trees, its straggling plums, and
budding walnuts, and cherries just bursting into an ethereal fairy
network of delicate palest pink bloom. Primroses grew here amongst the
grass, and clumps of dog violets and little tufts of bluebells were
pushing their way up to take the place of the fading daffodils, while
a blackthorn bush was a mass of pure white stars. At the far end,
instead of a hedge, lay the moat, a shallow stagnant pool, bordered
with drooping willows, tall reeds, and rushes that reared their
spear-like stems from the dark oozy water. Originally this moat had
encircled the mansion as a means of defence, but now, like the ruined
gateway, its mission was long past, and it survived, a sleepy witness
to the warfare of our forefathers, and a picturesque adjunct to the
general beauty of the place that could scarcely be surpassed. From the
farther side of the moat peaceful meadows led to the river, where
between high wooded banks a stately silver stream glided slowly and
tranquilly on in its path towards the ocean, rippling over weirs, and
bearing on its calm bosom an occasional pleasure boat, punt, or fussy
little motor yacht.

The interior of the old Grange was quaint as its exterior. The large
rooms lent themselves admirably to school uses. The big hall, with its
oak-panelled walls, stained-glass windows, and huge fireplace, made an
excellent lecture-room, or, when the forms were moved to one end,
provided plenty of space for drilling or dancing. It seemed strange
certainly to turn an Elizabethan bedroom into a twentieth-century
class-room, and standard desks looked decidedly at variance with the
carved chimney-pieces or the stags' antlers that still ornamented the
walls; but the modern element only seemed to enhance the old, and the
girls agreed that nothing could be more suitable than to learn history
in such a setting.

"It'll give us a loophole for lots of our lessons," remarked Raymonde
hopefully, as she personally conducted a party of new arrivals over
the establishment. "For instance, if I get muddled over circulating
decimals, I'll explain that my brains fall naturally into a mediaeval
groove in these surroundings, and decimals weren't invented then, so
that of course it's impossible for me to grasp them; and the same with
geography--the map of Africa then had about three names on it, so it's
quite superfluous to try to remember any more. I'm going to cultivate
the mental atmosphere of the place and focu