“I’m glad to hear she succeeded; but didn’t you get in, too?” inquired Mrs. Page.
“No, ma’am,” replied Ronald, looking a little ashamed; “I didn’t expect to. But Marcus said I should have got in, if I hadn’t whispered so much.”
“Don’t you think it would have been better if you had denied yourself the gratification of whispering, and got admitted to the Grade of Honor?” inquired Mrs. Page.
“Yes, ma’am,” replied Ronald, “I wish I had; but it’s too late now. But, after all, I shouldn’t care about going in at the eleventh hour, just for a fortnight; I should feel as if I didn’t hardly belong there.”
“O, yes, you don’t think much of sour grapes, do you?” said Kate, who thought this was a reflection upon herself.
“Better late than never: better get in at the eleventh hour than not at all,” said Mrs. Page.
“Well, mother, I’ll get into the Grade of Honor at the very beginning of the next term,—you see if I don’t,” added Ronald.
“I hope you will,” said Mrs. Page; “and if you resolve to do so, I’ve no doubt you will.”
This Grade of Honor, which they were talking about, had been established in the academy, at the commencement of that term, as a substitute for prizes. It had been customary to award prizes, at the end of each term, for good behavior and successful scholarship. But there were always many disappointed faces when the awards were made; and, as the prizes were few, and the attainments and merits of the best scholars were often so nearly equal that it was difficult to discriminate between them, it not seldom happened that some who failed to get a prize were as deserving as some who competed successfully for that honor. So, at the beginning of the present term, Mr. Upton said he was going to try a new system, as an experiment, which would allow every scholar to reach the highest honor, if he chose to. The system was as follows:
Two grades or classes were established, the first and lower being known as the Grade of Fidelity, and the higher as the Grade of Honor. Excellence of deportment, and diligent effort and general faithfulness in studies, were the passport to the first grade. It was not necessary to be a very bright scholar, to get into the Grade of Fidelity. It was open to all who made faithful endeavors, and who paid a decent respect to the rules of the school. Those who, after at least a month’s probation in the Grade of Fidelity, distinguished themselves by their fidelity to all the duties of the school-room, and by the general excellence of their moral characters (mere intellectual superiority, you will observe, was not taken into the account), were admitted to the Grade of Honor. The preceptor kept a credit and demerit account with each scholar, and by this, principally, his or her standing was determined. Every alternate week candidates were admitted to each grade.