human
Margaret will be back directly, Miss Fanny said;
gpt
No, Aunt Fanny, I'm not unhappy; I'm angry. I don't see why girls should become grown. Why, I was always in a good humour until I put on long skirts, and then my troubles began. I can neither run nor play; I must be on my dignity all the time for fear some one will raise her hands and say, 'Do look at that Nan Dorrington! Isn't she a bold piece?' I never was so tired of anything in my life as I am of being grown. I never will get used to it.
human
Oh, you'll get in the habit of it after awhile, child, said Miss Fanny.
gpt
But I never would have believed that Nan Dorrington would care very much for what people said.
human
Oh, it isn't on my account that I care, remarked Nan, with a toss of her head,
gpt
Well, you certainly would astonish the nuns when you began to cut some of your capers,
human
Am I as bad as all that? Tell me honestly, Aunt Fanny, now while I am in the humour to hear it, what do I do that is so terrible?
gpt
Honestly, Nan, you do nothing terrible at all. Not even Miss Puella Gillum could criticise you.
human
Why, Miss Puella never criticises any one. She's just as sweet as she can be.
gpt
Well, she's an old maid, you know, and old maids are supposed to be critical, said Miss Fanny.
human
I'll tell you where all the trouble is, Nan: you are sensitive, and you have an idea that you must behave as some of the other girls do--that you must hold your hands and your head just so. If you would be yourself, and forget all about etiquette and manners, you'd satisfy everybody, especially yourself.
gpt
Why, that is what worries me now; I do forget all about those things, and then, all of a sudden, I realise that I am acting like a child, and a very noisy child at that, and then I'm afraid some one will make remarks. It is all very miserable and disagreeable, and I wish there wasn't a long skirt in the world.
human
Well, when you get as old as I am, sighed Miss Fanny,