tall girl of thirteen, with a considerable idea of the dignity of my
age, and much resented anyone alluding to me as "a child". My aunt
thought me greatly improved, and spoke in warm praise of Mrs. Marshall's
system of education; while as for me, my life at San Carlos seemed such
a past tale that it was difficult to believe I had ever been the forlorn
little stranger who had landed in England with so many doubts and fears
only three years ago. You must not think, however, that I had entirely
forgotten my home and the dear old friends of my childhood. I still sent
warm messages to Juanita and Tasso and the other members of our
household, though I could no longer speak their language; and I liked to
hear accounts of them in my father's letters, while I believe on their
part they all looked forward to seeing their little signorina one day in
their midst again. It was perhaps only natural after all that my new
life should in some measure erase the old one from my mind; it was what
my father had desired, and if I were beginning to think that England was
far more to me than the country I had left, he would be the first to
rejoice over my altered views. So far from feeling any danger of my
affection for him being weakened, he knew that my change of opinions
only tightened the bond between us, since the older and wiser I grew, so
much the more would I be able to appreciate him and enjoy his
companionship when we should meet again.

I was now in the third form at school, as I had been moved up with
Blanche, Janet, and Cathy, and found myself the youngest in a class
which had a reputation both for quick wits and hard work. Miss Percy was
our teacher, and, though in many respects an excellent one, she was a
woman of narrow sympathies and strict discipline; very different from
kindly Miss Buller, who had always tried to make the rough paths of
learning as smooth as possible for our stumbling feet. Another
disagreeable point of my promotion was that I had Ernestine Salt for a
class-mate, and however much I might dislike her I must perforce be
thrown continually into her society. As you may imagine, she did not
welcome my advent, giving me to understand that she considered me an
intruder among girls who were all older than myself, and that my
advancement was only due to Mrs. Marshall's partiality. Lucy had
remained behind in the upper fourth. Never a very clever girl, she had
little ambition, and was quite content if she could scrape