AFTER this I had a good deal to bear from one or two of the girls, especially from those of my own age. They made unpleasant remarks about me, and tried in many ways to vex me.
Sometimes I am afraid I felt angry, and showed them that I was vexed and annoyed. But at other times I remembered my card, and asked myself, ‘What would Jesus do?’ And at those times I never answered them again, but tried to be kind to them instead.
Mother told me one day that God could make people like us, and could give us favour in their sight if we asked Him, just as He gave Joseph favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison, and Esther in the sight of the cruel King Ahasuerus.
So I asked God every morning when I said my prayers to give me favour, if He saw it was good for me., and I am sure He heard my prayer, for after a few weeks the girls left off teasing me, and were so friendly and kind to me that I began to be very happy and contented in my school life.
As for Miss Maynard, I always loved her; no one could help doing that. And to get a smile from her made me happy for a whole day.
But I want in this little journal to write chiefly of those times when mother’s question helped me; and I think the next time was when I had that great trouble. The trouble is all over now, but still it seems very great to me, as I look back to it.
I enjoyed doing my lessons very much though I was never the first in the class. Mary Conder was so very clever, that I could never get as many marks as she could. But Miss Maynard told us that she meant to give two prizes in our class, and I was very anxious, if possible, to get the second prize. I thought mother would be so pleased.
So I worked very hard indeed, and hardly wasted a minute; but Flora Morton also wanted to get this prize, and at first she and I almost always had exactly the same number of marks. Sometimes she was a little, before me, and at other times I was the first ; it seemed very doubtful which of us would win the prize.
We always do our English lessons with Miss Maynard, and our French lessons with Mademoiselle, but there are several masters who come to the school to give us lectures on special subjects. We have an arithmetic master, a drawing master, a music master, a singing master, and a science master. I enjoy the science master’s lectures very much indeed; we have three every week, one on zoology, another on botany, and another on geology. It is so very wonderful to learn all about the animals, and plants, and shells, and fishes, and about the curious way in which the soil of the earth was made. We have nothing to learn for Herr Liebstein. He gives us a lecture, and as he speaks, we make our own notes of it, and then the next time he comes he questions us on his last lecture, and gives us marks according to our answers. At the beginning of the term Flora and I almost always got the same number of marks from Herr Liebstein.
But one Tuesday morning we had rather a difficult examination on zoology, and Flora had not prepared for it so well as usual, and when Herr Liebstein gave us marks for it, he gave me eight more than he gave her.
Oh, how vexed Flora looked, and how fretful she was all that day! It made me very unhappy. I almost felt as if I had done something wrong, although of course it could not be wrong, just to do my best, and to answer as well as I could.
‘Don’t be vexed about it, Flora,’ I said that night, as we were going upstairs to bed; ‘I could not help it !’
‘I’m not vexed about it, Olive!’ she said. ‘How could you think so? I am only tired.’
But I could not help feeling sure that she was thinking of it when she looked so cross.
However, the next morning she seemed to have forgotten it, and all went on just as usual till the following Tuesday, when once more I had more marks than Flora. This time she did not seem annoyed, but laughed about it when we spoke of it afterwards. I felt very glad of this, and hoped that my trouble was over.
But it was not over ; it was only just beginning. The next Monday evening, after tea, we went into the schoolroom, as usual, to learn our lessons. I took my books from the cupboard, and went to the table, and sat down between Flora and Mary. I learnt my English lessons first, and then I wrote my French exercise. When these were done, I looked for my zoology notes, that I might prepare for Herr Liebstein’s lecture, but, to my dismay, I could not find them.
We always write our notes on a loose piece of paper, and I generally slip it inside, one of the lesson books which I shall use on Monday evening. I took up my books one by one, and shook them, and turned over the leaves, but no paper was to be seen. I still hoped it might be there, so I went through them again, looking carefully between all the pages, but the lost notes did not appear.
I could do nothing more till the hour for learning our lessons was over, for we were not allowed to speak, or to move from our places, till the clock showed it was half-past seven. But, as soon as the silence hour was at an end, I told the girls of ray loss, and Flora and Mary helped me to look through my books again, and to turn out the cupboard and shelf where they were kept ; but the note were nowhere to be found. There was no help for it ; I obliged to do without them.
We were not allowed to borrow each other’s notes, so the only thing I could do was to try, as I lay in bed at night, to remember as much as I could of last Tuesday’s lecture. But there were many things which I could not possibly recollect, lists of names, and Latin words, which Herr Liebstein had told us to write down and to learn, and many other particulars about the different classes of animals, which we had copied from his dictation, and which he wished us to learn by heart.
Morning came, and I felt very troubled as I went into Herr Liebstein’s class, and this, I think, made me nervous, and I could hardly answer a single question.
Herr Liebstein seemed surprised, but he said nothing. Flora answered better than usual; all her lists were perfect, all her numbers were correct. At the end of the lesson Herr Liebstein gave her twelve marks, and gave me only four.
Of course, I was very much disappointed that I had done so badly, but I do not think I should have felt it so much if Miss Maynard, who had been sitting in the room whilst we were at work, had not said to me as we rose from our seats—
‘Are you not well, Olive ?’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ I said, ‘I am quite well.’
‘Then why have you answered so badly today?’ she said.
‘Please, ma’am, because I lost my notes of the lecture !’
‘Careless child!’ said Miss Maynard ; ‘then you deserve to have so few marks !’
It was the first time she had found fault with me, and I felt it very much, for I loved Miss Maynard dearly.
I made up my mind to be very careful of the notes I had just taken. So I put them inside my dictionary, and put the dictionary in a safe place in my cupboard. I felt sure that it would not happen again, and I thought no more of it till the next Monday evening, when I went to collect the books for the silence hour.
Then I found to my great astonishment that my notes were again missing !