“ANNE, ETCETERA”

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 58, 1 December 1934, Page 23

“ANNE, ETCETERA”

Wednesday, November 28. Dear Christine.— Here I am, feeling like .part part of a multiplication table. Launched into school at middle term. Needless to say, I’m the only new one, and everybody else seems to possess dozens of eyes. Everywhere I look, or go, there’s somebody. Thought I’d go for a wallpthe other evening and before I’d gone half down the drive a prefect was sent to call me back. As far as I can see, the only form of amusement here is to do something you want to and get a prefects’ meeting called up about it. I’ve had three so far and I’ve only been here a fortnight. That is a pretty good record, Jennifer says. You’d like Jennifer—tall and fair and sporty. She studies frogs at science, the lucky thing. . They won’t let me because I haven’t taken science before, but I’m pretty good at catching frogs. There is a ripping pond down below the big dorm. (That’s where I sleep. Jennifer and I broke one of the beds playing leap-frog. It’s a spare one, so no one’s discovered yet where we tied it up with string), and the frogs simply stagger about at night croaking. They’r.i delicious, and so we crept down and eaught three and put them in Sjnoozer’s bed. I don’t know why she’s called Snoozer. Her real name is Ethelberta. She did make a noise! Sort of screeched and hopped about all over the floor. The frogs hopped about, too, and we sat on the bed simply shrieking, and a prefect came down—and that was one prefects’ meeting. . 1 didn’t like it much here the first day. Everyone was so niee to me that it didn’t seem natural. Funny what a seasick sort of feeling the back of one’s own family’s car gives one. Ours went in a cloud of dust at four, and I was taken possession of by various large females who talked all the time, when all I really wanted to do was to sit down with a forest of pocket handkerchiefs and water them all with tears. Perhaps it was just as well, though, that I didn't, ’cause we only have laundry once a week and even three dozen 'handkies don’t last for ever.

Oh. about Bimbo. I took him in the basket and he was as good as gold all the way up. I wrapped him up in a rug while Daddy was .helping the man to untie the luggage, and followed them up to the dormitory. I put him under my bed, untied the lid so that he could stretch up, and went back to be looked over by the principal. I’ll let you know about her later. I haven’t quite settled her up in my mind. Well, after Daddy and Mother had gone and about five-thirty the tea-bell rang. I didn't have to change, being new, and we all filed into the dining-room and sat down at little tables, six of us to each one, and a teacher at the head. We’ve got the gym. mistress. She’s going to make my backhand stroke stronger. She says my serves are pretty promising, though, and I told her that I’d played a lot with a friend at home. Well, just in the middle of tea someone said: “Oh! What a dear little dog,” and everyone looked round. I felt all cold inside, but I looked, too, and Bimbo, yes. it. was Bimbo, saw me and rushed into my arms and I sat there looking silly, with Bimbo licking all over my face and everyone staring. Miss Savill (she's the principal) beckoned me to her table and told everyone to go on with their tea. but they DIDN’T, the pigs, and she told me, quite nicely, to take him outside to the gardener. Then, when I came back, she took me up to the study. I told her all about Bimbo, and she told me that I might keep him until Daddy came for him, but that he mustn't disturb the school. Somehow, when I was telling Daddy about it, I forgot to put in the bit about coming for him, so he’s still here and I’m afraid he is disturbing the school a bit. because I caught Miss Savill pulling his ears and talking dog-talk to him yesterday. And she looked quite savage when she saw me, but she didn’t say "When is he going away?” so Bimbo and I are still “Anne, etcetera.” P.S.: XXX (You haven’t forgotten, have you? F. XX X E!)