tire in confusion if he looks
at me. I won't dare aspire to a part now, and I had designs on the part
of Phebe."

"Don't be a goose," said Nora. "He's only a man. He can't hurt you.
I think having him here will be a lark. Won't some of those girls put
on airs, though. There he is talking with Miss Tebbs now."

The girls entered the gymnasium to find there nearly all of those who
had attended the first meeting in the library increased by about a score
of girls who had decided at the last minute to try for parts. Eleanor
stood at one end of the great room, with Edna Wright and Daisy Culver.
Grace thought she had never seen Eleanor looking more beautiful. She was
wearing a fur coat and hat far too costly for a school girl, and carried
a huge muff. Her coat was thrown open, disclosing a perfectly tailored
gown of brown, with trimmings of dull gold braid. She was talking
animatedly and her two friends were apparently hanging on every word she
uttered.

"No wonder Eleanor has an opinion of herself," said Nora. "Look at Daisy
and Edna. They act as though Eleanor were the Sultan of Turkey or the
Shah of Persia, or some other high and mighty dignitary. They almost
grovel before her."

"Never mind, Nora," said Grace. "As long as you retain your Irish
independence what do you care about what other girls do?"

"I don't care. Only they do act so silly," said Nora, with a sniff of
contempt.

"Sh-h-h!" said Jessica softly. "Miss Tebbs is going to call the meeting
to order."

A hush fell over the assembled girls as Miss Tebbs stepped forward to
address them.

"I am very glad to see so many girls here," she said. "It shows that you
are all interested in the coming play. Although you cannot all have
parts, I hope that you will feel satisfied with the selection made this
afternoon. In order that each member of the cast may be chosen on her
merit alone, my old friend, Mr. Southard, kindly consented to come from
Albany for the sole purpose of giving us the benefit of his great
Shakespearian experience. Allow me to introduce Mr. Everett Southard."

He was greeted with a round of applause, and after bowing his thanks,
the eminent actor plunged at once into the business at hand.

He spoke favorably of the idea of an all-girl cast, saying that each
year many girls' colleges presented Shakespearian plays with marked
success. The main thing to be considered was the intelligent delivery of
the great dramatist's lines. The thing to do