s was omnivorous in her tastes, especially if it were a
question of sampling, and she had enough critical faculty to enable her to
enjoy rubbish. She lingered over Powhatan and its dedication to the "Young
People of the United States" and then passed on to the others till she
came to a little black book. It was Juliet Mascarene's diary and
proclaimed the fact openly on the first page with the statements: "I am
twelve years old to-day and Aunt Susan has given me this book to keep as
my diary and not to forget to write each day my evil deeds as well as my
good, which I will if I remember them. She didn't give me anything else. I
had to-day a Paris doll from Cousin Jane Pinckney who has winking eyes
which shut when you lay her on her back and pantalettes with scallops
which take off and on and a trunk of clothes with a little key to it.
Father gave me a Bible and I have had other things too numerous for
mension.
"Signed Juliet Mascarene."
with never a date.
Then:
"I haven't done any evil deeds, or good ones that I can remember, so I
haven't written in this book for maybe a week. Mary and I, we went to a
party at the Pinckneys to-day at Bures, the Calhoun children and the
Rutledges were there and we had Lady Baltimore cake and a good time. Mary
wore her blue organdie and looked very nice and Rupert Pinckney was there,
he's fourteen and wouldn't talk to the children because they were too
small for him, I expect. He told me he was going to have a pony same as
Silas Rhett that threw him in the market place Wednesday last and galloped
all the way to Battery before he was stopped, only his was to be a better
one with more shy in it, said Silas Rhett ought to be tied on next time.
Then old Mr. Pinckney came in and shewed us a musical snuff-box and we
went home, and driving back Mary kicked me on the shin by axident and I
pinched her and she didn't cry till we'd got home, then she began to roar
and mother said it was my ungovernable temper, and I said I wished I was
dead.
"I shan't go to any more parties because it's always like that after them.
Father told me I was to pray for a new heart and not to have any supper
but Prue has brought me up a cake of her own making. So that's one evil
deed to put down--It's just like Mary, any one else would have cried right
out in the carriage and not bottled it up and kept it up till she got
home.
"This is a Friday and Prue says Friday
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