school where little girls were not
allowed to wear their hair as they liked; where they had to courtesy to
teachers when they left the room; and, what was still more surprising,
had to eat whatever was given to them at the table. I think that such
a school would seem so very old-fashioned nowadays that no little girls
could be found who would be willing to go to it, and even in those days
there were very few like it.

The dear old Quaker lady, Miss Chapman, taught the little girls to do
just as she herself had been taught to do when she were a little girl;
so you can easily imagine that her ways was not quite the ways of other
teachers. And yet, since her scholars were as healthy, happy,
rosy-cheeked little girls as you could find anywhere, I do not know
that any one could complain that her ways were not very good ways.
They seemed very strange to new scholars sometimes, if they had
attended other schools where the rules were not so strict; but they
very soon grew used to them, and then they did not mind them at all,
and were very happy.

If Maude had not been sitting by her friend, Mrs. Boardman, perhaps she
would have made a great fuss at dinner-time about eating the piece of
sweet potato which had been served to her.

She did not like sweet potato, and she liked the idea of having to eat
it, whether she wanted it or not, still less, and the clouds began to
gather on her face. She glanced about the table, and saw that Ruby was
having a hard time, trying to eat a dish which she did not like, and
that some of the other girls did not look very happy when they heard
the rule.

Mrs. Boardman whispered a few encouraging words to Maude, and the
little girl reflected that as long as she had really tried to be good
about some other things, she might as well try to be good about this
rule, too, and so she managed to eat the small piece of potato without
saying anything about not liking it. After the girls had eaten the
portion which was put upon their plates the first time, they were at
liberty to decline any more for that meal; so you may be sure that
Maude did not take any more.

"Don't let me forget to tell you about a boy I heard about who had to
eat something he did n't like, and came very near having to make his
whole dinner upon it," whispered Mrs. Boardman. "I don't think you can
imagine how it happened, and you can think about it while you are
eating your potato. See, it is only a little piece, and it will