st day of school?"

"No,--tell me." Prudence was clearly very anxious.

"I shall never forget it. The freshmen were sent into the recitation
room to confer with Professor Duke about text-books, etc. Carol was
one of the first in the line, as they came out. She sat down in her
seat in the first aisle, with one foot out at the side. One of the
boys tripped over it. 'Carol,' said Miss Adams gently, 'you forgot
yourself, didn't you?' And Carol's eyes twinkled as she said, 'Oh, no,
Miss Adams, if I had I'd still be in the recitation room.'" Miss Allen
laughed, but Prudence's eyes were agonized.

"How hateful of her!"

"Don't the twins tell you little things that happen at school,--like
that, for instance?"

"Never! I supposed they were perfectly all right."

"Well, here's another. Twice a week we have talks on First Aid to the
Injured. Professor Duke conducts them. One day he asked Carol what
she would do if she had a very severe cold, and Carol said, 'I'd soak
my feet in hot water and go to bed. My sister makes me.'" Miss Allen
laughed again, but Prudence was speechless.

"Sometimes we have talks on normal work, practical informal
discussions. Many of our scholars will be country school-teachers, you
know. Miss Adams conducts these normal hours. One day she asked Carol
what she would do if she had applied for a school, and was asked by the
directors to write a thesis on student discipline, that they might
judge of her and her ability by it? Carol said, 'I'd get Lark to write
it for me.'"

Even Prudence laughed a little at this, but she said, "Why don't you
scold her?"

"We talked it all over shortly after she entered school. Miss Adams
did not understand Carol at first, and thought she was a little
impertinent. But Professor Duke and I stood firm against even
mentioning it to her. She is perfectly good-natured about it. You
know, of course, Miss Starr, that we really try to make individuals of
our scholars. So many, many hundreds are turned out of the public
schools all cut on one pattern. We do not like it. We fight against
it. Carol is different from others by nature, and we're going to keep
her different if possible. If we crush her individuality, she will
come out just like thousands of others,--all one pattern! Miss Adams
is as fond of Carol now as any one of us. You understand that we could
not let impudence or impertinence pass unreproved, but Carol is never
guilty of that. S