"
Still, she was so pleased when I could write a little with ink and
quill, that she dictated several letters to Jakie, who was in the dairy
business near Stockton; and in an unguarded moment she agreed that I
should attend Miss Doty's school. Then she hesitated. She wished to
treat us exactly alike, yet could not spare both at the same time.
Finally, as a way out of the difficulty, she decided that we should
attend school alternate months, during the summer; and that my sister,
being the elder, should begin the course.
It seemed to me that Georgia's month at school would never end. My own
sped faster than I wished. Miss Doty helped me with my lessons during
part of the noon hour, and encouragingly said, "Be patient, keep
trying, and you will gain your reward."
While still her pupil, I wrote my long-planned letter to Aunt
Elizabeth. Georgia helped to compose it, and when finished, we carried
it to our friend, the postmaster. He banteringly held it in his hand,
until we told its contents and begged that it go to Aunt Elizabeth as
fast as possible. He must have seen that it was incorrectly addressed,
yet he readily promised that if an answer should come addressed to
"Miss Georgia Ann Donner," or to "Miss Eliza Poor Donner," he would
carefully save it for us.
After many fruitless trips to the post-office, we were one day handed a
letter for grandma. It was not from our aunt, however, but from our
sister Elitha, and bore the sad news that her husband, while on the
range, had been thrown from his horse, and lived but a few moments
after she reached him.
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