Books: What Katy Did At School
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Susan Coolidge >> What Katy Did At School
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Katy was quite relieved when Clover reported this conversation. Rose,
for all her wickedness, seemed to be a little lady. Katy did not like
to class her among the girls who flirted with students whom they did
not know.
It was wonderful how soon they all settled down, and became accustomed
to their new life. Before six weeks were over, Katy and Clover felt
as if they had lived at Hillsover for years. This was partly because
there was so much to do. Nothing makes time fly like having every
moment filled, and every hour set apart for a distinct employment.
They made several friends, chief among whom were Ellen Gray and Louisa
Agnew. This last intimacy Lilly resented highly, and seemed to consider
as an affront to herself. With no one, however, was Katy so intimate
as Clover was with Rose Red. This cost Katy some jealous pangs at
first. She was so used to considering Clover her own exclusive
property that it was not easy to share her with another; and she
had occasional fits of feeling resentful, and injured, and left out.
These were but momentary, however. Katy was too healthy of mind to
let unkind feelings grow, and by and by she grew fond of Rose and
Rose of her, so that in the end the sisters share their friend as
they did other nice things, and neither of them was jealous of the
other.
But, charming as she was, a certain price had to be paid for the
pleasure of intimacy with Rose. Her overflowing spirits, and "the
little fiend inside her," were always provoking scrapes, in which
her friends were apt to be more or less involved. She was very
pen intent and afflicted after these scrapes; but it didn't make a
bit of difference: the next time she was just as naughty as ever.
"What are you?" said Katy, one day, meeting her in the hall with a
heap of black shawls and aprons on her arm.
"Hush!" whispered Rose, mysteriously, "don't say a word. Senator
Brown is dead--our senator, you know. I'm going to put my window
into mourning for him, that's all. It's a proper token of respect."
Two hours later, Mrs. Nipson, walking sedately across the common,
noticed quite a group of students, in the president's yard, looking
up at the Nunnery. She drew nearer. They were admiring Rose's
window, hung with black, and decorated with a photograph of the
deceased senator, suspended in the middle of a wreath of weeping-
willow. Of course she hurried upstairs, and tore down the shawls
and aprons; and, equally of course, Rose had a lecture and a mark;
but, dear me! what good did it do? The next day but one, as Katy
and Clover sat together in silent study hour, their lower drawer was
pushed open very noiselessly and gently, till it came out entirely,
and lay on the floor, and in the aperture thus formed appeared Roses's
saucy face flushed with mischief. She was crawling through from her
own room!
"Such fun!" she whispered; "I never thought of this before! We can
have parties in study hours, and all sorts of things."
"Oh, go back, Rosy!" whispered Clover in agonized entreaty, though
laughing all the time.
"Go back? Not at all! I'm coming in," answered Rose, pulling herself
through a little farther. But at that moment the door opened: there
stood Miss Jane! She had caught the buzz of voices, as she passed in
the hall, and had entered to see what was going on.
Rose, dreadfully frightened, made a rapid movement to withdraw. But the
space was narrow, and she had wedged herself, and could move neither
backward nor forward. She had to submit to being helped through by
Miss Jane, in a series of pulls, while Katy and Clover sat by, not
daring to laugh or to offer assistance. When Rose was on her feet,
Miss Jane released her with a final shake, which she seemed unable
to refrain from giving.
"Go to your room," she said; "I shall report all of you young ladies
for this flagrant act of disobedience."
Rose went, and in two minutes the drawer, which Miss Jane had replaced,
opened again, and there was this note:--
"If I'm never heard of more, give my love to my family, and
mention how I died. I forgive my enemies; and leave Clover
my band bracelet.
"My blessings on you both.
"With the deepest regard,
"Your afflicted friend, R. R."
Mrs. Florence was very angry on this occasion, and would listen to no
explanations, but gave Katy and Clover a "disobedience mark" also.
This was very unfair, and Rose felt dreadfully about it. She begged
and entreated; but Mrs. Florence only replied: "There is blame on both
sides, I have no doubt."
"She's entirely changed from what she used to be," declared Rose. "I
don't know what's the matter; I don't like her half so much as I did."
The truth was, that Mrs. Florence had secretly determined to give up
her connection with the school at midsummer; and, regarding it now
rather as Mrs. Nipson's school than her own, she took no pains to
study character or mete out justice carefully among scholars with
whom she was not likely to have much to do.
CHAPTER VI. THE S. S. U. C.
It was Saturday afternoon; and Clover, having finished her practising,
dusting, and mending, had settle herself in No. 6 for a couple of hours
of quiet enjoyment. Every thing was in beautiful order to meet Miss
Jane's inspecting eye; and Clover, as she sat in the rocking chair,
writing-case in lap, looked extremely cosy and comfortable.
A half-finished letter to Elsie lay in the writing-case; but Clover
felt lazy, and instead of writing was looking out of window in a dreamy
way, to where Berry Searles and some other young men were playing
ball in the yard below. She was not thinking of them or of any thing
else in particular. A vague sense of pleasant idleness possessed her,
and it was like the breaking of a dream when the door opened and Katy
came in, not quietly after her wont, but with a certain haste and
indignant rustle as if vexed by something. When she saw Clover at
the window, she cried out hastily, "O Clover, don't'!"
"Don't what?" asked Clover, without turning her head.
"Don't sit there looking at those boys."
"Why? why not? They can't see me. The blinds are shut."
"No matter for that. It's just as bad as if they could see you. Don't
do it. I can't bear to have you."
"Well, I won't then," said Clover good-humoredly, facing round with
her back to the window. "I wasn't looking at them either,--not
exactly. I was thinking about Elsie and John, and wondering--But
what's the matter, Katy? What makes you fire up so about it? You've
watched the ball-playing yourself plenty of times."
"I know I have, and I didn't mean to be cross, Clovy. The truth is
I am all put out. These girls with incessant talk about the students
make me absolutely sick. It is so unladylike, and so bad, especially
for the little ones. Fancy that mite of a Carrie Steele informing me
that she is "in love" with Harry Crosby. In love! A baby like that!
She has no business to know that there is such a thing."
"Yes," said Clover laughing: "she wrote his name on a wintergreen
lozenge, and bored a hole and hung it round her neck on a blue ribbon.
But it melted and stuck to her frock, and she had to take it off."
"Whereupon she ate it," added Rose, who came in at that moment.
The girls shouted, but Katy soon grew grave. "One can't help
laughing," she said, "but isn't it a shame to have such things going
on? Just fancy our Elsie behaving so, Clover! Why, papa would have
a fit. I declare, I've a great mind to get up a society to put down
flirting."
"Do!" said Rose. "What fun it would be! Call it 'The Society for
the Suppression of Young Men.' I'll join."
"You, indeed!" replied Katy, shaking her head. "Didn't I see Berry
Searles throw a bunch of syringa into your window only this morning?"
"Dear me! did he? I shall have to speak to Mary again. It's quite
shocking to have her go on so. But really and truly do let us have
a Society. It would be so jolly. We could meet on Saturday
afternoons, and write pieces and have signals and a secret, as
Sylvia's Society did when she was at school. Get one up, Katy,--
that's a dear."
"But," said Katy, taken aback by having her random idea so suddenly
adopted, "if I did get one up, it would be in real earnest, and it
would be a society against flirting. And you know you can't help
it, Rosy."
"Yes, I can. You are doing me great injustice. I don't behave like
those girls in Attic Row. I never did. I just bow to Berry and the
rest whom I really know,--never to anybody else. And you must see,
Katherine darling, that it would be the height of ingratitude if I
didn't bow to the boys who made mud pies for me when I was little,
and lent me their marbles, and did all sorts of kind things. Now
wouldn't it?"--coaxingly.
"Per--haps," admitted Katy, with a smile. "But you're such a witch!"
"I'm not,--indeed I'm not. I'll be a pillar of society if only you'll
provide a Society for me to be a pillar of. Now, Katy, do--ah, do, do!"
When Rose was in a coaxing mood, few people could resist her. Katy
yielded, and between jest and earnest the matter was settled. Katy
was to head the plan and invite the members.
"Only a few at first," suggested Rose. "When it is proved to be a
success, and everybody wants to join, we can let in two or three more
as a great favor. What shall the name be? We'll keep it a secret,
whatever it is. There's no fun in a society without a secret."
What should the name be? Rose invented half a dozen, each more absurd
than the last. "The Anti-Jane Society" would sound well, she insisted.
Or, no!--the "Put-him-down-Club" was better yet! Finally they settled
upon "The Society for the Suppression of Unladylike Conduct."
"Only we'll never use the whole name," said Rose: "We'll say, 'The
S. S .U. C.' That sounds brisk and snappy, and will drive the whole
school wild with curiosity. What larks! How I long to begin!"
The next Saturday was fixed upon for the first meeting. During the
week Katy proposed the plan to the elect few, all of whom accepted
enthusiastically. Lilly Page was the only person who declined. She
said it would be stupid; that for her part she didn't set up to be
"proper" or better than she was, and that in any case she shouldn't
wish to be mixed up in a Society of which "Miss Agnew" was a member.
The girls did not break their hearts over this refusal. They had
felt obliged to ask her for relationship's sake, but everybody was
a little relieved that she did not wish to join.
No. 6 looked very full indeed that Saturday afternoon when the S. S.
U. C. came together for the first time. Ten members were present.
Mary Silver and Louisa were two; and Rose's crony, Esther Dearborn,
another. The remaining four were Sally Alsop and Amy Erskine; Alice
Gibbons, one of the new scholars, whom they all liked, but did not
know very well; and Ellen Gray, a pale, quiet girl, with droll blue
eyes, a comical twist to her mouth, and a trick of saying funny
things in such a demure way that half the people who listened never
found out that they were funny. All Rose's chairs had been borrowed
for the occasion. Three girls sat on the bed, and three on the floor.
With a little squeezing, there was plenty of room for everybody.
Katy was chosen President, and requested to take the rocking-chair as
a sign of office. This she did with much dignity, and proceeded to
read the Constitution and By-Laws of the Society, which had been drawn
up by Rose Red, and copied on an immense sheet of blue paper.
They ran thus:--
CONSTITUTION FOR THE SOCIETY FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF UNLADYLIKE
CONDUCT, KNOWN TO THE UNINITIATED AS THE S. S. U. C.
ARTICLE I.
The object of this Society is twofold: it combines
having a good time with the Pursuit of VIRTUE.
ARTICLE II.
The good time is to take place once a week in No. 6
Quaker Row, between the hours of four and six P. M.
ARTICLE III.
The nature of the good time is to be decided upon by
a Committee to be appointed each Saturday by the members
of the Society.
ARTICLE IV.
VIRTUE is to be pursued at all times and in all seasons,
by the members of the Society setting their faces against
the practice of bowing and speaking to young gentlemen
who are not acquaintances; waving of pocket handkerchiefs,
signals from windows, and any species of conduct which
would be thought unladylike by nice people anywhere, and
especially by the mammas of the Society.
ARTICLE V.
The members of the Society pledge themselves to use their
influence against these practices, both by precept and
example.
In witness whereof we sign.
Katherine Carr, President.
Rosamond Redding, Secretary.
Clover E. Carr.
Mary L. Silver.
Esther Dearborn.
Sally P. Alsop.
Amy W. Erskine.
Alice Gibbons.
Ellen Whitworth Gray.
Next followed the By-Laws. Katy had not been able to see the necessity
of having any By-Laws, but Rose had insisted. She had never heard of
a Society without them, she said, and she didn't think it would be
"legal" to leave them out. It had cost her some trouble to invent
them, but at last they stood thus:--
BY-LAW NO. 1.
The members of the S. S. U. C. will observe the following signals:--
1st. The Grip.--This is given by inserting the first and middle
finger of the right hand between the thumb and fourth finger of
the respondent's left, and describing a rotatory motion in the
air with the little finger. N. B. Much practice is necessary
to enable members to exchange this signal in such a manner as
not to attract attention.
2nd. The Signal of Danger.--This signal is for use when Miss Jane,
or any other foe-woman, heaves into sight. It consists in
rubbing the nose violently, and at the same time giving three
stamps on the floor with the left foot. It must be done with
an air of unconsciousness.
3rd. The Signal for Consultation.--This signal is for use when
immediate communication is requisite between members of the
Society. It consists of a pinch on the back of the right
hand, accompanied by the word "Holofernes" pronounced in a
low voice.
BY-LAW NO. 2.
The members of the S. S. U. C. pledge themselves to inviolable
secrecy about all Society proceedings.
BY-LAW NO. 3
The members of the S. S. U. C. will bring their Saturday corn-
balls to swell the common entertainment.
BY-LAW NO. 4.
Members having boxes from home are at liberty to contribute such
part of the contents as they please to the aforementioned
common entertainment.
Here the By-Laws ended. There was much laughter over them, especially
over the last.
"Why did you put that in, Rosy?" asked Ellen Gray: "it strikes me as
hardly necessary."
"Oh," replied Rose, "I put that in to encourage Silvery Mary there.
She's expecting a box soon, and I knew that she would pine to give
the Society a share, but would be too timid to propose it; so I
thought I would just pave the way."
"How truly kind!" laughed Clover.
"Now," said the President, "the entertainment of the meeting will
begin by the reading of 'Trailing Arbutus,' a poem by C. E. C."
Clover had been very unwilling to read the first piece, and had only
yielded after much coaxing from Rose, who had bestowed upon her in
consequence the name of Quintia Curtia. She felt very shy as she
stood up with her paper in hand, and her voice trembled perceptibly;
but after a minute she grew used to the sound of it, and read steadily.
TRAILING ARBUTUS.
I always think, when looking
At its mingled rose and white,
Of the pink lips of children
Put up to say good-night.
Cuddled its green leaves under,
Like babies in their beds,
Its blossoms shy and sunny
Conceal their pretty heads.
And when I lift the blanket up,
And peep inside of it,
They seem to give me smile for smile,
Nor be afraid a bit.
Dear little flower, the earliest
Of all the flowers that are;
Twinkling upon the bare, brown earth,
As on the clouds a star.
How can we fail to love it well,
Or prize it more and more!
It is the first small signal
That winter time is o'er;
That spring has not forgotten us,
Though late and slow she be,
But is upon her flying way,
And we her face shall see.
This production caused quite a sensation among the girls. They had
never heard any of Clover's verses before, and thought these wonderful.
"Why!" cried Sally Alsop, "it is almost as good as Tupper!" Sally
meant this for a great compliment, for she was devoted to the
"Proverbial Philosophy."
"A Poem by E.D." was the next thing on the list. Esther Dearborn rose
with great pomp and dignity, cleared her throat, put on a pair of eye-
glasses, and began.
MISS JANE.
Who ran to catch me on the spot,
If I the slightest rule forgot,
Believing and excusing not?
Miss Jane.
Who lurked outside my door all day
In hopes that I would disobey,
And some low whispered word would say?
Miss Jane.
Who caught our Rose-bud half way through
The wall which parted her from two
Friends, and that small prank made her rue?
Miss Jane.
Who is our bane, our foe, our fear?
Who's always certain to appear
Just when we do not think her near?
Miss Jane.
--"Who down the hall is creeping now
With stealthy step, but knowing not how
Exactly to discover"--
broke in Rose, improvising rapidly. Next moment came a knock at the
door. It was Miss Jane.
"Your drawers, Miss Carr,--your cupboard,"--she said, going across
the room and examining each in turn. There was no fault to be found
with either, so she withdrew, giving the laughing girls a suspicious
glance, and remarking that it was a bad habit to sit on beds,--it
always injured them.
"Do you suppose she heard?" whispered Mary Silver.
"No, I don't think she did," replied Rose. "Of course she suspected
us of being in some mischief or other,--she always does that. Now,
Mary, it's you turn to give us an intellectual treat. Begin."
Poor Mary shrank back, blushing and protesting.
"You know I can't," she said, "I'm too stupid."
"Rubbish!" cried Rose, "You're the dearest girl that ever was." She
gave Mary's shoulder a reassuring pat.
"Mary is excused this time," put in Katy. "It is the first meeting,
so I shall be indulgent. But, after this, every member will be
expected to contribute something for each meeting. I mean to be
very strict."
"Oh, I never, never can!" cried Mary. Rose was down on her at once.
"Nonsense! hush!" she said. "Of course you can. You shall, if I
have to write it for you myself!"
"Order!" said the President, rapping on the table with a pencil.
"Rose has something to read us."
Rose stood up with great gravity. "I would ask for a moment's delay,
that the Society may get out its pocket-handkerchiefs," she said.
"My piece is an affecting one. I didn't mean it, but it came so. We
cannot always be cheerful." Here she heaved a sigh, which set the
S. S. U. C. to laughing, and began.
A SCOTCH POEM.
Wee, crimson-tippet Willie Wink,
Wae's me, drear, dree, and dra,
A waeful thocht, a fearsome flea,
A wuther wind, and a'.
Sair, sair thy mither sabs her lane,
Her een, her mou, are wat;
Her cauld kail hae the corbies ta'en,
And grievously she grat.
Ah, me, the suthering of the wind!
Ah, me, the waesom mither!
Ah, me the bairnies left ahind,
The shither, hither, blither!
"What _does_ it mean?" cried the girls, as Rose folded up the paper
and sat down.
"Mean?" said Rose, "I'm sure I don't know. It's Scotch, I tell you!
It's the kind of thing that people read, and then they say, 'One of
the loveliest gems that Burns ever wrote!' I thought I'd see if I
couldn't do one too. Anybody can, I find: it's not at all difficult."
All the poems having been read, Katy now proposed that they should
play "Word and Question." She and Clover were accustomed to the
game at home, but to some of the others it was quite new.
Each girl was furnished with a slip of paper and a pencil, and was
told to write a word at the top of the paper, fold it over, and pass
it to her next left-hand neighbor.
"Dear me! I don't know what to write," said Mary Silver.
"Oh, write any thing," said Clover. So Mary obediently wrote "Any
thing," and folded it over.
"What next?" asked Alice Gibbons.
"Now a question," said Katy. "Write it under the word, and fold over
again. No, Amy, not _on_ the fold. Don't you see, if you do, the
writing will be on the wrong side of the paper when we come to read?"
The questions were more troublesome than the words, and the girls sat
frowning and biting their pencil-tops for some minutes before all were
done. As the slips were handed in, Katy dropped them into the lid of
her work-basket, and thoroughly mixed and stirred them up.
"Now," she said, passing it about, "each draw one, read, and write a
rhyme in which the word is introduced and the question answered. It
needn't be more than two lines, unless you like. Here, Rose, it's
your turn first."
"Oh, what a hard game!" cried some of the girls; but pretty soon they
grew interested, and began to work over their verses.
"I should uncommonly like to know who wrote this abominable word,"
said Rose, in a tone of despair. "Clover, you rascal, I believe it
was you."
Clover peeped over her shoulder, nodded, and laughed.
"Very well then!" snatching up Clover's slip, and putting her own in
its place, "you can just write on it yourself,--I shan't! I never
heard of such a word in my life! You made it up for the occasion,
you know you did!"
"I didn't! it's in the Bible," replied Clover, setting to work
composedly on the fresh paper. But when Rose opened Clover's slip
she groaned again.
"It's just as bad as the other!" she cried. "Do change back again,
Clovy,--that's a dear."
"No, indeed!" said Clover, guarding her paper: "you've changed once,
and now you must keep what you have."
Rose made a face, chewed her pencil awhile, and then began to write
rapidly. For some minutes not a word was spoken.
"I've done!" said Esther Dearborn at last, flinging her paper into the
basket-lid.
"So have I!" said Katy.
One by one the papers were collected and jumbled into a heap. Then
Katy, giving all a final shake, drew out one, opened it, and read.
WORD.--Radishes.
QUESTION.--How do you like your clergymen done?
How do I like them done? Well, that depends.
I like them _done_ on sleepy, drowsy Sundays;
I like them under-done on other days;
Perhaps a little _over_-done on Mondays.
But always I prefer them old as pa,
And not like radishes, all red and raw.
"Oh, _what_ a rhyme! cried Clover.
"Well,--what is one to do?" said Ellen Gray. Then she stopped and bit
her lip, remembering that no one was supposed to know who wrote the
separate papers.
"Aha! it's your, is it, Ellen?" said Rose. "You're an awfully clever
girl, and an ornament to the S. S. U. C. Go on, Katy."
Katy opened the second slip.
WORD.--Anything.
QUESTION.--Would you rather be a greater fool than you seem, or seem
a greater fool than you are?
I wouldn't seem a fool for anything, my dear,
If I could help it; but I can't, I fear.
"Not bad," said Rose, nodding her head at Sally Alsop, who blushed
crimson.
The third paper ran,--
WORD.--Mahershahalhashbaz.
QUESTION.--Does your mother know you're out?
Rose and Clover exchanged looks.
Why, of course my mother knows it,
For she sent me out herself.
She told me to run quickly, for
It wasn't but a mile;
But I found it was much farther,
And my feet grew tired and weary,
And I couldn't hurry greatly,
So I took a long, long while.
Beside, I stopped to read your word,
A stranger one I never heard!
I've met with _Pa_-pistical,
That's pat;
But _Ma-hershahalhashbaz,
What's that?
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