ce as conducted by him, from what
she had been accustomed to under the lead of her father or Mr. Dinsmore.
They had always shown by tone and manner that they esteemed it a solemn
and a blessed thing to read the words of inspiration and draw near to God
in prayer; while this man went through it as a mere matter of form, of no
more interest than the calling of the roll at the opening of school.

The service was followed by a formal good-night, and the pupils scattered
to their rooms.

"The bell will tap in half an hour, Miss Raymond, and at the first sound
every light must be instantly extinguished," Miss Diana said harshly, as
she gave Lulu her candle.

"But what if I have not finished undressing?" Lulu asked in dismay.

"Then you will be obliged to finish in the dark."

"There won't be time to write in my diary, and I'll have to say my
prayers in the dark," Lulu said to herself as she hastened up the stairs
and into her closet-like apartment.

"What a forlorn bit of a place it is!" she grumbled half aloud; "oh, so
different from my pretty rooms at Ion and Viamede! Oh dear, oh dear! I
wish that horrid Signor Foresti was back in his own country. I'm glad he
doesn't live in this house, so I'd have to see him every day; it's bad
enough to have to stay here without that. But I don't mean to let Grandpa
Dinsmore find out how bad his punishment is; no, nor to be conquered by
it either."

She had set down her candle and was hurriedly making ready for bed.

On creeping in, having blown out her candle just as the signal sounded,
she discovered a new reason for regretting her change of residence; she
must sleep--if she could--on a hard pallet of straw, instead of the soft,
springy mattress she had been accustomed to rest upon at home.

She uttered an exclamation of disgust and impatience, fidgeted about in
the vain effort to find a comfortable spot, and sighed wearily over the
hard hills and hollows.

How Mamma Vi and Grandma Elsie too would pity her! Probably they would
say she must have a better bed, even if it had to be sent from Viamede.

But then Grandpa Dinsmore might put his veto upon that, saying, as he had
that day in regard to the room, that it was quite as good as she
deserved; and she would not give him the chance: she would put up with
the hard bed, as well as with all the other disagreeables of the
situation, nor give up in the very least about the music-lessons.

The situation seemed no brighter or chee