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[Illustration: THEY ALL BROUGHT KATE O'CONNOR BACK IN TRIUMPH.]




GIRLS NEW AND OLD

    BY
    L. T. MEADE
    AUTHOR OF "BETTY, A SCHOOL GIRL," "A SWEET GIRL GRADUATE,"
    "WILTON CHASE," "FOUR ON AN ISLAND," "BASHFUL FIFTEEN,"
    "RED ROSE AND TIGER LILY," "PALACE BEAUTIFUL," "RING OF
    RUBIES," "POLLY, A NEW-FASHIONED GIRL," "A WORLD
    OF GIRLS," "OUT OF THE FASHION," "GOOD LUCK,"
    "A GIRL IN TEN THOUSAND," ETC., ETC.


    _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY_
    J. WILLIAMSON


    NEW YORK
    THE MERSHON COMPANY
    PUBLISHERS




    COPYRIGHT, 1895, BY
    THE CASSELL PUBLISHING CO.

_All rights reserved._




CONTENTS.


    CHAPTER                                         PAGE
         I. A FIRST NIGHT,                             1
        II. THE PRINCIPAL,                            14
       III. PROFESSORS AND PUPILS,                    25
        IV. DWELLERS IN CUBICLES,                     38
         V. CECIL AND THE BOYS,                       55
        VI. MRS. LAVENDER'S PLAN,                     69
       VII. AN OUTRAGEOUS PROPOSAL,                   87
      VIII. MR. DANVERS ORDERS FURNITURE,            100
        IX. THE CLEARING OF THE WAY,                 110
         X. TREACHERY,                               118
        XI. THE SUMMERHOUSE,                         130
       XII. KATE'S LITTLE PLAN,                      139
     XIII. CECIL INVESTIGATES,                       164
      XIV. THE LITTLE HOLE IN THE SUMMERHOUSE,       178
       XV. THOSE HIGH ROCKS,                         198
      XVI. THE PROMISE IN THE CATHEDRAL,             204
      XVII. SUSPENSE,                                225
    XVIII. CONSECRATED,                              232
      XIX. CECIL,                                    256
       XX. A HARD FIGHT,                             263
      XXI. GIRLS AND BOYS,                           271
     XXII. MATILDA'S OPPORTUNITY,                    280
    XXIII. A LOST LETTER,                            301
     XXIV. GOD'S WILL AND KATE'S WILL,               311
      XXV. THE HEART OF THE GALE,                    323
     XXVI. THE OPENING IN THE CLIFF,                 333
    XXVII. ROCK OF AGES,                             340




GIRLS NEW AND OLD.




CHAPTER I.

A FIRST NIGHT.


IT was an autumn evening when Molly Lavender first arrived at Redgarth.
This large school for girls was situated in a certain well-known
district in the north of England. It adjoined a cathedral town of
great beauty, and was in the neighborhood of those wide downs and
far-reaching moors for which this part of the country is justly famed.
The school itself was inclosed in spacious gardens, occupying several
acres of land. The houses of residence surrounded the great hall and
lecture rooms, where the work of education was carried on. There were
eight houses of residence, and from forty to fifty girls lived in each.

It had been the dream of Molly Lavender's life to go to Redgarth. Her
education hitherto had been conducted partly at home, and partly in a
small school; she longed to enter a wider world, and looked forward
with much enthusiasm to the comradeship and _esprit de corps_ which
would form part of the education of her new life. A vacancy had been
offered her at St. Dorothy's, one of the most popular of the houses,
and when her cab drew up there on this lovely evening, a very eager and
excited young face peeped out.

Molly was fifteen, just the age when girls can be shy. She had lived
in a whirl of excited feeling during all her long journey from London;
but now that she had really arrived at Redgarth, a sense of unexpected
timidity assailed her, and although she was not such a coward as to
wish to run away, she heartily desired the first evening to be well
over.

When she appeared, a group of girls were standing idly chatting in the
beautiful entrance-hall. No one spoke for a moment; but before there
was time for real embarrassment, the principal of the house, a tall,
good-looking, dignified woman of about thirty, came out of a room at
one side of the hall. She gave Molly a cordial welcome, introduced her
to one or two of her companions, and then took her upstairs, to show
her her own little room.

"I hope you will be thoroughly happy at Redgarth, my dear," said Miss
Leicester, in her brisk, energetic voice. "You are very fortunate
in finding a vacancy in this house. We are all very happy here, and
I think I can promise that you will have a good time. Our motto is,
Plenty of work