"My dears," she said, "I won't keep you a minute, but I have just had a letter from Sir John Wallis, and he wishes me to say that he would like the girls who are to compete for the preliminary examination for the Scholarship to write their answers to the English History questions. He has sent over the questions in this envelope, and you can all read them, and you are to write your answers in advance, and fold them up and put them into envelopes for him to open and read to-night.  I believe there are ten questions, but his rule is that you are none of you to be helped by any book in the answers, and that no one girl is to assist another.  That is all, my dears; you can go into the school-room and get the matter through in less than an hour if you like.  And now hurry away, for there is no time to lose.  I will have the question pinned up in the school-room for you all to see."