But she did not whisper this thought, even to Molly Granger.
The day was spent pleasantly enough by Beth and the other girls. The banks of the river were an ever-changing panorama of beauty; the small landings and the larger towns came in rapid succession, for it was a thickly inhabited part of the State.
Late in the day Rivercliff came into view. Molly pointed it out to the Hudsonvale girl with pride.
There was a small landing at the foot of a high, gray bluff. The village on the river’s immediate bank did not number fifty houses. A road, plainly marked, wound up the face of the bluff, to which several little houses clung like limpets to a rock. On the brow of the bluff was a huge, brick house, with towers at the two front corners, and wings thrown out on either side. There were several smaller buildings that evidently belonged to the school, too.
To tell the truth, Beth Baldwin, at first view, thought Rivercliff School rather ugly.
CHAPTER X
A NEW WORLD
Beth Baldwin had always supposed that all girls were “just girls.” Her experience in the public schools of Hudsonvale had taught her that most of her companions were, as Ella sometimes said, “made by the piece and cut off by the yard.”
That is, after all was said and done, there was not much variety in girls’ characters as displayed by the girl pupils of the Hudsonvale schools. There were the nice, quiet girls, and the wild, “giggly” ones; the vain girls, as well as the meek, inconsequential girls; with a scattering of smart, up-to-the-minute girls, as well as some lovable, cheerful girls whom it was a delight to know; and, of course, there were a few downright mean girls who were best left alone.
In fact, Beth, before coming to Rivercliff School, had thought of girls as “sorts,” rather than as individuals. She was now to learn that one of the things that a well conducted boarding school does to a girl, is to bring out her individuality, and if she has any color to her character at all to deepen that color and develop her distinctive traits.
Molly Granger was just a little different from any girl Beth had ever before known. Despite her jolly, careless, cheerful disposition she was certainly different, for instance, from Beth’s friend, Mary Devine. There was a self-confidence in Molly that no girl could possess without having been out in the world for some time. Yet she was not bold.