ow that the best in me will not be brought to the fore if I am with
her; and I shan't learn those things which would delight dear father; I
shall not know modern languages, nor be a good musical scholar, nor be
able to sing nicely, and I--I shall hate that life, and my nature may
be warped, and I--but, oh! I will win the Scholarship."

Kitty sprang to her feet and went over to the window. "This makes me
restless," she said; "I didn't mean to express all my feelings; I am
very sorry for you, Mary, and for you, Florence, but, I mean to get the
Scholarship."

"You have not yet seen the thing from my point of view," said Florence.
"Perhaps in reality this means more to me than even to you, Kitty, for
I--I in reality am horribly poor. I know, Kitty, that you are poor
too--I know perfectly well that your father is poor for his position;
but whatever happens, you are a lady, Kitty, and your father is a
gentleman, and at the end of three years, whether you win the
Scholarship or not, you will go out to him and lead the life of a lady.
I don't suppose, when all is said and done, that it will make any
difference in his affection whether you can speak French and read
German or not, and I am certain he won't kiss you less often because
you do not play charmingly and because you do not sing divinely. But
I--if I lose the Scholarship I lose all--yes, I lose all," said
Florence, rising to her feet and standing before the other two girls
with a solemn and yet frightened look on her face. "For I shall sink
in every sense of the word; I shall no longer be a lady, I shall go as
pupil teacher to a common, rough sort of school, and my mother, my dear
mother, will suffer, and I shall suffer, and all the good things of
life will be taken from me. So it is more to me than it is to you,
Kitty Sharston; and as to you, Mary Bateman, you are out of count
altogether, for why should you go to that new-fangled college and be
turned into a man when you are born a woman? No, no; I mean to get
this Scholarship, for it means not only all my future, but mother's
future too. It is more to me than to either of you."

Florence swept up her papers, thrust them into her desk, and abruptly
left the room, slamming the door after her.

Kitty looked at Mary, and Kitty's eyes were full of tears. "It is
quite dreadful," she said; "how she does feel it! I never knew
Florence was that intense sort of girl, and it does seem a great deal
to her. What is t