e, is such a dear, kind lady, and I'm
going to study awful hard, so as to know lots and make you
happy, dear mama, when I come home. Uncle Ridley is just the
dearest, nicest, kindest uncle that ever lived, I'm sure. He is
so good to me, and I love him like everything. Sometimes he
tells me about Mabel, and then he takes out his big red
handkerchief and cries; and I'm almost glad I'm lame so I can
look like her, and make him happier. Mabel Congreve must have
been a very sweet little girl, and very pretty; there are
pictures of her all over the house, but the one in the library
is the prettiest. She is all dressed in white, with such lovely
yellow curls, and sitting in the very little blue velvet chair
that I ride around in now. Uncle Ridley always sits in there,
and I do believe he talks to her. I have all of her things,
except her pony; he died, and mine is a new white one; such a
darling, and I go to ride every pleasant day in her little
buggy, with beautiful soft cushions and silk curtains. Her chair
is on wheels, and I can ride all over the house by myself, or
have Bettine draw me, whichever I want. All of her things are
just as nice as new, because Uncle Ridley has been so careful of
them. Yesterday he brought me her crutch, and said he wanted me
to use it. It is such a shiny, beautiful black wood, with a
silver rim and pad on the bottom, so it don't make any noise,
and a soft top covered with blue velvet.

"I always take my breakfast in my room, because Uncle Ridley
does not get up until so late, and it would be very dreary in
the big dining-room for me. After breakfast I take a ride either
in the house or out, then play awhile, or do as I please until
ten; then Miss Serle comes to my room, and my lessons last until
twelve. Dinner is gloomy. There is a servant stands behind Uncle
Ridley, and he is so tall and solemn looking in his white vest
and necktie, that I don't feel comfortable at all. After dinner
I play or ride until two o'clock, then I have my lessons and my
music 'till four, and after that Miss Serle almost always reads
to me awhile. I practice from five o'clock for a half an hour,
then play 'till eight o'clock, and that is time for me to go to
bed. Some days Uncle Ridley takes me into Staunton with him.

"I believe I have told you everything now that you as