Year: 1872

ces of success, this passage came into
her mind: 1.-The race is not to the swift,
nor the battle to the strong" Besides,
if she did not win the prize, she would
at least have had the benefit of trying.
So she resolved to enter the list-to do
as well as she possibly could, and then
quietly leave the result to time.


Are you going to write for the prize
Jane ?" asked one of her schoolmates,
! The questioner was Marian Trevor,
already mentioned as sycophantic adj
mirer of Miriam Hamilton.


She ran straight to her idol, to tell
her of Jane Ashton's intention.


"Let the beggar write p said Miriam,
in accents of strong contempt. It'll
amuse her, and fatter myself it will
not interfere particularly with me. Do
you think there's any chance of gaining
the prize over my head, Marian %


'Gain the prize over you! She might
as we'll undertake to climb up to the
moon by ten-foot ladder p


Miriam smiled smile of self-satisfed
approval of this adulation, and dismiss
ed the subject from her mind.


Meanwhile Jane Ashton lost no time
in selecting subject for her ESSAY. She
felt that in order to stand any chance
of success, it would surely be necessary
/ to do her best. After considerable re-
fection, she decided to make choice of
Self-Reliance, and its important bearing
upon the individual character and upon
success in life.


Her design was to weave in as many


prominent instances of this trait as her


reading should supply, and enforce her


view by appealing to their examples


1t was not long before she became very


much interested in her self-chosen task,


and when at length she had completed


it, it was not without degree of par


donable self-satisfaction that she survey


ed her work. ~


Meanwhile Miriam Hamilton did


not hasten to undertake her task. She


was not disposed to exert herself When


the question was asked why she delayed


so long, she answered with confidence,


lone day will be enough to write mine.


i don't pretend to ''dig" like some folks.


Thank goodness, | am a rapid worker -


Finally she selected as her subject


the not uncommon one-''A parallel be-


tween Washington and Napoleon" She


was influenced in the selection chiefly by


the thought that it would be less troub
lie to write upon this subject thar


any other. Certainly her heart was moi
in it, ncr was she one, in any way


fitted to comprehend and appreciate tn,
character of Washington.


However, to do her justice, it must b,
acknowledged that her essay was very
good one, considering the small amoun


of time and labor she had expended up
on it. She had the faculty Of easy ant
smooth expression, and to the superficial
reader her essay would seem very good
Only the day before the essays wer
t to be handed in, rumors reached Miriam
1 that Jane Ashton had written yer,
superior essay. Some of the girls ha,
3 seen it, and were confident she woul,


gain the prize. Until this time Miriam
E had not felt doubt of her own success
E Even now, she felt that the merit of he
rivals essay must be very much exag
gerated. Still the possibility of Jane
success was enough to fill her with un
D easiness, and she determined to find ou
: through her iatterer, Marian Trevor ho7


good it really was Accordingly Maria
: borrowed the essay, and secretly shove
it to Miriam. She read it with i'll cor
r cealed dismay. 1t was much better tha


her own. In spite of her self-love sh
t could not help seeing that, nor did M;
S rian's depreciating remarks at all bin
d her to the fact Without, however, b.
: traying her disquiet, she requested NJ;
e rian to return it, and then formed he
A plans.


e She remembered that Madam De La1
e cy had warned the scholars that bl,
II would exclude an essay from competition
d That thought inspired her with desig
10 of unutterable meanness.


d That evening she stole into the schoo
e., room, and creeping to James desk, toe
le out the essay which Jane had write
a with such great care and neatness, ar
ID blotted one of the inside pages with in
t. This done, she hastily left the schoc
to room, and without one thought of h
c. meanness,-thinking only with exult
s, ton that the prize was now hers beyol
ne a doubt, she retired to bed.


i'd The next morning the essays we
ne handed in. Jane did not again op
Id hers, and therefore was not aware of t
id fatal mark which disfgured one of t
IS fair pages. She was in excellent spirit


for she knew that she had done we
m Miriam might indeed have done bett
y. but at ali events she had done her be
ny and that consciousness would remai
ry even if she failed to win the prize viii


she SO ardently desired.


If Day succeeded day. and at length