Saturday, August 26, 1928

Continuing with the autobiography:

My Family

In our family there are three girls of which I am the oldest.

My youngest sister is a sweet tempered little mischief. She will smile and wave when the rest of the family go out and she is left behind. She will give you anything you want that she has as long as you don't command her or try to snatch it away. When she is naughty and knows it sometimes she will look up at you with the most mischievous smile that will make you want to hug her instead of reprimanding. But she is stubborn. Wen you want her to do a thing she doesn't want to do she will just stand still and say no. You can't force her to do it because she squirms so much when you try. Then if you start to scold she just looks at you as if she had never seen you before. She is small but beautifully formed. She has the whitest most satinny (sic) smooth skin I have ever seen. the yellow hair and deep blue eyes.

My second sister, June, is quite the opposite in coloring. She has smooth healthy tan skin. Her eyes are large and a soft brown and are shaded by long black lashes. June is thirteen years old, she isn't as tall as most of her thirteen year old friends. She is slender and will be a quite a beautiful woman. June and I quarrel as much as any sisters but June can be very affectionate at times. She values me as a judge of her clothes. She usually accepts my advice as what to wear but as to conduct----well, not always. June is attractive not only in that she's good to look at but in her line of chatter. She usually has something to say that is interesting but she is unconscious of her ability to entertain.

I enjoy being the oldest of the family. When my mother and father are out I like to have the servants come to me for directions or have June come to me for advice. there is on disadvantage in being the oldest. When June and I squabble, I "must not take advantage of her because she is younger", so she gets the best of it. June has one specially good trait. When we have company she is always a kind, obedient sister, willing to do anything I ask instead of telling me to do it myself as she would if we were alone.

Jane's Notes: I love this description of her sisters, especially Eleanor. It's such a nice accounting of her without any reference to her disability.