IV

Janie's Charge

The four-leaved shamrock having so far belied its reputation, and
brought bad luck instead of good upon its wearer, Honor put it away in
her drawer, with the resolve not to test its powers again until she was
back in her own Emerald Isle, where, perhaps, it could exercise its
magic more freely than in the land of the stranger.

Her first day at school was satisfactory, in spite of its bad
beginning. She took her place in her new class, and made the
acquaintance of Miss Farrar, her Form mistress, and all the seventeen
girls who composed the Lower Third Form.

After the quiet and solitude of Kilmore Castle, to be at Chessington
College seemed like plunging into the world. It was almost bewildering
to meet so many companions, all of whom were busily occupied with
employments into which she had not yet been initiated. It was an
especially fresh experience for Honor to belong to a class, instead of
learning from a private governess, and she much appreciated the change.
It interested her to watch the faces of her schoolfellows, and to
listen to their recitations, or their replies to Miss Farrar's
questions. The strict discipline of the place astonished her: the ready
answers, the total lack of whispering, the way in which each girl sat
straight at her desk, giving her whole attention to the subject in
hand; the prompt obedience, even the orderly manner of filing out of
the room for lunch, all were as unusual as they were amazing to one who
had hitherto behaved as she liked during lessons. She felt for the
first time that she was a unit in a large community, and began to have
some dim perception of that esprit de corps to which Miss Cavendish had
referred during their interview in the study.

In spite of her previous laziness and neglect of work, Honor was a very
bright girl, and she contrived even in that first morning to satisfy
Miss Farrar that she was capable of doing well if she wished. Perhaps,
after all, the four-leaved shamrock had sent her a little luck, for she
happened to remember a date which the rest of the Form had forgotten,
and won corresponding credit in