ed with white muslin, and stood wide open. As
the girls took their seats at the baize-covered table they could see out
into the garden. A moment after they had arrived in the schoolroom Miss
Tredgold made her appearance.

"We will begin with prayers," she said.

She read a portion from the Bible, made a few remarks, and then they all
knelt as she repeated the Lord's prayer.

"Now, my dears," said their new governess as they rose from their knees,
"lessons will begin. I hope we shall proceed happily and quietly. It will
be uphill work at first; but if we each help the other, uphill work will
prove to have its own pleasures. It's a long pull, and a strong pull, and
a pull all together that masters difficulties. If we are all united we
can accomplish anything; but if there is mutiny in the camp, then things
may be difficult. I warn you all, however, that under any circumstances I
mean to win the victory. It will be much easier, therefore, to submit at
first. There will be no use in sulkiness, in laziness, in inattention.
Make a brave effort now, all of you, and you will never regret this day.
Now, Verena, you and I will have some conversation together. The rest of
you children will read this page in the History of England, and tell me
afterwards what you can remember about it."

Here Miss Tredgold placed a primer before each child, and she and Verena
retired into the bay-window. They came out again at the end of ten
minutes. Verena's cheeks were crimson, and Miss Tredgold decidedly wore a
little of her northeast air. Pauline, on the whole, had a more successful
interview with her new governess than her sister. She was smarter and
brighter than Verena in many ways. But before the morning was over Miss
Tredgold announced that all her pupils were shamefully ignorant.

"I know more about you now than I did," she said. "You will all have to
work hard. Verena, you cannot even read properly. As to your writing, it
is straggling, uneven, and faulty in spelling."

CHAPTER VII.

NANCY KING.

The rest of the day passed in a subdued state. The girls hardly knew
themselves. They felt as though tiny and invisible chains were
surrounding them. These chains pulled them whenever they moved. They made
their presence felt when they spoke, when they sat down, and when they
rose up. They were with them at dinner; they were with them whenever Miss
Tredgold put in an appearance. Perhaps they were silken chains, but, all
the same