Aunt Mary's Memoirs: IV

At school, the boys' play area was divided from the girls' by a high board fence. I did not like to be separated from my brothers, especially Jim, who was my champion and protector. He tried to make me understand why I could not be with him at recess time.
In the classroom, we sat two pupils to a seat and shared a desk together. There was a shelf for our slates and pencils and an inkwell on top. We children who lived far from school carried our lunches and my father would leave a small bottle of milk for me every morning, which I gave to another little girl who would drink it. I would carry home the empty bottle to be washed.