elligible way; and now she found to her
surprise a new life-lesson waiting for her to learn, one not in books.
So far, her life had all been made easy and sure by the wise parents
who had never allowed anything to interfere with their child's best
interests; as they had made more and greater sacrifices than she ever
knew, to send her East for her education, so nothing that could
prepare her for it had been forgotten or neglected.

The very opportunities she had craved had been granted her, and she
found herself hindered by such trifles as Gladys moving restlessly
around the room, her own lessons well learned, lifting up a window
curtain and letting a glare of sunshine fall over her book, knocking
the corner of the study table, pushing a chair; no matter how trifling
the disturbance, it meant a distracted attention, and lost time; or,
Susan would fidget in her chair, draw long and loud breaths, push away
one book noisily and take up another, fix her eyes steadily on
Marion, look as if she were watching the slow progress she made, and
wondering at it.

Even Dorothy, dear, good Dorothy, was not without her share in the
annoyance. If she had any occasion to move about the room, "she creeps
as if she knew how it troubles me, and was ashamed of me," thought
nervous Marion.

In her weekly letters home she gave to her mother an exact account of
her daily life, and among the hindrances she found this nervous
susceptibility was not omitted. It had never occurred to her that it
was a thing under her own control, therefore she was not a little
surprised when she received the following letter from her mother:--

"MY DEAR CHILD,--You are not starting right. What your
room-mates do, or do not do, is none of your concern. Learn at
once what I hoped you had learned, at least in part, before
leaving home, to fix your mind upon your lesson, to the shutting
out of all else while that is being learned. I know how
difficult this will seem to you, with your attention distracted
by everything so new about you; _but it can be done_, and it
must be if you are to acquire in the only way that will be of
any true use to you in the future. Remember that the very first
thing you are to do, in truth the end and aim of all education,
is to develop and strengthen the powers of your mind.
Acquisition is, I had almost written, only useful in so far as
it tends to this great result. When you leave school, if your
memory is