Another Reward for Good Conduct

I was very intrigued the other week to see the inscription on this sampler which was for auction on 17 April 2012 at Lindsay Burns. Worked by Agnes Burnett, Auchtertool, dated 1898,it is inscribed `WORKED BY AGNES BURNETT THE REWARD OF GOOD CONDUCT AS A MONITRESS AT THE AUCHTERTOOL FEMALE SCHOOL, MARCH 1898`. When I posted this, I asked if anyone had seen anything with a similar dedication. And the answer is, yes! Naomi Tarrant, a great authority on needlework and Scottish samplers told me of another in the Fife Museum's collection. It was worked by Margaret Beattie in 1860, also at Auchtertool. Naomi thinks it was the school's tradition. And we can see that this tradition spanned at least 38 years based on the evidence of these two samplers. Even with the lengthy interval between them, they have so much in common, don't they? Thank you Naomi!