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Contents

Guide to VideoNotes iii

Guide to Application Topics v

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xv

Chapter 1 An Introduction to Computing

and Problem Solving 1
1.1 An Introduction to Computing and Python 2
1.2 Program Development Cycle 4
1.3 Programming Tools 6
1.4 An Introduction to Python 13

Chapter 2 Core Objects, Variables, Input,

and Output 23
2.1 Numbers 24
2.2 Strings 35
2.3 Output 49
2.4 Lists, Tuples, and Files–An Introduction 58

Key Terms and Concepts 71

Programming Projects 74

Chapter 3 Structures That Control Flow 77

3.1 Relational and Logical Operators 78
3.2 Decision Structures 89
3.3 The while Loop 105
vii
viii ◆ Contents  

3.4 The for Loop 118

Key Terms and Concepts 137

Programming Projects 139

Chapter 4 Functions 143

4.1 Functions, Part 1 144
4.2 Functions, Part 2 164
4.3 Program Design 182

Key Terms and Concepts 186

Programming Projects 188

Chapter 5 Processing Data 191

5.1 Processing Data, Part 1 192
5.2 Processing Data, Part 2 207
5.3 Dictionaries 221

Key Terms and Concepts 235

Programming Projects 238

Chapter 6 Miscellaneous Topics 243

6.1 Exception Handling 244
6.2 Selecting Random Values 251
6.3 Turtle Graphics 257
6.4 Recursion 269

Key Terms and Concepts 277

Programming Projects 278

   Contents ◆ ix

Chapter 7 Object-Oriented Programming 281

7.1 Classes and Objects 282
7.2 Inheritance 295

Key Terms and Concepts 307

Programming Projects 308

Chapter 8 Graphical User Interface 311

8.1 Widgets 312
8.2 The Grid Geometry Manager 325
8.3 Writing GUI Programs 334

Key Terms and Concepts 343

Programming Projects 345

Appendices
Appendix A ASCII Values 349
Appendix B Reserved Words 351
Appendix C Installing Python and IDLE 353

Answers 355

Index 405
This page intentionally left blank
Preface

S ince its introduction in the 1990s, Python has become one of the most widely used
programming languages in the software industry. Also, students learning their first
programming language find Python the ideal tool to understand the development of
computer programs.
My objectives when writing this text were as follows:
1. To develop focused chapters. Rather than covering many topics superficially,
I concentrate on important subjects and cover them thoroughly.
2. To use examples and exercises with which students can relate, appreciate, and feel
comfortable. I frequently use real data. Examples do not have so many embel-
lishments that students are distracted from the programming techniques
illustrated.
3. To produce compactly written text that students will find both readable and informa-
tive. The main points of each topic are discussed first and then the peripheral
details are presented as comments.
4. To teach good programming practices that are in step with modern programming
methodology. Problem-solving techniques, structured programming, and
object-oriented programming are thoroughly discussed.
5. To provide insights into the major applications of computers.

Unique and Distinguishing Features

Programming Projects. Beginning with Chapter 2, every chapter contains programming
projects. The programming projects reflect the variety of ways that computers are
used. The large number and range of difficulty of the programming projects pro-
vide the flexibility to adapt the course to the interests and abilities of the students.
Some programming projects in later chapters can be assigned as end-of-the-semester
projects.
Exercises for Most Sections. Each section that teaches programming has an exercise
set. The exercises both reinforce the understanding of the key ideas of the section
and challenge the student to explore applications. Most of the exercise sets require
the student to trace programs, find errors, and write programs. The answers to every
odd-numbered exercise in the book, with the exception of Section 6.3 (Turtle Graph-
ics) and Chapter 8 (Graphical User Interface), are given at the end of the text. (The
answers to every other odd-numbered exercise from Section 6.3 are given. The Stu-
dent Solutions Manual contains the answer to every odd-numbered exercise in the
book.) A possible output accompanies nearly every programming exercise and pro-
gramming project.
Practice Problems. Practice Problems are carefully selected exercises located at the end
of a section, just before the exercise set. Complete solutions are given following the
exercise set. The practice problems often focus on points that are potentially confusing

xi
xii ◆ Preface 

or are best appreciated after the student has thought about them. The reader should
seriously attempt the practice problems and study their solutions before moving on
to the exercises.
Comments. Extensions and fine points of new topics are deferred to the “Comments”
portion at the end of each section so that they will not interfere with the flow of the
presentation.
Key Terms and Concepts. In Chapters 2 through 8, the key terms and concepts (along
with examples) are summarized at the end of the chapter.
Guide to Application Topics. This section provides an index of programs that deal
with various topics including Business, Economics, Mathematics, and Sports.
VideoNotes. Twenty-four VideoNotes are available at www.pearsonhighered.com/
schneider. VideoNotes are Pearson’s visual tool designed for teaching key program-
ming concepts and techniques. VideoNote icons are placed in the margin of the text
book to notify the reader when a topic is discussed in a video. Also, a Guide to Video
Notes summarizing the different videos throughout the text is included.
Solution Manuals. The Student Solutions Manual contains the answer to every odd-
numbered exercise (not including programming projects). The Instructor Solutions
Manual contains the answer to every exercise and programming project. Both solu-
tion manuals are in pdf format and can be downloaded from the Publisher’s website.
Source Code and Data Files. The programs for all examples and the data files needed
for the exercises can be downloaded from the Publisher’s website.

How to Access Instructor and Student Resource

Materials
Online Practice and Assessment with MyProgrammingLab™
MyProgrammingLab helps students fully grasp the logic, semantics, and syntax of
programming. Through practice exercises and immediate, personalized feedback,
MyProgrammingLab improves the programming competence of beginning students
who often struggle with the basic concepts and paradigms of popular high-level pro-
gramming languages.
A self-study and homework tool, a MyProgrammingLab course consists of hun-
dreds of small practice problems organized around the structure of this textbook. For
students, the system automatically detects errors in the logic and syntax of their code
submissions and offers targeted hints that enable students to figure out what went
wrong—and why. For instructors, a comprehensive gradebook tracks correct and
incorrect answers and stores the code inputted by students for review.
For a full demonstration, to see feedback from instructors and students, or to
get started using MyProgrammingLab in your course, visit www.myprogramminglab
.com.

Instructor Resources
The following protected instructor resource materials are available on the Publisher’s
website at www.pearsonhighered.com/schneider. For username and password infor-
mation, please contact your local Pearson representative.
   Preface  ◆ xiii

• Test Item File

• PowerPoint Lecture Slides
• Instructor Solutions Manual
• VideoNotes
• Programs for all examples and answers to exercises and programming projects
(Data files needed for the exercises are included in the Programs folder.)

Student Resources
Access to the Premium website and VideoNotes tutorials is located at www
.pearsonhighered.com/schneider. Students must use the access card located in the
front of the book to register and access the online material. If there is no access
card in the front of this textbook, students can purchase access by going to www
.­pearsonhighered.com/schneider and selecting “purchase access to premium con-
tent.” Instructors must register on the site to access the material.
The following content is available through the Premium website:
• VideoNotes
• Student Solutions Manual
• Programs for examples (Data files needed for the exercises are included in the
Programs folder.)
This page intentionally left blank
Acknowledgments

M any talented instructors and programmers provided helpful comments and

constructive suggestions during the writing of this text and I am most grateful
for their contributions. The book benefited greatly from the valuable comments of
the following reviewers:
Daniel Solarek, University of Toledo
David M. Reed, Capital University
Debraj De, Georgia State
Desmond Chun, Chabot College
Mark Coffey, Colorado School of Mines
Randall Alexander, College of Charleston
Vineyak Tanksale, Ball State University
Zhi Wei, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Many people are involved in the successful publication of a book. I wish to thank
the dedicated team at Pearson whose support and diligence made this textbook pos-
sible, especially Carole Snyder, Program Manager for Computer Science, Kelsey
Loanes, Editorial Assistant for Computer Science, and Scott Disanno, Team Lead
Product Management.
I would like to thank Jacob Saina for his assistance with every stage in the writing
of the book. Production Editors Pavithra Jayapaul and Greg Dulles did a ­fantastic
job producing the book and keeping it on schedule. I am grateful to John Russo of
the Wentworth Institute of Technology for producing the VideoNotes, to Dr. Kathy
Liszka of the University of Akron for producing the test bank, and to Dr. Steve
­Armstrong of LeTourneau University for producing the PowerPoint slides that
accompany the book. The competence and graciousness of Shylaja Gattupalli at
Jouve India made for a pleasant production process.
I extend special thanks to my editor Tracy Johnson. Her ideas and enthusiasm
helped immensely with the preparation of the book.
David I. Schneider
[email protected]

xv
This page intentionally left blank
1
An Introduction to
­Computing and Problem
Solving
1.1 An Introduction to Computing and Python 2

1.2 Program Development Cycle 4

◆ Performing a Task on the Computer ◆ Program Planning
1.3 Programming Tools 6
◆ Flowcharts ◆ Pseudocode ◆ Hierarchy Chart ◆ Decision Structure
◆ Direction of Numbered NYC Streets Algorithm ◆ Repetition Structure

◆ Class Average Algorithm

1.4 An Introduction to Python 13

◆ Starting IDLE ◆ A Python Shell Walkthrough
◆ A Python Code Editor Walkthrough ◆ An ­Open-​­a-​­Program Walkthrough

1
2 ◆ Chapter 1 An Introduction to ­Computing and Problem Solving

1.1 An Introduction to Computing and Python

An Introduction to Programming Using Python is about problem solving using computers.
The programming language used is Python, but the principles apply to most modern pro-
gramming languages. Many of the examples and exercises illustrate how computers are
used in the real world. Here are some questions that you may have about computers and
programming.

Question: How do we communicate with the computer?

Answer: Programming languages are used to communicate with the computer. At the low-
est level, there is machine language, which is understood directly by the microprocessor
but is difficult for humans to understand. Python is an example of a ­high-​­level language. It
consists of instructions to which people can relate, such as print, if, and input. Some other
­well-​­known ­high-​­level languages are Java, C++, and Visual Basic.

Question: How do we get computers to perform complicated tasks?

Answer: Tasks are broken down into a sequence of instructions, called a program, that
can be expressed in a programming language. Programs can range in size from two or three
instructions to millions of instructions. The process of executing the instructions is called
running the program.

Question: Why did you decide to use Python as the programming language?
Answer: Many people consider Python to be the best language to teach beginners how to
program. We agree. Also, Python is being used by major software companies. Python is
powerful, easy to write and read, easy to download and install, and it runs under Windows,
Mac, and Linux operating systems.

Question: How did the language Python get its name?

Answer: It is named for the British comedy group Monty Python. Python’s creator, Guido
van Rossum, is a fan of the group.

Question: This book uses the editor IDLE to create programs. How did IDLE get its name?
Answer: Idle stands for Integrated DeveLopment Environment. (Some people think the
name was chosen as a tribute to Eric Idle, a founding member of the Monty Python group.)
The IDLE editor has many features (such as color coding and formatting assistance) that
help the programmer.

Question: Python is referred to as an interpreted language. What is an interpreted language?

Answer: An interpreted language uses a program called an interpreter that translates a ­high-​
­level language one statement at a time into machine language and then runs the program.
The ­interpreter will spot several types of errors and terminate the program when one is
encountered.

Question: What are the meanings of the terms “programmer” and “user”?
Answer: A programmer (also called a developer) is a person who solves problems by writing
programs on a computer. After analyzing the problem and developing a plan for solving it,
the programmer writes and tests the program that instructs the computer how to carry out
the plan. The program might be run many times, either by the programmer or by others.
A user is any person who runs the program. While working through this text, you will
function both as a programmer and as a user.
 1.1   An Introduction to Computing and Python ◆ 3

Question: What is the meaning of the term “code”?

Answer: The Python instructions that the programmer writes are called code. The pro-
cesses of writing a program is often called coding.

Question: Are there certain characteristics that all programs have in common?
Answer: Most programs do three things: take in data, manipulate data, and produce results.
These operations are referred to as input, processing, and output. The input data might be
held in the program, reside on a disk, or be provided by the user in response to requests
made by the computer while the program is running. The processing of the input data
occurs inside the computer and can take from a fraction of a second to many hours. The
output data are displayed on a monitor, printed on a printer, or recorded on a disk. As a
simple example, consider a program that computes sales tax. An item of input data is the
cost of the thing purchased. The processing consists of multiplying the cost by the sales
tax rate. The output data is the resulting product, the amount of sales tax to be paid.

Question: What are the meanings of the terms “hardware” and “software”?
Answer: Hardware refers to the physical components of the computer, including all periph-
erals, the central processing unit (CPU), disk drives, and all mechanical and electrical
devices. Programs are referred to as software.

Question: How are problems solved with a program?

Answer: Problems are solved by carefully reading them to determine what data are given
and what outputs are requested. Then a ­step-​­by-​­step procedure is devised to process the
given data and produce the requested output.

Question: Many programming languages, including Python, use a ­zero-​­based numbering system.
What is a ­zero-​­based numbering system?
Answer: In a ­zero-​­based numbering system, numbering begins with zero instead of one. For
example, in the word “code”, “c” would be the zeroth letter, “o” would be the first letter,
and so on.

Question: Are there any prerequisites to learning Python?

Answer: You should be familiar with how folders (also called directories) and files are managed
on your computer. Files reside on storage devices such as hard disks, USB flash drives, CDs,
and DVDs. Traditionally, the primary storage devices for personal computers were hard disks
and floppy disks. Therefore, the word disk is frequently used to refer to any storage device.

Question: What is an example of a program developed in this textbook?

Answer: Figure 1.1 shows a possible output of a program from Chapter 3. When it is first
run, the statement “Enter a first name:” appears. After the user types in a first name and

Enter a first name: James

James Madison
James Monroe
James Polk
James Buchanan
James Garfield
James Carter

Figure 1.1 A possible output for a program in Chapter 3.

4 ◆ Chapter 1 An Introduction to ­Computing and Problem Solving

presses the Enter (or return) key, the names of the presidents who have that first name are
displayed.

Question: How does the programmer create the aforementioned program?

Answer: For this program, the programmer writes about 10 lines of code that search a text
file named USpres.txt, and extracts the requested names.

Question: What conventions are used to show keystrokes?

Answer: The combination key1+key2 means “hold down key1 and then press key2”. The
combination Ctrl+C places selected material into the Clipboard. The combination key1/
key2 means “press and release key1, and then press key2”. The combination Alt/F opens
the File menu on a menu bar.

Question: How can the programs for the examples in this textbook be obtained?
Answer: See the preface for information on how to download the programs from the
­Pearson website.

Question: Where will new programs be saved?

Answer: Before writing your first program, you should create a special folder to hold your
programs.

1.2 Program Development Cycle

We learned in Section 1.1 that hardware refers to the machinery in a computer system (such
as the monitor, keyboard, and CPU) and software refers to a collection of instructions,
called a program, that directs the hardware. Programs are written to solve problems or
perform tasks on a computer. Programmers translate the solutions or tasks into a language
the computer can understand. As we write programs, we must keep in mind that the com-
puter will do only what we instruct it to do. Because of this, we must be very careful and
thorough when writing our instructions.

■■ Performing a Task on the Computer

The first step in writing instructions to carry out a task is to determine what the output
should ­be—​­that is, exactly what the task should produce. The second step is to identify the
data, or input, necessary to obtain the output. The last step is to determine how to process
the input to obtain the desired o ­ utput—​­that is, to determine what formulas or ways of
doing things should be used to obtain the output.
This ­problem-​­solving approach is the same as that used to solve word problems in an
algebra class. For example, consider the following algebra problem:
How fast is a car moving if it travels 50 miles in 2 hours?
The first step is to determine the type of answer requested. The answer should be a num-
ber giving the speed in miles per hour (the output). The information needed to obtain the
answer is the distance and time the car has traveled (the input). The formula
speed = distance/time

is used to process the distance traveled and the time elapsed in order to determine the
speed. That is,
 1.2   Program Development Cycle ◆ 5

speed = 50 miles/2 hours

= 25 miles per hour

A graphical representation of this ­problem-​­solving process is shown in Fig. 1.2.

+PRWV 2TQEGUUKPI 1WVRWV

Figure 1.2 The ­problem-​­solving process.

We determine what we want as output, get the needed input, and process the input to
produce the desired output.
In the chapters that follow, we discuss how to write programs to carry out the preceding
operations. But first we look at the general process of writing programs.

■■ Program Planning
A baking recipe provides a good example of a plan. The ingredients and the amounts are
determined by what is to be baked. That is, the output determines the input and the process-
ing. The recipe, or plan, reduces the number of mistakes you might make if you tried to
bake with no plan at all. Although it’s difficult to imagine an architect building a bridge or
a factory without a detailed plan, many programmers (particularly students in their first
programming course) try to write programs without first making a careful plan. The more
complicated the problem, the more complex the plan must be. You will spend much less
time working on a program if you devise a carefully thought out ­step-​­by-​­step plan and test
it before actually writing the program.
Many programmers plan their programs using a sequence of steps, referred to as the
Software Development Life Cycle. The following s­ tep-​­by-​­step process will enable you to use
your time efficiently and help you design e­ rror-​­free programs that produce the desired output.

1. Analyze: Define the problem.

Be sure you understand what the program should ­do—​­that is, what the output should
be. Have a clear idea of what data (or input) are given and the relationship between the
input and the desired output.
2. Design: Plan the solution to the problem.
Find a logical sequence of precise steps that solve the problem. Such a sequence of
steps is called an algorithm. Every detail, including obvious steps, should appear in
the algorithm. In the next section, we discuss three popular methods used to develop
the logic plan: flowcharts, pseudocode, and hierarchy charts. These tools help the pro-
grammer break a problem into a sequence of small tasks the computer can perform to
solve the problem. Planning also involves using representative data to test the logic of
the algorithm by hand to ensure that it is correct.
3. Code: Translate the algorithm into a programming language.
Coding is the technical word for writing the program. During this stage, the program is
written in Python and entered into the computer. The programmer uses the algorithm
devised in Step 2 along with a knowledge of Python.
4. Test and correct: Locate and remove any errors in the program.
Testing is the process of finding errors in a program. (An error in a program is called
a bug and testing and correcting is often referred to as debugging.) As the program is
6 ◆ Chapter 1 An Introduction to ­Computing and Problem Solving

typed, Python points out certain kinds of program errors. Other kinds of errors are
detected by Python when the program is executed—however, many errors due to typ-
ing mistakes, flaws in the algorithm, or incorrect use of the Python language rules, can
be uncovered and corrected only by careful detective work. An example of such an
error would be using addition when multiplication was the proper operation.
5. Complete the documentation: Organize all the material that describes the program.
Documentation is intended to allow another person, or the programmer at a later
date, to understand the program. Internal documentation (comments) consists of
statements in the program that are not executed, but point out the purposes of vari-
ous parts of the program. Documentation might also consist of a detailed descrip-
tion of what the program does and how to use it (for instance, what type of input is
expected). For commercial programs, documentation includes an instruction manual
and ­on-​­line help. Other types of documentation are the flowchart, pseudocode, and
hierarchy chart that were used to construct the program. Although documentation
is listed as the last step in the program development cycle, it should take place as the
program is being coded.

1.3 Programming Tools

This section discusses some specific algorithms and describes three tools used to convert
algorithms into computer programs: flowcharts, pseudocode, and hierarchy charts.
You use algorithms every day to make decisions and perform tasks. For instance, when-
ever you mail a letter, you must decide how much postage to put on the envelope. One rule
of thumb is to use one stamp for every five sheets of paper or fraction thereof. Suppose a
friend asks you to determine the number of stamps to place on an envelope. The following
algorithm will accomplish the task.

1. Request the number of sheets of paper; call it Sheets. (input)

2. Divide Sheets by 5. (processing)
3. If necessary, round the quotient up to a whole number; call it Stamps. (processing)
4. Reply with the number Stamps. (output)

The preceding algorithm takes the number of sheets (Sheets) as input, processes the
data, and produces the number of stamps needed (Stamps) as output. We can test the algo-
rithm for a letter with 16 sheets of paper.

1. Request the number of sheets of paper; Sheets = 16.

2. Dividing 5 into 16 gives 3.2.
3. Rounding 3.2 up to 4 gives Stamps = 4.
4. Reply with the answer, 4 stamps.

This ­problem-​­solving example can be illustrated by Fig. 1.3.

+PRWV 2TQEGUUKPI 1WVRWV

 HQTOWNCU 

Figure 1.3 The ­problem-​­solving process for the stamp problem.

 1.3  Programming Tools ◆ 7

Of the program design tools available, three popular ones are the following:
Flowcharts: Graphically depict the logical steps to carry out a task and show how the
steps relate to each other.
Pseudocode: Uses ­English-​­like phrases with some Python terms to outline the task.
Hierarchy charts: Show how the different parts of a program relate to each other.

■■ Flowcharts
A flowchart consists of special geometric symbols connected by arrows. Within each sym-
bol is a phrase presenting the activity at that step. The shape of the symbol indicates the type
of operation that is to occur. For instance, the parallelogram denotes input or output. The
arrows connecting the symbols, called flowlines, show the progression in which the steps
take place. Flowcharts should “flow” from the top of the page to the bottom. Although the
symbols used in flowcharts are standardized, no standards exist for the amount of detail
required within each symbol.

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VJGGPF 'PF QHCVCUM

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6JGFCVCVQDGKPRWVQTQWVRWVKUFGUETKDGF
KPVJGRCTCNNGNQITCO

2TQEGUUKPI 7UGFHQTCTKVJOGVKECPFFCVCOCPKRWNCVKQP
QRGTCVKQPU6JGKPUVTWEVKQPUCTGNKUVGF
KPUKFGVJGTGEVCPING

&GEKUKQP 7UGFHQTCP[NQIKEQTEQORCTKUQPQRGTCVKQPU
7PNKMGVJGKPRWVQWVRWVCPFRTQEGUUKPI
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ƃQYNKPGVJGFGEKUKQPU[ODQNJCUQPGGPVT[
CPFVYQGZKVRCVJU6JGRCVJEJQUGPFGRGPFU
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QTpPQq

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CDQWVCPQVJGTƃQYEJCTVU[ODQN

The table of the flowchart symbols has been adopted by the American National Stand-
ards Institute (ANSI). Figure 1.4 shows the flowchart for the ­postage-​­stamp problem.
The main advantage of using a flowchart to plan a task is that it provides a graphical
representation of the task, thereby making the logic easier to follow. We can clearly see
every step and how each is connected to the next. The major disadvantage is that when a
program is very large, the flowcharts may continue for many pages, making them difficult
to follow and modify.

■■ Pseudocode
Pseudocode is an abbreviated plain English version of actual computer code (hence, pseu-
docode). The geometric symbols used in flowcharts are replaced by E ­ nglish-​­like statements
that outline the process. As a result, pseudocode looks more like computer code than does
8 ◆ Chapter 1 An Introduction to ­Computing and Problem Solving

5VCTV

1DVCKP
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Figure 1.4 Flowchart for the p

­ ostage-​­stamp problem.

a flowchart. Pseudocode allows the programmer to focus on the steps required to solve a
problem rather than on how to use the computer language. The programmer can describe
the algorithm in P
­ ython-​­like form without being restricted by the rules of Python. When
the pseudocode is completed, it can be easily translated into the Python language.
The pseudocode for the ­postage-​­stamp problem is shown in Fig. 1.5.

Program: Determine the proper number of stamps for a letter.

Obtain number of sheets (Sheets) (input)
Set the number of stamps to Sheets / 5 (processing)
Round the number of stamps up to a whole number (processing)
Display the number of stamps (output)
Figure 1.5 Pseudocode for the ­postage-​­stamp problem.

Pseudocode has several advantages. It is compact and probably will not extend for many
pages as flowcharts commonly do. Also, the pseudocode looks like the code to be written
and so is preferred by many programmers.

■■ Hierarchy Chart
The last programming tool we’ll discuss is the hierarchy chart, which shows the overall
program structure. Hierarchy charts are also called structure charts, HIPO (Hierarchy plus
­Input-​­Process-​­Output) charts, ­top-​­down charts, or VTOC (Visual Table of Contents) charts.
All these names refer to planning diagrams that are similar to a company’s organization chart.
 Another Random Document on
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the street, and I immediately called my two friends to the window
that they might get a good view of him. Our interest was of course
doubly increased when we saw the gentleman enter this garden. His
whole appearance was so decidedly elegant (here M. Béranger, who
began to see that he was the subject of her remarks, colored up to
the roots of his hair) that we could not help giving our opinions of
him, and I applied to him the word 'swell,' which in itself I
acknowledge to be very inelegant; but my only excuse for using it is,
that in this case it was so very expressive."
M. Béranger, despite his embarassment, could hardly conceal a smile,
while a suppressed murmur of amusement ran round the room. Miss
Stiefbach looked hard at Marion, but her face was composed, and her
manner quietly polite; she was apparently perfectly unconscious of
having said anything to cause this diversion.
"While we were talking of him, Miss Stiefbach entered the room, and
must have, unintentionally of course, overheard our comments, for
the first intimation we had of her presence was this remark, which
she made standing directly behind us: 'Young ladies, allow me to see;
perhaps I can inform you.' And now occurred the remark which it was
so exceedingly improper in me to make, and which justly gave so
much offence to Miss Stiefbach." (Here Marion turned towards her
teacher, who, as if to encourage her to proceed, bowed quite
graciously.) "I was standing on the seat in the window, and
consequently had the best view of the gentleman. In the excitement
of the moment, regardless of the difference in our ages, and only
remembering that we were impelled by one common object, I asked
her to jump on to the seat beside me. Miss Stiefbach, for that
rudeness I most sincerely ask your pardon. It was wrong, very wrong
of me; I should have stepped aside, thus giving you an excellent
opportunity of gratifying your desire to look at what is rarely seen
here,—a handsome man."
The perfect absurdity of Miss Stiefbach's jumping up in a window
with a party of wild school-girls, for the sake of looking at a
handsome man, or indeed for her to look at a man at any time with
any degree of interest, could only be appreciated by those who were
daily witnesses of her prim, stately ways. It certainly was too much
for the gravity of the inhabitants of that school-room.

Marion Apologizes.

M. Béranger bit his lip fiercely under his mustache; Miss Christine
became suddenly very much interested in something out in the back
yard; and the school-girls were obliged to resort to open books and
desk-covers to conceal their amusement.
Marion alone remained cool and collected, looking at Miss Stiefbach
as if to ask if she had said enough.
Miss Stiefbach's face was scarlet, and she shut her teeth tightly
together, striving for her usual composure. The sudden turn of
Marion's apology, which placed her in such a ridiculous light, had
completely disconcerted her, and she knew not what to do or say.
If Marion's eyes had twinkled with mischief; if there had been the
slightest tinge of sarcasm in her tone, or of triumph in her manner,
Miss Stiefbach would have thought she intended a fresh insult; but
throughout the whole her bearing had been unusually quiet, ladylike,
and polite. There was no tangible point for her teacher to fasten on,
and, commanding herself sufficiently to speak, Miss Stiefbach merely
said, "It is enough; you may go to your seat."
Even then, if Marion's self-possession had given way, she would have
been called back and severely reprimanded. But it did not; she
passed all her school-mates, whose faces were turned towards her
brimming with laughter and a keen appreciation of the affair, with a
sort of preoccupied air, and, taking her books from her desk, followed
M. Béranger into the anteroom.
At recess the girls with one impulse flocked round her, exclaiming,
"Oh! it was too good; just the richest scene I ever saw."
"What do you mean?" coolly replied Marion.
"Why!" exclaimed Sarah Brown, an unencouraged admirer of
Marion's, "the way you turned the tables on Miss Stiefbach."
"Indeed, Sarah, you are very much mistaken; I simply apologized to
her for a great piece of rudeness."
And Marion turned away and ran upstairs to her own room, where
Florence and Julia were already giving vent to their long pent-up
feelings in only half-suppressed bursts of laughter.
As Marion made her appearance it was the signal for another shout;
but she only replied by a quiet smile, which caused Julia to ejaculate
in her most earnest manner, "I declare, Marion, you don't look a bit
elated! If I had done such a bright thing as you have, I should be
beaming with satisfaction."
"Well, Julia, I don't think I have done anything so very smart. To be
sure I have had my revenge, and the only satisfaction I've got out of
it is to feel thoroughly and heartily ashamed of myself."
"Marion Berkley, you certainly are the queerest girl I ever did see,"
exclaimed Julia.
But Florence, who knew her friend best, said nothing, for she
understood her feelings, and admired her the more for them.
Marion had been determined to make her apology such as would
reflect more absurdity on her teacher than on herself, and in that way
to have her revenge for what she rightly considered her very unjust
punishment. She had succeeded; but now that her momentary
triumph was over, she sincerely wished that it had never occurred.
The next day she went to Miss Christine, and told her just how she
felt about it, and that, if she advised her to do so, she would go to
Miss Stiefbach and ask her forgiveness. But Miss Christine told her,
that, although she heartily disapproved of her conduct, she thought
nothing more had better be said about it, for Miss Stiefbach had only
been half inclined to believe that Marion could intend a fresh
impertinence.
And so there the matter ended; but Marion could never fully satisfy
her own conscience on the subject.
She wrote a long letter to her mother, telling her the whole thing
from beginning to end; and received one in reply, gently, but firmly,
rebuking her for her conduct.
But the next day came four pages from her father, full of his
amusement and enjoyment of the whole matter, and highly
complimenting her on what he called "her brilliant coup d'état."
No wonder Marion's better nature was sometimes crushed, when the
inward fires which she longed to extinguish were kindled by a father's
hand.
 CHAPTER VI.
THE NEW SCHOLAR
"O girls, the new scholar has come!" shouted little Fannie Thayer, as
she bounced into the library one afternoon, where some of the older
girls were studying.
"Do hush, Fannie!" exclaimed her sister Julia; "you do make such an
awful noise! Of course you've left the door open, and it's cold enough
to freeze one. Run away, child."
"But, Julia," remonstrated Fannie, as her sister went on reading
without taking any notice of her communication, "you didn't hear
what I said,—the new scholar has come."
"What new scholar?" inquired Florence Stevenson, looking up from
her book. "This is the first I have heard of any."
"Why, don't you know?" answered little Fannie, glad to have a
listener. "Her name is—is—Well, I can't remember what it is,—
something odd; but she comes from ever so far off, and she's real
pretty, kind of sad-looking, you know."
"What in the world is the child talking about?" broke in Marion. "Who
ever heard of Miss Stiefbach's taking a scholar after the term had
begun?"
"I remember hearing something about it, now," said Julia. "The girl
was to have come at the beginning of the quarter; but she has been
sick, or something or other happened to prevent. I believe she comes
from St. Louis."
"I wonder who she'll room with; she can't come in with us, that's
certain," said Marion, with a very decided air.
"Why, of course she won't," replied Florence; "we never have but two
girls in a room. Oh! I know, she will go in with little Rose May; see if
she doesn't!"
"Well, I tell you, I am sorry she's come!" ejaculated Marion. "I hate
new scholars; they always put on airs, and consider themselves sort
of privileged characters. I for one shall not take much notice of her."
"Why, Marion," exclaimed Grace Minton, "I should think you would be
ashamed to talk so! She may be a very nice girl indeed. You don't
know anything about her."
"I don't care if she is a nice girl. She ought to have come before. It
will just upset all our plans; the classes are all arranged, and
everything is going on nicely. There are just enough of us, and I say
it is a perfect bother!"
"I really don't see why you need trouble yourself so much," broke in
Georgie Graham, who was always jealous of Marion, and never lost
an opportunity of differing with her, though in a quiet way that was
terribly aggravating. "I don't believe you will be called upon to make
any arrangements, and I don't see how one, more or less, can make
much difference any way."
The entrance of Miss Christine prevented Marion's reply, and she
immediately took up her book and became apparently absorbed in
her studies.
"O Miss Christine," they all exclaimed at once, "do tell us about the
new scholar." "Is she pretty?" "Will she be kind to us little girls?"
"How old is she?" and many other questions of a like nature, all
asked in nearly the same breath.
"If you will be quiet, and not all speak at once, I will try and tell you
all you want to know. The name of the new scholar is Rachel
Drayton. She is about sixteen, and I think she is very pretty, although
I do not know as you will agree with me. She seems to have a very
lovely disposition, and I should think that after a while she might be
very lively, and a pleasant companion for you all; but at present she
is very delicate, as she has just recovered from a very severe illness
brought on by her great grief at the death of her father. They were all
the world to each other, and she was perfectly devoted to him. She
cannot yet reconcile herself to her loss. He has been dead about
eight weeks. Her mother died when she was a baby, and the nearest
relation she has is her father's brother, who is now in Europe. Poor
child! she is all alone in the world; my heart aches for her."
Miss Christine's usually cheery voice was very low and sad, and the
tear that glistened in her eye proved that her expressions of
sympathy were perfectly sincere; if, indeed, any one could have
doubted that kind, loving face. As she ceased speaking, there was a
perfect silence throughout the room, and those who had felt
somewhat inclined to side with Marion felt very much conscience-
stricken.
Marion, however, continued studying, not showing the slightest signs
of having had her sympathies aroused.
Miss Christine continued: "I hope, girls, you will be particularly kind
to Miss Drayton. She must naturally feel lonely, and perhaps diffident,
among so many strangers, and I want you all to do everything in
your power to make it pleasant for her. You in particular, Marion,
having been here longer than any of the others, will be able to make
her feel quite at home."
"Indeed, Miss Christine, you must excuse me. You know taking up
new friends at a moment's notice, and becoming desperately intimate
with them, is not my forte."
"Marion," replied Miss Christine, in a quiet, but reproving tone, "I do
not ask you to become desperately intimate with her, as you call it, or
anything of the kind. I merely wish you to show her that courtesy
which is certainly due from one school-girl to another."
Marion made no reply, and Miss Christine sat down and commenced
talking to the girls in her usual pleasant manner. It was her evident
interest in everything which concerned them, that made her so
beloved by her pupils.
They all knew that they could find in her a patient listener, and a
willing helper, whenever they chose to seek her advice; whether it
was about an important, or a very trifling matter.
There was some little bustle and confusion as the girls laid aside their
books, and clustered round Miss Christine with their fancy-work, or
leaned back in their chairs, glad to have nothing in particular to do.
"Miss Christine!" exclaimed little Rose May, "I do wish you would
show me how to 'bind off.' I keep putting my thread over and over,
and, instead of taking off stitches, it makes more every time. I think
these sleeves are a perfect nuisance. I wish I hadn't begun 'em!"
"Why, you poor child," laughingly replied her teacher, "what are you
doing? You might knit forever and your sleeves would not be 'bound
off,' if you do nothing but put your worsted over. Who told you to do
that?"
"Julia Thayer did; she said knit two and then put over, and knit two
and then put over, all the time, and it would come all right."
"Now, Rose, I didn't!" exclaimed Julia. "I said put your stitch over,
you silly child! I should think you might have known that putting your
worsted over would widen it."
"I know you didn't say put your stitch over," retorted Rose; "you just
said put over, and how was I going to know by that? I think you're
real mean; you never take any pains with us little ones; I don't—"
"Hush, hush, Rose! You must not speak so," said Miss Christine,
laying her hands on the child's lips; then, turning to Julia, she said,
"If you had taken more pains with Rose, and tried to explain to her
how she ought to have done her work, it would have been much
better for both of you."
"Well, Miss Christine, she came just as I was thinking up for my
composition, and I didn't want to be bothered by any one. As it was,
she put all my ideas out of my head."
Miss Christine's only reply was a shake of the head and an
incredulous smile, which made Julia wish she had shown a little more
patience with the child.
"There, Rose," said Miss Christine, as the little girl put the finishing
touch to her sleeves, "next time you will not have to ask any one to
show you how to 'bind off.' Your sleeves are very pretty, and I know
your mother will be glad her daughter took so much pains to please
her."
Rose glanced up at her teacher with a bright smile, and went
skipping off, ready for fun and frolic, now that those troublesome
sleeves were finished. But she had hardly reached the hall when she
came running back, saying, in a most mysterious sort of stage-
whisper, "She's coming! she's coming downstairs with Miss Stiefbach!
Rebecca what's-her-name; you know!"
The girls looked up as Miss Stiefbach entered the room, and,
although they were too well-bred to actually stare at her companion,
it must be confessed that their faces betrayed considerable interest.
Rachel Drayton, the "new scholar," was between sixteen and
seventeen; tall and very slight; her eyes were very dark; her face
intensely pale, but one saw at once it was the pallor of recent illness,
or acute mental suffering, not of continued ill-health.
She was dressed in the deepest mourning, in a style somewhat older
than that generally worn by girls of her age. Her jet-black hair, which
grew very low on her forehead, was brushed loosely back, and
gathered into a rough knot behind, as if the owner was too
indifferent to her personal appearance to try to arrange it carefully.
As she stood now, fully conscious of the glances that were
surreptitiously cast upon her, she appeared frightened and
bewildered. Her eyes were cast down, but if any one had looked
under their long lashes, they would have seen them dimmed with
tears.
Accustomed all her life to the society of older persons, no one who
has not experienced the same feeling can imagine how great an
ordeal it was for her to enter that room full of girls of her own age.
To notice the sudden hush that fell upon all as she came in; to feel
that each one was mentally making comments upon her, was almost
more than she could bear. If they had been persons many years older
than herself, she would have gone in perfectly at her ease; chatted
first with this one, then with that, and would have made herself at
home immediately.
Unfortunately the only young persons in whose society she had been
thrown were some young ladies she had met while travelling through
the West with her father. They had been coarse, foolish creatures,
making flippant remarks upon all whom they saw, in a rude,
unladylike manner, and from whom she had shrunk with an
irresistible feeling of repugnance. No wonder her heart had sunk
within her when she thought that perhaps her future companions
might be of the same stamp.
Miss Christine noticed her embarrassment at once, and kindly went
forward to meet her, saying as she did so, "Well, my dear, I am glad
to see you down here; I am not going to introduce you to your
companions now, you will get acquainted with them all in time; first I
want you to come into the school-room with me and see how you like
it."
And she took her hand and led her through the open door into the
school-room beyond; talking pleasantly all the time, calling her
attention to the view from the windows, the arrangement of the
desks, and various other things, until at last she saw her face light up
with something like interest, and the timid, frightened look almost
entirely disappear; then she took her back into the library.
As they went in, Florence Stevenson, who stood near the fireplace,
made room for them, remarking as she did so, "It is very chilly; you
must be cold; come here and warm yourself. How do you like our
school-room?"
"Very much; that is, I think I shall. It seems very pleasant."
"Yes, it is pleasant. It's so much nicer for being papered with that
pretty paper than if it had had dark, horrid walls like some I've seen.
What sort of a school did you use to go to?"
"I never went to school before; I always studied at home;" and poor
Rachel's voice trembled as she thought of the one who had always
directed her studies; but Florence went bravely on, determined to do
her part towards making the new scholar feel at home.
"Well, I'm afraid you will find it hard to get used to us, if you have
never been thrown with girls before. I don't believe but what you
thought we were almost savages; now honestly, didn't you feel afraid
to meet us?"
"It was hard," replied Rachel; but as she glanced up at the bright,
animated face before her, she thought that if all her future
companions were like this one she should have no great fears for the
future.
Most of the scholars had left the room; the few who remained were
chatting together apparently unconscious of the stranger's presence,
and as Rachel stood before the fire, with her back to the rest of the
room, and Florence beside her talking animatedly, she was surprised
to find herself becoming interested and at ease, and before Miss
Christine left them the two girls were comparing notes on their
studies, and gave promise of soon becoming very good friends.
When Marion left the library, she went directly to her room, locked
the door, and threw herself on the seat in the window in a tumult of
emotion. Paramount over all other feelings stood shame. She could
not excuse herself for her strange behavior, and she felt unhappy;
almost miserable. "Why did I speak so?" she asked herself. "Why
should I feel such an unaccountable prejudice against a person I
never even heard of before? I thought I had conquered all these old,
hateful feelings, and here they are all coming back again. I don't
know what is the matter with me. It is not jealousy; for how can I be
jealous of a person I never saw or heard of before in my life? I don't
know what it is, and I don't much care; there aren't four girls in the
school that like me, and only one I really love, and that's dear old Flo.
She's as good as gold, and if any one should ever come between us I
pity her! I'll bet anything though, that she is downstairs making
friends with that girl this minute."
This thought was not calculated to calm Marion's ruffled feelings, and
she sat brooding by the window in anything but an enviable mood.
She was still in this state of mind when the tea-bell rang, and hastily
smoothing her hair she went downstairs.
It chanced that just as she entered the dining-room Rachel Drayton
and Florence came in by the opposite door. Florence was evidently
giving Rachel an account of some of their school frolics, though in an
undertone, so that Marion could not catch the words, and her
companion was listening, her face beaming with interest. No
circumstance could have occurred which would have been more
unfavorable for changing Marion's wayward mood.
Coming downstairs she had been picturing to herself the unhappiness
and loneliness of the poor orphan, and she had almost made up her
mind to go forward, introduce herself, and try by being kind and
agreeable to make amends for her former injustice; for although she
knew Miss Drayton must be entirely unconscious of it, she could not
in her own heart feel at rest until she had made some atonement.
No one could have presented themselves to a perfect stranger,—a
thing which it is not easy for most persons to do,—with more grace
and loveliness than Marion, if she had been so inclined, for there was
at times a certain fascination about her voice and manner that few
could resist.
She had expected to see a pale, sickly, utterly miserable-looking girl,
towards whom she felt it would be impossible to steel her heart; and
she saw one, who, although she was certainly pale enough, seemed
to be anything but miserable, and above all was evidently fast
becoming on intimate terms with her own dear friend Florence.
That was enough; resolutely crushing down all kindly feelings that
were struggling for utterance, she took her seat at the table as if
unconscious of the stranger's existence. Miss Stiefbach sat at the
head of one very long table, and Miss Christine at another, having
most of the little girls at her end; while Marion sat directly opposite
with Florence on her right. Without changing this long-established
order of things, Miss Christine could not make room for Rachel by the
side of Florence as she would have liked, and the only place for her
seemed to be on Marion's left, as there were not so many girls on
that side of the table. Hoping that such close proximity would force
Marion to unbend the reserved manner which she saw she was fast
assuming, Miss Christine, before taking her own seat, went to that
end of the table and introduced Marion to Rachel, laughingly
remarking that as they were the oldest young ladies there, they
would have to sustain the dignity of the table.
This jesting command was certainly carried out to the very letter of
the law by Marion.
She was intensely polite throughout the meal, but perfectly frigid in
the dignity of her manner, which so acted upon poor Rachel, that the
bright smiles which Florence had called forth were effectually
dispelled, and throughout the rest of the evening she was the same
sad, frightened girl who had first made her appearance in the library.
When Marion knelt that night to pray, her lips refused to utter her
accustomed prayers. It seemed hypocrisy for her, who had so
resolutely made another unhappy, to ask God's blessings on her
head, and she remained kneeling long after Florence had got into
bed, communing with herself, her only inward cry being, "God forgive
me!"
But how could she expect God would forgive her, when day after day
she knowingly committed the same faults?
Sick at heart, she rose from her knees, turned out the gas, and went
to bed, but not to sleep; far into the night she lay awake viewing her
past conduct.
She did not try to excuse herself, or to look at her faults in any other
than their true light; but, repentant and sorrowful though she might
be, she could not as yet sufficiently conquer her pride to ask pardon
of those she had openly wounded, or to contradict an expressed
opinion even after she regretted ever having formed it.
Poor child! she thought she had struggled long and fiercely with
herself; she had yet to learn that the battle was but just begun.
 CHAPTER VII.
AUNT BETTIE.
"Oh, dear!" yawned Grace Minton, "how I do hate stormy Saturdays!"
"So do I!" exclaimed Georgie Graham; "they are a perfect nuisance,
and we were going up to Aunt Bettie's this afternoon."
"Who's we?"
"Oh, 'her royal highness' for one, and your humble servant for
another; Sarah Brown, Flo Stevenson, and Rachel Drayton, of course.
By the way, how terribly intimate those two have grown! I don't
believe 'her highness' relishes their being so dreadfully thick."
"What in the world makes you call Marion 'her highness'?" said Grace.
"Oh, because she is so high and mighty; she walks round here
sometimes as if she were queen and we her subjects."
"No such thing, Georgie Graham!" exclaimed Sarah Brown, who came
in just as the last remark was made, and knew very well to whom it
alluded; "she doesn't trouble herself about us at all."
"That's just it; she thinks herself superior to us poor plebeians."
"Stuff and nonsense! You know you're jealous of her, and always
have been."
"Oh, no!" replied Georgie, who, no matter how much she might be
provoked, always spoke to any one in a soft purring voice. "Oh, no!
I'm not jealous of her; there is no reason why I should be. But really,
Sarah, I don't see why you need take up the cudgel for her so
fiercely; she always snubs you every chance she gets."
Sarah tossed her head, blushing scarlet; for the remark certainly had
a good deal of truth in it, and was none the less cutting for being
made in a particularly mild tone.
"Well, at any rate," said Grace Minton, for the sake of changing the
subject, "I think Rachel Drayton is lovely."
"Lovely!" exclaimed Georgie, "she's a perfect stick! I don't see what
there is lovely about her, and for my part I wish she had never come
here."
"Seems to me the tune has changed," broke in Sarah. "I thought you
were one of the ones who were so down on Marion Berkley for
saying the same thing."
"Oh, that was before I had seen her," replied Georgie, not at all
disconcerted.
"In other words, you said it just so as to have an opportunity to differ
with Marion," retorted Sarah. "I really believe you hate her!"
"Sarah, how can you get so excited? it is so very unbecoming, you
know," purred Georgie. Sarah flounced out of the room too indignant
for speech, and just as she was going through the hall met Marion,
who was in an unusually pleasant mood.
"See, Sarah, it is clearing off; we shall have a chance for our walk, I
guess, after all."
"Do you think so? It will be awful sloppy though, won't it?"
"No, I don't believe it will; besides who cares for that? We are not
made of sugar or salt."
"How many are going?" asked Sarah.
"I don't know exactly; let me see." And Marion counted off on her
fingers. "You for one, and I for another; that's two. Miss Drayton and
Florence are four. Grace Minton, if she wants to go, five; and Georgie
Graham six."
At the mention of the last name, Sarah gave her head a toss, which
was so very expressive that Marion could not help laughing, and
exclaimed, "Oh, yes! you know 'her royal highness' must allow some
of the plebeians among her subjects to follow in her train."
Sarah laughed softly. "Did you hear?" she whispered.
Marion nodded, and just at that moment Georgie came out of the
room where she had been sitting. "What was that you said, Marion,
about 'her highness'?" she asked. "Did you think that the title applied
to yourself?"
"I shouldn't have thought of such a thing, Georgie, if I hadn't
overheard your remarks, and of course I could not but feel gratified
at the honorable distinction."
"How do you know it was meant for an honorable distinction?"
"How can I doubt it, Georgie, when it was bestowed upon me by
such an amiable young lady as yourself? Now if it had been Sarah, I
might have thought she said it out of spite; but of course when
Georgie Graham said it, I knew it was intended as a tribute to my
superiority;" and Marion made a provokingly graceful courtesy.
"There is nothing like having a good opinion of one's self," replied
Georgie.
"But you see you are mistaken there, Georgie; it was you who
seemed to have such a high opinion of me. You know I didn't claim
the greatness,—it was 'thrust upon me;'" and Marion, satisfied with
that shaft, turned on her heel, and opening the front door went out
on to the piazza, followed by Sarah, who had been a silent but
appreciative witness of the scene.
Georgie Graham shut her teeth, muttering in anything but her usual
soft tones, and with an expression in her eyes which was anything
but pleasant to see, "Oh, how I hate you! But I'll be even with you
yet!"
The shower which had so disconcerted the whole school was
evidently clearing off, and there was every prospect that the
proposed plan of walking to Aunt Bettie's directly after dinner might
be carried into execution.
Aunt Bettie, as all the school-girls called her, was a farmer's wife, who
supplied the school with eggs, butter, and cheese, and during the
summer with fresh vegetables and berries.
She lived about two or three miles from the school, on the same
road, and the girls often went to see her. She was fond of them all,
although she had her favorites, among whom was Marion; and she
always kept a good supply of doughnuts, for which she was quite
famous, on hand for them whenever they might come.
The sun kept his promise, and before dinner-time the girls were all
out on the piazza, getting up an appetite they said, although that was
not often wanting with any of them.
The party for Aunt Bettie's numbered eight,—Rose May and Fannie
Thayer having begged Marion to ask permission for them to go,—and
they all set out for their walk in high spirits. Although Marion treated
Rachel with a certain degree of politeness, she never spoke to her
unless it was absolutely necessary, and then always addressed her as
Miss Drayton, although every other girl in school had, by this time,
become accustomed to familiarly call her Rachel. Florence had done
everything in her power to draw Marion into their conversation at
table, but seeing that she was determined not to change her manner,
she thought it best to take no more notice of it, as by doing so it only
made it the more apparent to Rachel that Marion had no intention of
becoming better acquainted with her.
Rachel had been there but a short time, and already Marion began to
feel that Florence was turning from her for a new friend. This was not
really the case, and Florence, who knew Marion's feelings, was
secretly very much troubled.
She loved Marion as deeply and truly as ever; but she could not turn
away from that motherless girl, between whom and herself an
instinctive sympathy seem to have been established, arising from the
loss which they had each felt, and which naturally drew them closer
to each other. Florence had never known her mother, but the loss
was none the less great to her; she felt that there was a place in the
heart that none but a mother's love could ever have filled, and no
matter how bright and happy she might feel, there was at times a
sense of utter loneliness about her which she found hard to dispel.
Rachel seemed to turn to her as her only friend among that crowd of
strangers, and she could not refuse to give her her friendship in
return, even at the risk of seeing Marion for a time estranged from
her; for she trusted to Marion's better nature, hoping that in the
future she would not be misjudged, and that all might be made
pleasant and happy again.
And so to-day for the first time since they had been to school
together, Florence and Marion were taking their Saturday afternoon
walk with separate companions. Marion had Rose May by the hand,
while she told Sarah Brown to take care of little Fannie. Florence and
Rachel were directly in front of her, and she knew that they would
have been happy to have had her join in their conversation. In fact,
they spoke so that she could hear every word they said; but she
occupied herself by telling Rose a story of such remarkable length
and interest as to perfectly enchant the child, who exclaimed as they
reached the farm-house, "O Marion, you do tell the best stories; I
really think you ought to write a book!" Marion laughed, but had no
chance to answer, for at that moment the door opened and Aunt
Bettie appeared upon the threshold.
"Wall, gals, I be glad to see ye; this is a sight good for old eyes!"
"Did you expect us, auntie?" asked Marion.
"Spect yer, child! why, I been a-lookin' for yer these three Saturdays
past! What you been a-doin' that's kept yer so long?"
"Well, nothing in particular; but you see the term has only just
begun, and we've hardly got settled."
"Oh, yes, honey, I know; I haint laid it up agin yer. But who's this
new one?—yer haint introduced me."
As Marion showed no inclination to perform the ceremony Florence
presented Rachel, remarking that she was a new scholar from the
West. But Aunt Bettie's keen eyes took in at a glance the deep
mourning apparel, and her kind heart at once divined its cause; and
she exclaimed with great heartiness as she took Rachel's hands in her
own rough palms, "Wall, child, you couldn't 'a come to a better place
than Miss Stiffback's, and you couldn't 'a got in with a better lot o'
girls; take em as they come, they're about as good a set as I knows
on!"
"O Aunt Bettie!" exclaimed Florence; "flattering, as I live! I wouldn't
have believed it of you."
"Not a bit of it, child; just plain speakin', a thing that never hurt
anybody yet, according to my notion. But come in, gals; come in, you
must be tired after your long walk, and the tin box is most a-bustin'
its sides, I crammed it so full."
The girls laughed, for they all knew what the tin box contained, and
were only too ready to be called upon to empty it.
They all seated themselves in the large, old-fashioned kitchen, with
its low ceiling and tremendous open fireplace, surmounted by a
narrow shelf, on which was displayed a huge Bible, and a china
shepherdess in a green skirt and pink bodice, smiling tenderly over
two glass lamps and a Britannia teapot, at a china shepherd in a
yellow jacket and sky-blue smalls; being, I suppose, exact
representations of the sheep-tenders of that part of the country.
Aunt Bettie bustled in and out of the huge pantry, bringing out a
large tin box filled to the top with delicious brown, spicy doughnuts,
and a large earthen pitcher of new milk.
"There, gals," as she put a tray of tumblers on the table, "jest help
yerselves, and the more yer eat, why the better I shall be suited."
"Suppose we should go through the box and not leave any for Jabe;
what should you say to that?" asked Marion.
"Never you mind Jabe; trust him for getting his fill. Eat all yer want,
and then stuff the rest in yer pockets."
"Oh, that wouldn't do at all!" exclaimed Marion; "you don't know
what a fuss we had about those Julia Thayer carried home last year!
Miss Stiefbach didn't like it at all; she said it was bad enough bringing
boxes from home, but going round the neighborhood picking up cake
was disgraceful. She never knew exactly who took them to school, for
Julia kept mum; but I don't think it would do to try it again."
"Wall, I think that was too bad of Miss Stiffback; she knows nothin'
pleases me so much as to have you come here and eat my
doughnuts, and if you choose to carry some on 'em to school, what
harm did it do? She ought to remember that she was a gal once
herself."
"Oh, mercy! auntie, I don't believe she ever was," ejaculated Marion.
"She was born Miss Stiefbach, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if she
wore the same stiff dresses, and had the same I'm-a-little-better-
than-any-body-else look when she was a baby."
"Wall, child, she's a good woman after all. You know there aint any of
us perfect; we all hev our faults; if it aint one thing it's another; it's
pretty much the same the world over."
"You do make the best doughnuts, Aunt Bettie, I ever eat," declared
Fannie Thayer, who was leaning with both elbows on the table, a
piece of a doughnut in one hand, and a whole one in the other as a
reserve force.
"Wall, child, I ginerally kalkerlate I ken match any one going on
doughnuts; but 't seemed to me these weren't 's good as common. I
had something on my mind that worrited me when I was mixin' 'em,
and I 'spose I wasn't quite as keerful as usual."
"If you don't call these good, I do!" ejaculated Miss Fannie. "Why, I
just wish you could have seen some Julia made last summer. She
took a cooking-fit, and tried most everything; mother said she wasted
more eggs and butter than she was worth, and her doughnuts!—
Ugh! heavy, greasy things!"
"She must 'a let 'em soak fat!" exclaimed Aunt Bettie, who was
always interested in the cookery question; "that's the great trouble
with doughnuts; some folks think everything's in the mixin', but I say
more'n half depends on the fryin'. You must hev yer fat hot, and
stand over 'em all the time. I allers watch mine pretty close and turn
'em offen with a fork, and then I hev a cullender ready to put 'em
right in so't the fat ken dreen off. I find it pays t' be pertickeler;" and
Aunt Bettie smoothed her apron, and leaned back in her chair with
the air of one who had said something of benefit to mankind in
general.
"But where is Julia?" she asked after a short pause. "Why didn't she
come?"
"Oh, I forgot!" exclaimed Fannie; "she sent her love to you, and told
me to tell you not to let us eat up all your doughnuts this time,
because she'll be up before long and want some. She had a sore
throat, and Miss Stiefbach thought she had better not go out."
"I'm sorry for that," replied Aunt Bettie; "I hope she aint a-goin' to be
sick."
"Oh, no, it aint very bad. Julia thinks it's nothing but cankers; she
often has them."
"Wall, it's always best to be on the safe side, any way," said Aunt
Bettie; "you tell her she needn't be afraid about the doughnuts; I'll
have a fresh batch ready agin the time she comes."
The business of eating and drinking so occupied the girls' attention,
that they did not enter into conversation as readily as usual; and
after the first flush of excitement at meeting her young friends and
dispensing her hospitality was over, Aunt Bettie, too, subsided into a
quiet, subdued manner, which was quite foreign to her usual brisk
talkativeness.
She sat in her high-backed rocking-chair, looking at the girls over her
silver-bowed spectacles, with a sad, musing expression, as if the
sight of them called up some unhappy thought.
This unusual restraint on the part of their hostess communicated
itself in a certain degree to her visitors, though they did not
themselves remark the cause of their silence, and their visit was
made shorter than usual.
It was Marion who first made the move to go; and although Aunt
Bettie pressed them to remain she did not urge it with her
accustomed eagerness.
They had got just beyond the bend of the road which hid the old
farm-house from view, when Marion exclaimed, "You run on, Rose,
with the others; I believe I left my gloves on the table; don't wait for
me, I'll catch up with you;" and before Rose could beg to go back
with her, she had turned round and ran off up the road. She ran
quickly, but noiselessly along, and was back to the farm-house in a
few moments, and was surprised to find Aunt Bettie sitting on the
door-step with her head buried in her hands. Going up to her, she
found her weeping as if her heart would break.
"Aunt Bettie!" she said, in her gentlest tones, "Aunt Bettie! It's only
Marion. What is the matter? I thought you seemed worried about
something, and came back to see if I couldn't help you; can't I?"
"Oh, dear!" sobbed the poor woman. "It may be dreadful wicked of
me, but the sight of you young things, all lookin' so bright and happy,
did make me feel awful bad, for I couldn't help thinking o' my own
darter Jemimy."
"Why, what is the matter with her, auntie? Where is she?"
"The Lord knows, dear, I don't. Not a blessed word hev I heerd from
her it's going on eight weeks. I've writ, and Jabe he's writ, but we
haint had a sign of an answer, and I'm afraid she's dead, or perhaps
wus;" and the poor woman rocked herself back and forth, completely
overcome by her grief.
"But, auntie," said Marion, laying her hand gently on the good
woman's shoulder, "don't you see there are forty things that might
have happened to prevent your hearing from her? You know a girl
that lives out can't always find time to write as often as she would
like. Besides, she may have got a new place, and in that case might
not have received your letters."
"I thought o' that, child, and the last letter Jabe writ he directed to
the care of Miss Benson, the woman that keeps the intelligence
office; but that's two weeks an' more ago, and I haven't heerd a
word. You see, Miss Marion, there aint a better-hearted gal livin' than
my Jemimy, but she got kinder lonesome and discontented-like a
livin' way off here, and took it into her head she'd like the city better.
She allus was a high-sperrited gal, and 'twas dull for her here, that's
a fact; but I wish to the Lord I'd held my own and hadn't let her
gone; for there's awful places in them big cities, and my gal's pretty
enough to make any one look at her. I dunno, child, but I can't help
feelin' somethin' dreadful's happened to her."
"O auntie, you must not get discouraged so easily. I thought you
were one of the kind who always looked on the bright side of things,"
said Marion in a cheerful tone.
"Wall, dear, I do ginerally; but this has just keeled me right over, and
I don't seem to know where I be. You see I haint got any one in the
city as I ken call upon to help me. I don't know a soul in the place I
could get to hunt her up. Sometimes I think I'll go down there; but
where's the use? I should be like a hen with her head cut off in such
a great, strange place as Boston."
"Well, auntie, I'll try my best to help you. I tell you what I'll do: you
give me Jemima's address, and I'll write to my mother, and get her to
look her up. She has to go to those offices very often after servants,
and like as not she might stumble right on her. Now cheer up, auntie,
for I feel just as if we should find her;" and Marion passed her hand
over Aunt Bettie's wrinkled forehead and gray hair as tenderly as if
she were her own mother.
Aunt Bettie looked at Marion with the tears still glistening in her eyes,
and a sad smile on her face, as she said:—
"Marion Berkley it aint every gal as would take so much trouble for an
old creetur like me, even if she noticed I was sad and worried. You've
comforted a poor, old woman who was most broken-hearted. May the
Lord bless you for it, an' I know he will."
Marion smiled up at the tender, old face that looked down at her,
while her own flushed with pleasure at the words of commendation.
It was a pity that there were no unobserved witnesses of the scene;
for Marion Berkley, cold and haughty, apparently indifferent alike to
the praise or blame of those around her, was a very different person
from this gentle girl. Her whole soul was shining through her eyes; all
her haughtiness, pride, and coldness had fallen from her, and she
stood almost like one transfigured, her face beaming with the light
which makes the plainest face seem almost divine,—that of pure,
disinterested sympathy for the sufferings and troubles of a fellow-
being.
For a moment there was silence between the two, while the tears
rolled down both of their cheeks; but Marion dashed hers away, as
she exclaimed in a cheery voice:—
"Come, auntie, it is getting late, and I must be off; so get me the
address, please."
"To be sure, child! How thoughtless I be! I'll get it for yer right
away;" and Aunt Bettie went into the house with something of her
usual briskness, and returning, brought out a scrap of paper, on
which was written in a stiff, cramped, school-boy hand this direction:
—

"Miss Jemima Dobbs,

In Kare of Mis Benson,
Number 22 Eest Crorfud Street,
Boston."

Marion could hardly repress a smile of amusement at the remarkable

orthography; but remembering that in Aunt Bettie's eyes it was a
perfect monument to the glory of her son Jabe, she made no
comments, and folding it up, tucked it carefully away in her purse.
Then, with a bright, encouraging smile, she said good-by to Aunt
Bettie, and hurried off down the road.
It was much later than she thought, and as the days were rapidly
growing shorter, it was quite dusk, and the girls were entirely out of
sight and hearing.
But her thoughts kept her company on her long walk, and all the way
home she was turning over in her mind the probabilities and
improbabilities of her mother's being able to find the young, unknown
country girl in a large city like Boston.
Miss Christine had begun to feel quite anxious about her by the time
she arrived, and Florence met her in the hall with a hearty caress, to
which she responded with her old warmth.
"Why, you dear, old thing!" exclaimed Florence; "what has kept you
so long? It must have been forlorn walking home at this hour."
"Oh, I did not mind it; I had something to think of," replied Marion,
as she pulled off her muddy rubbers before going upstairs. "I'll tell
you by and by; I must run up and get ready for supper."
That night, after they got to bed, Marion gave Florence a synopsis of
her conversation with Aunt Bettie, and told her of her plan of writing
to her mother for assistance.
"Well," said Florence, "I think it was real good of you to think of it.
What a queer girl you are! I knew we didn't have quite as jolly a time
as usual up there, but I never noticed there was anything the matter
with Aunt Bettie; and if I had I don't believe it would have occurred
to me to go back and comfort her. O Marion!"—and she threw her
arm over her friend's shoulder,—"how much good there is in you!
Why won't you let it all come out?"
"I don't think there was anything particularly good in that. You see
there was no virtue in my being kind to the poor, old thing, because I
could not help it. If there had been any hateful feelings to overcome,
or any wounded pride to interfere, I probably should not have done
it."
"I'm not so sure of that, Marion. You do conquer yourself
sometimes."
"Not often, dear," Marion replied, with a little, nervous, forced laugh.
"It is too much trouble. Good-night, I must go to sleep."
But it was long before sleep came to Marion. She laid perfectly still,
so as not to disturb Florence, but the small hours found her still
awake. She had been for some time thoroughly dissatisfied with
herself, and the thought that she had been of some comfort to any
one was indeed pleasant to her; but she would not attribute to
herself credit that did not belong to her.
It was just as she had said to Florence; she could not help being kind
to the poor old woman in her trouble; she had obeyed the
promptings of her naturally warm heart. It had been an impulsive
action, not one in which a disagreeable duty had been plainly pointed
out for her to follow; and she determinedly put aside all feeling of
self-satisfaction. She knew that if Rachel Drayton had made a similar
appeal to her kindness and sympathy, her heart would have been
resolutely closed against her, and she would not have spoken a single
encouraging word.
This thought thrust itself upon her again and again. She tried to put
it from her, but it was no use; she could not evade it. She told herself
that she was ridiculously conscientious; that this girl had no claims
upon her; and that she had done all that Miss Christine asked of her;
treated Rachel politely and courteously; but she knew that her
politeness had been cold and formal, and her courtesy less kindly
than she would bestow upon a beggar at the door. But she said to
herself, Florence makes up for all my deficiencies. This bitter thought,
in various forms, had rankled in her breast day and night. She had
often said that nothing could ever make her jealous of Florence; their
affection had been too lasting, too much a part of themselves, for
either to suspect the other of inconstancy; and now she was the first
to doubt.
But the last words of Florence, as they talked that night, came back
to her, and she remembered the fond embrace and the earnestness
of her voice as she besought her to act her real self.
Should she doubt that generous heart, that had shown its love for
her in a thousand ways, because, when it was appealed to by a
fatherless, motherless girl, it had responded with all the warmth of its
true, generous nature?
No, she could not do it; she felt that it was only another reason for
loving her more, and tears of shame and sorrow filled her eyes, as,
bending over in the darkness, she pressed a kiss upon the lips of her
sleeping companion.
Her unjust suspicion of her friend vanquished and conquered forever,
her thoughts gradually wandered back to Aunt Bettie, and with her
mind full of plans and projects in her behalf, she at last fell asleep.
 CHAPTER VIII.
AT CHURCH.
Sunday morning came bright and clear, but very cold, and many of
the girls made their appearance in the library, shaking and shivering,
as if they had never before experienced a northern winter.
"Gracious me!" exclaimed Sarah Brown, "I'm almost frozen. My room
is as cold as a barn! My cheeks are as blue as a razor, and my nose
looks like a great cranberry. Do let me get near the fire, Georgie;
you're keeping the heat off of every one."
Georgie made way for her, quietly remarking, as she did so:—
"Well, Sarah, I must say the cold is not very becoming to your style
of beauty; your nose and hair together ought to heat this room."
"You needn't say anything, Miss Graham; you're not so killing
handsome yourself that you can afford to make fun of others!" hotly
retorted Sarah.
It was a notable fact that these two could never come together
without a passage-at-arms. Grace's quietly hateful remarks always
excited Sarah to a most unmitigated degree, and she could not seem
to learn by experience that the only way to silence her was to take no
notice of them; and their disputes were often great sources of
amusement to the other girls.
Georgie, tall and rather distingué-looking, although not pretty, with
her quietly assured manner even when she knew herself beaten, and
her hypocritically soft tones, was almost always more than a match
for Sarah, who never could hide her feelings no matter what they
were and who always retorted as sharply and spitefully as she could.
She was a warm-hearted little thing, as honest and true as she was
impulsive, and Georgie's quiet, deliberate hatefulness was more than
she could bear.
If there was one subject on which Sarah was more sensitive than
another it was her hair. It was a rich, reddish-yellow; very thick, long
and curling, and any artist would have looked upon it with
admiration; but it was the bane of Sarah's existence. When she was a
little girl it had been really red, but time had softened its shade, and
many a Parisian belle might have envied Sarah its possession. Sarah
could see no beauty in it, for at home she was often greeted by the
name of "carrot-top," and "little red hen;" and once when she got
into a very excited argument with her brother, and stood shaking her
head at him with the long curls which she then wore, flying about her
shoulders, he had run out of the room, shouting as he got well out of
reach:—
"I say, Sal! how much would you charge to stand on Boston common
nights, and light the city? Your head would save all the expense of
gas!"
You may be pretty sure it did not take Georgie Graham long to find
out Sarah's weakness, and so the poor child's bane was still kept
before her even at school, where there were no troublesome
brothers.
She resolutely brushed out her long curls, and braided them into soft,
heavy braids, winding them round and round at the back of her head
until it looked like a great golden bee-hive; but she could not keep
the front from rippling into soft, delicate waves; or the short hairs
from twisting themselves into numberless little curls, which all the
crimping-pins and hot slate-pencils in the world could not imitate.
This hair which Georgie Graham so affected to despise was in reality
a great object of her admiration, and she would have gladly
exchanged it, with its usual accompaniments of glowing cheeks and
scarlet lips, for her own sallow skin and scanty, drabbish-brown locks.
But I have made a digression; let us return to our group in the
library.
"What are you two quarrelling about this lovely Sunday morning?"
asked Florence Stevenson as she and Marion came into the room
together.
"Oh, we were not quarrelling," replied Georgie. "Sarah was only
remarking that her cheeks were as blue as razors and her nose like a
cranberry, and I agreed with her,—that was all."
"Yes," exclaimed Sarah, "and I told you you weren't killing handsome,
and I dare say you agreed with me, though you didn't say so. But
there is one thing certain, if the cold makes frights of both of us, it
makes Marion look like a beauty!" and Sarah's eyes sparkled
mischievously.
Georgie only shrugged her shoulders and elevated her eyebrows, as
she replied, "Chacun à son gout."
"But it doesn't happen to be your "gout," does it, Georgie?" good-
naturedly replied Marion, who knew very well that Sarah's admiration
of herself was thus publicly exhibited solely for the sake of annoying
Georgie.
"Come, girls, let's declare peace, or at least a 'cessation of hostilities;'
it's a shame to commence the day with quarrels;" and Florence knelt
down on the rug between the two girls, looking up at them with a
smile that it would have been hard for any one to have resisted.
Directly after this Miss Stiefbach entered, and all were quiet as she
read the morning prayers, and they joined in the responses.
By ten o'clock the girls, with the exception of Julia Thayer, whose
throat was still troubling her, and Grace Minton, who was suffering
from a sick headache, were on their way to church. They did not walk
in a regular procession like so many convicts on their way to prison,
but each chose her own companion, and the walk was enlivened with
pleasant conversation. It so chanced that Marion and Georgie
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