  A whole year had passed since Mr. Bellamy had made the memorable address to the Coventry school in which he offered a prize of three hundred dollars to the most deserving. He had come from England, as the whole school knew by his telegram to Mrs. Abbott, but business detained him in New York for a few days, as they also learned from the same source. Now he had come and for hours had been shut in the parlor with Mrs. Abbott, Elfie, and Candace, hearing, the girls all supposed, the history of that year which had brought danger and such blessed deliverance from it to his grandchild. There was very little to do but to wait, for, foreseeing the occupation of her time to-day, Mrs. Abbott had yesterday read the reports, given the averages, made her “little preach,” and attended to all the few ceremonies of school closing. “‘They also serve who only stand and wait,’ “‘To wait is to conquer,’” quoted Katie from the commonplace book. “Conquer what, I wonder?” asked Lily. “Not the prize, for all of us are waiting, and there is only one prize.” “What do you think you conquer by waiting, Marion?” asked Miss Blake of the girl, who had been showing no impatience, but busied herself working on a new strip of her favorite fan-pattern lace. “I suppose,” said Marion, thoughtfully, “by exercising patience we conquer our own restless spirits.” “Now, Marion,” said Lily, in a despairing tone, “you’re going to turn goody-goody, I know you are! You’ll live to be a female exhorter or something horrid of that sort if you get off such solemn sentences as that! Extemporate in your callow youth! just think of it! But reflect on what you’re giving up, for, though I love you to distraction now, my affection is not proof against preaching; so don’t, I beseech you, show symptoms of it!” For answer Marion fired a big air-filled ball of Elfie’s at her as a convincing proof that she was The general confusion which was allowable because school had virtually closed the day before being instantly quieted, Mr. Bellamy took his place on the platform, and, looking kindly down on the bright young faces upturned to him, said: “You will remember me, I think, and give me credit for keeping my engagement. It is just one year since I spoke to you before and offered a prize in memory of my daughter.” Here he laid upon the table a long envelope. “This,” he said, “contains a check for three hundred dollars, with a blank yet to be filled in. What name is to fill the blank is indicated by the words upon the envelope, ‘For the most deserving,’ and who that title describes I am going to leave you to decide. My little Elfie will hand you each a slip of paper upon which I beg you to write the name of the one whom you individually think most worthy of the prize according to your own estimation of the word ‘deserving.’” Elfie skipped around with the slips of paper, “Now write one for Elfie and one for It was not easy to make her understand that none but pupils were allowed a vote, and she was so far from being convinced that she slipped two papers in with the others upon which she had scribbled some hieroglyphics which she understood herself if no one else could. There were thirty papers to examine, for the ten day-scholars were also included in the competition. Upon examination twenty-two were found to bear the name of Marion Stubbs! Her face was scarlet as she went up at a sign from Mrs. Abbott to receive the envelope, Mr. Bellamy having put her name on the check. It was in her mind to tell him that she did not feel deserving of such good fortune; for, aside from the pleasure of being chosen by the majority of her school mates, the money meant more to Marion than it would to any other girl in the school. It meant added comforts for the delicate “I think dem young ladies is de right sort dis term, an’ ole mammy, she tanks dem from de bottom of her heart.” Then, with a dignity that would have become the queen whose name she bore, old Candace bowed low and followed her darling. “And now,” said Mrs. Abbott, “I will read you, with her permission, a letter that Marion received to-day. I hope it will give you as much pleasure as it has given me:
Most of the girls were crying when the letter was finished, for there were few who had not helped to make Marion’s life among them very miserable when she was a new scholar, and loving her as they did now it was a very bitter memory. To a story that is told should there be any thing more added? From a critical point of view after “lastly” there should be no “in conclusion;” but the readers who have been interested in Marion will be glad to hear that Mr. Bellamy, whose gratitude was as unbounded as his means were ample, seeing the love his grandchild bore to her, legally adopted Marion and provided a yearly income for her mother, so that it was no longer necessary for her to look forward to teaching as a means for supporting them. To be Elfie’s elder sister, her loving guide and steadfast friend, is Marion Bellamy’s pleasure, and the traits which made her lovable are not dimmed by the love and luxury with which she is surrounded. Transcriber’s Note: The cover has been created by the transcriber using elements from the original publication and placed in the public domain. Spelling and spelling variations have been retained as published in the original publication except as follows:
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