News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1922-04-19
PREFACE
Which Explains Things


Pm thirteen years old, and I'm {
cross-current and contradiction. Tha
Is, Sarah says I'm that (Sarah Is my
old nurse.) She says she read 1t once
that the children of unlikes were al
ways a cross-current and contradic
ton. And my father and mother are
unlikes and I'm the children. That
is, Pm the child. I'm all there is. And
now I'm going to be bigger cross
current and contradiction than ever
for I'm going to live half the time with
Mother and the other half with Father.
Mother will go to Boston to live, and
Father will stay here-a divorce, you
know.
I'm terribly excited over it. None OF
the other girls have got a divorce In
their families, and l always did like to
be different. Besides 1t ought to be
awfully interesting, more so than just
living along, common, with your father
and mother in the same house all the
time-especially If it's been anything
like my house with my father and
mother in 1t!
That's why I've decided to make a
book of it-that is, it really will be a
book, only l shall have to call 1t a
diary, on account of Father, you know
Won't it be funny when l don't have to
do things on account of Father? And
won't, of course, the six months I'm
living with Mother in Boston. But,
oh, my the six months I'm living
here with him-whew! But, then,
can stand 1t. I may even like it
some. Anyhow, it'll be different. And
that's something.
Well about making this into book.
AS l started to say, he wouldn't let
me. / know he wouldn't. He says
novels are a silly waste of time if not
absolutely wicked. But, a diary-Oh,
he loves diaries He keeps one him.
self, and he told me 1t would be an ex-
celient and instructive discipline for
me to do it. too-set down the weather
and what did every day.
The weather and what l did every
day, indeed! Lovely reading that
would make, wouldn't it? Like this:
1.-THE sun shines this morning. l
got up ate my breakfast, went to
school, came home, ate my dinner
played one hour over to Carrie Hey
woods, practiced on the piano one
hour. studied another hour. Talked
with Mother upstairs in her room about
the sunset and the snow on the trees
Ate my supper. Was talked to by
Father down in the library about i'm
proving myself and taking care not to
be light-minded and frivolous Gle
meant like Mother, only he didn't say
II right out loud. You don't have to
say some things right out In plain
words, you know Then went to bed"
Just as If was going to write my
novel like that Not much | am. But
! shall call 1t a diary. Oh, yes, shall
call it diary-till take it to be
printed. Then / shall give ii its true
name-a novel. And I'm going to tell
the printer that I've left it to him to
make the spelling right, and put in all
those tiresome little commas and
periods and question marks that every
body seems to make such fuss about.
II write the story part, | can't be ex-
pected to be bothered with looking up
how words are spelt, every five min
utes, nor fussing over putting in a
whole lot of foolish little dots and
dashes.
AS If anybody who was reading the
story cared for that part The story's
the thing.
love stories. I've written lots of
them for the girls, too-litlle short
ones, mean; not long one like this
is going to be, of course. And it'll
be so exciting to be living a story in
stead of reading it-only when you're
living story you can't peek over TO
the back to see how It's all coming out.
shan't like that part. Still, II may be
all the more exciting, after all, not to
know what's coming.
like love stories the best. Fathers !
and I've read stacks of them, even !
some of the stupid old histories and
biographies. / had to read them when |
there wasn't anything else to read. |
But there weren't many love stories |
Mothers got a few, though-lovely
ones-and some books Of poetry, on
the little shelf In her room. But ! ]
read all those ages ago.
That's why I'm so thrilled over this
new One-the one I'm living, l mean.
For Of course this will be a love story.
There1l be my love story in two or
three years. when i grow up, and |
while I'm waiting there's Fathers and
Mothers.
Nurse Sarah says that when you're
divorced you're free just like you were
before you were married, and that
sometimes they marry again. That
made me think right away: what II
Father or Mother, or both Of them.