Aunt Priscilla's generosity was astonishing. The silken gown would not
be made over until Betty reached Hartford. She worked industriously on
her white one, but her mother found so many things for her to do. Then
Martha Grant came--a stout, hearty, pink-cheeked country girl who knew
how to "take hold," and was glad of an opportunity to earn something
toward a wedding gown. Doris was so interested that she hardly
remembered how much she should miss Betty, though Warren promised to
help her with her lessons.

So the trunk was packed. Luckily the bandbox could go in it, for it was
quite small. Most of the bandboxes were immense affairs in which you
could stow a good many things besides the bonnet. Then they had a calico
cover with a stout cord run through the hem.

Mr. Eastman looked rather askance at the trunk--he had so many budgets
of his own, and for his wife. However, they strapped it on the back
securely, and the good-bys were uttered for a whole month.

Doris had said hers in the morning. She could not divest herself of a
vague presentiment that something would happen to keep Betty until
to-morrow. But Martha was to sit in her place at the table.

Now that the reign of slavery was over, the farmers' girls from the
country often came in for a while. They were generally taken in as one
of the family--indeed, few of them would have come to be put down to the
level of a common servant. Many had their old slaves still living with
them, and numbers of the quality preferred colored servants.

Jamie boy went out to snowball after dinner. Doris worked a line across
her sampler. She was going to begin the alphabet next. There were three
kinds of letters. Ordinary capitals like printing, small letters, and
writing capitals. These were very difficult, little girls thought.

She put up her work presently, studied her spelling, and went over "nine
times." She could say the ten and eleven perfectly, but that very day
she had missed on "nine times," and Mrs. Webb told her she had better
study it a little more.

"I do wonder if you will ever get through with the multiplication
tables!" said Aunt Elizabeth.

Doris sighed. It was hard to be so slow at learning.

"'Nine times' floored me pretty well, I remember," confessed Martha
Grant. "There's great difference in children. Some have heads for
figures and some don't. My sister Catharine could go all round me. But
she's that dumb about sewing--I don't believe you ever saw the