“We have maps to draw in school now. Rhoda Stuart always gets the most marks. Miss Brownell doesn’t know that Rhoda just puts the map up against a window pane and the paper over it and copies it off. I like drawing maps. Norway and Sweden look like a tiger with mountains for stripes and Ireland looks like a little dog with its back turned on England, and its paws held up against its breast, and Africa looks like a big pork ham. Australia is a lovely map to draw.
“Ilse is getting on real well in school now. She says she isn’t going to have me beating her. She can learn like the dickins, as Perry says, when she tries, and she has won the silver metal for Queen’s County. The W.C.T.U. in Charlottetown gave it for the best reciter. They had the contest in Shrewsbury and Aunt Laura took Ilse because Dr. Burnley wouldn’t and Ilse won it. Aunt Laura told Dr. Burnley when he was here one day that he ought to give Ilse a good education. He said “I’m not going to waste money educating any she-thing.” And he looked black as a thunder cloud. Oh, I wish Dr. Burnley would love Ilse. I’m so glad you loved me, Father.
“Dec. 22.
“Dear Father: We had our school examination today. It was a great occasion. Almost everybody was there except Dr. Burnley and Aunt Elizabeth. All the girls wore their best dresses but me. I knew Ilse had nothing to wear but her shabby old last winter’s plaid that is too short for her, so to keep her from feeling bad, I put on my old brown dress, too. Aunt Elizabeth did not want to let me do it at first because New Moon Murrays should be well dressed but when I explained about Ilse she looked at Aunt Laura and then said I might.
“Rhoda Stuart made fun of Ilse and me but I heaped coals of fire on her head. (That is what is called a figure of speech.) She got stuck in her recitation. She had left the book home and nobody else knew the piece but me. At first I looked at her triumphantly. But then a queer feeling came into me and I thought “What would I feel like if I was stuck before a big crowd of people like this? And besides the honour of the school is at stake,” so I whispered it to her because I was quite close. She got through the rest all right. The strange thing is, dear Father, that now I don’t feel any more as if I hated her. I feel quite kindly to her and it is much nicer. It is uncomfortable to hate people.
“Dec. 28.
“Dear Father:
“Christmas is over. It was pretty nice. I never saw so many good things cooked all at once. Uncle Wallace and Aunt Eva and Uncle Oliver and Aunt Addie and Aunt Ruth were here. Uncle Oliver didn’t bring any of his children and I was much disappointed. We had Dr. Burnley and Ilse too. Everyone was dressed up. Aunt Elizabeth wore her black satin dress with a pointed lace collar and cap. She looked quite handsome and I was proud of her. You like your relations to look well even if you don’t like them. Aunt Laura wore her brown silk and Aunt Ruth had on a grey dress. Aunt Eva was very elegant. Her dress had a train. But it smelled of moth balls.
“I had on my blue cashmere and wore my hair tied with blue ribbons, and Aunt Laura let me wear mother’s blue silk sash with the pink daisies on it that she had when she was a little girl at New Moon. Aunt Ruth sniffed when she saw me. She said, “You have grown a good deal, Em’ly. I hope you are a better girl.”
“But she didn’t hope it (really). I saw that quite plain. Then she told me my bootlace was untyed.