what Jenny Barton said one evening to a group of girls out in
the pretty grove back of the academy building.

There were six of them there. Jenny had culled them from the school,
as best fitted for her purpose. She had two brothers in Harvard
College, and she had been captivated by their stories of the "Hasty
Pudding Club," of which they were both members. "So much fun! such a
jolly good time! why not, then, for girls, as well as for boys?"

When, after the long summer vacation, Jenny came back to school to
establish one of these societies, to be called in after years its
founder, and at the present time to be its head, this was the height
of her ambition, the one thing that she determined to accomplish.
These six girls that in the gloaming of this September night are
waiting to hear what she has to say were well chosen. There was Lucy
Snow, the one great mischief-maker in the school. No teacher but
wished her out of her corridor; in truth, no teacher, not even Miss
Ashton, who never shrank from the task of trying to make over spoiled
pupils, was glad to see her back at the beginning of a new year. There
was Kate Underwood, a brilliant girl, a fine scholar, and the best
writer in the school. There was Martha Dodd, whose parents were
missionaries at Otaheite; but Martha will never put her foot on
missionary ground. There was Sophy Kane, who held her head very high
because she was second cousin of Kane, the Arctic explorer, and who
talked in a grand manner of what she intended to do in her future.
There was Mamie Smythe, "chock-full of fun," the girls said, and was
never afraid, teachers or no teachers, rules or no rules, of carrying
it out. There was Lilly White, red as a peony, large as a travelling
giantess, with hands that had to have gloves made specially to fit
them, and feet that couldn't hide themselves even in a number ten
boot. She was as good-natured as she was uncouth, and never happier
than when she was being made a butt of. These were to be the nucleus
around which this society was to be formed; and as they threw
themselves down on the bed of pine-leaves which carpeted the old stump
of a tree upon which Jenny Barton was seated, they were the most
characteristic group that could have been chosen out of the school.
Jenny had shown her powers of leadership when she made the
selection.

The opening sentence of this chapter was what she said in reply to
some objection which Kate Underwood had offered. Kate lik