"I looked 'symposium' up in the dictionary, and it said: 'literally a drinking together; a merry feast; a convivial party.' I don't know what we're going to drink, unless we bring lemon kali and pass it round, like they used to do the loving cup in the Middle Ages!" "I suppose it'll be just a kind of concert.

But how about the collection?
What are we supposed to give ?" "Anything you like, from a penny upwards," replied Beatrice.

"Meg calculated that two hundred and six pennies would be seventeen and twopence, and some girls will probably give more, so she thinks we're sure of a sovereign, and that ought to buy a decent trophy, something to begin upon, at any rate.

One must make a start." "Right you are! A penny won't break the banks of even the First Form babes, and millionaires can give their half-crowns, if they're so disposed!" Punctually at 3 p.m.on the following Tuesday, the whole school assembled in the gymnasium.

No mistress was present, for on occasions such as this Miss Bishop believed in self-government.