ETHEL, THE NEW GIRL.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 21, 25 January 1936, Page 16 (Supplement)

ETHEL, THE NEW GIRL.

(By Elizabeth Jean Smart, New Zealand Institute for the Blind; age IG.) TJio rrirlc all ■ „ ccn.nTlWl In tllJ>

e Jhe girls were all ■ assembled in the large drawing room of Moorcourt s School waiting for the headmistress to j come and take prayers. Within a few . seconds she entered. After the hymn r and prayers were over it was usual for (he girls to dismiss to their different j classrooms. This morning, however, i proved an exception. r "I have a few words to' say to you before we begin our lessons," began i Miss Cuthbert in a clear, even tone. | "We are expecting a new girl to-day; her name is Ethel Stewart. I want you ; all to be very kind to this girl, for she : is not very strong and as jhe has prel viously been taught at home by a governess we arie afraid she may feel strange and homesick for a time." The clock in the upper classroom struck five. The last stroke had scarcely died away when three girls entered the room. "Have you seen the new girl yet?" inquired Kathleen Dean, a tall, fair girl. "No, what is she like?" the others asked eagerly. "Well," rejoined the first speaker, "with regards to looks she is a real beauty." This conversation was interrupted by the entrance of two girls, one of whom was a tall, dark girl named Marion Maitland, the other Ethel, the new girl. Kathleen was indeed right when ahe described her as a beauty, for she was beautiful beyond doubt. She was of medium height with soft, black, wavy hair, bright brown eyes and a clear, delicate skin. She certainly did not look very strong, but the pallor added to her beauty. - "Girls," said Marion, "this is Ethel Stewart. Ethel, this is Kathleen and Margaret Dean and Etta Smith." "Very pleased to meet you, girls," said Ethel in a soft, clear voice. The next day Miss Cutlibo»t told Ethel that she might be in her room if she worked well. Miss Cuthbert took the highest class. Ethel worked verv well indeed; in fact, Miss Cuthbert said that if she continued to make such good progress she might try to gain her matriculation certificate at the end of the year with some of her other pupils. After recreation came a German lesson with Fraulein. Kathleen, who sat next Ethel, whispered to her, "I think you will like Fraulein; she is a good sort, but her English is dreadful." At that moment the German mistress entered the room. She was a small, fair and rather pretty lady and looked about tliirty-two years of" ape. After she had heard the lesson which the girls were to prepare Fraulein addressed Ethel in English. "I hope you will like

to learn German, Ethel." " And Ethel noticed that her English was far from perfect. Ethel, however, answered Fraulein in her own language. They soon became so engrossed in a conversation in German that they quite forgot the rest of the class. Fraulein gave a very short lesson indeed that day. Ethel explained to the girls when school was over that she had lived in Germany for three years and had learned to speak the language almost perfectly. Ethel had been at school for nearly a month and most of the girls liked'her very much. One thing they could not understand about her, however, was that she was terrified of water. She was far too afraid to go in swimming. If Ethel felt homesick or strange she certainly showed 110 signs of it. But her unwonted fear of water was making the girls treat her with a certain scorn. One day while Margaret and Ethel were going for a walk by themselves they perceived a small boat on the river. "Look, Ethel,'' said Margaret. "It is Kathleen in that boat and she is making straight for the rooks. The current is too strong for her. What styil! we do?" At that moment the boat overturned, throwing Kathleen out. Quick as a flash Ethel was in the water and with powerful strokes she was swimming towards the drowning girl. After a hard struggle Ethel succeeded in getting Kathleen to the bank, and Margaret dragged them both to safety. Ethel was in a dead faint when Margaret finally got her on 1 shore.