She was very quiet and industrious, and had knit several pairs of socks for the soldiers.
As soon as Miss Parlin could disentangle herself from her conversation with Ruthie, she left the children to themselves.
"Let's keep school," said Prudy.

"I'll be teacher, if you want me to." "Very well," replied Susy, "we'll let her; won't we, girls?
she is such a darling." "Well," said Prudy, with a look of immense satisfaction, "please go, Susy, and ask grandma if I may have one of those shiny, white handkerchiefs she wears on her neck, and a cap, and play Quaker." Grandma was very glad that Prudy felt well enough to play Quaker, and lent her as much "costume" as she needed, as well as a pair of spectacles without eyes, which the children often borrowed for their plays, fancying that they added to the dignity of the wearer.
When Prudy was fairly equipped, she was a droll little Quakeress, surely, and grandma had to be called up from the kitchen to behold her with her own eyes.

The little soft face, almost lost in the folds of the expansive cap, was every bit as solemn as if she had been, as aunt Madge said, "a hundred years old, and very old for her age." She was really a sweet little likeness of grandma Read in miniature.
"And their names are alike, too," said Susy: "grandma's name is Prudence, and so is Prudy's." "Used to be," said Prudy, gravely.
"Rosy Frances" was now lifted most carefully into her little wheeled chair and no queen ever held a court with more dignity than she assumed as she smoothed into place the folds of her grandma's snowy kerchief, which she wore about her neck.
"What shall we do first ?" said Flossy and Susy.
"Thee?
thee ?" Prudy considered "thee" the most important word of all.
"Why, _thee_ may behave; I mean, behave _thyselves_." The new teacher had not collected her ideas yet.
"Let's get our books together," said Susy, "and then we'll all sit on the sofa and study." "Me, me," chimed in Dotty Dimple, dropping the little carriage in which she was wheeling her kitty; "me, too!" "Well, if you must, you must; snuggle in here between Flossy and me," said Susy, who was determined that to-day everything should go on pleasantly.
"Sixteenth class in joggerphy," said Miss Rosy Frances, peeping severely over her spectacles.

"Be spry quick!" The three pupils stood up in a row, holding their books close to their faces.
"Thee may hold out your hands now, and I shall ferule thee--the whole school," was the stern remark of the young teacher, as she took off her spectacles to wipe the holes.
"Why, we haven't been doing anything," said Ruthie, affecting to cry.
"No, I know it; but thee'd _ought_ to have been doing something; thee'd ought to have studied thy lessons." "But, teacher, we didn't have time," pleaded Flossy; "you called us out so quick! Won't you forgive us!" "Yes, I will," said Rosy Frances, gently; "I will, if thee'll speak up _'xtremely_ loud, and fix _thine_ eyes on thy teacher." The pupils replied, "Yes, ma'am," at the top of their voices.
"Now," said Rosy Frances, appearing to read from the book, "where is the Isthmus of _Susy ?_" The scholars all laughed, and answered at random.

They did not know that their teacher was trying to say the "Isthmus of Suez." The next question took them by surprise:-- "Is there any man in the moon ?" "What a queer idea, Rosy," said Susy; "what made you ask that ?" "'Cause I wanted to know," replied the Quaker damsel.