Two Girls of Gettysburg Read Online Free PDF Page B

Mama’s room and found her still awake, sitting up in bed. Her brown hair was streaked with silver, but spread out over her shoulders, it made her look young and pretty.
“Come in, Lizzie,” she said. I went in and sat next to her.
“The war won’t last three years, I’m sure,” I said.
“How can it go on for even one year, when the right and wrong of it are so clear?” Mama said, a note of distress in her voice.
“Do you mean slavery?” I asked. I knew Mama and Papa believed that one person couldn’t own another person, no matter his skin color, and I tended to agree with them. But there were folks in Gettysburg, even in our own church, who thought it wasn’t any of our business to meddle. And in the Bible, people owned slaves. It was complicated, I could see that.
Mama didn’t reply but went on speaking her own thoughts. “I’mless worried about your father than I am about Luke. He is so young, I’m afraid he will do something rash in battle.”
“But he’s a musician, not a soldier,” I reminded her.
“A drum won’t satisfy him for long,” Mama predicted.
I knew what she meant. The thought of Luke with his hands on a gun was scary. He would have a lark, shooting at anything that moved, just to see if he could hit it.
“You know, Mama,” I said to change the subject, “I’m excited about attending the Ladies’ Seminary this fall. I admit I’m a little afraid of Mrs. Pierpont, even though Rosanna says she is not as stern as she looks. I will help out at the shop before and after school and work on the accounts at night.”
Mama was regarding her hands in her lap.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I believe you can read and cipher well enough,” she said.
Her words alarmed me. “If I’m going to be a teacher, I have much more to learn.”
“The tuition is costly, you know.”
“That is because the best families of Gettysburg send their daughters there,” I said. “We are as good as anybody in town.”
“That sounds like something a McGreevy would say,” Mama said sourly.
“Don’t you want me to succeed? To get an education?”
“Of course I do. But I want your father’s business to succeed too.”
Her words were like cold water splashed in my face. I drew in my breath sharply.
“It’s not … not that bad, is it?”
“You know our income is falling—”
“But it’s only temporary, until the war ends!”
“Some merchants are thriving because of the war, Lizzie. I’ve heard that large meatpackers out west are getting rich on government contracts. For small businesses like ours, however, there is real hardship ahead if the war goes on.”
“Amos knows what he is doing,” I said. I tried to sound confident, even though I thought that no one could be as capable as Papa.
“Yes, I trust him. But he cannot do the work of two men and one girl. I need you at the shop.”
“But it’s Papa who wants me to go to school. He even mentioned it in his letter!” I cried, growing desperate.
“Your father is not here now. I make the decisions. Ben will go to school because he must master the basic subjects. You, however, will not go to the Ladies’ Seminary this fall.”
I jumped from the bed and confronted my mother, my fists clenched so hard they hurt. “What? But you and Papa promised! It’s so unfair!” Tears spilled from my eyes.
“I’m sorry, Lizzie, I truly am. All of us must make sacrifices … for a time.”
Mama’s voice broke. Usually I was afraid to see her cry, but this time I didn’t care if I hurt her. I turned away and slammed the door behind me. There went all my hopes for the coming fall: new notebooks, lessons in poetry and literature, and walking to school every day, arm in arm with Rosanna.

For days I sulked over this disappointment, my face stiff and heavy with resentment. Rosanna urged me to keep begging, but I knew it would be vain. Mama’s mind was made up. After a few days, Amos asked what was bothering me, and the kindness in his dark eyes made me reveal