It is never easy to be quick, when one is in a hurry.  Every thing sets itself against you.  Fingers turn into thumbs; dresses won’t button, nor pins keep their place.  With all their haste, Katy and Clover were barely ready when the second bell sounded.  As they hastened downstairs, Katy fastening her breast-pin, and Clover her cuffs, they met other girls, some looking half asleep, some half dressed; all yawning, rubbing their eyes, and complaining of the early hour.

“Isn’t it horrid?” said Lilly Page, hurrying by with no collar on, and her hair hastily tucked into a net.  “I never get up till nine o’clock when I’m at home.  Ma saves my breakfast for me.  She says I shall have my sleep out while I have the chance.”

“You don’t look quite awake now,” remarked Clover.

“No, because I haven’t washed my face.  Half the time I don’t, before breakfast.  There’s that old mattress has to be turned; and, when I sleep over, I just do that first, and then scramble my clothes on the best way I can.  Any thing not to be marked!”

After prayers and breakfast were done, the girls had half an hour for putting their bedrooms to rights, during which interval it is to be hoped that Lilly found time to wash her face.  After that, lessons began, and lasted till one o’clock.  Dinner followed, with an hour’s “recreation;” then the bell rang for “silent study hour,” when the girls sat with their books in their bedrooms, but were not allowed to speak to each other.  Next came a walk.

“Who are you going to walk with?” asked Rose Red, meeting Clover in Quaker Row.

“I don’t know.  Katy, I guess.”

“Are you really?  You and she like each other, don’t you?  Do you know you’re the first sisters I ever knew at school who did!  Generally, they quarrel awfully.  The Stearns girls, who were here last term, scarcely spoke to each other.  They didn’t even room together; and Sarah Stearns was always telling tales against Sue, and Sue against Sara.”

“How disgusting!  I never heard of any thing so mean,” cried Clover, indignantly.  “Why, I wouldn’t tell tales about Katy if we quarrelled ever so much.  We never do, though, Katy is so sweet.”

“I suppose she is,” said Rose, rather doubtfully; “but, do you know, I’m sort of afraid of her.  It’s because she’s so tall.  Tall people always scare me.  And then she looks so grave and grown up!  Don’t tell her I said so, though; for I want her to like me.”

“Oh, she isn’t a bit grave or grown up.  She’s the funniest girl in the world.  Wait till you know her,” replied loyal Clover.

“I’d give any thing if I could walk with you part of this term,” went on Rose, putting her arm round Clover’s waist.  “But you see, unluckily, I’m engaged straight through.  All of us old girls are.  I walk with May Mather this week and next, then Esther Dearborn for a month, then Lilly Page for two weeks, and all the rest of the time with Mary.  I can’t think why I promised Lilly.  I’m sure I don’t want to go with her.  I’d ask Mary to let me off, only I’m afraid she’d feel bad.  I say, suppose we engage now to walk with each other for the first half of next term!”