It was a great delight to me to study,
and at the end of the three months the master told me that I was
prepared for the high school.
But alas! I could not go. The little money I could earn--one
dollar a week, besides the price of my board--was needed in the
family, and I must return to the mill. It was a severe dis-
appointment to me, though I did not say so at home. I did not at
all accept the conclusion of a neighbor whom I heard talking
about it with my mother. His daughter was going to the high
school, and my mother was telling him how sorry she was that I
could not.
"Oh," he said, in a soothing tone, "my girl hasn't got any such
head-piece as yours has. Your girl doesn't need to go."
Of course I knew that whatever sort of a "head-piece" I had, I
did need and want just that very opportunity to study. I think
the solution was then formed, inwardly, that I would go to school
again, some time, whatever happened. I went back to my work, but
now without enthusiasm. I had looked through an open door that
I was not willing to see shut upon me.
Pages:
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203