Tabitha at Ivy Hall, page 20 by Ruth Alberta Brown
<< Return to Title Details & Download21
er entered her mind; she merely hated "Tabitha" with all the strength of her passionate nature; she had found a name that filled her with delight; she had adopted it at first in play, but it had become very real to her, and now as she spoke the words that were so beautiful to her, it seemed as if they belonged to her.
"How do you ever remember them all?" asked Carrie. "Must people use that whole long name when they speak to you?"
"Not unless they want to," answered Tabitha with restored composure. "Theodora Gabrielle is enough."
"Well, Theodora Gabrielle, have you got any sisters?"
"No, only one brother, To-- Dionysius Ulysses Humphrey Llewelyn."
"My! what long names you do have in your family! Will you say it again, please? I couldn't quite make it out."
So Tabitha repeated the words slowly, adding, "I always call him all of them, but he would just as soon folks would call him Ulysses. He was named after General Grant who fought in the Civil War. To-- Dionysius Ulysses Humphrey Llewelyn taught me how to read, 'cause we move so much that sometimes we miss a lot of school, and I've gone clear through the United States history. Have you?"
"Mercy, no!" ejaculated Carrie in astonishment. "I'm not through with geography yet."
"Oh, I don't s'pose I am, either, but we have three histories and no geographies at our house, so I couldn't read up geography. To-- Dionysius Ulysses Humphrey Llewelyn explains when I don't understand, and he draws maps to show how the battles were fought. We learn poetry about fights, too. To-- my brother is going to be a soldier when he gets big."
The name with which she had so generously supplied her brother was becoming very hard to manage, and she sat silently eyeing her bare feet while she tried in vain to think of some way out of the dilemma. She had told Carrie that she always called her brother his full name. What could she do but prove it?
Carrie's voice interrupted her meditations. "Don't you hate to speak