me did not appear on the
prospectuses, and who took a very back seat indeed in the school. Among
intimate friends Miss Poppleton was apt to allude to her as "poor
Edith", and most people concurred in a low estimation of her capacities.
Certainly Miss Edith was not talented, neither would she have shone in
any walk of life requiring brains. She was the exact opposite of her
sister--tall, with big, round, blue, surprised-looking eyes, a weak
chin, and a mouth that was generally set in a rather deprecating smile.
She held a poor opinion of herself, and was more than willing to fill a
secondary place; indeed, she would have been both alarmed and
embarrassed if called upon to take the lead. For her elder sister she
had an admiration and devotion that amounted to reverence. She
cheerfully performed any tasks set her, and was perfectly content to be
a kind of general help and underling, without attempting the least
interference with any of the arrangements. Critical friends sometimes
hinted that Miss Edith's position at Briarcroft was hardly a fair one,
and that Miss Poppleton took advantage of her good nature and affection;
but Miss Edith herself never for a single instant entertained such a
disloyal notion, and continued to sing her sister's praises almost _ad
nauseam_. Among the girls she was a distinct favourite; her patience
was endless, and her good temper unflagging. What she lacked in brains
she made up for in warmth of heart, and though she faithfully upheld
discipline, she was apt somewhat to tone down the severity of the rules,
and indeed sometimes surreptitiously to soften the thorny paths of the
transgressor.

Four resident mistresses and a certain number of visiting teachers
completed the staff at Briarcroft Hall. The greater proportion of the
pupils were day girls, and the boarders, though they gave themselves
airs, were decidedly in the minority. Such was the little community into
which Gipsy was to be launched, and where for many months to come she
would have to make and keep her own position.

Gipsy started with the most excellent intentions of exemplary behaviour,
and if her conduct, regulated according to American codes, hardly
harmonized with Briarcroft standards, it was more her misfortune than
her fault. On the first day after her arrival she betook herself to the
Principal's study, and after a light tap at the door, entered
confidently with a breezy "Good morning". Miss Poppleton looked up from
her pa