Judy’s academic achievements

I am learning?
I. Latin: Second Punic war. Hannibal and his

forces pitched camp at Lake Trasimenus last night. They prepared an ambuscade for the Romans, and a battle took place at the fourth watch this morning. Romans in retreat.
II. French: 24 pages of the Three Musketeers and third conjugation, irregular verbs.
III. Geometry: Finished cylinders; now doing cones.
IV. English: Studying exposition. My style improves daily in clearness and brevity.
V. Physiology: Reached the digestive system. Bile and the pancreas next time.

forgotten we ever had a vacation. Fifty-seven irregular verbs have

I introduced to my brain in the past four days — I'm only hoping they'll stay till after examinations.

in them, and will take another examination next month. I'm

sorry if you're disappointed, but otherwise I don't care a bit because I've learned such a lot of things not mentioned in the catalogue. I've read seventeen novels and bushels of poetry — really necessary novels like Vanity Fair and Richard Feverel and Alice in Wonderland. Also Emerson's Essays and Lockhart's Life of Scott and the first volume of Gibbon's Roman Empire and half of Benvenuto Cellini's Life — wasn't he entertaining? He used to saunter out and casually kill a man before breakfast.

now: Three months on a farm!

seen anything like it before. Molecules and Atoms are the

material employed, but I'll be in a position to discuss them more definitely next month.
I am also taking argumentation and logic.
Also history of the whole world.
Also plays of William Shakespeare.
Also French.
If this keeps up many years longer, I shall become quite intelligent.

learning, but though you might not imagine it from my

letters, my time is exclusively occupied with study. It's a very bewildering matter to get educated in five branches at once.
The test of true scholarship,' says Chemistry Professor, 'is a painstaking passion for detail.'
'Be careful not to keep your eyes glued to detail,' says History Professor. 'Stand far enough away to get a perspective of the whole.'
You can see with what nicety we have to trim our sails between chemistry and history. I like the historical method best.
If I say that William the Conqueror came over in 1492, and Columbus discovered America in 1100 or 1066 or whenever it was, that's a mere detail that the Professor overlooks. It gives a feeling of security and restfulness to the history recitation, that is entirely lacking in chemistry.
Sixth-hour bell — I must go to the laboratory and look into a little matter of acids and salts and alkalis. I've burned a hole as big as a plate in the front of my chemistry apron, with hydrochloric acid. If the theory worked, I ought to be able to neutralize that hole with good strong ammonia, oughtn't I?
Examinations next week, but who's afraid?

the utmost ease — I know the secret now, and

am never going to fail again. I shan't be able to graduate with honours though, because of that beastly Latin prose and geometry Freshman year. But I don't care. What's the hodds so long as you're 'appy? (That's a quotation. I've been reading the English classics.)

a scholarship for two years that will cover board and

tuition. It was founded for 'marked proficiency in English with general excellency in other lines.' And I've won it! I applied for it before I left, but I didn't have an idea I'd get it, on account of my Freshman bad work in maths and Latin. But it seems I've made it up. I am awfully glad, Daddy, because now I won't be such a burden to you. The monthly allowance will be all I'll need, and maybe I can earn that with writing or tutoring or something.

I finish that I'm going to take Charity and Reform;

then, Mr. Trustee, I'll know just how an orphan asylum ought to be run. Don't you think I'd make an admirable voter if I had my rights? I was twenty-one last week. This is an awfully wasteful country to throw away such an honest, educated, conscientious, intelligent citizen as I would be.

my mid-year examinations, and am now commencing work in the

new semester. I am leaving chemistry — having completed the course in qualitative analysis — and am entering upon the study of biology. I approach this subject with some hesitation, as I understand that we dissect angleworms and frogs.

interesting subject; we're studying the alimentary system at present. You

should see how sweet a cross-section of the duodenum of a cat is under the microscope.
Also we've arrived at philosophy — interesting but evanescent. I prefer biology where you can pin the subject under discussion to a board. There's another! And another! This pen is weeping copiously. Please excuse its tears.

all of Schopenhauer for tomorrow. The professor doesn't seem to

realize that we are taking any other subject. He's a queer old duck; he goes about with his head in the clouds and blinks dazedly when occasionally he strikes solid earth. He tries to lighten his lectures with an occasional witticism — and we do our best to smile, but I assure you his jokes are no laughing matter.