An Eventful Picnic

She gathered together at great pains pen, paper, and ink. A pencil would
be inadequate when the note was going to Rittenhouse Square. She sat down
when Nan and Lizzie had left for their day's work, and constructed her
sentences with great care.

"Dear Bessie--" Elizabeth had never asked her not to call her that,
although she fairly detested the name. But still it had been her mother's
name, and was likely dear to her grandmother. It seemed disloyalty to her
mother to suggest that she be called "Elizabeth." So Grandmother Brady
serenely continued to call her "Bessie" to the end of her days. Elizabeth
decided that to care much about such little things, in a world where there
were so many great things, would be as bad as to give one's mind entirely
over to the pursuit of fashion.

The letter proceeded laboriously: "Our Sunday school is going to have a picnic out to Willow
Grove. It's on Tuesday. We're going in the trolley. I'd be
pleased if you would go 'long with us. We will spend the day,
and take our dinner and supper along, and wouldn't get home till
late; so you could stay overnight here with us, and not go back
home till after breakfast. You needn't bring no lunch; fer we've
got a lot of things planned, and it ain't worth while. But if
you wanted to bring some candy, you might. I ain't got time to
make any, and what you buy at our grocery might not be fine
enough fer you. I want you to go real bad. I've never took my
two granddaughters off to anything yet, and your Grandmother
Bailey has you to things all the time. I hope you can manage to
come. I am going to pay all the expenses. Your old Christian
Deaver you used to 'tend is going to be there; so you'll have a
good time. Lizzie has a new pink organdie, with roses on her
hat; and we're thinking of getting her a pink umbreller if it
don't cost too much. The kind with chiffon flounces on it.
You'll have a good time, fer there's lots of side-shows out to
Willow Grove, and we're going to see everything there is to see.
There's going to be some music too. A man with a name that
sounds like swearing is going to make it. I don't remember it
just now, but you can see it advertised round on the
trolley-cars. He comes to Willow Grove every year. Now please
let me hear if you will go at once, as I want to know how much
cake to make.