midnight
The very offenses which she committed against the discipline of the school were of the sort which provoke a smile even on the stern countenance of authority itself . One of these quaint freaks of mischief may not inappropriately be mentioned here , inasmuch as it gained her the pretty nickname under which she will be found to appear occasionally in these pages . On a certain autumn night shortly after the Midsummer vacation , the mistress of the school fancied she saw a light under the door of the bedroom occupied by Jessie and three other girls . It was then close on midnight ; and , fearing that some case of sudden illness might have happened , she hastened into the room . On opening the door , she discovered , to her horror and amazement , that all four girls were out of bed -- were dressed in brilliantly-fantastic costumes , representing the four grotesque `` Queens '' of Hearts , Diamonds , Spades , and Clubs , familiar to us all on the pack of cards -- and were dancing a quadrille , in which Jessie sustained the character of The Queen of Hearts . The next morning 's investigation disclosed that Miss Yelverton had smuggled the dresses into the school , and had amused herself by giving an impromptu fancy ball to her companions , in imitation of an entertainment of the same kind at which she had figured in a `` court-card '' quadrille at her aunt 's country house . The dresses were instantly confiscated and the necessary punishment promptly administered ; but the remembrance of Jessie 's extraordinary outrage on bedroom discipline lasted long enough to become one of the traditions of the school , and she and her sister-culprits were thenceforth hailed as the `` queens '' of the four `` suites '' by their class-companions whenever the mistress 's back was turned , Whatever might have become of the nicknames thus employed in relation to the other three girls , such a mock title as The Queen of Hearts was too appropriately descriptive of the natural charm of Jessie 's character , as well as of the adventure in which she had taken the lead , not to rise naturally to the lips of every one who knew her .