with the swinging censer, and the
intoned service in foreign tongue, were bewildering to me. My eyes
wandered from the clergy to the benches upon which sat the rich and
the great, then back to the poor, among whom I was kneeling. Each
humble worshipper had spread a bright-bordered handkerchief upon the
bare floor as a kneeling mat. I observed the striking effect, then
recollecting my shoes, put my hand back and drew up the hem of my
dress, that my two green beauties might be seen by the children behind
me. No seven-year-old child ever enjoyed finery more than I did those
little shoes.

Gifts which grandma considered quite unsuitable came one day in two
neat wooden boxes about thirty inches in length, and eight in width and
depth. They were addressed to us individually, but in grandma's care.
When she removed the cover and a layer of cotton batting from
Georgia's, a beautiful French lady-doll was revealed, exquisitely
dressed, with a spray of flowers in her hair, and another that looped
one side of her lovely pink skirt sufficiently high to display an
elaborately trimmed petticoat. She was so fine in lace and ribbons,
yes, even watch and chain, that grandma was loath to let us touch her,
and insisted she should be handled in the box.

My gift was a pretty young Swiss matron in holiday attire, really more
picturesque, and quite as costly as Georgia's, but lacking that
daintiness which made the lady-doll untouchable. I had her to hug and
look at only a few moments; then both boxes with their precious
contents were put away for safe keeping, and brought forth only on
state occasions, for the inspection of special visitors.

Grandma did not want any nonsense put into our heads. She wished us to
be practical, and often quoted maxims to the effect that, "As the twig
is bent, the tree's inclined"; "All work is ennobling if well done";
"Much book-learning for girls is not conducive to happiness or
success"; and "The highest aim of a girl should be honesty, chastity,
and industry."

Still, she was so pleased when I could write a little with ink and
quill, that she dictated several letters to Jakie, who was in the dairy
business near Stockton; and in an unguarded moment she agreed that I
should attend Miss Doty's school. Then she hesitated. She wished to
treat us exactly alike, yet could not spare both at the same time.
Finally, as a way out of the difficulty, she decided that we should
attend school alternate months, during