Stepping Heavenward

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from III. July 16. MY school-days are over ! I have come off with flying colours, and mother is pleased at my success. I said to her to-day that I should now have time to draw and practice to my heart’s content. ” You will not find your heart content with either,” she said. ” Why, mother! ” I cried ; ” I thought you liked to see me happy!'” ” And so I do,” she said quietly ” But there is something better to get out of life than you have yet found.” ” I am sure I hope so,” I returned. On the whole I haven’t got much so far. Amelia is now on such terms with Jenny Underhill that I can hardly see one without seeing the other. After the way in which I have loved her, this seems rather hard. Sometimes I am angry about it, and sometimes grieved. However, I find Jenny quite nice. . She buys all the new books and lends them to me. I wish I liked more solid reading; but I don’t. And I wish I were not so fond of novels; but I am. If it were not for mother I should read nothing else. And I am sure I often feel quite stirred up by a really good novel,’ and admire and want to imitate every high-minded, noble character it describes. Jenny has a miniature of her brother “Charley” in a locket, which she always wears. and often shows me.According to her, he is exactly like the heroes I most admire in books. She says she knows he would like me if we should meet. But that is not probable. Very few like me. Amelia says it is because I say just what I think. Wednesday.—Mother pointed out to me this evening two lines from a book she was reading, with a significant smile that said they described ” A frank, unchastened, generous creature, Whose faults and virtues stand in bold relief.” “Dear me!” I said; “so, then, I have some virtues after all!” And I really think I…