That made me feel so happy,
Margaret! Because I had just gone ahead till I
thought a thing tasted right. I did not want to
be bothering 'round with cook-books, and
besides, ours was lost, for Betsy can't read,
so there was no use for one. I made an
apple-pudding yesterday, and Pa had two helps,
and all the boys wanted three, but there wasn't
enough, though I made it in the big meat-pie
pan. Darling Margaret, do please write again
very soon, and tell me about everything at
dear, darling Fernley. How is Chiquito, and
does Uncle John ever speak of me? I miss him
dreadfully, but I miss you most of all, darling
Margaret,--I never get over missing you. I have
a new dog, a setter, a perfect beauty. I asked
Hugh to name him for me, and he named him
Hamlet, because he was black and white, and
Hugh thought he was going to be melancholy, but
he grins and wiggles all over every time you
look at him. I am teaching him to jump over a
stick and he does it beautifully,--only the
other day I stood too near the looking-glass,
and he jumped into that, and smashed it, and
frightened himself almost to death, poor puppy.
Margaret, I read a little history every
day,--not very much, but I think of you when I
read it, and that makes it better. Pa says I am
going to school next year; won't that be fun?
Hugh is reading 'John Brent' to me in the
evenings. Oh, how perfectly splendid it is! If
I had a horse like Fulano, I would live with
him all the time, and never leave him for five
minutes. I want dreadfully to go out west and
find Luggernel Alley. Hugh says perhaps we
shall go some day, just him and me. That
doesn't look right, Margaret, but I tried
writing 'he and I' on a piece of paper, and it
didn't look any better, so I guess I'll leave
it as it is. Do you think I write better? I am
trying to take a lot of pains. I try to think
of all the things you tell me, dear Margaret.
Mother thinks I am doing better, I know. Mother
and I have real good talks together, like we
never used to before, and she tells me what she
used to do when she was a girl. I guess she had
some pretty h