So Belle was pacified, and made to believe that she might, after all, be able to bear the separation from her father; and this letter-writing did indeed prove to be a great source of comfort and amusement to her.
Mr. Powers did not send her to school the next morning, but kept her with him till the last moment taking her himself to Mrs. Bradford's house, and leaving her in the kind lady's care. When Maggie and Bessie came home, they found her sitting on the sofa beside their mother, her head in her lap, and looking the very picture of woe. She brightened considerably, however, when she saw them, and asked Maggie if she was ready to write her letter for her, saying she was "only going to tell her father that she was going to die of grief."
Mrs. Bradford made no objection to this, but said that the children must all have their dinner before they did anything else; and, as she expected, by the time Belle had made a good meal, and chatted, as she ate it, with her happy, merry little companions, she thought better of her intentions of "dying of grief."
Then the letter was written; but as it was so short a time, only two hours indeed, since Mr. Powers had gone, there was not much to tell; and it contained only these words:—
"DEAR, DARLING PAPA,—I think I better not die of trouble of your going away, 'cause Maggie says then all the postage-stamps will be wasted.
"YOUR DEAR LITTLE BELLE."
The most important, part of these letters, according to the thinking of the little ones, was the postage-stamps, and the putting them into the lamp-post boxes; and these Belle always insisted on doing herself.
On this day they all went out to walk together, and when they reached the first box the children paused to put the letter in. The box was far above their heads, and a gentleman was there before them, putting letters through the slide.
"Shall I put in your letter for you, my dear?" said he to Belle, who held the precious message to papa fast in her hand, while she waited her turn.
"No, sir," said Belle. "I want to send my own letter to papa my own self. He won't like it so much if somebody else sends it."