e.

It was on one of these wet Fridays that Miss Chatham suggested taking
the Sixth Form to see the City Museum. This was a new development in
Kingfield and had lately been opened. It occupied a large room in the
old Guild Hall, and was only about five minutes walk from the school.
Nothing could be nearer on such a wet day.

The Sixth joyfully snatched the opportunity offered to them, put away
books, tools, and other impediments, and went to the cloakroom to change
their shoes. Ten minutes later a jolly-looking party, with mackintoshes
and umbrellas, followed Miss Chatham down the High Street to the Guild
Hall. They went under the ancient archway, and across the courtyard, and
through the old doorway, and up the oak stairs, and along the tapestried
corridor into the great central hall, hung with the armour and weapons
of bygone Kingfield citizens. From this hall led many thick oak doors,
and one under the minstrels' gallery gave access to the new museum. It
was a fairly large room, built like the rest of the Guild Hall in
mediaeval fashion, with sandstone walls, a carved roof, and latticed
windows. It held a number of show-cases containing various exhibits.

The girls stacked their umbrellas in a corner and prepared to enjoy
themselves. There were certainly many interesting things on view, a
beautiful collection of stuffed British birds, arranged in most natural
fashion with their nests and eggs, a case full of objects from Ancient
Egypt, a number of bronze implements, stone hammers, flint arrows, and
other prehistoric weapons, lovely shells and corals, a cabinet of
butterflies, and some fine illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages. A
lady was acting curator for the afternoon, and Marion enthusiastically
claimed her acquaintance and introduced Lesbia. The two girls presently
found themselves inspecting the show-cases, with Miss Renton at their
elbow explaining the exhibits to them.

Naturally the rest of the form came hurrying up and clustered round to
listen, so an impromptu museum lecture resulted.

"I'd love to look at some of the other pictures in those old books,"
said Marion quietly to her friend. "I'm learning illuminating at school,
and those manuscripts are simply gorgeous."

"I can't take the books out when so many people are about," whispered
Miss Renton, "but if you can wait after the other girls go, I'll unlock
the case."

"Oh, thanks immensely. May Lesbia stay too? She's keen on painting."

"Ce