a girl than many of the important events of her later years. Now Julia, although she was to go to school in her cousin Brenda's company, looked forward to her first day with considera

of the average girl of sixteen. Of this fact Julia herself was unaware. She fancied that because she had gone to school so little, she would be found far behind her cousin Brenda and Brenda's friends. Before going to school she had had an informal talk with Miss Crawdon, in which she had revealed more to the keen mind of the la

to school with her cousin, expressed to th

awdon won't be hard with you, she knows you haven't been at school much, and even if you ha

at many things on her mind, rushed off to speak to one of the girls, leaving Julia alone near the door. There were perhaps a dozen girls standing about in little groups of three or four. They did not mean to be unkind, but when they saw Julia, they not only glanced curiously toward her, but for the time ceased their conversation. When they began to talk again i

enda Barlo

he in mour

old i

she is coming

anged by the girls, with here and

ll her so v

't look li

s was made in the year one.

een made a little smaller than the prevailing mode required by a dressmaker whom Julia had employed in a spirit of kindness without regard to her skill. She had not remembered when dressing that this was to be her first d

than usual, she was more than pleased to

e? Where's Brenda? Dear me, is thi

ions at once, but I don't know where Brenda

before Julia could object, she found herself receiving introductions to most of the girls in the room, even to the very one whose crit

ow's cousin Julia,"

d the light-haired girl turning toward Julia.

remark of this kind, even while she r

ed Nora, "I'm sure you never heard B

y hit. Nora gave Julia's hand a gentle squeeze. "Brenda's just as glad as I am that you're coming to school," she whi

dressing-rooms laughing and chattering as if they

e girls were so absorbed in their own affairs that they too

ed to the room she welco

. "I had to have an extra desk brought in as there was no vacant pl

Julia. When she took her seat she felt as if every one was looking at her. Whereas, in fact, only the girls in the very front rows could see her plainly. Between Miss Crawdon's desk and the front seat there was a row of settees where tho

that a new girl had arrived. Most of them were too polite to show any surprise, but as each class file

that she would require no re

a book, "and after recess, you may like to join the class. By listening to the

fore. She admired the skill with which Miss Crawdon asked questions, and she wondered if she would ever be able to give replies herself, as clear as those of some of the girls. Yet not all the girls, she observed, knew their lesson, and some of them showed great cleverness in concealing-or trying to conceal this ignorance from Miss Crawdon. The latter was unusually proficient in reading girls,

enda's friend Belle, "yes, she succeeded her brother, the mu

smile. Belle was one of those girls who seldom study a lesson thoroughly. She always had vague general ideas of the topic under consideration, gained by a rapid survey of the pages assigned for a lesson. When she could do so unobserved, sometimes during recitation she would look between the covers of her book to refresh her lagging memory. Nora and Edith and Brenda were also in the class with her, and sometimes one or the other of them would prompt her to save her from disgrace. Nora oc

always down on one, but really I can't stand it if Julia is to sit where she can watch everything I do w

," answered Frances Pounder, the girl whose careless

see for yourself that it's very funny for Miss Crawdon to put any girl

n of Brenda's hasn't been in school a

was going to have French history with the older girls. Just think of it, she's on

on went on which luckily Julia could not hear. She spent the recess walkin