there was an old established custom at the villa camellia that on the evening of the last day of march (unless that date happened to fall on a sunday) the pupils were allowed special license after supper, and, regardless of ordinary rules, might disport themselves as they pleased until bedtime. irene, who had not yet been present on one of these occasions, heard hints on all sides of coming fun, mingled with mystery. peachy twice began to tell her something, but was stopped by delia. joan and sheila seemed to be holding perpetual private committee meetings; elsie spent much time in jess cameron's dormitory; and, wonder of wonders, esther cartmell was seen walking arm in arm with mabel hughes. though irene asked many questions from various friends as to the nature of the evening's amusement she could get no certain information. they laughed, evaded direct answers, made allusions to things she did not understand, and whisked away like will-o'-the-wisps. very much puzzled, and not altogether pleased, she sought her buddy.
"they've all gone mad," she assured lorna. "i[244] can't get a word of sense out of peachy; esther was almost nasty, and jess shut the door in my face. what's the matter with them? have i developed spots or a squint? why have i suddenly become a leper?"
lorna, who was busy with french translation, shut her dictionary with a bang.
"i've no patience with them," she groused. "it's because you're english. i suppose we shall have to get up a stunt of our own, just out of retaliation, but i'm sick of the whole business."
"what do you mean?"
"why, it's become a sort of custom to make this a nationality night. the american girls all band together, and so do the south africans and the australians; and the scotch girls are a tremendous clique of their own. they play jokes on every one else, and sometimes it almost gets to fighting."
"between the sororities?"
"sororities are forgotten for the time being. your dearest chum in the camellia buds will turn against you if it's a question of scotch or english, or american or british. i advise you to put away everything you value. the south africans came into my cubicle last year and smeared my cold cream over my pillow. of course your bed will be filled with brushes and boots, and any hard oddments they can find lying about. you won't be able to find anything in the morning. the place is an absolute muddle."[245]
"how horrid!"
"yes, it is horrid. i can't see the fun of it, myself. practical jokes can go too far, in my opinion, and some of those juniors get so rough they hurt each other. i'd keep out of it only it's wise to stay and defend your own cubicle, or you'd find your blanket hidden and your soap gone."
"do the seniors join in?"
"no. they barricade themselves in their bedrooms and have some private fun, but they leave us to do as we like. it's the transition and juniors who play the tricks. of course, the seniors must know what's going on, because they used to do the same themselves, but they just shut their eyes."
"oh," said irene thoughtfully. "and because a thing has always been must it always be? can't it ever be altered? are we bound to do nothing but play tricks on the last night of march?"
"it ought to be altered. i've a jolly good mind to go to rachel and tell her my views about it. she's been much nicer lately than she used to be. perhaps she'd listen. if she doesn't there'd be no harm done, at any rate. will you come with me? i don't like going by my little lonesome."
the two girls tapped at the door of dormitory 9, and fortunately found the head prefect within and alone. she received them quite graciously and listened with interest to what lorna had to say.
"i'm so thankful you've told me," she said in reply. "i agree with you absolutely. it's time this[246] silly business was put a stop to. we prefects have held back because we didn't want to be spoil-sports, but i believe you really voice the opinion of a good many girls. i used to get very tired of it when i was in the transition myself. if miss rodgers found out some of the tricks that are played she'd never let us have the holiday again."
"can't we persuade them to do something else instead—something really jolly?"
"we must. i'll think about it. leave it to me. i've been turning it over in my mind for some time, though my ideas never crystallized. i'll have some scheme ready. i can depend on you two to support me in the transition?"
"rather!"
rachel, reporting the interview to her fellow prefects, found them entirely in agreement. they were dissatisfied with many things in the transition and junior forms, and this nationality evening was considered the limit. something seemed to be needed at the present crisis to weld together the various factions of the villa camellia, and turn them into one harmonious whole. the prefects were aware that the various sororities were really rival societies, and that, though they might give great fun and enjoyment to their respective members, they were productive of jealousy rather than union.
"we want a common motive," said rachel. "an inspiration, if possible. i believe some sort of[247] a league would do it. something outside ourselves, and bigger than just the little world of school. something that even the smallest juniors could join, and in which girls who have left could still take an interest. it's dawning on me! i believe i've got it! i'm going to call it 'the anglo-saxon league.' we'll get everybody to join, and fix its first festival for the 31st of march. it should just take the wind out of those silly nationality tricks. i'll speak to miss rodgers and ask her to let us have a parade and dance, with prizes for the best costumes. they'd love that, anyhow. i'll call a meeting in the gym and put it to them. i believe it will catch on."
the pupils at the villa camellia were not overdone with public meetings. they responded therefore with alacrity to the notice which rachel, after obtaining the necessary permission from the authorities, pinned upon the board in the hall. they were all a little curious to know what she wanted to talk to them about. a few anticipated a scolding, but the majority expected some more pleasant announcement.
"rachel's wrought up, but she doesn't look like jawing us," was the verdict of peachy, who had passed the head prefect in the corridor. some of the seniors constituted themselves stewards and arranged the audience to their satisfaction, with juniors on the front benches and the transition behind. when everybody was seated, rachel stepped[248] on to the platform and rang the bell for silence. her cheeks were pink with excitement and there was a little thrill of nervousness in her voice, as if she were forcing herself to a supreme effort, but this passed as she warmed to her subject.
"girls," she began, "i asked you to come here because i want to have a talk with you about our school life. you'll all agree with me that we love the villa camellia. it's a unique school. i don't suppose there's another exactly like it in the whole world. why it's so peculiar is that we're a set of anglo-saxon girls in the midst of a foreign-speaking country. we ourselves are collected from different continents—some are americans, some english, some from australia, or new zealand, or south africa—but we all talk the same anglo-saxon tongue, and we're bound together by the same race traditions. large schools in england or america take a great pride in their foundation, and they play other schools at games and record their victories. we can't do that here, because there are no foreign teams worth challenging, so we've always had to be our own rivals and have form matches. in a way, it hasn't been altogether good for us. we've got into the bad habit of thinking of the school in sections, instead of as one united whole. i've even heard squabbles among you as to whether california or cape colony or new south wales are the most go-ahead places to live in. now, instead of scrapping, we ought to be glad to join hands. if[249] you think of it, it's a tremendous advantage to grow up among anglo-saxon girls from other countries and hear their views about things. it ought to keep you from being narrow, at any rate. you get fresh ideas and rub your corners off. what i want you particularly to think about, is this: it's the duty of all english-speaking people to cling together. if they've ever had any differences it's time they forgot them. the world seems to be in the melting-pot at present, and there are many strange prophecies about the future. black and yellow races are increasing and growing so rapidly that they may be ready to brim over their boundaries some day and swamp the white civilizations. anglo-saxons ought to be prepared, and to stand hand in hand to help one another. i've been reading some queer things lately. one is that a new continent is slowly rising out of the pacific ocean—lemuria they call it—and some day, hundreds of years hence, there may be land there instead of water, and people living on it. they say too that the center of gravity of both the british empire and the united states is moving towards the pacific. sydney may grow more important than london, and san francisco than new york when the trade routes make them fresh pivots of energy. another funny thing i read is that as the world is changing a new race seems to be emerging. travelers say that the modern children in australia don't look in the least like english children or french children, or any european nation—they are[250] a fresh type. america has been populated by people from practically all the older countries, but i read that children who are being born there now differ in their head measurements from babies of the older races. perhaps some of you may be interested in this and some of you may only be bored, but what i want to rub in is that if a new, and perhaps superior, race is evolving it's surely part of our work to help it on. here we all are, girls from england, america, and the british colonies, of the same race and speaking the same language. let us make an anglo-saxon league, and pledge ourselves that wherever we go over the face of the world we will carry with us the best traditions. we're out for peace, not war, and peace comes through sympathy. the women of those great eastern nations, the chinese, the japanese, and the hindoos, who are only just awakening to a sense of freedom, will look to us westerners for their example. can't we hold out the hand of sisterhood to them, and teach them our highest ideals, so that in the centuries to come they may be our friends instead of our enemies? it's a case of 'take up the white man's burden.' we stand together, not as scotch, or canadians, or new zealanders or americans, but as good anglo-saxons, the apostles of peace, not 'frightfulness.'
"i'm going to ask every girl in this room to join the league. there'll be various activities in connection with it. we haven't decided all yet, but we hope one of them will be to establish a correspon[251]dence between this school and other schools in england and the colonies and in america. we'd like to write letters to their prefects and hear what they are doing, and have copies of their school magazines. it would be like shaking hands over the ocean. then why shouldn't we correspond with girls in missionary schools in india or china or japan? think how exciting to have letters from them and read them aloud. we should hear all about their eastern lives, and all kinds of interesting things.
"well, these are far-away schemes yet that need a little time to establish. i've something much nearer to put before you. miss rodgers has given us seniors leave to hold a fancy-dress dance on the 31st of march, from 7.30 to 9.30, here in the gym. we invite every girl who joins the league to come. nationality costumes will be welcomed. there will be first, second, and third prizes for the best dresses. the judges will take into consideration the scantiness of the materials available, but they wish to announce that any girl found guilty of borrowing articles for her costume without the leave of their owners will be disqualified, and further, that any member of the league convicted of playing practical jokes will be expelled from the dance. the prefects think it wise and necessary to mention that, though the evening of march 31st has been set aside as a holiday and certain rules have been relaxed, the school is nevertheless bound to preserve its usual[252] code of good manners, and every girl is put on her honor to behave herself. i'm sure i need not say more, for you surely understand me, and agree that when miss rodgers has allowed us to have this fun we ought not to abuse her kindness. will every one who's ready to join the league and wants to come to the dance hold up her hand."
almost every girl in the room responded to rachel's invitation. some—the higher-thinking ones—were attracted by the ideals of the league itself; others were merely anxious not to be left out of the festivities. it was a long time since the school had had a fancy ball. there had been private carnivals in the dormitories, but not a public official affair at which everybody could compete in the way of dresses. rumor spread like wild-fire round the room. it was whispered that miss morley herself meant to come, disguised as hiawatha, that miss rodgers had offered a gold wrist-watch as first prize, and that there were yards of gorgeous materials in the storeroom to be had for the asking. the thrill of these manifold possibilities was sufficient to eclipse the attractions of their former intentions for the evening's amusement. it was really more interesting to evolve costumes than plan tricks. every true daughter of eve loves to look her best, and womanhood, even in the bud, cannot withstand the supreme magnet of clothes. little doris parker, south african hoyden as she was, voiced the general feeling when she confessed:[253]
"i'd meant to give those australians a hot time of it. they may thank their stars for the league. though i'm rather glad i shan't have to tease natalie, because she's my chum. we're both going together as southern hemispheres. it'll be ripping fun."
the camellia buds, who had been temporarily estranged by the impending national divisions, returned to the friendly atmosphere of their sorority, and lent one another garments for the fête.
"it's a good thing rachel put a stopper on commandeering," commented delia. "mabel was simply shameless at the carnival. had anybody told?"
"sybil and erica knew; and rachel isn't really as blind as we thought. at any rate, she's awake now, and a far nicer prefect than she used to be. by the by, we're to draw lots as to who may borrow out of the theatrical property box."
"oh, goody. i hope i'll win. there's a little gray dress there i've set my heart on. i'll cry oceans if i don't get it," declared peachy.
"cheer up, poor old sport! if the luck comes my way i'll try and grab it for you. i don't need anything for myself, thank goodness."
"you white angel! that's what i call being a real mascot. i'll share my last dollar with you some day—honest injun!"
the contents of miss morley's theatrical property box, apportioned strictly by lot, did not go far among fifty-six girls. miss rodgers allowed two of[254] the prefects, with a teacher, to make an expedition into fossato and rummage the shops for some yards of cheap, gay materials, imitation lace, and bright ribbons, which they were commissioned to buy on behalf of certain of their schoolfellows, but most of the dancers had to contrive their costumes out of just anything that came to hand, often exercising an ingenuity that was little short of marvelous. acting upon rachel's suggestion many of them personified various continents or countries. the stars and stripes of the american flag were conspicuous, and there were several red indians, with painted faces and feathers in their hair.
sheila, mary, esther, and lorna repeated the costumes they had worn at the tableau, and went as representatives of canada, south africa, india, and new zealand, but peachy lent her cowboy costume to rosamonde, and turned up as longfellow's "evangeline," in gray puritan robe and neat white cap, a part which, though very becoming, did not accord with her mischievous, twinkling eyes.
"not much 'mayflower maiden' about you!" giggled delia.
"why not?" asked peachy calmly. "i guess poor evangeline wasn't always on the weep! no doubt she had her lively moments sometimes. i'm showing her at her brightest and best. you ought to give thanks for a new interpretation of her!"
winnie duke scored tremendously by robing in skin rugs as a canadian bear, while joan was able to[255] carry out a long-wished-for project and turn herself into a very good imitation of a kangaroo.
fifty-six girls, arrayed fantastically in all the colors of the rainbow, made a delectable sight as they paraded round the gymnasium. the prefects had shirked the difficult and delicate task of judging, and had called in miss rodgers and miss morley to decree who were to receive the prizes. perhaps they also found the decision too hard, for they chose a dozen of the best, put them to the public vote and counted the shows of hands. gwen hesketh, a member of the sixth, in a marvelously contrived chinese costume, was first favorite; little cyntha west, as a delightful goblin, secured second prize, while the kangaroo, to the satisfaction of the transition, was awarded the third. the gold wristlet watch was of course a myth, and the rewards were mere trifles, but the principals had risen to the occasion sufficiently to contribute to the entertainment by providing lemonade between the dances, which in the opinion of the girls was a great addition to the festivities, and made the event seem more like "a real party."
before they separated, the league formed an enormous circle round the room and each clasping her neighbor's hand, all joined in the singing of "auld lang syne": cowboy and indian princess, redskin and scotch lassie, canadian and jap roared the familiar chorus, and having thus worked off steam retired to their dormitories and went to bed[256] without breaking their pledge of good behavior. rachel, returning from her round of supervision, heaved a sigh of immense relief.
"i was dreading this evening," she confided to sybil. "i was so afraid they'd forget their promises and begin that rowdy teasing. i believe we've broken the tradition of that, thank goodness. i hope it may never be revived again."
"thanks to the anglo-saxon league!"
"and may that go on and flourish long after we have left the villa camellia," added rachel.