uiet hours which her headache enforced were of great service to
her, in giving her time for thought and resolution. When at last she
rose, and arranged her hair to go down-stairs, her heart had grown so
much lighter and calmer, that she felt more like herself than she had
done for months, and she could now leave the matter of the prizes,
without undue anxiety, with Him who knew what was best for her, and
who, she was sure, would not refuse her any good thing.

The examination in history was the first to come off. When Lucy looked
at the list of questions, she found that several of them were on the
part of the subject she had overlooked, and that these she could not
answer at all. She felt that all chance of the prize was over; but she
did not allow her mind to dwell on this circumstance, but wrote her
replies to the other questions, with a calmness and clearness which
would have been quite beyond her power, had she allowed herself to
remain in a condition of feverish suspense.

When the examiners' decision was made known, it was found that the
first prize had been awarded to Miss Eastwood, who was quite taken by
surprise at receiving it; but that, as Miss Raymond's paper had been
so good in all except a very few points, the second prize, awarded to
her, was considered almost equal to the first. This was much better
than Lucy had expected; and as she received two first prizes in
subjects where she had felt by no means sure of success, she was on
the whole very well satisfied, as was Fred also, when her joyful
letter informed him of the result.

Stella announced Lucy's success at home with almost as much pleasure
as if the success had been her own. Edwin congratulated her with
rather more animation than he was in the habit of showing, and Ada
declared that "It must be nice to be so smart."

"Yes; but Lucy has been injuring her health by her close study,"
remarked the more observant Sophy. "Look at her now, how pale and thin
she is, compared with what she was when she came!"

"Oh, the holidays will set me all right again," Lucy declared,
laughing; but Mrs. Brooke decided that Lucy needed immediate change of
air. She had been hoping to be able to spend her holidays at Ashleigh,
among her old friends; and as the Brookes were all going to a
fashionable seaside resort, it seemed likely that nothing would occur
to prevent the hoped-for visit. But Amy's cough, as well as other
symptoms of delicacy of the lungs, had increase