explanation
from her sobbing pupil.

"Don't cry, my dear," she said kindly; "you have done your best. You
are not the only one who has tried to find poor Mercy's relations, but
the issue is in higher hands than ours. Do not speak to her of what
has happened this morning; it is a subject which has caused her such
great grief that I always shrink from allowing it to be mentioned. The
truest way to prove your friendship is to help her to forget that she
is alone in the world. Though we cannot supply the place of her own
parents, we can at least show her how much we love her, and make her
feel that she has many friends to compensate her for the loss of
father and mother."

CHAPTER VIII

All-Hallows Eve and Guy Fawkes

October had passed so swiftly that Sylvia could hardly realize that
she had now been almost a month at school. In some respects the time
appeared short, yet in others it seemed as if she had been settled
there for years, and she no longer felt herself to be a new girl. The
days, which had been bright and summerlike when first she arrived,
were now rapidly closing in; there was no recreation in the garden
after four o'clock, as Miss Kaye considered it too damp and cold for
them to be out, and they were obliged to amuse themselves in the
playroom instead.

The great excitement at present was the near approach of All-Hallows
Eve, when it was the custom for the whole school to meet and spend the
evening in 'apple bobbing' and other amusements.

"Miss Kaye gets a whole cask," said Linda, "those lovely big American
ones, and we have such fun! We all sit up till half-past eight, even
the babies, and nobody minds how much noise we make. I don't know
which is nicest, Hallowe'en or Guy Fawkes Day."

"Oh, I like the fifth of November!" said Nina Forster. "We don't do
Hallowe'en properly here. 'Apple bobbing' is nothing."

"What do you do at home then?" asked Sylvia.

"We have a large party, and put bowls of water in front of the fire,
and touch them blindfolded, to see who'll be married first. My big
sister once combed her hair before the looking glass at midnight to
see if the shadow of her future husband would appear peeping over her
shoulder, and my brother Alec crept in and got behind her, and pulled
a horrible face, and she shrieked and shrieked. Sometimes, too, we go
into the garden, and drag up cabbage stalks, to try our luck."

"Miss Kaye won't let us do any of those things," said Linda; "she