"Hallo!" he said, his kindly face beaming upon the smiling flock who trooped in when Starr opened the door for them. "Hallo! what a bevy of birdlings! But how comes it that you are not at Miss Ashton's? I have just left my Laura there, and she is in a state of frantic expectation over this composition prize the finest authoress among you is to gain this morning. Are none of you interested?"