. I love you in
every dress . . . you seem more adorable in each new dress than the last.

"'Dearest teacher, good night. The sun has set and the stars are
shining . . . stars that are as bright and beautiful as your eyes. I kiss
your hands and face, my sweet. May God watch over you and protect you
from all harm.

""Your afecksionate pupil,

"'Annetta Bell.'"

"This extraordinary letter puzzled me not a little. I knew Annetta
couldn't have composed it any more than she could fly. When I went to
school the next day I took her for a walk down to the brook at recess
and asked her to tell me the truth about the letter. Annetta cried
and 'fessed up freely. She said she had never written a letter and she
didn't know how to, or what to say, but there was bundle of love letters
in her mother's top bureau drawer which had been written to her by an
old 'beau.'

"'It wasn't father,' sobbed Annetta, 'it was someone who was studying
for a minister, and so he could write lovely letters, but ma didn't
marry him after all. She said she couldn't make out what he was driving
at half the time. But I thought the letters were sweet and that I'd just
copy things out of them here and there to write you. I put "teacher"
where he put "lady" and I put in something of my own when I could think
of it and I changed some words. I put "dress" in place of "mood." I
didn't know just what a "mood" was but I s'posed it was something to
wear. I didn't s'pose you'd know the difference. I don't see how you
found out it wasn't all mine. You must be awful clever, teacher.'

"I told Annetta it was very wrong to copy another person's letter and
pass it off as her own. But I'm afraid that all Annetta repented of was
being found out.

"'And I do love you, teacher,' she sobbed. 'It was all true, even if the
minister wrote it first. I do love you with all my heart.'

"It's very difficult to scold anybody properly under such circumstances.

"Here is Barbara Shaw's letter. I can't reproduce the blots of the
original.

"'Dear teacher,

""You said we might write about a visit. I never visited but once. It was
at my Aunt Mary's last winter. My Aunt Mary is a very particular woman
and a great housekeeper. The first night I was there we were at tea.
I knocked over a jug and broke it. Aunt Mary said she had had that jug
ever since she was married and nobody had ever broken it before. When we
got up I stepped on her dress and all the gathers tore out of the