1884); Autocrat of the Nursery; Tip Cat; Scarlet
Anemones; The Band of Three; A Little Silver Trumpet; Our Little Ann;
The Angel of Love (1885); A World of Girls (1886); Beforehand; Daddy's
Boy; The O'Donnells of Inchfawn; The Palace Beautiful; Sweet Nancy
(1887); Deb and the Duchess (1888); Nobody's Neighbors; Pen (1888); A
Girl from America (1907)._

THE SCHOOL QUEENS

CHAPTER I

THE FASCINATING MAGGIE

Cicely Cardew and her sister Merry were twins. At the time when this
story opens they were between fifteen and sixteen years of age. They
were bright, amiable, pretty young girls, who had never wanted for any
pleasure or luxury during their lives. Their home was a happy one.
Their parents were affectionate and lived solely for them. They were
the only children, and were treated--as only children often are--with
a considerable amount of attention. They were surrounded by all the
appliances of wealth. They had ponies to ride and carriages to drive
in, and each had her own luxurious and beautifully furnished bedroom.

It was Mr. Cardew's wish that his daughters should be educated at
home. In consequence they were not sent to any school, but had daily
masters and governesses to instruct them in the usual curriculum of
knowledge. It might be truly said that for them the sun always shone,
and that they were carefully guarded from the east wind. They were
naturally bright and amiable. They had their share of good looks,
without being quite beautiful. They had not the slightest knowledge of
what the world meant, of what sorrow meant, or pain. They were brought
up in such a sheltered way that it seemed to them that there were no
storms in life. They were not discontented, for no one ever breathed
the word in their presence. Their requests were reasonable, for they
knew of no very big things to ask for. Even their books were carefully
selected for them, and their amusements were of a mild and orderly
character.

Such were the girls when this story opens on a bright day towards the
end of a certain July. Their home was called Meredith Manor, and Merry
was called after an old ancestor on their mother's side to whom the
house had at one time belonged.

Mr. Cardew was a merchant-prince. Mrs. Cardew belonged to an old
county family. If there was one thing in the world that Cicely and
Merry thought nothing whatever about, it was money. They could
understand neither poverty nor the absence of gold.

The little villag