December 25.—Uncle Edward Richards sent us a basket of lovely things from New York for Christmas. Books and dresses for Anna and me, a kaleidoscope, large cornucopias of candy, and games, one of them being battledore and shuttlecock. Grandmother says we will have to wait until spring to play it, as it takes so much room. I wish all the little girls in the world had an Uncle Edward.
December 2003
December 1.—Grandfather asked me to read President Pierce’s message aloud to him this evening. I thought it was very long and dry, but he said it was interesting and that I read it very well. I am glad he liked it. Part of it was about the Missouri Compromise and I didn’t even know what it meant.
December 8. — We are taking dictation lessons at school now. Miss Clark reads to us from the “Life of Queen Elizabeth” and we write it down in a book and keep it. She corrects it for us. I always spell ” until” with two l’s and she has to mark it every time. I hope I will learn how to spell it after a while.
Saturday, December 9.—We took our music lessons to-day. Miss Hattie Heard is our teacher and she says we are getting along well. Anna practiced her lesson over sixtyfive times this morning before breakfast and can play “Mary to the Saviour’s Tomb” as fast as a waltz.
We chose sides and spelled down at school to-day. Julia Phelps and I stood up the last and both went down on the same word — eulogism. I don’t see the use of that “e.” Miss Clark gave us twenty words which we had to bring into some stories which we wrote. It was real fun to hear them. Every one was different.
This evening as we sat before the fireplace with Grandmother, she taught us to play “Cat’s Cradle” with a string on our fingers.
