A Little Princess | Page 5

closely in
his arms as the cab rolled into the big, dull square in which stood the
house which was their destination.
It was a big, dull, brick house, exactly like all the others in its row, but
that on the front door there shone a brass plate on which was engraved
in black letters:
MISS MINCHIN,
Select Seminary for Young Ladies.
"Here we are, Sara," said Captain Crewe, making his voice sound as
cheerful as possible. Then he lifted her out of the cab and they mounted
the steps and rang the bell. Sara often thought afterward that the house

was somehow exactly like Miss Minchin. It was respectable and well
furnished, but everything in it was ugly; and the very armchairs seemed
to have hard bones in them. In the hall everything was hard and
polished--even the red cheeks of the moon face on the tall clock in the
corner had a severe varnished look. The drawing room into which they
were ushered was covered by a carpet with a square pattern upon it, the
chairs were square, and a heavy marble timepiece stood upon the heavy
marble mantel.
As she sat down in one of the stiff mahogany chairs, Sara cast one of
her quick looks about her.
"I don't like it, papa," she said. "But then I dare say soldiers-- even
brave ones--don't really LIKE going into battle."
Captain Crewe laughed outright at this. He was young and full of fun,
and he never tired of hearing Sara's queer speeches.
"Oh, little Sara," he said. "What shall I do when I have no one to say
solemn things to me? No one else is as solemn as you are."
"But why do solemn things make you laugh so?" inquired Sara.
"Because you are such fun when you say them," he answered, laughing
still more. And then suddenly he swept her into his arms and kissed her
very hard, stopping laughing all at once and looking almost as if tears
had come into his eyes.
It was just then that Miss Minchin entered the room. She was very like
her house, Sara felt: tall and dull, and respectable and ugly. She had
large, cold, fishy eyes, and a large, cold, fishy smile. It spread itself
into a very large smile when she saw Sara and Captain Crewe. She had
heard a great many desirable things of the young soldier from the lady
who had recommended her school to him. Among other things, she had
heard that he was a rich father who was willing to spend a great deal of
money on his little daughter.
"It will be a great privilege to have charge of such a beautiful and

promising child, Captain Crewe," she said, taking Sara's hand and
stroking it. "Lady Meredith has told me of her unusual cleverness. A
clever child is a great treasure in an establishment like mine."
Sara stood quietly, with her eyes fixed upon Miss Minchin's face. She
was thinking something odd, as usual.
"Why does she say I am a beautiful child?" she was thinking. "I am not
beautiful at all. Colonel Grange's little girl, Isobel, is beautiful. She has
dimples and rose-colored cheeks, and long hair the color of gold. I have
short black hair and green eyes; besides which, I am a thin child and
not fair in the least. I am one of the ugliest children I ever saw. She is
beginning by telling a story."
She was mistaken, however, in thinking she was an ugly child. She was
not in the least like Isobel Grange, who had been the beauty of the
regiment, but she had an odd charm of her own. She was a slim, supple
creature, rather tall for her age, and had an intense, attractive little face.
Her hair was heavy and quite black and only curled at the tips; her eyes
were greenish gray, it is true, but they were big, wonderful eyes with
long, black lashes, and though she herself did not like the color of them,
many other people did. Still she was very firm in her belief that she was
an ugly little girl, and she was not at all elated by Miss Minchin's
flattery.
"I should be telling a story if I said she was beautiful," she thought;
"and I should know I was telling a story. I believe I am as ugly as she
is--in my way. What did she say that for?"
After she had known Miss Minchin longer she learned why she had
said it. She discovered that she said the same thing to each papa and
mamma who brought a child to her school.
Sara stood near her father and listened while he and Miss Minchin
talked. She had been brought to the seminary because Lady