WINTER RANCH LIFE.

but not neat. Ive no doubt she was not made to mend when she was young,
Gaudy means fussing, and frizzing hair, and wearing ribbons, and putting ear-
rings on, and bracelets, and finger rings. Miss Knag had a girl to help her sew.
She was very shy and quiet, not grinning, nor lolling on windows and doors to
get people to look at her, but she kept her eyes on her work. When young
men were silly, she tried to think of something she had read, so as not to smile.
Miss Knag dressed as gay when she had wrinkles as if she were rosy and plump.
It would have been better to have improved her mind, and attended to
poor folks.

. Last night Mr. Charles brought a paper from England for mamma to see. It
was full of pictures. One page showed all about soldiers and their wives. One
picture was sad and silly —a drunken soldier had to be dragged out of a saloon
by his wife. Iam not going to marry ever, because I do not know whether the
man will be drunk or not. I hope my time will be better spent in teaching
children than to do anything like that.

Mr. Charles has an English book with silly, funny pictures, and funny, silly
reading under them. I was going to tell you about them, but mamma says to
write something sensible instead of that bosh.

Mr. Charles is in such a hurry to go to the post-office that he sets everybody
into fidgets. He goes on horseback. He has to ride a long ways, and then the
stage comes along and he gives them the letters. Sometimes the snow is so deep
that we cannot send any letters, and we cannot get any. The windows are so
frozen up we cannot see out of them. It is very cold here.
: Raz.

Fresruary 6th.

The snow is still on the ground. I go to walk when the sun is shining.
It is so cold here that the cows are shivering. It is pitiful to look out and see
the poor animals standing out in the snow. They get in the shed and drive
ithe dog out in the cold. The little black cat is not well. I do wish there was
some way to make him well. He does not seem to agree with his food. Mr. Fred-
erick said that ’most two miles up in the sky was too near Heaven for cats to be
very happy. And I said, “ Why? Wouldn’t cats be happy in Heaven?”

Mr. Frederick has a very improved mind. Mr. Charles seems to be very
fussy. He wants this and he wants that, and he don’t want this and he don’t
want that. Mamma gets all out of patience with him. If I had fifty boys I
would bring them up to want this and to want that. I would not allow them to
grumble over things because things do not suit them. He comes out and says,
‘What are you going to have for a pudding?” Mamma tells him. He says,
“No sugar init?” Mamma says, “No!” He asks her what else we are going
to have for dinner. Mamma tells him, and he smiles at her enough to say,
“That is not much of a dinner! ”