e coffee as though he were a moth approaching a candle. He
even forgot his Virgil in his desire to partake of the delicious
stimulant. Miss Tredgold handed him a cup.

"There," she said. "If you were ever young, and if there was ever a time
when you cared to act as a gentleman, this will remind you of those
occasions.--And now, children, I introduce you to 'Open sesame;' and I
hope, my dear nieces, by means of these simple cups of coffee you will
enter a different world from that which you have hitherto known."

The girls all drank their coffee, and each pronounced it the nicest drink
they had ever taken.

Presently Miss Tredgold went into the garden. She invited Verena and
Pauline to accompany her.

"The rest of you can stay behind," she said. "You can talk about me to
each other as much as you like. I give you leave to discuss me freely,
knowing that, even if I did not do so, you would discuss me all the same.
I am quite aware that you all hate me for the present, but I do not think
this state of things will long continue. Come, Verena; come, Pauline. The
night is lovely. We will discuss nature a little, and common sense a
great deal."

The two girls selected to walk with Miss Tredgold looked behind at the
seven girls left in the dining-room, and the seven girls looked back at
them with a mixture of curiosity and pity.

"Never mind your sisters now," said Miss Tredgold. "We want to talk over
many things. But before we enter into any discussion I wish to ask a
question."

"Yes," said Verena in her gentle voice.

"Verena," said her aunt suddenly, "how old are you?"

"Fifteen," said Verena.

"Precisely. And on your next birthday you will be sixteen, and on the
following seventeen, and on the next one again eighteen. You have,
therefore, nearly three years in which to be transformed from a little
savage into a lady. The question I now want to ask you is: Do you prefer
to remain a savage all your days, uneducated, uncultured, your will
uncontrolled, your aspirations for good undeveloped; or do you wish to
become a beautiful and gracious lady, kind, sympathetic, learned, full of
grace? Tell me, my dear."

"How can I?" replied Verena. "I like my life here; we all suit each
other, and we like The Dales just as it is. Yes, we all suit each other,
and we don't mind being barbarians."

Miss Tredgold sighed.

"I perceive," she said, "that I shall have uphill work before me. For you
of all the young people, Verena