Page 204 - The Story of My Lif

slipped away so quickly, and there were so many pleasant things to do every

moment, that I never found time to clothe my thought in words, and send them
to you. I wonder what becomes of lost opportunities. Perhaps our guardian angel
gathers them up as we drop them, and will give them back to us in the beautiful
sometime when we have grown wiser, and learned how to use them rightly. But,
however this may be, I cannot now write the letter which has lain in my thought
for you so long. My heart is too full of sadness to dwell upon the happiness the
summer has brought me. My father is dead. He died last Saturday at my home in
Tuscumbia, and I was not there.

My own dear loving father! Oh, dear friend, how shall I ever bear it!…

On the first of October Miss Keller entered the Cambridge School for Young
Ladies, of which Mr. Arthur Gilman is Principal. The “examinations” mentioned
in this letter were merely tests given in the school, but as they were old Harvard
papers, it is evident that in some subjects Miss Keller was already fairly well
prepared for Radcliffe.

TO MRS. LAURENCE HUTTON

37 Concord Avenue, Cambridge, Mass.

October 8, 1896.

…I got up early this morning, so that I could write you a few lines. I know you
want to hear how I like my school. I do wish you could come and see for
yourself what a beautiful school it is! There are about a hundred girls, and they
are all so bright and happy; it is a joy to be with them.

You will be glad to hear that I passed my examinations successfully. I have been
examined in English, German, French, and Greek and Roman history. They were
the entrance examinations for Harvard College; so I feel pleased to think I could
pass them. This year is going to be a very busy one for Teacher and myself. I am
studying Arithmetic, English Literature, English History, German, Latin, and