many were Miss Ailie's own. An entry of this kind was frequent: "If you
are uncertain of the answer to a question in arithmetic, it is advisable
to leave the room on some pretext and work out the sum swiftly in the
passage." Various pretexts were suggested, and this one (which had an
insufficient line through it) had been inserted by Dr. McQueen on that
day when Tommy saw him chuckling, "You pretend that your nose is
bleeding and putting your handkerchief to it, retire hastily, the
supposition being that you have gone to put the key of the
blue-and-white room down your back." Evidently these small deceptions
troubled Miss Ailie, for she had written, "Such subterfuge is, I hope,
pardonable, the object being the maintenance of scholastic discipline."
On another page, where the arithmetic was again troubling her, this
appeared: "If Kitty were aware that the squealing of the slate-pencils
gave me such headaches, she would insist on again taking the arithmetic
class, though it always makes her ill. Surely, then, I am justified in
saying that the sound does not distress me." To this the doctor had
added, "You are a brick."

There were two pages headed NEVER, which mentioned ten things that Miss
Ailie must never do; among them, "_Never_ let the big boys know you are
afraid of them. To awe them, stamp with the foot, speak in a loud
ferocious voice, and look them unflinchingly in the face."

"Punishments" was another heading, but she had written it small, as if
to prevent herself seeing it each time she opened the book. Obviously
her hope had been to dispose of Punishment in a few lines, but it would
have none of that, and Mr. McLean found it stalking from page to page.
Miss Ailie favored the cane in preference to tawse, which, "often flap
round your neck as yon are about to bring them down." Except in
desperate cases "it will probably be found sufficient to order the
offender to bring the cane to you." Then followed a note about rubbing
the culprit's hand "with sweet butter or dripping" should you have
struck too hard.

Dispiriting item, that on resuming his seat the chastised one is a hero
to his fellows for the rest of the day. Item, that Master John James
Rattray knows she hurts her own hand more than his. Item, that John
James promised to be good throughout the session if she would let him
thrash the bad ones. Item, that Master T. Sandys, himself under
correction, explained to her (the artistic instinct again) how to give