"Oh, if I only could!" "Well, you may win the twenty-five dollars, anyway, Anne," said Jessica.
"I suppose the one hundred dollar prize is beyond the reach of human beings." "And now, young ladies," Mrs.Gray was saying, smiling at the group of girls who surrounded her, as she examined them through her lorgnette, "most of you I have known since you were little tots, and your fathers and mothers before you; but I don't know which of you excels in her studies.

Is it you, Grace, my dear ?" Grace shook her head vigorously.
"No, indeed, Mrs.Gray," she replied.

"I could never be accused of overstudy.

I suppose I'm too fond of basketball." "It won't hurt you, my dear," said the old lady, tapping the girl indulgently with her lorgnette; "the open air is much better than that of the schoolroom, and so long as you keep up an average, I daresay you won't disappoint your mother.

But none of you have told me yet who leads the freshman class in her studies." "Miriam Nesbit," said several voices in unison.
"Ah!" said Mrs.Gray, looking intently at Miriam.