tter. She had come on the
pretext of looking at rooms for next year, but after watching the scene
in the garden had hurried away.

"And I might have been with them now," she thought bitterly, "if it
hadn't been for my vile temper that Christmas Eve."

Judith had learned a good many hard lessons during the winter. She had
found out that friends in prosperity are not always friends in
adversity. Her old-time rich associates at the Beta Phi House had paid
her one or two perfunctory calls in the room over the post-office, but
the days of her leadership were over forever. Mary Stewart came often to
see her and Jenny Wren was faithful, but there was great bitterness in
Judith's heart and she chose frequently to hang a "Busy" sign on her
door so that she might brood over her troubles alone. She grew very
sallow and thin, and sat up late at night reading, there being no ten
o'clock rules at the post-office. Many times Madeleine Petit, her
neighbor, was wakened by the fragrant aroma of coffee floating down the
hall into her little bedroom.

"If she was my daughter," Madeleine observed to Molly one day, "I'd
first put her through a course of broken doses of calomel, and then I'd
put her to work on something besides lessons. Even laundry is good to
keep people from brooding. If I stopped to think about all my troubles
and all that is before me in the way of work and struggles to get on,"
she rattled along, "I wouldn't have time to study, much less do up
jabots and things. But I just trust to luck and go ahead. I find it
comes out all right. Mighty few people seem to understand that it makes
a thing much bigger to think and think about it. I'd rather enlarge
something more worth while than my misfortunes."

Molly smiled over Madeleine's philosophy.

"I mean to make friends with her next year," went on Madeleine. "She was
rude to me once, but I am sorry for her because we are both going
through the same struggle and I think I can give her some ideas. You may
not believe me, but I always succeed in doing the thing I set out to do.
College was as far off from me two years ago as Judith seems to be
now----"

"It will be a fine thing for Judith if she gains a friend like you,
Madeleine," interrupted Molly warmly. "See if you can't start it by
bringing her to our garden party with you next Saturday."

Molly delivered the invitations with which she had called, and giving
Madeleine a friendly kiss, she hastened on her way.

But M