romance. Perhaps, at first, he thought she really
wished to avoid being questioned and that her spellbound expression was
only indifference. Certainly he had seldom tested her interest until one
day during a lecture on the Pre-Raphaelite artists and poets he calmly
requested her to stand up before the entire class and read Rossetti's
"Blessed Damozel." Blushing hotly, she began the reading in a thin,
frightened voice, but presently the amused faces of her friends faded
away; her voice regained its full measure of strength and beauty, and
when she had finished, she became aware that somewhere hidden within the
wellsprings of her mind was a power she had not known of before. Molly's
classmates were much impressed by her performance, but there was a faint
smile on the Professor's face that seemed to imply that he was not in
the least surprised.

Among all the little happenings that infest our daily lives it is often
the least and most accidental that wields the strongest influence. This
chance discovery by Molly that she could read poetry aloud gave her
infinite secret pleasure. She began to memorize and repeat to herself
all her favorite poems. Sometimes her pulses beat time to the rhythm in
her head; even her speech at such times became unconsciously metrical,
and as she walked she felt her body swing to the music of the verse.
With a strange shyness she hid this secret from her friends, who never
guessed when she sat quietly with them that she was chanting poetry to
herself.

Molly had planned to do several errands that afternoon, after the class
in Lit. II. The first one took her to the village to see Madeleine
Petit, the little Southern girl, who was willing to do almost any kind
of work to earn money. Molly had never returned the magazine clippings
of prize offers, and she had also another reason for wanting to see
Madeleine. She wished to find out just how different life in a room over
the post-office was from life at Queen's. She was thankful when the
lesson was over, that Judy was engaged for basket-ball practice in the
gym., for she wished to be alone when she made this call.

Only a few days before, Miss Walker had called to her after chapel and
suggested that she look over the rooms the postmistress rented to
students, and make her choice so that lodgings could be spoken for
before Christmas.

Molly paused at Madeleine's door and read the sign carefully.

"I suppose I shall have to be fixing up something