Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-08-13
The Story of Elizabeth
BY HER MOTHER, ANNE AUSTIN.
copyright. 1926. in United States and Great
Britain. by North American Newspaper
Alliance. All rights rpspryed
VI.-The Five Year.Old Who Read

"A advanced as he SnOuld DC
4 \ says in quick explanation
My boy has lost whole
grade I'm school because we've moved
about so much They always put
children back. you know, when they
go to a new school"
Elizabeth was in school eight terms
altogether. was in IL different schools,
and made IL grades-gla duating from
high school at the age of II.
Her pereGrinations from city to city
and school to school started at the
end of her first half term in the acad-
envy at Waco, Tex. AS l have told IN
the chapter just preceding this, she
was promoted to the second 81 ade. at
the age of 4 years and months, with
out ever having been enrolled as a
pupil in any school. And / had never
taught her myself. for ! WAS working
night and day on a newspaper.
When she was exactly 5 years old
she entered the second grade. She
had read fairy tale books with greedy
rapidity during the long Summer va
cation, and within one week after
school opened il was quite apparent
that she was far ahead of her class
She was Immediately transferred to
the high second. where she made an
A record every month.
move I'D hdllSdS Nhy.
On January /, 1919. when Elizabeth
was 5 years and 3 months old, | re-
Ceiyed an offer from the Kansas City
Post to write Il serial novel for that
paper. at salary just three times
my beginning wage as a newspaper
reporter ! accepted, and took Eliza
beth to Kansas City with me, both OF
US immensely thrilled at the prospect
of living in a large city. Elizabeth
shared my citation over the fact that
a big city newspaper had sought my
services. The worst of the struggle
was over. In the distance. by using
the high-powered binoculars OF our
imagination, we could see what looked
like our ship coming in.
The public school near our new
Kansas City home at first refused to
consider Elizabeth as a pupil ready
for the third grade. She was only D
years old, wasn't she? Then she
should he in kindergarten. Children
under were not even admitted to
the first grade. persuaded the prin-
cipal of the Irving School to give her
An examination. promising to be con
tent with her showing. She passed
the regular Kansas City public school
examinations for the third grade, and
was reluctantly admitted.
Two months later, after ] had got
ten my new fiction serial well under
way. | received to my intense sur
prise. an offer from the publisher of
the Peoples Popular Monthly, at Des
Moines. Iowa. to become the editor Of
the magazine, at what seemed to me
to be a magnificent salary. I made
arrangements to mail installments of
my serial to the Kansas City Post, and
accepted the editorship. moving to
Des Moincs about March l of that
year.
Tn Fourth Grade at Five.
The public schools of Des Moines
refused to accept Elizabeth before she
was : years old, so I again placed her
In a Catholic convent, as a boarder,
for the rest of the school term. My
work was extremely heavy, since l
was writing the serial novel and edit
ing the magazine-strange, new
work-at the same time. and l did not
have time to hunt for an apartment
or to take care of it if found.
boarded near the convent and saw
Elizabeth almost daily. She seemed
TO be quite happy playing with the
other children. but she was extremely
eager to be at home with me again.
But you have ChumS here" ]
pointed out to her, though my own
heart was heavy with loneliness.
II don't want any chum but you"
She flung her arms around my neck
and cried bitterly.
The convent broke an ironclad rule.
and permitted her to stay with me
from Friday afternoon until Monday
morning every week of those three
months before school closed. At the
end of May she was promoted to the
fourth grade. having made an A
average during the whole of her first
year in school, though she had been
I'm three different schools In as many
cities. She was then just years and
s months old.
My serial for the Kansas City Post
had been completed. and as my work
on the magazine settled into "a COM
Portable routine. l rented an apart
ment and again had my baby with me.
She took great pride in helping me
with the housework-making her own
bed. washing dishes, keeping her toys
in order, and running all the errands
to neighborhood stores.
But these houSewifely activities,