ven their
second year. You don't grudge giving what is but a fraction of your
life, after all, to thorough as opposed to superficial learning, do you,
dear? Remember, the one is worthy and the other worthless--a mere
pretentious waste."

"I cannot help it," said May, with a little gasp of despair. "To wait is
just what I cannot afford to do. I am almost certain that my coming up
next year depends on what I can do this term. We have grown quite poor.
Father has lost a great deal of money lately. Even if he were content
to send me back here, I do not think it would be right in me to come,
unless I could do something to lessen the expense. My sister Annie is
in London learning to be a nurse, and my sister Rose is coming out as
an artist."

"I thought they were doing it from choice. Why did you not apply
yourself before, Miss Millar? You knew what you could do, better than
any of us here could possibly guess your talents and attainments.
From your general behaviour until the play was started, I for one, I
confess, fell into the grave error of supposing that you could do
little or nothing, or that any progress you had made was entirely
forced work." Miss Lascelles spoke sharply, for she was considerably
discomfited, and full of unavailing regret for her share in the
misadventure.

May could not tell her that she had been too miserable about coming
away from home, and leaving her mother and father, Dora and Tray, to
apply herself to learning; neither would there have been much use in
her applying if she had been destined to fade away presently as she
had imagined, and to die, bereft, among the lexicons, commentaries,
and lecture-notes of Thirlwall Hall. She preferred to say with meek
contriteness that she knew she had been very idle, but she would do
her best to atone for her idleness by working every lawful moment of
every hour of the few weeks which were left to her, if Miss Lascelles
would but allow her to go in for the examination, preparatory to
trying for the scholarship.

Miss Lascelles could not prevent her, she told May a little dryly, for
the students of Thirlwall Hall, though some of them were no more than
seventeen--May's age--were all regarded and treated as grown-up young
women capable of judging and acting for themselves. What Miss Lascelles
was bound to do was to see that Miss Millar did not run into the
opposite extreme, and bring on a brain fever by over-study. "And you
know, my dear," finished the kin