Chapter IX: Some Leaves From a Diary

Generally keeping a diary is very much a matter of sentiment, but with Katie Ashley it was done only in fulfillment of a promise, and not at all from any desire to record either feelings or events. Mrs. Ashley had several daughters, all well educated, but all singularly averse to writing letters. They were dutiful enough in other ways, but it was very uncomfortable for their mother when she was separated from them to have no communication except through an occasional telegraphic dispatch. It was too late to make a reform with grown-up children, but Mrs. Ashley determined that Katie, her youngest child, should become so familiar with her pen that she would be free from the family failing; so she exacted the promise when she sent her to boarding-school that made daily entries in her elegantly bound diary the condition of receiving a larger allowance of pocket-money than had ever been given to her sisters.

The record was to be kept entirely private--sacred, Katie called it--and no one at home was ever to ask to see it or even to allude to it. But in the vacations, when Katie used to go off on little trips with her mother, she used to get very confidential at bed-time, and her talks about school usually ended in her getting the book out of her trunk, and the tiny silver key off her watch-chain, and unlocking the miniature padlock which secured the covers, and reading page after page aloud to her very appreciative hearer. Sometimes the details were very scant, sometimes they were quite full and interesting. It all depended on the writer’s mood at the time of writing. A few specimens will show the curious variations in this respect:

“_September 18._
“Arrived here at school.

“_September 19._
“Five new girls. One is a beauty, prettier than Lily; her name is Edna
Tryon. Seems to feel pretty aristocratic--turns her nose up at almost
every thing.

“_September 20._
“I forgot to put down that one of the new girls looks like a
chambermaid, and a very poor class of one, too. She don’t compare to
our maids. Mrs. Abbott wants us to be good to her. There’s a long
story about it, very interesting. _Mem._--Tell mamma about it
when I get home.

“_September 21._
“The girls are horrid to Mary Ann Stubbs.

“_September 22._
“Little Elfie is an angel. We all love her to death. I took a
walk with her and her black mammy to-day.

“_September 23._
“There’s a funny thing I never thought to put down before. When
we got back to school we found the high iron front gate taken
down and heavy wooden doors with a big bolt put in its place.
Mrs. Abbott hasn’t told us why it was done, and Miss Blake only
said that Mr. Bellamy had it done. It’s horrid; we are entirely
shut in. The board fence has spikes on it, so we couldn’t climb
up and look over if we wanted to. We used to be very fond of
looking out of the iron gate. Edna says she thinks there is some
mystery somewhere. She wont tell what she means, but she says
an old man where they used to live put a high board wall around
his place and then got married and made counterfeit money.
That’s silly, for Mrs. Abbott hasn’t got any tools and machinery;
besides, she would never do any thing wrong.

“_September 23._
“Knew all my lessons. Lily missed in political economy.

“_September 24._
“I missed in algebra--generally do.

“_September 25._
“New French teacher came. Made us all laugh at prayers. When it
was her turn to read a verse she read, ‘And He healed de six,’
instead of the sick.

“_September 26._
“Mrs. Abbott went to New York to-day. She wont be back till
to-morrow night.

“_September 27._
“To-day Edna said to Lily and me, ‘Let’s slip out the back gate
and go to the village. Miss Blake’s so near-sighted she wont see
us.’ Lily was angry, and told Edna she insulted her by asking
her to do such a thing when she knew Mrs. Abbott objected. After
she had gone down-stairs Edna said, ‘Lily’s a born coward. She’d
just love to go out that gate, but she’s so afraid she daresn’t.
Now you’ve got more pluck, and I do like to see a girl who isn’t
a ’fraid cat.’ After that I was afraid to refuse, so I guess I
was a coward myself. We went up to the store, and Edna bought
raisins and nuts, and I bought a pine-apple and some packages of
lozenges. They don’t keep much of any thing nice at the store.

“_September 28._
“Last evening Edna and I gave a party in her room after we went
up to bed. We had nuts and raisins, and the pine-apple was cut
into slices; but it was sour. Edna ran into the dining-room
pantry and grabbed a cupful of salt. She thought it was sugar.
Luckily she found it out before she had sprinkled much on the
pine-apple. Edna said the party was great fun, but I didn’t have
a very nice time. I kept thinking what if Miss Blake should come
in and ask where we got the things.

“_September 29._
“Some of us were in the front yard at recess and the gate-bell
rang. Bertha said, ‘Come in the house, quick, before Johnny comes
to answer the bell.’

“I started to go with the others, but Edna held on to me till
Johnny came up and opened the gate. We heard him say:

“‘Mrs. Abbott is away, and I don’t think there’s any ribbons or
things wanted to-day.’

“‘Good, it’s a peddler,’ said Edna. ‘Let him come in. I want some
thread and some shoe-buttons.’

“We could see a man with a covered basket, and he seemed anxious
to get in, for he pushed the gate open. I knew Mrs. Abbott
wouldn’t like it, as she never would have peddlers about, but
you can’t reason with Edna; she just made Johnny let him in.
Edward never would have done it, but he has gone home because his
mother’s sick, and this boy has taken his place a while.

“I am almost afraid the peddler was a burglar, for he looked
around so searchingly and up to every window, and made an excuse
to go a little farther in, so he could look into the arbor. I
took a good look at him, because I thought if he was a burglar
I might have to identify him before a lawyer or something; you
never can tell what’s going to happen. He had light, curly hair
and a dark, yellow skin, and a queer, hooked nose. He unpacked
some ribbons and laces, looking around all the time as if he was
hunting for something. I made up my mind that he was somebody
that knew the kitchen girls and was trying to get a glimpse of
one of them. After a while he held up a pale lavender sash-ribbon
with a black edge, and said, ‘This would be beautiful for a young
lady in mourning.’

“We were both in blue dresses, as he could see, and I laughed and
said, ‘I guess we wont go into mourning for the sake of wearing
that.’

“Then he asked in the most anxious way if there wasn’t any one in
mourning in the school.

“‘Not one,’ said Edna, ‘except little Elfie, and she’s got more
sashes than she can wear.’

“The man looked at her very sharply--I never saw a common person
show so much curiosity--and said, ‘Perhaps if you could persuade
the young lady in mourning to come and look at my things she
would find something she liked. I have beautiful black and silver
bracelets.’

“There was something horrid about the man, he seemed so familiar
and so eager. I feel sure he is a burglar or something improper,
and I think Edna thinks so too, though she wont own it. I was
wishing with all my might that we could get rid of him, and then
to my delight the dinner-bell rang and Johnny came running back,
and sent him out and locked the gate.

“_September 30._
“I kept expecting burglars all last night, but they didn’t come.

“_October 1._
“I want to tell Mrs. Abbott about the peddler, he acted so queer;
but Edna says I’m a fool to bring down a scolding and perhaps a
punishment on myself and her too.

“_October 2._
“I don’t believe I will keep intimate with Edna, she seems to do
so many wrong kind of things. I am going to ask Miss Blake to let
me sit on the other side of the study-table, so I won’t be next
to her any more.

“_October 3._
“Maybe I judged Edna too harshly. She came into my room to-day,
and after she’d looked around a minute she exclaimed, in the most
earnest way, ‘O, you dear, lovely Katie, if you could only know
how I love you and how I admire you!’ Then she told me that from
the very first she had thought I was the very nicest, smartest,
and prettiest girl in the whole school. It seems silly to write
down praises of myself, but it is perfectly sweet to have a girl
think so much of you. I have made up my mind it would be unkind
to change my seat and leave Edna; so I sha’n’t speak to Miss
Blake about it.

“_October 4._
“Knew my history, but missed in classic literature. I never do
remember whether Juno was a man or a woman.”