CHAPTER FIVE.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS.
Ten minutes later the journey came to an end, and the girls surged outon to the platform of the country station. A line of waggonettes,cheerfully denominated "Black Marias" by the pupils, was in waiting, andwith less confusion than might have been expected the girls divided intodifferent parties, and seated themselves in the carriages marked withtheir own house colours. Rhoda and her travelling companions, being all"blue," were among the first to drive off, each girl clutching thehandbag which contained the immediate necessities of her toilet, andchattering away at the pitch of her voice. "Square Face" was evidentlythe wag of the party, and was treated with an admiring deference whichseemed to bespeak a position of importance. She was professionallyaddressed as "Tom," and Rhoda from her seat opposite, read the words,"Thomasina Bolderston," upon the label of the bag, and reflected thatshe had never heard a name more entirely appropriate to its owner. Itwas at once so ugly, so uncommon, and so arresting to the memory, whileTom herself, once seen, could never be forgotten, nor confounded withanother girl. There she sat, the keen autumn air blanching her cheeksand reddening her eyes, her arms crossed squarely over her bag, her lipstwitching with mischievous enjoyment. She had but to roll her eyes, andthe girls went into fresh convulsions of laughter; and when, at theentrance to "Hurst" grounds, she took out her handkerchief and affectedto sob, the merriment reached an almost hysterical pitch. Rhoda,however, failed to appreciate the humour of the joke, being inclined tocry in good truth as the grim doorway yawned before her, and she caughta glimpse of the chill, grey hall, so different from the glowing warmthof her own dear home.
Dorothy gripped her arm in sympathetic fashion as they alighted and fellinto position in the long line of girls, who had suddenly thrown offtheir hoyden airs, and assumed a demeanour of severe propriety. Thequeue wended its serpentine course down the hall itself, and across asmaller corridor to the head of the great staircase, where stood a ladyin a black silk dress, and a cap with lavender ribbons, crowning bandsof iron-grey hair. She was in reality small of stature, but she heldherself with an air which gave her the appearance of being six feet highat least, and as she shook hands with each girl she addressed to her aword of greeting.
"How do you do, Mary? Glad to see you, Kathleen. Hope you are better,Ella. Welcome back, Carrie!" and so on, and so on. Occasionally therecame a hesitation, and the greeting terminated without a name beingadded, but whenever this was the case there was a knitting of the browswhich showed distinct annoyance. Miss Bruce evidently took a pride inremembering her pupils, and was hard on herself for any forgetfulness.When it came to the turn of the new girls, she detained them a moment tohope they would be happy, before waving them forward with an encouragingsmile.
"That's what we call being `presented.' She is the Queen, and on thenext landing are `the Lords,' and on the second `the Commons,'"whispered a girl, who being herself only in her second term was notaverse from posing as preceptor. Rhoda lifted her eyes and beheld anarray of governesses standing before her, shaking hands and welcomingthe pupils in their turn. Some looked formidable and learned, some didnot. Some had the orthodox braided locks and spectacles, some evencondescended to the frivolity of a `fringe,' but one and all borethemselves with a dignity worthy of a foremost position in the newest ofall new schools.
Rhoda passed by as in a dream, and felt far more interest in "theCommons," who were for the most part young women removed from girlhoodby so slight a barrier that there was a tone of comradeship in theirvoices, a sympathetic understanding in their glance. The sweetestlooking of all was evidently in special charge of the Blues, and, walkedby the side of the two new girls as the detachment filed along theendless corridor towards its own apartments.
"You two are sisters? No! Ah, well, you must pretend you are, for aday or two at least, until you get over the first loneliness. Every onefeels lonely at first among such a crowd of strangers, but it soonpasses, and we are very happy together. You must come and sit with mein my little den sometimes. I'll ask you to tea on Sunday, and you mustalways come to me if you are in any difficulty. In the meantime do asthe other girls do, and you will get along quite easily. You are in thesame room. Wash and get ready for tea at once. The gong will ring inhalf an hour, and after that your boxes will have arrived and you willbe able to unpack."
They reached the door of the dormitory as she finished speaking, and thegirls entered, trying not to feel as if they were being introduced to aprison cell, or to be unduly cast down because they were separated byhalf the length of the room.
"If we could have been next each other and just wobbled the curtainoccasionally it would have been friendly!" sighed Rhoda, sinking down onthe solitary chair and gazing forlornly round her new abode. A bed, awash-stand, a chest of drawers with a glass on top, a small fixturewardrobe, and about three yards of space on which to disport her ownfair self--different quarters, indeed, from her room at home, with itsspacious floor, its deep bay windows, its adjoining dressing-room andbathroom! When the curtains were drawn there was a feeling of crampedconfinement which was most depressing to the spirits; yet, as her eyetook in one detail after the other, Rhoda realised that there wereredeeming points in the situation. Small as it was, the cubicle wasdecidedly pretty, and blue enough to satisfy the blondest of mistresses.Blue was the paint on the walls, blue the mat on the floor, blue andwhite the coverlet on the bed, blue the quaintly shaped china on thewash-stand. She remembered with a thrill of satisfaction that her ownbags and cases were of the same hue, and took off her hat feeling thatshe had found an oasis in the desert of life.
Half-an-hour seemed a long time to prepare for tea, when no change ofgarment was possible, but it passed so quickly that the sound of thegong came as a surprise, and she emerged from her retreat to find herroom-mates already filing towards the door. Thomasina led the way,staring at Rhoda's locks with an amusement which the girl found it hardto fathom. She had brushed out the curling mane with even greater carethan usual, and was conscious that it was as tidy as nature had intendedit should be. Then why stare and smile? She could not understand, butThomasina only said enigmatically--
"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may! Come on, Fuzzy!" and led the way outinto the corridor.
Lines of girls were appearing on every side--along this corridor, alongthat, down narrow nights of stairs, around unexpected corners, allconverging steadily on the central staircase. It was like a game of"Follow my leader," and Rhoda could not but admire the ease and skillwith which "Tom" avoided collision, and marshalled her party to its owntable in the great dining-hall. When every one was seated, and gracesaid, the clatter of cups and saucers began, and Rhoda had her firstexperience of a school meal.
Well! the tea was very welcome, and it certainly was hot, but somehow orother it did not taste like the tea at home. There was so much "cup"about it--perhaps that was the explanation. It was quite an effort toget one's lips over the rim. Thickness seemed to be the order of theday when one looked from the china to the slices of bread and butterpiled in the many plates. One such chunk would make a meal in itself,thought Rhoda, nibbling fastidiously at the first slice, but whetherfrom the fatigue of the long journey or the stimulating effect ofcompanionship, her appetite seemed to be unusually keen, and when it wasfinished she put out her hand to take a second slice.
Instantly Thomasina's voice rang out in warning. "Stop that, Fuzzy!That's forbidden!" Rhoda stared at her in dignified displeasure. "Myname happens to be Rhoda Chester!"
"Congratulate you, I'm sure. Couldn't be sweeter; but you mustn't breakrules, Rhoda Chester, all the same. The rule in this school is that nogirl helps herself at meals, or asks for more, or pays any attention toher own plate."
"But if I am hungry? If I _want_ more? How am I to get it?"
"You must rely on the thoughtfulness and attention of your neighbours.Each girl is supposed to look after those beside her, but if she forgetsyou must starve in silence, knowing that
you suffer in a good cause. Ifind myself that a slight nudge applied to the elbow just as the cup isbeing carried to the mouth is a useful and judicious reminder... Let mepress a piece of plum-cake upon you, Miss Chester!"
She held out the plate of bread with her squarest smile, and Rhodasmiled back with a curious sense of elation. She questioned herselfcuriously as to its cause, and made the surprising discovery that it wasbecause Thomasina had spoken to her, and showed some faint signs offriendliness!
Tea over, there was another game of "Follow my leader," to the top storyof the building this time, where all the length of a corridor was linedby baggage, with the mysterious addition of a flat wicker clothes-basketbeside each trunk. The house-mistress, Miss Everett, was flitting toand fro, and explained to the bewildered new girls that as the cubiclesafforded no room for the accommodation boxes they must unpack upstairs,and carry down their possessions to store in drawers and wardrobes.
For the next hour and a half, therefore, the curious scene was witnessedof sixty pupils staggering downstairs in turns under the weight of heavybaskets of clothes, and meeting with sundry adventures by the way. Lazygirls gave themselves the usual additional share of trouble byoverweighting their load and toppling it over on the floor; hasty girlstripped on the stairs and collapsed in a heap, with a rain of bootsfalling on their head and pins showering broadcast through thebanisters; careless girls took a rest to ease aching backs, then nippedup the wrong basket and bore it away, to reappear ten minutes later,puffing and injured, and receive indignant reproaches from the rightfulowners.
Rhoda worked with a will, undisturbed by any such interruptions. It waswith the unconsciousness of habit that she shook out her silk-linedskirts, on lifting them from the box, but the rustling sound could notbe mistaken, and instantly she was aware that the girls on either sidewere mincing round in affected fashion, shaking out their own skirts,and simpering meaningly in her direction.
At the first glance from her eyes they became statues of propriety, butshe felt their ridicule, and catching the giggles of laughter whichfollowed her retreat blushed over cheek and neck in an agony ofmortification.
After all, was it appropriate to bring fine clothes to school? Wherethe rules of the house were plain living and high thinking, was it notbetter to dress accordingly? Might not display savour of ignorance, oflack of perception, of--oh, horrors!--of snobbishness itself?
The new dresses hung neglected on their pegs, and Rhoda put on a silkblouse with her serge skirt, and walked down to supper in mentalsackcloth and ashes.
But here was a pleasant surprise! The room was not grey any longer, butflooded with rosy light from the pink-hued shades which covered theelectric burners. The girls, too, were no longer clad in dark blue asin a uniform, but shone forth in blouses of brilliant hues, pink, blue,red, and white alternating gaily, with an occasional green or yellow toadd to the variety. There was in the atmosphere an indefinable air ofrelaxation, of rest after labour, which added tenfold to the brightnessof the scene. What if on each plate there was only a morsel of fish,not half enough to satisfy clamourous appetites, there was unlimitedbread and jam to follow, and if cocoa was not the drink of all otherswhich one would have chosen, it was at least wholesome and satisfying.Rhoda ate and was thankful, and felt ready for bed even before thesummons came. Several times during the day, when her feelings hadthreatened to become too keen for endurance, but pride had forbiddenoutward demonstration, she had cherished a determination to crycomfortably in bed; but when the time came she was so sleepy, soexhausted with excitement, the bed was so unexpectedly sympathetic, thatshe forgot her resolution, and, snoodling down on the pillow, fellswiftly and happily asleep.