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diff --git a/40426-0.txt b/40426-0.txt index eae3cc6..8502fc2 100644 --- a/40426-0.txt +++ b/40426-0.txt @@ -1,34 +1,4 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Daddy Long-Legs, by Jean Webster - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Daddy Long-Legs - A Comedy in Four Acts - -Author: Jean Webster - -Release Date: August 6, 2012 [EBook #40426] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DADDY LONG-LEGS *** - - - - -Produced by Louise Hope, Bruce Albrecht and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40426 *** [This e-text comes in three forms: Unicode (UTF-8), Latin-1 and ASCII. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Daddy Long-Legs - A Comedy in Four Acts - -Author: Jean Webster - -Release Date: August 6, 2012 [EBook #40426] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DADDY LONG-LEGS *** - - - - -Produced by Louise Hope, Bruce Albrecht and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -[This e-text comes in three forms: Unicode (UTF-8), Latin-1 and ASCII. -Use the one that works best on your text reader. - - --If apostrophes and quotation marks are "curly" or angled, you have - the UTF-8 version (best). If any part of this paragraph displays as - garbage, try changing your text reader's "character set" or "file - encoding". If that doesn't work, proceed to: - --In the Latin-1 version, French words like "étude" have accents, - and "æ" is a single letter. Apostrophes and quotation marks will be - straight ("typewriter" form). Again, if you see any garbage in this - paragraph and can't get it to display properly, use: - --The ASCII-7 or rock-bottom version. French words will not have - their original accents, but everything else will be essentially - unchanged. - -Errors and inconsistencies-- whether corrected or not-- are listed at -the end of the e-text. Note that French words, most proper names, and -the entire Advertising section, have been left as printed. - -Italics are shown conventionally with _lines_. Boldface and -underlining-- both only in the advertising section-- are shown as -#mark# and ^mark^ respectively. Inverse emphasis within italic text -(rare) is also shown with ^marks^. - -Illustrations identified as "Plate" are full-page photographs ("Scenes -from the Play"). All others are line drawings. Any text shown in -quotation marks is part of the drawing.] - - - - -[Plate: JUDY.] - - - - - DADDY-LONG-LEGS - - By - JEAN WEBSTER - Author Of - When Patty Went To College, etc. - - With Illustrations - By The Author - And Scenes From The Play - - [Illustration] - - New York - GROSSET & DUNLAP - Publishers - - - - - Copyright, 1912, by - THE CENTURY CO. - - Copyright, 1912, by - THE CURTIS PUBLISHING COMPANY - - _Published October, 1912_ - - - - - TO YOU - - * * * * * - * * * * - - DADDY-LONG-LEGS - - * * * * - * * * * * - - - DADDY-LONG-LEGS - - - "BLUE WEDNESDAY" - - -The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day -to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with -haste. Every floor must be spotless, every chair dustless, and every -bed without a wrinkle. Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be -scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and -all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, "Yes, -sir," "No, sir," whenever a Trustee spoke. - -It was a distressing time; and poor Jerusha Abbott, being the oldest -orphan, had to bear the brunt of it. But this particular first -Wednesday, like its predecessors, finally dragged itself to a close. -Jerusha escaped from the pantry where she had been making sandwiches -for the asylum's guests, and turned upstairs to accomplish her -regular work. Her special care was room F, where eleven little tots, -from four to seven, occupied eleven little cots set in a row. -Jerusha assembled her charges, straightened their rumpled frocks, -wiped their noses, and started them in an orderly and willing line -toward the dining-room to engage themselves for a blessed half hour -with bread and milk and prune pudding. - -Then she dropped down on the window seat and leaned throbbing -temples against the cool glass. She had been on her feet since five -that morning, doing everybody's bidding, scolded and hurried by a -nervous matron. Mrs. Lippett, behind the scenes, did not always -maintain that calm and pompous dignity with which she faced an -audience of Trustees and lady visitors. Jerusha gazed out across a -broad stretch of frozen lawn, beyond the tall iron paling that -marked the confines of the asylum, down undulating ridges sprinkled -with country estates, to the spires of the village rising from the -midst of bare trees. - -The day was ended--quite successfully, so far as she knew. The -Trustees and the visiting committee had made their rounds, and read -their reports, and drunk their tea, and now were hurrying home to -their own cheerful firesides, to forget their bothersome little -charges for another month. Jerusha leaned forward watching with -curiosity--and a touch of wistfulness--the stream of carriages and -automobiles that rolled out of the asylum gates. In imagination she -followed first one equipage then another to the big houses dotted -along the hillside. She pictured herself in a fur coat and a velvet -hat trimmed with feathers leaning back in the seat and nonchalantly -murmuring "Home" to the driver. But on the door-sill of her home the -picture grew blurred. - -Jerusha had an imagination--an imagination, Mrs. Lippett told her, -that would get her into trouble if she didn't take care--but keen -as it was, it could not carry her beyond the front porch of the -houses she would enter. Poor, eager, adventurous little Jerusha, in -all her seventeen years, had never stepped inside an ordinary house; -she could not picture the daily routine of those other human beings -who carried on their lives undiscommoded by orphans. - - Je-ru-sha Ab-bott - You are wan-ted - In the of-fice, - And I think you'd - Better hurry up! - -Tommy Dillon who had joined the choir, came singing up the stairs -and down the corridor, his chant growing louder as he approached -room F. Jerusha wrenched herself from the window and refaced the -troubles of life. - -"Who wants me?" she cut into Tommy's chant with a note of sharp -anxiety. - - Mrs. Lippett in the office, - And I think she's mad. - Ah-a-men! - -Tommy piously intoned, but his accent was not entirely malicious. -Even the most hardened little orphan felt sympathy for an erring -sister who was summoned to the office to face an annoyed matron; and -Tommy liked Jerusha even if she did sometimes jerk him by the arm -and nearly scrub his nose off. - -Jerusha went without comment, but with two parallel lines on her -brow. What could have gone wrong, she wondered. Were the sandwiches -not thin enough? Were there shells in the nut cakes? Had a -lady visitor seen the hole in Susie Hawthorn's stocking? -Had--O horrors!--one of the cherubic little babes in her own -room F "sassed" a Trustee? - -The long lower hall had not been lighted, and as she came -downstairs, a last Trustee stood, on the point of departure, in the -open door that led to the porte-cochère. Jerusha caught only a -fleeting impression of the man--and the impression consisted -entirely of tallness. He was waving his arm toward an automobile -waiting in the curved drive. As it sprang into motion and -approached, head on for an instant, the glaring headlights threw his -shadow sharply against the wall inside. The shadow pictured -grotesquely elongated legs and arms that ran along the floor and up -the wall of the corridor. It looked, for all the world, like a huge, -wavering daddy-long-legs. - -Jerusha's anxious frown gave place to quick laughter. She was by -nature a sunny soul, and had always snatched the tiniest excuse to -be amused. If one could derive any sort of entertainment out of the -oppressive fact of a Trustee, it was something unexpected to the -good. She advanced to the office quite cheered by the tiny episode, -and presented a smiling face to Mrs. Lippett. To her surprise the -matron was also, if not exactly smiling, at least appreciably -affable; she wore an expression almost as pleasant as the one she -donned for visitors. - -"Sit down, Jerusha, I have something to say to you." - -Jerusha dropped into the nearest chair and waited with a touch of -breathlessness. An automobile flashed past the window; Mrs. Lippett -glanced after it. - -"Did you notice the gentleman who has just gone?" - -"I saw his back." - -"He is one of our most affluential Trustees, and has given large -sums of money toward the asylum's support. I am not at liberty to -mention his name; he expressly stipulated that he was to remain -unknown." - -Jerusha's eyes widened slightly; she was not accustomed to being -summoned to the office to discuss the eccentricities of Trustees -with the matron. - -"This gentleman has taken an interest in several of our boys. -You remember Charles Benton and Henry Freize? They were both sent -through college by Mr.--er--this Trustee, and both have repaid with -hard work and success the money that was so generously expended. -Other payment the gentleman does not wish. Heretofore his -philanthropies have been directed solely toward the boys; I have -never been able to interest him in the slightest degree in any of -the girls in the institution, no matter how deserving. He does not, -I may tell you, care for girls." - -"No, ma'am," Jerusha murmured, since some reply seemed to be -expected at this point. - -"To-day at the regular meeting, the question of your future was -brought up." - -Mrs. Lippett allowed a moment of silence to fall, then resumed in a -slow, placid manner extremely trying to her hearer's suddenly -tightened nerves. - -"Usually, as you know, the children are not kept after they are -sixteen, but an exception was made in your case. You had finished -our school at fourteen, and having done so well in your studies--not -always, I must say, in your conduct--it was determined to let you go -on in the village high school. Now you are finishing that, and of -course the asylum cannot be responsible any longer for your support. -As it is, you have had two years more than most." - -Mrs. Lippett overlooked the fact that Jerusha had worked hard for -her board during those two years, that the convenience of the asylum -had come first and her education second; that on days like the -present she was kept at home to scrub. - -"As I say, the question of your future was brought up and your -record was discussed--thoroughly discussed." - -Mrs. Lippett brought accusing eyes to bear upon the prisoner in the -dock, and the prisoner looked guilty because it seemed to be -expected--not because she could remember any strikingly black pages -in her record. - -"Of course the usual disposition of one in your place would be to -put you in a position where you could begin to work, but you have -done well in school in certain branches; it seems that your work in -English has even been brilliant. Miss Pritchard who is on our -visiting committee is also on the school board; she has been talking -with your rhetoric teacher, and made a speech in your favor. She -also read aloud an essay that you had written entitled, 'Blue -Wednesday.'" - -Jerusha's guilty expression this time was not assumed. - -"It seemed to me that you showed little gratitude in holding up to -ridicule the institution that has done so much for you. Had you not -managed to be funny I doubt if you would have been forgiven. But -fortunately for you, Mr. ----, that is, the gentleman who has just -gone--appears to have an immoderate sense of humor. On the strength -of that impertinent paper, he has offered to send you to college." - -"To college?" Jerusha's eyes grew big. - -Mrs. Lippett nodded. - -"He waited to discuss the terms with me. They are unusual. The -gentleman, I may say, is erratic. He believes that you have -originality, and he is planning to educate you to become a writer." - -"A writer?" Jerusha's mind was numbed. She could only repeat Mrs. -Lippett's words. - -"That is his wish. Whether anything will come of it, the future will -show. He is giving you a very liberal allowance, almost, for a girl -who has never had any experience in taking care of money, too -liberal. But he planned the matter in detail, and I did not feel -free to make any suggestions. You are to remain here through the -summer, and Miss Pritchard has kindly offered to superintend your -outfit. Your board and tuition will be paid directly to the college, -and you will receive in addition during the four years you are -there, an allowance of thirty-five dollars a month. This will enable -you to enter on the same standing as the other students. The money -will be sent to you by the gentleman's private secretary once a -month, and in return, you will write a letter of acknowledgment once -a month. That is--you are not to thank him for the money; he -doesn't care to have that mentioned, but you are to write a letter -telling of the progress in your studies and the details of your -daily life. Just such a letter as you would write to your parents if -they were living. - -"These letters will be addressed to Mr. John Smith and will be sent -in care of the secretary. The gentleman's name is not John Smith, -but he prefers to remain unknown. To you he will never be anything -but John Smith. His reason in requiring the letters is that he -thinks nothing so fosters facility in literary expression as -letter-writing. Since you have no family with whom to correspond, he -desires you to write in this way; also, he wishes to keep track of -your progress. He will never answer your letters, nor in the -slightest particular take any notice of them. He detests -letter-writing, and does not wish you to become a burden. If any -point should ever arise where an answer would seem to be -imperative--such as in the event of your being expelled, which I -trust will not occur--you may correspond with Mr. Griggs, his -secretary. These monthly letters are absolutely obligatory on your -part; they are the only payment that Mr. Smith requires, so you must -be as punctilious in sending them as though it were a bill that you -were paying. I hope that they will always be respectful in tone and -will reflect credit on your training. You must remember that you are -writing to a Trustee of the John Grier Home." - -Jerusha's eyes longingly sought the door. Her head was in a whirl of -excitement, and she wished only to escape from Mrs. Lippett's -platitudes, and think. She rose and took a tentative step backwards. -Mrs. Lippett detained her with a gesture; it was an oratorical -opportunity not to be slighted. - -"I trust that you are properly grateful for this very rare good -fortune that has befallen you? Not many girls in your position ever -have such an opportunity to rise in the world. You must always -remember--" - -"I--yes, ma'am, thank you. I think, if that's all, I must go and -sew a patch on Freddie Perkins's trousers." - -The door closed behind her, and Mrs. Lippett watched it with dropped -jaw, her peroration in mid-air. - - - - -THE LETTERS OF MISS JERUSHA ABBOTT - -to - -MR. DADDY-LONG-LEGS SMITH - - - - - 215 FERGUSSEN HALL, - - September 24th. - - _Dear Kind-Trustee-Who-Sends-Orphans-to-College,_ - -Here I am! I traveled yesterday for four hours in a train. It's a -funny sensation isn't it? I never rode in one before. - -College is the biggest, most bewildering place--I get lost whenever -I leave my room. I will write you a description later when I'm -feeling less muddled; also I will tell you about my lessons. Classes -don't begin until Monday morning, and this is Saturday night. But I -wanted to write a letter first just to get acquainted. - -It seems queer to be writing letters to somebody you don't know. It -seems queer for me to be writing letters at all--I've never written -more than three or four in my life, so please overlook it if these -are not a model kind. - -Before leaving yesterday morning, Mrs. Lippett and I had a very -serious talk. She told me how to behave all the rest of my life, and -especially how to behave toward the kind gentleman who is doing so -much for me. I must take care to be Very Respectful. - -But how can one be very respectful to a person who wishes to be -called John Smith? Why couldn't you have picked out a name with a -little personality? I might as well write letters to Dear -Hitching-Post or Dear Clothes-Pole. - -I have been thinking about you a great deal this summer; having -somebody take an interest in me after all these years, makes me feel -as though I had found a sort of family. It seems as though I -belonged to somebody now, and it's a very comfortable sensation. -I must say, however, that when I think about you, my imagination has -very little to work upon. There are just three things that I know: - - I. You are tall. - II. You are rich. - III. You hate girls. - -I suppose I might call you Dear Mr. Girl-Hater. Only that's sort of -insulting to me. Or Dear Mr. Rich-Man, but that's insulting to you, -as though money were the only important thing about you. Besides, -being rich is such a very external quality. Maybe you won't stay -rich all your life; lots of very clever men get smashed up in Wall -Street. But at least you will stay tall all your life! So I've -decided to call you Dear Daddy-Long-Legs. I hope you won't mind. -It's just a private pet name--we won't tell Mrs. Lippett. - -The ten o'clock bell is going to ring in two minutes. Our day is -divided into sections by bells. We eat and sleep and study by bells. -It's very enlivening; I feel like a fire horse all of the time. -There it goes! Lights out. Good night. - -Observe with what precision I obey rules--due to my training in the -John Grier Home. - - Yours most respectfully, - - JERUSHA ABBOTT. - -_To Mr. Daddy-Long-Legs Smith._ - - - October 1st. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I love college and I love you for sending me--I'm very, _very_ -happy, and so excited every moment of the time that I can scarcely -sleep. You can't imagine how different it is from the John Grier -Home. I never dreamed there was such a place in the world. I'm -feeling sorry for everybody who isn't a girl and who can't come -here; I am sure the college you attended when you were a boy -couldn't have been so nice. - -My room is up in a tower that used to be the contagious ward before -they built the new infirmary. There are three other girls on the -same floor of the tower--a Senior who wears spectacles and is always -asking us please to be a little more quiet, and two Freshmen named -Sallie McBride and Julia Rutledge Pendleton. Sallie has red hair and -a turn-up nose and is quite friendly; Julia comes from one of the -first families in New York and hasn't noticed me yet. They room -together and the Senior and I have singles. Usually Freshmen can't -get singles; they are very scarce, but I got one without even -asking. I suppose the registrar didn't think it would be right to -ask a properly brought-up girl to room with a foundling. You see -there are advantages! - -My room is on the northwest corner with two windows and a view. -After you've lived in a ward for eighteen years with twenty -room-mates, it is restful to be alone. This is the first chance -I've ever had to get acquainted with Jerusha Abbott. I think I'm -going to like her. - -Do you think you are? - - - Tuesday. - -They are organizing the Freshman basket-ball team and there's just -a chance that I shall make it. I'm little of course, but terribly -quick and wiry and tough. While the others are hopping about in the -air, I can dodge under their feet and grab the ball. It's loads of -fun practising--out in the athletic field in the afternoon with the -trees all red and yellow and the air full of the smell of burning -leaves, and everybody laughing and shouting. These are the happiest -girls I ever saw--and I am the happiest of all! - -I meant to write a long letter and tell you all the things I'm -learning (Mrs. Lippett said you wanted to know) but 7th hour has -just rung, and in ten minutes I'm due at the athletic field in -gymnasium clothes. Don't you hope I'll make the team? - - Yours always, - - JERUSHA ABBOTT. - -P. S. (9 o'clock.) - -Sallie McBride just poked her head in at my door. This is what she -said: - -"I'm so homesick that I simply can't stand it. Do you feel that -way?" - -I smiled a little and said no, I thought I could pull through. At -least homesickness is one disease that I've escaped! I never heard -of anybody being asylumsick, did you? - - - October 10th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Did you ever hear of Michael Angelo? - -He was a famous artist who lived in Italy in the Middle Ages. -Everybody in English Literature seemed to know about him and the -whole class laughed because I thought he was an archangel. He sounds -like an archangel, doesn't he? The trouble with college is that you -are expected to know such a lot of things you've never learned. -It's very embarrassing at times. But now, when the girls talk about -things that I never heard of, I just keep still and look them up in -the encyclopedia. - -I made an awful mistake the first day. Somebody mentioned Maurice -Maeterlinck, and I asked if she was a Freshman. That joke has gone -all over college. But anyway, I'm just as bright in class as any of -the others--and brighter than some of them! - -Do you care to know how I've furnished my room? It's a symphony in -brown and yellow. The wall was tinted buff, and I've bought yellow -denim curtains and cushions and a mahogany desk (second hand for -three dollars) and a rattan chair and a brown rug with an ink spot -in the middle. I stand the chair over the spot. - -The windows are up high; you can't look out from an ordinary seat. -But I unscrewed the looking-glass from the back of the bureau, -upholstered the top, and moved it up against the window. It's just -the right height for a window seat. You pull out the drawers like -steps and walk up. Very comfortable! - -Sallie McBride helped me choose the things at the Senior auction. -She has lived in a house all her life and knows about furnishing. -You can't imagine what fun it is to shop and pay with a real -five-dollar bill and get some change--when you've never had more -than a nickel in your life. I assure you, Daddy dear, I do -appreciate that allowance. - -Sallie is the most entertaining person in the world--and Julia -Rutledge Pendleton the least so. It's queer what a mixture the -registrar can make in the matter of room-mates. Sallie thinks -everything is funny--even flunking--and Julia is bored at -everything. She never makes the slightest effort to be amiable. She -believes that if you are a Pendleton, that fact alone admits you to -heaven without any further examination. Julia and I were born to be -enemies. - -And now I suppose you've been waiting very impatiently to hear what -I am learning? - -I. _Latin:_ Second Punic war. Hannibal and his forces pitched camp -at Lake Trasimenus last night. They prepared an ambuscade for the -Romans, and a battle took place at the fourth watch this morning. -Romans in retreat. - -II. _French:_ 24 pages of the "Three Musketeers" and third -conjugation, irregular verbs. - -III. _Geometry:_ Finished cylinders; now doing cones. - -IV. _English:_ Studying exposition. My style improves daily in -clearness and brevity. - -V. _Physiology:_ Reached the digestive system. Bile and the pancreas -next time. - - Yours, on the way to being educated, - - JERUSHA ABBOTT. - -P. S. I hope you never touch alcohol, Daddy? - -It does dreadful things to your liver. - - - Wednesday. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I've changed my name. - -I'm still "Jerusha" in the catalogue, but I'm "Judy" every place -else. It's sort of too bad, isn't it, to have to give yourself the -only pet name you ever had? I didn't quite make up the Judy though. -That's what Freddie Perkins used to call me before he could talk -plain. - -I wish Mrs. Lippett would use a little more ingenuity about choosing -babies' names. She gets the last names out of the telephone -book--you'll find Abbott on the first page--and she picks the -Christian names up anywhere; she got Jerusha from a tombstone. I've -always hated it; but I rather like Judy. It's such a silly name. -It belongs to the kind of girl I'm not--a sweet little blue-eyed -thing, petted and spoiled by all the family, who romps her way -through life without any cares. Wouldn't it be nice to be like -that? Whatever faults I may have, no one can ever accuse me of -having been spoiled by my family! But it's sort of fun to pretend -I've been. In the future please always address me as Judy. - -Do you want to know something? I have three pairs of kid gloves. -I've had kid mittens before from the Christmas tree, but never real -kid gloves with five fingers. I take them out and try them on every -little while. It's all I can do not to wear them to classes. - -(Dinner bell. Good-by.) - - -[Plate: JUDY AND THE ORPHANS AT JOHN GRIER HOME.] - - - Friday. - -What do you think, Daddy? The English instructor said that my last -paper shows an unusual amount of originality. She did, truly. Those -were her words. It doesn't seem possible, does it, considering the -eighteen years of training that I've had? The aim of the John Grier -Home (as you doubtless know and heartily approve of) is to turn the -ninety-seven orphans into ninety-seven twins. - - [Illustration: "ANY ORPHAN - Rear Elevation Front Elevation"] - -The unusual artistic ability which I exhibit, was developed at an -early age through drawing chalk pictures of Mrs. Lippett on the -woodshed door. - -I hope that I don't hurt your feelings when I criticize the home of -my youth? But you have the upper hand, you know, for if I become too -impertinent, you can always stop payment on your checks. That isn't -a very polite thing to say--but you can't expect me to have any -manners; a foundling asylum isn't a young ladies' finishing school. - -You know, Daddy, it isn't the work that is going to be hard in -college. It's the play. Half the time I don't know what the girls -are talking about; their jokes seem to relate to a past that every -one but me has shared. I'm a foreigner in the world and I don't -understand the language. It's a miserable feeling. I've had it all -my life. At the high school the girls would stand in groups and just -look at me. I was queer and different and everybody knew it. I could -_feel_ "John Grier Home" written on my face. And then a few -charitable ones would make a point of coming up and saying something -polite. _I hated every one of them_--the charitable ones most of -all. - -Nobody here knows that I was brought up in an asylum. I told Sallie -McBride that my mother and father were dead, and that a kind old -gentleman was sending me to college--which is entirely true so far -as it goes. I don't want you to think I am a coward, but I do want -to be like the other girls, and that Dreadful Home looming over my -childhood is the one great big difference. If I can turn my back on -that and shut out the remembrance, I think I might be just as -desirable as any other girl. I don't believe there's any real, -underneath difference, do you? - -Anyway, Sallie McBride likes me! - - Yours ever, - - JUDY ABBOTT. - - (Née Jerusha.) - - - Saturday morning. - -I've just been reading this letter over and it sounds pretty -un-cheerful. But can't you guess that I have a special topic due -Monday morning and a review in geometry and a very sneezy cold? - - - Sunday. - -I forgot to mail this yesterday so I will add an indignant -postscript. We had a bishop this morning, and _what do you think he -said?_ - -"The most beneficent promise made us in the Bible is this, 'The poor -ye have always with you.' They were put here in order to keep us -charitable." - -The poor, please observe, being a sort of useful domestic animal. -If I hadn't grown into such a perfect lady, I should have gone up -after service and told him what I thought. - - - October 25th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I've made the basket-ball team and you ought to see the bruise on -my left shoulder. It's blue and mahogany with little streaks of -orange. Julia Pendleton tried for the team, but she didn't make it. -Hooray! - -You see what a mean disposition I have. - -College gets nicer and nicer. I like the girls and the teachers and -the classes and the campus and the things to eat. We have ice-cream -twice a week and we never have corn-meal mush. - -You only wanted to hear from me once a month, didn't you? And I've -been peppering you with letters every few days! But I've been so -excited about all these new adventures that I _must_ talk to -somebody; and you're the only one I know. Please excuse my -exuberance; I'll settle pretty soon. If my letters bore you, you -can always toss them into the waste-basket. I promise not to write -another till the middle of November. - - Yours most loquaciously, - - JUDY ABBOTT. - - [Illustration: "Judy at Basket Ball"] - - - November 15th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Listen to what I've learned to-day: - -The area of the convex surface of the frustum of a regular pyramid -is half the product of the sum of the perimeters of its bases by the -altitude of either of its trapezoids. - -It doesn't sound true, but it is--I can prove it! - -You've never heard about my clothes, have you, Daddy? Six dresses, -all new and beautiful and bought for me--not handed down from -somebody bigger. Perhaps you don't realize what a climax that marks -in the career of an orphan? You gave them to me, and I am very, -very, _very_ much obliged. It's a fine thing to be educated--but -nothing compared to the dizzying experience of owning six new -dresses. Miss Pritchard who is on the visiting committee picked them -out--not Mrs. Lippett, thank goodness. I have an evening dress, pink -mull over silk (I'm perfectly beautiful in that), and a blue church -dress, and a dinner dress of red veiling with Oriental trimming -(makes me look like a Gipsy) and another of rose-colored challis, -and a gray street suit, and an every-day dress for classes. That -wouldn't be an awfully big wardrobe for Julia Rutledge Pendleton, -perhaps, but for Jerusha Abbott--Oh, my! - -I suppose you're thinking now what a frivolous, shallow, little -beast she is, and what a waste of money to educate a girl? - -But Daddy, if you'd been dressed in checked ginghams all your life, -you'd appreciate how I feel. And when I started to the high school, -I entered upon another period even worse than the checked ginghams. - -The poor box. - -You can't know how I dreaded appearing in school in those miserable -poor-box dresses. I was perfectly sure to be put down in class next -to the girl who first owned my dress, and she would whisper and -giggle and point it out to the others. The bitterness of wearing -your enemies' cast-off clothes eats into your soul. If I wore silk -stockings for the rest of my life, I don't believe I could -obliterate the scar. - - LATEST WAR BULLETIN! - - News from the Scene of Action. - -At the fourth watch on Thursday the 13th of November, Hannibal -routed the advance guard of the Romans and led the Carthaginian -forces over the mountains into the plains of Casilinum. A cohort of -light armed Numidians engaged the infantry of Quintus Fabius -Maximus. Two battles and light skirmishing. Romans repulsed with -heavy losses. - - I have the honor of being, - Your special correspondent from the front - - J. ABBOTT. - -P. S. I know I'm not to expect any letters in return, and I've -been warned not to bother you with questions, but tell me, Daddy, -just this once--are you awfully old or just a little old? And are -you perfectly bald or just a little bald? It is very difficult -thinking about you in the abstract like a theorem in geometry. - -Given a tall rich man who hates girls, but is very generous to one -quite impertinent girl, what does he look like? - -R.S.V.P. - - - December 19th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -You never answered my question and it was very important. - -ARE YOU BALD? - - [Illustration] - -I have it planned exactly what you look like--very satisfactorily--until -I reach the top of your head, and then I _am_ stuck. I can't decide -whether you have white hair or black hair or sort of sprinkly gray -hair or maybe none at all. - -Here is your portrait: - -But the problem is, shall I add some hair? - -Would you like to know what color your eyes are? They're gray, and -your eyebrows stick out like a porch roof (beetling, they're called -in novels) and your mouth is a straight line with a tendency to turn -down at the corners. Oh, you see, I know! You're a snappy old thing -with a temper. - -(Chapel bell.) - - 9.45 P. M. - -I have a new unbreakable rule: never, never to study at night no -matter how many written reviews are coming in the morning. Instead, -I read just plain books--I have to, you know, because there are -eighteen blank years behind me. You wouldn't believe, Daddy, what -an abyss of ignorance my mind is; I am just realizing the depths -myself. The things that most girls with a properly assorted family -and a home and friends and a library know by absorption, I have -never heard of. For example: - -I never read "Mother Goose" or "David Copperfield" or "Ivanhoe" or -"Cinderella" or "Blue Beard" or "Robinson Crusoe" or "Jane Eyre" or -"Alice in Wonderland" or a word of Rudyard Kipling. I didn't know -that Henry the Eighth was married more than once or that Shelley was -a poet. I didn't know that people used to be monkeys and that the -Garden of Eden was a beautiful myth. I didn't know that R.L.S. -stood for Robert Louis Stevenson or that George Eliot was a lady. -I had never seen a picture of the "Mona Lisa" and (it's true but -you won't believe it) I had never heard of Sherlock Holmes. - -Now, I know all of these things and a lot of others besides, but you -can see how much I need to catch up. And oh, but it's fun! I look -forward all day to evening, and then I put an "engaged" on the door -and get into my nice red bath robe and furry slippers and pile all -the cushions behind me on the couch and light the brass student lamp -at my elbow, and read and read and read. One book isn't enough. -I have four going at once. Just now, they're Tennyson's poems and -"Vanity Fair" and Kipling's "Plain Tales" and--don't laugh--"Little -Women." I find that I am the only girl in college who wasn't -brought up on "Little Women." I haven't told anybody though (that -_would_ stamp me as queer). I just quietly went and bought it with -$1.12 of my last month's allowance; and the next time somebody -mentions pickled limes, I'll know what she is talking about! - -(Ten o'clock bell. This is a very interrupted letter.) - - - Saturday. - - _Sir_, - -I have the honor to report fresh explorations in the field of -geometry. On Friday last we abandoned our former works in -parallelopipeds and proceeded to truncated prisms. We are finding -the road rough and very uphill. - - - Sunday. - -The Christmas holidays begin next week and the trunks are up. The -corridors are so cluttered that you can hardly get through, and -everybody is so bubbling over with excitement that studying is -getting left out. I'm going to have a beautiful time in vacation; -there's another Freshman who lives in Texas staying behind, and we -are planning to take long walks and--if there's any ice--learn to -skate. Then there is still the whole library to be read--and three -empty weeks to do it in! - -Good-by, Daddy, I hope that you are feeling as happy as I am. - - Yours ever, - - JUDY. - -P. S. Don't forget to answer my question. If you don't want the -trouble of writing, have your secretary telegraph. He can just say: - - Mr. Smith is quite bald, - or - Mr. Smith is not bald, - or - Mr. Smith has white hair. - -And you can deduct the twenty-five cents out of my allowance. - -Good-by till January--and a merry Christmas! - - - Toward the end of - the Christmas vacation. - Exact date unknown. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Is it snowing where you are? All the world that I see from my tower -is draped in white and the flakes are coming down as big as -pop-corn. It's late afternoon--the sun is just setting (a cold -yellow color) behind some colder violet hills, and I am up in my -window seat using the last light to write to you. - -Your five gold pieces were a surprise! I'm not used to receiving -Christmas presents. You have already given me such lots of -things--everything I have, you know--that I don't quite feel that I -deserve extras. But I like them just the same. Do you want to know -what I bought with my money? - -I. A silver watch in a leather case to wear on my wrist and get me -to recitations on time. - -II. Matthew Arnold's poems. - -III. A hot water bottle. - -IV. A steamer rug. (My tower is cold.) - -V. Five hundred sheets of yellow manuscript paper. (I'm going to -commence being an author pretty soon.) - -VI. A dictionary of synonyms. (To enlarge the author's vocabulary.) - -VII. (I don't much like to confess this last item, but I will.) -A pair of silk stockings. - -And now, Daddy, never say I don't tell all! - -It was a very low motive, if you must know it, that prompted the -silk stockings. Julia Pendleton comes into my room to do geometry, -and she sits cross legged on the couch and wears silk stockings -every night. But just wait--as soon as she gets back from vacation I -shall go in and sit on her couch in my silk stockings. You see, -Daddy, the miserable creature that I am--but at least I'm honest; -and you knew already, from my asylum record, that I wasn't perfect, -didn't you? - -To recapitulate (that's the way the English instructor begins every -other sentence), I am _very_ much obliged for my seven presents. -I'm pretending to myself that they came in a box from my family in -California. The watch is from father, the rug from mother, the hot -water bottle from grandmother--who is always worrying for fear I -shall catch cold in this climate--and the yellow paper from my -little brother Harry. My sister Isobel gave me the silk stockings, -and Aunt Susan the Matthew Arnold poems; Uncle Harry (little Harry -is named for him) gave me the dictionary. He wanted to send -chocolates, but I insisted on synonyms. - -You don't object do you, to playing the part of a composite family? - -And now, shall I tell you about my vacation, or are you only -interested in my education as such? I hope you appreciate the -delicate shade of meaning in "as such." It is the latest addition to -my vocabulary. - -The girl from Texas is named Leonora Fenton. (Almost as funny as -Jerusha, isn't it?) I like her, but not so much as Sallie McBride; -I shall never like any one so much as Sallie--except you. I must -always like you the best of all, because you're my whole family -rolled into one. Leonora and I and two Sophomores have walked 'cross -country every pleasant day and explored the whole neighborhood, -dressed in short skirts and knit jackets and caps, and carrying -shinny sticks to whack things with. Once we walked into town--four -miles--and stopped at a restaurant where the college girls go for -dinner. Broiled lobster (35 cents) and for dessert, buckwheat cakes -and maple syrup (15 cents). Nourishing and cheap. - -It was such a lark! Especially for me, because it was so awfully -different from the asylum--I feel like an escaped convict every time -I leave the campus. Before I thought, I started to tell the others -what an experience I was having. The cat was almost out of the bag -when I grabbed it by its tail and pulled it back. It's awfully hard -for me not to tell everything I know. I'm a very confiding soul by -nature; if I didn't have you to tell things to, I'd burst. - -We had a molasses candy pull last Friday evening, given by the house -matron of Fergussen to the left-behinds in the other halls. There -were twenty-two of us altogether, Freshmen and Sophomores and -Juniors and Seniors all united in amicable accord. The kitchen is -huge, with copper pots and kettles hanging in rows on the stone -wall--the littlest casserole among them about the size of a wash -boiler. Four hundred girls live in Fergussen. The chef, in a white -cap and apron, fetched out twenty-two other white caps and aprons--I -can't imagine where he got so many--and we all turned ourselves into -cooks. - -It was great fun, though I have seen better candy. When it was -finally finished, and ourselves and the kitchen and the door-knobs -all thoroughly sticky, we organized a procession and still in our -caps and aprons, each carrying a big fork or spoon or frying pan, we -marched through the empty corridors to the officers' parlor where -half-a-dozen professors and instructors were passing a tranquil -evening. We serenaded them with college songs and offered -refreshments. They accepted politely but dubiously. We left them -sucking chunks of molasses candy, sticky and speechless. - -So you see, Daddy, my education progresses! - - [Illustration] - -Don't you really think that I ought to be an artist instead of an -author? - -Vacation will be over in two days and I shall be glad to see the -girls again. My tower is just a trifle lonely; when nine people -occupy a house that was built for four hundred, they do rattle -around a bit. - -Eleven pages--poor Daddy, you must be tired! I meant this to be just -a short little thank-you note--but when I get started I seem to have -a ready pen. - -Good-by, and thank you for thinking of me--I should be perfectly -happy except for one little threatening cloud on the horizon. -Examinations come in February. - - Yours with love, - - JUDY. - -P. S. Maybe it isn't proper to send love? If it isn't, please -excuse. But I must love somebody and there's only you and Mrs. -Lippett to choose between, so you see--you'll _have_ to put up with -it, Daddy dear, because I can't love her. - - - On the Eve. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -You should see the way this college is studying! We've forgotten we -ever had a vacation. Fifty-seven irregular verbs have I introduced -to my brain in the past four days--I'm only hoping they'll stay -till after examinations. - -Some of the girls sell their text-books when they're through with -them, but I intend to keep mine. Then after I've graduated I shall -have my whole education in a row in the bookcase, and when I need to -use any detail, I can turn to it without the slightest hesitation. -So much easier and more accurate than trying to keep it in your -head. - -Julia Pendleton dropped in this evening to pay a social call, and -stayed a solid hour. She got started on the subject of family, and I -_couldn't_ switch her off. She wanted to know what my mother's -maiden name was--did you ever hear such an impertinent question to -ask of a person from a foundling asylum? I didn't have the courage -to say I didn't know, so I just miserably plumped on the first name -I could think of, and that was Montgomery. Then she wanted to know -whether I belonged to the Massachusetts Montgomerys or the Virginia -Montgomerys. - -Her mother was a Rutherford. The family came over in the ark, and -were connected by marriage with Henry the VIII. On her father's side -they date back further than Adam. On the topmost branches of her -family tree there's a superior breed of monkeys, with very fine -silky hair and extra long tails. - -I meant to write you a nice, cheerful, entertaining letter to-night, -but I'm too sleepy--and scared. The Freshman's lot is not a happy -one. - - Yours, about to be examined, - - JUDY ABBOTT. - - - Sunday. - - _Dearest Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I have some awful, awful, awful news to tell you, but I won't begin -with it; I'll try to get you in a good humor first. - -Jerusha Abbott has commenced to be an author. A poem entitled, "From -my Tower," appears in the February _Monthly_--on the first page, -which is a very great honor for a Freshman. My English instructor -stopped me on the way out from chapel last night, and said it was a -charming piece of work except for the sixth line, which had too many -feet. I will send you a copy in case you care to read it. - -Let me see if I can't think of something else pleasant--Oh, yes! -I'm learning to skate, and can glide about quite respectably all by -myself. Also I've learned how to slide down a rope from the roof of -the gymnasium, and I can vault a bar three feet and six inches -high--I hope shortly to pull up to four feet. - -We had a very inspiring sermon this morning preached by the Bishop -of Alabama. His text was: "Judge not that ye be not judged." It was -about the necessity of overlooking mistakes in others, and not -discouraging people by harsh judgments. I wish you might have heard -it. - -This is the sunniest, most blinding winter afternoon, with icicles -dripping from the fir trees and all the world bending under a weight -of snow--except me, and I'm bending under a weight of sorrow. - -Now for the news--courage, Judy!--you must tell. - -Are you _surely_ in a good humor? I flunked mathematics and Latin -prose. I am tutoring in them, and will take another examination next -month. I'm sorry if you're disappointed, but otherwise I don't -care a bit because I've learned such a lot of things not mentioned -in the catalogue. I've read seventeen novels and _bushels_ of -poetry--really necessary novels like "Vanity Fair" and "Richard -Feverel" and "Alice in Wonderland." Also Emerson's "Essays" and -Lockhart's "Life of Scott" and the first volume of Gibbon's "Roman -Empire" and half of Benvenuto Cellini's "Life"--wasn't he -entertaining? He used to saunter out and casually kill a man before -breakfast. - -So you see, Daddy, I'm much more intelligent than if I'd just -stuck to Latin. Will you forgive me this once if I promise never to -flunk again? - - Yours in sackcloth, - - JUDY. - - [Illustration: "NEWS of the MONTH - Judy learns to skate - And to vault a bar (Legs are very difficult.) - Also to slide down a rope - She receives two flunk notes and sheds many tears - But promises to study HARD"] - - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -This is an extra letter in the middle of the month because I'm sort -of lonely to-night. It's awfully stormy; the snow is beating -against my tower. All the lights are out on the campus, but I drank -black coffee and I can't go to sleep. - -I had a supper party this evening consisting of Sallie and Julia and -Leonora Fenton--and sardines and toasted muffins and salad and fudge -and coffee. Julia said she'd had a good time, but Sallie stayed to -help wash the dishes. - -I might, very usefully, put some time on Latin to-night--but, -there's no doubt about it, I'm a very languid Latin scholar. -We've finished Livy and De Senectute and are now engaged with De -Amicitia (pronounced Damn Icitia). - -Should you mind, just for a little while, pretending you are my -grandmother? Sallie has one and Julia and Leonora each two, and they -were all comparing them to-night. I can't think of anything I'd -rather have; it's such a respectable relationship. So, if you -really don't object--When I went into town yesterday, I saw the -sweetest cap of Cluny lace trimmed with lavender ribbon. I am going -to make you a present of it on your eighty-third birthday. - -! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! - -That's the clock in the chapel tower striking twelve. I believe I -am sleepy after all. - - Good night, Granny. - - I love you dearly. - - JUDY. - - - The Ides of March. - - _Dear D. L. L._, - -I am studying Latin prose composition. I have been studying it. -I shall be studying it. I shall be about to have been studying it. -My reëxamination comes the 7th hour next Tuesday, and I am going to -pass or BUST. So you may expect to hear from me next, whole and -happy and free from conditions, or in fragments. - -I will write a respectable letter when it's over. To-night I have a -pressing engagement with the Ablative Absolute. - - Yours--in evident haste, - - J. A. - - - March 26th. - - _Mr. D. L. L. Smith._ - -SIR: You never answer any questions; you never show the slightest -interest in anything I do. You are probably the horridest one of all -those horrid Trustees, and the reason you are educating me is, not -because you care a bit about me, but from a sense of Duty. - -I don't know a single thing about you. I don't even know your name. -It is very uninspiring writing to a Thing. I haven't a doubt but -that you throw my letters into the waste-basket without reading -them. Hereafter I shall write only about work. - -My reëxaminations in Latin and geometry came last week. I passed -them both and am now free from conditions. - - Yours truly, - - JERUSHA ABBOTT. - - - April 2d. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I am a BEAST. - -Please forget about that dreadful letter I sent you last week--I was -feeling terribly lonely and miserable and sore-throaty the night I -wrote. I didn't know it, but I was just coming down with tonsilitis -and grippe and lots of things mixed. I'm in the infirmary now, and -have been here for six days; this is the first time they would let -me sit up and have a pen and paper. The head nurse is _very bossy_. -But I've been thinking about it all the time and I shan't get well -until you forgive me. - -Here is a picture of the way I look, with a bandage tied around my -head in rabbit's ears. - - [Illustration] - -Doesn't that arouse your sympathy? I am having sublingual gland -swelling. And I've been studying physiology all the year without -ever hearing of sublingual glands. How futile a thing is education! - -I can't write any more; I get sort of shaky when I sit up too long. -Please forgive me for being impertinent and ungrateful. I was badly -brought up. - - Yours with love, - - JUDY ABBOTT. - - - THE INFIRMARY. - - April 4th. - - _Dearest Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Yesterday evening just toward dark, when I was sitting up in bed -looking out at the rain and feeling awfully bored with life in a -great institution, the nurse appeared with a long white box -addressed to me, and filled with the _loveliest_ pink rosebuds. And -much nicer still, it contained a card with a very polite message -written in a funny little uphill back hand (but one which shows a -great deal of character). Thank you, Daddy, a thousand times. Your -flowers make the first real, true present I ever received in my -life. If you want to know what a baby I am, I lay down and cried -because I was so happy. - -Now that I am sure you read my letters, I'll make them much more -interesting, so they'll be worth keeping in a safe with red tape -around them--only please take out that dreadful one and burn it up. -I'd hate to think that you ever read it over. - -Thank you for making a very sick, cross, miserable Freshman -cheerful. Probably you have lots of loving family and friends, -and you don't know what it feels like to be alone. But I do. - -Good-by--I'll promise never to be horrid again, because now I know -you're a real person; also I'll promise never to bother you with -any more questions. - -Do you still hate girls? - - Yours forever, - - JUDY. - - - 8th hour, Monday. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I hope you aren't the Trustee who sat on the toad? It went off--I -was told--with quite a pop, so probably he was a fatter Trustee. - -Do you remember the little dugout places with gratings over them by -the laundry windows in the John Grier Home? Every spring when the -hoptoad season opened we used to form a collection of toads and keep -them in those window holes; and occasionally they would spill over -into the laundry, causing a very pleasurable commotion on wash days. -We were severely punished for our activities in this direction, but -in spite of all discouragement the toads would collect. - -And one day--well, I won't bore you with particulars--but somehow, -one of the fattest, biggest, _juiciest_ toads got into one of those -big leather arm chairs in the Trustees' room, and that afternoon at -the Trustees' meeting-- But I dare say you were there and recall the -rest? - -Looking back dispassionately after a period of time, I will say that -punishment was merited, and--if I remember rightly--adequate. - -I don't know why I am in such a reminiscent mood except that spring -and the reappearance of toads always awakens the old acquisitive -instinct. The only thing that keeps me from starting a collection is -the fact that no rule exists against it. - - - After chapel, Thursday. - -What do you think is my favorite book? Just now, I mean; I change -every three days. "Wuthering Heights." Emily Bronté was quite young -when she wrote it, and had never been outside of Haworth churchyard. -She had never known any men in her life; how _could_ she imagine a -man like Heathcliffe? - -I couldn't do it, and I'm quite young and never outside the John -Grier Asylum--I've had every chance in the world. Sometimes a -dreadful fear comes over me that I'm not a genius. Will you be -awfully disappointed, Daddy, if I don't turn out to be a great -author? In the spring when everything is so beautiful and green and -budding, I feel like turning my back on lessons, and running away to -play with the weather. There are such lots of adventures out in the -fields! It's much more entertaining to live books than to write -them. - -Ow ! ! ! ! ! ! - -That was a shriek which brought Sallie and Julia and (for a -disgusted moment) the Senior from across the hall. It was caused by -a centipede like this: - - [Illustration] - -only worse. Just as I had finished the last sentence and was -thinking what to say next--plump!--it fell off the ceiling and -landed at my side. I tipped two cups off the tea table in trying to -get away. Sallie whacked it with the back of my hair brush--which I -shall never be able to use again--and killed the front end, but the -rear fifty feet ran under the bureau and escaped. - -This dormitory, owing to its age and ivy-covered walls, is full of -centipedes. They are dreadful creatures. I'd rather find a tiger -under the bed. - - - Friday, 9.30 P. M. - -Such a lot of troubles! I didn't hear the rising bell this morning, -then I broke my shoe-string while I was hurrying to dress and -dropped my collar button down my neck. I was late for breakfast and -also for first-hour recitation. I forgot to take any blotting paper -and my fountain pen leaked. In trigonometry the Professor and I had -a disagreement touching a little matter of logarithms. On looking it -up, I find that she was right. We had mutton stew and pie-plant for -lunch--hate 'em both; they taste like the asylum. Nothing but bills -in my mail (though I must say that I never do get anything else; my -family are not the kind that write). In English class this afternoon -we had an unexpected written lesson. This was it: - - I asked no other thing, - No other was denied. - I offered Being for it; - The mighty merchant smiled. - - Brazil? He twirled a button - Without a glance my way: - But, madam, is there nothing else - That we can show to-day? - -That is a poem. I don't know who wrote it or what it means. It was -simply printed out on the blackboard when we arrived and we were -ordered to comment upon it. When I read the first verse I thought I -had an idea--The Mighty Merchant was a divinity who distributes -blessings in return for virtuous deeds--but when I got to the second -verse and found him twirling a button, it seemed a blasphemous -supposition, and I hastily changed my mind. The rest of the class -was in the same predicament; and there we sat for three quarters of -an hour with blank paper and equally blank minds. Getting an -education is an awfully wearing process! - -But this didn't end the day. There's worse to come. - -It rained so we couldn't play golf, but had to go to gymnasium -instead. The girl next to me banged my elbow with an Indian club. -I got home to find that the box with my new blue spring dress had -come, and the skirt was so tight that I couldn't sit down. Friday -is sweeping day, and the maid had mixed all the papers on my desk. -We had tombstone for dessert (milk and gelatin flavored with -vanilla). We were kept in chapel twenty minutes later than usual to -listen to a speech about womanly women. And then--just as I was -settling down with a sigh of well-earned relief to "The Portrait -of a Lady," a girl named Ackerly, a dough-faced, deadly, -unintermittently stupid girl, who sits next to me in Latin because -her name begins with A (I wish Mrs. Lippett had named me Zabriski), -came to ask if Monday's lesson commenced at paragraph 69 or 70, and -stayed ONE HOUR. She has just gone. - -Did you ever hear of such a discouraging series of events? It isn't -the big troubles in life that require character. Anybody can rise to -a crisis and face a crushing tragedy with courage, but to meet the -petty hazards of the day with a laugh--I really think that requires -_spirit_. - -It's the kind of character that I am going to develop. I am going -to pretend that all life is just a game which I must play as -skilfully and fairly as I can. If I lose, I am going to shrug my -shoulders and laugh--also if I win. - -Anyway, I am going to be a sport. You will never hear me complain -again, Daddy dear, because Julia wears silk stockings and centipedes -drop off the wall. - - Yours ever, - - JUDY. - -Answer soon. - - - May 27th. - - _Daddy-Long-Legs, Esq._ - -DEAR SIR: I am in receipt of a letter from Mrs. Lippett. She hopes -that I am doing well in deportment and studies. Since I probably -have no place to go this summer, she will let me come back to the -asylum and work for my board until college opens. - -I HATE THE JOHN GRIER HOME. - -I'd rather die than go back. - - Yours most truthfully, - - JERUSHA ABBOTT. - - - _Cher Daddy-Jambes-Longes_, - -_Vous etes un ^brick!^_ - -_Je suis tres heureuse ^about the farm^, parsque je n'ai jamais -^been on a farm^ dans ma vie ^and I'd hate to^ retourner chez ^John -Grier^, et ^wash dishes^ tout l'été. ^There would be danger of^ -quelque chose affreuse ^happening^, parsque j'ai perdue ma humilité -d'autre fois et j'ai peur ^that I would just break out^ quelque jour -et ^smash every cup and saucer^ dans la maison._ - -_Pardon brièveté et ^paper^. Je ne peux pas ^send^ des mes nouvelles -parseque je suis dans ^French class^ et j'ai peur que Monsieur le -Professeur ^is going to call on me^ tout de suite._ - -He did! - - _Au revoir,_ - - _Je vous aime beaucoup._ - - JUDY. - - - May 30th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Did you ever see this campus? (That is merely a rhetorical question. -Don't let it annoy you.) It is a heavenly spot in May. All the -shrubs are in blossom and the trees are the loveliest young -green--even the old pines look fresh and new. The grass is dotted -with yellow dandelions and hundreds of girls in blue and white and -pink dresses. Everybody is joyous and care-free, for vacation's -coming, and with that to look forward to, examinations don't count. - -Isn't that a happy frame of mind to be in? And oh, Daddy! I'm the -happiest of all! Because I'm not in the asylum any more; and I'm -not anybody's nurse-maid or typewriter or bookkeeper (I should have -been, you know, except for you). - -I'm sorry now for all my past badnesses. - -I'm sorry I was ever impertinent to Mrs. Lippett. - -I'm sorry I ever slapped Freddie Perkins. - -I'm sorry I ever filled the sugar bowl with salt. - -I'm sorry I ever made faces behind the Trustees' backs. - -I'm going to be good and sweet and kind to everybody because I'm -so happy. And this summer I'm going to write and write and write -and begin to be a great author. Isn't that an exalted stand to -take? Oh, I'm developing a beautiful character! It droops a bit -under cold and frost, but it does grow fast when the sun shines. - -That's the way with everybody. I don't agree with the theory that -adversity and sorrow and disappointment develop moral strength. The -happy people are the ones who are bubbling over with kindliness. -I have no faith in misanthropes. (Fine word! Just learned it.) You -are not a misanthrope are you, Daddy? - -I started to tell you about the campus. I wish you'd come for a -little visit and let me walk you about and say: - -"That is the library. This is the gas plant, Daddy dear. The Gothic -building on your left is the gymnasium, and the Tudor Romanesque -beside it is the new infirmary." - -Oh, I'm fine at showing people about. I've done it all my life at -the asylum, and I've been doing it all day here. I have honestly. - -And a Man, too! - -That's a great experience. I never talked to a man before (except -occasional Trustees, and they don't count). Pardon, Daddy. I don't -mean to hurt your feelings when I abuse Trustees. I don't consider -that you really belong among them. You just tumbled onto the Board -by chance. The Trustee, as such, is fat and pompous and benevolent. -He pats one on the head and wears a gold watch chain. - - [Illustration] - -That looks like a June bug, but is meant to be a portrait of any -Trustee except you. - -However--to resume: - -I have been walking and talking and having tea with a man. And with -a very superior man--with Mr. Jervis Pendleton of the House of -Julia; her uncle, in short (in long, perhaps I ought to say; he's -as tall as you). Being in town on business, he decided to run out to -the college and call on his niece. He's her father's youngest -brother, but she doesn't know him very intimately. It seems he -glanced at her when she was a baby, decided he didn't like her, -and has never noticed her since. - -Anyway, there he was, sitting in the reception room very proper with -his hat and stick and gloves beside him; and Julia and Sallie with -seventh-hour recitations that they couldn't cut. So Julia dashed -into my room and begged me to walk him about the campus and then -deliver him to her when the seventh hour was over. I said I would, -obligingly but unenthusiastically, because I don't care much for -Pendletons. - -But he turned out to be a sweet lamb. He's a real human being--not -a Pendleton at all. We had a beautiful time; I've longed for an -uncle ever since. Do you mind pretending you're my uncle? I believe -they're superior to grandmothers. - -Mr. Pendleton reminded me a little of you, Daddy, as you were twenty -years ago. You see I know you intimately, even if we haven't ever -met! - -He's tall and thinnish with a dark face all over lines, and the -funniest underneath smile that never quite comes through but just -wrinkles up the corners of his mouth. And he has a way of making you -feel right off as though you'd known him a long time. He's very -companionable. - -We walked all over the campus from the quadrangle to the athletic -grounds; then he said he felt weak and must have some tea. He -proposed that we go to College Inn--it's just off the campus by the -pine walk. I said we ought to go back for Julia and Sallie, but he -said he didn't like to have his nieces drink too much tea; it made -them nervous. So we just ran away and had tea and muffins and -marmalade and ice-cream and cake at a nice little table out on the -balcony. The inn was quite conveniently empty, this being the end of -the month and allowances low. - -We had the jolliest time! But he had to run for his train the minute -he got back and he barely saw Julia at all. She was furious with me -for taking him off; it seems he's an unusually rich and desirable -uncle. It relieved my mind to find he was rich, for the tea and -things cost sixty cents apiece. - -This morning (it's Monday now) three boxes of chocolates came by -express for Julia and Sallie and me. What do you think of that? To -be getting candy from a man! - -I begin to feel like a girl instead of a foundling. - -I wish you'd come and take tea some day and let me see if I like -you. But wouldn't it be dreadful if I didn't? However, I know I -should. - -_Bien!_ I make you my compliments. - - "_Jamais je ne t'oublierai._" - - JUDY. - -P. S. I looked in the glass this morning and found a perfectly new -dimple that I'd never seen before. It's very curious. Where do you -suppose it came from? - - - June 9th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Happy day! I've just finished my last examination--Physiology. -And now: - -Three months on a farm! - -I don't know what kind of a thing a farm is. I've never been on one -in my life. I've never even looked at one (except from the car -window), but I know I'm going to love it, and I'm going to love -being _free_. - -I am not used even yet to being outside the John Grier Home. -Whenever I think of it excited little thrills chase up and down my -back. I feel as though I must run faster and faster and keep looking -over my shoulder to make sure that Mrs. Lippett isn't after me with -her arm stretched out to grab me back. - -I don't have to mind any one this summer, do I? - -Your nominal authority doesn't annoy me in the least; you are too -far away to do any harm. Mrs. Lippett is dead forever, so far as I -am concerned, and the Semples aren't expected to overlook my moral -welfare, are they? No, I am sure not. I am entirely grown up. -Hooray! - -I leave you now to pack a trunk, and three boxes of teakettles and -dishes and sofa cushions and books. - - Yours ever, - - JUDY. - -P. S. Here is my physiology exam. Do you think you could have -passed? - - - LOCK WILLOW FARM, - - Saturday night. - - _Dearest Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I've only just come and I'm not unpacked, but I can't wait to tell -you how much I like farms. This is a heavenly, heavenly, _heavenly_ -spot! The house is square like this: - - [Illustration] - -And _old_. A hundred years or so. It has a veranda on the side which -I can't draw and a sweet porch in front. The picture really doesn't -do it justice--those things that look like feather dusters are maple -trees, and the prickly ones that border the drive are murmuring -pines and hemlocks. It stands on the top of a hill and looks way off -over miles of green meadows to another line of hills. - - [Illustration] - -That is the way Connecticut goes, in a series of Marcelle waves; and -Lock Willow Farm is just on the crest of one wave. The barns used to -be across the road where they obstructed the view, but a kind flash -of lightning came from heaven and burnt them down. - -The people are Mr. and Mrs. Semple and a hired girl and two hired -men. The hired people eat in the kitchen, and the Semples and Judy -in the dining-room. We had ham and eggs and biscuits and honey and -jelly-cake and pie and pickles and cheese and tea for supper--and a -great deal of conversation. I have never been so entertaining in my -life; everything I say appears to be funny. I suppose it is, because -I've never been in the country before, and my questions are backed -by an all-inclusive ignorance. - -The room marked with a cross is not where the murder was committed, -but the one that I occupy. It's big and square and empty, with -adorable old-fashioned furniture and windows that have to be propped -up on sticks and green shades trimmed with gold that fall down if -you touch them. And a big square mahogany table--I'm going to spend -the summer with my elbows spread out on it, writing a novel. - -Oh, Daddy, I'm so excited! I can't wait till daylight to explore. -It's 8.30 now, and I am about to blow out my candle and try to go -to sleep. We rise at five. Did you ever know such fun? I can't -believe this is really Judy. You and the Good Lord give me more than -I deserve. I must be a very, very, _very_ good person to pay. I'm -going to be. You'll see. - - Good night, - - JUDY. - -P. S. You should hear the frogs sing and the little pigs squeal--and -you should see the new moon! I saw it over my right shoulder. - - - LOCK WILLOW, - - July 12th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -How did your secretary come to know about Lock Willow? (That isn't -a rhetorical question. I am awfully curious to know.) For listen to -this: Mr. Jervis Pendleton used to own this farm, but now he has -given it to Mrs. Semple who was his old nurse. Did you ever hear of -such a funny coincidence? She still calls him "Master Jervie" and -talks about what a sweet little boy he used to be. She has one of -his baby curls put away in a box, and it's red--or at least -reddish! - -Since she discovered that I know him, I have risen very much in her -opinion. Knowing a member of the Pendleton family is the best -introduction one can have at Lock Willow. And the cream of the whole -family is Master Jervie--I am pleased to say that Julia belongs to -an inferior branch. - -The farm gets more and more entertaining. I rode on a hay wagon -yesterday. We have three big pigs and nine little piglets, and you -should see them eat. They _are_ pigs! We've oceans of little baby -chickens and ducks and turkeys and guinea fowls. You must be mad to -live in a city when you might live on a farm. - -It is my daily business to hunt the eggs. I fell off a beam in the -barn loft yesterday, while I was trying to crawl over to a nest that -the black hen has stolen. And when I came in with a scratched knee, -Mrs. Semple bound it up with witch-hazel, murmuring all the time, -"Dear! Dear! It seems only yesterday that Master Jervie fell off -that very same beam and scratched this very same knee." - -The scenery around here is perfectly beautiful. There's a valley -and a river and a lot of wooded hills, and way in the distance, -a tall blue mountain that simply melts in your mouth. - -We churn twice a week; and we keep the cream in the spring house -which is made of stone with the brook running underneath. Some of -the farmers around here have a separator, but we don't care for -these new-fashioned ideas. It may be a little harder to take care of -cream raised in pans, but it's enough better to pay. We have six -calves; and I've chosen the names for all of them. - -1. Sylvia, because she was born in the woods. - -2. Lesbia, after the Lesbia in Catullus. - -3. Sallie. - -4. Julia--a spotted, nondescript animal. - -5. Judy, after me. - -6. Daddy-Long-Legs. You don't mind, do you, Daddy? He's pure Jersey -and has a sweet disposition. He looks like this--you can see how -appropriate the name is. - - [Illustration] - -I haven't had time yet to begin my immortal novel; the farm keeps -me too busy. - - Yours always, - - JUDY. - -P. S. I've learned to make doughnuts. - -P. S. (2) If you are thinking of raising chickens, let me recommend -Buff Orpingtons. They haven't any pin feathers. - -P. S. (3) I wish I could send you a pat of the nice, fresh butter I -churned yesterday. I'm a fine dairy-maid! - -P. S. (4) This is a picture of Miss Jerusha Abbott, the future great -author, driving home the cows. - - [Illustration: "Buttercup Daisy Birdie Bess Spotty - (I can't draw cows!)"] - - - Sunday. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Isn't it funny? I started to write to you yesterday afternoon, but -as far as I got was the heading, "Dear Daddy-Long-Legs," and then I -remembered I'd promised to pick some blackberries for supper, so I -went off and left the sheet lying on the table, and when I came back -to-day, what do you think I found sitting in the middle of the page? -A real true Daddy-Long-Legs! - - [Illustration] - -I picked him up very gently by one leg, and dropped him out of the -window. I wouldn't hurt one of them for the world. They always -remind me of you. - -We hitched up the spring wagon this morning and drove to the Center -to church. It's a sweet little white frame church with a spire and -three Doric columns in front (or maybe Ionic--I always get them -mixed). - -A nice, sleepy sermon with everybody drowsily waving palm-leaf fans, -and the only sound aside from the minister, the buzzing of locusts -in the trees outside. I didn't wake up till I found myself on my -feet singing the hymn, and then I was awfully sorry I hadn't -listened to the sermon; I should like to know more of the psychology -of a man who would pick out such a hymn. This was it: - - Come, leave your sports and earthly toys - And join me in celestial joys. - Or else, dear friend, a long farewell. - I leave you now to sink to hell. - -I find that it isn't safe to discuss religion with the Semples. -Their God (whom they have inherited intact from their remote Puritan -ancestors) is a narrow, irrational, unjust, mean, revengeful, -bigoted Person. Thank heaven I don't inherit any God from anybody! -I am free to make mine up as I wish Him. He's kind and sympathetic -and imaginative and forgiving and understanding--and He has a sense -of humor. - -I like the Semples immensely; their practice is so superior to their -theory. They are better than their own God. I told them so--and they -are horribly troubled. They think I am blasphemous--and I think they -are! We've dropped theology from our conversation. - -This is Sunday afternoon. - -Amasai (hired man) in a purple tie and some bright yellow buckskin -gloves, very red and shaved, has just driven off with Carrie (hired -girl) in a big hat trimmed with red roses and a blue muslin dress -and her hair curled as tight as it will curl. Amasai spent all the -morning washing the buggy; and Carrie stayed home from church -ostensibly to cook the dinner, but really to iron the muslin dress. - -In two minutes more when this letter is finished I am going to -settle down to a book which I found in the attic. It's entitled, -"On the Trail," and sprawled across the front page in a funny -little-boy hand: - - Jervis Pendleton - If this book should ever roam, - Box its ears and send it home. - -He spent the summer here once after he had been ill, when he was -about eleven years old; and he left "On the Trail" behind. It looks -well read--the marks of his grimy little hands are frequent! Also in -a corner of the attic there is a water wheel and a windmill and some -bows and arrows. Mrs. Semple talks so constantly about him that I -begin to believe he really lives--not a grown man with a silk hat -and walking stick, but a nice, dirty, tousle-headed boy who clatters -up the stairs with an awful racket, and leaves the screen doors -open, and is always asking for cookies. (And getting them, too, if I -know Mrs. Semple!) He seems to have been an adventurous little -soul--and brave and truthful. I'm sorry to think he is a Pendleton; -he was meant for something better. - -We're going to begin threshing oats to-morrow; a steam engine is -coming and three extra men. - -It grieves me to tell you that Buttercup (the spotted cow with one -horn, Mother of Lesbia) has done a disgraceful thing. She got into -the orchard Friday evening and ate apples under the trees, and ate -and ate until they went to her head. For two days she has been -perfectly dead drunk! That is the truth I am telling. Did you ever -hear anything so scandalous? - - Sir, - - I remain, - - Your affectionate orphan, - - JUDY ABBOTT. - -P. S. Indians in the first chapter and highwaymen in the second. -I hold my breath. What _can_ the third contain? "Red Hawk leapt -twenty feet in the air and bit the dust." That is the subject of the -frontispiece. Aren't Judy and Jervie having fun? - - - September 15th. - - _Dear Daddy_, - -I was weighed yesterday on the flour scales in the general store at -the Corners. I've gained nine pounds! Let me recommend Lock Willow -as a health resort. - - Yours ever, - - JUDY. - - [Illustration] - - - September 25th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Behold me--a Sophomore! I came up last Friday, sorry to leave Lock -Willow, but glad to see the campus again. It _is_ a pleasant -sensation to come back to something familiar. I am beginning to feel -at home in college, and in command of the situation; I am beginning, -in fact, to feel at home in the world--as though I really belonged -in it and had not just crept in on sufferance. - -I don't suppose you understand in the least what I am trying to say. -A person important enough to be a Trustee can't appreciate the -feelings of a person unimportant enough to be a foundling. - -And now, Daddy, listen to this. Whom do you think I am rooming with? -Sallie McBride and Julia Rutledge Pendleton. It's the truth. We -have a study and three little bedrooms--_voila!_ - - [Illustration] - -Sallie and I decided last spring that we should like to room -together, and Julia made up her mind to stay with Sallie--why, -I can't imagine, for they are not a bit alike; but the Pendletons -are naturally conservative and inimical (fine word!) to change. -Anyway, here we are. Think of Jerusha Abbott, late of the John Grier -Home for Orphans, rooming with a Pendleton. This is a democratic -country. - -Sallie is running for class president, and unless all signs fail, -she is going to be elected. Such an atmosphere of intrigue--you -should see what politicians we are! Oh, I tell you, Daddy, when we -women get our rights, you men will have to look alive in order to -keep yours. Election comes next Saturday, and we're going to have a -torchlight procession in the evening, no matter who wins. - -I am beginning chemistry, a most unusual study. I've never seen -anything like it before. Molecules and Atoms are the material -employed, but I'll be in a position to discuss them more definitely -next month. - -I am also taking argumentation and logic. - -Also history of the whole world. - -Also plays of William Shakespeare. - -Also French. - -If this keeps up many years longer, I shall become quite -intelligent. - -I should rather have elected economics than French, but I didn't -dare, because I was afraid that unless I reëlected French, the -Professor would not let me pass--as it was, I just managed to -squeeze through the June examination. But I will say that my -high-school preparation was not very adequate. - -There's one girl in the class who chatters away in French as fast -as she does in English. She went abroad with her parents when she -was a child, and spent three years in a convent school. You can -imagine how bright she is compared with the rest of us--irregular -verbs are mere playthings. I wish my parents had chucked me into a -French convent when I was little instead of a foundling asylum. Oh, -no, I don't either! Because then maybe I should never have known -you. I'd rather know you than French. - -Good-by, Daddy. I must call on Harriet Martin now, and, having -discussed the chemical situation, casually drop a few thoughts on -the subject of our next president. - - Yours in politics, - - J. ABBOTT. - - - October 17th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Supposing the swimming tank in the gymnasium were filled full of -lemon jelly, could a person trying to swim manage to keep on top or -would he sink? - -We were having lemon jelly for dessert when the question came up. -We discussed it heatedly for half an hour and it's still unsettled. -Sallie thinks that she could swim in it, but I am perfectly sure -that the best swimmer in the world would sink. Wouldn't it be funny -to be drowned in lemon jelly? - -Two other problems are engaging the attention of our table. - -1st. What shape are the rooms in an octagon house? Some of the girls -insist that they're square; but I think they'd have to be shaped -like a piece of pie. Don't you? - -2d. Suppose there were a great big hollow sphere made of -looking-glass and you were sitting inside. Where would it stop -reflecting your face and begin reflecting your back? The more one -thinks about this problem, the more puzzling it becomes. You can see -with what deep philosophical reflection we engage our leisure! - -Did I ever tell you about the election? It happened three weeks ago, -but so fast do we live, that three weeks is ancient history. Sallie -was elected, and we had a torchlight parade with transparencies -saying, "McBride Forever," and a band consisting of fourteen pieces -(three mouth organs and eleven combs). - -We're very important persons now in "258." Julia and I come in for -a great deal of reflected glory. It's quite a social strain to be -living in the same house with a president. - - _Bonne nuit, cher ^Daddy^._ - - _Acceptez mes compliments, - Très respectueux. - Je suis, - Votre JUDY._ - - [Illustration: "McBRIDE FOREVER"] - - - November 12th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -We beat the Freshmen at basket ball yesterday. Of course we're -pleased--but oh, if we could only beat the Juniors! I'd be willing -to be black and blue all over and stay in bed a week in a -witch-hazel compress. - -Sallie has invited me to spend the Christmas vacation with her. She -lives in Worcester, Massachusetts. Wasn't it nice of her? I shall -love to go. I've never been in a private family in my life, except -at Lock Willow, and the Semples were grown-up and old and don't -count. But the McBrides have a houseful of children (anyway two or -three) and a mother and father and grandmother, and an Angora cat. -It's a perfectly complete family! Packing your trunk and going away -_is_ more fun than staying behind. I am terribly excited at the -prospect. - -Seventh hour--I must run to rehearsal. I'm to be in the -Thanksgiving theatricals. A prince in a tower with a velvet tunic -and yellow curls. Isn't that a lark? - - Yours, - - J. A. - - - Saturday. - -Do you want to know what I look like? Here's a photograph of all -three that Leonora Fenton took. - -The light one who is laughing is Sallie, and the tall one with her -nose in the air is Julia, and the little one with the hair blowing -across her face is Judy--she is really more beautiful than that, but -the sun was in her eyes. - - - "STONE GATE," - WORCESTER, MASS., - - December 31st. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I meant to write to you before and thank you for your Christmas -check, but life in the McBride household is very absorbing, and I -don't seem able to find two consecutive minutes to spend at a desk. - -I bought a new gown--one that I didn't need, but just wanted. My -Christmas present this year is from Daddy-Long-Legs; my family just -sent love. - -I've been having the most beautiful vacation visiting Sallie. She -lives in a big old-fashioned brick house with white trimmings set -back from the street--exactly the kind of house that I used to look -at so curiously when I was in the John Grier Home, and wonder what -it could be like inside. I never expected to see with my own -eyes--but here I am! Everything is so comfortable and restful and -homelike; I walk from room to room and drink in the furnishings. - -It is the most perfect house for children to be brought up in; with -shadowy nooks for hide and seek, and open fireplaces for pop-corn, -and an attic to romp in on rainy days, and slippery banisters with a -comfortable flat knob at the bottom, and a great big sunny kitchen, -and a nice fat, sunny cook who has lived in the family thirteen -years and always saves out a piece of dough for the children to -bake. Just the sight of such a house makes you want to be a child -all over again. - -And as for families! I never dreamed they could be so nice. Sallie -has a father and mother and grandmother, and the sweetest -three-year-old baby sister all over curls, and a medium-sized -brother who always forgets to wipe his feet, and a big, good-looking -brother named Jimmie, who is a junior at Princeton. - -We have the jolliest times at the table--everybody laughs and jokes -and talks at once, and we don't have to say grace beforehand. It's -a relief not having to thank Somebody for every mouthful you eat. -(I dare say I'm blasphemous; but you'd be, too, if you'd offered -as much obligatory thanks as I have.) - -Such a lot of things we've done--I can't begin to tell you about -them. Mr. McBride owns a factory, and Christmas eve he had a tree -for the employees' children. It was in the long packing-room which -was decorated with evergreens and holly. Jimmie McBride was dressed -as Santa Claus, and Sallie and I helped him distribute the presents. - -Dear me, Daddy, but it was a funny sensation! I felt as benevolent -as a Trustee of the John Grier Home. I kissed one sweet, sticky -little boy--but I don't think I patted any of them on the head! - -And two days after Christmas, they gave a dance at their own house -for ME. - -It was the first really true ball I ever attended--college doesn't -count where we dance with girls. I had a new white evening gown -(your Christmas present--many thanks) and long white gloves and -white satin slippers. The only drawback to my perfect, utter, -absolute happiness was the fact that Mrs. Lippett couldn't see me -leading the cotillion with Jimmie McBride. Tell her about it, -please, the next time you visit the J. G. H. - - Yours ever, - - JUDY ABBOTT. - -P. S. Would you be terribly displeased, Daddy, if I didn't turn out -to be a Great Author after all, but just a Plain Girl? - - - 6.30, Saturday. - - _Dear Daddy_, - -We started to walk to town to-day, but mercy! how it poured. I like -winter to be winter with snow instead of rain. - -Julia's desirable uncle called again this afternoon--and brought a -five-pound box of chocolates. There are advantages you see about -rooming with Julia. - -Our innocent prattle appeared to amuse him and he waited over a -train in order to take tea in the study. And an awful lot of trouble -we had getting permission. It's hard enough entertaining fathers -and grandfathers, but uncles are a step worse; and as for brothers -and cousins, they are next to impossible. Julia had to swear that he -was her uncle before a notary public and then have the county -clerk's certificate attached. (Don't I know a lot of law?) And even -then I doubt if we could have had our tea if the Dean had chanced to -see how youngish and good-looking Uncle Jervis is. - -Anyway, we had it, with brown bread Swiss cheese sandwiches. He -helped make them and then ate four. I told him that I had spent last -summer at Lock Willow, and we had a beautiful gossipy time about the -Semples, and the horses and cows and chickens. All the horses that -he used to know are dead, except Grover, who was a baby colt at the -time of his last visit--and poor Grove now is so old he can just -limp about the pasture. - -He asked if they still kept doughnuts in a yellow crock with a blue -plate over it on the bottom shelf of the pantry--and they do! He -wanted to know if there was still a woodchuck's hole under the pile -of rocks in the night pasture--and there is! Amasai caught a big, -fat, gray one there this summer, the twenty-fifth great-grandson of -the one Master Jervie caught when he was a little boy. - -I called him "Master Jervie" to his face, but he didn't appear to -be insulted. Julia says that she has never seen him so amiable; -he's usually pretty unapproachable. But Julia hasn't a bit of -tact; and men, I find, require a great deal. They purr if you rub -them the right way and spit if you don't. (That isn't a very -elegant metaphor. I mean it figuratively.) - -We're reading Marie Bashkirtseff's journal. Isn't it amazing? -Listen to this: "Last night I was seized by a fit of despair that -found utterance in moans, and that finally drove me to throw the -dining-room clock into the sea." - -It makes me almost hope I'm not a genius; they must be very wearing -to have about--and awfully destructive to the furniture. - -Mercy! how it keeps pouring. We shall have to swim to chapel -to-night. - - Yours ever, - - JUDY. - - [Illustration] - - - Jan. 20th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Did you ever have a sweet baby girl who was stolen from the cradle -in infancy? - -Maybe I am she! If we were in a novel, that would be the dénouement, -wouldn't it? - -It's really awfully queer not to know what one is--sort of exciting -and romantic. There are such a lot of possibilities. Maybe I'm not -American; lots of people aren't. I may be straight descended from -the ancient Romans, or I may be a Viking's daughter, or I may be the -child of a Russian exile and belong by rights in a Siberian prison, -or maybe I'm a Gipsy--I think perhaps I am. I have a very -_wandering_ spirit, though I haven't as yet had much chance to -develop it. - -Do you know about that one scandalous blot in my career--the time I -ran away from the asylum because they punished me for stealing -cookies? It's down in the books free for any Trustee to read. But -really, Daddy, what could you expect? When you put a hungry little -nine-year girl in the pantry scouring knives, with the cookie jar at -her elbow, and go off and leave her alone; and then suddenly pop in -again, wouldn't you expect to find her a bit crumby? And then when -you jerk her by the elbow and box her ears, and make her leave the -table when the pudding comes, and tell all the other children that -it's because she's a thief, wouldn't you expect her to run away? - -I only ran four miles. They caught me and brought me back; and every -day for a week I was tied, like a naughty puppy, to a stake in the -back yard while the other children were out at recess. - -Oh, dear! There's the chapel bell, and after chapel I have a -committee meeting. I'm sorry because I meant to write you a _very_ -entertaining letter this time. - - _Auf wiedersehen_ - - _Cher_ Daddy - - _Pax tibi!_ - - JUDY. - -P. S. There's one thing I'm perfectly sure of. I'm _not_ a -Chinaman. - - - February 4th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Jimmie McBride has sent me a Princeton banner as big as one end of -the room; I am very grateful to him for remembering me, but I don't -know what on earth to do with it. Sallie and Julia won't let me hang -it up; our room this year is furnished in red, and you can imagine -what an effect we'd have if I added orange and black. But it's -such nice, warm, thick felt, I hate to waste it. Would it be very -improper to have it made into a bath robe? My old one shrank when it -was washed. - -I've entirely omitted of late telling you what I am learning, -but though you might not imagine it from my letters, my time is -exclusively occupied with study. It's a very bewildering matter to -get educated in five branches at once. - - [Illustration: "It's the early bird that catches the tub."] - -"The test of true scholarship," says Chemistry Professor, "is a -painstaking passion for detail." - -"Be careful not to keep your eyes glued to detail," says History -Professor. "Stand far enough away to get a perspective on the -whole." - -You can see with what nicety we have to trim our sails between -chemistry and history. I like the historical method best. If I say -that William the Conqueror came over in 1492, and Columbus -discovered America in 1100 or 1066 or whenever it was, that's a -mere detail that the Professor overlooks. It gives a feeling of -security and restfulness to the history recitation, that is entirely -lacking in chemistry. - -Sixth-hour bell--I must go to the laboratory and look into a little -matter of acids and salts and alkalis. I've burned a hole as big as -a plate in the front of my chemistry apron, with hydrochloric acid. -If the theory worked, I ought to be able to neutralize that hole -with good strong ammonia, oughtn't I? - -Examinations next week, but who's afraid? - - Yours ever, - - JUDY. - - - March 5th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -There is a March wind blowing, and the sky is filled with heavy, -black moving clouds. The crows in the pine trees are making such a -clamor! It's an intoxicating, exhilarating, _calling_ noise. You -want to close your books and be off over the hills to race with the -wind. - -We had a paper chase last Saturday over five miles of squashy 'cross -country. The fox (composed of three girls and a bushel or so of -confetti) started half an hour before the twenty-seven hunters. -I was one of the twenty-seven; eight dropped by the wayside; we -ended nineteen. The trail led over a hill, through a cornfield, and -into a swamp where we had to leap lightly from hummock to hummock. -Of course half of us went in ankle deep. We kept losing the trail, -and wasted twenty-five minutes over that swamp. Then up a hill -through some woods and in at a barn window! The barn doors were all -locked and the window was up high and pretty small. I don't call -that fair, do you? - -But we didn't go through; we circumnavigated the barn and picked up -the trail where it issued by way of a low shed roof onto the top of -a fence. The fox thought he had us there, but we fooled him. Then -straight away over two miles of rolling meadow, and awfully hard to -follow, for the confetti was getting sparse. The rule is that it -must be at the most six feet apart, but they were the longest six -feet I ever saw. Finally, after two hours of steady trotting, we -tracked Monsieur Fox into the kitchen of Crystal Spring (that's a -farm where the girls go in bob sleighs and hay wagons for chicken -and waffle suppers) and we found the three foxes placidly eating -milk and honey and biscuits. They hadn't thought we would get that -far; they were expecting us to stick in the barn window. - -Both sides insist that they won. I think we did, don't you? Because -we caught them before they got back to the campus. Anyway, all -nineteen of us settled like locusts over the furniture and clamored -for honey. There wasn't enough to go round, but Mrs. Crystal Spring -(that's our pet name for her; she's by rights a Johnson) brought -up a jar of strawberry jam and a can of maple syrup--just made last -week--and three loaves of brown bread. - -We didn't get back to college till half-past six--half an hour late -for dinner--and we went straight in without dressing, and with -perfectly unimpaired appetites! Then we all cut evening chapel, -the state of our boots being enough of an excuse. - -I never told you about examinations. I passed everything with the -utmost ease--I know the secret now, and am never going to flunk -again. I shan't be able to graduate with honors though, because of -that beastly Latin prose and geometry Freshman year. But I don't -care. Wot's the hodds so long as you're 'appy? (That's a -quotation. I've been reading the English classics.) - -Speaking of classics, have you ever read "Hamlet"? If you haven't, -do it right off. It's _perfectly corking_. I've been hearing about -Shakespeare all my life, but I had no idea he really wrote so well; -I always suspected him of going largely on his reputation. - -I have a beautiful play that I invented a long time ago when I first -learned to read. I put myself to sleep every night by pretending -I'm the person (the most important person) in the book I'm reading -at the moment. - -At present I'm Ophelia--and such a sensible Ophelia! I keep Hamlet -amused all the time, and pet him and scold him and make him wrap up -his throat when he has a cold. I've entirely cured him of being -melancholy. The King and Queen are both dead--an accident at sea; no -funeral necessary--so Hamlet and I are ruling in Denmark without any -bother. We have the kingdom working beautifully. He takes care of -the governing, and I look after the charities. I have just founded -some first-class orphan asylums. If you or any of the other Trustees -would like to visit them, I shall be pleased to show you through. -I think you might find a great many helpful suggestions. - - I remain, sir, - - Yours most graciously, - - OPHELIA, - - Queen of Denmark. - - - March 24th - maybe the 25th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I don't believe I can be going to Heaven--I am getting such a lot of -good things here; it wouldn't be fair to get them hereafter, too. -Listen to what has happened. - -Jerusha Abbott has won the short-story contest (a twenty-five dollar -prize) that the _Monthly_ holds every year. And she a Sophomore! -The contestants are mostly Seniors. When I saw my name posted, -I couldn't quite believe it was true. Maybe I am going to be an -author after all. I wish Mrs. Lippett hadn't given me such a silly -name--it sounds like an author-ess, doesn't it? - -Also I have been chosen for the spring dramatics--"As You Like It" -out of doors. I am going to be Celia, own cousin to Rosalind. - -And lastly: Julia and Sallie and I are going to New York next Friday -to do some spring shopping and stay all night and go to the theater -the next day with "Master Jervie." He invited us. Julia is going to -stay at home with her family, but Sallie and I are going to stop at -the Martha Washington Hotel. Did you ever hear of anything so -exciting? I've never been in a hotel in my life, nor in a theater; -except once when the Catholic Church had a festival and invited the -orphans, but that wasn't a real play and it doesn't count. - -And what do you think we're going to see? "Hamlet." Think of that! -We studied it for four weeks in Shakespeare class and I know it by -heart. - -I am so excited over all these prospects that I can scarcely sleep. - -Good-by, Daddy. - -This is a very entertaining world. - - Yours ever, - - JUDY. - -P. S. I've just looked at the calendar. It's the 28th. - -Another postscript. - -I saw a street car conductor to-day with one brown eye and one blue. -Wouldn't he make a nice villain for a detective story? - - - April 7th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Mercy! Isn't New York big? Worcester is nothing to it. Do you mean -to tell me that you actually live in all that confusion? I don't -believe that I shall recover for months from the bewildering effect -of two days of it. I can't begin to tell you all the amazing things -I've seen; I suppose you know, though, since you live there -yourself. - -But aren't the streets entertaining? And the people? And the shops? -I never saw such lovely things as there are in the windows. It makes -you want to devote your life to wearing clothes. - -Sallie and Julia and I went shopping together Saturday morning. -Julia went into the very most gorgeous place I ever saw, white and -gold walls and blue carpets and blue silk curtains and gilt chairs. -A perfectly beautiful lady with yellow hair and a long black silk -trailing gown came to meet us with a welcoming smile. I thought we -were paying a social call, and started to shake hands, but it seems -we were only buying hats--at least Julia was. She sat down in front -of a mirror and tried on a dozen, each lovelier than the last, and -bought the two loveliest of all. - -I can't imagine any joy in life greater than sitting down in front -of a mirror and buying any hat you choose without having first to -consider the price! There's no doubt about it, Daddy; New York -would rapidly undermine this fine, stoical character which the John -Grier Home so patiently built up. - -And after we'd finished our shopping, we met Master Jervie at -Sherry's. I suppose you've been in Sherry's? Picture that, then -picture the dining-room of the John Grier Home with its -oilcloth-covered tables, and white crockery that you _can't_ break, -and wooden-handled knives and forks; and fancy the way I felt! - -I ate my fish with the wrong fork, but the waiter very kindly gave -me another so that nobody noticed. - -And after luncheon we went to the theater--it was dazzling, -marvelous, unbelievable--I dream about it every night. - -Isn't Shakespeare wonderful? - -"Hamlet" is so much better on the stage than when we analyze it in -class; I appreciated it before, but now, dear me! - -I think, if you don't mind, that I'd rather be an actress than a -writer. Wouldn't you like me to leave college and go into a -dramatic school? And then I'll send you a box for all my -performances, and smile at you across the footlights. Only wear a -red rose in your buttonhole, please, so I'll surely smile at the -right man. It would be an awfully embarrassing mistake if I picked -out the wrong one. - -We came back Saturday night and had our dinner in the train, at -little tables with pink lamps and negro waiters. I never heard of -meals being served in trains before, and I inadvertently said so. - -"Where on earth were you brought up?" said Julia to me. - -"In a village," said I, meekly to Julia. - -"But didn't you ever travel?" said she to me. - -"Not till I came to college, and then it was only a hundred and -sixty miles and we didn't eat," said I to her. - -She's getting quite interested in me, because I say such funny -things. I try hard not to, but they do pop out when I'm -surprised--and I'm surprised most of the time. It's a dizzying -experience, Daddy, to pass eighteen years in the John Grier Home, -and then suddenly to be plunged into the WORLD. - -But I'm getting acclimated. I don't make such awful mistakes as I -did; and I don't feel uncomfortable any more with the other girls. -I used to squirm whenever people looked at me. I felt as though they -saw right through my sham new clothes to the checked ginghams -underneath. But I'm not letting the ginghams bother me any more. -Sufficient unto yesterday is the evil thereof. - -I forgot to tell you about our flowers. Master Jervie gave us each a -big bunch of violets and lilies-of-the-valley. Wasn't that sweet of -him? I never used to care much for men--judging by Trustees--but -I'm changing my mind. - -Eleven pages--this _is_ a letter! Have courage. I'm going to stop. - - Yours always, - - JUDY. - - - April 10th. - - _Dear Mr. Rich-Man_, - -Here's your check for fifty dollars. Thank you very much, but I do -not feel that I can keep it. My allowance is sufficient to afford -all of the hats that I need. I am sorry that I wrote all that silly -stuff about the millinery shop; it's just that I had never seen -anything like it before. - -However, I wasn't begging! And I would rather not accept any more -charity than I have to. - - Sincerely yours, - - JERUSHA ABBOTT. - - - April 11th. - - _Dearest Daddy_, - -Will you please forgive me for the letter I wrote you yesterday? -After I posted it I was sorry, and tried to get it back, but that -beastly mail clerk wouldn't give it to me. - -It's the middle of the night now; I've been awake for hours -thinking what a Worm I am--what a Thousand-legged Worm--and that's -the worst I can say! I've closed the door very softly into the -study so as not to wake Julia and Sallie, and am sitting up in bed -writing to you on paper torn out of my history note-book. - -I just wanted to tell you that I am sorry I was so impolite about -your check. I know you meant it kindly, and I think you're an old -dear to take so much trouble for such a silly thing as a hat. -I ought to have returned it very much more graciously. - -But in any case, I had to return it. It's different with me than -with other girls. They can take things naturally from people. They -have fathers and brothers and aunts and uncles; but I can't be on -any such relations with any one. I like to pretend that you belong -to me, just to play with the idea, but of course I know you don't. -I'm alone, really--with my back to the wall fighting the world--and -I get sort of gaspy when I think about it. I put it out of my mind, -and keep on pretending; but don't you see, Daddy? I can't accept any -more money than I have to, because some day I shall be wanting to -pay it back, and even as great an author as I intend to be, won't be -able to face a _perfectly tremendous_ debt. - -I'd love pretty hats and things, but I mustn't mortgage the future -to pay for them. - -You'll forgive me, won't you, for being so rude? I have an awful -habit of writing impulsively when I first think things, and then -posting the letter beyond recall. But if I sometimes seem -thoughtless and ungrateful, I never mean it. In my heart I thank you -always for the life and freedom and independence that you have given -me. My childhood was just a long, sullen stretch of revolt, and now -I am so happy every moment of the day that I can't believe it's -true. I feel like a made-up heroine in a story-book. - -It's a quarter past two. I'm going to tiptoe out to the mail chute -and get this off now. You'll receive it in the next mail after the -other; so you won't have a very long time to think bad of me. - - Good night, Daddy, - - I love you always, - - JUDY. - - - May 4th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Field Day last Saturday. It was a very spectacular occasion. First -we had a parade of all the classes, with everybody dressed in white -linen, the Seniors carrying blue and gold Japanese umbrellas, -and the Juniors white and yellow banners. Our class had crimson -balloons--very fetching, especially as they were always getting -loose and floating off--and the Freshmen wore green tissue-paper -hats with long streamers. Also we had a band in blue uniforms hired -from town. Also about a dozen funny people, like clowns in a circus, -to keep the spectators entertained between events. - -Julia was dressed as a fat country man with a linen duster and -whiskers and baggy umbrella. Patsy Moriarty (Patricia, really. -Did you ever hear such a name? Mrs. Lippett couldn't have done better.) -who is tall and thin was Julia's wife in an absurd green bonnet over -one ear. Waves of laughter followed them the whole length of the -course. Julia played the part extremely well. I never dreamed that a -Pendleton could display so much comedy spirit--begging Master -Jervie's pardon; I don't consider him a true Pendleton though, -any more than I consider you a true Trustee. - -Sallie and I weren't in the parade because we were entered for the -events. And what do you think? We both won! At least in something. -We tried for the running broad jump and lost; but Sallie won the -pole-vaulting (seven feet three inches) and I won the fifty-yard -dash (eight seconds). - -I was pretty panting at the end, but it was great fun, with the -whole class waving balloons and cheering and yelling: - - What's the matter with Judy Abbott? - She's all right. - Who's all right? - Judy Ab-bott! - - [Illustration: "Judy Wins the Fifty Yard Dash"] - -That, Daddy, is true fame. Then trotting back to the dressing tent -and being rubbed down with alcohol and having a lemon to suck. You -see we're very professional. It's a fine thing to win an event for -your class, because the class that wins the most gets the athletic -cup for the year. The Seniors won it this year, with seven events -to their credit. The athletic association gave a dinner in the -gymnasium to all of the winners. We had fried soft-shell crabs, and -chocolate ice-cream molded in the shape of basket balls. - -I sat up half of last night reading "Jane Eyre." Are you old enough, -Daddy, to remember sixty years ago? And if so, did people talk that -way? - -The haughty Lady Blanche says to the footman, "Stop your chattering, -knave, and do my bidding." Mr. Rochester talks about the metal -welkin when he means the sky; and as for the mad woman who laughs -like a hyena and sets fire to bed curtains and tears up wedding -veils and _bites_--it's melodrama of the purest, but just the same, -you read and read and read. I can't see how any girl could have -written such a book, especially any girl who was brought up in a -churchyard. There's something about those Brontés that fascinates -me. Their books, their lives, their spirit. Where did they get it? -When I was reading about little Jane's troubles in the charity -school, I got so angry that I had to go out and take a walk. -I understood exactly how she felt. Having known Mrs. Lippett, -I could see Mr. Brocklehurst. - -Don't be outraged, Daddy. I am not intimating that the John Grier -Home was like the Lowood Institute. We had plenty to eat and plenty -to wear, sufficient water to wash in, and a furnace in the cellar. -But there was one deadly likeness. Our lives were absolutely -monotonous and uneventful. Nothing nice ever happened, except -ice-cream on Sundays, and even that was regular. In all the eighteen -years I was there I only had one adventure--when the woodshed -burned. We had to get up in the night and dress so as to be ready in -case the house should catch. But it didn't catch and we went back -to bed. - -Everybody likes a few surprises; it's a perfectly natural human -craving. But I never had one until Mrs. Lippett called me to the -office to tell me that Mr. John Smith was going to send me to -college. And then she broke the news so gradually that it just -barely shocked me. - -You know, Daddy, I think that the most necessary quality for any -person to have is imagination. It makes people able to put -themselves in other people's places. It makes them kind and -sympathetic and understanding. It ought to be cultivated in -children. But the John Grier Home instantly stamped out the -slightest flicker that appeared. Duty was the one quality that was -encouraged. I don't think children ought to know the meaning of the -word; it's odious, detestable. They ought to do everything from -love. - -Wait until you see the orphan asylum that I am going to be the head -of! It's my favorite play at night before I go to sleep. I plan it -out to the littlest detail--the meals and clothes and study and -amusements and punishments; for even my superior orphans are -sometimes bad. - -But anyway, they are going to be happy. I think that every one, no -matter how many troubles he may have when he grows up, ought to have -a happy childhood to look back upon. And if I ever have any children -of my own, no matter how unhappy I may be, I am not going to let -them have any cares until they grow up. - -(There goes the chapel bell--I'll finish this letter sometime.) - - - Thursday. - -When I came in from laboratory this afternoon, I found a squirrel -sitting on the tea table helping himself to almonds. These are the -kind of callers we entertain now that warm weather has come and the -window stays open-- - - [Illustration: "My dear Mrs. Centipede, will you have one lump - or two?"] - - - Saturday morning. - -Perhaps you think, last night being Friday, with no classes to-day, -that I passed a nice quiet, readable evening with the set of -Stevenson that I bought with my prize money? But if so, you've -never attended a girls' college, Daddy dear. Six friends dropped in -to make fudge, and one of them dropped the fudge--while it was still -liquid--right in the middle of our best rug. We shall never be able -to clean up the mess. - -I haven't mentioned any lessons of late; but we are still having -them every day. It's sort of a relief though, to get away from them -and discuss life in the large--rather one-sided discussions that you -and I hold, but that's your own fault. You are welcome to answer -back any time you choose. - -I've been writing this letter off and on for three days, and I fear -by now _vous êtes bien_ bored! - - Good-by, nice Mr. Man, - - JUDY. - - -_Mr. Daddy-Long-Legs Smith._ - -SIR: Having completed the study of argumentation and the science of -dividing a thesis into heads, I have decided to adopt the following -form for letter-writing. It contains all necessary facts, but no -unnecessary verbiage. - - I. We had written examinations this week in: - A. Chemistry. - B. History. - II. A new dormitory is being built. - A. Its material is: - (a) red brick. - (b) gray stone. - B. Its capacity will be: - (a) one dean, five instructors. - (b) two hundred girls. - (c) one housekeeper, three cooks, twenty waitresses, twenty - chambermaids. - III. We had junket for dessert to-night. - IV. I am writing a special topic upon the Sources of Shakespeare's - Plays. - V. Lou McMahon slipped and fell this afternoon at basket ball, - and she: - A. Dislocated her shoulder. - B. Bruised her knee. - VI. I have a new hat trimmed with: - A. Blue velvet ribbon. - B. Two blue quills. - C. Three red pompons. - VII. It is half-past nine. - VIII. Good night. - - JUDY. - - - June 2d. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -You will never guess the nice thing that has happened. - -The McBrides have asked me to spend the summer at their camp in the -Adirondacks! They belong to a sort of club on a lovely little lake -in the middle of the woods. The different members have houses made -of logs dotted about among the trees, and they go canoeing on the -lake, and take long walks through trails to other camps, and have -dances once a week in the club house--Jimmie McBride is going to -have a college friend visiting him part of the summer, so you see we -shall have plenty of men to dance with. - -Wasn't it sweet of Mrs. McBride to ask me? It appears that she -liked me when I was there for Christmas. - -Please excuse this being short. It isn't a real letter; it's just -to let you know that I'm disposed of for the summer. - - Yours, - - In a _very_ contented frame of mind, - - JUDY. - - - June 5th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Your secretary man has just written to me saying that Mr. Smith -prefers that I should not accept Mrs. McBride's invitation, but -should return to Lock Willow the same as last summer. - -Why, why, _why_, Daddy? - -You don't understand about it. Mrs. McBride does want me, really and -truly. I'm not the least bit of trouble in the house. I'm a help. -They don't take up many servants, and Sallie and I can do lots of -useful things. It's a fine chance for me to learn housekeeping. -Every woman ought to understand it, and I only know asylum-keeping. - -There aren't any girls our age at the camp, and Mrs. McBride wants -me for a companion for Sallie. We are planning to do a lot of -reading together. We are going to read all of the books for next -year's English and sociology. The Professor said it would be a great -help if we would get our reading finished in the summer; and it's -so much easier to remember it, if we read together and talk it over. - -Just to live in the same house with Sallie's mother is an education. -She's the most interesting, entertaining, companionable, charming -woman in the world; she knows everything. Think how many summers -I've spent with Mrs. Lippett and how I'll appreciate the contrast. -You needn't be afraid that I'll be crowding them, for their house -is made of rubber. When they have a lot of company, they just -sprinkle tents about in the woods and turn the boys outside. It's -going to be such a nice, healthy summer exercising out of doors -every minute. Jimmie McBride is going to teach me how to ride -horseback and paddle a canoe, and how to shoot and--oh, lots of -things I ought to know. It's the kind of nice, jolly, care-free -time that I've never had; and I think every girl deserves it once -in her life. Of course I'll do exactly as you say, but please, -_please_ let me go, Daddy. I've never wanted anything so much. - -This isn't Jerusha Abbott, the future great author, writing to you. -It's just Judy--a girl. - - - June 9th. - - _Mr. John Smith._ - -SIR: Yours of the 7th inst. at hand. In compliance with the -instructions received through your secretary, I leave on Friday next -to spend the summer at Lock Willow Farm. - - I hope always to remain, - - (Miss) JERUSHA ABBOTT. - - - LOCK WILLOW FARM, - - August Third. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -It has been nearly two months since I wrote, which wasn't nice of -me, I know, but I haven't loved you much this summer--you see I'm -being frank! - -You can't imagine how disappointed I was at having to give up the -McBride's camp. Of course I know that you're my guardian, and that -I have to regard your wishes in all matters, but I couldn't see any -_reason_. It was so distinctly the best thing that could have -happened to me. If I had been Daddy, and you had been Judy, I should -have said, "Bless you, my child, run along and have a good time; see -lots of new people and learn lots of new things; live out of doors, -and get strong and well and rested for a year of hard work." - -But not at all! Just a curt line from your secretary ordering me to -Lock Willow. - -It's the impersonality of your commands that hurts my feelings. It -seems as though, if you felt the tiniest little bit for me the way I -feel for you, you'd sometimes send me a message that you'd written -with your own hand, instead of those beastly typewritten secretary's -notes. If there were the slightest hint that you cared, I'd do -anything on earth to please you. - -I know that I was to write nice, long, detailed letters without ever -expecting any answer. You're living up to your side of the -bargain--I'm being educated--and I suppose you're thinking I'm -not living up to mine! - -But, Daddy, it is a hard bargain. It is, really. I'm so awfully -lonely. You are the only person I have to care for, and you are so -shadowy. You're just an imaginary man that I've made up--and -probably the real _you_ isn't a bit like my imaginary _you_. But -you did once, when I was ill in the infirmary, send me a message, -and now, when I am feeling awfully forgotten, I get out your card -and read it over. - -I don't think I am telling you at all what I started to say, which -was this: - -Although my feelings are still hurt, for it is very humiliating to -be picked up and moved about by an arbitrary, peremptory, -unreasonable, omnipotent, invisible Providence, still, when a man -has been as kind and generous and thoughtful as you have heretofore -been toward me, I suppose he has a right to be an arbitrary, -peremptory, unreasonable, invisible Providence if he chooses, and -so--I'll forgive you and be cheerful again. But I still don't enjoy -getting Sallie's letters about the good times they are having in -camp! - -However--we will draw a veil over that and begin again. - -I've been writing and writing this summer; four short stories -finished and sent to four different magazines. So you see I'm -trying to be an author. I have a workroom fixed in a corner of the -attic where Master Jervie used to have his rainy-day playroom. It's -in a cool, breezy corner with two dormer windows, and shaded by a -maple tree with a family of red squirrels living in a hole. - -I'll write a nicer letter in a few days and tell you all the farm -news. - -We need rain. - - Yours as ever, - - JUDY. - - - August 10th. - - _Mr. Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -SIR: I address you from the second crotch in the willow tree by the -pool in the pasture. There's a frog croaking underneath, a locust -singing overhead and two little "devil down-heads" darting up and -down the trunk. I've been here for an hour; it's a very -comfortable crotch, especially after being upholstered with two sofa -cushions. I came up with a pen and tablet hoping to write an -immortal short story, but I've been having a dreadful time with my -heroine--I _can't_ make her behave as I want her to behave; so I've -abandoned her for the moment, and am writing to you. (Not much -relief though, for I can't make you behave as I want you to, -either.) - -If you are in that dreadful New York, I wish I could send you some -of this lovely, breezy, sunshiny outlook. The country is Heaven -after a week of rain. - -Speaking of Heaven--do you remember Mr. Kellogg that I told you -about last summer?--the minister of the little white church at the -Corners. Well, the poor old soul is dead--last winter of pneumonia. -I went half-a-dozen times to hear him preach and got very well -acquainted with his theology. He believed to the end, exactly the -same things he started with. It seems to me that a man who can think -straight along for forty-seven years without changing a single idea -ought to be kept in a cabinet as a curiosity. I hope he is enjoying -his harp and golden crown; he was so perfectly sure of finding them! -There's a new young man, very up and coming, in his place. The -congregation is pretty dubious, especially the faction led by Deacon -Cummings. It looks as though there was going to be an awful split in -the church. We don't care for innovations in religion in this -neighborhood. - -During our week of rain I sat up in the attic and had an orgie of -reading--Stevenson, mostly. He himself is more entertaining than any -of the characters in his books; I dare say he made himself into the -kind of hero that would look well in print. Don't you think it was -perfect of him to spend all the ten thousand dollars his father -left, for a yacht, and go sailing off to the South Seas? He lived up -to his adventurous creed. If my father had left me ten thousand -dollars, I'd do it, too. The thought of Vailima makes me wild. -I want to see the tropics. I want to see the whole world. I am going -to some day--I am, really, Daddy, when I get to be a great author, -or artist, or actress, or playwright--or whatever sort of a great -person I turn out to be. I have a terrible wanderthirst; the very -sight of a map makes me want to put on my hat and take an umbrella -and start. "I shall see before I die the palms and temples of the -South." - - - Thursday evening at twilight, sitting on the doorstep. - -Very hard to get any news into this letter! Judy is becoming so -philosophical of late, that she wishes to discourse largely of the -world in general, instead of descending to the trivial details of -daily life. But if you _must_ have news, here it is: - - [Illustration] - -Our nine young pigs waded across the brook and ran away last -Tuesday, and only eight came back. We don't want to accuse any one -unjustly, but we suspect that Widow Dowd has one more than she ought -to have. - -Mr. Weaver has painted his barn and his two silos a bright pumpkin -yellow--a very ugly color, but he says it will wear. - -The Brewers have company this week; Mrs. Brewer's sister and two -nieces from Ohio. - - [Illustration] - -One of our Rhode Island Reds only brought off three chicks out of -fifteen eggs. We can't imagine what was the trouble. Rhode Island -Reds, in my opinion, are a very inferior breed. I prefer Buff -Orpingtons. - -The new clerk in the post-office at Bonnyrigg Four Corners drank -every drop of Jamaica ginger they had in stock--seven dollars' -worth--before he was discovered. - -Old Ira Hatch has rheumatism and can't work any more; he never saved -his money when he was earning good wages, so now he has to live on -the town. - -There's to be an ice-cream social at the schoolhouse next Saturday -evening. Come and bring your families. - -I have a new hat that I bought for twenty-five cents at the -post-office. This is my latest portrait, on my way to rake the hay. - -It's getting too dark to see; anyway, the news is all used up. - - Good night, - - JUDY. - - [Illustration] - - - Friday. - -Good morning! Here _is_ some news! What do you think? You'd never, -never, never guess who's coming to Lock Willow. A letter to Mrs. -Semple from Mr. Pendleton. He's motoring through the Berkshires, -and is tired and wants to rest on a nice quiet farm--if he climbs -out at her doorstep some night will she have a room ready for him? -Maybe he'll stay one week, or maybe two, or maybe three; he'll see -how restful it is when he gets here. - -Such a flutter as we are in! The whole house is being cleaned and -all the curtains washed. I am driving to the Corners this morning to -get some new oilcloth for the entry, and two cans of brown floor -paint for the hall and back stairs. Mrs. Dowd is engaged to come -to-morrow to wash the windows (in the exigency of the moment, we -waive our suspicions in regard to the piglet). You might think, from -this account of our activities, that the house was not already -immaculate; but I assure you it was! Whatever Mrs. Semple's -limitations, she is a HOUSEKEEPER. - -But isn't it just like a man, Daddy? He doesn't give the remotest -hint as to whether he will land on the doorstep to-day, or two weeks -from to-day. We shall live in a perpetual breathlessness until he -comes--and if he doesn't hurry, the cleaning may all have to be -done over again. - - [Illustration: "Old Grove is perfectly safe."] - -There's Amasai waiting below with the buckboard and Grover. I drive -alone--but if you could see old Grove, you wouldn't be worried as -to my safety. - -With my hand on my heart--farewell. - - JUDY. - -P. S. Isn't that a nice ending? I got it out of Stevenson's -letters. - - - Saturday. - -Good morning again! I didn't get this _enveloped_ yesterday before -the postman came, so I'll add some more. We have one mail a day at -twelve o'clock. Rural delivery is a blessing to the farmers! Our -postman not only delivers letters, but he runs errands for us in -town, at five cents an errand. Yesterday he brought me some -shoe-strings and a jar of cold cream (I sunburned all the skin off -my nose before I got my new hat) and a blue Windsor tie and a bottle -of blacking all for ten cents. That was an unusual bargain, owing to -the largeness of my order. - -Also he tells us what is happening in the Great World. Several -people on the route take daily papers, and he reads them as he jogs -along, and repeats the news to the ones who don't subscribe. So in -case a war breaks out between the United States and Japan, or the -president is assassinated, or Mr. Rockefeller leaves a million -dollars to the John Grier Home, you needn't bother to write; I'll -hear it anyway. - -No sign yet of Master Jervie. But you should see how clean our house -is--and with what anxiety we wipe our feet before we step in! - -I hope he'll come soon; I am longing for some one to talk to. Mrs. -Semple, to tell you the truth, gets sort of monotonous. She never -lets ideas interrupt the easy flow of her conversation. It's a -funny thing about the people here. Their world is just this single -hilltop. They are not a bit universal, if you know what I mean. -It's exactly the same as at the John Grier Home. Our ideas there -were bounded by the four sides of the iron fence, only I didn't -mind it so much because I was younger and was so awfully busy. By -the time I'd got all my beds made and my babies' faces washed and -had gone to school and come home and had washed their faces again -and darned their stockings and mended Freddie Perkins's trousers -(he tore them every day of his life) and learned my lessons in -between--I was ready to go to bed, and I didn't notice any lack of -social intercourse. But after two years in a conversational college, -I do miss it; and I shall be glad to see somebody who speaks my -language. - -I really believe I've finished, Daddy. Nothing else occurs to me at -the moment--I'll try to write a longer letter next time. - - Yours always, - - JUDY. - -P. S. The lettuce hasn't done at all well this year. It was so dry -early in the season. - - - August 25th. - -Well, Daddy, Master Jervie's here. And such a nice time as we're -having! At least I am, and I think he is, too--he has been here ten -days and he doesn't show any signs of going. The way Mrs. Semple -pampers that man is scandalous. If she indulged him as much when he -was a baby, I don't know how he ever turned out so well. - -He and I eat at a little table set on the side porch, or sometimes -under the trees, or--when it rains or is cold--in the best parlor. -He just picks out the spot he wants to eat in and Carrie trots after -him with the table. Then if it has been an awful nuisance, and she -has had to carry the dishes very far, she finds a dollar under the -sugar bowl. - -He is an awfully companionable sort of man, though you would never -believe it to see him casually; he looks at first glance like a true -Pendleton, but he isn't in the least. He is just as simple and -unaffected and sweet as he can be--that seems a funny way to -describe a man, but it's true. He's extremely nice with the -farmers around here; he meets them in a sort of man-to-man fashion -that disarms them immediately. They were very suspicious at first. -They didn't care for his clothes! And I will say that his clothes -are rather amazing. He wears knickerbockers and pleated jackets and -white flannels and riding clothes with puffed trousers. Whenever he -comes down in anything new, Mrs. Semple, beaming with pride, walks -around and views him from every angle, and urges him to be careful -where he sits down; she is so afraid he will pick up some dust. It -bores him dreadfully. He's always saying to her: - -"Run along, Lizzie, and tend to your work. You can't boss me any -longer. I've grown up." - -It's awfully funny to think of that great, big, long-legged man -(he's nearly as long-legged as you, Daddy) ever sitting in Mrs. -Semple's lap and having his face washed. Particularly funny when you -see her lap! She has two laps now, and three chins. But he says that -once she was thin and wiry and spry and could run faster than he. - -Such a lot of adventures we're having! We've explored the country -for miles, and I've learned to fish with funny little flies made of -feathers. Also to shoot with a rifle and a revolver. Also to ride -horse-back--there's an astonishing amount of life in old Grove. We -fed him on oats for three days, and he shied at a calf and almost -ran away with me. - - [Illustration] - - - Wednesday. - -We climbed Sky Hill Monday afternoon. That's a mountain near here; -not an awfully high mountain, perhaps--no snow on the summit--but at -least you are pretty breathless when you reach the top. The lower -slopes are covered with woods, but the top is just piled rocks and -open moor. We stayed up for the sunset and built a fire and cooked -our supper. Master Jervie did the cooking; he said he knew how -better than me--and he did, too, because he's used to camping. Then -we came down by moonlight, and, when we reached the wood trail where -it was dark, by the light of an electric bulb that he had in his -pocket. It was such fun! He laughed and joked all the way and talked -about interesting things. He's read all the books I've ever read, -and a lot of others besides. It's astonishing how many different -things he knows. - -We went for a long tramp this morning and got caught in a storm. Our -clothes were drenched before we reached home--but our spirits not -even damp. You should have seen Mrs. Semple's face when we dripped -into her kitchen. - -"Oh, Master Jervie--Miss Judy! You are soaked through. Dear! Dear! -What shall I do? That nice new coat is perfectly ruined." - -She was awfully funny; you would have thought that we were ten years -old, and she a distracted mother. I was afraid for a while that we -weren't going to get any jam for tea. - - - Saturday. - -I started this letter ages ago, but I haven't had a second to -finish it. - -Isn't this a nice thought from Stevenson? - - The world is so full of a number of things, - I am sure we should all be as happy as kings. - -It's true, you know. The world is full of happiness, and plenty to -go round, if you are only willing to take the kind that comes your -way. The whole secret is in being _pliable_. In the country, -especially, there are such a lot of entertaining things. I can walk -over everybody's land, and look at everybody's view, and dabble in -everybody's brook; and enjoy it just as much as though I owned the -land--and with no taxes to pay! - - * * * * * - -It's Sunday night now, about eleven o'clock, and I am supposed to -be getting some beauty sleep, but I had black coffee for dinner, -so--no beauty sleep for me! - -This morning, said Mrs. Semple to Mr. Pendleton, with a very -determined accent: - -"We have to leave here at a quarter past ten in order to get to -church by eleven." - -"Very well, Lizzie," said Master Jervie, "you have the surrey ready, -and if I'm not dressed, just go on without waiting." - -"We'll wait," said she. - -"As you please," said he, "only don't keep the horses standing too -long." - -Then while she was dressing, he told Carrie to pack up a lunch, and -he told me to scramble into my walking clothes; and we slipped out -the back way and went fishing. - -It discommoded the household dreadfully, because Lock Willow of a -Sunday dines at two. But he ordered dinner at seven--he orders -meals whenever he chooses; you would think the place were a -restaurant--and that kept Carrie and Amasai from going driving. But -he said it was all the better because it wasn't proper for them to -go driving without a chaperon; and anyway, he wanted the horses -himself to take me driving. Did you ever hear anything so funny? - -And poor Mrs. Semple believes that people who go fishing on Sundays, -go afterwards to a sizzling hot hell! She is awfully troubled to -think that she didn't train him better when he was small and -helpless and she had the chance. Besides--she wished to show him off -in church. - -Anyway, we had our fishing (he caught four little ones) and we -cooked them on a camp-fire for lunch. They kept falling off our -spiked sticks into the fire, so they tasted a little ashy, but we -ate them. We got home at four and went driving at five and had -dinner at seven, and at ten I was sent to bed--and here I am, -writing to you. - -I am getting a little sleepy though. - - Good night. - -Here is a picture of the one fish I caught. - - [Illustration] - - - [Illustration] - - _Ship ahoy, Cap'n Long-Legs!_ - -Avast! Belay! Yo, ho, ho, and a bottle of rum. Guess what I'm -reading? Our conversation these past two days has been nautical and -piratical. Isn't "Treasure Island" fun? Did you ever read it, or -wasn't it written when you were a boy? Stevenson only got thirty -pounds for the serial rights--I don't believe it pays to be a great -author. Maybe I'll teach school. - -Excuse me for filling my letters so full of Stevenson; my mind is -very much engaged with him at present. He comprises Lock Willow's -library. - -I've been writing this letter for two weeks, and I think it's -about long enough. Never say, Daddy, that I don't give details. -I wish you were here, too; we'd all have such a jolly time -together. I like my different friends to know each other. I wanted -to ask Mr. Pendleton if he knew you in New York--I should think he -might; you must move in about the same exalted social circles, and -you are both interested in reforms and things--but I couldn't, for -I don't know your real name. - -It's the silliest thing I ever heard of, not to know your name. -Mrs. Lippett warned me that you were eccentric. I should think so! - - Affectionately, - - JUDY. - -P. S. On reading this over, I find that it isn't all Stevenson. -There are one or two glancing references to Master Jervie. - - - September 10th. - - _Dear Daddy_, - -He has gone, and we are missing him! When you get accustomed to -people or places or ways of living, and then have them suddenly -snatched away, it does leave an awfully empty, gnawing sort of -sensation. I'm finding Mrs. Semple's conversation pretty unseasoned -food. - -College opens in two weeks and I shall be glad to begin work again. -I have worked quite a lot this summer though--six short stories and -seven poems. Those I sent to the magazines all came back with the -most courteous promptitude. But I don't mind. It's good practice. -Master Jervie read them--he brought in the mail, so I couldn't help -his knowing--and he said they were _dreadful_. They showed that I -didn't have the slightest idea of what I was talking about. (Master -Jervie doesn't let politeness interfere with truth.) But the last -one I did--just a little sketch laid in college--he said wasn't -bad; and he had it typewritten, and I sent it to a magazine. -They've had it two weeks; maybe they're thinking it over. - -You should see the sky! There's the queerest orange-colored light -over everything. We're going to have a storm. - - * * * * * - -It commenced just that moment with drops as big as quarters and all -the shutters banging. I had to run to close windows, while Carrie -flew to the attic with an armful of milk pans to put under the -places where the roof leaks--and then, just as I was resuming my -pen, I remembered that I'd left a cushion and rug and hat and -Matthew Arnold's poems under a tree in the orchard, so I dashed out -to get them, all quite soaked. The red cover of the poems had run -into the inside; "Dover Beach" in the future will be washed by pink -waves. - -A storm is awfully disturbing in the country. You are always having -to think of so many things that are out of doors and getting -spoiled. - - - Thursday. - -Daddy! Daddy! What do you think? The postman has just come with two -letters. - -1st.--My story is accepted. $50. - -_Alors!_ I'm an AUTHOR. - -2d.--A letter from the college secretary. I'm to have a scholarship -for two years that will cover board and tuition. It was founded by -an alumna for "marked proficiency in English with general excellency -in other lines." And I've won it! I applied for it before I left, -but I didn't have an idea I'd get it, on account of my Freshman -bad work in math. and Latin. But it seems I've made it up. I am -awfully glad, Daddy, because now I won't be such a burden to you. -The monthly allowance will be all I'll need, and maybe I can earn -that with writing or tutoring or something. - -I'm _crazy_ to go back and begin work. - - Yours ever, - - JERUSHA ABBOTT, - - Author of, "When the Sophomores - Won the Game." For sale at all - news stands, price ten cents. - - - September 26th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Back at college again and an upper classman. Our study is better -than ever this year--faces the South with two huge windows--and oh! -so furnished. Julia, with an unlimited allowance, arrived two days -early and was attacked with a fever of settling. - -We have new wall paper and Oriental rugs and mahogany chairs--not -painted mahogany which made us sufficiently happy last year, but -real. It's very gorgeous, but I don't feel as though I belonged in -it; I'm nervous all the time for fear I'll get an ink spot in the -wrong place. - -And, Daddy, I found your letter waiting for me--pardon--I mean your -secretary's. - -Will you kindly convey to me a comprehensible reason why I should -not accept that scholarship? I don't understand your objection in -the least. But anyway, it won't do the slightest good for you to -object, for I've already accepted it--and I am not going to change! -That sounds a little impertinent, but I don't mean it so. - -I suppose you feel that when you set out to educate me, you'd like -to finish the work, and put a neat period, in the shape of a -diploma, at the end. - -But look at it just a second from my point of view. I shall owe my -education to you just as much as though I let you pay for the whole -of it, but I won't be quite so much indebted. I know that you don't -want me to return the money, but nevertheless, I am going to want to -do it, if I possibly can; and winning this scholarship makes it so -much easier. I was expecting to spend the rest of my life in paying -my debts, but now I shall only have to spend one-half of the rest of -it. - -I hope you understand my position and won't be cross. The allowance -I shall still most gratefully accept. It requires an allowance to -live up to Julia and her furniture! I wish that she had been reared -to simpler tastes, or else that she were not my room-mate. - -This isn't much of a letter; I meant to have written a lot--but -I've been hemming four window curtains and three portières (I'm -glad you can't see the length of the stitches) and polishing a brass -desk set with tooth powder (very uphill work) and sawing off picture -wire with manicure scissors, and unpacking four boxes of books, and -putting away two trunkfuls of clothes (it doesn't seem believable -that Jerusha Abbott owns two trunks full of clothes, but she does!) -and welcoming back fifty dear friends in between. - -Opening day is a joyous occasion! - -Good night, Daddy dear, and don't be annoyed because your chick is -wanting to scratch for herself. She's growing up into an awfully -energetic little hen--with a very determined cluck and lots of -beautiful feathers (all due to you). - - Affectionately, - - JUDY. - - - September 30th. - - _Dear Daddy_, - -Are you still harping on that scholarship? I never knew a man so -obstinate and stubborn and unreasonable, and tenacious, and -bull-doggish, and unable-to-see-other-people's-points-of-view as -you. - -You prefer that I should not be accepting favors from strangers. - -Strangers!--And what are you, pray? - -Is there any one in the world that I know less? I shouldn't -recognize you if I met you on the street. Now, you see, if you had -been a sane, sensible person and had written nice, cheering, -fatherly letters to your little Judy, and had come occasionally and -patted her on the head, and had said you were glad she was such a -good girl--Then, perhaps, she wouldn't have flouted you in your old -age, but would have obeyed your slightest wish like the dutiful -daughter she was meant to be. - -Strangers indeed! You live in a glass house, Mr. Smith. - -And besides, this isn't a favor; it's like a prize--I earned it by -hard work. If nobody had been good enough in English, the committee -wouldn't have awarded the scholarship; some years they don't. -Also--But what's the use of arguing with a man? You belong, Mr. -Smith, to a sex devoid of a sense of logic. To bring a man into -line, there are just two methods: one must either coax or be -disagreeable. I scorn to coax men for what I wish. Therefore, I must -be disagreeable. - -I refuse, sir, to give up the scholarship; and if you make any more -fuss, I won't accept the monthly allowance either, but will wear -myself into a nervous wreck tutoring stupid Freshmen. - -That is my ultimatum! - -And listen--I have a further thought. Since you are so afraid that -by taking this scholarship, I am depriving some one else of an -education, I know a way out. You can apply the money that you would -have spent for me, toward educating some other little girl from the -John Grier Home. Don't you think that's a nice idea? Only, Daddy, -_educate_ the new girl as much as you choose, but please don't -_like_ her any better than me. - -I trust that your secretary won't be hurt because I pay so little -attention to the suggestions offered in his letter, but I can't help -it if he is. He's a spoiled child, Daddy. I've meekly given in to -his whims heretofore, but this time I intend to be FIRM. - - Yours, - - With a Mind, - - Completely and Irrevocably and World-without-End Made-up. - - JERUSHA ABBOTT. - - -[Plate: "I LIKE MY DIFFERENT FRIENDS TO KNOW EACH OTHER."] - - - November 9th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I started down town to-day to buy a bottle of shoe blacking and some -collars and the material for a new blouse and a jar of violet cream -and a cake of Castile soap--all very necessary; I couldn't be happy -another day without them--and when I tried to pay the car fare, -I found that I had left my purse in the pocket of my other coat. So -I had to get out and take the next car, and was late for gymnasium. - -It's a dreadful thing to have no memory and two coats! - -Julia Pendleton has invited me to visit her for the Christmas -holidays. How does that strike you, Mr. Smith? Fancy Jerusha Abbott, -of the John Grier Home, sitting at the tables of the rich. I don't -know why Julia wants me--she seems to be getting quite attached to -me of late. I should, to tell the truth, very much prefer going to -Sallie's, but Julia asked me first, so if I go anywhere, it must be -to New York instead of to Worcester. I'm rather awed at the -prospect of meeting Pendletons _en masse_, and also I'd have to get -a lot of new clothes--so, Daddy dear, if you write that you would -prefer having me remain quietly at college, I will bow to your -wishes with my usual sweet docility. - -I'm engaged at odd moments with the "Life and Letters of Thomas -Huxley"--it makes nice, light reading to pick up between times. Do -you know what an archæopteryx is? It's a bird. And a stereognathus? -I'm not sure myself but I think it's a missing link, like a bird -with teeth or a lizard with wings. No, it isn't either; I've just -looked in the book. It's a mesozoic mammal. - - [Illustration: "This is the only picture extant of a - stereognathus. - He has a head like a snake and ears like a dog and feet like - a cow and a tail like a lizard and wings like a swan and is - covered with nice soft fur like a sweet little pussy cat."] - -I've elected economics this year--very illuminating subject. When I -finish that I'm going to take Charity and Reform; then, Mr. -Trustee, I'll know just how an orphan asylum ought to be run. Don't -you think I'd make an admirable voter if I had my rights? I was -twenty-one last week. This is an awfully wasteful country to throw -away such an honest, educated, conscientious, intelligent citizen as -I would be. - - Yours always, - - JUDY. - - - December 7th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Thank you for permission to visit Julia--I take it that silence -means consent. - -Such a social whirl as we've been having! The Founder's dance came -last week--this was the first year that any of us could attend; only -upper classmen being allowed. - -I invited Jimmie McBride, and Sallie invited his room-mate at -Princeton, who visited them last summer at their camp--an awfully -nice man with red hair--and Julia invited a man from New York, not -very exciting, but socially irreproachable. He is connected with the -De la Mater Chichesters. Perhaps that means something to you? It -doesn't illuminate me to any extent. - -However--our guests came Friday afternoon in time for tea in the -senior corridor, and then dashed down to the hotel for dinner. The -hotel was so full that they slept in rows on the billiard tables, -they say. Jimmie McBride says that the next time he is bidden to a -social event in this college, he is going to bring one of their -Adirondack tents and pitch it on the campus. - -At seven-thirty they came back for the President's reception and -dance. Our functions commence early! We had the men's cards all made -out ahead of time, and after every dance, we'd leave them in groups -under the letter that stood for their names, so that they could be -readily found by their next partners. Jimmie McBride, for example, -would stand patiently under "M" until he was claimed. (At least, he -ought to have stood patiently, but he kept wandering off and getting -mixed with "R's" and "S's" and all sorts of letters.) I found him a -very difficult guest; he was sulky because he had only three dances -with me. He said he was bashful about dancing with girls he didn't -know! - -The next morning we had a glee club concert--and who do you think -wrote the funny new song composed for the occasion? It's the truth. -She did. Oh, I tell you, Daddy, your little foundling is getting to -be quite a prominent person! - -Anyway, our gay two days were great fun, and I think the men enjoyed -it. Some of them were awfully perturbed at first at the prospect of -facing one thousand girls; but they got acclimated very quickly. Our -two Princeton men had a beautiful time--at least they politely said -they had, and they've invited us to their dance next spring. We've -accepted, so please don't object, Daddy dear. - -Julia and Sallie and I all had new dresses. Do you want to hear -about them? Julia's was cream satin and gold embroidery, and she -wore purple orchids. It was a _dream_ and came from Paris, and cost -a million dollars. - -Sallie's was pale blue trimmed with Persian embroidery, and went -beautifully with red hair. It didn't cost quite a million, but was -just as effective as Julia's. - -Mine was pale pink crêpe de chine trimmed with écru lace and rose -satin. And I carried crimson roses which J. McB. sent (Sallie having -told him what color to get). And we all had satin slippers and silk -stockings and chiffon scarfs to match. - -You must be deeply impressed by these millinery details! - -One can't help thinking, Daddy, what a colorless life a man is -forced to lead, when one reflects that chiffon and Venetian point -and hand embroidery and Irish crochet are to him mere empty words. -Whereas a woman, whether she is interested in babies or microbes or -husbands or poetry or servants or parallelograms or gardens or Plato -or bridge--is fundamentally and always interested in clothes. - -It's the one touch of nature that makes the whole world kin. (That -isn't original. I got it out of one of Shakespeare's plays.) - -However, to resume. Do you want me to tell you a secret that I've -lately discovered? And will you promise not to think me vain? Then -listen: - -I'm pretty. - -I am, really. I'd be an awful idiot not to know it with three -looking-glasses in the room. - - A FRIEND. - -P. S. This is one of those wicked anonymous letters you read about -in novels. - - - December 20th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I've just a moment, because I must attend two classes, pack a trunk -and a suitcase, and catch the four-o'clock train--but I couldn't go -without sending a word to let you know how much I appreciate my -Christmas box. - -I love the furs and the necklace and the liberty scarf and the -gloves and handkerchiefs and books and purse--and most of all I love -you! But Daddy, you have no _business_ to spoil me this way. I'm -only human--and a girl at that. How can I keep my mind sternly fixed -on a studious career, when you deflect me with such worldly -frivolities? - -I have strong suspicions now as to which one of the John Grier -Trustees used to give the Christmas tree and the Sunday ice-cream. -He was nameless, but by his works I know him! You deserve to be -happy for all the good things you do. - -Good-by, and a very merry Christmas. - - Yours always, - - JUDY. - -P. S. I am sending a slight token, too. Do you think you would like -her if you knew her? - - - January 11th. - -I meant to write to you from the city, Daddy, but New York is an -engrossing place. - -I had an interesting--and illuminating--time, but I'm glad I don't -belong in such a family! I should truly rather have the John Grier -Home for a background. Whatever the drawbacks of my bringing up, -there was at least no pretense about it. I know now what people mean -when they say they are weighed down by Things. The material -atmosphere of that house was crushing; I didn't draw a deep breath -until I was on an express train coming back. All the furniture was -carved and upholstered and gorgeous; the people I met were -beautifully dressed and low-voiced and well-bred, but it's the -truth, Daddy, I never heard one word of real talk from the time we -arrived until we left. I don't think an idea ever entered the front -door. - -Mrs. Pendleton never thinks of anything but jewels and dressmakers -and social engagements. She did seem a different kind of mother from -Mrs. McBride! If I ever marry and have a family, I'm going to make -them as exactly like the McBrides as I can. Not for all the money in -the world would I ever let any children of mine develop into -Pendletons. Maybe it isn't polite to criticize people you've been -visiting? If it isn't, please excuse. This is very confidential, -between you and me. - -I only saw Master Jervie once when he called at tea time, and -then I didn't have a chance to speak to him alone. It was sort of -disappointing after our nice time last summer. I don't think he -cares much for his relatives--and I am sure they don't care -much for him! Julia's mother says he's unbalanced. He's a -Socialist--except, thank Heaven, he doesn't let his hair grow and -wear red ties. She can't imagine where he picked up his queer ideas; -the family have been Church of England for generations. He throws -away his money on every sort of crazy reform, instead of spending it -on such sensible things as yachts and automobiles and polo ponies. -He does buy candy with it though! He sent Julia and me each a box -for Christmas. - -You know, I think I'll be a Socialist, too. You wouldn't mind, -would you, Daddy? They're quite different from Anarchists; they -don't believe in blowing people up. Probably I am one by rights; -I belong to the proletariat. I haven't determined yet just which -kind I am going to be. I will look into the subject over Sunday, -and declare my principles in my next. - -I've seen loads of theaters and hotels and beautiful houses. My -mind is a confused jumble of onyx and gilding and mosaic floors and -palms. I'm still pretty breathless but I am glad to get back to -college and my books--I believe that I really am a student; this -atmosphere of academic calm I find more bracing than New York. -College is a very satisfying sort of life; the books and study and -regular classes keep you alive mentally, and then when your mind -gets tired, you have the gymnasium and outdoor athletics, and always -plenty of congenial friends who are thinking about the same -things you are. We spend a whole evening in nothing but -talk--talk--talk--and go to bed with a very uplifted feeling, -as though we had settled permanently some pressing world problems. -And filling in every crevice, there is always such a lot of -nonsense--just silly jokes about the little things that come up--but -very satisfying. We do appreciate our own witticisms! - -It isn't the great big pleasures that count the most; it's making -a great deal out of the little ones--I've discovered the true -secret of happiness, Daddy, and that is to live in the _now_. Not to -be forever regretting the past, or anticipating the future; but to -get the most that you can out of this very instant. It's like -farming. You can have extensive farming and intensive farming; well, -I am going to have intensive living after this. I'm going to enjoy -every second, and I'm going to _know_ I'm enjoying it while I'm -enjoying it. Most people don't live; they just race. They are trying -to reach some goal far away on the horizon, and in the heat of the -going they get so breathless and panting that they lose all sight of -the beautiful, tranquil country they are passing through; and then -the first thing they know, they are old and worn out, and it -doesn't make any difference whether they've reached the goal or -not. I've decided to sit down by the way and pile up a lot of -little happinesses, even if I never become a Great Author. Did you -ever know such a philosopheress as I am developing into? - - Yours ever, - - JUDY. - -P. S. It's raining cats and dogs to-night. Two puppies and a kitten -have just landed on the window-sill. - - - _Dear Comrade_, - -Hooray! I'm a Fabian. - -That's a Socialist who's willing to wait. We don't want the social -revolution to come to-morrow morning; it would be too upsetting. We -want it to come very gradually in the distant future, when we shall -all be prepared and able to sustain the shock. - -In the meantime we must be getting ready, by instituting industrial, -educational and orphan asylum reforms. - - Yours, with fraternal love, - - JUDY. - - Monday, 3d hour. - - - February 11th. - - _Dear D. L. L._, - -Don't be insulted because this is so short. It isn't a letter; -it's just a _line_ to say that I'm going to write a letter pretty -soon when examinations are over. It is not only necessary that I -pass, but pass WELL. I have a scholarship to live up to. - - Yours, studying hard, - - J. A. - - - March 5th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -President Cuyler made a speech this evening about the modern -generation being flippant and superficial. He says that we are -losing the old ideals of earnest endeavor and true scholarship; and -particularly is this falling-off noticeable in our disrespectful -attitude toward organized authority. We no longer pay a seemly -deference to our superiors. - -I came away from chapel very sober. - -Am I too familiar, Daddy? Ought I to treat you with more dignity and -aloofness?--Yes, I'm sure I ought. I'll begin again. - - * * * * * - -_My dear Mr. Smith_, - -You will be pleased to hear that I passed successfully my mid-year -examinations, and am now commencing work in the new semester. I am -leaving chemistry--having completed the course in qualitative -analysis--and am entering upon the study of biology. I approach this -subject with some hesitation, as I understand that we dissect -angleworms and frogs. - -An extremely interesting and valuable lecture was given in the -chapel last week upon Roman Remains in Southern France. I have never -listened to a more illuminating exposition of the subject. - -We are reading Wordsworth's "Tinturn Abbey" in connection with our -course in English Literature. What an exquisite work it is, and how -adequately it embodies his conception of Pantheism! The Romantic -movement of the early part of the last century, exemplified in the -works of such poets as Shelley, Byron, Keats, and Wordsworth, -appeals to me very much more than the Classical period that preceded -it. Speaking of poetry, have you ever read that charming little -thing of Tennyson's called "Locksley Hall"? - -I am attending gymnasium very regularly of late. A proctor system -has been devised, and failure to comply with the rules causes a -great deal of inconvenience. The gymnasium is equipped with a very -beautiful swimming tank of cement and marble, the gift of a former -graduate. My room-mate, Miss McBride, has given me her bathing-suit -(it shrank so that she can no longer wear it) and I am about to -begin swimming lessons. - -We had delicious pink ice-cream for dessert last night. Only -vegetable dyes are used in coloring the food. The college is very -much opposed, both from esthetic and hygienic motives, to the use of -aniline dyes. - -The weather of late has been ideal--bright sunshine and clouds -interspersed with a few welcome snow-storms. I and my companions -have enjoyed our walks to and from classes--particularly from. - -Trusting, my dear Mr. Smith, that this will find you in your usual -good health, - - I remain, - - Most cordially yours, - - JERUSHA ABBOTT. - - - April 24th. - - _Dear Daddy_, - -Spring has come again! You should see how lovely the campus is. -I think you might come and look at it for yourself. Master Jervie -dropped in again last Friday--but he chose a most unpropitious time, -for Sallie and Julia and I were just running to catch a train. And -where do you think we were going? To Princeton, to attend a dance -and a ball game, if you please! I didn't ask you if I might go, -because I had a feeling that your secretary would say no. But it was -entirely regular; we had leave-of-absence from college, and Mrs. -McBride chaperoned us. We had a charming time--but I shall have to -omit details; they are too many and complicated. - - - Saturday. - - [Illustration] - -Up before dawn! The night watchman called us--six of us--and we made -coffee in a chafing dish (you never saw so many grounds!) and walked -two miles to the top of One Tree Hill to see the sun rise. We had to -scramble up the last slope! The sun almost beat us! And perhaps you -think we didn't bring back appetites to breakfast! - -Dear me, Daddy, I seem to have a very ejaculatory style to-day; this -page is peppered with exclamations. - - [Illustration: "This is Prexy's kitten. You can see from the - picture how Angora he is."] - -I meant to have written a lot about the budding trees and the new -cinder path in the athletic field, and the awful lesson we have in -biology for to-morrow, and the new canoes on the lake, and Catherine -Prentiss who has pneumonia, and Prexy's Angora kitten that strayed -from home and has been boarding in Fergussen Hall for two weeks -until a chambermaid reported it, and about my three new -dresses--white and pink and blue polka dots with a hat to match--but -I am too sleepy. I am always making this an excuse, am I not? But a -girl's college is a busy place and we do get tired by the end of the -day! Particularly when the day begins at dawn. - - Affectionately, - - JUDY. - - - May 15th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Is it good manners when you get into a car just to stare straight -ahead and not see anybody else? - -A very beautiful lady in a very beautiful velvet dress got into the -car to-day, and without the slightest expression sat for fifteen -minutes and looked at a sign advertising suspenders. It doesn't -seem polite to ignore everybody else as though you were the only -important person present. Anyway, you miss a lot. While she was -absorbing that silly sign, I was studying a whole car full of -interesting human beings. - -The accompanying illustration is hereby reproduced for the first -time. It looks like a spider on the end of a string, but it isn't -at all; it's a picture of me learning to swim in the tank in the -gymnasium. - - [Illustration] - -The instructor hooks a rope into a ring in the back of my belt, and -runs it through a pulley in the ceiling. It would be a beautiful -system if one had perfect confidence in the probity of one's -instructor. I'm always afraid, though, that she will let the rope -get slack, so I keep one anxious eye on her and swim with the other, -and with this divided interest I do not make the progress that I -otherwise might. - -Very miscellaneous weather we're having of late. It was raining -when I commenced and now the sun is shining. Sallie and I are going -out to play tennis--thereby gaining exemption from Gym. - - - A week later. - -I should have finished this letter long ago, but I didn't. You -don't mind, do you, Daddy, if I'm not very regular? I really do -love to write to you; it gives me such a respectable feeling of -having some family. Would you like me to tell you something? You are -not the only man to whom I write letters. There are two others! -I have been receiving beautiful long letters this winter from Master -Jervie (with typewritten envelopes so Julia won't recognize the -writing). Did you ever hear anything so shocking? And every week or -so a very scrawly epistle, usually on yellow tablet paper, arrives -from Princeton. All of which I answer with businesslike promptness. -So you see--I am not so different from other girls--I get mail, too. - -Did I tell you that I have been elected a member of the Senior -Dramatic Club? Very _recherché_ organization. Only seventy-five -members out of one thousand. Do you think as a consistent Socialist -that I ought to belong? - -What do you suppose is at present engaging my attention in -sociology? I am writing (_figurez vous!_) a paper on the Care of -Dependent Children. The Professor shuffled up his subjects and dealt -them out promiscuously, and that fell to me. _C'est drôle ça n'est -pas?_ - -There goes the gong for dinner. I'll mail this as I pass the chute. - - Affectionately, - - J. - - - June 4th. - - _Dear Daddy_, - -Very busy time--commencement in ten days, examinations to-morrow; -lots of studying, lots of packing, and the outdoors world so lovely -that it hurts you to stay inside. - -But never mind, vacation's coming. Julia is going abroad this -summer--it makes the fourth time. No doubt about it, Daddy, goods -are not distributed evenly. Sallie, as usual, goes to the -Adirondacks. And what do you think I am going to do? You may have -three guesses. Lock Willow? Wrong. The Adirondacks with Sallie? -Wrong. (I'll never attempt that again; I was discouraged last -year.) Can't you guess anything else? You're not very inventive. -I'll tell you, Daddy, if you'll promise not to make a lot of -objections. I warn your secretary ahead of time that my mind is made -up. - -I am going to spend the summer at the seaside with a Mrs. Charles -Paterson and tutor her daughter who is to enter college in the -autumn. I met her through the McBrides, and she is a very charming -woman. I am to give lessons in English and Latin to the younger -daughter, too, but I shall have a little time to myself, and I shall -be earning fifty dollars a month! Doesn't that impress you as a -perfectly exorbitant amount? She offered it; I should have blushed -to ask more than twenty-five. - -I finish at Magnolia (that's where she lives) the first of -September and shall probably spend the remaining three weeks at Lock -Willow--I should like to see the Semples again and all the friendly -animals. - -How does my program strike you, Daddy? I am getting quite -independent, you see. You have put me on my feet and I think I can -almost walk alone by now. - -Princeton commencement and our examinations exactly coincide--which -is an awful blow. Sallie and I did so want to get away in time for -it, but of course that is utterly impossible. - -Good-by, Daddy. Have a nice summer and come back in the autumn -rested and ready for another year of work. (That's what you ought -to be writing to me!) I haven't an idea what you do in the summer, -or how you amuse yourself. I can't visualize your surroundings. Do -you play golf or hunt or ride horseback or just sit in the sun and -meditate? - -Anyway, whatever it is, have a good time and don't forget Judy. - - - June Tenth. - - _Dear Daddy_, - -This is the hardest letter I ever wrote, but I have decided what I -must do, and there isn't going to be any turning back. It is very -sweet and generous and dear of you to wish to send me to Europe this -summer--for the moment I was intoxicated by the idea; but sober -second thoughts said no. It would be rather illogical of me to -refuse to take your money for college, and then use it instead just -for amusement! You mustn't get me used to too many luxuries. One -doesn't miss what one has never had; but it is awfully hard going -without things after one has commenced thinking they are his--hers -(English language needs another pronoun) by natural right. Living -with Sallie and Julia is an awful strain on my stoical philosophy. -They have both had things from the time they were babies; they -accept happiness as a matter of course. The World, they think, owes -them everything they want. Maybe the World does--in any case, it -seems to acknowledge the debt and pay up. But as for me, it owes me -nothing, and distinctly told me so in the beginning. I have no right -to borrow on credit, for there will come a time when the World will -repudiate my claim. - -I seem to be floundering in a sea of metaphor--but I hope you grasp -my meaning? Anyway, I have a very strong feeling that the only -honest thing for me to do is to teach this summer and begin to -support myself. - - - * * * * * - - MAGNOLIA, - - Four days later. - -I'd got just that much written, when--what do you think happened? -The maid arrived with Master Jervie's card. He is going abroad too -this summer; not with Julia and her family but entirely by himself. -I told him that you had invited me to go with a lady who is -chaperoning a party of girls. He knows about you, Daddy. That is, he -knows that my father and mother are dead, and that a kind gentleman -is sending me to college; I simply didn't have the courage to tell -him about the John Grier Home and all the rest. He thinks that you -are my guardian and a perfectly legitimate old family friend. I have -never told him that I didn't know you--that would seem too queer! - -Anyway, he insisted on my going to Europe. He said that it was a -necessary part of my education and that I mustn't think of -refusing. Also, that he would be in Paris at the same time, and that -we would run away from the chaperon occasionally and have dinner -together at nice, funny, foreign restaurants. - -Well, Daddy, it did appeal to me! I almost weakened; if he hadn't -been so dictatorial, maybe I should have entirely weakened. I can be -enticed step by step, but I _won't_ be forced. He said I was a -silly, foolish, irrational, quixotic, idiotic, stubborn child (those -are a few of his abusive adjectives; the rest escape me) and that I -didn't know what was good for me; I ought to let older people -judge. We almost quarreled--I am not sure but that we entirely did! - -In any case, I packed my trunk fast and came up here. I thought I'd -better see my bridges in flames behind me before I finished writing -to you. They are entirely reduced to ashes now. Here I am at Cliff -Top (the name of Mrs. Paterson's cottage) with my trunk unpacked and -Florence (the little one) already struggling with first declension -nouns. And it bids fair to be a struggle! She is a most uncommonly -spoiled child; I shall have to teach her first how to study--she has -never in her life concentrated on anything more difficult than -ice-cream soda water. - -We use a quiet corner of the cliffs for a schoolroom--Mrs. Paterson -wishes me to keep them out of doors--and I will say that _I_ find it -difficult to concentrate with the blue sea before me and ships -a-sailing by! And when I think I might be on one, sailing off to -foreign lands--but I _won't_ let myself think of anything but Latin -Grammar. - - The prepositions a or ab, absque, coram, cum, de, e or ex, prae, - pro, sine, tenus, in, subter, sub and super govern the ablative. - -So you see, Daddy, I am already plunged into work with my eyes -persistently set against temptation. Don't be cross with me, please, -and don't think that I do not appreciate your kindness, for I -do--always--always. The only way I can ever repay you is by turning -out a Very Useful Citizen (Are women citizens? I don't suppose they -are). Anyway, a Very Useful Person. And when you look at me you can -say, "I gave that Very Useful Person to the world." - -That sounds well, doesn't it, Daddy? But I don't wish to mislead -you. The feeling often comes over me that I am not at all -remarkable; it is fun to plan a career, but in all probability, -I shan't turn out a bit different from any other ordinary person. -I may end by marrying an undertaker and being an inspiration to him -in his work. - - Yours ever, - - JUDY. - - - August 19th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -My window looks out on the loveliest landscape--ocean-scape -rather--nothing but water and rocks. - -The summer goes. I spend the morning with Latin and English and -algebra and my two stupid girls. I don't know how Marion is ever -going to get into college, or stay in after she gets there. And as -for Florence, she is hopeless--but oh! such a little beauty. I don't -suppose it matters in the least whether they are stupid or not so -long as they are pretty? One can't help thinking though, how their -conversation will bore their husbands, unless they are fortunate -enough to obtain stupid husbands. I suppose that's quite possible; -the world seems to be filled with stupid men; I've met a number -this summer. - -In the afternoon we take a walk on the cliffs, or swim, if the tide -is right. I can swim in salt water with the utmost ease--you see my -education is already being put to use! - -A letter comes from Mr. Jervis Pendleton in Paris, rather a short, -concise letter; I'm not quite forgiven yet for refusing to follow -his advice. However, if he gets back in time, he will see me for a -few days at Lock Willow before college opens, and if I am very nice -and sweet and docile, I shall (I am led to infer) be received into -favor again. - -Also a letter from Sallie. She wants me to come to their camp for -two weeks in September. Must I ask your permission, or haven't I -yet arrived at the place where I can do as I please? Yes, I am sure -I have--I'm a Senior, you know. Having worked all summer, I feel -like taking a little healthful recreation; I want to see the -Adirondacks; I want to see Sallie; I want to see Sallie's -brother--he's going to teach me to canoe--and (we come to my chief -motive, which is mean) I want Master Jervie to arrive at Lock Willow -and find me not there. - -I _must_ show him that he can't dictate to me. No one can dictate to -me but you, Daddy--and you can't always! I'm off for the woods. - - JUDY. - - - CAMP MCBRIDE, - - September 6th. - - _Dear Daddy_, - -Your letter didn't come in time (I am pleased to say). If you wish -your instructions to be obeyed, you must have your secretary -transmit them in less than two weeks. As you observe, I am here, -and have been for five days. - -The woods are fine, and so is the camp, and so is the weather, and -so are the McBrides, and so is the whole world. I'm very happy! - -There's Jimmie calling for me to come canoeing. Good-by--sorry to -have disobeyed, but why are you so persistent about not wanting me -to play a little? When I've worked all summer I deserve two weeks. -You are awfully dog-in-the-mangerish. - -However--I love you still, Daddy, in spite of all your faults. - - JUDY. - - - October 3rd. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Back at college and a Senior--also editor of the _Monthly_. It -doesn't seem possible, does it, that so sophisticated a person, -just four years ago, was an inmate of the John Grier Home? We do -arrive fast in America! - -What do you think of this? A note from Master Jervie directed to -Lock Willow and forwarded here. He's sorry but he finds that he -can't get up there this autumn; he has accepted an invitation to go -yachting with some friends. Hopes I've had a nice summer and am -enjoying the country. - -And he knew all the time that I was with the McBrides, for Julia -told him so! You men ought to leave intrigue to women; you haven't -a light enough touch. - -Julia has a trunkful of the most ravishing new clothes--an evening -gown of rainbow Liberty crêpe that would be fitting raiment for the -angels in Paradise. And I thought that my own clothes this year were -unprecedentedly (is there such a word?) beautiful. I copied Mrs. -Paterson's wardrobe with the aid of a cheap dressmaker, and though -the gowns didn't turn out quite twins of the originals, I was -entirely happy until Julia unpacked. But now--I live to see Paris! - -Dear Daddy, aren't you glad you're not a girl? I suppose you think -that the fuss we make over clothes is too absolutely silly? It is. -No doubt about it. But it's entirely your fault. - -Did you ever hear about the learned Herr Professor who regarded -unnecessary adornment with contempt, and favored sensible, -utilitarian clothes for women? His wife, who was an obliging -creature, adopted "dress reform." And what do you think he did? -He eloped with a chorus girl. - - Yours ever, - - JUDY. - -P. S. The chamber-maid on our corridor wears blue checked gingham -aprons. I am going to get her some brown ones instead, and sink the -blue ones in the bottom of the lake. I have a reminiscent chill -every time I look at them. - - - November 17th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Such a blight has fallen over my literary career. I don't know -whether to tell you or not, but I would like some sympathy--silent -sympathy, please; don't reopen the wound by referring to it in your -next letter. - -I've been writing a book, all last winter in the evenings, and all -summer when I wasn't teaching Latin to my two stupid children. -I just finished it before college opened and sent it to a publisher. -He kept it two months, and I was certain he was going to take it; -but yesterday morning an express parcel came (thirty cents due) and -there it was back again with a letter from the publisher, a very -nice, fatherly letter--but frank! He said he saw from the address -that I was still in college, and if I would accept some advice, he -would suggest that I put all of my energy into my lessons and wait -until I graduated before beginning to write. He enclosed his -reader's opinion. Here it is: - -"Plot highly improbable. Characterization exaggerated. Conversation -unnatural. A good deal of humor but not always in the best of taste. -Tell her to keep on trying, and in time she may produce a real -book." - -Not on the whole flattering, is it, Daddy? And I thought I was -making a notable addition to American literature, I did truly. I was -planning to surprise you by writing a great novel before I -graduated. I collected the material for it while I was at Julia's -last Christmas. But I dare say the editor is right. Probably two -weeks was not enough in which to observe the manners and customs of -a great city. - -I took it walking with me yesterday afternoon, and when I came to -the gas house, I went in and asked the engineer if I might borrow -his furnace. He politely opened the door, and with my own hands I -chucked it in. I felt as though I had cremated my only child! - -I went to bed last night utterly dejected; I thought I was never -going to amount to anything, and that you had thrown away your money -for nothing. But what do you think? I woke up this morning with a -beautiful new plot in my head, and I've been going about all day -planning my characters, just as happy as I could be. No one can ever -accuse me of being a pessimist! If I had a husband and twelve -children swallowed by an earthquake one day, I'd bob up smilingly -the next morning and commence to look for another set. - - Affectionately, - - JUDY. - - - December 14th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I dreamed the funniest dream last night. I thought I went into a -book store and the clerk brought me a new book named "The Life and -Letters of Judy Abbott." I could see it perfectly plainly--red cloth -binding with a picture of the John Grier Home on the cover, and my -portrait for a frontispiece with, "Very truly yours, Judy Abbott," -written below. But just as I was turning to the end to read the -inscription on my tombstone, I woke up. It was very annoying! -I almost found out who I'm going to marry and when I'm going to -die. - -Don't you think it would be interesting if you really could read the -story of your life--written perfectly truthfully by an omniscient -author? And suppose you could only read it on this condition: that -you would never forget it, but would have to go through life knowing -ahead of time exactly how everything you did would turn out, and -foreseeing to the exact hour the time when you would die. How many -people do you suppose would have the courage to read it then? Or how -many could suppress their curiosity sufficiently to escape from -reading it, even at the price of having to live without hope and -without surprises? - -Life is monotonous enough at best; you have to eat and sleep about -so often. But imagine how _deadly_ monotonous it would be if nothing -unexpected could happen between meals. Mercy! Daddy, there's a -blot, but I'm on the third page and I can't begin a new sheet. - -I'm going on with biology again this year--very interesting -subject; we're studying the alimentary system at present. You -should see how sweet a cross-section of the duodenum of a cat is -under the microscope. - -Also we've arrived at philosophy--interesting but evanescent. -I prefer biology where you can pin the subject under discussion to a -board. There's another! And another! This pen is weeping copiously. -Please excuse its tears. - -Do you believe in free will? I do--unreservedly. I don't agree at -all with the philosophers who think that every action is the -absolutely inevitable and automatic resultant of an aggregation -of remote causes. That's the most immoral doctrine I ever -heard--nobody would be to blame for anything. If a man believed in -fatalism, he would naturally just sit down and say, "The Lord's will -be done," and continue to sit until he fell over dead. - -I believe absolutely in my own free will and my own power to -accomplish--and that is the belief that moves mountains. You watch -me become a great author! I have four chapters of my new book -finished and five more drafted. - -This is a very abstruse letter--does your head ache, Daddy? I think -we'll stop now and make some fudge. I'm sorry I can't send you a -piece; it will be unusually good, for we're going to make it with -real cream and three butter balls. - - Yours affectionately, - - JUDY. - -P. S. We're having fancy dancing in gymnasium class. You can see by -the accompanying picture how much we look like a real ballet. The -one on the end accomplishing a graceful pirouette is me--I mean I. - - [Illustration] - - - December 26th. - - _My dear, dear Daddy_, - -Haven't you any sense? Don't you _know_ that you mustn't give one -girl seventeen Christmas presents? I'm a Socialist, please -remember; do you wish to turn me into a Plutocrat? - -Think how embarrassing it would be if we should ever quarrel! -I should have to engage a moving van to return your gifts. - - [Illustration] - -I am sorry that the necktie I sent was so wobbly; I knit it with my -own hands (as you doubtless discovered from internal evidence). You -will have to wear it on cold days and keep your coat buttoned up -tight. - -Thank you, Daddy, a thousand times. I think you're the sweetest man -that ever lived--and the foolishest! - - JUDY. - -Here's a four-leaf clover from Camp McBride to bring you good luck -for the New Year. - - - January 9th. - -Do you wish to do something, Daddy, that will insure your eternal -salvation? There is a family here who are in awfully desperate -straits. A mother and father and four visible children--the two -older boys have disappeared into the world to make their fortune and -have not sent any of it back. The father worked in a glass factory -and got consumption--it's awfully unhealthy work--and now has been -sent away to a hospital. That took all of their savings, and the -support of the family falls upon the oldest daughter who is -twenty-four. She dressmakes for $1.50 a day (when she can get it) -and embroiders centerpieces in the evening. The mother isn't very -strong and is extremely ineffectual and pious. She sits with her -hands folded, a picture of patient resignation, while the daughter -kills herself with overwork and responsibility and worry; she -doesn't see how they are going to get through the rest of the -winter--and I don't either. One hundred dollars would buy some coal -and some shoes for the three children so that they could go to -school, and give a little margin so that she needn't worry herself -to death when a few days pass and she doesn't get work. - -You are the richest man I know. Don't you suppose you could spare -one hundred dollars? That girl deserves help a lot more than I ever -did. I wouldn't ask it except for the girl; I don't care much what -happens to the mother--she is such a jelly-fish. - -The way people are forever rolling their eyes to heaven and saying, -"Perhaps it's all for the best," when they are perfectly dead sure -it's not, makes me enraged. Humility or resignation or whatever you -choose to call it, is simply impotent inertia. I'm for a more -militant religion! - -We are getting the most dreadful lessons in philosophy--all of -Schopenhauer for to-morrow. The professor doesn't seem to realize -that we are taking any other subject. He's a queer old duck; he -goes about with his head in the clouds and blinks dazedly when -occasionally he strikes solid earth. He tries to lighten his -lectures with an occasional witticism--and we do our best to smile, -but I assure you his jokes are no laughing matter. He spends his -entire time between classes in trying to figure out whether matter -really exists or whether he only thinks it exists. - -I'm sure my sewing girl hasn't any doubt but that it exists! - -Where do you think my new novel is? In the waste basket. I can see -myself that it's no good on earth, and when a loving author -realizes that, what _would_ be the judgment of a critical public? - - - Later. - -I address you, Daddy, from a bed of pain. For two days I've been -laid up with swollen tonsils; I can just swallow hot milk, and that -is all. "What were your parents thinking of not to have those -tonsils out when you were a baby?" the doctor wished to know. I'm -sure I haven't an idea, but I doubt if they were thinking much -about me. - - Yours, - - J. A. - - - Next morning. - -I just read this over before sealing it. I don't know _why_ I cast -such a misty atmosphere over life. I hasten to assure you that I am -young and happy and exuberant; and I trust you are the same. Youth -has nothing to do with birthdays, only with _alivedness_ of spirit, -so even if your hair is gray, Daddy, you can still be a boy. - - Affectionately, - - JUDY. - - - Jan. 12th. - - _Dear Mr. Philanthropist_, - -Your check for my family came yesterday. Thank you so much! I cut -gymnasium and took it down to them right after luncheon, and you -should have seen the girl's face! She was so surprised and happy and -relieved that she looked almost young; and she's only twenty-four. -Isn't it pitiful? - -Anyway, she feels now as though all the good things were coming -together. She has steady work ahead for two months--some one's -getting married, and there's a trousseau to make. - -"Thank the good Lord!" cried the mother, when she grasped the fact -that that small piece of paper was one hundred dollars. - -"It wasn't the good Lord at all," said I, "it was Daddy-Long-Legs." -(Mr. Smith, I called you.) - -"But it was the good Lord who put it in his mind," said she. - -"Not at all! I put it in his mind myself," said I. - -But anyway, Daddy, I trust the good Lord will reward you suitably. -You deserve ten thousand years out of purgatory. - - Yours most gratefully, - - JUDY ABBOTT. - - - Feb. 15th. - - _May it please Your Most Excellent Majesty:_ - -This morning I did eat my breakfast upon a cold turkey pie and a -goose, and I did send for a cup of tee (a china drink) of which I -had never drank before. - -Don't be nervous, Daddy--I haven't lost my mind; I'm merely -quoting Sam'l Pepys. We're reading him in connection with English -History, original sources. Sallie and Julia and I converse now in -the language of 1660. Listen to this: - -"I went to Charing Cross to see Major Harrison hanged, drawn and -quartered: he looking as cheerful as any man could do in that -condition." And this: "Dined with my lady who is in handsome -mourning for her brother who died yesterday of spotted fever." - -Seems a little early to commence entertaining, doesn't it? A friend -of Pepys devised a very cunning manner whereby the king might pay -his debts out of the sale to poor people of old decayed provisions. -What do you, a reformer, think of that? I don't believe we're so -bad to-day as the newspapers make out. - -Samuel was as excited about his clothes as any girl; he spent five -times as much on dress as his wife--that appears to have been the -Golden Age of husbands. Isn't this a touching entry? You see he -really was honest. "To-day came home my fine Camlett cloak with gold -buttons, which cost me much money, and I pray God to make me able to -pay for it." - -Excuse me for being so full of Pepys; I'm writing a special topic -on him. - -What do you think, Daddy? The Self-Government Association has -abolished the ten-o'clock rule. We can keep our lights all night if -we choose, the only requirement being that we do not disturb -others--we are not supposed to entertain on a large scale. The -result is a beautiful commentary on human nature. Now that we may -stay up as long as we choose, we no longer choose. Our heads begin -to nod at nine o'clock, and by nine-thirty the pen drops from our -nerveless grasp. It's nine-thirty now. Good night. - - - Sunday. - -Just back from church--preacher from Georgia. We must take care, he -says, not to develop our intellects at the expense of our emotional -natures--but methought it was a poor, dry sermon (Pepys again). It -doesn't matter what part of the United States or Canada they come -from, or what denomination they are, we always get the same sermon. -Why on earth don't they go to men's colleges and urge the students -not to allow their manly natures to be crushed out by too much -mental application? - -It's a beautiful day--frozen and icy and clear. As soon as dinner -is over, Sallie and Julia and Marty Keene and Eleanor Pratt (friends -of mine, but you don't know them) and I are going to put on short -skirts and walk 'cross country to Crystal Spring Farm and have a -fried chicken and waffle supper, and then have Mr. Crystal Spring -drive us home in his buckboard. We are supposed to be inside the -campus at seven, but we are going to stretch a point to-night and -make it eight. - - Farewell, kind Sir. - - I have the honour of subscribing myself, - - Your most loyall, dutifull, faithfull and obedient servant, - - J. ABBOTT. - - - March Fifth. - - _Dear Mr. Trustee_, - -To-morrow is the first Wednesday in the month--a weary day for the -John Grier Home. How relieved they'll be when five o'clock comes -and you pat them on the head and take yourselves off! Did you -(individually) ever pat me on the head, Daddy? I don't believe -so--my memory seems to be concerned only with fat Trustees. - -Give the Home my love, please--my _truly_ love. I have quite a -feeling of tenderness for it as I look back through a haze of four -years. When I first came to college I felt quite resentful because -I'd been robbed of the normal kind of childhood that the other -girls had had; but now, I don't feel that way in the least. I regard -it as a very unusual adventure. It gives me a sort of vantage point -from which to stand aside and look at life. Emerging full grown, -I get a perspective on the world, that other people who have been -brought up in the thick of things, entirely lack. - -I know lots of girls (Julia, for instance) who never know that they -are happy. They are so accustomed to the feeling that their senses -are deadened to it, but as for me--I am perfectly sure every moment -of my life that I am happy. And I'm going to keep on being, no -matter what unpleasant things turn up. I'm going to regard them -(even toothaches) as interesting experiences, and be glad to know -what they feel like. "Whatever sky's above me, I've a heart for -any fate." - -However, Daddy, don't take this new affection for the J. G. H. too -literally. If I have five children, like Rousseau, I shan't leave -them on the steps of a foundling asylum in order to insure their -being brought up simply. - -Give my kindest regards to Mrs. Lippett (that, I think, is truthful; -love would be a little strong) and don't forget to tell her what a -beautiful nature I've developed. - - Affectionately, - - JUDY. - - - LOCK WILLOW, - - April 4th. - - _Dear Daddy_, - -Do you observe the postmark? Sallie and I are embellishing Lock -Willow with our presence during the Easter vacation. We decided that -the best thing we could do with our ten days was to come where it is -quiet. Our nerves had got to the point where they wouldn't stand -another meal in Fergussen. Dining in a room with four hundred girls -is an ordeal when you are tired. There is so much noise that you -can't hear the girls across the table speak unless they make their -hands into a megaphone and shout. That is the truth. - -We are tramping over the hills and reading and writing, and having a -nice, restful time. We climbed to the top of "Sky Hill" this morning -where Master Jervie and I once cooked supper--it doesn't seem -possible that it was nearly two years ago. I could still see the -place where the smoke of our fire blackened the rock. It is funny -how certain places get connected with certain people, and you never -go back without thinking of them. I was quite lonely without -him--for two minutes. - -What do you think is my latest activity, Daddy? You will begin to -believe that I am incorrigible--I am writing a book. I started it -three weeks ago and am eating it up in chunks. I've caught the -secret. Master Jervie and that editor man were right; you are most -convincing when you write about the things you know. And this time -it is about something that I do know--exhaustively. Guess where -it's laid? In the John Grier Home! And it's good, Daddy, -I actually believe it is--just about the tiny little things that -happened every day. I'm a realist now. I've abandoned romanticism; -I shall go back to it later though, when my own adventurous future -begins. - -This new book is going to get itself finished--and published! You -see if it doesn't. If you just want a thing hard enough and keep on -trying, you do get it in the end. I've been trying for four years -to get a letter from you--and I haven't given up hope yet. - -Good-by, Daddy dear, - -(I like to call you Daddy dear; it's so alliterative.) - - Affectionately, - - JUDY. - -P. S. I forgot to tell you the farm news, but it's very -distressing. Skip this postscript if you don't want your -sensibilities all wrought up. - -Poor old Grove is dead. He got so he couldn't chew and they had to -shoot him. - -Nine chickens were killed by a weasel or a skunk or a rat last week. - -One of the cows is sick, and we had to have the veterinary surgeon -out from Bonnyrigg Four Corners. Amasai stayed up all night to give -her linseed oil and whisky. But we have an awful suspicion that the -poor sick cow got nothing but linseed oil. - -Sentimental Tommy (the tortoise-shell cat) has disappeared; we are -afraid he has been caught in a trap. - -There are lots of troubles in the world! - - - May 17th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -This is going to be extremely short because my shoulder aches at the -sight of a pen. Lecture notes all day, immortal novel all evening -makes too much writing. - -Commencement three weeks from next Wednesday. I think you might come -and make my acquaintance--I shall hate you if you don't! Julia's -inviting Master Jervie, he being her family, and Sallie's inviting -Jimmie McB., he being her family, but who is there for me to invite? -Just you and Mrs. Lippett, and I don't want her. Please come. - - Yours, with love and writer's cramp. - - JUDY. - - - LOCK WILLOW. - - June 19th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I'm educated! My diploma is in the bottom bureau drawer with my two -best dresses. Commencement was as usual, with a few showers at vital -moments. Thank you for your rosebuds. They were lovely. Master -Jervie and Master Jimmie both gave me roses, too, but I left theirs -in the bath tub and carried yours in the class procession. - -Here I am at Lock Willow for the summer--forever maybe. The board is -cheap; the surroundings quiet and conducive to a literary life. What -more does a struggling author wish? I am mad about my book. I think -of it every waking moment, and dream of it at night. All I want is -peace and quiet and lots of time to work (interspersed with -nourishing meals). - -Master Jervie is coming up for a week or so in August, and Jimmie -McBride is going to drop in sometime through the summer. He's -connected with a bond house now, and goes about the country selling -bonds to banks. He's going to combine the "Farmers' National" at -the Corners and me on the same trip. - -You see that Lock Willow isn't entirely lacking in society. I'd be -expecting to have you come motoring through--only I know now that -that is hopeless. When you wouldn't come to my commencement, I tore -you from my heart and buried you forever. - - JUDY ABBOTT, A.B. - - - July 24th. - - _Dearest Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Isn't it fun to work--or don't you ever do it? It's especially fun -when your kind of work is the thing you'd rather do more than -anything else in the world. I've been writing as fast as my pen -would go every day this summer, and my only quarrel with life is -that the days aren't long enough to write all the beautiful and -valuable and entertaining thoughts I'm thinking. - -I've finished the second draft of my book and am going to begin the -third to-morrow morning at half-past seven. It's the sweetest book -you ever saw--it is, truly. I think of nothing else. I can barely -wait in the morning to dress and eat before beginning; then I write -and write and write till suddenly I'm so tired that I'm limp all -over. Then I go out with Colin (the new sheep dog) and romp through -the fields and get a fresh supply of ideas for the next day. It's -the most beautiful book you ever saw--Oh, pardon--I said that -before. - -You don't think me conceited, do you, Daddy dear? - -I'm not, really, only just now I'm in the enthusiastic stage. -Maybe later on I'll get cold and critical and sniffy. No, I'm sure -I won't! This time I've written a real book. Just wait till you see -it. - -I'll try for a minute to talk about something else. I never told -you, did I, that Amasai and Carry got married last May? They are -still working here, but so far as I can see it has spoiled them -both. She used just to laugh when he tramped in mud or dropped ashes -on the floor, but now--you should hear her scold! And she doesn't -curl her hair any longer. Amasai, who used to be so obliging about -beating rugs and carrying wood, grumbles if you suggest such a -thing. Also his neckties are quite dingy--black and brown, where -they used to be scarlet and purple. I've determined never to marry. -It's a deteriorating process, evidently. - -There isn't much of any farm news. The animals are all in the best -of health. The pigs are unusually fat, the cows seem contented and -the hens are laying well. Are you interested in poultry? If so, let -me recommend that invaluable little work, "200 Eggs per Hen per -Year." I am thinking of starting an incubator next spring and -raising broilers. You see I'm settled at Lock Willow permanently. -I have decided to stay until I've written 114 novels like Anthony -Trollope's mother. Then I shall have completed my life work and can -retire and travel. - -Mr. James McBride spent last Sunday with us. Fried chicken and -ice-cream for dinner, both of which he appeared to appreciate. I was -awfully glad to see him; he brought a momentary reminder that the -world at large exists. Poor Jimmie is having a hard time peddling -his bonds. The Farmers' National at the Corners wouldn't have -anything to do with them in spite of the fact that they pay six per -cent. interest and sometimes seven. I think he'll end by going home -to Worcester and taking a job in his father's factory. He's too -open and confiding and kind-hearted ever to make a successful -financier. But to be the manager of a flourishing overall factory is -a very desirable position, don't you think? Just now he turns up his -nose at overalls, but he'll come to them. - -I hope you appreciate the fact that this is a long letter from a -person with writer's cramp. But I still love you, Daddy dear, and -I'm very happy. With beautiful scenery all about, and lots to eat -and a comfortable four-post bed and a ream of blank paper and a pint -of ink--what more does one want in the world? - - Yours, as always, - - JUDY. - -P. S. The postman arrives with some more news. We are to expect -Master Jervie on Friday next to spend a week. That's a very -pleasant prospect--only I am afraid my poor book will suffer. Master -Jervie is very demanding. - - - August 27th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Where are you, I wonder? - -I never know what part of the world you are in, but I hope you're -not in New York during this awful weather. I hope you're on a -mountain peak (but not in Switzerland; somewhere nearer) looking at -the snow and thinking about me. Please be thinking about me. I'm -quite lonely and I want to be thought about. Oh, Daddy, I wish I -knew you! Then when we were unhappy we could cheer each other up. - -I don't think I can stand much more of Lock Willow. I'm thinking of -moving. Sallie is going to do settlement work in Boston next winter. -Don't you think it would be nice for me to go with her, then we -could have a studio together? I could write while she _settled_ and -we could be together in the evenings. Evenings are very long when -there's no one but the Semples and Carrie and Amasai to talk to. -I know ahead of time that you won't like my studio idea. I can read -your secretary's letter now: - -"_Miss Jerusha Abbott._ - -"DEAR MADAM, - -"Mr. Smith prefers that you remain at Lock Willow. - - "Yours truly, - - "ELMER H. GRIGGS". - -I hate your secretary. I am certain that a man named Elmer H. Griggs -must be horrid. But truly, Daddy, I think I shall have to go to -Boston. I can't stay here. If something doesn't happen soon, -I shall throw myself into the silo pit out of sheer desperation. - -Mercy! but it's hot. All the grass is burnt up and the brooks are -dry and the roads are dusty. It hasn't rained for weeks and weeks. - -This letter sounds as though I had hydrophobia, but I haven't. -I just want some family. - -Good-by, my dearest Daddy. - - I wish I knew you. - - JUDY. - - - LOCK WILLOW, - - September 19th. - - _Dear Daddy_, - -Something has happened and I need advice. I need it from you, and -from nobody else in the world. Wouldn't it be possible for me to -see you? It's so much easier to talk than to write; and I'm afraid -your secretary might open the letter. - - JUDY. - -P. S. I'm very unhappy. - - - LOCK WILLOW, - - October 3d. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Your note written in your own hand--and a pretty wobbly hand!--came -this morning. I am so sorry that you have been ill; I wouldn't have -bothered you with my affairs if I had known. Yes, I will tell you -the trouble, but it's sort of complicated to write, and _very -private_. Please don't keep this letter, but burn it. - -Before I begin--here's a check for one thousand dollars. It seems -funny, doesn't it, for me to be sending a check to you? Where do -you think I got it? - -I've sold my story, Daddy. It's going to be published serially in -seven parts, and then in a book! You might think I'd be wild with -joy, but I'm not. I'm entirely apathetic. Of course I'm glad to -begin paying you--I owe you over two thousand more. It's coming in -instalments. Now don't be horrid, please, about taking it, because -it makes me happy to return it. I owe you a great deal more than the -mere money, and the rest I will continue to pay all my life in -gratitude and affection. - -And now, Daddy, about the other thing; please give me your most -worldly advice, whether you think I'll like it or not. - -You know that I've always had a very special feeling toward you; -you sort of represented my whole family; but you won't mind, will -you, if I tell you that I have a very much more special feeling for -another man? You can probably guess without much trouble who he is. -I suspect that my letters have been very full of Master Jervie for a -very long time. - -I wish I could make you understand what he is like and how entirely -companionable we are. We think the same about everything--I am -afraid I have a tendency to make over my ideas to match his! But he -is almost always right; he ought to be, you know, for he has -fourteen years' start of me. In other ways, though, he's just an -overgrown boy, and he does need looking after--he hasn't any sense -about wearing rubbers when it rains. He and I always think the same -things are funny, and that is such a lot; it's dreadful when two -people's senses of humor are antagonistic. I don't believe there's -any bridging that gulf! - -And he is--Oh, well! He is just himself, and I miss him, and miss -him, and miss him. The whole world seems empty and aching. I hate -the moonlight because it's beautiful and he isn't here to see it -with me. But maybe you've loved somebody, too, and you know? If you -have, I don't need to explain; if you haven't, I can't explain. - -Anyway, that's the way I feel--and I've refused to marry him. - -I didn't tell him why; I was just dumb and miserable. I couldn't -think of anything to say. And now he has gone away imagining that I -want to marry Jimmie McBride--I don't in the least, I wouldn't -think of marrying Jimmie; he isn't grown up enough. But Master -Jervie and I got into a dreadful muddle of misunderstanding, and we -both hurt each other's feelings. The reason I sent him away was not -because I didn't care for him, but because I cared for him so much. -I was afraid he would regret it in the future--and I couldn't stand -that! It didn't seem right for a person of my lack of antecedents -to marry into any such family as his. I never told him about the -orphan asylum, and I hated to explain that I didn't know who I was. -I may be _dreadful_, you know. And his family are proud--and I'm -proud, too! - -Also, I felt sort of bound to you. After having been educated to be -a writer, I must at least try to be one; it would scarcely be fair -to accept your education and then go off and not use it. But now -that I am going to be able to pay back the money, I feel that I have -partially discharged that debt--besides, I suppose I could keep on -being a writer even if I did marry. The two professions are not -necessarily exclusive. - -I've been thinking very hard about it. Of course he is a Socialist, -and he has unconventional ideas; maybe he wouldn't mind marrying -into the proletariat so much as some men might. Perhaps when two -people are exactly in accord, and always happy when together and -lonely when apart, they ought not to let anything in the world stand -between them. Of course I _want_ to believe that! But I'd like to -get your unemotional opinion. You probably belong to a Family also, -and will look at it from a worldly point of view and not just a -sympathetic, human point of view--so you see how brave I am to lay -it before you. - -Suppose I go to him and explain that the trouble isn't Jimmie, but -is the John Grier Home--would that be a dreadful thing for me to do? -It would take a great deal of courage. I'd almost rather be -miserable for the rest of my life. - -This happened nearly two months ago; I haven't heard a word from -him since he was here. I was just getting sort of acclimated to the -feeling of a broken heart, when a letter came from Julia that -stirred me all up again. She said--very casually--that "Uncle -Jervis" had been caught out all night in a storm when he was hunting -in Canada, and had been ill ever since with pneumonia. And I never -knew it. I was feeling hurt because he had just disappeared into -blankness without a word. I think he's pretty unhappy, and I know I -am! - -What seems to you the right thing for me to do? - - JUDY. - - - October 6th. - - _Dearest Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Yes, certainly I'll come--at half-past four next Wednesday -afternoon. Of _course_ I can find the way. I've been in New York -three times and am not quite a baby. I can't believe that I am -really going to see you--I've been just _thinking_ you so long that -it hardly seems as though you are a tangible flesh-and-blood person. - -You are awfully good, Daddy, to bother yourself with me, when -you're not strong. Take care and don't catch cold. These fall rains -are very damp. - - Affectionately, - - JUDY. - -P. S. I've just had an awful thought. Have you a butler? I'm -afraid of butlers, and if one opens the door I shall faint upon the -step. What can I say to him? You didn't tell me your name. Shall I -ask for Mr. Smith? - - - Thursday Morning. - - _My very dearest Master-Jervie-Daddy-Long-Legs-Pendleton-Smith_, - -Did you sleep last night? I didn't. Not a single wink. I was too -amazed and excited and bewildered and happy. I don't believe I ever -shall sleep again--or eat either. But I hope you slept; you must, -you know, because then you will get well faster and can come to me. - -Dear Man, I can't bear to think how ill you've been--and all the -time I never knew it. When the doctor came down yesterday to put me -in the cab, he told me that for three days they gave you up. Oh, -dearest, if that had happened, the light would have gone out of the -world for me. I suppose that some day--in the far future--one of us -must leave the other; but at least we shall have had our happiness -and there will be memories to live with. - -I meant to cheer you up--and instead I have to cheer myself. For in -spite of being happier than I ever dreamed I could be, I'm also -soberer. The fear that something may happen to you rests like a -shadow on my heart. Always before I could be frivolous and care-free -and unconcerned, because I had nothing precious to lose. But now--I -shall have a Great Big Worry all the rest of my life. Whenever you -are away from me I shall be thinking of all the automobiles that can -run over you, or the sign-boards that can fall on your head or the -dreadful, squirmy germs that you may be swallowing. My peace of mind -is gone forever--but anyway, I never cared much for just plain -peace. - -[Plate: THE IDENTITY OF DADDY-LONG-LEGS IS ESTABLISHED.] - -Please get well--fast--fast--fast. I want to have you close by where -I can touch you and make sure you are tangible. Such a little half -hour we had together! I'm afraid maybe I dreamed it. If I were only -a member of your family (a very distant fourth cousin) then I could -come and visit you every day, and read aloud and plump up your -pillow and smooth out those two little wrinkles in your forehead and -make the corners of your mouth turn up in a nice cheerful smile. -But you are cheerful again, aren't you? You were yesterday before I -left. The doctor said I must be a good nurse, that you looked ten -years younger. I hope that being in love doesn't make every one ten -years younger. Will you still care for me, darling, if I turn out to -be only eleven? - -Yesterday was the most wonderful day that could ever happen. If I -live to be ninety-nine I shall never forget the tiniest detail. The -girl that left Lock Willow at dawn was a very different person from -the one who came back at night. Mrs. Semple called me at half-past -four. I started wide awake in the darkness and the first thought -that popped into my head was, "I am going to see Daddy-Long-Legs!" -I ate breakfast in the kitchen by candle-light, and then drove the -five miles to the station through the most glorious October -coloring. The sun came up on the way, and the swamp maples and -dogwood glowed crimson and orange and the stone walls and cornfields -sparkled with hoar frost; the air was keen and clear and full of -promise. I _knew_ something was going to happen. All the way -in the train the rails kept singing, "You're going to see -Daddy-Long-Legs." It made me feel secure. I had such faith in -Daddy's ability to set things right. And I knew that somewhere -another man--dearer than Daddy--was wanting to see me, and somehow I -had a feeling that before the journey ended I should meet him, too. -And you see! - -When I came to the house on Madison Avenue it looked so big and -brown and forbidding that I didn't dare go in, so I walked around -the block to get up my courage. But I needn't have been a bit -afraid; your butler is such a nice, fatherly old man that he made me -feel at home at once. "Is this Miss Abbott?" he said to me, and I -said, "Yes," so I didn't have to ask for Mr. Smith after all. -He told me to wait in the drawing-room. It was a very somber, -magnificent, man's sort of room. I sat down on the edge of a big -upholstered chair and kept saying to myself: - -"I'm going to see Daddy-Long-Legs! I'm going to see Daddy-Long-Legs!" - -Then presently the man came back and asked me please to step up to -the library. I was so excited that really and truly my feet would -hardly take me up. Outside the door he turned and whispered, "He's -been very ill, Miss. This is the first day he's been allowed to sit -up. You'll not stay long enough to excite him?" I knew from the way -he said it that he loved you--and I think he's an old dear! - -Then he knocked and said, "Miss Abbott," and I went in and the door -closed behind me. - -It was so dim coming in from the brightly lighted hall that for a -moment I could scarcely make out anything; then I saw a big easy -chair before the fire and a shining tea table with a smaller chair -beside it. And I realized that a man was sitting in the big chair -propped up by pillows with a rug over his knees. Before I could stop -him he rose--sort of shakily--and steadied himself by the back of -the chair and just looked at me without a word. And then--and -then--I saw it was you! But even with that I didn't understand. -I thought Daddy had had you come there to meet me for a surprise. - -Then you laughed and held out your hand and said, "Dear little Judy, -couldn't you guess that I was Daddy-Long-Legs?" - -In an instant it flashed over me. Oh, but I have been stupid! -A hundred little things might have told me, if I had had any wits. -I wouldn't make a very good detective, would I, Daddy?--Jervie? -What must I call you? Just plain Jervie sounds disrespectful, and I -can't be disrespectful to you! - -It was a very sweet half hour before your doctor came and sent me -away. I was so dazed when I got to the station that I almost took a -train for St. Louis. And you were pretty dazed, too. You forgot to -give me any tea. But we're both very, very happy, aren't we? -I drove back to Lock Willow in the dark--but oh, how the stars were -shining! And this morning I've been out with Colin visiting all the -places that you and I went to together, and remembering what you -said and how you looked. The woods to-day are burnished bronze and -the air is full of frost. It's _climbing_ weather. I wish you were -here to climb the hills with me. I am missing you dreadfully, Jervie -dear, but it's a happy kind of missing; we'll be together soon. We -belong to each other now really and truly, no make-believe. Doesn't -it seem queer for me to belong to some one at last? It seems very, -very sweet. - -And I shall never let you be sorry for a single instant. - - Yours, forever and ever, - - JUDY. - -P. S. This is the first love letter I ever wrote. Isn't it funny -that I know how? - - -THE END - - - - -CHARMING BOOKS FOR GIRLS - -#May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Dunlap's -list# - - -^WHEN PATTY WENT TO COLLEGE,^ By Jean Webster. - -Illustrated by C. D. Williams. - -One of the best stories of life in a girl's college that has ever -been written. It is bright, whimsical and entertaining, lifelike, -laughable and thoroughly human. - - -^JUST PATTY,^ By Jean Webster. - -Illustrated by C. M. Relyea. - -Patty is full of the joy of living, fun-loving, given to ingenious -mischief for its own sake, with a disregard for pretty convention -which is an unfailing source of joy to her fellows. - - -^THE POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL,^ By Eleanor Gates. - -With four full page illustrations. - -This story relates the experience of one of those unfortunate -children whose early days are passed in the companionship of a -governess, seldom seeing either parent, and famishing for natural -love and tenderness. A charming play as dramatized by the author. - - -^REBECCA OF SUNNYBROOK FARM,^ By Kate Douglas Wiggin. - -One of the most beautiful studies of childhood--Rebecca's artistic, -unusual and quaintly charming qualities stand out midst a circle of -austere New Englanders. The stage version is making a phenominal -dramatic record. - - -^NEW CHRONICLES OF REBECCA,^ By Kate Douglas Wiggin. - -Illustrated by F. C. Yohn. - -Additional episodes in the girlhood of this delightful heroine that -carry Rebecca through various stages to her eighteenth birthday. - - -^REBECCA MARY,^ By Annie Hamilton Donnell. - -Illustrated by Elizabeth Shippen Green. - -This author possesses the rare gift of portraying all the grotesque -little joys and sorrows and scruples of this very small girl with a -pathos that is peculiarly genuine and appealing. - - -^EMMY LOU:^ Her Book and Heart, By George Madden Martin. - -Illustrated by Charles Louis Hinton. - -Emmy Lou is irresistibly lovable, because she is so absolutely real. -She is just a bewitchingly innocent, hugable little maid. The book -is wonderfully human. - - -_Ask for complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighed Fiction_ - -GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26TH ST., NEW YORK - - -STORIES OF RARE CHARM BY - -GENE STRATTON-PORTER - -#May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset and Dunlap's -list.# - - - [Illustration] - -^THE HARVESTER^ - -Illustrated by W. L. Jacobs - -"The Harvester," David Langston, is a man of the woods and fields, -who draws his living from the prodigal hand of Mother Nature -herself. If the book had nothing in it but the splendid figure of -this man, with his sure grip on life, his superb optimism, and his -almost miraculous knowledge of nature secrets, it would be notable. -But when the Girl comes to his "Medicine Woods," and the Harvester's -whole sound, healthy, large outdoor being realizes that this is the -highest point of life which has come to him--there begins a romance, -troubled and interrupted, yet of the rarest idyllic quality. - - -^FRECKLES.^ Decorations by E. Stetson Crawford - -Freckles is a nameless waif when the tale opens, but the way in -which he takes hold of life; the nature friendships he forms in the -great Limberlost Swamp; the manner in which everyone who meets him -succumbs to the charm of his engaging personality; and his -love-story with "The Angel" are full of real sentiment. - - -^A GIRL OF THE LIMBERLOST.^ - -Illustrated by Wladyslaw T. Brenda. - -The story of a girl of the Michigan woods; a buoyant, lovable type -of the self-reliant American. Her philosophy is one of love and -kindness towards all things; her hope is never dimmed. And by the -sheer beauty of her soul, and the purity of her vision, she wins -from barren and unpromising surroundings those rewards of high -courage. - -It is an inspiring story of a life worth while and the rich beauties -of the out-of-doors are strewn through all its pages. - - -^AT THE FOOT OF THE RAINBOW.^ - -Illustrations in colors by Oliver Kemp. Design and decorations by -Ralph Fletcher Seymour. - -The scene of this charming, idyllic love story is laid in Central -Indiana. The story is one of devoted friendship, and tender -self-sacrificing love; the friendship that gives freely without -return, and the love that seeks first the happiness of the object. -The novel is brimful of the most beautiful word painting of nature, -and its pathos and tender sentiment will endear it to all. - - -_Ask for complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction_ - -GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26TH ST., NEW YORK - - -MYRTLE REED'S NOVELS - -MAY BE HAD WHEREVER BOOKS ARE SOLD. ASK FOR GROSSET & DUNLAP'S LIST - - - [Illustration] - -^LAVENDER AND OLD LACE.^ - -A charming story of a quaint corner of New England where bygone -romance finds a modern parallel. The story centers round the coming -of love to the young people on the staff of a newspaper--and it is -one of the prettiest, sweetest and quaintest of old fashioned love -stories, * * * a rare book, exquisite in spirit and conception, full -of delicate fancy, of tenderness, of delightful humor and -spontaniety. - - -^A SPINNER IN THE SUN.^ - -Miss Myrtle Reed may always be depended upon to write a story in -which poetry, charm, tenderness and humor are combined into a clever -and entertaining book. Her characters are delightful and she always -displays a quaint humor of expression and a quiet feeling of pathos -which give a touch of active realism to all her writings. In -"A Spinner in the Sun" she tells an old-fashioned love story, of a -veiled lady who lives in solitude and whose features her neighbors -have never seen. There is a mystery at the heart of the book that -throws over it the glamour of romance. - - -^THE MASTER'S VIOLIN,^ - -A love story in a musical atmosphere. A picturesque, old German -virtuoso is the reverent possessor of a genuine "Cremona." He -consents to take for his pupil a handsome youth who proves to have -an aptitude for technique, but not the soul of an artist. The youth -has led the happy, careless life of a modern, well-to-do young -American and he cannot, with his meagre past, express the love, the -passion and the tragedies of life and all its happy phases as can -the master who has lived life in all its fulness. But a girl comes -into his life--a beautiful bit of human driftwood that his aunt had -taken into her heart and home, and through his passionate love for -her, he learns the lessons that life has to give--and his soul -awakes. - -Founded on a fact that all artists realize. - - -_Ask for a complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted -Fiction_ - -GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26TH ST., NEW YORK - - -AMELIA BARR'S STORIES - -DELIGHTFUL TALES OF OLD NEW YORK - -#May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset and Dunlap's -list.# - - -^THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON.^ With Frontispiece. - -This exquisite little romance opens in New York City in "the tender -grace" of a May day long past, when the old Dutch families clustered -around Bowling Green. It is the beginning of the romance of -Katherine, a young Dutch girl who has sent, as a love token, to a -young English officer, the bow of orange ribbon which she has worn -for years as a sacred emblem on the day of St. Nicholas. After the -bow of ribbon Katherine's heart soon flies. Unlike her sister, -whose heart has found a safe resting place among her own people, -Katherine's heart must rove from home--must know to the utmost all -that life holds of both joy and sorrow. And so she goes beyond the -seas, leaving her parents as desolate as were Isaac and Rebecca of -old. - - -^THE MAID OF MAIDEN LANE;^ A Love Story. With Illustrations by -S. M. Arthur. - -A sequel to "The Bow of Orange Ribbon." The time is the gracious -days of Seventeen-hundred and ninety-one, when "The Marseillaise" -was sung with the American national airs, and the spirit affected -commerce, politics and conversation. In the midst of this period the -romance of "The Sweetest Maid in Maiden Lane" unfolds. Its chief -charm lies in its historic and local color. - - -^SHEILA VEDDER.^ Frontispiece in colors by Harrison Fisher. - -A love story set in the Shetland Islands. - -Among the simple, homely folk who dwelt there Jan Vedder was raised; -and to this island came lovely Sheila Jarrow. Jan knew, when first -he beheld her, that she was the one woman in all the world for him, -and to the winning of her love he set himself. The long days of -summer by the sea, the nights under the marvelously soft radiance of -Shetland moonlight passed in love-making, while with wonderment the -man and woman, alien in traditions, adjusted themselves to each -other. And the day came when Jan and Sheila wed, and then a sweeter -love story is told. - - -^TRINITY BELLS.^ With eight Illustrations by C. M. Relyea. - -The story centers around the life of little Katryntje Van Clyffe, -who, on her return home from a fashionable boarding school, faces -poverty and heartache. Stout of heart, she does not permit herself -to become discouraged even at the news of the loss of her father and -his ship "The Golden Victory." The story of Katryntje's life was -interwoven with the music of the Trinity Bells which eventually -heralded her wedding day. - - -_Ask for complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction_ - -GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26TH ST., NEW YORK - - -THE NOVELS OF - -CLARA LOUISE BURNHAM - -#May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset and Dunlap's -list.# - - -^JEWEL:^ A Chapter in Her Life. - -Illustrated by Maude and Genevieve Cowles. - -A sweet, dainty story, breathing the doctrine of love and patience -and sweet nature and cheerfulness. - - -^JEWEL'S STORY BOOK.^ - -Illustrated by Albert Schmitt. - -A sequel to "Jewel" and equally enjoyable. - - -^CLEVER BETSY.^ - -Illustrated by Rose O'Neill. - -The "Clever Betsy" was a boat--named for the unyielding spinster -whom the captain hoped to marry. Through the two Betsys a clever -group of people are introduced to the reader. - - -^SWEET CLOVER:^ A Romance of the White City. - -A story of Chicago at the time of the World's Fair. A sweet human -story that touches the heart. - - -^THE OPENED SHUTTERS.^ - -Frontispiece by Harrison Fisher. - -A summer haunt on an island in Casco Bay is the background for this -romance. A beautiful woman, at discord with life, is brought to -realize, by her new friends, that she may open the shutters of her -soul to the blessed sunlight of joy by casting aside vanity and self -love. A delicately humorous work with a lofty motive underlying it -all. - - -^THE RIGHT PRINCESS.^ - -An amusing story, opening at a fashionable Long Island resort, where -a stately Englishwoman employs a forcible New England housekeeper to -serve in her interesting home. How types so widely apart react on -each other's lives, all to ultimate good, makes a story both -humorous and rich in sentiment. - - -^THE LEAVEN OF LOVE.^ - -Frontispiece by Harrison Fisher. - -At a Southern California resort a world-weary woman, young and -beautiful but disillusioned, meets a girl who has learned the art of -living--of tasting life in all its richness, opulence and joy. The -story hinges upon the change wrought in the soul of the blasè woman -by this glimpse into a cheery life. - - -_Ask for complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction_ - -GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26TH ST., NEW YORK - - -JOHN FOX, JR'S. - -STORIES OF THE KENTUCKY MOUNTAINS - -#May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset and Dunlap's -list.# - - - [Illustration] - -^THE TRAIL OF THE LONESOME PINE.^ - -Illustrated by F. C. Yohn. - -The "lonesome pine" from which the story takes its name was a tall -tree that stood in solitary splendor on a mountain top. The fame of -the pine lured a young engineer through Kentucky to catch the trail, -and when he finally climbed to its shelter he found not only the -pine but the _foot-prints of a girl_. And the girl proved to be -lovely, piquant, and the trail of these girlish foot-prints led the -young engineer a madder chase than "the trail of the lonesome pine." - - -^THE LITTLE SHEPHERD OF KINGDOM COME^ - -Illustrated by F. C. Yohn. - -This is a story of Kentucky, in a settlement known as "Kingdom -Come." It is a life rude, semi-barbarous; but natural and honest, -from which often springs the flower of civilization. - -"Chad." the "little shepherd" did not know who he was nor whence he -came--he had just wandered from door to door since early childhood, -seeking shelter with kindly mountaineers who gladly fathered and -mothered this waif about whom there was such a mystery--a charming -waif, by the way, who could play the banjo better that anyone else -in the mountains. - - -^A KNIGHT OF THE CUMBERLAND.^ - -Illustrated by F. C. Yohn. - -The scenes are laid along the waters of the Cumberland, the lair of -moonshiner and feudsman. The knight is a moonshiner's son, and the -heroine a beautiful girl perversely christened "The Blight." Two -impetuous young Southerners' fall under the spell of "The Blight's" -charms and she learns what a large part jealousy and pistols have in -the love making of the mountaineers. - -Included in this volume is "Hell fer-Sartain" and other stories, -some of Mr. Fox's most entertaining Cumberland valley narratives. - - -_Ask for complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction_ - -GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26TH ST., NEW YORK - - -B. M. Bower's Novels - -Thrilling Western Romances - -Large 12 mos. Handsomely bound in cloth. Illustrated - - -^CHIP, OF THE FLYING U^ - -A breezy wholesome tale, wherein the love affairs of Chip and Della -Whitman are charmingly and humorously told. Chip's jealousy of Dr. -Cecil Grantham, who turns out to be a big, blue eyed young woman is -very amusing. A clever, realistic story of the American Cow-puncher. - - -^THE HAPPY FAMILY^ - -A lively and amusing story, dealing with the adventures of eighteen -jovial, big hearted Montana cowboys. Foremost amongst them, we find -Ananias Green, known as Andy, whose imaginative powers cause many -lively and exciting adventures. - - -^HER PRAIRIE KNIGHT^ - -A realistic story of the plains, describing a gay party of -Easterners who exchange a cottage at Newport for the rough -homeliness of a Montana ranch-house. The merry-hearted cowboys, the -fascinating Beatrice, and the effusive Sir Redmond, become living, -breathing personalities. - - -^THE RANGE DWELLERS^ - -Here are everyday, genuine cowboys, just as they really exist. -Spirited action, a range feud between two families, and a Romeo and -Juliet courtship make this a bright, jolly, entertaining story, -without a dull page. - - -^THE LURE OF DIM TRAILS^ - -A vivid portrayal of the experience of an Eastern author, among the -cowboys of the West, in search of "local color" for a new novel. -"Bud" Thurston learns many a lesson while following "the lure of the -dim trails" but the hardest, and probably the most welcome, is that -of love. - - -^THE LONESOME TRAIL^ - -"Weary" Davidson leaves the ranch for Portland, where conventional -city life palls on him. A little branch of sage brush, pungent with -the atmosphere of the prairie, and the recollection of a pair of -large brown eyes soon compel his return. A wholesome love story. - - -^THE LONG SHADOW^ - -A vigorous Western story, sparkling with the free, outdoor, life of -a mountain ranch. Its scenes shift rapidly and its actors play the -game of life fearlessly and like men. It is a fine love story from -start to finish. - - -Ask for a complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction. - -GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26TH ST., NEW YORK - - -KATE DOUGLAS WIGGIN'S STORIES OF PURE DELIGHT - -Full of originality and humor, kindliness and cheer - - -^THE OLD PEABODY PEW.^ Large Octavo. Decorative text pages, printed -in two colors. Illustrations by Alice Barber Stephens. - -One of the prettiest romances that has ever come from this author's -pen is made to bloom on Christmas Eve in the sweet freshness of an -old New England meeting house. - - -^PENELOPE'S PROGRESS.^ Attractive cover design in colors. - -Scotland is the background for the merry doings of three very clever -and original American girls. Their adventures in adjusting -themselves to the Scot and his land are full of humor. - - -^PENELOPE'S IRISH EXPERIENCES.^ Uniform in style ^with "Penelope's -Progress."^ - -The trio of clever girls who rambled over Scotland cross the border -to the Emerald Isle, and again they sharpen their wits against new -conditions, and revel in the land of laughter and wit. - - -^REBECCA OF SUNNYBROOK FARM.^ - -One of the most beautiful studies of childhood--Rebecca's artistic, -unusual and quaintly charming qualities stand out midst a circle of -austere New Englanders. The stage version is making a phenomenal -dramatic record. - - -^NEW CHRONICLES OF REBECCA.^ With illustrations by F. C. Yohn. - -Some more quaintly amusing chronicles that carry Rebecca through -various stages to her eighteenth birthday. - - -^ROSE O' THE RIVER.^ With illustrations by George Wright. - -The simple story of Rose, a country girl and Stephen a sturdy young -farmer, The girl's fancy for a city man interrupts their love and -merges the story into an emotional strain where the reader follows -the events with rapt attention. - - -GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26TH ST., NEW YORK - - * * * * * - * * * * - * * * * * - -Errors and Inconsistencies - -French words are shown as printed; misspellings were assumed to be -intentional. The same applies to proper names, except when the error -was clearly typographic. The publisher's advertising section is shown -as printed, retaining all errors. - -Variation between "3d" and "3rd" is unchanged. - - -Main Text - - Copyright, 1912, by / THE CURTIS PUBLISHING COMPANY [Copyright.] - ate and ate until they went to her head. [_final . missing_] - ... a hungry little nine-year girl [_unchanged_] - I really do love to write to you. ... Would you like me - [_the "r" in "write" and most of the word "me" are invisible_] - Princeton commencement and our examinations [Princton] - Amasai and Carrie got married last May - [_unchanged: everywhere else spelled "Carrie"_] - "DEAR MADAM, / "Mr. Smith prefers that you remain at Lock Willow. - ['DEAR MADAM,] - - -Advertising Section (Uncorrected) - -_Missing or incorrect punctuation is not listed._ - - The stage version is making a phenominal dramatic record. - a bewitchingly innocent, hugable little maid - G. & D. Popular Copyrighed Fiction [_this page only_] - of delightful humor and spontaniety. - the soul of the blasè woman - play the banjo better that anyone else - Two impetuous young Southerners' fall under the spell - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Daddy Long-Legs, by Jean Webster - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DADDY LONG-LEGS *** - -***** This file should be named 40426-8.txt or 40426-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/4/2/40426/ - -Produced by Louise Hope, Bruce Albrecht and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Daddy Long-Legs - A Comedy in Four Acts - -Author: Jean Webster - -Release Date: August 6, 2012 [EBook #40426] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DADDY LONG-LEGS *** - - - - -Produced by Louise Hope, Bruce Albrecht and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -[This e-text comes in three forms: Unicode (UTF-8), Latin-1 and ASCII. -Use the one that works best on your text reader. - - --If apostrophes and quotation marks are "curly" or angled, you have - the UTF-8 version (best). If any part of this paragraph displays as - garbage, try changing your text reader's "character set" or "file - encoding". If that doesn't work, proceed to: - --In the Latin-1 version, French words like "etude" have accents, - and "ae" is a single letter. Apostrophes and quotation marks will be - straight ("typewriter" form). Again, if you see any garbage in this - paragraph and can't get it to display properly, use: - --The ASCII-7 or rock-bottom version. French words will not have - their original accents, but everything else will be essentially - unchanged. - -Errors and inconsistencies-- whether corrected or not-- are listed at -the end of the e-text. Note that French words, most proper names, and -the entire Advertising section, have been left as printed. - -Italics are shown conventionally with _lines_. Boldface and -underlining-- both only in the advertising section-- are shown as -#mark# and ^mark^ respectively. Inverse emphasis within italic text -(rare) is also shown with ^marks^. - -Illustrations identified as "Plate" are full-page photographs ("Scenes -from the Play"). All others are line drawings. Any text shown in -quotation marks is part of the drawing.] - - - - -[Plate: JUDY.] - - - - - DADDY-LONG-LEGS - - By - JEAN WEBSTER - Author Of - When Patty Went To College, etc. - - With Illustrations - By The Author - And Scenes From The Play - - [Illustration] - - New York - GROSSET & DUNLAP - Publishers - - - - - Copyright, 1912, by - THE CENTURY CO. - - Copyright, 1912, by - THE CURTIS PUBLISHING COMPANY - - _Published October, 1912_ - - - - - TO YOU - - * * * * * - * * * * - - DADDY-LONG-LEGS - - * * * * - * * * * * - - - DADDY-LONG-LEGS - - - "BLUE WEDNESDAY" - - -The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day -to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with -haste. Every floor must be spotless, every chair dustless, and every -bed without a wrinkle. Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be -scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and -all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, "Yes, -sir," "No, sir," whenever a Trustee spoke. - -It was a distressing time; and poor Jerusha Abbott, being the oldest -orphan, had to bear the brunt of it. But this particular first -Wednesday, like its predecessors, finally dragged itself to a close. -Jerusha escaped from the pantry where she had been making sandwiches -for the asylum's guests, and turned upstairs to accomplish her -regular work. Her special care was room F, where eleven little tots, -from four to seven, occupied eleven little cots set in a row. -Jerusha assembled her charges, straightened their rumpled frocks, -wiped their noses, and started them in an orderly and willing line -toward the dining-room to engage themselves for a blessed half hour -with bread and milk and prune pudding. - -Then she dropped down on the window seat and leaned throbbing -temples against the cool glass. She had been on her feet since five -that morning, doing everybody's bidding, scolded and hurried by a -nervous matron. Mrs. Lippett, behind the scenes, did not always -maintain that calm and pompous dignity with which she faced an -audience of Trustees and lady visitors. Jerusha gazed out across a -broad stretch of frozen lawn, beyond the tall iron paling that -marked the confines of the asylum, down undulating ridges sprinkled -with country estates, to the spires of the village rising from the -midst of bare trees. - -The day was ended--quite successfully, so far as she knew. The -Trustees and the visiting committee had made their rounds, and read -their reports, and drunk their tea, and now were hurrying home to -their own cheerful firesides, to forget their bothersome little -charges for another month. Jerusha leaned forward watching with -curiosity--and a touch of wistfulness--the stream of carriages and -automobiles that rolled out of the asylum gates. In imagination she -followed first one equipage then another to the big houses dotted -along the hillside. She pictured herself in a fur coat and a velvet -hat trimmed with feathers leaning back in the seat and nonchalantly -murmuring "Home" to the driver. But on the door-sill of her home the -picture grew blurred. - -Jerusha had an imagination--an imagination, Mrs. Lippett told her, -that would get her into trouble if she didn't take care--but keen -as it was, it could not carry her beyond the front porch of the -houses she would enter. Poor, eager, adventurous little Jerusha, in -all her seventeen years, had never stepped inside an ordinary house; -she could not picture the daily routine of those other human beings -who carried on their lives undiscommoded by orphans. - - Je-ru-sha Ab-bott - You are wan-ted - In the of-fice, - And I think you'd - Better hurry up! - -Tommy Dillon who had joined the choir, came singing up the stairs -and down the corridor, his chant growing louder as he approached -room F. Jerusha wrenched herself from the window and refaced the -troubles of life. - -"Who wants me?" she cut into Tommy's chant with a note of sharp -anxiety. - - Mrs. Lippett in the office, - And I think she's mad. - Ah-a-men! - -Tommy piously intoned, but his accent was not entirely malicious. -Even the most hardened little orphan felt sympathy for an erring -sister who was summoned to the office to face an annoyed matron; and -Tommy liked Jerusha even if she did sometimes jerk him by the arm -and nearly scrub his nose off. - -Jerusha went without comment, but with two parallel lines on her -brow. What could have gone wrong, she wondered. Were the sandwiches -not thin enough? Were there shells in the nut cakes? Had a -lady visitor seen the hole in Susie Hawthorn's stocking? -Had--O horrors!--one of the cherubic little babes in her own -room F "sassed" a Trustee? - -The long lower hall had not been lighted, and as she came -downstairs, a last Trustee stood, on the point of departure, in the -open door that led to the porte-cochere. Jerusha caught only a -fleeting impression of the man--and the impression consisted -entirely of tallness. He was waving his arm toward an automobile -waiting in the curved drive. As it sprang into motion and -approached, head on for an instant, the glaring headlights threw his -shadow sharply against the wall inside. The shadow pictured -grotesquely elongated legs and arms that ran along the floor and up -the wall of the corridor. It looked, for all the world, like a huge, -wavering daddy-long-legs. - -Jerusha's anxious frown gave place to quick laughter. She was by -nature a sunny soul, and had always snatched the tiniest excuse to -be amused. If one could derive any sort of entertainment out of the -oppressive fact of a Trustee, it was something unexpected to the -good. She advanced to the office quite cheered by the tiny episode, -and presented a smiling face to Mrs. Lippett. To her surprise the -matron was also, if not exactly smiling, at least appreciably -affable; she wore an expression almost as pleasant as the one she -donned for visitors. - -"Sit down, Jerusha, I have something to say to you." - -Jerusha dropped into the nearest chair and waited with a touch of -breathlessness. An automobile flashed past the window; Mrs. Lippett -glanced after it. - -"Did you notice the gentleman who has just gone?" - -"I saw his back." - -"He is one of our most affluential Trustees, and has given large -sums of money toward the asylum's support. I am not at liberty to -mention his name; he expressly stipulated that he was to remain -unknown." - -Jerusha's eyes widened slightly; she was not accustomed to being -summoned to the office to discuss the eccentricities of Trustees -with the matron. - -"This gentleman has taken an interest in several of our boys. -You remember Charles Benton and Henry Freize? They were both sent -through college by Mr.--er--this Trustee, and both have repaid with -hard work and success the money that was so generously expended. -Other payment the gentleman does not wish. Heretofore his -philanthropies have been directed solely toward the boys; I have -never been able to interest him in the slightest degree in any of -the girls in the institution, no matter how deserving. He does not, -I may tell you, care for girls." - -"No, ma'am," Jerusha murmured, since some reply seemed to be -expected at this point. - -"To-day at the regular meeting, the question of your future was -brought up." - -Mrs. Lippett allowed a moment of silence to fall, then resumed in a -slow, placid manner extremely trying to her hearer's suddenly -tightened nerves. - -"Usually, as you know, the children are not kept after they are -sixteen, but an exception was made in your case. You had finished -our school at fourteen, and having done so well in your studies--not -always, I must say, in your conduct--it was determined to let you go -on in the village high school. Now you are finishing that, and of -course the asylum cannot be responsible any longer for your support. -As it is, you have had two years more than most." - -Mrs. Lippett overlooked the fact that Jerusha had worked hard for -her board during those two years, that the convenience of the asylum -had come first and her education second; that on days like the -present she was kept at home to scrub. - -"As I say, the question of your future was brought up and your -record was discussed--thoroughly discussed." - -Mrs. Lippett brought accusing eyes to bear upon the prisoner in the -dock, and the prisoner looked guilty because it seemed to be -expected--not because she could remember any strikingly black pages -in her record. - -"Of course the usual disposition of one in your place would be to -put you in a position where you could begin to work, but you have -done well in school in certain branches; it seems that your work in -English has even been brilliant. Miss Pritchard who is on our -visiting committee is also on the school board; she has been talking -with your rhetoric teacher, and made a speech in your favor. She -also read aloud an essay that you had written entitled, 'Blue -Wednesday.'" - -Jerusha's guilty expression this time was not assumed. - -"It seemed to me that you showed little gratitude in holding up to -ridicule the institution that has done so much for you. Had you not -managed to be funny I doubt if you would have been forgiven. But -fortunately for you, Mr. ----, that is, the gentleman who has just -gone--appears to have an immoderate sense of humor. On the strength -of that impertinent paper, he has offered to send you to college." - -"To college?" Jerusha's eyes grew big. - -Mrs. Lippett nodded. - -"He waited to discuss the terms with me. They are unusual. The -gentleman, I may say, is erratic. He believes that you have -originality, and he is planning to educate you to become a writer." - -"A writer?" Jerusha's mind was numbed. She could only repeat Mrs. -Lippett's words. - -"That is his wish. Whether anything will come of it, the future will -show. He is giving you a very liberal allowance, almost, for a girl -who has never had any experience in taking care of money, too -liberal. But he planned the matter in detail, and I did not feel -free to make any suggestions. You are to remain here through the -summer, and Miss Pritchard has kindly offered to superintend your -outfit. Your board and tuition will be paid directly to the college, -and you will receive in addition during the four years you are -there, an allowance of thirty-five dollars a month. This will enable -you to enter on the same standing as the other students. The money -will be sent to you by the gentleman's private secretary once a -month, and in return, you will write a letter of acknowledgment once -a month. That is--you are not to thank him for the money; he -doesn't care to have that mentioned, but you are to write a letter -telling of the progress in your studies and the details of your -daily life. Just such a letter as you would write to your parents if -they were living. - -"These letters will be addressed to Mr. John Smith and will be sent -in care of the secretary. The gentleman's name is not John Smith, -but he prefers to remain unknown. To you he will never be anything -but John Smith. His reason in requiring the letters is that he -thinks nothing so fosters facility in literary expression as -letter-writing. Since you have no family with whom to correspond, he -desires you to write in this way; also, he wishes to keep track of -your progress. He will never answer your letters, nor in the -slightest particular take any notice of them. He detests -letter-writing, and does not wish you to become a burden. If any -point should ever arise where an answer would seem to be -imperative--such as in the event of your being expelled, which I -trust will not occur--you may correspond with Mr. Griggs, his -secretary. These monthly letters are absolutely obligatory on your -part; they are the only payment that Mr. Smith requires, so you must -be as punctilious in sending them as though it were a bill that you -were paying. I hope that they will always be respectful in tone and -will reflect credit on your training. You must remember that you are -writing to a Trustee of the John Grier Home." - -Jerusha's eyes longingly sought the door. Her head was in a whirl of -excitement, and she wished only to escape from Mrs. Lippett's -platitudes, and think. She rose and took a tentative step backwards. -Mrs. Lippett detained her with a gesture; it was an oratorical -opportunity not to be slighted. - -"I trust that you are properly grateful for this very rare good -fortune that has befallen you? Not many girls in your position ever -have such an opportunity to rise in the world. You must always -remember--" - -"I--yes, ma'am, thank you. I think, if that's all, I must go and -sew a patch on Freddie Perkins's trousers." - -The door closed behind her, and Mrs. Lippett watched it with dropped -jaw, her peroration in mid-air. - - - - -THE LETTERS OF MISS JERUSHA ABBOTT - -to - -MR. DADDY-LONG-LEGS SMITH - - - - - 215 FERGUSSEN HALL, - - September 24th. - - _Dear Kind-Trustee-Who-Sends-Orphans-to-College,_ - -Here I am! I traveled yesterday for four hours in a train. It's a -funny sensation isn't it? I never rode in one before. - -College is the biggest, most bewildering place--I get lost whenever -I leave my room. I will write you a description later when I'm -feeling less muddled; also I will tell you about my lessons. Classes -don't begin until Monday morning, and this is Saturday night. But I -wanted to write a letter first just to get acquainted. - -It seems queer to be writing letters to somebody you don't know. It -seems queer for me to be writing letters at all--I've never written -more than three or four in my life, so please overlook it if these -are not a model kind. - -Before leaving yesterday morning, Mrs. Lippett and I had a very -serious talk. She told me how to behave all the rest of my life, and -especially how to behave toward the kind gentleman who is doing so -much for me. I must take care to be Very Respectful. - -But how can one be very respectful to a person who wishes to be -called John Smith? Why couldn't you have picked out a name with a -little personality? I might as well write letters to Dear -Hitching-Post or Dear Clothes-Pole. - -I have been thinking about you a great deal this summer; having -somebody take an interest in me after all these years, makes me feel -as though I had found a sort of family. It seems as though I -belonged to somebody now, and it's a very comfortable sensation. -I must say, however, that when I think about you, my imagination has -very little to work upon. There are just three things that I know: - - I. You are tall. - II. You are rich. - III. You hate girls. - -I suppose I might call you Dear Mr. Girl-Hater. Only that's sort of -insulting to me. Or Dear Mr. Rich-Man, but that's insulting to you, -as though money were the only important thing about you. Besides, -being rich is such a very external quality. Maybe you won't stay -rich all your life; lots of very clever men get smashed up in Wall -Street. But at least you will stay tall all your life! So I've -decided to call you Dear Daddy-Long-Legs. I hope you won't mind. -It's just a private pet name--we won't tell Mrs. Lippett. - -The ten o'clock bell is going to ring in two minutes. Our day is -divided into sections by bells. We eat and sleep and study by bells. -It's very enlivening; I feel like a fire horse all of the time. -There it goes! Lights out. Good night. - -Observe with what precision I obey rules--due to my training in the -John Grier Home. - - Yours most respectfully, - - JERUSHA ABBOTT. - -_To Mr. Daddy-Long-Legs Smith._ - - - October 1st. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I love college and I love you for sending me--I'm very, _very_ -happy, and so excited every moment of the time that I can scarcely -sleep. You can't imagine how different it is from the John Grier -Home. I never dreamed there was such a place in the world. I'm -feeling sorry for everybody who isn't a girl and who can't come -here; I am sure the college you attended when you were a boy -couldn't have been so nice. - -My room is up in a tower that used to be the contagious ward before -they built the new infirmary. There are three other girls on the -same floor of the tower--a Senior who wears spectacles and is always -asking us please to be a little more quiet, and two Freshmen named -Sallie McBride and Julia Rutledge Pendleton. Sallie has red hair and -a turn-up nose and is quite friendly; Julia comes from one of the -first families in New York and hasn't noticed me yet. They room -together and the Senior and I have singles. Usually Freshmen can't -get singles; they are very scarce, but I got one without even -asking. I suppose the registrar didn't think it would be right to -ask a properly brought-up girl to room with a foundling. You see -there are advantages! - -My room is on the northwest corner with two windows and a view. -After you've lived in a ward for eighteen years with twenty -room-mates, it is restful to be alone. This is the first chance -I've ever had to get acquainted with Jerusha Abbott. I think I'm -going to like her. - -Do you think you are? - - - Tuesday. - -They are organizing the Freshman basket-ball team and there's just -a chance that I shall make it. I'm little of course, but terribly -quick and wiry and tough. While the others are hopping about in the -air, I can dodge under their feet and grab the ball. It's loads of -fun practising--out in the athletic field in the afternoon with the -trees all red and yellow and the air full of the smell of burning -leaves, and everybody laughing and shouting. These are the happiest -girls I ever saw--and I am the happiest of all! - -I meant to write a long letter and tell you all the things I'm -learning (Mrs. Lippett said you wanted to know) but 7th hour has -just rung, and in ten minutes I'm due at the athletic field in -gymnasium clothes. Don't you hope I'll make the team? - - Yours always, - - JERUSHA ABBOTT. - -P. S. (9 o'clock.) - -Sallie McBride just poked her head in at my door. This is what she -said: - -"I'm so homesick that I simply can't stand it. Do you feel that -way?" - -I smiled a little and said no, I thought I could pull through. At -least homesickness is one disease that I've escaped! I never heard -of anybody being asylumsick, did you? - - - October 10th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Did you ever hear of Michael Angelo? - -He was a famous artist who lived in Italy in the Middle Ages. -Everybody in English Literature seemed to know about him and the -whole class laughed because I thought he was an archangel. He sounds -like an archangel, doesn't he? The trouble with college is that you -are expected to know such a lot of things you've never learned. -It's very embarrassing at times. But now, when the girls talk about -things that I never heard of, I just keep still and look them up in -the encyclopedia. - -I made an awful mistake the first day. Somebody mentioned Maurice -Maeterlinck, and I asked if she was a Freshman. That joke has gone -all over college. But anyway, I'm just as bright in class as any of -the others--and brighter than some of them! - -Do you care to know how I've furnished my room? It's a symphony in -brown and yellow. The wall was tinted buff, and I've bought yellow -denim curtains and cushions and a mahogany desk (second hand for -three dollars) and a rattan chair and a brown rug with an ink spot -in the middle. I stand the chair over the spot. - -The windows are up high; you can't look out from an ordinary seat. -But I unscrewed the looking-glass from the back of the bureau, -upholstered the top, and moved it up against the window. It's just -the right height for a window seat. You pull out the drawers like -steps and walk up. Very comfortable! - -Sallie McBride helped me choose the things at the Senior auction. -She has lived in a house all her life and knows about furnishing. -You can't imagine what fun it is to shop and pay with a real -five-dollar bill and get some change--when you've never had more -than a nickel in your life. I assure you, Daddy dear, I do -appreciate that allowance. - -Sallie is the most entertaining person in the world--and Julia -Rutledge Pendleton the least so. It's queer what a mixture the -registrar can make in the matter of room-mates. Sallie thinks -everything is funny--even flunking--and Julia is bored at -everything. She never makes the slightest effort to be amiable. She -believes that if you are a Pendleton, that fact alone admits you to -heaven without any further examination. Julia and I were born to be -enemies. - -And now I suppose you've been waiting very impatiently to hear what -I am learning? - -I. _Latin:_ Second Punic war. Hannibal and his forces pitched camp -at Lake Trasimenus last night. They prepared an ambuscade for the -Romans, and a battle took place at the fourth watch this morning. -Romans in retreat. - -II. _French:_ 24 pages of the "Three Musketeers" and third -conjugation, irregular verbs. - -III. _Geometry:_ Finished cylinders; now doing cones. - -IV. _English:_ Studying exposition. My style improves daily in -clearness and brevity. - -V. _Physiology:_ Reached the digestive system. Bile and the pancreas -next time. - - Yours, on the way to being educated, - - JERUSHA ABBOTT. - -P. S. I hope you never touch alcohol, Daddy? - -It does dreadful things to your liver. - - - Wednesday. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I've changed my name. - -I'm still "Jerusha" in the catalogue, but I'm "Judy" every place -else. It's sort of too bad, isn't it, to have to give yourself the -only pet name you ever had? I didn't quite make up the Judy though. -That's what Freddie Perkins used to call me before he could talk -plain. - -I wish Mrs. Lippett would use a little more ingenuity about choosing -babies' names. She gets the last names out of the telephone -book--you'll find Abbott on the first page--and she picks the -Christian names up anywhere; she got Jerusha from a tombstone. I've -always hated it; but I rather like Judy. It's such a silly name. -It belongs to the kind of girl I'm not--a sweet little blue-eyed -thing, petted and spoiled by all the family, who romps her way -through life without any cares. Wouldn't it be nice to be like -that? Whatever faults I may have, no one can ever accuse me of -having been spoiled by my family! But it's sort of fun to pretend -I've been. In the future please always address me as Judy. - -Do you want to know something? I have three pairs of kid gloves. -I've had kid mittens before from the Christmas tree, but never real -kid gloves with five fingers. I take them out and try them on every -little while. It's all I can do not to wear them to classes. - -(Dinner bell. Good-by.) - - -[Plate: JUDY AND THE ORPHANS AT JOHN GRIER HOME.] - - - Friday. - -What do you think, Daddy? The English instructor said that my last -paper shows an unusual amount of originality. She did, truly. Those -were her words. It doesn't seem possible, does it, considering the -eighteen years of training that I've had? The aim of the John Grier -Home (as you doubtless know and heartily approve of) is to turn the -ninety-seven orphans into ninety-seven twins. - - [Illustration: "ANY ORPHAN - Rear Elevation Front Elevation"] - -The unusual artistic ability which I exhibit, was developed at an -early age through drawing chalk pictures of Mrs. Lippett on the -woodshed door. - -I hope that I don't hurt your feelings when I criticize the home of -my youth? But you have the upper hand, you know, for if I become too -impertinent, you can always stop payment on your checks. That isn't -a very polite thing to say--but you can't expect me to have any -manners; a foundling asylum isn't a young ladies' finishing school. - -You know, Daddy, it isn't the work that is going to be hard in -college. It's the play. Half the time I don't know what the girls -are talking about; their jokes seem to relate to a past that every -one but me has shared. I'm a foreigner in the world and I don't -understand the language. It's a miserable feeling. I've had it all -my life. At the high school the girls would stand in groups and just -look at me. I was queer and different and everybody knew it. I could -_feel_ "John Grier Home" written on my face. And then a few -charitable ones would make a point of coming up and saying something -polite. _I hated every one of them_--the charitable ones most of -all. - -Nobody here knows that I was brought up in an asylum. I told Sallie -McBride that my mother and father were dead, and that a kind old -gentleman was sending me to college--which is entirely true so far -as it goes. I don't want you to think I am a coward, but I do want -to be like the other girls, and that Dreadful Home looming over my -childhood is the one great big difference. If I can turn my back on -that and shut out the remembrance, I think I might be just as -desirable as any other girl. I don't believe there's any real, -underneath difference, do you? - -Anyway, Sallie McBride likes me! - - Yours ever, - - JUDY ABBOTT. - - (Nee Jerusha.) - - - Saturday morning. - -I've just been reading this letter over and it sounds pretty -un-cheerful. But can't you guess that I have a special topic due -Monday morning and a review in geometry and a very sneezy cold? - - - Sunday. - -I forgot to mail this yesterday so I will add an indignant -postscript. We had a bishop this morning, and _what do you think he -said?_ - -"The most beneficent promise made us in the Bible is this, 'The poor -ye have always with you.' They were put here in order to keep us -charitable." - -The poor, please observe, being a sort of useful domestic animal. -If I hadn't grown into such a perfect lady, I should have gone up -after service and told him what I thought. - - - October 25th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I've made the basket-ball team and you ought to see the bruise on -my left shoulder. It's blue and mahogany with little streaks of -orange. Julia Pendleton tried for the team, but she didn't make it. -Hooray! - -You see what a mean disposition I have. - -College gets nicer and nicer. I like the girls and the teachers and -the classes and the campus and the things to eat. We have ice-cream -twice a week and we never have corn-meal mush. - -You only wanted to hear from me once a month, didn't you? And I've -been peppering you with letters every few days! But I've been so -excited about all these new adventures that I _must_ talk to -somebody; and you're the only one I know. Please excuse my -exuberance; I'll settle pretty soon. If my letters bore you, you -can always toss them into the waste-basket. I promise not to write -another till the middle of November. - - Yours most loquaciously, - - JUDY ABBOTT. - - [Illustration: "Judy at Basket Ball"] - - - November 15th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Listen to what I've learned to-day: - -The area of the convex surface of the frustum of a regular pyramid -is half the product of the sum of the perimeters of its bases by the -altitude of either of its trapezoids. - -It doesn't sound true, but it is--I can prove it! - -You've never heard about my clothes, have you, Daddy? Six dresses, -all new and beautiful and bought for me--not handed down from -somebody bigger. Perhaps you don't realize what a climax that marks -in the career of an orphan? You gave them to me, and I am very, -very, _very_ much obliged. It's a fine thing to be educated--but -nothing compared to the dizzying experience of owning six new -dresses. Miss Pritchard who is on the visiting committee picked them -out--not Mrs. Lippett, thank goodness. I have an evening dress, pink -mull over silk (I'm perfectly beautiful in that), and a blue church -dress, and a dinner dress of red veiling with Oriental trimming -(makes me look like a Gipsy) and another of rose-colored challis, -and a gray street suit, and an every-day dress for classes. That -wouldn't be an awfully big wardrobe for Julia Rutledge Pendleton, -perhaps, but for Jerusha Abbott--Oh, my! - -I suppose you're thinking now what a frivolous, shallow, little -beast she is, and what a waste of money to educate a girl? - -But Daddy, if you'd been dressed in checked ginghams all your life, -you'd appreciate how I feel. And when I started to the high school, -I entered upon another period even worse than the checked ginghams. - -The poor box. - -You can't know how I dreaded appearing in school in those miserable -poor-box dresses. I was perfectly sure to be put down in class next -to the girl who first owned my dress, and she would whisper and -giggle and point it out to the others. The bitterness of wearing -your enemies' cast-off clothes eats into your soul. If I wore silk -stockings for the rest of my life, I don't believe I could -obliterate the scar. - - LATEST WAR BULLETIN! - - News from the Scene of Action. - -At the fourth watch on Thursday the 13th of November, Hannibal -routed the advance guard of the Romans and led the Carthaginian -forces over the mountains into the plains of Casilinum. A cohort of -light armed Numidians engaged the infantry of Quintus Fabius -Maximus. Two battles and light skirmishing. Romans repulsed with -heavy losses. - - I have the honor of being, - Your special correspondent from the front - - J. ABBOTT. - -P. S. I know I'm not to expect any letters in return, and I've -been warned not to bother you with questions, but tell me, Daddy, -just this once--are you awfully old or just a little old? And are -you perfectly bald or just a little bald? It is very difficult -thinking about you in the abstract like a theorem in geometry. - -Given a tall rich man who hates girls, but is very generous to one -quite impertinent girl, what does he look like? - -R.S.V.P. - - - December 19th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -You never answered my question and it was very important. - -ARE YOU BALD? - - [Illustration] - -I have it planned exactly what you look like--very satisfactorily--until -I reach the top of your head, and then I _am_ stuck. I can't decide -whether you have white hair or black hair or sort of sprinkly gray -hair or maybe none at all. - -Here is your portrait: - -But the problem is, shall I add some hair? - -Would you like to know what color your eyes are? They're gray, and -your eyebrows stick out like a porch roof (beetling, they're called -in novels) and your mouth is a straight line with a tendency to turn -down at the corners. Oh, you see, I know! You're a snappy old thing -with a temper. - -(Chapel bell.) - - 9.45 P. M. - -I have a new unbreakable rule: never, never to study at night no -matter how many written reviews are coming in the morning. Instead, -I read just plain books--I have to, you know, because there are -eighteen blank years behind me. You wouldn't believe, Daddy, what -an abyss of ignorance my mind is; I am just realizing the depths -myself. The things that most girls with a properly assorted family -and a home and friends and a library know by absorption, I have -never heard of. For example: - -I never read "Mother Goose" or "David Copperfield" or "Ivanhoe" or -"Cinderella" or "Blue Beard" or "Robinson Crusoe" or "Jane Eyre" or -"Alice in Wonderland" or a word of Rudyard Kipling. I didn't know -that Henry the Eighth was married more than once or that Shelley was -a poet. I didn't know that people used to be monkeys and that the -Garden of Eden was a beautiful myth. I didn't know that R.L.S. -stood for Robert Louis Stevenson or that George Eliot was a lady. -I had never seen a picture of the "Mona Lisa" and (it's true but -you won't believe it) I had never heard of Sherlock Holmes. - -Now, I know all of these things and a lot of others besides, but you -can see how much I need to catch up. And oh, but it's fun! I look -forward all day to evening, and then I put an "engaged" on the door -and get into my nice red bath robe and furry slippers and pile all -the cushions behind me on the couch and light the brass student lamp -at my elbow, and read and read and read. One book isn't enough. -I have four going at once. Just now, they're Tennyson's poems and -"Vanity Fair" and Kipling's "Plain Tales" and--don't laugh--"Little -Women." I find that I am the only girl in college who wasn't -brought up on "Little Women." I haven't told anybody though (that -_would_ stamp me as queer). I just quietly went and bought it with -$1.12 of my last month's allowance; and the next time somebody -mentions pickled limes, I'll know what she is talking about! - -(Ten o'clock bell. This is a very interrupted letter.) - - - Saturday. - - _Sir_, - -I have the honor to report fresh explorations in the field of -geometry. On Friday last we abandoned our former works in -parallelopipeds and proceeded to truncated prisms. We are finding -the road rough and very uphill. - - - Sunday. - -The Christmas holidays begin next week and the trunks are up. The -corridors are so cluttered that you can hardly get through, and -everybody is so bubbling over with excitement that studying is -getting left out. I'm going to have a beautiful time in vacation; -there's another Freshman who lives in Texas staying behind, and we -are planning to take long walks and--if there's any ice--learn to -skate. Then there is still the whole library to be read--and three -empty weeks to do it in! - -Good-by, Daddy, I hope that you are feeling as happy as I am. - - Yours ever, - - JUDY. - -P. S. Don't forget to answer my question. If you don't want the -trouble of writing, have your secretary telegraph. He can just say: - - Mr. Smith is quite bald, - or - Mr. Smith is not bald, - or - Mr. Smith has white hair. - -And you can deduct the twenty-five cents out of my allowance. - -Good-by till January--and a merry Christmas! - - - Toward the end of - the Christmas vacation. - Exact date unknown. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Is it snowing where you are? All the world that I see from my tower -is draped in white and the flakes are coming down as big as -pop-corn. It's late afternoon--the sun is just setting (a cold -yellow color) behind some colder violet hills, and I am up in my -window seat using the last light to write to you. - -Your five gold pieces were a surprise! I'm not used to receiving -Christmas presents. You have already given me such lots of -things--everything I have, you know--that I don't quite feel that I -deserve extras. But I like them just the same. Do you want to know -what I bought with my money? - -I. A silver watch in a leather case to wear on my wrist and get me -to recitations on time. - -II. Matthew Arnold's poems. - -III. A hot water bottle. - -IV. A steamer rug. (My tower is cold.) - -V. Five hundred sheets of yellow manuscript paper. (I'm going to -commence being an author pretty soon.) - -VI. A dictionary of synonyms. (To enlarge the author's vocabulary.) - -VII. (I don't much like to confess this last item, but I will.) -A pair of silk stockings. - -And now, Daddy, never say I don't tell all! - -It was a very low motive, if you must know it, that prompted the -silk stockings. Julia Pendleton comes into my room to do geometry, -and she sits cross legged on the couch and wears silk stockings -every night. But just wait--as soon as she gets back from vacation I -shall go in and sit on her couch in my silk stockings. You see, -Daddy, the miserable creature that I am--but at least I'm honest; -and you knew already, from my asylum record, that I wasn't perfect, -didn't you? - -To recapitulate (that's the way the English instructor begins every -other sentence), I am _very_ much obliged for my seven presents. -I'm pretending to myself that they came in a box from my family in -California. The watch is from father, the rug from mother, the hot -water bottle from grandmother--who is always worrying for fear I -shall catch cold in this climate--and the yellow paper from my -little brother Harry. My sister Isobel gave me the silk stockings, -and Aunt Susan the Matthew Arnold poems; Uncle Harry (little Harry -is named for him) gave me the dictionary. He wanted to send -chocolates, but I insisted on synonyms. - -You don't object do you, to playing the part of a composite family? - -And now, shall I tell you about my vacation, or are you only -interested in my education as such? I hope you appreciate the -delicate shade of meaning in "as such." It is the latest addition to -my vocabulary. - -The girl from Texas is named Leonora Fenton. (Almost as funny as -Jerusha, isn't it?) I like her, but not so much as Sallie McBride; -I shall never like any one so much as Sallie--except you. I must -always like you the best of all, because you're my whole family -rolled into one. Leonora and I and two Sophomores have walked 'cross -country every pleasant day and explored the whole neighborhood, -dressed in short skirts and knit jackets and caps, and carrying -shinny sticks to whack things with. Once we walked into town--four -miles--and stopped at a restaurant where the college girls go for -dinner. Broiled lobster (35 cents) and for dessert, buckwheat cakes -and maple syrup (15 cents). Nourishing and cheap. - -It was such a lark! Especially for me, because it was so awfully -different from the asylum--I feel like an escaped convict every time -I leave the campus. Before I thought, I started to tell the others -what an experience I was having. The cat was almost out of the bag -when I grabbed it by its tail and pulled it back. It's awfully hard -for me not to tell everything I know. I'm a very confiding soul by -nature; if I didn't have you to tell things to, I'd burst. - -We had a molasses candy pull last Friday evening, given by the house -matron of Fergussen to the left-behinds in the other halls. There -were twenty-two of us altogether, Freshmen and Sophomores and -Juniors and Seniors all united in amicable accord. The kitchen is -huge, with copper pots and kettles hanging in rows on the stone -wall--the littlest casserole among them about the size of a wash -boiler. Four hundred girls live in Fergussen. The chef, in a white -cap and apron, fetched out twenty-two other white caps and aprons--I -can't imagine where he got so many--and we all turned ourselves into -cooks. - -It was great fun, though I have seen better candy. When it was -finally finished, and ourselves and the kitchen and the door-knobs -all thoroughly sticky, we organized a procession and still in our -caps and aprons, each carrying a big fork or spoon or frying pan, we -marched through the empty corridors to the officers' parlor where -half-a-dozen professors and instructors were passing a tranquil -evening. We serenaded them with college songs and offered -refreshments. They accepted politely but dubiously. We left them -sucking chunks of molasses candy, sticky and speechless. - -So you see, Daddy, my education progresses! - - [Illustration] - -Don't you really think that I ought to be an artist instead of an -author? - -Vacation will be over in two days and I shall be glad to see the -girls again. My tower is just a trifle lonely; when nine people -occupy a house that was built for four hundred, they do rattle -around a bit. - -Eleven pages--poor Daddy, you must be tired! I meant this to be just -a short little thank-you note--but when I get started I seem to have -a ready pen. - -Good-by, and thank you for thinking of me--I should be perfectly -happy except for one little threatening cloud on the horizon. -Examinations come in February. - - Yours with love, - - JUDY. - -P. S. Maybe it isn't proper to send love? If it isn't, please -excuse. But I must love somebody and there's only you and Mrs. -Lippett to choose between, so you see--you'll _have_ to put up with -it, Daddy dear, because I can't love her. - - - On the Eve. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -You should see the way this college is studying! We've forgotten we -ever had a vacation. Fifty-seven irregular verbs have I introduced -to my brain in the past four days--I'm only hoping they'll stay -till after examinations. - -Some of the girls sell their text-books when they're through with -them, but I intend to keep mine. Then after I've graduated I shall -have my whole education in a row in the bookcase, and when I need to -use any detail, I can turn to it without the slightest hesitation. -So much easier and more accurate than trying to keep it in your -head. - -Julia Pendleton dropped in this evening to pay a social call, and -stayed a solid hour. She got started on the subject of family, and I -_couldn't_ switch her off. She wanted to know what my mother's -maiden name was--did you ever hear such an impertinent question to -ask of a person from a foundling asylum? I didn't have the courage -to say I didn't know, so I just miserably plumped on the first name -I could think of, and that was Montgomery. Then she wanted to know -whether I belonged to the Massachusetts Montgomerys or the Virginia -Montgomerys. - -Her mother was a Rutherford. The family came over in the ark, and -were connected by marriage with Henry the VIII. On her father's side -they date back further than Adam. On the topmost branches of her -family tree there's a superior breed of monkeys, with very fine -silky hair and extra long tails. - -I meant to write you a nice, cheerful, entertaining letter to-night, -but I'm too sleepy--and scared. The Freshman's lot is not a happy -one. - - Yours, about to be examined, - - JUDY ABBOTT. - - - Sunday. - - _Dearest Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I have some awful, awful, awful news to tell you, but I won't begin -with it; I'll try to get you in a good humor first. - -Jerusha Abbott has commenced to be an author. A poem entitled, "From -my Tower," appears in the February _Monthly_--on the first page, -which is a very great honor for a Freshman. My English instructor -stopped me on the way out from chapel last night, and said it was a -charming piece of work except for the sixth line, which had too many -feet. I will send you a copy in case you care to read it. - -Let me see if I can't think of something else pleasant--Oh, yes! -I'm learning to skate, and can glide about quite respectably all by -myself. Also I've learned how to slide down a rope from the roof of -the gymnasium, and I can vault a bar three feet and six inches -high--I hope shortly to pull up to four feet. - -We had a very inspiring sermon this morning preached by the Bishop -of Alabama. His text was: "Judge not that ye be not judged." It was -about the necessity of overlooking mistakes in others, and not -discouraging people by harsh judgments. I wish you might have heard -it. - -This is the sunniest, most blinding winter afternoon, with icicles -dripping from the fir trees and all the world bending under a weight -of snow--except me, and I'm bending under a weight of sorrow. - -Now for the news--courage, Judy!--you must tell. - -Are you _surely_ in a good humor? I flunked mathematics and Latin -prose. I am tutoring in them, and will take another examination next -month. I'm sorry if you're disappointed, but otherwise I don't -care a bit because I've learned such a lot of things not mentioned -in the catalogue. I've read seventeen novels and _bushels_ of -poetry--really necessary novels like "Vanity Fair" and "Richard -Feverel" and "Alice in Wonderland." Also Emerson's "Essays" and -Lockhart's "Life of Scott" and the first volume of Gibbon's "Roman -Empire" and half of Benvenuto Cellini's "Life"--wasn't he -entertaining? He used to saunter out and casually kill a man before -breakfast. - -So you see, Daddy, I'm much more intelligent than if I'd just -stuck to Latin. Will you forgive me this once if I promise never to -flunk again? - - Yours in sackcloth, - - JUDY. - - [Illustration: "NEWS of the MONTH - Judy learns to skate - And to vault a bar (Legs are very difficult.) - Also to slide down a rope - She receives two flunk notes and sheds many tears - But promises to study HARD"] - - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -This is an extra letter in the middle of the month because I'm sort -of lonely to-night. It's awfully stormy; the snow is beating -against my tower. All the lights are out on the campus, but I drank -black coffee and I can't go to sleep. - -I had a supper party this evening consisting of Sallie and Julia and -Leonora Fenton--and sardines and toasted muffins and salad and fudge -and coffee. Julia said she'd had a good time, but Sallie stayed to -help wash the dishes. - -I might, very usefully, put some time on Latin to-night--but, -there's no doubt about it, I'm a very languid Latin scholar. -We've finished Livy and De Senectute and are now engaged with De -Amicitia (pronounced Damn Icitia). - -Should you mind, just for a little while, pretending you are my -grandmother? Sallie has one and Julia and Leonora each two, and they -were all comparing them to-night. I can't think of anything I'd -rather have; it's such a respectable relationship. So, if you -really don't object--When I went into town yesterday, I saw the -sweetest cap of Cluny lace trimmed with lavender ribbon. I am going -to make you a present of it on your eighty-third birthday. - -! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! - -That's the clock in the chapel tower striking twelve. I believe I -am sleepy after all. - - Good night, Granny. - - I love you dearly. - - JUDY. - - - The Ides of March. - - _Dear D. L. L._, - -I am studying Latin prose composition. I have been studying it. -I shall be studying it. I shall be about to have been studying it. -My reexamination comes the 7th hour next Tuesday, and I am going to -pass or BUST. So you may expect to hear from me next, whole and -happy and free from conditions, or in fragments. - -I will write a respectable letter when it's over. To-night I have a -pressing engagement with the Ablative Absolute. - - Yours--in evident haste, - - J. A. - - - March 26th. - - _Mr. D. L. L. Smith._ - -SIR: You never answer any questions; you never show the slightest -interest in anything I do. You are probably the horridest one of all -those horrid Trustees, and the reason you are educating me is, not -because you care a bit about me, but from a sense of Duty. - -I don't know a single thing about you. I don't even know your name. -It is very uninspiring writing to a Thing. I haven't a doubt but -that you throw my letters into the waste-basket without reading -them. Hereafter I shall write only about work. - -My reexaminations in Latin and geometry came last week. I passed -them both and am now free from conditions. - - Yours truly, - - JERUSHA ABBOTT. - - - April 2d. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I am a BEAST. - -Please forget about that dreadful letter I sent you last week--I was -feeling terribly lonely and miserable and sore-throaty the night I -wrote. I didn't know it, but I was just coming down with tonsilitis -and grippe and lots of things mixed. I'm in the infirmary now, and -have been here for six days; this is the first time they would let -me sit up and have a pen and paper. The head nurse is _very bossy_. -But I've been thinking about it all the time and I shan't get well -until you forgive me. - -Here is a picture of the way I look, with a bandage tied around my -head in rabbit's ears. - - [Illustration] - -Doesn't that arouse your sympathy? I am having sublingual gland -swelling. And I've been studying physiology all the year without -ever hearing of sublingual glands. How futile a thing is education! - -I can't write any more; I get sort of shaky when I sit up too long. -Please forgive me for being impertinent and ungrateful. I was badly -brought up. - - Yours with love, - - JUDY ABBOTT. - - - THE INFIRMARY. - - April 4th. - - _Dearest Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Yesterday evening just toward dark, when I was sitting up in bed -looking out at the rain and feeling awfully bored with life in a -great institution, the nurse appeared with a long white box -addressed to me, and filled with the _loveliest_ pink rosebuds. And -much nicer still, it contained a card with a very polite message -written in a funny little uphill back hand (but one which shows a -great deal of character). Thank you, Daddy, a thousand times. Your -flowers make the first real, true present I ever received in my -life. If you want to know what a baby I am, I lay down and cried -because I was so happy. - -Now that I am sure you read my letters, I'll make them much more -interesting, so they'll be worth keeping in a safe with red tape -around them--only please take out that dreadful one and burn it up. -I'd hate to think that you ever read it over. - -Thank you for making a very sick, cross, miserable Freshman -cheerful. Probably you have lots of loving family and friends, -and you don't know what it feels like to be alone. But I do. - -Good-by--I'll promise never to be horrid again, because now I know -you're a real person; also I'll promise never to bother you with -any more questions. - -Do you still hate girls? - - Yours forever, - - JUDY. - - - 8th hour, Monday. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I hope you aren't the Trustee who sat on the toad? It went off--I -was told--with quite a pop, so probably he was a fatter Trustee. - -Do you remember the little dugout places with gratings over them by -the laundry windows in the John Grier Home? Every spring when the -hoptoad season opened we used to form a collection of toads and keep -them in those window holes; and occasionally they would spill over -into the laundry, causing a very pleasurable commotion on wash days. -We were severely punished for our activities in this direction, but -in spite of all discouragement the toads would collect. - -And one day--well, I won't bore you with particulars--but somehow, -one of the fattest, biggest, _juiciest_ toads got into one of those -big leather arm chairs in the Trustees' room, and that afternoon at -the Trustees' meeting-- But I dare say you were there and recall the -rest? - -Looking back dispassionately after a period of time, I will say that -punishment was merited, and--if I remember rightly--adequate. - -I don't know why I am in such a reminiscent mood except that spring -and the reappearance of toads always awakens the old acquisitive -instinct. The only thing that keeps me from starting a collection is -the fact that no rule exists against it. - - - After chapel, Thursday. - -What do you think is my favorite book? Just now, I mean; I change -every three days. "Wuthering Heights." Emily Bronte was quite young -when she wrote it, and had never been outside of Haworth churchyard. -She had never known any men in her life; how _could_ she imagine a -man like Heathcliffe? - -I couldn't do it, and I'm quite young and never outside the John -Grier Asylum--I've had every chance in the world. Sometimes a -dreadful fear comes over me that I'm not a genius. Will you be -awfully disappointed, Daddy, if I don't turn out to be a great -author? In the spring when everything is so beautiful and green and -budding, I feel like turning my back on lessons, and running away to -play with the weather. There are such lots of adventures out in the -fields! It's much more entertaining to live books than to write -them. - -Ow ! ! ! ! ! ! - -That was a shriek which brought Sallie and Julia and (for a -disgusted moment) the Senior from across the hall. It was caused by -a centipede like this: - - [Illustration] - -only worse. Just as I had finished the last sentence and was -thinking what to say next--plump!--it fell off the ceiling and -landed at my side. I tipped two cups off the tea table in trying to -get away. Sallie whacked it with the back of my hair brush--which I -shall never be able to use again--and killed the front end, but the -rear fifty feet ran under the bureau and escaped. - -This dormitory, owing to its age and ivy-covered walls, is full of -centipedes. They are dreadful creatures. I'd rather find a tiger -under the bed. - - - Friday, 9.30 P. M. - -Such a lot of troubles! I didn't hear the rising bell this morning, -then I broke my shoe-string while I was hurrying to dress and -dropped my collar button down my neck. I was late for breakfast and -also for first-hour recitation. I forgot to take any blotting paper -and my fountain pen leaked. In trigonometry the Professor and I had -a disagreement touching a little matter of logarithms. On looking it -up, I find that she was right. We had mutton stew and pie-plant for -lunch--hate 'em both; they taste like the asylum. Nothing but bills -in my mail (though I must say that I never do get anything else; my -family are not the kind that write). In English class this afternoon -we had an unexpected written lesson. This was it: - - I asked no other thing, - No other was denied. - I offered Being for it; - The mighty merchant smiled. - - Brazil? He twirled a button - Without a glance my way: - But, madam, is there nothing else - That we can show to-day? - -That is a poem. I don't know who wrote it or what it means. It was -simply printed out on the blackboard when we arrived and we were -ordered to comment upon it. When I read the first verse I thought I -had an idea--The Mighty Merchant was a divinity who distributes -blessings in return for virtuous deeds--but when I got to the second -verse and found him twirling a button, it seemed a blasphemous -supposition, and I hastily changed my mind. The rest of the class -was in the same predicament; and there we sat for three quarters of -an hour with blank paper and equally blank minds. Getting an -education is an awfully wearing process! - -But this didn't end the day. There's worse to come. - -It rained so we couldn't play golf, but had to go to gymnasium -instead. The girl next to me banged my elbow with an Indian club. -I got home to find that the box with my new blue spring dress had -come, and the skirt was so tight that I couldn't sit down. Friday -is sweeping day, and the maid had mixed all the papers on my desk. -We had tombstone for dessert (milk and gelatin flavored with -vanilla). We were kept in chapel twenty minutes later than usual to -listen to a speech about womanly women. And then--just as I was -settling down with a sigh of well-earned relief to "The Portrait -of a Lady," a girl named Ackerly, a dough-faced, deadly, -unintermittently stupid girl, who sits next to me in Latin because -her name begins with A (I wish Mrs. Lippett had named me Zabriski), -came to ask if Monday's lesson commenced at paragraph 69 or 70, and -stayed ONE HOUR. She has just gone. - -Did you ever hear of such a discouraging series of events? It isn't -the big troubles in life that require character. Anybody can rise to -a crisis and face a crushing tragedy with courage, but to meet the -petty hazards of the day with a laugh--I really think that requires -_spirit_. - -It's the kind of character that I am going to develop. I am going -to pretend that all life is just a game which I must play as -skilfully and fairly as I can. If I lose, I am going to shrug my -shoulders and laugh--also if I win. - -Anyway, I am going to be a sport. You will never hear me complain -again, Daddy dear, because Julia wears silk stockings and centipedes -drop off the wall. - - Yours ever, - - JUDY. - -Answer soon. - - - May 27th. - - _Daddy-Long-Legs, Esq._ - -DEAR SIR: I am in receipt of a letter from Mrs. Lippett. She hopes -that I am doing well in deportment and studies. Since I probably -have no place to go this summer, she will let me come back to the -asylum and work for my board until college opens. - -I HATE THE JOHN GRIER HOME. - -I'd rather die than go back. - - Yours most truthfully, - - JERUSHA ABBOTT. - - - _Cher Daddy-Jambes-Longes_, - -_Vous etes un ^brick!^_ - -_Je suis tres heureuse ^about the farm^, parsque je n'ai jamais -^been on a farm^ dans ma vie ^and I'd hate to^ retourner chez ^John -Grier^, et ^wash dishes^ tout l'ete. ^There would be danger of^ -quelque chose affreuse ^happening^, parsque j'ai perdue ma humilite -d'autre fois et j'ai peur ^that I would just break out^ quelque jour -et ^smash every cup and saucer^ dans la maison._ - -_Pardon brievete et ^paper^. Je ne peux pas ^send^ des mes nouvelles -parseque je suis dans ^French class^ et j'ai peur que Monsieur le -Professeur ^is going to call on me^ tout de suite._ - -He did! - - _Au revoir,_ - - _Je vous aime beaucoup._ - - JUDY. - - - May 30th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Did you ever see this campus? (That is merely a rhetorical question. -Don't let it annoy you.) It is a heavenly spot in May. All the -shrubs are in blossom and the trees are the loveliest young -green--even the old pines look fresh and new. The grass is dotted -with yellow dandelions and hundreds of girls in blue and white and -pink dresses. Everybody is joyous and care-free, for vacation's -coming, and with that to look forward to, examinations don't count. - -Isn't that a happy frame of mind to be in? And oh, Daddy! I'm the -happiest of all! Because I'm not in the asylum any more; and I'm -not anybody's nurse-maid or typewriter or bookkeeper (I should have -been, you know, except for you). - -I'm sorry now for all my past badnesses. - -I'm sorry I was ever impertinent to Mrs. Lippett. - -I'm sorry I ever slapped Freddie Perkins. - -I'm sorry I ever filled the sugar bowl with salt. - -I'm sorry I ever made faces behind the Trustees' backs. - -I'm going to be good and sweet and kind to everybody because I'm -so happy. And this summer I'm going to write and write and write -and begin to be a great author. Isn't that an exalted stand to -take? Oh, I'm developing a beautiful character! It droops a bit -under cold and frost, but it does grow fast when the sun shines. - -That's the way with everybody. I don't agree with the theory that -adversity and sorrow and disappointment develop moral strength. The -happy people are the ones who are bubbling over with kindliness. -I have no faith in misanthropes. (Fine word! Just learned it.) You -are not a misanthrope are you, Daddy? - -I started to tell you about the campus. I wish you'd come for a -little visit and let me walk you about and say: - -"That is the library. This is the gas plant, Daddy dear. The Gothic -building on your left is the gymnasium, and the Tudor Romanesque -beside it is the new infirmary." - -Oh, I'm fine at showing people about. I've done it all my life at -the asylum, and I've been doing it all day here. I have honestly. - -And a Man, too! - -That's a great experience. I never talked to a man before (except -occasional Trustees, and they don't count). Pardon, Daddy. I don't -mean to hurt your feelings when I abuse Trustees. I don't consider -that you really belong among them. You just tumbled onto the Board -by chance. The Trustee, as such, is fat and pompous and benevolent. -He pats one on the head and wears a gold watch chain. - - [Illustration] - -That looks like a June bug, but is meant to be a portrait of any -Trustee except you. - -However--to resume: - -I have been walking and talking and having tea with a man. And with -a very superior man--with Mr. Jervis Pendleton of the House of -Julia; her uncle, in short (in long, perhaps I ought to say; he's -as tall as you). Being in town on business, he decided to run out to -the college and call on his niece. He's her father's youngest -brother, but she doesn't know him very intimately. It seems he -glanced at her when she was a baby, decided he didn't like her, -and has never noticed her since. - -Anyway, there he was, sitting in the reception room very proper with -his hat and stick and gloves beside him; and Julia and Sallie with -seventh-hour recitations that they couldn't cut. So Julia dashed -into my room and begged me to walk him about the campus and then -deliver him to her when the seventh hour was over. I said I would, -obligingly but unenthusiastically, because I don't care much for -Pendletons. - -But he turned out to be a sweet lamb. He's a real human being--not -a Pendleton at all. We had a beautiful time; I've longed for an -uncle ever since. Do you mind pretending you're my uncle? I believe -they're superior to grandmothers. - -Mr. Pendleton reminded me a little of you, Daddy, as you were twenty -years ago. You see I know you intimately, even if we haven't ever -met! - -He's tall and thinnish with a dark face all over lines, and the -funniest underneath smile that never quite comes through but just -wrinkles up the corners of his mouth. And he has a way of making you -feel right off as though you'd known him a long time. He's very -companionable. - -We walked all over the campus from the quadrangle to the athletic -grounds; then he said he felt weak and must have some tea. He -proposed that we go to College Inn--it's just off the campus by the -pine walk. I said we ought to go back for Julia and Sallie, but he -said he didn't like to have his nieces drink too much tea; it made -them nervous. So we just ran away and had tea and muffins and -marmalade and ice-cream and cake at a nice little table out on the -balcony. The inn was quite conveniently empty, this being the end of -the month and allowances low. - -We had the jolliest time! But he had to run for his train the minute -he got back and he barely saw Julia at all. She was furious with me -for taking him off; it seems he's an unusually rich and desirable -uncle. It relieved my mind to find he was rich, for the tea and -things cost sixty cents apiece. - -This morning (it's Monday now) three boxes of chocolates came by -express for Julia and Sallie and me. What do you think of that? To -be getting candy from a man! - -I begin to feel like a girl instead of a foundling. - -I wish you'd come and take tea some day and let me see if I like -you. But wouldn't it be dreadful if I didn't? However, I know I -should. - -_Bien!_ I make you my compliments. - - "_Jamais je ne t'oublierai._" - - JUDY. - -P. S. I looked in the glass this morning and found a perfectly new -dimple that I'd never seen before. It's very curious. Where do you -suppose it came from? - - - June 9th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Happy day! I've just finished my last examination--Physiology. -And now: - -Three months on a farm! - -I don't know what kind of a thing a farm is. I've never been on one -in my life. I've never even looked at one (except from the car -window), but I know I'm going to love it, and I'm going to love -being _free_. - -I am not used even yet to being outside the John Grier Home. -Whenever I think of it excited little thrills chase up and down my -back. I feel as though I must run faster and faster and keep looking -over my shoulder to make sure that Mrs. Lippett isn't after me with -her arm stretched out to grab me back. - -I don't have to mind any one this summer, do I? - -Your nominal authority doesn't annoy me in the least; you are too -far away to do any harm. Mrs. Lippett is dead forever, so far as I -am concerned, and the Semples aren't expected to overlook my moral -welfare, are they? No, I am sure not. I am entirely grown up. -Hooray! - -I leave you now to pack a trunk, and three boxes of teakettles and -dishes and sofa cushions and books. - - Yours ever, - - JUDY. - -P. S. Here is my physiology exam. Do you think you could have -passed? - - - LOCK WILLOW FARM, - - Saturday night. - - _Dearest Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I've only just come and I'm not unpacked, but I can't wait to tell -you how much I like farms. This is a heavenly, heavenly, _heavenly_ -spot! The house is square like this: - - [Illustration] - -And _old_. A hundred years or so. It has a veranda on the side which -I can't draw and a sweet porch in front. The picture really doesn't -do it justice--those things that look like feather dusters are maple -trees, and the prickly ones that border the drive are murmuring -pines and hemlocks. It stands on the top of a hill and looks way off -over miles of green meadows to another line of hills. - - [Illustration] - -That is the way Connecticut goes, in a series of Marcelle waves; and -Lock Willow Farm is just on the crest of one wave. The barns used to -be across the road where they obstructed the view, but a kind flash -of lightning came from heaven and burnt them down. - -The people are Mr. and Mrs. Semple and a hired girl and two hired -men. The hired people eat in the kitchen, and the Semples and Judy -in the dining-room. We had ham and eggs and biscuits and honey and -jelly-cake and pie and pickles and cheese and tea for supper--and a -great deal of conversation. I have never been so entertaining in my -life; everything I say appears to be funny. I suppose it is, because -I've never been in the country before, and my questions are backed -by an all-inclusive ignorance. - -The room marked with a cross is not where the murder was committed, -but the one that I occupy. It's big and square and empty, with -adorable old-fashioned furniture and windows that have to be propped -up on sticks and green shades trimmed with gold that fall down if -you touch them. And a big square mahogany table--I'm going to spend -the summer with my elbows spread out on it, writing a novel. - -Oh, Daddy, I'm so excited! I can't wait till daylight to explore. -It's 8.30 now, and I am about to blow out my candle and try to go -to sleep. We rise at five. Did you ever know such fun? I can't -believe this is really Judy. You and the Good Lord give me more than -I deserve. I must be a very, very, _very_ good person to pay. I'm -going to be. You'll see. - - Good night, - - JUDY. - -P. S. You should hear the frogs sing and the little pigs squeal--and -you should see the new moon! I saw it over my right shoulder. - - - LOCK WILLOW, - - July 12th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -How did your secretary come to know about Lock Willow? (That isn't -a rhetorical question. I am awfully curious to know.) For listen to -this: Mr. Jervis Pendleton used to own this farm, but now he has -given it to Mrs. Semple who was his old nurse. Did you ever hear of -such a funny coincidence? She still calls him "Master Jervie" and -talks about what a sweet little boy he used to be. She has one of -his baby curls put away in a box, and it's red--or at least -reddish! - -Since she discovered that I know him, I have risen very much in her -opinion. Knowing a member of the Pendleton family is the best -introduction one can have at Lock Willow. And the cream of the whole -family is Master Jervie--I am pleased to say that Julia belongs to -an inferior branch. - -The farm gets more and more entertaining. I rode on a hay wagon -yesterday. We have three big pigs and nine little piglets, and you -should see them eat. They _are_ pigs! We've oceans of little baby -chickens and ducks and turkeys and guinea fowls. You must be mad to -live in a city when you might live on a farm. - -It is my daily business to hunt the eggs. I fell off a beam in the -barn loft yesterday, while I was trying to crawl over to a nest that -the black hen has stolen. And when I came in with a scratched knee, -Mrs. Semple bound it up with witch-hazel, murmuring all the time, -"Dear! Dear! It seems only yesterday that Master Jervie fell off -that very same beam and scratched this very same knee." - -The scenery around here is perfectly beautiful. There's a valley -and a river and a lot of wooded hills, and way in the distance, -a tall blue mountain that simply melts in your mouth. - -We churn twice a week; and we keep the cream in the spring house -which is made of stone with the brook running underneath. Some of -the farmers around here have a separator, but we don't care for -these new-fashioned ideas. It may be a little harder to take care of -cream raised in pans, but it's enough better to pay. We have six -calves; and I've chosen the names for all of them. - -1. Sylvia, because she was born in the woods. - -2. Lesbia, after the Lesbia in Catullus. - -3. Sallie. - -4. Julia--a spotted, nondescript animal. - -5. Judy, after me. - -6. Daddy-Long-Legs. You don't mind, do you, Daddy? He's pure Jersey -and has a sweet disposition. He looks like this--you can see how -appropriate the name is. - - [Illustration] - -I haven't had time yet to begin my immortal novel; the farm keeps -me too busy. - - Yours always, - - JUDY. - -P. S. I've learned to make doughnuts. - -P. S. (2) If you are thinking of raising chickens, let me recommend -Buff Orpingtons. They haven't any pin feathers. - -P. S. (3) I wish I could send you a pat of the nice, fresh butter I -churned yesterday. I'm a fine dairy-maid! - -P. S. (4) This is a picture of Miss Jerusha Abbott, the future great -author, driving home the cows. - - [Illustration: "Buttercup Daisy Birdie Bess Spotty - (I can't draw cows!)"] - - - Sunday. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Isn't it funny? I started to write to you yesterday afternoon, but -as far as I got was the heading, "Dear Daddy-Long-Legs," and then I -remembered I'd promised to pick some blackberries for supper, so I -went off and left the sheet lying on the table, and when I came back -to-day, what do you think I found sitting in the middle of the page? -A real true Daddy-Long-Legs! - - [Illustration] - -I picked him up very gently by one leg, and dropped him out of the -window. I wouldn't hurt one of them for the world. They always -remind me of you. - -We hitched up the spring wagon this morning and drove to the Center -to church. It's a sweet little white frame church with a spire and -three Doric columns in front (or maybe Ionic--I always get them -mixed). - -A nice, sleepy sermon with everybody drowsily waving palm-leaf fans, -and the only sound aside from the minister, the buzzing of locusts -in the trees outside. I didn't wake up till I found myself on my -feet singing the hymn, and then I was awfully sorry I hadn't -listened to the sermon; I should like to know more of the psychology -of a man who would pick out such a hymn. This was it: - - Come, leave your sports and earthly toys - And join me in celestial joys. - Or else, dear friend, a long farewell. - I leave you now to sink to hell. - -I find that it isn't safe to discuss religion with the Semples. -Their God (whom they have inherited intact from their remote Puritan -ancestors) is a narrow, irrational, unjust, mean, revengeful, -bigoted Person. Thank heaven I don't inherit any God from anybody! -I am free to make mine up as I wish Him. He's kind and sympathetic -and imaginative and forgiving and understanding--and He has a sense -of humor. - -I like the Semples immensely; their practice is so superior to their -theory. They are better than their own God. I told them so--and they -are horribly troubled. They think I am blasphemous--and I think they -are! We've dropped theology from our conversation. - -This is Sunday afternoon. - -Amasai (hired man) in a purple tie and some bright yellow buckskin -gloves, very red and shaved, has just driven off with Carrie (hired -girl) in a big hat trimmed with red roses and a blue muslin dress -and her hair curled as tight as it will curl. Amasai spent all the -morning washing the buggy; and Carrie stayed home from church -ostensibly to cook the dinner, but really to iron the muslin dress. - -In two minutes more when this letter is finished I am going to -settle down to a book which I found in the attic. It's entitled, -"On the Trail," and sprawled across the front page in a funny -little-boy hand: - - Jervis Pendleton - If this book should ever roam, - Box its ears and send it home. - -He spent the summer here once after he had been ill, when he was -about eleven years old; and he left "On the Trail" behind. It looks -well read--the marks of his grimy little hands are frequent! Also in -a corner of the attic there is a water wheel and a windmill and some -bows and arrows. Mrs. Semple talks so constantly about him that I -begin to believe he really lives--not a grown man with a silk hat -and walking stick, but a nice, dirty, tousle-headed boy who clatters -up the stairs with an awful racket, and leaves the screen doors -open, and is always asking for cookies. (And getting them, too, if I -know Mrs. Semple!) He seems to have been an adventurous little -soul--and brave and truthful. I'm sorry to think he is a Pendleton; -he was meant for something better. - -We're going to begin threshing oats to-morrow; a steam engine is -coming and three extra men. - -It grieves me to tell you that Buttercup (the spotted cow with one -horn, Mother of Lesbia) has done a disgraceful thing. She got into -the orchard Friday evening and ate apples under the trees, and ate -and ate until they went to her head. For two days she has been -perfectly dead drunk! That is the truth I am telling. Did you ever -hear anything so scandalous? - - Sir, - - I remain, - - Your affectionate orphan, - - JUDY ABBOTT. - -P. S. Indians in the first chapter and highwaymen in the second. -I hold my breath. What _can_ the third contain? "Red Hawk leapt -twenty feet in the air and bit the dust." That is the subject of the -frontispiece. Aren't Judy and Jervie having fun? - - - September 15th. - - _Dear Daddy_, - -I was weighed yesterday on the flour scales in the general store at -the Corners. I've gained nine pounds! Let me recommend Lock Willow -as a health resort. - - Yours ever, - - JUDY. - - [Illustration] - - - September 25th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Behold me--a Sophomore! I came up last Friday, sorry to leave Lock -Willow, but glad to see the campus again. It _is_ a pleasant -sensation to come back to something familiar. I am beginning to feel -at home in college, and in command of the situation; I am beginning, -in fact, to feel at home in the world--as though I really belonged -in it and had not just crept in on sufferance. - -I don't suppose you understand in the least what I am trying to say. -A person important enough to be a Trustee can't appreciate the -feelings of a person unimportant enough to be a foundling. - -And now, Daddy, listen to this. Whom do you think I am rooming with? -Sallie McBride and Julia Rutledge Pendleton. It's the truth. We -have a study and three little bedrooms--_voila!_ - - [Illustration] - -Sallie and I decided last spring that we should like to room -together, and Julia made up her mind to stay with Sallie--why, -I can't imagine, for they are not a bit alike; but the Pendletons -are naturally conservative and inimical (fine word!) to change. -Anyway, here we are. Think of Jerusha Abbott, late of the John Grier -Home for Orphans, rooming with a Pendleton. This is a democratic -country. - -Sallie is running for class president, and unless all signs fail, -she is going to be elected. Such an atmosphere of intrigue--you -should see what politicians we are! Oh, I tell you, Daddy, when we -women get our rights, you men will have to look alive in order to -keep yours. Election comes next Saturday, and we're going to have a -torchlight procession in the evening, no matter who wins. - -I am beginning chemistry, a most unusual study. I've never seen -anything like it before. Molecules and Atoms are the material -employed, but I'll be in a position to discuss them more definitely -next month. - -I am also taking argumentation and logic. - -Also history of the whole world. - -Also plays of William Shakespeare. - -Also French. - -If this keeps up many years longer, I shall become quite -intelligent. - -I should rather have elected economics than French, but I didn't -dare, because I was afraid that unless I reelected French, the -Professor would not let me pass--as it was, I just managed to -squeeze through the June examination. But I will say that my -high-school preparation was not very adequate. - -There's one girl in the class who chatters away in French as fast -as she does in English. She went abroad with her parents when she -was a child, and spent three years in a convent school. You can -imagine how bright she is compared with the rest of us--irregular -verbs are mere playthings. I wish my parents had chucked me into a -French convent when I was little instead of a foundling asylum. Oh, -no, I don't either! Because then maybe I should never have known -you. I'd rather know you than French. - -Good-by, Daddy. I must call on Harriet Martin now, and, having -discussed the chemical situation, casually drop a few thoughts on -the subject of our next president. - - Yours in politics, - - J. ABBOTT. - - - October 17th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Supposing the swimming tank in the gymnasium were filled full of -lemon jelly, could a person trying to swim manage to keep on top or -would he sink? - -We were having lemon jelly for dessert when the question came up. -We discussed it heatedly for half an hour and it's still unsettled. -Sallie thinks that she could swim in it, but I am perfectly sure -that the best swimmer in the world would sink. Wouldn't it be funny -to be drowned in lemon jelly? - -Two other problems are engaging the attention of our table. - -1st. What shape are the rooms in an octagon house? Some of the girls -insist that they're square; but I think they'd have to be shaped -like a piece of pie. Don't you? - -2d. Suppose there were a great big hollow sphere made of -looking-glass and you were sitting inside. Where would it stop -reflecting your face and begin reflecting your back? The more one -thinks about this problem, the more puzzling it becomes. You can see -with what deep philosophical reflection we engage our leisure! - -Did I ever tell you about the election? It happened three weeks ago, -but so fast do we live, that three weeks is ancient history. Sallie -was elected, and we had a torchlight parade with transparencies -saying, "McBride Forever," and a band consisting of fourteen pieces -(three mouth organs and eleven combs). - -We're very important persons now in "258." Julia and I come in for -a great deal of reflected glory. It's quite a social strain to be -living in the same house with a president. - - _Bonne nuit, cher ^Daddy^._ - - _Acceptez mes compliments, - Tres respectueux. - Je suis, - Votre JUDY._ - - [Illustration: "McBRIDE FOREVER"] - - - November 12th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -We beat the Freshmen at basket ball yesterday. Of course we're -pleased--but oh, if we could only beat the Juniors! I'd be willing -to be black and blue all over and stay in bed a week in a -witch-hazel compress. - -Sallie has invited me to spend the Christmas vacation with her. She -lives in Worcester, Massachusetts. Wasn't it nice of her? I shall -love to go. I've never been in a private family in my life, except -at Lock Willow, and the Semples were grown-up and old and don't -count. But the McBrides have a houseful of children (anyway two or -three) and a mother and father and grandmother, and an Angora cat. -It's a perfectly complete family! Packing your trunk and going away -_is_ more fun than staying behind. I am terribly excited at the -prospect. - -Seventh hour--I must run to rehearsal. I'm to be in the -Thanksgiving theatricals. A prince in a tower with a velvet tunic -and yellow curls. Isn't that a lark? - - Yours, - - J. A. - - - Saturday. - -Do you want to know what I look like? Here's a photograph of all -three that Leonora Fenton took. - -The light one who is laughing is Sallie, and the tall one with her -nose in the air is Julia, and the little one with the hair blowing -across her face is Judy--she is really more beautiful than that, but -the sun was in her eyes. - - - "STONE GATE," - WORCESTER, MASS., - - December 31st. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I meant to write to you before and thank you for your Christmas -check, but life in the McBride household is very absorbing, and I -don't seem able to find two consecutive minutes to spend at a desk. - -I bought a new gown--one that I didn't need, but just wanted. My -Christmas present this year is from Daddy-Long-Legs; my family just -sent love. - -I've been having the most beautiful vacation visiting Sallie. She -lives in a big old-fashioned brick house with white trimmings set -back from the street--exactly the kind of house that I used to look -at so curiously when I was in the John Grier Home, and wonder what -it could be like inside. I never expected to see with my own -eyes--but here I am! Everything is so comfortable and restful and -homelike; I walk from room to room and drink in the furnishings. - -It is the most perfect house for children to be brought up in; with -shadowy nooks for hide and seek, and open fireplaces for pop-corn, -and an attic to romp in on rainy days, and slippery banisters with a -comfortable flat knob at the bottom, and a great big sunny kitchen, -and a nice fat, sunny cook who has lived in the family thirteen -years and always saves out a piece of dough for the children to -bake. Just the sight of such a house makes you want to be a child -all over again. - -And as for families! I never dreamed they could be so nice. Sallie -has a father and mother and grandmother, and the sweetest -three-year-old baby sister all over curls, and a medium-sized -brother who always forgets to wipe his feet, and a big, good-looking -brother named Jimmie, who is a junior at Princeton. - -We have the jolliest times at the table--everybody laughs and jokes -and talks at once, and we don't have to say grace beforehand. It's -a relief not having to thank Somebody for every mouthful you eat. -(I dare say I'm blasphemous; but you'd be, too, if you'd offered -as much obligatory thanks as I have.) - -Such a lot of things we've done--I can't begin to tell you about -them. Mr. McBride owns a factory, and Christmas eve he had a tree -for the employees' children. It was in the long packing-room which -was decorated with evergreens and holly. Jimmie McBride was dressed -as Santa Claus, and Sallie and I helped him distribute the presents. - -Dear me, Daddy, but it was a funny sensation! I felt as benevolent -as a Trustee of the John Grier Home. I kissed one sweet, sticky -little boy--but I don't think I patted any of them on the head! - -And two days after Christmas, they gave a dance at their own house -for ME. - -It was the first really true ball I ever attended--college doesn't -count where we dance with girls. I had a new white evening gown -(your Christmas present--many thanks) and long white gloves and -white satin slippers. The only drawback to my perfect, utter, -absolute happiness was the fact that Mrs. Lippett couldn't see me -leading the cotillion with Jimmie McBride. Tell her about it, -please, the next time you visit the J. G. H. - - Yours ever, - - JUDY ABBOTT. - -P. S. Would you be terribly displeased, Daddy, if I didn't turn out -to be a Great Author after all, but just a Plain Girl? - - - 6.30, Saturday. - - _Dear Daddy_, - -We started to walk to town to-day, but mercy! how it poured. I like -winter to be winter with snow instead of rain. - -Julia's desirable uncle called again this afternoon--and brought a -five-pound box of chocolates. There are advantages you see about -rooming with Julia. - -Our innocent prattle appeared to amuse him and he waited over a -train in order to take tea in the study. And an awful lot of trouble -we had getting permission. It's hard enough entertaining fathers -and grandfathers, but uncles are a step worse; and as for brothers -and cousins, they are next to impossible. Julia had to swear that he -was her uncle before a notary public and then have the county -clerk's certificate attached. (Don't I know a lot of law?) And even -then I doubt if we could have had our tea if the Dean had chanced to -see how youngish and good-looking Uncle Jervis is. - -Anyway, we had it, with brown bread Swiss cheese sandwiches. He -helped make them and then ate four. I told him that I had spent last -summer at Lock Willow, and we had a beautiful gossipy time about the -Semples, and the horses and cows and chickens. All the horses that -he used to know are dead, except Grover, who was a baby colt at the -time of his last visit--and poor Grove now is so old he can just -limp about the pasture. - -He asked if they still kept doughnuts in a yellow crock with a blue -plate over it on the bottom shelf of the pantry--and they do! He -wanted to know if there was still a woodchuck's hole under the pile -of rocks in the night pasture--and there is! Amasai caught a big, -fat, gray one there this summer, the twenty-fifth great-grandson of -the one Master Jervie caught when he was a little boy. - -I called him "Master Jervie" to his face, but he didn't appear to -be insulted. Julia says that she has never seen him so amiable; -he's usually pretty unapproachable. But Julia hasn't a bit of -tact; and men, I find, require a great deal. They purr if you rub -them the right way and spit if you don't. (That isn't a very -elegant metaphor. I mean it figuratively.) - -We're reading Marie Bashkirtseff's journal. Isn't it amazing? -Listen to this: "Last night I was seized by a fit of despair that -found utterance in moans, and that finally drove me to throw the -dining-room clock into the sea." - -It makes me almost hope I'm not a genius; they must be very wearing -to have about--and awfully destructive to the furniture. - -Mercy! how it keeps pouring. We shall have to swim to chapel -to-night. - - Yours ever, - - JUDY. - - [Illustration] - - - Jan. 20th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Did you ever have a sweet baby girl who was stolen from the cradle -in infancy? - -Maybe I am she! If we were in a novel, that would be the denouement, -wouldn't it? - -It's really awfully queer not to know what one is--sort of exciting -and romantic. There are such a lot of possibilities. Maybe I'm not -American; lots of people aren't. I may be straight descended from -the ancient Romans, or I may be a Viking's daughter, or I may be the -child of a Russian exile and belong by rights in a Siberian prison, -or maybe I'm a Gipsy--I think perhaps I am. I have a very -_wandering_ spirit, though I haven't as yet had much chance to -develop it. - -Do you know about that one scandalous blot in my career--the time I -ran away from the asylum because they punished me for stealing -cookies? It's down in the books free for any Trustee to read. But -really, Daddy, what could you expect? When you put a hungry little -nine-year girl in the pantry scouring knives, with the cookie jar at -her elbow, and go off and leave her alone; and then suddenly pop in -again, wouldn't you expect to find her a bit crumby? And then when -you jerk her by the elbow and box her ears, and make her leave the -table when the pudding comes, and tell all the other children that -it's because she's a thief, wouldn't you expect her to run away? - -I only ran four miles. They caught me and brought me back; and every -day for a week I was tied, like a naughty puppy, to a stake in the -back yard while the other children were out at recess. - -Oh, dear! There's the chapel bell, and after chapel I have a -committee meeting. I'm sorry because I meant to write you a _very_ -entertaining letter this time. - - _Auf wiedersehen_ - - _Cher_ Daddy - - _Pax tibi!_ - - JUDY. - -P. S. There's one thing I'm perfectly sure of. I'm _not_ a -Chinaman. - - - February 4th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Jimmie McBride has sent me a Princeton banner as big as one end of -the room; I am very grateful to him for remembering me, but I don't -know what on earth to do with it. Sallie and Julia won't let me hang -it up; our room this year is furnished in red, and you can imagine -what an effect we'd have if I added orange and black. But it's -such nice, warm, thick felt, I hate to waste it. Would it be very -improper to have it made into a bath robe? My old one shrank when it -was washed. - -I've entirely omitted of late telling you what I am learning, -but though you might not imagine it from my letters, my time is -exclusively occupied with study. It's a very bewildering matter to -get educated in five branches at once. - - [Illustration: "It's the early bird that catches the tub."] - -"The test of true scholarship," says Chemistry Professor, "is a -painstaking passion for detail." - -"Be careful not to keep your eyes glued to detail," says History -Professor. "Stand far enough away to get a perspective on the -whole." - -You can see with what nicety we have to trim our sails between -chemistry and history. I like the historical method best. If I say -that William the Conqueror came over in 1492, and Columbus -discovered America in 1100 or 1066 or whenever it was, that's a -mere detail that the Professor overlooks. It gives a feeling of -security and restfulness to the history recitation, that is entirely -lacking in chemistry. - -Sixth-hour bell--I must go to the laboratory and look into a little -matter of acids and salts and alkalis. I've burned a hole as big as -a plate in the front of my chemistry apron, with hydrochloric acid. -If the theory worked, I ought to be able to neutralize that hole -with good strong ammonia, oughtn't I? - -Examinations next week, but who's afraid? - - Yours ever, - - JUDY. - - - March 5th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -There is a March wind blowing, and the sky is filled with heavy, -black moving clouds. The crows in the pine trees are making such a -clamor! It's an intoxicating, exhilarating, _calling_ noise. You -want to close your books and be off over the hills to race with the -wind. - -We had a paper chase last Saturday over five miles of squashy 'cross -country. The fox (composed of three girls and a bushel or so of -confetti) started half an hour before the twenty-seven hunters. -I was one of the twenty-seven; eight dropped by the wayside; we -ended nineteen. The trail led over a hill, through a cornfield, and -into a swamp where we had to leap lightly from hummock to hummock. -Of course half of us went in ankle deep. We kept losing the trail, -and wasted twenty-five minutes over that swamp. Then up a hill -through some woods and in at a barn window! The barn doors were all -locked and the window was up high and pretty small. I don't call -that fair, do you? - -But we didn't go through; we circumnavigated the barn and picked up -the trail where it issued by way of a low shed roof onto the top of -a fence. The fox thought he had us there, but we fooled him. Then -straight away over two miles of rolling meadow, and awfully hard to -follow, for the confetti was getting sparse. The rule is that it -must be at the most six feet apart, but they were the longest six -feet I ever saw. Finally, after two hours of steady trotting, we -tracked Monsieur Fox into the kitchen of Crystal Spring (that's a -farm where the girls go in bob sleighs and hay wagons for chicken -and waffle suppers) and we found the three foxes placidly eating -milk and honey and biscuits. They hadn't thought we would get that -far; they were expecting us to stick in the barn window. - -Both sides insist that they won. I think we did, don't you? Because -we caught them before they got back to the campus. Anyway, all -nineteen of us settled like locusts over the furniture and clamored -for honey. There wasn't enough to go round, but Mrs. Crystal Spring -(that's our pet name for her; she's by rights a Johnson) brought -up a jar of strawberry jam and a can of maple syrup--just made last -week--and three loaves of brown bread. - -We didn't get back to college till half-past six--half an hour late -for dinner--and we went straight in without dressing, and with -perfectly unimpaired appetites! Then we all cut evening chapel, -the state of our boots being enough of an excuse. - -I never told you about examinations. I passed everything with the -utmost ease--I know the secret now, and am never going to flunk -again. I shan't be able to graduate with honors though, because of -that beastly Latin prose and geometry Freshman year. But I don't -care. Wot's the hodds so long as you're 'appy? (That's a -quotation. I've been reading the English classics.) - -Speaking of classics, have you ever read "Hamlet"? If you haven't, -do it right off. It's _perfectly corking_. I've been hearing about -Shakespeare all my life, but I had no idea he really wrote so well; -I always suspected him of going largely on his reputation. - -I have a beautiful play that I invented a long time ago when I first -learned to read. I put myself to sleep every night by pretending -I'm the person (the most important person) in the book I'm reading -at the moment. - -At present I'm Ophelia--and such a sensible Ophelia! I keep Hamlet -amused all the time, and pet him and scold him and make him wrap up -his throat when he has a cold. I've entirely cured him of being -melancholy. The King and Queen are both dead--an accident at sea; no -funeral necessary--so Hamlet and I are ruling in Denmark without any -bother. We have the kingdom working beautifully. He takes care of -the governing, and I look after the charities. I have just founded -some first-class orphan asylums. If you or any of the other Trustees -would like to visit them, I shall be pleased to show you through. -I think you might find a great many helpful suggestions. - - I remain, sir, - - Yours most graciously, - - OPHELIA, - - Queen of Denmark. - - - March 24th - maybe the 25th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I don't believe I can be going to Heaven--I am getting such a lot of -good things here; it wouldn't be fair to get them hereafter, too. -Listen to what has happened. - -Jerusha Abbott has won the short-story contest (a twenty-five dollar -prize) that the _Monthly_ holds every year. And she a Sophomore! -The contestants are mostly Seniors. When I saw my name posted, -I couldn't quite believe it was true. Maybe I am going to be an -author after all. I wish Mrs. Lippett hadn't given me such a silly -name--it sounds like an author-ess, doesn't it? - -Also I have been chosen for the spring dramatics--"As You Like It" -out of doors. I am going to be Celia, own cousin to Rosalind. - -And lastly: Julia and Sallie and I are going to New York next Friday -to do some spring shopping and stay all night and go to the theater -the next day with "Master Jervie." He invited us. Julia is going to -stay at home with her family, but Sallie and I are going to stop at -the Martha Washington Hotel. Did you ever hear of anything so -exciting? I've never been in a hotel in my life, nor in a theater; -except once when the Catholic Church had a festival and invited the -orphans, but that wasn't a real play and it doesn't count. - -And what do you think we're going to see? "Hamlet." Think of that! -We studied it for four weeks in Shakespeare class and I know it by -heart. - -I am so excited over all these prospects that I can scarcely sleep. - -Good-by, Daddy. - -This is a very entertaining world. - - Yours ever, - - JUDY. - -P. S. I've just looked at the calendar. It's the 28th. - -Another postscript. - -I saw a street car conductor to-day with one brown eye and one blue. -Wouldn't he make a nice villain for a detective story? - - - April 7th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Mercy! Isn't New York big? Worcester is nothing to it. Do you mean -to tell me that you actually live in all that confusion? I don't -believe that I shall recover for months from the bewildering effect -of two days of it. I can't begin to tell you all the amazing things -I've seen; I suppose you know, though, since you live there -yourself. - -But aren't the streets entertaining? And the people? And the shops? -I never saw such lovely things as there are in the windows. It makes -you want to devote your life to wearing clothes. - -Sallie and Julia and I went shopping together Saturday morning. -Julia went into the very most gorgeous place I ever saw, white and -gold walls and blue carpets and blue silk curtains and gilt chairs. -A perfectly beautiful lady with yellow hair and a long black silk -trailing gown came to meet us with a welcoming smile. I thought we -were paying a social call, and started to shake hands, but it seems -we were only buying hats--at least Julia was. She sat down in front -of a mirror and tried on a dozen, each lovelier than the last, and -bought the two loveliest of all. - -I can't imagine any joy in life greater than sitting down in front -of a mirror and buying any hat you choose without having first to -consider the price! There's no doubt about it, Daddy; New York -would rapidly undermine this fine, stoical character which the John -Grier Home so patiently built up. - -And after we'd finished our shopping, we met Master Jervie at -Sherry's. I suppose you've been in Sherry's? Picture that, then -picture the dining-room of the John Grier Home with its -oilcloth-covered tables, and white crockery that you _can't_ break, -and wooden-handled knives and forks; and fancy the way I felt! - -I ate my fish with the wrong fork, but the waiter very kindly gave -me another so that nobody noticed. - -And after luncheon we went to the theater--it was dazzling, -marvelous, unbelievable--I dream about it every night. - -Isn't Shakespeare wonderful? - -"Hamlet" is so much better on the stage than when we analyze it in -class; I appreciated it before, but now, dear me! - -I think, if you don't mind, that I'd rather be an actress than a -writer. Wouldn't you like me to leave college and go into a -dramatic school? And then I'll send you a box for all my -performances, and smile at you across the footlights. Only wear a -red rose in your buttonhole, please, so I'll surely smile at the -right man. It would be an awfully embarrassing mistake if I picked -out the wrong one. - -We came back Saturday night and had our dinner in the train, at -little tables with pink lamps and negro waiters. I never heard of -meals being served in trains before, and I inadvertently said so. - -"Where on earth were you brought up?" said Julia to me. - -"In a village," said I, meekly to Julia. - -"But didn't you ever travel?" said she to me. - -"Not till I came to college, and then it was only a hundred and -sixty miles and we didn't eat," said I to her. - -She's getting quite interested in me, because I say such funny -things. I try hard not to, but they do pop out when I'm -surprised--and I'm surprised most of the time. It's a dizzying -experience, Daddy, to pass eighteen years in the John Grier Home, -and then suddenly to be plunged into the WORLD. - -But I'm getting acclimated. I don't make such awful mistakes as I -did; and I don't feel uncomfortable any more with the other girls. -I used to squirm whenever people looked at me. I felt as though they -saw right through my sham new clothes to the checked ginghams -underneath. But I'm not letting the ginghams bother me any more. -Sufficient unto yesterday is the evil thereof. - -I forgot to tell you about our flowers. Master Jervie gave us each a -big bunch of violets and lilies-of-the-valley. Wasn't that sweet of -him? I never used to care much for men--judging by Trustees--but -I'm changing my mind. - -Eleven pages--this _is_ a letter! Have courage. I'm going to stop. - - Yours always, - - JUDY. - - - April 10th. - - _Dear Mr. Rich-Man_, - -Here's your check for fifty dollars. Thank you very much, but I do -not feel that I can keep it. My allowance is sufficient to afford -all of the hats that I need. I am sorry that I wrote all that silly -stuff about the millinery shop; it's just that I had never seen -anything like it before. - -However, I wasn't begging! And I would rather not accept any more -charity than I have to. - - Sincerely yours, - - JERUSHA ABBOTT. - - - April 11th. - - _Dearest Daddy_, - -Will you please forgive me for the letter I wrote you yesterday? -After I posted it I was sorry, and tried to get it back, but that -beastly mail clerk wouldn't give it to me. - -It's the middle of the night now; I've been awake for hours -thinking what a Worm I am--what a Thousand-legged Worm--and that's -the worst I can say! I've closed the door very softly into the -study so as not to wake Julia and Sallie, and am sitting up in bed -writing to you on paper torn out of my history note-book. - -I just wanted to tell you that I am sorry I was so impolite about -your check. I know you meant it kindly, and I think you're an old -dear to take so much trouble for such a silly thing as a hat. -I ought to have returned it very much more graciously. - -But in any case, I had to return it. It's different with me than -with other girls. They can take things naturally from people. They -have fathers and brothers and aunts and uncles; but I can't be on -any such relations with any one. I like to pretend that you belong -to me, just to play with the idea, but of course I know you don't. -I'm alone, really--with my back to the wall fighting the world--and -I get sort of gaspy when I think about it. I put it out of my mind, -and keep on pretending; but don't you see, Daddy? I can't accept any -more money than I have to, because some day I shall be wanting to -pay it back, and even as great an author as I intend to be, won't be -able to face a _perfectly tremendous_ debt. - -I'd love pretty hats and things, but I mustn't mortgage the future -to pay for them. - -You'll forgive me, won't you, for being so rude? I have an awful -habit of writing impulsively when I first think things, and then -posting the letter beyond recall. But if I sometimes seem -thoughtless and ungrateful, I never mean it. In my heart I thank you -always for the life and freedom and independence that you have given -me. My childhood was just a long, sullen stretch of revolt, and now -I am so happy every moment of the day that I can't believe it's -true. I feel like a made-up heroine in a story-book. - -It's a quarter past two. I'm going to tiptoe out to the mail chute -and get this off now. You'll receive it in the next mail after the -other; so you won't have a very long time to think bad of me. - - Good night, Daddy, - - I love you always, - - JUDY. - - - May 4th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Field Day last Saturday. It was a very spectacular occasion. First -we had a parade of all the classes, with everybody dressed in white -linen, the Seniors carrying blue and gold Japanese umbrellas, -and the Juniors white and yellow banners. Our class had crimson -balloons--very fetching, especially as they were always getting -loose and floating off--and the Freshmen wore green tissue-paper -hats with long streamers. Also we had a band in blue uniforms hired -from town. Also about a dozen funny people, like clowns in a circus, -to keep the spectators entertained between events. - -Julia was dressed as a fat country man with a linen duster and -whiskers and baggy umbrella. Patsy Moriarty (Patricia, really. -Did you ever hear such a name? Mrs. Lippett couldn't have done better.) -who is tall and thin was Julia's wife in an absurd green bonnet over -one ear. Waves of laughter followed them the whole length of the -course. Julia played the part extremely well. I never dreamed that a -Pendleton could display so much comedy spirit--begging Master -Jervie's pardon; I don't consider him a true Pendleton though, -any more than I consider you a true Trustee. - -Sallie and I weren't in the parade because we were entered for the -events. And what do you think? We both won! At least in something. -We tried for the running broad jump and lost; but Sallie won the -pole-vaulting (seven feet three inches) and I won the fifty-yard -dash (eight seconds). - -I was pretty panting at the end, but it was great fun, with the -whole class waving balloons and cheering and yelling: - - What's the matter with Judy Abbott? - She's all right. - Who's all right? - Judy Ab-bott! - - [Illustration: "Judy Wins the Fifty Yard Dash"] - -That, Daddy, is true fame. Then trotting back to the dressing tent -and being rubbed down with alcohol and having a lemon to suck. You -see we're very professional. It's a fine thing to win an event for -your class, because the class that wins the most gets the athletic -cup for the year. The Seniors won it this year, with seven events -to their credit. The athletic association gave a dinner in the -gymnasium to all of the winners. We had fried soft-shell crabs, and -chocolate ice-cream molded in the shape of basket balls. - -I sat up half of last night reading "Jane Eyre." Are you old enough, -Daddy, to remember sixty years ago? And if so, did people talk that -way? - -The haughty Lady Blanche says to the footman, "Stop your chattering, -knave, and do my bidding." Mr. Rochester talks about the metal -welkin when he means the sky; and as for the mad woman who laughs -like a hyena and sets fire to bed curtains and tears up wedding -veils and _bites_--it's melodrama of the purest, but just the same, -you read and read and read. I can't see how any girl could have -written such a book, especially any girl who was brought up in a -churchyard. There's something about those Brontes that fascinates -me. Their books, their lives, their spirit. Where did they get it? -When I was reading about little Jane's troubles in the charity -school, I got so angry that I had to go out and take a walk. -I understood exactly how she felt. Having known Mrs. Lippett, -I could see Mr. Brocklehurst. - -Don't be outraged, Daddy. I am not intimating that the John Grier -Home was like the Lowood Institute. We had plenty to eat and plenty -to wear, sufficient water to wash in, and a furnace in the cellar. -But there was one deadly likeness. Our lives were absolutely -monotonous and uneventful. Nothing nice ever happened, except -ice-cream on Sundays, and even that was regular. In all the eighteen -years I was there I only had one adventure--when the woodshed -burned. We had to get up in the night and dress so as to be ready in -case the house should catch. But it didn't catch and we went back -to bed. - -Everybody likes a few surprises; it's a perfectly natural human -craving. But I never had one until Mrs. Lippett called me to the -office to tell me that Mr. John Smith was going to send me to -college. And then she broke the news so gradually that it just -barely shocked me. - -You know, Daddy, I think that the most necessary quality for any -person to have is imagination. It makes people able to put -themselves in other people's places. It makes them kind and -sympathetic and understanding. It ought to be cultivated in -children. But the John Grier Home instantly stamped out the -slightest flicker that appeared. Duty was the one quality that was -encouraged. I don't think children ought to know the meaning of the -word; it's odious, detestable. They ought to do everything from -love. - -Wait until you see the orphan asylum that I am going to be the head -of! It's my favorite play at night before I go to sleep. I plan it -out to the littlest detail--the meals and clothes and study and -amusements and punishments; for even my superior orphans are -sometimes bad. - -But anyway, they are going to be happy. I think that every one, no -matter how many troubles he may have when he grows up, ought to have -a happy childhood to look back upon. And if I ever have any children -of my own, no matter how unhappy I may be, I am not going to let -them have any cares until they grow up. - -(There goes the chapel bell--I'll finish this letter sometime.) - - - Thursday. - -When I came in from laboratory this afternoon, I found a squirrel -sitting on the tea table helping himself to almonds. These are the -kind of callers we entertain now that warm weather has come and the -window stays open-- - - [Illustration: "My dear Mrs. Centipede, will you have one lump - or two?"] - - - Saturday morning. - -Perhaps you think, last night being Friday, with no classes to-day, -that I passed a nice quiet, readable evening with the set of -Stevenson that I bought with my prize money? But if so, you've -never attended a girls' college, Daddy dear. Six friends dropped in -to make fudge, and one of them dropped the fudge--while it was still -liquid--right in the middle of our best rug. We shall never be able -to clean up the mess. - -I haven't mentioned any lessons of late; but we are still having -them every day. It's sort of a relief though, to get away from them -and discuss life in the large--rather one-sided discussions that you -and I hold, but that's your own fault. You are welcome to answer -back any time you choose. - -I've been writing this letter off and on for three days, and I fear -by now _vous etes bien_ bored! - - Good-by, nice Mr. Man, - - JUDY. - - -_Mr. Daddy-Long-Legs Smith._ - -SIR: Having completed the study of argumentation and the science of -dividing a thesis into heads, I have decided to adopt the following -form for letter-writing. It contains all necessary facts, but no -unnecessary verbiage. - - I. We had written examinations this week in: - A. Chemistry. - B. History. - II. A new dormitory is being built. - A. Its material is: - (a) red brick. - (b) gray stone. - B. Its capacity will be: - (a) one dean, five instructors. - (b) two hundred girls. - (c) one housekeeper, three cooks, twenty waitresses, twenty - chambermaids. - III. We had junket for dessert to-night. - IV. I am writing a special topic upon the Sources of Shakespeare's - Plays. - V. Lou McMahon slipped and fell this afternoon at basket ball, - and she: - A. Dislocated her shoulder. - B. Bruised her knee. - VI. I have a new hat trimmed with: - A. Blue velvet ribbon. - B. Two blue quills. - C. Three red pompons. - VII. It is half-past nine. - VIII. Good night. - - JUDY. - - - June 2d. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -You will never guess the nice thing that has happened. - -The McBrides have asked me to spend the summer at their camp in the -Adirondacks! They belong to a sort of club on a lovely little lake -in the middle of the woods. The different members have houses made -of logs dotted about among the trees, and they go canoeing on the -lake, and take long walks through trails to other camps, and have -dances once a week in the club house--Jimmie McBride is going to -have a college friend visiting him part of the summer, so you see we -shall have plenty of men to dance with. - -Wasn't it sweet of Mrs. McBride to ask me? It appears that she -liked me when I was there for Christmas. - -Please excuse this being short. It isn't a real letter; it's just -to let you know that I'm disposed of for the summer. - - Yours, - - In a _very_ contented frame of mind, - - JUDY. - - - June 5th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Your secretary man has just written to me saying that Mr. Smith -prefers that I should not accept Mrs. McBride's invitation, but -should return to Lock Willow the same as last summer. - -Why, why, _why_, Daddy? - -You don't understand about it. Mrs. McBride does want me, really and -truly. I'm not the least bit of trouble in the house. I'm a help. -They don't take up many servants, and Sallie and I can do lots of -useful things. It's a fine chance for me to learn housekeeping. -Every woman ought to understand it, and I only know asylum-keeping. - -There aren't any girls our age at the camp, and Mrs. McBride wants -me for a companion for Sallie. We are planning to do a lot of -reading together. We are going to read all of the books for next -year's English and sociology. The Professor said it would be a great -help if we would get our reading finished in the summer; and it's -so much easier to remember it, if we read together and talk it over. - -Just to live in the same house with Sallie's mother is an education. -She's the most interesting, entertaining, companionable, charming -woman in the world; she knows everything. Think how many summers -I've spent with Mrs. Lippett and how I'll appreciate the contrast. -You needn't be afraid that I'll be crowding them, for their house -is made of rubber. When they have a lot of company, they just -sprinkle tents about in the woods and turn the boys outside. It's -going to be such a nice, healthy summer exercising out of doors -every minute. Jimmie McBride is going to teach me how to ride -horseback and paddle a canoe, and how to shoot and--oh, lots of -things I ought to know. It's the kind of nice, jolly, care-free -time that I've never had; and I think every girl deserves it once -in her life. Of course I'll do exactly as you say, but please, -_please_ let me go, Daddy. I've never wanted anything so much. - -This isn't Jerusha Abbott, the future great author, writing to you. -It's just Judy--a girl. - - - June 9th. - - _Mr. John Smith._ - -SIR: Yours of the 7th inst. at hand. In compliance with the -instructions received through your secretary, I leave on Friday next -to spend the summer at Lock Willow Farm. - - I hope always to remain, - - (Miss) JERUSHA ABBOTT. - - - LOCK WILLOW FARM, - - August Third. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -It has been nearly two months since I wrote, which wasn't nice of -me, I know, but I haven't loved you much this summer--you see I'm -being frank! - -You can't imagine how disappointed I was at having to give up the -McBride's camp. Of course I know that you're my guardian, and that -I have to regard your wishes in all matters, but I couldn't see any -_reason_. It was so distinctly the best thing that could have -happened to me. If I had been Daddy, and you had been Judy, I should -have said, "Bless you, my child, run along and have a good time; see -lots of new people and learn lots of new things; live out of doors, -and get strong and well and rested for a year of hard work." - -But not at all! Just a curt line from your secretary ordering me to -Lock Willow. - -It's the impersonality of your commands that hurts my feelings. It -seems as though, if you felt the tiniest little bit for me the way I -feel for you, you'd sometimes send me a message that you'd written -with your own hand, instead of those beastly typewritten secretary's -notes. If there were the slightest hint that you cared, I'd do -anything on earth to please you. - -I know that I was to write nice, long, detailed letters without ever -expecting any answer. You're living up to your side of the -bargain--I'm being educated--and I suppose you're thinking I'm -not living up to mine! - -But, Daddy, it is a hard bargain. It is, really. I'm so awfully -lonely. You are the only person I have to care for, and you are so -shadowy. You're just an imaginary man that I've made up--and -probably the real _you_ isn't a bit like my imaginary _you_. But -you did once, when I was ill in the infirmary, send me a message, -and now, when I am feeling awfully forgotten, I get out your card -and read it over. - -I don't think I am telling you at all what I started to say, which -was this: - -Although my feelings are still hurt, for it is very humiliating to -be picked up and moved about by an arbitrary, peremptory, -unreasonable, omnipotent, invisible Providence, still, when a man -has been as kind and generous and thoughtful as you have heretofore -been toward me, I suppose he has a right to be an arbitrary, -peremptory, unreasonable, invisible Providence if he chooses, and -so--I'll forgive you and be cheerful again. But I still don't enjoy -getting Sallie's letters about the good times they are having in -camp! - -However--we will draw a veil over that and begin again. - -I've been writing and writing this summer; four short stories -finished and sent to four different magazines. So you see I'm -trying to be an author. I have a workroom fixed in a corner of the -attic where Master Jervie used to have his rainy-day playroom. It's -in a cool, breezy corner with two dormer windows, and shaded by a -maple tree with a family of red squirrels living in a hole. - -I'll write a nicer letter in a few days and tell you all the farm -news. - -We need rain. - - Yours as ever, - - JUDY. - - - August 10th. - - _Mr. Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -SIR: I address you from the second crotch in the willow tree by the -pool in the pasture. There's a frog croaking underneath, a locust -singing overhead and two little "devil down-heads" darting up and -down the trunk. I've been here for an hour; it's a very -comfortable crotch, especially after being upholstered with two sofa -cushions. I came up with a pen and tablet hoping to write an -immortal short story, but I've been having a dreadful time with my -heroine--I _can't_ make her behave as I want her to behave; so I've -abandoned her for the moment, and am writing to you. (Not much -relief though, for I can't make you behave as I want you to, -either.) - -If you are in that dreadful New York, I wish I could send you some -of this lovely, breezy, sunshiny outlook. The country is Heaven -after a week of rain. - -Speaking of Heaven--do you remember Mr. Kellogg that I told you -about last summer?--the minister of the little white church at the -Corners. Well, the poor old soul is dead--last winter of pneumonia. -I went half-a-dozen times to hear him preach and got very well -acquainted with his theology. He believed to the end, exactly the -same things he started with. It seems to me that a man who can think -straight along for forty-seven years without changing a single idea -ought to be kept in a cabinet as a curiosity. I hope he is enjoying -his harp and golden crown; he was so perfectly sure of finding them! -There's a new young man, very up and coming, in his place. The -congregation is pretty dubious, especially the faction led by Deacon -Cummings. It looks as though there was going to be an awful split in -the church. We don't care for innovations in religion in this -neighborhood. - -During our week of rain I sat up in the attic and had an orgie of -reading--Stevenson, mostly. He himself is more entertaining than any -of the characters in his books; I dare say he made himself into the -kind of hero that would look well in print. Don't you think it was -perfect of him to spend all the ten thousand dollars his father -left, for a yacht, and go sailing off to the South Seas? He lived up -to his adventurous creed. If my father had left me ten thousand -dollars, I'd do it, too. The thought of Vailima makes me wild. -I want to see the tropics. I want to see the whole world. I am going -to some day--I am, really, Daddy, when I get to be a great author, -or artist, or actress, or playwright--or whatever sort of a great -person I turn out to be. I have a terrible wanderthirst; the very -sight of a map makes me want to put on my hat and take an umbrella -and start. "I shall see before I die the palms and temples of the -South." - - - Thursday evening at twilight, sitting on the doorstep. - -Very hard to get any news into this letter! Judy is becoming so -philosophical of late, that she wishes to discourse largely of the -world in general, instead of descending to the trivial details of -daily life. But if you _must_ have news, here it is: - - [Illustration] - -Our nine young pigs waded across the brook and ran away last -Tuesday, and only eight came back. We don't want to accuse any one -unjustly, but we suspect that Widow Dowd has one more than she ought -to have. - -Mr. Weaver has painted his barn and his two silos a bright pumpkin -yellow--a very ugly color, but he says it will wear. - -The Brewers have company this week; Mrs. Brewer's sister and two -nieces from Ohio. - - [Illustration] - -One of our Rhode Island Reds only brought off three chicks out of -fifteen eggs. We can't imagine what was the trouble. Rhode Island -Reds, in my opinion, are a very inferior breed. I prefer Buff -Orpingtons. - -The new clerk in the post-office at Bonnyrigg Four Corners drank -every drop of Jamaica ginger they had in stock--seven dollars' -worth--before he was discovered. - -Old Ira Hatch has rheumatism and can't work any more; he never saved -his money when he was earning good wages, so now he has to live on -the town. - -There's to be an ice-cream social at the schoolhouse next Saturday -evening. Come and bring your families. - -I have a new hat that I bought for twenty-five cents at the -post-office. This is my latest portrait, on my way to rake the hay. - -It's getting too dark to see; anyway, the news is all used up. - - Good night, - - JUDY. - - [Illustration] - - - Friday. - -Good morning! Here _is_ some news! What do you think? You'd never, -never, never guess who's coming to Lock Willow. A letter to Mrs. -Semple from Mr. Pendleton. He's motoring through the Berkshires, -and is tired and wants to rest on a nice quiet farm--if he climbs -out at her doorstep some night will she have a room ready for him? -Maybe he'll stay one week, or maybe two, or maybe three; he'll see -how restful it is when he gets here. - -Such a flutter as we are in! The whole house is being cleaned and -all the curtains washed. I am driving to the Corners this morning to -get some new oilcloth for the entry, and two cans of brown floor -paint for the hall and back stairs. Mrs. Dowd is engaged to come -to-morrow to wash the windows (in the exigency of the moment, we -waive our suspicions in regard to the piglet). You might think, from -this account of our activities, that the house was not already -immaculate; but I assure you it was! Whatever Mrs. Semple's -limitations, she is a HOUSEKEEPER. - -But isn't it just like a man, Daddy? He doesn't give the remotest -hint as to whether he will land on the doorstep to-day, or two weeks -from to-day. We shall live in a perpetual breathlessness until he -comes--and if he doesn't hurry, the cleaning may all have to be -done over again. - - [Illustration: "Old Grove is perfectly safe."] - -There's Amasai waiting below with the buckboard and Grover. I drive -alone--but if you could see old Grove, you wouldn't be worried as -to my safety. - -With my hand on my heart--farewell. - - JUDY. - -P. S. Isn't that a nice ending? I got it out of Stevenson's -letters. - - - Saturday. - -Good morning again! I didn't get this _enveloped_ yesterday before -the postman came, so I'll add some more. We have one mail a day at -twelve o'clock. Rural delivery is a blessing to the farmers! Our -postman not only delivers letters, but he runs errands for us in -town, at five cents an errand. Yesterday he brought me some -shoe-strings and a jar of cold cream (I sunburned all the skin off -my nose before I got my new hat) and a blue Windsor tie and a bottle -of blacking all for ten cents. That was an unusual bargain, owing to -the largeness of my order. - -Also he tells us what is happening in the Great World. Several -people on the route take daily papers, and he reads them as he jogs -along, and repeats the news to the ones who don't subscribe. So in -case a war breaks out between the United States and Japan, or the -president is assassinated, or Mr. Rockefeller leaves a million -dollars to the John Grier Home, you needn't bother to write; I'll -hear it anyway. - -No sign yet of Master Jervie. But you should see how clean our house -is--and with what anxiety we wipe our feet before we step in! - -I hope he'll come soon; I am longing for some one to talk to. Mrs. -Semple, to tell you the truth, gets sort of monotonous. She never -lets ideas interrupt the easy flow of her conversation. It's a -funny thing about the people here. Their world is just this single -hilltop. They are not a bit universal, if you know what I mean. -It's exactly the same as at the John Grier Home. Our ideas there -were bounded by the four sides of the iron fence, only I didn't -mind it so much because I was younger and was so awfully busy. By -the time I'd got all my beds made and my babies' faces washed and -had gone to school and come home and had washed their faces again -and darned their stockings and mended Freddie Perkins's trousers -(he tore them every day of his life) and learned my lessons in -between--I was ready to go to bed, and I didn't notice any lack of -social intercourse. But after two years in a conversational college, -I do miss it; and I shall be glad to see somebody who speaks my -language. - -I really believe I've finished, Daddy. Nothing else occurs to me at -the moment--I'll try to write a longer letter next time. - - Yours always, - - JUDY. - -P. S. The lettuce hasn't done at all well this year. It was so dry -early in the season. - - - August 25th. - -Well, Daddy, Master Jervie's here. And such a nice time as we're -having! At least I am, and I think he is, too--he has been here ten -days and he doesn't show any signs of going. The way Mrs. Semple -pampers that man is scandalous. If she indulged him as much when he -was a baby, I don't know how he ever turned out so well. - -He and I eat at a little table set on the side porch, or sometimes -under the trees, or--when it rains or is cold--in the best parlor. -He just picks out the spot he wants to eat in and Carrie trots after -him with the table. Then if it has been an awful nuisance, and she -has had to carry the dishes very far, she finds a dollar under the -sugar bowl. - -He is an awfully companionable sort of man, though you would never -believe it to see him casually; he looks at first glance like a true -Pendleton, but he isn't in the least. He is just as simple and -unaffected and sweet as he can be--that seems a funny way to -describe a man, but it's true. He's extremely nice with the -farmers around here; he meets them in a sort of man-to-man fashion -that disarms them immediately. They were very suspicious at first. -They didn't care for his clothes! And I will say that his clothes -are rather amazing. He wears knickerbockers and pleated jackets and -white flannels and riding clothes with puffed trousers. Whenever he -comes down in anything new, Mrs. Semple, beaming with pride, walks -around and views him from every angle, and urges him to be careful -where he sits down; she is so afraid he will pick up some dust. It -bores him dreadfully. He's always saying to her: - -"Run along, Lizzie, and tend to your work. You can't boss me any -longer. I've grown up." - -It's awfully funny to think of that great, big, long-legged man -(he's nearly as long-legged as you, Daddy) ever sitting in Mrs. -Semple's lap and having his face washed. Particularly funny when you -see her lap! She has two laps now, and three chins. But he says that -once she was thin and wiry and spry and could run faster than he. - -Such a lot of adventures we're having! We've explored the country -for miles, and I've learned to fish with funny little flies made of -feathers. Also to shoot with a rifle and a revolver. Also to ride -horse-back--there's an astonishing amount of life in old Grove. We -fed him on oats for three days, and he shied at a calf and almost -ran away with me. - - [Illustration] - - - Wednesday. - -We climbed Sky Hill Monday afternoon. That's a mountain near here; -not an awfully high mountain, perhaps--no snow on the summit--but at -least you are pretty breathless when you reach the top. The lower -slopes are covered with woods, but the top is just piled rocks and -open moor. We stayed up for the sunset and built a fire and cooked -our supper. Master Jervie did the cooking; he said he knew how -better than me--and he did, too, because he's used to camping. Then -we came down by moonlight, and, when we reached the wood trail where -it was dark, by the light of an electric bulb that he had in his -pocket. It was such fun! He laughed and joked all the way and talked -about interesting things. He's read all the books I've ever read, -and a lot of others besides. It's astonishing how many different -things he knows. - -We went for a long tramp this morning and got caught in a storm. Our -clothes were drenched before we reached home--but our spirits not -even damp. You should have seen Mrs. Semple's face when we dripped -into her kitchen. - -"Oh, Master Jervie--Miss Judy! You are soaked through. Dear! Dear! -What shall I do? That nice new coat is perfectly ruined." - -She was awfully funny; you would have thought that we were ten years -old, and she a distracted mother. I was afraid for a while that we -weren't going to get any jam for tea. - - - Saturday. - -I started this letter ages ago, but I haven't had a second to -finish it. - -Isn't this a nice thought from Stevenson? - - The world is so full of a number of things, - I am sure we should all be as happy as kings. - -It's true, you know. The world is full of happiness, and plenty to -go round, if you are only willing to take the kind that comes your -way. The whole secret is in being _pliable_. In the country, -especially, there are such a lot of entertaining things. I can walk -over everybody's land, and look at everybody's view, and dabble in -everybody's brook; and enjoy it just as much as though I owned the -land--and with no taxes to pay! - - * * * * * - -It's Sunday night now, about eleven o'clock, and I am supposed to -be getting some beauty sleep, but I had black coffee for dinner, -so--no beauty sleep for me! - -This morning, said Mrs. Semple to Mr. Pendleton, with a very -determined accent: - -"We have to leave here at a quarter past ten in order to get to -church by eleven." - -"Very well, Lizzie," said Master Jervie, "you have the surrey ready, -and if I'm not dressed, just go on without waiting." - -"We'll wait," said she. - -"As you please," said he, "only don't keep the horses standing too -long." - -Then while she was dressing, he told Carrie to pack up a lunch, and -he told me to scramble into my walking clothes; and we slipped out -the back way and went fishing. - -It discommoded the household dreadfully, because Lock Willow of a -Sunday dines at two. But he ordered dinner at seven--he orders -meals whenever he chooses; you would think the place were a -restaurant--and that kept Carrie and Amasai from going driving. But -he said it was all the better because it wasn't proper for them to -go driving without a chaperon; and anyway, he wanted the horses -himself to take me driving. Did you ever hear anything so funny? - -And poor Mrs. Semple believes that people who go fishing on Sundays, -go afterwards to a sizzling hot hell! She is awfully troubled to -think that she didn't train him better when he was small and -helpless and she had the chance. Besides--she wished to show him off -in church. - -Anyway, we had our fishing (he caught four little ones) and we -cooked them on a camp-fire for lunch. They kept falling off our -spiked sticks into the fire, so they tasted a little ashy, but we -ate them. We got home at four and went driving at five and had -dinner at seven, and at ten I was sent to bed--and here I am, -writing to you. - -I am getting a little sleepy though. - - Good night. - -Here is a picture of the one fish I caught. - - [Illustration] - - - [Illustration] - - _Ship ahoy, Cap'n Long-Legs!_ - -Avast! Belay! Yo, ho, ho, and a bottle of rum. Guess what I'm -reading? Our conversation these past two days has been nautical and -piratical. Isn't "Treasure Island" fun? Did you ever read it, or -wasn't it written when you were a boy? Stevenson only got thirty -pounds for the serial rights--I don't believe it pays to be a great -author. Maybe I'll teach school. - -Excuse me for filling my letters so full of Stevenson; my mind is -very much engaged with him at present. He comprises Lock Willow's -library. - -I've been writing this letter for two weeks, and I think it's -about long enough. Never say, Daddy, that I don't give details. -I wish you were here, too; we'd all have such a jolly time -together. I like my different friends to know each other. I wanted -to ask Mr. Pendleton if he knew you in New York--I should think he -might; you must move in about the same exalted social circles, and -you are both interested in reforms and things--but I couldn't, for -I don't know your real name. - -It's the silliest thing I ever heard of, not to know your name. -Mrs. Lippett warned me that you were eccentric. I should think so! - - Affectionately, - - JUDY. - -P. S. On reading this over, I find that it isn't all Stevenson. -There are one or two glancing references to Master Jervie. - - - September 10th. - - _Dear Daddy_, - -He has gone, and we are missing him! When you get accustomed to -people or places or ways of living, and then have them suddenly -snatched away, it does leave an awfully empty, gnawing sort of -sensation. I'm finding Mrs. Semple's conversation pretty unseasoned -food. - -College opens in two weeks and I shall be glad to begin work again. -I have worked quite a lot this summer though--six short stories and -seven poems. Those I sent to the magazines all came back with the -most courteous promptitude. But I don't mind. It's good practice. -Master Jervie read them--he brought in the mail, so I couldn't help -his knowing--and he said they were _dreadful_. They showed that I -didn't have the slightest idea of what I was talking about. (Master -Jervie doesn't let politeness interfere with truth.) But the last -one I did--just a little sketch laid in college--he said wasn't -bad; and he had it typewritten, and I sent it to a magazine. -They've had it two weeks; maybe they're thinking it over. - -You should see the sky! There's the queerest orange-colored light -over everything. We're going to have a storm. - - * * * * * - -It commenced just that moment with drops as big as quarters and all -the shutters banging. I had to run to close windows, while Carrie -flew to the attic with an armful of milk pans to put under the -places where the roof leaks--and then, just as I was resuming my -pen, I remembered that I'd left a cushion and rug and hat and -Matthew Arnold's poems under a tree in the orchard, so I dashed out -to get them, all quite soaked. The red cover of the poems had run -into the inside; "Dover Beach" in the future will be washed by pink -waves. - -A storm is awfully disturbing in the country. You are always having -to think of so many things that are out of doors and getting -spoiled. - - - Thursday. - -Daddy! Daddy! What do you think? The postman has just come with two -letters. - -1st.--My story is accepted. $50. - -_Alors!_ I'm an AUTHOR. - -2d.--A letter from the college secretary. I'm to have a scholarship -for two years that will cover board and tuition. It was founded by -an alumna for "marked proficiency in English with general excellency -in other lines." And I've won it! I applied for it before I left, -but I didn't have an idea I'd get it, on account of my Freshman -bad work in math. and Latin. But it seems I've made it up. I am -awfully glad, Daddy, because now I won't be such a burden to you. -The monthly allowance will be all I'll need, and maybe I can earn -that with writing or tutoring or something. - -I'm _crazy_ to go back and begin work. - - Yours ever, - - JERUSHA ABBOTT, - - Author of, "When the Sophomores - Won the Game." For sale at all - news stands, price ten cents. - - - September 26th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Back at college again and an upper classman. Our study is better -than ever this year--faces the South with two huge windows--and oh! -so furnished. Julia, with an unlimited allowance, arrived two days -early and was attacked with a fever of settling. - -We have new wall paper and Oriental rugs and mahogany chairs--not -painted mahogany which made us sufficiently happy last year, but -real. It's very gorgeous, but I don't feel as though I belonged in -it; I'm nervous all the time for fear I'll get an ink spot in the -wrong place. - -And, Daddy, I found your letter waiting for me--pardon--I mean your -secretary's. - -Will you kindly convey to me a comprehensible reason why I should -not accept that scholarship? I don't understand your objection in -the least. But anyway, it won't do the slightest good for you to -object, for I've already accepted it--and I am not going to change! -That sounds a little impertinent, but I don't mean it so. - -I suppose you feel that when you set out to educate me, you'd like -to finish the work, and put a neat period, in the shape of a -diploma, at the end. - -But look at it just a second from my point of view. I shall owe my -education to you just as much as though I let you pay for the whole -of it, but I won't be quite so much indebted. I know that you don't -want me to return the money, but nevertheless, I am going to want to -do it, if I possibly can; and winning this scholarship makes it so -much easier. I was expecting to spend the rest of my life in paying -my debts, but now I shall only have to spend one-half of the rest of -it. - -I hope you understand my position and won't be cross. The allowance -I shall still most gratefully accept. It requires an allowance to -live up to Julia and her furniture! I wish that she had been reared -to simpler tastes, or else that she were not my room-mate. - -This isn't much of a letter; I meant to have written a lot--but -I've been hemming four window curtains and three portieres (I'm -glad you can't see the length of the stitches) and polishing a brass -desk set with tooth powder (very uphill work) and sawing off picture -wire with manicure scissors, and unpacking four boxes of books, and -putting away two trunkfuls of clothes (it doesn't seem believable -that Jerusha Abbott owns two trunks full of clothes, but she does!) -and welcoming back fifty dear friends in between. - -Opening day is a joyous occasion! - -Good night, Daddy dear, and don't be annoyed because your chick is -wanting to scratch for herself. She's growing up into an awfully -energetic little hen--with a very determined cluck and lots of -beautiful feathers (all due to you). - - Affectionately, - - JUDY. - - - September 30th. - - _Dear Daddy_, - -Are you still harping on that scholarship? I never knew a man so -obstinate and stubborn and unreasonable, and tenacious, and -bull-doggish, and unable-to-see-other-people's-points-of-view as -you. - -You prefer that I should not be accepting favors from strangers. - -Strangers!--And what are you, pray? - -Is there any one in the world that I know less? I shouldn't -recognize you if I met you on the street. Now, you see, if you had -been a sane, sensible person and had written nice, cheering, -fatherly letters to your little Judy, and had come occasionally and -patted her on the head, and had said you were glad she was such a -good girl--Then, perhaps, she wouldn't have flouted you in your old -age, but would have obeyed your slightest wish like the dutiful -daughter she was meant to be. - -Strangers indeed! You live in a glass house, Mr. Smith. - -And besides, this isn't a favor; it's like a prize--I earned it by -hard work. If nobody had been good enough in English, the committee -wouldn't have awarded the scholarship; some years they don't. -Also--But what's the use of arguing with a man? You belong, Mr. -Smith, to a sex devoid of a sense of logic. To bring a man into -line, there are just two methods: one must either coax or be -disagreeable. I scorn to coax men for what I wish. Therefore, I must -be disagreeable. - -I refuse, sir, to give up the scholarship; and if you make any more -fuss, I won't accept the monthly allowance either, but will wear -myself into a nervous wreck tutoring stupid Freshmen. - -That is my ultimatum! - -And listen--I have a further thought. Since you are so afraid that -by taking this scholarship, I am depriving some one else of an -education, I know a way out. You can apply the money that you would -have spent for me, toward educating some other little girl from the -John Grier Home. Don't you think that's a nice idea? Only, Daddy, -_educate_ the new girl as much as you choose, but please don't -_like_ her any better than me. - -I trust that your secretary won't be hurt because I pay so little -attention to the suggestions offered in his letter, but I can't help -it if he is. He's a spoiled child, Daddy. I've meekly given in to -his whims heretofore, but this time I intend to be FIRM. - - Yours, - - With a Mind, - - Completely and Irrevocably and World-without-End Made-up. - - JERUSHA ABBOTT. - - -[Plate: "I LIKE MY DIFFERENT FRIENDS TO KNOW EACH OTHER."] - - - November 9th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I started down town to-day to buy a bottle of shoe blacking and some -collars and the material for a new blouse and a jar of violet cream -and a cake of Castile soap--all very necessary; I couldn't be happy -another day without them--and when I tried to pay the car fare, -I found that I had left my purse in the pocket of my other coat. So -I had to get out and take the next car, and was late for gymnasium. - -It's a dreadful thing to have no memory and two coats! - -Julia Pendleton has invited me to visit her for the Christmas -holidays. How does that strike you, Mr. Smith? Fancy Jerusha Abbott, -of the John Grier Home, sitting at the tables of the rich. I don't -know why Julia wants me--she seems to be getting quite attached to -me of late. I should, to tell the truth, very much prefer going to -Sallie's, but Julia asked me first, so if I go anywhere, it must be -to New York instead of to Worcester. I'm rather awed at the -prospect of meeting Pendletons _en masse_, and also I'd have to get -a lot of new clothes--so, Daddy dear, if you write that you would -prefer having me remain quietly at college, I will bow to your -wishes with my usual sweet docility. - -I'm engaged at odd moments with the "Life and Letters of Thomas -Huxley"--it makes nice, light reading to pick up between times. Do -you know what an archaeopteryx is? It's a bird. And a stereognathus? -I'm not sure myself but I think it's a missing link, like a bird -with teeth or a lizard with wings. No, it isn't either; I've just -looked in the book. It's a mesozoic mammal. - - [Illustration: "This is the only picture extant of a - stereognathus. - He has a head like a snake and ears like a dog and feet like - a cow and a tail like a lizard and wings like a swan and is - covered with nice soft fur like a sweet little pussy cat."] - -I've elected economics this year--very illuminating subject. When I -finish that I'm going to take Charity and Reform; then, Mr. -Trustee, I'll know just how an orphan asylum ought to be run. Don't -you think I'd make an admirable voter if I had my rights? I was -twenty-one last week. This is an awfully wasteful country to throw -away such an honest, educated, conscientious, intelligent citizen as -I would be. - - Yours always, - - JUDY. - - - December 7th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Thank you for permission to visit Julia--I take it that silence -means consent. - -Such a social whirl as we've been having! The Founder's dance came -last week--this was the first year that any of us could attend; only -upper classmen being allowed. - -I invited Jimmie McBride, and Sallie invited his room-mate at -Princeton, who visited them last summer at their camp--an awfully -nice man with red hair--and Julia invited a man from New York, not -very exciting, but socially irreproachable. He is connected with the -De la Mater Chichesters. Perhaps that means something to you? It -doesn't illuminate me to any extent. - -However--our guests came Friday afternoon in time for tea in the -senior corridor, and then dashed down to the hotel for dinner. The -hotel was so full that they slept in rows on the billiard tables, -they say. Jimmie McBride says that the next time he is bidden to a -social event in this college, he is going to bring one of their -Adirondack tents and pitch it on the campus. - -At seven-thirty they came back for the President's reception and -dance. Our functions commence early! We had the men's cards all made -out ahead of time, and after every dance, we'd leave them in groups -under the letter that stood for their names, so that they could be -readily found by their next partners. Jimmie McBride, for example, -would stand patiently under "M" until he was claimed. (At least, he -ought to have stood patiently, but he kept wandering off and getting -mixed with "R's" and "S's" and all sorts of letters.) I found him a -very difficult guest; he was sulky because he had only three dances -with me. He said he was bashful about dancing with girls he didn't -know! - -The next morning we had a glee club concert--and who do you think -wrote the funny new song composed for the occasion? It's the truth. -She did. Oh, I tell you, Daddy, your little foundling is getting to -be quite a prominent person! - -Anyway, our gay two days were great fun, and I think the men enjoyed -it. Some of them were awfully perturbed at first at the prospect of -facing one thousand girls; but they got acclimated very quickly. Our -two Princeton men had a beautiful time--at least they politely said -they had, and they've invited us to their dance next spring. We've -accepted, so please don't object, Daddy dear. - -Julia and Sallie and I all had new dresses. Do you want to hear -about them? Julia's was cream satin and gold embroidery, and she -wore purple orchids. It was a _dream_ and came from Paris, and cost -a million dollars. - -Sallie's was pale blue trimmed with Persian embroidery, and went -beautifully with red hair. It didn't cost quite a million, but was -just as effective as Julia's. - -Mine was pale pink crepe de chine trimmed with ecru lace and rose -satin. And I carried crimson roses which J. McB. sent (Sallie having -told him what color to get). And we all had satin slippers and silk -stockings and chiffon scarfs to match. - -You must be deeply impressed by these millinery details! - -One can't help thinking, Daddy, what a colorless life a man is -forced to lead, when one reflects that chiffon and Venetian point -and hand embroidery and Irish crochet are to him mere empty words. -Whereas a woman, whether she is interested in babies or microbes or -husbands or poetry or servants or parallelograms or gardens or Plato -or bridge--is fundamentally and always interested in clothes. - -It's the one touch of nature that makes the whole world kin. (That -isn't original. I got it out of one of Shakespeare's plays.) - -However, to resume. Do you want me to tell you a secret that I've -lately discovered? And will you promise not to think me vain? Then -listen: - -I'm pretty. - -I am, really. I'd be an awful idiot not to know it with three -looking-glasses in the room. - - A FRIEND. - -P. S. This is one of those wicked anonymous letters you read about -in novels. - - - December 20th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I've just a moment, because I must attend two classes, pack a trunk -and a suitcase, and catch the four-o'clock train--but I couldn't go -without sending a word to let you know how much I appreciate my -Christmas box. - -I love the furs and the necklace and the liberty scarf and the -gloves and handkerchiefs and books and purse--and most of all I love -you! But Daddy, you have no _business_ to spoil me this way. I'm -only human--and a girl at that. How can I keep my mind sternly fixed -on a studious career, when you deflect me with such worldly -frivolities? - -I have strong suspicions now as to which one of the John Grier -Trustees used to give the Christmas tree and the Sunday ice-cream. -He was nameless, but by his works I know him! You deserve to be -happy for all the good things you do. - -Good-by, and a very merry Christmas. - - Yours always, - - JUDY. - -P. S. I am sending a slight token, too. Do you think you would like -her if you knew her? - - - January 11th. - -I meant to write to you from the city, Daddy, but New York is an -engrossing place. - -I had an interesting--and illuminating--time, but I'm glad I don't -belong in such a family! I should truly rather have the John Grier -Home for a background. Whatever the drawbacks of my bringing up, -there was at least no pretense about it. I know now what people mean -when they say they are weighed down by Things. The material -atmosphere of that house was crushing; I didn't draw a deep breath -until I was on an express train coming back. All the furniture was -carved and upholstered and gorgeous; the people I met were -beautifully dressed and low-voiced and well-bred, but it's the -truth, Daddy, I never heard one word of real talk from the time we -arrived until we left. I don't think an idea ever entered the front -door. - -Mrs. Pendleton never thinks of anything but jewels and dressmakers -and social engagements. She did seem a different kind of mother from -Mrs. McBride! If I ever marry and have a family, I'm going to make -them as exactly like the McBrides as I can. Not for all the money in -the world would I ever let any children of mine develop into -Pendletons. Maybe it isn't polite to criticize people you've been -visiting? If it isn't, please excuse. This is very confidential, -between you and me. - -I only saw Master Jervie once when he called at tea time, and -then I didn't have a chance to speak to him alone. It was sort of -disappointing after our nice time last summer. I don't think he -cares much for his relatives--and I am sure they don't care -much for him! Julia's mother says he's unbalanced. He's a -Socialist--except, thank Heaven, he doesn't let his hair grow and -wear red ties. She can't imagine where he picked up his queer ideas; -the family have been Church of England for generations. He throws -away his money on every sort of crazy reform, instead of spending it -on such sensible things as yachts and automobiles and polo ponies. -He does buy candy with it though! He sent Julia and me each a box -for Christmas. - -You know, I think I'll be a Socialist, too. You wouldn't mind, -would you, Daddy? They're quite different from Anarchists; they -don't believe in blowing people up. Probably I am one by rights; -I belong to the proletariat. I haven't determined yet just which -kind I am going to be. I will look into the subject over Sunday, -and declare my principles in my next. - -I've seen loads of theaters and hotels and beautiful houses. My -mind is a confused jumble of onyx and gilding and mosaic floors and -palms. I'm still pretty breathless but I am glad to get back to -college and my books--I believe that I really am a student; this -atmosphere of academic calm I find more bracing than New York. -College is a very satisfying sort of life; the books and study and -regular classes keep you alive mentally, and then when your mind -gets tired, you have the gymnasium and outdoor athletics, and always -plenty of congenial friends who are thinking about the same -things you are. We spend a whole evening in nothing but -talk--talk--talk--and go to bed with a very uplifted feeling, -as though we had settled permanently some pressing world problems. -And filling in every crevice, there is always such a lot of -nonsense--just silly jokes about the little things that come up--but -very satisfying. We do appreciate our own witticisms! - -It isn't the great big pleasures that count the most; it's making -a great deal out of the little ones--I've discovered the true -secret of happiness, Daddy, and that is to live in the _now_. Not to -be forever regretting the past, or anticipating the future; but to -get the most that you can out of this very instant. It's like -farming. You can have extensive farming and intensive farming; well, -I am going to have intensive living after this. I'm going to enjoy -every second, and I'm going to _know_ I'm enjoying it while I'm -enjoying it. Most people don't live; they just race. They are trying -to reach some goal far away on the horizon, and in the heat of the -going they get so breathless and panting that they lose all sight of -the beautiful, tranquil country they are passing through; and then -the first thing they know, they are old and worn out, and it -doesn't make any difference whether they've reached the goal or -not. I've decided to sit down by the way and pile up a lot of -little happinesses, even if I never become a Great Author. Did you -ever know such a philosopheress as I am developing into? - - Yours ever, - - JUDY. - -P. S. It's raining cats and dogs to-night. Two puppies and a kitten -have just landed on the window-sill. - - - _Dear Comrade_, - -Hooray! I'm a Fabian. - -That's a Socialist who's willing to wait. We don't want the social -revolution to come to-morrow morning; it would be too upsetting. We -want it to come very gradually in the distant future, when we shall -all be prepared and able to sustain the shock. - -In the meantime we must be getting ready, by instituting industrial, -educational and orphan asylum reforms. - - Yours, with fraternal love, - - JUDY. - - Monday, 3d hour. - - - February 11th. - - _Dear D. L. L._, - -Don't be insulted because this is so short. It isn't a letter; -it's just a _line_ to say that I'm going to write a letter pretty -soon when examinations are over. It is not only necessary that I -pass, but pass WELL. I have a scholarship to live up to. - - Yours, studying hard, - - J. A. - - - March 5th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -President Cuyler made a speech this evening about the modern -generation being flippant and superficial. He says that we are -losing the old ideals of earnest endeavor and true scholarship; and -particularly is this falling-off noticeable in our disrespectful -attitude toward organized authority. We no longer pay a seemly -deference to our superiors. - -I came away from chapel very sober. - -Am I too familiar, Daddy? Ought I to treat you with more dignity and -aloofness?--Yes, I'm sure I ought. I'll begin again. - - * * * * * - -_My dear Mr. Smith_, - -You will be pleased to hear that I passed successfully my mid-year -examinations, and am now commencing work in the new semester. I am -leaving chemistry--having completed the course in qualitative -analysis--and am entering upon the study of biology. I approach this -subject with some hesitation, as I understand that we dissect -angleworms and frogs. - -An extremely interesting and valuable lecture was given in the -chapel last week upon Roman Remains in Southern France. I have never -listened to a more illuminating exposition of the subject. - -We are reading Wordsworth's "Tinturn Abbey" in connection with our -course in English Literature. What an exquisite work it is, and how -adequately it embodies his conception of Pantheism! The Romantic -movement of the early part of the last century, exemplified in the -works of such poets as Shelley, Byron, Keats, and Wordsworth, -appeals to me very much more than the Classical period that preceded -it. Speaking of poetry, have you ever read that charming little -thing of Tennyson's called "Locksley Hall"? - -I am attending gymnasium very regularly of late. A proctor system -has been devised, and failure to comply with the rules causes a -great deal of inconvenience. The gymnasium is equipped with a very -beautiful swimming tank of cement and marble, the gift of a former -graduate. My room-mate, Miss McBride, has given me her bathing-suit -(it shrank so that she can no longer wear it) and I am about to -begin swimming lessons. - -We had delicious pink ice-cream for dessert last night. Only -vegetable dyes are used in coloring the food. The college is very -much opposed, both from esthetic and hygienic motives, to the use of -aniline dyes. - -The weather of late has been ideal--bright sunshine and clouds -interspersed with a few welcome snow-storms. I and my companions -have enjoyed our walks to and from classes--particularly from. - -Trusting, my dear Mr. Smith, that this will find you in your usual -good health, - - I remain, - - Most cordially yours, - - JERUSHA ABBOTT. - - - April 24th. - - _Dear Daddy_, - -Spring has come again! You should see how lovely the campus is. -I think you might come and look at it for yourself. Master Jervie -dropped in again last Friday--but he chose a most unpropitious time, -for Sallie and Julia and I were just running to catch a train. And -where do you think we were going? To Princeton, to attend a dance -and a ball game, if you please! I didn't ask you if I might go, -because I had a feeling that your secretary would say no. But it was -entirely regular; we had leave-of-absence from college, and Mrs. -McBride chaperoned us. We had a charming time--but I shall have to -omit details; they are too many and complicated. - - - Saturday. - - [Illustration] - -Up before dawn! The night watchman called us--six of us--and we made -coffee in a chafing dish (you never saw so many grounds!) and walked -two miles to the top of One Tree Hill to see the sun rise. We had to -scramble up the last slope! The sun almost beat us! And perhaps you -think we didn't bring back appetites to breakfast! - -Dear me, Daddy, I seem to have a very ejaculatory style to-day; this -page is peppered with exclamations. - - [Illustration: "This is Prexy's kitten. You can see from the - picture how Angora he is."] - -I meant to have written a lot about the budding trees and the new -cinder path in the athletic field, and the awful lesson we have in -biology for to-morrow, and the new canoes on the lake, and Catherine -Prentiss who has pneumonia, and Prexy's Angora kitten that strayed -from home and has been boarding in Fergussen Hall for two weeks -until a chambermaid reported it, and about my three new -dresses--white and pink and blue polka dots with a hat to match--but -I am too sleepy. I am always making this an excuse, am I not? But a -girl's college is a busy place and we do get tired by the end of the -day! Particularly when the day begins at dawn. - - Affectionately, - - JUDY. - - - May 15th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Is it good manners when you get into a car just to stare straight -ahead and not see anybody else? - -A very beautiful lady in a very beautiful velvet dress got into the -car to-day, and without the slightest expression sat for fifteen -minutes and looked at a sign advertising suspenders. It doesn't -seem polite to ignore everybody else as though you were the only -important person present. Anyway, you miss a lot. While she was -absorbing that silly sign, I was studying a whole car full of -interesting human beings. - -The accompanying illustration is hereby reproduced for the first -time. It looks like a spider on the end of a string, but it isn't -at all; it's a picture of me learning to swim in the tank in the -gymnasium. - - [Illustration] - -The instructor hooks a rope into a ring in the back of my belt, and -runs it through a pulley in the ceiling. It would be a beautiful -system if one had perfect confidence in the probity of one's -instructor. I'm always afraid, though, that she will let the rope -get slack, so I keep one anxious eye on her and swim with the other, -and with this divided interest I do not make the progress that I -otherwise might. - -Very miscellaneous weather we're having of late. It was raining -when I commenced and now the sun is shining. Sallie and I are going -out to play tennis--thereby gaining exemption from Gym. - - - A week later. - -I should have finished this letter long ago, but I didn't. You -don't mind, do you, Daddy, if I'm not very regular? I really do -love to write to you; it gives me such a respectable feeling of -having some family. Would you like me to tell you something? You are -not the only man to whom I write letters. There are two others! -I have been receiving beautiful long letters this winter from Master -Jervie (with typewritten envelopes so Julia won't recognize the -writing). Did you ever hear anything so shocking? And every week or -so a very scrawly epistle, usually on yellow tablet paper, arrives -from Princeton. All of which I answer with businesslike promptness. -So you see--I am not so different from other girls--I get mail, too. - -Did I tell you that I have been elected a member of the Senior -Dramatic Club? Very _recherche_ organization. Only seventy-five -members out of one thousand. Do you think as a consistent Socialist -that I ought to belong? - -What do you suppose is at present engaging my attention in -sociology? I am writing (_figurez vous!_) a paper on the Care of -Dependent Children. The Professor shuffled up his subjects and dealt -them out promiscuously, and that fell to me. _C'est drole ca n'est -pas?_ - -There goes the gong for dinner. I'll mail this as I pass the chute. - - Affectionately, - - J. - - - June 4th. - - _Dear Daddy_, - -Very busy time--commencement in ten days, examinations to-morrow; -lots of studying, lots of packing, and the outdoors world so lovely -that it hurts you to stay inside. - -But never mind, vacation's coming. Julia is going abroad this -summer--it makes the fourth time. No doubt about it, Daddy, goods -are not distributed evenly. Sallie, as usual, goes to the -Adirondacks. And what do you think I am going to do? You may have -three guesses. Lock Willow? Wrong. The Adirondacks with Sallie? -Wrong. (I'll never attempt that again; I was discouraged last -year.) Can't you guess anything else? You're not very inventive. -I'll tell you, Daddy, if you'll promise not to make a lot of -objections. I warn your secretary ahead of time that my mind is made -up. - -I am going to spend the summer at the seaside with a Mrs. Charles -Paterson and tutor her daughter who is to enter college in the -autumn. I met her through the McBrides, and she is a very charming -woman. I am to give lessons in English and Latin to the younger -daughter, too, but I shall have a little time to myself, and I shall -be earning fifty dollars a month! Doesn't that impress you as a -perfectly exorbitant amount? She offered it; I should have blushed -to ask more than twenty-five. - -I finish at Magnolia (that's where she lives) the first of -September and shall probably spend the remaining three weeks at Lock -Willow--I should like to see the Semples again and all the friendly -animals. - -How does my program strike you, Daddy? I am getting quite -independent, you see. You have put me on my feet and I think I can -almost walk alone by now. - -Princeton commencement and our examinations exactly coincide--which -is an awful blow. Sallie and I did so want to get away in time for -it, but of course that is utterly impossible. - -Good-by, Daddy. Have a nice summer and come back in the autumn -rested and ready for another year of work. (That's what you ought -to be writing to me!) I haven't an idea what you do in the summer, -or how you amuse yourself. I can't visualize your surroundings. Do -you play golf or hunt or ride horseback or just sit in the sun and -meditate? - -Anyway, whatever it is, have a good time and don't forget Judy. - - - June Tenth. - - _Dear Daddy_, - -This is the hardest letter I ever wrote, but I have decided what I -must do, and there isn't going to be any turning back. It is very -sweet and generous and dear of you to wish to send me to Europe this -summer--for the moment I was intoxicated by the idea; but sober -second thoughts said no. It would be rather illogical of me to -refuse to take your money for college, and then use it instead just -for amusement! You mustn't get me used to too many luxuries. One -doesn't miss what one has never had; but it is awfully hard going -without things after one has commenced thinking they are his--hers -(English language needs another pronoun) by natural right. Living -with Sallie and Julia is an awful strain on my stoical philosophy. -They have both had things from the time they were babies; they -accept happiness as a matter of course. The World, they think, owes -them everything they want. Maybe the World does--in any case, it -seems to acknowledge the debt and pay up. But as for me, it owes me -nothing, and distinctly told me so in the beginning. I have no right -to borrow on credit, for there will come a time when the World will -repudiate my claim. - -I seem to be floundering in a sea of metaphor--but I hope you grasp -my meaning? Anyway, I have a very strong feeling that the only -honest thing for me to do is to teach this summer and begin to -support myself. - - - * * * * * - - MAGNOLIA, - - Four days later. - -I'd got just that much written, when--what do you think happened? -The maid arrived with Master Jervie's card. He is going abroad too -this summer; not with Julia and her family but entirely by himself. -I told him that you had invited me to go with a lady who is -chaperoning a party of girls. He knows about you, Daddy. That is, he -knows that my father and mother are dead, and that a kind gentleman -is sending me to college; I simply didn't have the courage to tell -him about the John Grier Home and all the rest. He thinks that you -are my guardian and a perfectly legitimate old family friend. I have -never told him that I didn't know you--that would seem too queer! - -Anyway, he insisted on my going to Europe. He said that it was a -necessary part of my education and that I mustn't think of -refusing. Also, that he would be in Paris at the same time, and that -we would run away from the chaperon occasionally and have dinner -together at nice, funny, foreign restaurants. - -Well, Daddy, it did appeal to me! I almost weakened; if he hadn't -been so dictatorial, maybe I should have entirely weakened. I can be -enticed step by step, but I _won't_ be forced. He said I was a -silly, foolish, irrational, quixotic, idiotic, stubborn child (those -are a few of his abusive adjectives; the rest escape me) and that I -didn't know what was good for me; I ought to let older people -judge. We almost quarreled--I am not sure but that we entirely did! - -In any case, I packed my trunk fast and came up here. I thought I'd -better see my bridges in flames behind me before I finished writing -to you. They are entirely reduced to ashes now. Here I am at Cliff -Top (the name of Mrs. Paterson's cottage) with my trunk unpacked and -Florence (the little one) already struggling with first declension -nouns. And it bids fair to be a struggle! She is a most uncommonly -spoiled child; I shall have to teach her first how to study--she has -never in her life concentrated on anything more difficult than -ice-cream soda water. - -We use a quiet corner of the cliffs for a schoolroom--Mrs. Paterson -wishes me to keep them out of doors--and I will say that _I_ find it -difficult to concentrate with the blue sea before me and ships -a-sailing by! And when I think I might be on one, sailing off to -foreign lands--but I _won't_ let myself think of anything but Latin -Grammar. - - The prepositions a or ab, absque, coram, cum, de, e or ex, prae, - pro, sine, tenus, in, subter, sub and super govern the ablative. - -So you see, Daddy, I am already plunged into work with my eyes -persistently set against temptation. Don't be cross with me, please, -and don't think that I do not appreciate your kindness, for I -do--always--always. The only way I can ever repay you is by turning -out a Very Useful Citizen (Are women citizens? I don't suppose they -are). Anyway, a Very Useful Person. And when you look at me you can -say, "I gave that Very Useful Person to the world." - -That sounds well, doesn't it, Daddy? But I don't wish to mislead -you. The feeling often comes over me that I am not at all -remarkable; it is fun to plan a career, but in all probability, -I shan't turn out a bit different from any other ordinary person. -I may end by marrying an undertaker and being an inspiration to him -in his work. - - Yours ever, - - JUDY. - - - August 19th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -My window looks out on the loveliest landscape--ocean-scape -rather--nothing but water and rocks. - -The summer goes. I spend the morning with Latin and English and -algebra and my two stupid girls. I don't know how Marion is ever -going to get into college, or stay in after she gets there. And as -for Florence, she is hopeless--but oh! such a little beauty. I don't -suppose it matters in the least whether they are stupid or not so -long as they are pretty? One can't help thinking though, how their -conversation will bore their husbands, unless they are fortunate -enough to obtain stupid husbands. I suppose that's quite possible; -the world seems to be filled with stupid men; I've met a number -this summer. - -In the afternoon we take a walk on the cliffs, or swim, if the tide -is right. I can swim in salt water with the utmost ease--you see my -education is already being put to use! - -A letter comes from Mr. Jervis Pendleton in Paris, rather a short, -concise letter; I'm not quite forgiven yet for refusing to follow -his advice. However, if he gets back in time, he will see me for a -few days at Lock Willow before college opens, and if I am very nice -and sweet and docile, I shall (I am led to infer) be received into -favor again. - -Also a letter from Sallie. She wants me to come to their camp for -two weeks in September. Must I ask your permission, or haven't I -yet arrived at the place where I can do as I please? Yes, I am sure -I have--I'm a Senior, you know. Having worked all summer, I feel -like taking a little healthful recreation; I want to see the -Adirondacks; I want to see Sallie; I want to see Sallie's -brother--he's going to teach me to canoe--and (we come to my chief -motive, which is mean) I want Master Jervie to arrive at Lock Willow -and find me not there. - -I _must_ show him that he can't dictate to me. No one can dictate to -me but you, Daddy--and you can't always! I'm off for the woods. - - JUDY. - - - CAMP MCBRIDE, - - September 6th. - - _Dear Daddy_, - -Your letter didn't come in time (I am pleased to say). If you wish -your instructions to be obeyed, you must have your secretary -transmit them in less than two weeks. As you observe, I am here, -and have been for five days. - -The woods are fine, and so is the camp, and so is the weather, and -so are the McBrides, and so is the whole world. I'm very happy! - -There's Jimmie calling for me to come canoeing. Good-by--sorry to -have disobeyed, but why are you so persistent about not wanting me -to play a little? When I've worked all summer I deserve two weeks. -You are awfully dog-in-the-mangerish. - -However--I love you still, Daddy, in spite of all your faults. - - JUDY. - - - October 3rd. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Back at college and a Senior--also editor of the _Monthly_. It -doesn't seem possible, does it, that so sophisticated a person, -just four years ago, was an inmate of the John Grier Home? We do -arrive fast in America! - -What do you think of this? A note from Master Jervie directed to -Lock Willow and forwarded here. He's sorry but he finds that he -can't get up there this autumn; he has accepted an invitation to go -yachting with some friends. Hopes I've had a nice summer and am -enjoying the country. - -And he knew all the time that I was with the McBrides, for Julia -told him so! You men ought to leave intrigue to women; you haven't -a light enough touch. - -Julia has a trunkful of the most ravishing new clothes--an evening -gown of rainbow Liberty crepe that would be fitting raiment for the -angels in Paradise. And I thought that my own clothes this year were -unprecedentedly (is there such a word?) beautiful. I copied Mrs. -Paterson's wardrobe with the aid of a cheap dressmaker, and though -the gowns didn't turn out quite twins of the originals, I was -entirely happy until Julia unpacked. But now--I live to see Paris! - -Dear Daddy, aren't you glad you're not a girl? I suppose you think -that the fuss we make over clothes is too absolutely silly? It is. -No doubt about it. But it's entirely your fault. - -Did you ever hear about the learned Herr Professor who regarded -unnecessary adornment with contempt, and favored sensible, -utilitarian clothes for women? His wife, who was an obliging -creature, adopted "dress reform." And what do you think he did? -He eloped with a chorus girl. - - Yours ever, - - JUDY. - -P. S. The chamber-maid on our corridor wears blue checked gingham -aprons. I am going to get her some brown ones instead, and sink the -blue ones in the bottom of the lake. I have a reminiscent chill -every time I look at them. - - - November 17th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Such a blight has fallen over my literary career. I don't know -whether to tell you or not, but I would like some sympathy--silent -sympathy, please; don't reopen the wound by referring to it in your -next letter. - -I've been writing a book, all last winter in the evenings, and all -summer when I wasn't teaching Latin to my two stupid children. -I just finished it before college opened and sent it to a publisher. -He kept it two months, and I was certain he was going to take it; -but yesterday morning an express parcel came (thirty cents due) and -there it was back again with a letter from the publisher, a very -nice, fatherly letter--but frank! He said he saw from the address -that I was still in college, and if I would accept some advice, he -would suggest that I put all of my energy into my lessons and wait -until I graduated before beginning to write. He enclosed his -reader's opinion. Here it is: - -"Plot highly improbable. Characterization exaggerated. Conversation -unnatural. A good deal of humor but not always in the best of taste. -Tell her to keep on trying, and in time she may produce a real -book." - -Not on the whole flattering, is it, Daddy? And I thought I was -making a notable addition to American literature, I did truly. I was -planning to surprise you by writing a great novel before I -graduated. I collected the material for it while I was at Julia's -last Christmas. But I dare say the editor is right. Probably two -weeks was not enough in which to observe the manners and customs of -a great city. - -I took it walking with me yesterday afternoon, and when I came to -the gas house, I went in and asked the engineer if I might borrow -his furnace. He politely opened the door, and with my own hands I -chucked it in. I felt as though I had cremated my only child! - -I went to bed last night utterly dejected; I thought I was never -going to amount to anything, and that you had thrown away your money -for nothing. But what do you think? I woke up this morning with a -beautiful new plot in my head, and I've been going about all day -planning my characters, just as happy as I could be. No one can ever -accuse me of being a pessimist! If I had a husband and twelve -children swallowed by an earthquake one day, I'd bob up smilingly -the next morning and commence to look for another set. - - Affectionately, - - JUDY. - - - December 14th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I dreamed the funniest dream last night. I thought I went into a -book store and the clerk brought me a new book named "The Life and -Letters of Judy Abbott." I could see it perfectly plainly--red cloth -binding with a picture of the John Grier Home on the cover, and my -portrait for a frontispiece with, "Very truly yours, Judy Abbott," -written below. But just as I was turning to the end to read the -inscription on my tombstone, I woke up. It was very annoying! -I almost found out who I'm going to marry and when I'm going to -die. - -Don't you think it would be interesting if you really could read the -story of your life--written perfectly truthfully by an omniscient -author? And suppose you could only read it on this condition: that -you would never forget it, but would have to go through life knowing -ahead of time exactly how everything you did would turn out, and -foreseeing to the exact hour the time when you would die. How many -people do you suppose would have the courage to read it then? Or how -many could suppress their curiosity sufficiently to escape from -reading it, even at the price of having to live without hope and -without surprises? - -Life is monotonous enough at best; you have to eat and sleep about -so often. But imagine how _deadly_ monotonous it would be if nothing -unexpected could happen between meals. Mercy! Daddy, there's a -blot, but I'm on the third page and I can't begin a new sheet. - -I'm going on with biology again this year--very interesting -subject; we're studying the alimentary system at present. You -should see how sweet a cross-section of the duodenum of a cat is -under the microscope. - -Also we've arrived at philosophy--interesting but evanescent. -I prefer biology where you can pin the subject under discussion to a -board. There's another! And another! This pen is weeping copiously. -Please excuse its tears. - -Do you believe in free will? I do--unreservedly. I don't agree at -all with the philosophers who think that every action is the -absolutely inevitable and automatic resultant of an aggregation -of remote causes. That's the most immoral doctrine I ever -heard--nobody would be to blame for anything. If a man believed in -fatalism, he would naturally just sit down and say, "The Lord's will -be done," and continue to sit until he fell over dead. - -I believe absolutely in my own free will and my own power to -accomplish--and that is the belief that moves mountains. You watch -me become a great author! I have four chapters of my new book -finished and five more drafted. - -This is a very abstruse letter--does your head ache, Daddy? I think -we'll stop now and make some fudge. I'm sorry I can't send you a -piece; it will be unusually good, for we're going to make it with -real cream and three butter balls. - - Yours affectionately, - - JUDY. - -P. S. We're having fancy dancing in gymnasium class. You can see by -the accompanying picture how much we look like a real ballet. The -one on the end accomplishing a graceful pirouette is me--I mean I. - - [Illustration] - - - December 26th. - - _My dear, dear Daddy_, - -Haven't you any sense? Don't you _know_ that you mustn't give one -girl seventeen Christmas presents? I'm a Socialist, please -remember; do you wish to turn me into a Plutocrat? - -Think how embarrassing it would be if we should ever quarrel! -I should have to engage a moving van to return your gifts. - - [Illustration] - -I am sorry that the necktie I sent was so wobbly; I knit it with my -own hands (as you doubtless discovered from internal evidence). You -will have to wear it on cold days and keep your coat buttoned up -tight. - -Thank you, Daddy, a thousand times. I think you're the sweetest man -that ever lived--and the foolishest! - - JUDY. - -Here's a four-leaf clover from Camp McBride to bring you good luck -for the New Year. - - - January 9th. - -Do you wish to do something, Daddy, that will insure your eternal -salvation? There is a family here who are in awfully desperate -straits. A mother and father and four visible children--the two -older boys have disappeared into the world to make their fortune and -have not sent any of it back. The father worked in a glass factory -and got consumption--it's awfully unhealthy work--and now has been -sent away to a hospital. That took all of their savings, and the -support of the family falls upon the oldest daughter who is -twenty-four. She dressmakes for $1.50 a day (when she can get it) -and embroiders centerpieces in the evening. The mother isn't very -strong and is extremely ineffectual and pious. She sits with her -hands folded, a picture of patient resignation, while the daughter -kills herself with overwork and responsibility and worry; she -doesn't see how they are going to get through the rest of the -winter--and I don't either. One hundred dollars would buy some coal -and some shoes for the three children so that they could go to -school, and give a little margin so that she needn't worry herself -to death when a few days pass and she doesn't get work. - -You are the richest man I know. Don't you suppose you could spare -one hundred dollars? That girl deserves help a lot more than I ever -did. I wouldn't ask it except for the girl; I don't care much what -happens to the mother--she is such a jelly-fish. - -The way people are forever rolling their eyes to heaven and saying, -"Perhaps it's all for the best," when they are perfectly dead sure -it's not, makes me enraged. Humility or resignation or whatever you -choose to call it, is simply impotent inertia. I'm for a more -militant religion! - -We are getting the most dreadful lessons in philosophy--all of -Schopenhauer for to-morrow. The professor doesn't seem to realize -that we are taking any other subject. He's a queer old duck; he -goes about with his head in the clouds and blinks dazedly when -occasionally he strikes solid earth. He tries to lighten his -lectures with an occasional witticism--and we do our best to smile, -but I assure you his jokes are no laughing matter. He spends his -entire time between classes in trying to figure out whether matter -really exists or whether he only thinks it exists. - -I'm sure my sewing girl hasn't any doubt but that it exists! - -Where do you think my new novel is? In the waste basket. I can see -myself that it's no good on earth, and when a loving author -realizes that, what _would_ be the judgment of a critical public? - - - Later. - -I address you, Daddy, from a bed of pain. For two days I've been -laid up with swollen tonsils; I can just swallow hot milk, and that -is all. "What were your parents thinking of not to have those -tonsils out when you were a baby?" the doctor wished to know. I'm -sure I haven't an idea, but I doubt if they were thinking much -about me. - - Yours, - - J. A. - - - Next morning. - -I just read this over before sealing it. I don't know _why_ I cast -such a misty atmosphere over life. I hasten to assure you that I am -young and happy and exuberant; and I trust you are the same. Youth -has nothing to do with birthdays, only with _alivedness_ of spirit, -so even if your hair is gray, Daddy, you can still be a boy. - - Affectionately, - - JUDY. - - - Jan. 12th. - - _Dear Mr. Philanthropist_, - -Your check for my family came yesterday. Thank you so much! I cut -gymnasium and took it down to them right after luncheon, and you -should have seen the girl's face! She was so surprised and happy and -relieved that she looked almost young; and she's only twenty-four. -Isn't it pitiful? - -Anyway, she feels now as though all the good things were coming -together. She has steady work ahead for two months--some one's -getting married, and there's a trousseau to make. - -"Thank the good Lord!" cried the mother, when she grasped the fact -that that small piece of paper was one hundred dollars. - -"It wasn't the good Lord at all," said I, "it was Daddy-Long-Legs." -(Mr. Smith, I called you.) - -"But it was the good Lord who put it in his mind," said she. - -"Not at all! I put it in his mind myself," said I. - -But anyway, Daddy, I trust the good Lord will reward you suitably. -You deserve ten thousand years out of purgatory. - - Yours most gratefully, - - JUDY ABBOTT. - - - Feb. 15th. - - _May it please Your Most Excellent Majesty:_ - -This morning I did eat my breakfast upon a cold turkey pie and a -goose, and I did send for a cup of tee (a china drink) of which I -had never drank before. - -Don't be nervous, Daddy--I haven't lost my mind; I'm merely -quoting Sam'l Pepys. We're reading him in connection with English -History, original sources. Sallie and Julia and I converse now in -the language of 1660. Listen to this: - -"I went to Charing Cross to see Major Harrison hanged, drawn and -quartered: he looking as cheerful as any man could do in that -condition." And this: "Dined with my lady who is in handsome -mourning for her brother who died yesterday of spotted fever." - -Seems a little early to commence entertaining, doesn't it? A friend -of Pepys devised a very cunning manner whereby the king might pay -his debts out of the sale to poor people of old decayed provisions. -What do you, a reformer, think of that? I don't believe we're so -bad to-day as the newspapers make out. - -Samuel was as excited about his clothes as any girl; he spent five -times as much on dress as his wife--that appears to have been the -Golden Age of husbands. Isn't this a touching entry? You see he -really was honest. "To-day came home my fine Camlett cloak with gold -buttons, which cost me much money, and I pray God to make me able to -pay for it." - -Excuse me for being so full of Pepys; I'm writing a special topic -on him. - -What do you think, Daddy? The Self-Government Association has -abolished the ten-o'clock rule. We can keep our lights all night if -we choose, the only requirement being that we do not disturb -others--we are not supposed to entertain on a large scale. The -result is a beautiful commentary on human nature. Now that we may -stay up as long as we choose, we no longer choose. Our heads begin -to nod at nine o'clock, and by nine-thirty the pen drops from our -nerveless grasp. It's nine-thirty now. Good night. - - - Sunday. - -Just back from church--preacher from Georgia. We must take care, he -says, not to develop our intellects at the expense of our emotional -natures--but methought it was a poor, dry sermon (Pepys again). It -doesn't matter what part of the United States or Canada they come -from, or what denomination they are, we always get the same sermon. -Why on earth don't they go to men's colleges and urge the students -not to allow their manly natures to be crushed out by too much -mental application? - -It's a beautiful day--frozen and icy and clear. As soon as dinner -is over, Sallie and Julia and Marty Keene and Eleanor Pratt (friends -of mine, but you don't know them) and I are going to put on short -skirts and walk 'cross country to Crystal Spring Farm and have a -fried chicken and waffle supper, and then have Mr. Crystal Spring -drive us home in his buckboard. We are supposed to be inside the -campus at seven, but we are going to stretch a point to-night and -make it eight. - - Farewell, kind Sir. - - I have the honour of subscribing myself, - - Your most loyall, dutifull, faithfull and obedient servant, - - J. ABBOTT. - - - March Fifth. - - _Dear Mr. Trustee_, - -To-morrow is the first Wednesday in the month--a weary day for the -John Grier Home. How relieved they'll be when five o'clock comes -and you pat them on the head and take yourselves off! Did you -(individually) ever pat me on the head, Daddy? I don't believe -so--my memory seems to be concerned only with fat Trustees. - -Give the Home my love, please--my _truly_ love. I have quite a -feeling of tenderness for it as I look back through a haze of four -years. When I first came to college I felt quite resentful because -I'd been robbed of the normal kind of childhood that the other -girls had had; but now, I don't feel that way in the least. I regard -it as a very unusual adventure. It gives me a sort of vantage point -from which to stand aside and look at life. Emerging full grown, -I get a perspective on the world, that other people who have been -brought up in the thick of things, entirely lack. - -I know lots of girls (Julia, for instance) who never know that they -are happy. They are so accustomed to the feeling that their senses -are deadened to it, but as for me--I am perfectly sure every moment -of my life that I am happy. And I'm going to keep on being, no -matter what unpleasant things turn up. I'm going to regard them -(even toothaches) as interesting experiences, and be glad to know -what they feel like. "Whatever sky's above me, I've a heart for -any fate." - -However, Daddy, don't take this new affection for the J. G. H. too -literally. If I have five children, like Rousseau, I shan't leave -them on the steps of a foundling asylum in order to insure their -being brought up simply. - -Give my kindest regards to Mrs. Lippett (that, I think, is truthful; -love would be a little strong) and don't forget to tell her what a -beautiful nature I've developed. - - Affectionately, - - JUDY. - - - LOCK WILLOW, - - April 4th. - - _Dear Daddy_, - -Do you observe the postmark? Sallie and I are embellishing Lock -Willow with our presence during the Easter vacation. We decided that -the best thing we could do with our ten days was to come where it is -quiet. Our nerves had got to the point where they wouldn't stand -another meal in Fergussen. Dining in a room with four hundred girls -is an ordeal when you are tired. There is so much noise that you -can't hear the girls across the table speak unless they make their -hands into a megaphone and shout. That is the truth. - -We are tramping over the hills and reading and writing, and having a -nice, restful time. We climbed to the top of "Sky Hill" this morning -where Master Jervie and I once cooked supper--it doesn't seem -possible that it was nearly two years ago. I could still see the -place where the smoke of our fire blackened the rock. It is funny -how certain places get connected with certain people, and you never -go back without thinking of them. I was quite lonely without -him--for two minutes. - -What do you think is my latest activity, Daddy? You will begin to -believe that I am incorrigible--I am writing a book. I started it -three weeks ago and am eating it up in chunks. I've caught the -secret. Master Jervie and that editor man were right; you are most -convincing when you write about the things you know. And this time -it is about something that I do know--exhaustively. Guess where -it's laid? In the John Grier Home! And it's good, Daddy, -I actually believe it is--just about the tiny little things that -happened every day. I'm a realist now. I've abandoned romanticism; -I shall go back to it later though, when my own adventurous future -begins. - -This new book is going to get itself finished--and published! You -see if it doesn't. If you just want a thing hard enough and keep on -trying, you do get it in the end. I've been trying for four years -to get a letter from you--and I haven't given up hope yet. - -Good-by, Daddy dear, - -(I like to call you Daddy dear; it's so alliterative.) - - Affectionately, - - JUDY. - -P. S. I forgot to tell you the farm news, but it's very -distressing. Skip this postscript if you don't want your -sensibilities all wrought up. - -Poor old Grove is dead. He got so he couldn't chew and they had to -shoot him. - -Nine chickens were killed by a weasel or a skunk or a rat last week. - -One of the cows is sick, and we had to have the veterinary surgeon -out from Bonnyrigg Four Corners. Amasai stayed up all night to give -her linseed oil and whisky. But we have an awful suspicion that the -poor sick cow got nothing but linseed oil. - -Sentimental Tommy (the tortoise-shell cat) has disappeared; we are -afraid he has been caught in a trap. - -There are lots of troubles in the world! - - - May 17th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -This is going to be extremely short because my shoulder aches at the -sight of a pen. Lecture notes all day, immortal novel all evening -makes too much writing. - -Commencement three weeks from next Wednesday. I think you might come -and make my acquaintance--I shall hate you if you don't! Julia's -inviting Master Jervie, he being her family, and Sallie's inviting -Jimmie McB., he being her family, but who is there for me to invite? -Just you and Mrs. Lippett, and I don't want her. Please come. - - Yours, with love and writer's cramp. - - JUDY. - - - LOCK WILLOW. - - June 19th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -I'm educated! My diploma is in the bottom bureau drawer with my two -best dresses. Commencement was as usual, with a few showers at vital -moments. Thank you for your rosebuds. They were lovely. Master -Jervie and Master Jimmie both gave me roses, too, but I left theirs -in the bath tub and carried yours in the class procession. - -Here I am at Lock Willow for the summer--forever maybe. The board is -cheap; the surroundings quiet and conducive to a literary life. What -more does a struggling author wish? I am mad about my book. I think -of it every waking moment, and dream of it at night. All I want is -peace and quiet and lots of time to work (interspersed with -nourishing meals). - -Master Jervie is coming up for a week or so in August, and Jimmie -McBride is going to drop in sometime through the summer. He's -connected with a bond house now, and goes about the country selling -bonds to banks. He's going to combine the "Farmers' National" at -the Corners and me on the same trip. - -You see that Lock Willow isn't entirely lacking in society. I'd be -expecting to have you come motoring through--only I know now that -that is hopeless. When you wouldn't come to my commencement, I tore -you from my heart and buried you forever. - - JUDY ABBOTT, A.B. - - - July 24th. - - _Dearest Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Isn't it fun to work--or don't you ever do it? It's especially fun -when your kind of work is the thing you'd rather do more than -anything else in the world. I've been writing as fast as my pen -would go every day this summer, and my only quarrel with life is -that the days aren't long enough to write all the beautiful and -valuable and entertaining thoughts I'm thinking. - -I've finished the second draft of my book and am going to begin the -third to-morrow morning at half-past seven. It's the sweetest book -you ever saw--it is, truly. I think of nothing else. I can barely -wait in the morning to dress and eat before beginning; then I write -and write and write till suddenly I'm so tired that I'm limp all -over. Then I go out with Colin (the new sheep dog) and romp through -the fields and get a fresh supply of ideas for the next day. It's -the most beautiful book you ever saw--Oh, pardon--I said that -before. - -You don't think me conceited, do you, Daddy dear? - -I'm not, really, only just now I'm in the enthusiastic stage. -Maybe later on I'll get cold and critical and sniffy. No, I'm sure -I won't! This time I've written a real book. Just wait till you see -it. - -I'll try for a minute to talk about something else. I never told -you, did I, that Amasai and Carry got married last May? They are -still working here, but so far as I can see it has spoiled them -both. She used just to laugh when he tramped in mud or dropped ashes -on the floor, but now--you should hear her scold! And she doesn't -curl her hair any longer. Amasai, who used to be so obliging about -beating rugs and carrying wood, grumbles if you suggest such a -thing. Also his neckties are quite dingy--black and brown, where -they used to be scarlet and purple. I've determined never to marry. -It's a deteriorating process, evidently. - -There isn't much of any farm news. The animals are all in the best -of health. The pigs are unusually fat, the cows seem contented and -the hens are laying well. Are you interested in poultry? If so, let -me recommend that invaluable little work, "200 Eggs per Hen per -Year." I am thinking of starting an incubator next spring and -raising broilers. You see I'm settled at Lock Willow permanently. -I have decided to stay until I've written 114 novels like Anthony -Trollope's mother. Then I shall have completed my life work and can -retire and travel. - -Mr. James McBride spent last Sunday with us. Fried chicken and -ice-cream for dinner, both of which he appeared to appreciate. I was -awfully glad to see him; he brought a momentary reminder that the -world at large exists. Poor Jimmie is having a hard time peddling -his bonds. The Farmers' National at the Corners wouldn't have -anything to do with them in spite of the fact that they pay six per -cent. interest and sometimes seven. I think he'll end by going home -to Worcester and taking a job in his father's factory. He's too -open and confiding and kind-hearted ever to make a successful -financier. But to be the manager of a flourishing overall factory is -a very desirable position, don't you think? Just now he turns up his -nose at overalls, but he'll come to them. - -I hope you appreciate the fact that this is a long letter from a -person with writer's cramp. But I still love you, Daddy dear, and -I'm very happy. With beautiful scenery all about, and lots to eat -and a comfortable four-post bed and a ream of blank paper and a pint -of ink--what more does one want in the world? - - Yours, as always, - - JUDY. - -P. S. The postman arrives with some more news. We are to expect -Master Jervie on Friday next to spend a week. That's a very -pleasant prospect--only I am afraid my poor book will suffer. Master -Jervie is very demanding. - - - August 27th. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Where are you, I wonder? - -I never know what part of the world you are in, but I hope you're -not in New York during this awful weather. I hope you're on a -mountain peak (but not in Switzerland; somewhere nearer) looking at -the snow and thinking about me. Please be thinking about me. I'm -quite lonely and I want to be thought about. Oh, Daddy, I wish I -knew you! Then when we were unhappy we could cheer each other up. - -I don't think I can stand much more of Lock Willow. I'm thinking of -moving. Sallie is going to do settlement work in Boston next winter. -Don't you think it would be nice for me to go with her, then we -could have a studio together? I could write while she _settled_ and -we could be together in the evenings. Evenings are very long when -there's no one but the Semples and Carrie and Amasai to talk to. -I know ahead of time that you won't like my studio idea. I can read -your secretary's letter now: - -"_Miss Jerusha Abbott._ - -"DEAR MADAM, - -"Mr. Smith prefers that you remain at Lock Willow. - - "Yours truly, - - "ELMER H. GRIGGS". - -I hate your secretary. I am certain that a man named Elmer H. Griggs -must be horrid. But truly, Daddy, I think I shall have to go to -Boston. I can't stay here. If something doesn't happen soon, -I shall throw myself into the silo pit out of sheer desperation. - -Mercy! but it's hot. All the grass is burnt up and the brooks are -dry and the roads are dusty. It hasn't rained for weeks and weeks. - -This letter sounds as though I had hydrophobia, but I haven't. -I just want some family. - -Good-by, my dearest Daddy. - - I wish I knew you. - - JUDY. - - - LOCK WILLOW, - - September 19th. - - _Dear Daddy_, - -Something has happened and I need advice. I need it from you, and -from nobody else in the world. Wouldn't it be possible for me to -see you? It's so much easier to talk than to write; and I'm afraid -your secretary might open the letter. - - JUDY. - -P. S. I'm very unhappy. - - - LOCK WILLOW, - - October 3d. - - _Dear Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Your note written in your own hand--and a pretty wobbly hand!--came -this morning. I am so sorry that you have been ill; I wouldn't have -bothered you with my affairs if I had known. Yes, I will tell you -the trouble, but it's sort of complicated to write, and _very -private_. Please don't keep this letter, but burn it. - -Before I begin--here's a check for one thousand dollars. It seems -funny, doesn't it, for me to be sending a check to you? Where do -you think I got it? - -I've sold my story, Daddy. It's going to be published serially in -seven parts, and then in a book! You might think I'd be wild with -joy, but I'm not. I'm entirely apathetic. Of course I'm glad to -begin paying you--I owe you over two thousand more. It's coming in -instalments. Now don't be horrid, please, about taking it, because -it makes me happy to return it. I owe you a great deal more than the -mere money, and the rest I will continue to pay all my life in -gratitude and affection. - -And now, Daddy, about the other thing; please give me your most -worldly advice, whether you think I'll like it or not. - -You know that I've always had a very special feeling toward you; -you sort of represented my whole family; but you won't mind, will -you, if I tell you that I have a very much more special feeling for -another man? You can probably guess without much trouble who he is. -I suspect that my letters have been very full of Master Jervie for a -very long time. - -I wish I could make you understand what he is like and how entirely -companionable we are. We think the same about everything--I am -afraid I have a tendency to make over my ideas to match his! But he -is almost always right; he ought to be, you know, for he has -fourteen years' start of me. In other ways, though, he's just an -overgrown boy, and he does need looking after--he hasn't any sense -about wearing rubbers when it rains. He and I always think the same -things are funny, and that is such a lot; it's dreadful when two -people's senses of humor are antagonistic. I don't believe there's -any bridging that gulf! - -And he is--Oh, well! He is just himself, and I miss him, and miss -him, and miss him. The whole world seems empty and aching. I hate -the moonlight because it's beautiful and he isn't here to see it -with me. But maybe you've loved somebody, too, and you know? If you -have, I don't need to explain; if you haven't, I can't explain. - -Anyway, that's the way I feel--and I've refused to marry him. - -I didn't tell him why; I was just dumb and miserable. I couldn't -think of anything to say. And now he has gone away imagining that I -want to marry Jimmie McBride--I don't in the least, I wouldn't -think of marrying Jimmie; he isn't grown up enough. But Master -Jervie and I got into a dreadful muddle of misunderstanding, and we -both hurt each other's feelings. The reason I sent him away was not -because I didn't care for him, but because I cared for him so much. -I was afraid he would regret it in the future--and I couldn't stand -that! It didn't seem right for a person of my lack of antecedents -to marry into any such family as his. I never told him about the -orphan asylum, and I hated to explain that I didn't know who I was. -I may be _dreadful_, you know. And his family are proud--and I'm -proud, too! - -Also, I felt sort of bound to you. After having been educated to be -a writer, I must at least try to be one; it would scarcely be fair -to accept your education and then go off and not use it. But now -that I am going to be able to pay back the money, I feel that I have -partially discharged that debt--besides, I suppose I could keep on -being a writer even if I did marry. The two professions are not -necessarily exclusive. - -I've been thinking very hard about it. Of course he is a Socialist, -and he has unconventional ideas; maybe he wouldn't mind marrying -into the proletariat so much as some men might. Perhaps when two -people are exactly in accord, and always happy when together and -lonely when apart, they ought not to let anything in the world stand -between them. Of course I _want_ to believe that! But I'd like to -get your unemotional opinion. You probably belong to a Family also, -and will look at it from a worldly point of view and not just a -sympathetic, human point of view--so you see how brave I am to lay -it before you. - -Suppose I go to him and explain that the trouble isn't Jimmie, but -is the John Grier Home--would that be a dreadful thing for me to do? -It would take a great deal of courage. I'd almost rather be -miserable for the rest of my life. - -This happened nearly two months ago; I haven't heard a word from -him since he was here. I was just getting sort of acclimated to the -feeling of a broken heart, when a letter came from Julia that -stirred me all up again. She said--very casually--that "Uncle -Jervis" had been caught out all night in a storm when he was hunting -in Canada, and had been ill ever since with pneumonia. And I never -knew it. I was feeling hurt because he had just disappeared into -blankness without a word. I think he's pretty unhappy, and I know I -am! - -What seems to you the right thing for me to do? - - JUDY. - - - October 6th. - - _Dearest Daddy-Long-Legs_, - -Yes, certainly I'll come--at half-past four next Wednesday -afternoon. Of _course_ I can find the way. I've been in New York -three times and am not quite a baby. I can't believe that I am -really going to see you--I've been just _thinking_ you so long that -it hardly seems as though you are a tangible flesh-and-blood person. - -You are awfully good, Daddy, to bother yourself with me, when -you're not strong. Take care and don't catch cold. These fall rains -are very damp. - - Affectionately, - - JUDY. - -P. S. I've just had an awful thought. Have you a butler? I'm -afraid of butlers, and if one opens the door I shall faint upon the -step. What can I say to him? You didn't tell me your name. Shall I -ask for Mr. Smith? - - - Thursday Morning. - - _My very dearest Master-Jervie-Daddy-Long-Legs-Pendleton-Smith_, - -Did you sleep last night? I didn't. Not a single wink. I was too -amazed and excited and bewildered and happy. I don't believe I ever -shall sleep again--or eat either. But I hope you slept; you must, -you know, because then you will get well faster and can come to me. - -Dear Man, I can't bear to think how ill you've been--and all the -time I never knew it. When the doctor came down yesterday to put me -in the cab, he told me that for three days they gave you up. Oh, -dearest, if that had happened, the light would have gone out of the -world for me. I suppose that some day--in the far future--one of us -must leave the other; but at least we shall have had our happiness -and there will be memories to live with. - -I meant to cheer you up--and instead I have to cheer myself. For in -spite of being happier than I ever dreamed I could be, I'm also -soberer. The fear that something may happen to you rests like a -shadow on my heart. Always before I could be frivolous and care-free -and unconcerned, because I had nothing precious to lose. But now--I -shall have a Great Big Worry all the rest of my life. Whenever you -are away from me I shall be thinking of all the automobiles that can -run over you, or the sign-boards that can fall on your head or the -dreadful, squirmy germs that you may be swallowing. My peace of mind -is gone forever--but anyway, I never cared much for just plain -peace. - -[Plate: THE IDENTITY OF DADDY-LONG-LEGS IS ESTABLISHED.] - -Please get well--fast--fast--fast. I want to have you close by where -I can touch you and make sure you are tangible. Such a little half -hour we had together! I'm afraid maybe I dreamed it. If I were only -a member of your family (a very distant fourth cousin) then I could -come and visit you every day, and read aloud and plump up your -pillow and smooth out those two little wrinkles in your forehead and -make the corners of your mouth turn up in a nice cheerful smile. -But you are cheerful again, aren't you? You were yesterday before I -left. The doctor said I must be a good nurse, that you looked ten -years younger. I hope that being in love doesn't make every one ten -years younger. Will you still care for me, darling, if I turn out to -be only eleven? - -Yesterday was the most wonderful day that could ever happen. If I -live to be ninety-nine I shall never forget the tiniest detail. The -girl that left Lock Willow at dawn was a very different person from -the one who came back at night. Mrs. Semple called me at half-past -four. I started wide awake in the darkness and the first thought -that popped into my head was, "I am going to see Daddy-Long-Legs!" -I ate breakfast in the kitchen by candle-light, and then drove the -five miles to the station through the most glorious October -coloring. The sun came up on the way, and the swamp maples and -dogwood glowed crimson and orange and the stone walls and cornfields -sparkled with hoar frost; the air was keen and clear and full of -promise. I _knew_ something was going to happen. All the way -in the train the rails kept singing, "You're going to see -Daddy-Long-Legs." It made me feel secure. I had such faith in -Daddy's ability to set things right. And I knew that somewhere -another man--dearer than Daddy--was wanting to see me, and somehow I -had a feeling that before the journey ended I should meet him, too. -And you see! - -When I came to the house on Madison Avenue it looked so big and -brown and forbidding that I didn't dare go in, so I walked around -the block to get up my courage. But I needn't have been a bit -afraid; your butler is such a nice, fatherly old man that he made me -feel at home at once. "Is this Miss Abbott?" he said to me, and I -said, "Yes," so I didn't have to ask for Mr. Smith after all. -He told me to wait in the drawing-room. It was a very somber, -magnificent, man's sort of room. I sat down on the edge of a big -upholstered chair and kept saying to myself: - -"I'm going to see Daddy-Long-Legs! I'm going to see Daddy-Long-Legs!" - -Then presently the man came back and asked me please to step up to -the library. I was so excited that really and truly my feet would -hardly take me up. Outside the door he turned and whispered, "He's -been very ill, Miss. This is the first day he's been allowed to sit -up. You'll not stay long enough to excite him?" I knew from the way -he said it that he loved you--and I think he's an old dear! - -Then he knocked and said, "Miss Abbott," and I went in and the door -closed behind me. - -It was so dim coming in from the brightly lighted hall that for a -moment I could scarcely make out anything; then I saw a big easy -chair before the fire and a shining tea table with a smaller chair -beside it. And I realized that a man was sitting in the big chair -propped up by pillows with a rug over his knees. Before I could stop -him he rose--sort of shakily--and steadied himself by the back of -the chair and just looked at me without a word. And then--and -then--I saw it was you! But even with that I didn't understand. -I thought Daddy had had you come there to meet me for a surprise. - -Then you laughed and held out your hand and said, "Dear little Judy, -couldn't you guess that I was Daddy-Long-Legs?" - -In an instant it flashed over me. Oh, but I have been stupid! -A hundred little things might have told me, if I had had any wits. -I wouldn't make a very good detective, would I, Daddy?--Jervie? -What must I call you? Just plain Jervie sounds disrespectful, and I -can't be disrespectful to you! - -It was a very sweet half hour before your doctor came and sent me -away. I was so dazed when I got to the station that I almost took a -train for St. Louis. And you were pretty dazed, too. You forgot to -give me any tea. But we're both very, very happy, aren't we? -I drove back to Lock Willow in the dark--but oh, how the stars were -shining! And this morning I've been out with Colin visiting all the -places that you and I went to together, and remembering what you -said and how you looked. The woods to-day are burnished bronze and -the air is full of frost. It's _climbing_ weather. I wish you were -here to climb the hills with me. I am missing you dreadfully, Jervie -dear, but it's a happy kind of missing; we'll be together soon. We -belong to each other now really and truly, no make-believe. Doesn't -it seem queer for me to belong to some one at last? It seems very, -very sweet. - -And I shall never let you be sorry for a single instant. - - Yours, forever and ever, - - JUDY. - -P. S. This is the first love letter I ever wrote. Isn't it funny -that I know how? - - -THE END - - - - -CHARMING BOOKS FOR GIRLS - -#May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Dunlap's -list# - - -^WHEN PATTY WENT TO COLLEGE,^ By Jean Webster. - -Illustrated by C. D. Williams. - -One of the best stories of life in a girl's college that has ever -been written. It is bright, whimsical and entertaining, lifelike, -laughable and thoroughly human. - - -^JUST PATTY,^ By Jean Webster. - -Illustrated by C. M. Relyea. - -Patty is full of the joy of living, fun-loving, given to ingenious -mischief for its own sake, with a disregard for pretty convention -which is an unfailing source of joy to her fellows. - - -^THE POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL,^ By Eleanor Gates. - -With four full page illustrations. - -This story relates the experience of one of those unfortunate -children whose early days are passed in the companionship of a -governess, seldom seeing either parent, and famishing for natural -love and tenderness. A charming play as dramatized by the author. - - -^REBECCA OF SUNNYBROOK FARM,^ By Kate Douglas Wiggin. - -One of the most beautiful studies of childhood--Rebecca's artistic, -unusual and quaintly charming qualities stand out midst a circle of -austere New Englanders. The stage version is making a phenominal -dramatic record. - - -^NEW CHRONICLES OF REBECCA,^ By Kate Douglas Wiggin. - -Illustrated by F. C. Yohn. - -Additional episodes in the girlhood of this delightful heroine that -carry Rebecca through various stages to her eighteenth birthday. - - -^REBECCA MARY,^ By Annie Hamilton Donnell. - -Illustrated by Elizabeth Shippen Green. - -This author possesses the rare gift of portraying all the grotesque -little joys and sorrows and scruples of this very small girl with a -pathos that is peculiarly genuine and appealing. - - -^EMMY LOU:^ Her Book and Heart, By George Madden Martin. - -Illustrated by Charles Louis Hinton. - -Emmy Lou is irresistibly lovable, because she is so absolutely real. -She is just a bewitchingly innocent, hugable little maid. The book -is wonderfully human. - - -_Ask for complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighed Fiction_ - -GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26TH ST., NEW YORK - - -STORIES OF RARE CHARM BY - -GENE STRATTON-PORTER - -#May be had wherever books are sold. 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Stetson Crawford - -Freckles is a nameless waif when the tale opens, but the way in -which he takes hold of life; the nature friendships he forms in the -great Limberlost Swamp; the manner in which everyone who meets him -succumbs to the charm of his engaging personality; and his -love-story with "The Angel" are full of real sentiment. - - -^A GIRL OF THE LIMBERLOST.^ - -Illustrated by Wladyslaw T. Brenda. - -The story of a girl of the Michigan woods; a buoyant, lovable type -of the self-reliant American. Her philosophy is one of love and -kindness towards all things; her hope is never dimmed. And by the -sheer beauty of her soul, and the purity of her vision, she wins -from barren and unpromising surroundings those rewards of high -courage. - -It is an inspiring story of a life worth while and the rich beauties -of the out-of-doors are strewn through all its pages. - - -^AT THE FOOT OF THE RAINBOW.^ - -Illustrations in colors by Oliver Kemp. Design and decorations by -Ralph Fletcher Seymour. - -The scene of this charming, idyllic love story is laid in Central -Indiana. The story is one of devoted friendship, and tender -self-sacrificing love; the friendship that gives freely without -return, and the love that seeks first the happiness of the object. -The novel is brimful of the most beautiful word painting of nature, -and its pathos and tender sentiment will endear it to all. - - -_Ask for complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction_ - -GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26TH ST., NEW YORK - - -MYRTLE REED'S NOVELS - -MAY BE HAD WHEREVER BOOKS ARE SOLD. ASK FOR GROSSET & DUNLAP'S LIST - - - [Illustration] - -^LAVENDER AND OLD LACE.^ - -A charming story of a quaint corner of New England where bygone -romance finds a modern parallel. The story centers round the coming -of love to the young people on the staff of a newspaper--and it is -one of the prettiest, sweetest and quaintest of old fashioned love -stories, * * * a rare book, exquisite in spirit and conception, full -of delicate fancy, of tenderness, of delightful humor and -spontaniety. - - -^A SPINNER IN THE SUN.^ - -Miss Myrtle Reed may always be depended upon to write a story in -which poetry, charm, tenderness and humor are combined into a clever -and entertaining book. Her characters are delightful and she always -displays a quaint humor of expression and a quiet feeling of pathos -which give a touch of active realism to all her writings. In -"A Spinner in the Sun" she tells an old-fashioned love story, of a -veiled lady who lives in solitude and whose features her neighbors -have never seen. There is a mystery at the heart of the book that -throws over it the glamour of romance. - - -^THE MASTER'S VIOLIN,^ - -A love story in a musical atmosphere. A picturesque, old German -virtuoso is the reverent possessor of a genuine "Cremona." He -consents to take for his pupil a handsome youth who proves to have -an aptitude for technique, but not the soul of an artist. The youth -has led the happy, careless life of a modern, well-to-do young -American and he cannot, with his meagre past, express the love, the -passion and the tragedies of life and all its happy phases as can -the master who has lived life in all its fulness. But a girl comes -into his life--a beautiful bit of human driftwood that his aunt had -taken into her heart and home, and through his passionate love for -her, he learns the lessons that life has to give--and his soul -awakes. - -Founded on a fact that all artists realize. - - -_Ask for a complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted -Fiction_ - -GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26TH ST., NEW YORK - - -AMELIA BARR'S STORIES - -DELIGHTFUL TALES OF OLD NEW YORK - -#May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset and Dunlap's -list.# - - -^THE BOW OF ORANGE RIBBON.^ With Frontispiece. - -This exquisite little romance opens in New York City in "the tender -grace" of a May day long past, when the old Dutch families clustered -around Bowling Green. It is the beginning of the romance of -Katherine, a young Dutch girl who has sent, as a love token, to a -young English officer, the bow of orange ribbon which she has worn -for years as a sacred emblem on the day of St. Nicholas. After the -bow of ribbon Katherine's heart soon flies. Unlike her sister, -whose heart has found a safe resting place among her own people, -Katherine's heart must rove from home--must know to the utmost all -that life holds of both joy and sorrow. And so she goes beyond the -seas, leaving her parents as desolate as were Isaac and Rebecca of -old. - - -^THE MAID OF MAIDEN LANE;^ A Love Story. With Illustrations by -S. M. Arthur. - -A sequel to "The Bow of Orange Ribbon." The time is the gracious -days of Seventeen-hundred and ninety-one, when "The Marseillaise" -was sung with the American national airs, and the spirit affected -commerce, politics and conversation. In the midst of this period the -romance of "The Sweetest Maid in Maiden Lane" unfolds. Its chief -charm lies in its historic and local color. - - -^SHEILA VEDDER.^ Frontispiece in colors by Harrison Fisher. - -A love story set in the Shetland Islands. - -Among the simple, homely folk who dwelt there Jan Vedder was raised; -and to this island came lovely Sheila Jarrow. Jan knew, when first -he beheld her, that she was the one woman in all the world for him, -and to the winning of her love he set himself. The long days of -summer by the sea, the nights under the marvelously soft radiance of -Shetland moonlight passed in love-making, while with wonderment the -man and woman, alien in traditions, adjusted themselves to each -other. And the day came when Jan and Sheila wed, and then a sweeter -love story is told. - - -^TRINITY BELLS.^ With eight Illustrations by C. M. Relyea. - -The story centers around the life of little Katryntje Van Clyffe, -who, on her return home from a fashionable boarding school, faces -poverty and heartache. Stout of heart, she does not permit herself -to become discouraged even at the news of the loss of her father and -his ship "The Golden Victory." The story of Katryntje's life was -interwoven with the music of the Trinity Bells which eventually -heralded her wedding day. - - -_Ask for complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction_ - -GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26TH ST., NEW YORK - - -THE NOVELS OF - -CLARA LOUISE BURNHAM - -#May be had wherever books are sold. 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A beautiful woman, at discord with life, is brought to -realize, by her new friends, that she may open the shutters of her -soul to the blessed sunlight of joy by casting aside vanity and self -love. A delicately humorous work with a lofty motive underlying it -all. - - -^THE RIGHT PRINCESS.^ - -An amusing story, opening at a fashionable Long Island resort, where -a stately Englishwoman employs a forcible New England housekeeper to -serve in her interesting home. How types so widely apart react on -each other's lives, all to ultimate good, makes a story both -humorous and rich in sentiment. - - -^THE LEAVEN OF LOVE.^ - -Frontispiece by Harrison Fisher. - -At a Southern California resort a world-weary woman, young and -beautiful but disillusioned, meets a girl who has learned the art of -living--of tasting life in all its richness, opulence and joy. The -story hinges upon the change wrought in the soul of the blase woman -by this glimpse into a cheery life. - - -_Ask for complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction_ - -GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26TH ST., NEW YORK - - -JOHN FOX, JR'S. - -STORIES OF THE KENTUCKY MOUNTAINS - -#May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset and Dunlap's -list.# - - - [Illustration] - -^THE TRAIL OF THE LONESOME PINE.^ - -Illustrated by F. C. Yohn. - -The "lonesome pine" from which the story takes its name was a tall -tree that stood in solitary splendor on a mountain top. The fame of -the pine lured a young engineer through Kentucky to catch the trail, -and when he finally climbed to its shelter he found not only the -pine but the _foot-prints of a girl_. And the girl proved to be -lovely, piquant, and the trail of these girlish foot-prints led the -young engineer a madder chase than "the trail of the lonesome pine." - - -^THE LITTLE SHEPHERD OF KINGDOM COME^ - -Illustrated by F. C. Yohn. - -This is a story of Kentucky, in a settlement known as "Kingdom -Come." It is a life rude, semi-barbarous; but natural and honest, -from which often springs the flower of civilization. - -"Chad." the "little shepherd" did not know who he was nor whence he -came--he had just wandered from door to door since early childhood, -seeking shelter with kindly mountaineers who gladly fathered and -mothered this waif about whom there was such a mystery--a charming -waif, by the way, who could play the banjo better that anyone else -in the mountains. - - -^A KNIGHT OF THE CUMBERLAND.^ - -Illustrated by F. C. Yohn. - -The scenes are laid along the waters of the Cumberland, the lair of -moonshiner and feudsman. The knight is a moonshiner's son, and the -heroine a beautiful girl perversely christened "The Blight." Two -impetuous young Southerners' fall under the spell of "The Blight's" -charms and she learns what a large part jealousy and pistols have in -the love making of the mountaineers. - -Included in this volume is "Hell fer-Sartain" and other stories, -some of Mr. Fox's most entertaining Cumberland valley narratives. - - -_Ask for complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction_ - -GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26TH ST., NEW YORK - - -B. M. Bower's Novels - -Thrilling Western Romances - -Large 12 mos. Handsomely bound in cloth. Illustrated - - -^CHIP, OF THE FLYING U^ - -A breezy wholesome tale, wherein the love affairs of Chip and Della -Whitman are charmingly and humorously told. Chip's jealousy of Dr. -Cecil Grantham, who turns out to be a big, blue eyed young woman is -very amusing. A clever, realistic story of the American Cow-puncher. - - -^THE HAPPY FAMILY^ - -A lively and amusing story, dealing with the adventures of eighteen -jovial, big hearted Montana cowboys. Foremost amongst them, we find -Ananias Green, known as Andy, whose imaginative powers cause many -lively and exciting adventures. - - -^HER PRAIRIE KNIGHT^ - -A realistic story of the plains, describing a gay party of -Easterners who exchange a cottage at Newport for the rough -homeliness of a Montana ranch-house. The merry-hearted cowboys, the -fascinating Beatrice, and the effusive Sir Redmond, become living, -breathing personalities. - - -^THE RANGE DWELLERS^ - -Here are everyday, genuine cowboys, just as they really exist. -Spirited action, a range feud between two families, and a Romeo and -Juliet courtship make this a bright, jolly, entertaining story, -without a dull page. - - -^THE LURE OF DIM TRAILS^ - -A vivid portrayal of the experience of an Eastern author, among the -cowboys of the West, in search of "local color" for a new novel. -"Bud" Thurston learns many a lesson while following "the lure of the -dim trails" but the hardest, and probably the most welcome, is that -of love. - - -^THE LONESOME TRAIL^ - -"Weary" Davidson leaves the ranch for Portland, where conventional -city life palls on him. A little branch of sage brush, pungent with -the atmosphere of the prairie, and the recollection of a pair of -large brown eyes soon compel his return. A wholesome love story. - - -^THE LONG SHADOW^ - -A vigorous Western story, sparkling with the free, outdoor, life of -a mountain ranch. Its scenes shift rapidly and its actors play the -game of life fearlessly and like men. It is a fine love story from -start to finish. - - -Ask for a complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction. - -GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26TH ST., NEW YORK - - -KATE DOUGLAS WIGGIN'S STORIES OF PURE DELIGHT - -Full of originality and humor, kindliness and cheer - - -^THE OLD PEABODY PEW.^ Large Octavo. Decorative text pages, printed -in two colors. Illustrations by Alice Barber Stephens. - -One of the prettiest romances that has ever come from this author's -pen is made to bloom on Christmas Eve in the sweet freshness of an -old New England meeting house. - - -^PENELOPE'S PROGRESS.^ Attractive cover design in colors. - -Scotland is the background for the merry doings of three very clever -and original American girls. Their adventures in adjusting -themselves to the Scot and his land are full of humor. - - -^PENELOPE'S IRISH EXPERIENCES.^ Uniform in style ^with "Penelope's -Progress."^ - -The trio of clever girls who rambled over Scotland cross the border -to the Emerald Isle, and again they sharpen their wits against new -conditions, and revel in the land of laughter and wit. - - -^REBECCA OF SUNNYBROOK FARM.^ - -One of the most beautiful studies of childhood--Rebecca's artistic, -unusual and quaintly charming qualities stand out midst a circle of -austere New Englanders. The stage version is making a phenomenal -dramatic record. - - -^NEW CHRONICLES OF REBECCA.^ With illustrations by F. C. Yohn. - -Some more quaintly amusing chronicles that carry Rebecca through -various stages to her eighteenth birthday. - - -^ROSE O' THE RIVER.^ With illustrations by George Wright. - -The simple story of Rose, a country girl and Stephen a sturdy young -farmer, The girl's fancy for a city man interrupts their love and -merges the story into an emotional strain where the reader follows -the events with rapt attention. - - -GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26TH ST., NEW YORK - - * * * * * - * * * * - * * * * * - -Errors and Inconsistencies - -French words are shown as printed; misspellings were assumed to be -intentional. The same applies to proper names, except when the error -was clearly typographic. The publisher's advertising section is shown -as printed, retaining all errors. - -Variation between "3d" and "3rd" is unchanged. - - -Main Text - - Copyright, 1912, by / THE CURTIS PUBLISHING COMPANY [Copyright.] - ate and ate until they went to her head. [_final . missing_] - ... a hungry little nine-year girl [_unchanged_] - I really do love to write to you. ... Would you like me - [_the "r" in "write" and most of the word "me" are invisible_] - Princeton commencement and our examinations [Princton] - Amasai and Carrie got married last May - [_unchanged: everywhere else spelled "Carrie"_] - "DEAR MADAM, / "Mr. Smith prefers that you remain at Lock Willow. - ['DEAR MADAM,] - - -Advertising Section (Uncorrected) - -_Missing or incorrect punctuation is not listed._ - - The stage version is making a phenominal dramatic record. - a bewitchingly innocent, hugable little maid - G. & D. Popular Copyrighed Fiction [_this page only_] - of delightful humor and spontaniety. - the soul of the blase woman - play the banjo better that anyone else - Two impetuous young Southerners' fall under the spell - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Daddy Long-Legs, by Jean Webster - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DADDY LONG-LEGS *** - -***** This file should be named 40426.txt or 40426.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/4/2/40426/ - -Produced by Louise Hope, Bruce Albrecht and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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