“The dear little child created a slight consternation in her Sunday School class last week when they were being taught the great dramatic story of Jonah’s three days’ incarceration in the whale.  To quote her exactly, so that you may see how it must have affected the other children, she said:  ’I swallowed a live fly onct myself and I’m not damn fool enough to believe that whale kept Jonah down three days, alive and kicking, no matter who says so.’

“She then marched out of the class and has not returned these two succeeding Sabbaths.  It was to talk over the matter I called on Mrs. Carruthers this afternoon, and I have never had my sympathies so stirred.  We must help her, my dear friend!”

I never enjoyed anything more in my life than the hour I spent helping that dear, good, funny man plan first aids to the rearing of Sallie’s children.  Besides my cooeperation he has planned to enlist that of Aunt Augusta, and I was wicked enough to let him do it.  In a small village where the inhabitants have no chance at diversions like Wagnerian operas and collapsing skyscrapers I felt that I had no right to avert the spectacle of Aunt Augusta’s disciplining Henrietta.

I’ll write you all about it, Jane, in a special delivery letter.

Jasper whipped Petunia with great apparent severity day before yesterday, and we have been having the most heavenly waffles and broiled chicken ever since.  I dismissed Jasper for doing it, but Petunia came into my room and cried about it a half-hour, so I had to go out where he was rubbing the silver and forgive him and hire him over.

“When a woman gits her mouth stuck out at a man and the world in general three days hand running they ain’t nothing to cure it but a stick,” he answered with lofty scorn.

“Yes’m, dat’s so,” answered Petunia.  “I never come outen a spell so easy before.”  And her yellow face had a pink glow of happiness all over it as she smiled lovably on the black brute.

I went off into a corner and sat down for a quiet hour to think.  Nobody in the world knows everything.

“Supper’s on the table,” Jasper announced, after having seen Mr. Haley go down the front walk to-night.  Jasper has such great respect for the cloth that never in the world would he have asked Mr. Haley in to supper without having at least a day to prepare for him.  Any of my other friends he would have asked, regardless of whether or not I wanted them.

I somehow didn’t feel that I could eat alone to-night, but it was too late to go for Sallie or Cousin Jasmine, and besides it is weak-minded to feel that way.  Why shouldn’t I want to eat by myself?