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60 corner. Remember that you are a stranger in the place, and they take more notice of what you do, so you must be careful. Now let 's have our conjugations. Give me the verb 'to be,' potential mood, past perfect tense."

"Give me an example, please."

"'He' or 'she' might have been glad because they are masculine and feminine, but could it have been glad?" asked Miss Dearborn, who was very fond of splitting hairs.

"Why not?" asked Rebecca.

"Because 'it' is neuter gender."

"Could n't we say, 'The kitten might have been glad if it had known it was not going to be drowned'?"

"Ye—es," Miss Dearborn answered hesitatingly, never very sure of herself under Rebecca's fire; "but though we often speak of a baby, a chicken, or a kitten as 'it,' they are really masculine or feminine gender, not neuter."

Rebecca reflected a long moment and then asked, "Is a hollyhock neuter?"