do something.  Miss Twining is pretty well now.  She writes nearly every day, and as she can sell as much as she likes she earns a good deal.  She told me once how she had always longed to hear one of her poems read in church.  Well, last Sunday Mr. Parcell finished up his sermon with her “Peter the Great.”  It is beautiful—­I’ll copy it for you some day.  He repeated it splendidly.  I couldn’t resist glancing over at Miss Twining—­you ought to have seen her!  She looked just like a saint—­or an angel!

Have I told you how father all but scolded me for talking to the minister in that way?  He didn’t like it a little bit!  I shan’t dare to tell ministers what I think after this!  But I do believe it did Mr. Parcell good.  He has been lovely to me ever since.  He isn’t half so cold and top-lofty as he used to be.

I’m getting down pretty near the weddings, I guess.  We’ve had two!  They’re celebrating birthdays now at the Home, and Mrs. Adlerfeld’s happened to be the first one.  Miss Churchill had a lovely birthday cake for her, and chrysanthemums.  The table looked beautiful.  But little Mrs. Adlerfeld gave them a surprise.  Of course, Miss Churchill and the matron knew all about it, and Mrs. Albright and Miss Nita and I; but the majority did not dream of such a thing.  At eight o’clock Mrs. Adlerfeld, who had slipped away to put on her traveling dress, walked in on the arm of Mr. Von Dalin, and there was a minister, and they were married!  Colonel Gresham gave her away, and we had such a nice time!  She is living in New York.  Oh, she was so sweet!  I wish you could have seen her.  In speaking of Mr. Von Dalin she said, “He is always a glad man.  I could not marry a man who was not glad.”  Isn’t that dear?  It was hard to lose her.  I am thankful Miss Nita didn’t have to go away—­I don’t know what I should have done!

Now comes her wedding!  It was so pretty, everybody said.  I was in it, so I couldn’t tell so well.  The chapel and all the rooms were beautifully decorated with flowers, and the bride wore a simple tailored suit of dark blue, hat and boots to match.  They looked splendid together, he is so tall and handsome and she is so slender and pretty.  You don’t know how much prettier she is since she has curled her hair!  I always thought she would be.  Almost all the ladies went right to curling their hair as soon as Miss Sniffen had skipped out, and it is a great improvement.  Father gave away the bride, and David was Mr. Randolph’s best man.  I was the maid of honor.  I felt as if I had been married myself.  David said he didn’t, but he wished he had been.  Doesn’t that sound just like him?  He is the queerest boy!  Do you know, he comes away up here almost every morning, so as to walk down to school with me and cut out Todd Wilmerding!  He knows I don’t care a rap for Todd, but he hates to see him carrying my books!