The Third Miss Symons

passed, Henrietta enjoyed the life. It was strict, but home had been strict, and there was much more variety h

t. She did not exactly put her feelings into thoughts, but there was an impression in her mind that as she had been out of it so much of her li

ity of manner. Henrietta fell a victim at once, and Miranda, who drank in all adoration, gave Henrietta some good-natured friendship in return. Henrietta fagged for her, did as many of her lesso

anda's presence, showed signs of activity. The first time this occurred Miranda opened her large eyes very wide and said, "W

ng to stand bad temper, the fault on the whole least easily forgiven by girls. Henrietta had a heartrending scene with her: at fifteen she liked he

o burst forth unexpectedly; then she was clever and enthusiastic, and gave good lessons. She marked out Henrietta, and it came round that she had said, "Etta Symons is an interesting girl, she has possibilities. I wonder how she will turn out." It came round also that Miss Arundel had said, "I only wish she had more control and tenacity of purpose," but

Some teachers apparently enjoy girl adorations, and even take pains to secure them. Miss Arundel had had enough of them to find them disagreeable. She therefore gave out in the presence of two or three of Henrietta's circle that she thou

d; she did not at all mind giving a great deal more than she got. But this speech, which was not, after all, so very malignant, drove her to despair. She went to Miranda, who hugg

her Miranda and her Arundel. Now she had lost them both. Miss Arundel, with her cool, unaffectionate interest, had, of course, never been "had" at all, but Henrietta had imagined that when Miss Arundel said "Yes, quite right, that's a good answe

She did not speak about bad temper, for Henrietta was much too frightened of her to show any signs of temper in her proximity. Miss Arundel did not give her an opportunity of unburdening herself of the problem that weighed on her mind, not that she would have taken the opportunity if it had occurred, not after that speech about the buttonholes. This was the problem: Why was it that people did not love her?-she to whom love was so much that if she did not have it, nothing else in the world was worth having. There had been Evelyn, it is tr

ation, and had flounced off in a rage by herself. She felt a touch on her arm, and

say, Why are you

M

that? All the girls are laughing at y

nk it's hor

d; of course people won't st

. "And the one thing I want

these girls to like you; the

nd that if only

harles I. deserved to have his head cut off because h

id

s to laugh at you; that's wh

eginning of a friendship, but it was nipped in the bud, for Emily left unexpectedly

withholds itself from those who have the greatest desire, and even apparently the best right, to possess it. The girls were kind, kinder, on the whole, than the grown-up world, and they were perfectly willing to give her their left arms round the garden, but their right would be occupied by their real friends, to whom they wo

he took stock of herself and her character, she ignored her temper, and would not count it as a factor that could be modified. There were others as lonely as herself at school, there are always many lonely in a community; but she did not realiz

ed that heroines after the sixteenth birthday are likely to be pestered with adorers. The heroines, it is true, were exquisitely beautiful, which Henrietta knew she was not, but from a study of "Jane Eyre" and "Villette" in the holidays, Charlotte Bront? was forbidden at school owing to her excess of passion, Henrietta realized that