The girl who
could do or think meanly avoided the expression of Annabel's beautiful
eyes. It was impossible for her to think badly of her
fellow-creatures, but meanness and sin made her sorrowful. There was
not a girl in Heath Hall who would willingly give Annabel Lee sorrow.
In the days that followed people knew that she was one of those rare
and brilliant creatures who, like a lovely but too ethereal flower,
must quickly bloom into perfection and then pass away. Annabel was
destined to a short life, and after her death the high tone of Heath
Hall deteriorated considerably.
This girl was a born leader. When she died no other girl in the
college could take her place, and for many a long day those who had
loved her were conscious of a sense which meant a loss of headship. In
short, they were without their leader.
If Annabel in her gaiety and brightness could influence girls who were
scarcely more than acquaintances, the effect of her strong personality
on Maggie was supreme. Maggie often said that she never knew what love
meant until she met Annabel. The two girls were inseparable; their
love for each other was compared to that of Jonathan and David of
Bible story and of Orestes and Pylades of Greek legend. The society of
each gave the other the warmest pleasure.
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