Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-09-08

ne, eACepl perhaps wien
Miss Mackinstry, my last goyerness,
had Mysteries in the schooroom and
tainted among the tea things.
i suppose l shan't be able to decide
about the state of my feelings until
I've had more of them on the same
subject or until I've written down III
this book of mine everything exactly
as it's happened. like doing that. 1t
makes things seem SO clear when you
try TO review them afterward.
The excitement began at breakfast
by mother having letter that she
liked. l knew she liked it by the way
her eyes lighted up, as if they had
been lamps and the letter Il match.
All the other letters, mostly with hor-
rid, tradesmanny looking envelopes,
which had been making her quite glow
cry, she pushed aside.
Mother won't have a crown on her
envelopes. She thinks it's vulgar. Be
sides, putting it only on the paper saves
expense. This envelope had great
sprawly gold crest, but she didn't seem
to disapprove of it. She read on and
on, then suddenly glanced up as if she
would have said something quickly to
Victoria She didn't say it, though,
for she remembered me. | am never
taken into family conclaves because
I'm not out yet. | don't see what diff
ference that makes, especially as I'm
not to be allowed to come out till after
Vic's married, because she was pre-
scented four years ago and isn't even
IN oil p1n TO |
may have to stay in till I'm a hundred
or leak out slowly when nobody is no.
ticing, as Vic says girls do in the mid
die classes This time l didn't mind
however for | couldn't see how the
letter concerned me, and as l was dy-
ing for sight of Berengaria's puppies,
which were born last night, | was glad
when mother told me not to fidget after
I'd finished breakfast, but to run down
to the kennels if liked.
Soon l forgot all about the letter, for
the puppies were the dearest ducks on
earth (can puppies be ducks. 1 won
derD, and besides, it was such a de-
licious June morning that could have
danced with joy because l was alive.
often feel like that. But there's no.
body to tell, except the trees and the
dogs and my poor pony, who is almost
too old and second childish now to I'M
derstand. She was my brother stan.
forth's pony first of all and Stanforth
is twenty-eight Then she was Vic's,
and Vic is-but mother doesn't like
Nic's age to be mentioned any more
though she is years younger than Stan.
took walk in the park and after
ward went through the rose garden to
see how the roses were getting on.
There were lot of petals for my pot
pourri, and gathering them has kept
me for some time. Then as the jar
stands in Vic's and my den, (she calls
it her den, but it has to be part mine
as | have no other, l was going in by
one of the long windows when heard
mothers voice. The question is, she
was saying, whats to be done with
Betty"
] turned around and ran away o" my
tiptoes across the lawn, for | didn't
want to be an eavesdropper. and il
would be nearly as bad to have mother
know / had heard even those few
words. She would be annoyed. and
mother chills me all the way throug'
to my bones when she's annoyed. 1t is
wonderful how she does it, for shi
never scolds. But the thermomete
simply drops to freezing point, and 20,
feel like poor little shiyering crocu
that has come up too soon by mistake
to find the world covered with snow
and no hope of squeezing back into it
own coy warm bulb again.
/ stopped out Of doors till luncheo
and played croquet against myseli
wishing that Stan would run dowr
for although Stan rather fancies hin
self as gorgeous person since poo
fathers death gave him the title, he