ed her to avoid Rosalie's eye. Perhaps Rosalie
divined this, for she took to another thing--and that was Pauline. With
arms about each other, the two walked around the basement promenade at
recess, while Emily stood afar off and felt aggrieved.

[Illustration: "'If you're not pretty, you've got to be smart.'"]

She was doing a good deal of feeling these days, but principally she
felt cross. For one thing, she was having to wear a sailor suit in which
she hated herself. It takes a jaunty juvenility of spirit to wear a
sailor suit properly, and she was not feeling that way these days. She
was feeling tall and conscious of her angles. The tears, too, came
easily, as at thought of herself deserted by Hattie and Rosalie, or at
sight of herself in the sailor suit. It was in Aunt Cordelia's Mirror
that she viewed herself with such dissatisfaction; but while looking,
the especial grievance was forgotten by reason of her gaze centring upon
the reflected face. She was wondering if she was pretty. But even while
her cheek flamed with the thinking of it, she forgot why the cheek was
hot in the absorption of watching it fade, until--eyes met eyes----

She turned quickly and hid her face against the sofa. Emmy Lou had met
Self.

But later she almost quarrelled with Aunt Cordelia about the sailor
suit.

One day at recess a new-comer who had entered late was standing around.
Her cheek was pale, though her eager look about lent a light to her
face. But all seemed paired off and absorbed and the eager look faded.
Emily, whom she had not seen, moved nearer, and the new-comer's face
brightened. "They give long recesses," she said.

[Illustration: "Wondering if she was pretty."]

Emily felt drawn to her, for since being deserted she was not enjoying
recesses herself.

"Yes," she said, "they do"; and the next day another pair, Emily and
the new-comer, joined the promenade about the basement.

The new pupil's name was Margaret; that is, since it stopped being
Maggie. Emily confessed to having once been Emmy herself, with a middle
name of Lou besides, and after that they told each other everything.
Margaret loved to read and had lately come to own a certain book which
she brought to lend Emily, and over its pages they drew together. The
book was called "Percy's Reliques."

Beside the common way lies the Ballad Age, but Emily would have passed,
unknowing, had not Margaret, drawing the branches aside, revealed it;
and into the sylvan