The Charm School
almost inaudible: "Girls, it is a great pleasure to leave our classes"—the girls giggled, and she changed the sentence—"I mean it will be a great pleasure to you to know that you are to hear a few words—or more—from our new principal, Mr. Bevans."
Austin stood up.
Now every girl in the audience, except Mr. Johns's granddaughter, had supposed that Mr. Johns was the man. He certainly looked more like what a new principal should be. In spite of the optimism of youth, no girl really thought that Fate was going to send her a schoolmaster of the physical appearance of Austin, and so when he rose, an "oh" went up from the entire audience, like the exclamation with which a holiday crowd greets a rocket.
He stood silent a moment and then began, easily: "First I want to assure you all that nothing is going to be changed, I hope, so far as our staff and our students are concerned. I should not wish to change what my aunt—" He passed into a restrained but moving eulogy of his aunt Sophy. Miss Curtis wiped her eyes.
But praise of an old lady he had hardly seen a dozen times in his life did not take all
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