not let her talk about her trouble until her hair was
brushed and her face washed.

"I might have taught you how to courtesy before school-time this
morning if I had only thought of it in time," Aunt Emma said. "But now
you must n't cry about it any more, Ruby. Of course it would have been
better if you had tried to do as the other girls did, but now all you
can do is to tell Miss Chapman that you are sorry and that you will not
do so any more, and you must not fret any more about it. I will show
you now, and then you will courtesy as nicely as any one else, before
you have to do it again."

"But, Aunt Emma, what made the girls do it?" asked Ruby. "If the first
girl had not done it none of the others would have had to, would they?
And I don't think it is one bit nice, and I don't see what they want to
do it for. And oh, Aunt Emma, you ought to have seen how beautifully
Maude courtesied. She did it the very best of all the girls, and I
don't see how she knew about it, for I am sure she never did it before."

"I will tell you why the girls do it," Aunt Emma answered. "It is one
of the rules of the school that when a scholar goes out of a room where
there is a teacher, she must courtesy to the teacher as she leaves the
room. That is intended as a mark of respect. Yesterday school had not
begun, and so no attention was paid to it, but to-day everything is
going on as usual as nearly as possible. It happened to be one of the
old scholars who went out of the room first to-day, and so she knew
about it. If it had been a new scholar Miss Chapman would have spoken
to her about it. But remember, Ruby, even in the afternoon, if you are
in the sitting-room with a teacher, to courtesy when you leave the
room. It will not be at all hard after I show you how, and I would not
like you to forget it."

"Oh, dear," groaned Ruby. "I never heard of anything so funny. Must I
go and courtesy to you every time I go out of this room, Aunt Emma?
Why, it will take all my time courtesying."

Aunt Emma laughed.

"Well, I think you may be excused from that when we are alone in the
room together," she answered. "If I am in charge of the girls
downstairs or in the school-room, then you must of course do just as
you would if any other teacher was there, but up here I will excuse
you, as I suppose it would seem like a good deal to you to remember a
courtesy every time you went in or out of the room. Now I will show
you. Look her