nt of dark brown, fringed at the bottom and the sleeves. A band of
beadwork was fastened over her forehead, and she wore a long necklace of
bright-coloured beads.

"What is it--a robe of state?" Laura inquired.

"Yes, the ceremonial dress," Anne told her, "but you can't see in this
light how pretty it is. Come on, we must join the procession."

"What has become of your girls?" Laura asked. "They were here a moment
ago."

"They have gone to get their necklaces," Anne returned. "My girls are
all Wood Gatherers as yet--we've not been organised long, you know; but
they've been working hard for honours, and for every honour they are
entitled to add a bead to their necklaces."

"Yours then must represent a great many honours."

"Yes," Anne replied. "You see it incites the girls to work for honours
when they see that their Guardians have worked and won them. The red
beads show that the wearer has won health honours by keeping free from
colds, headaches, etc., for a number of months, or by sleeping out of
doors, or doing some sort of athletics--walking, swimming, rowing, and
the like. The blue ones are for nature study, the black and gold for
business, and so on. Each bead has a meaning for the girl--it tells a
story--and the more she wins, the finer her record, of course."

"What a splendid idea! And how the girls will prize their necklaces
by-and-by, and enjoy recalling the stories connected with them!"

"Yes," Anne agreed, "they will hand them down to their daughters as a
new kind of heirloom, but----" with a laugh she added, "that's looking a
long way ahead, isn't it?"

By this time the two were in the midst of a merry procession of girls
from twelve to twenty, perhaps a third of them wearing the ceremonial
dress.

"What a gay company they are!" Laura commented, as the procession
followed a winding path through the woods, a few carrying lanterns. "Is
there anything in the world, Anne, lovelier than a crowd of happy
girls?"

"Nothing," her friend assented in a low tone. "And, Laura, if you could
only see the difference a few days here make in some of the girls who
have had all work and no play--like some of mine! It is so delightful to
see them grow merry and glad day by day. But here we are. This is our
Council Chamber."

"I want as many eyes as a spider so that I can look every way at once,"
Laura cried as the girls arranged themselves in a large circle. "What
are those girls over there doing?"

"They are