sant things and thus you do not prepare
yourself, or rather un-prepare yourself for bearing trial. And why should
a little girl live in a woman's world?"

"Oh, because it's so nice!" cried Marjorie.

"And are you willing to lose your precious childhood and girlhood?"

"Why no," acknowledged the child, looking startled.

"I think you lose a part of it when you love best to look forward to
womanhood; I should think every day would be full enough for you to live
in."

"To-day is full enough; but some days nothing happens at all."

"Now is your study time; now is the time for you to be a perfect little
daughter and sister, a perfect friend, a perfect helper in every way that
a child may help. And when womanhood comes you will be ready to enjoy it
and to do its work. It would be very sad to look back upon a lost or
blighted or unsatisfying childhood."

"Yes," assented Marjorie, gravely.

"Perhaps you and Linnet have been reading story-books that were not
written for children."

"We read all the books in the school library."

"Does your mother look over them?"

"No, not always."

"They may harm you only in this way that I see. You are thinking of
things before the time. It would be a pity to spoil May by bringing
September into it."

"All the girls like the grown-up stories best" excused Marjorie.

"Perhaps they have not read books written purely for children. Think of
the histories and travels and biographies and poems piled up for you to
read!"

"I wish I had them. I read all I could get."

"I am sure you do. O, Marjorie, I don't want you to lose one of your
precious days. I lost so many of mine by growing up too soon. There are
years and years to be a woman, but there are so few years to be a child
and a girl."

Marjorie scribbled awhile thinking of nothing to say. Had she been
"spoiling" Linnet, too? But Linnet was two years older, almost old enough
to think about growing up.

"Marjorie, look at me!"

Marjorie raised her eyes and fixed them upon the glowing eyes that were
reading her own. Miss Prudence's lips were white and tremulous.

"I have had some very hard things in my life and I fully believe I
brought many of them upon myself. I spoiled my childhood and early
girlhood by light reading and castle-building; I preferred to live among
scenes of my own imagining, than in my own common life, and oh, the
things I left up done! The precious girlhood I lost and the hard
womanhood I made for mysel