s a very foolish thing to say,' remarked Mrs Macintyre--'so silly
and impossible that if I were you, Leucha, I would not give it a second
thought. The child must have said it in pure fun. You are doubtless
alluding to Hollyhock, a splendid little girl.'

'Well,' said Leucha, tossing her head, 'I don't care for girls who tell
untruths; and it is not only for that reason that I dislike her, it is
also because she has been so terribly rude to my cousins the Frasers,
and to my dear friend Daisy Watson. I can see that she intends to rule
the school, or at least to take a very leading position in it. Now
this I, for one, do not wish, and I do not intend to put up with it. I
think that I, as Earl Crossways' daughter, and the Frasers, who are
daughters of the Marquis of Killin'----

'And therefore Scots of the Scots,' interrupted Mrs Macintyre.

'Well, at least their mother is English of the English, and they have
been brought up in English ways. They are _my_ relatives, and I do not
choose them to be treated rudely. There is also my very great friend
Daisy Watson. We are most anxious, dear Mrs Macintyre, for you to
allow us English girls, who at present are in a majority in the school,
the entire use of the Summer Parlour, giving it out as your desire that
no Scotch girl is to come into the parlour without our express
permission.'

'I do not quite see how I can do that, Leucha. The Summer Parlour is
for the use of all, and why should my Scots lassies be excluded? I am
sure, notwithstanding your remarks, Leucha, the children you speak of
are both good and well-bred.'

'That horrid creature they call Hollyhock isn't well-bred,' said Leucha.

'She is a magnificent child,' said Mrs Macintyre. 'You don't know her
story or you wouldn't speak of her like that.'

'_I_ don't want to hear her story,' said Barbara Fraser. 'I dislike
her appearance too much.'

'Barbara, my dear, I am the last to encourage vanity, but Hollyhock is
quite the handsomest girl in the school.'

'Oh, Mrs Macintyre, I do wish we had never come here!' said Leucha, who
looked extremely mournful and inclined to cry. 'Of course, I suppose,
mother must give you a term's notice, but there are really _refined_
schools in England without wild Scotch girls in their midst.'

'You must not speak against Scotland to me,' said Mrs Macintyre.
'Remember it is my native land--the land of the heather, and the lochs,
and the glorious mountains. It is the l