And now, in Peter's place, came this mysterious, dark-eyed, and altogether adorable stranger from beyond the seas. Annie Churchill, who, for all her prayerfulness, had been fully alive to the situation, opined that he was an "exile," and the phrase smote us to the heart. We had read "Elizabeth; or the Exile of Siberia,"--it was in the school library,--and here was a male Elizabeth under our ravished eyes. "That's why he came to a convent," continued Annie, following up her advantage; "to be hidden from all pursuit." "No doubt he did," said Tony breathlessly, "and we'll have to be very careful not to say anything about him to visitors. We might be the occasion of his being discovered and sent back." This thought was almost too painful to be borne. Upon our discretion depended perhaps the safety of a heroic youth who had fled from tyranny and cruel injustice. I was about to propose that we should bind ourselves by a solemn vow never to mention his presence, save secretly to one another, when Elizabeth--not the Siberian, but our own unexiled Elizabeth--observed with that biting dryness which was the real secret of her ascendency: "We'd better not say much about him, anyway. On our own account, I mean." Which pregnant remark--the bell for "Christian Instruction" ringing at that moment--sent us silent and meditative to our desks. So it was that Marianus came to the convent, and we gave him our seven young hearts with unresisting enthusiasm. Viola's heart, indeed, was held of small account, she being only ten years old; but Elizabeth was twelve, and Marie and Annie were thirteen,--ages ripe for passion, and remote from the taunt of immaturity. It was understood from the beginning that we all loved Marianus with equal right and fervour. We shared the emotion fairly and squarely, just as we shared an occasional box of candy, or any other benefaction. It was our common secret,--our fatal secret, we would have said,--and must be guarded with infinite precaution from a cold and possibly disapproving world; but no one of us dreamed of setting up a private romance of her own, of extracting from the situation more than one sixth--leaving Viola out--of its excitement and ecstasy.