Warning: If you have a visual impairment, use the manuscript transcript version including the Lucy Maud Montgomery’s foot notes and contextual annotation references.

Chapter 9

132

“especially when you’ve never had any experience with children. You don’t know much about her (begin subscript)^(end subscript)(begin superscript)or her real disposition(end superscript) I suppose, and there’s no guessing how a child like that will turn out. But I don’t want to discourage you I’m sure, Marilla.

“I’m not feeling discouraged,” was Marilla’s dry response. “When I make up my mind to do a thing it stays made up. I suppose you’d like to see Anne. I’ll call her in.”

Anne came running in presently, her face sparkling with the delight of her orchard rovings; but, abashed at finding herself in the unexpected presence of a stranger, she halted confusedly inside the door. She certainly was an odd-looking little creature, in the short, tight wincey dress she had worn from


TEXT ANNOTATION

"on her real disposition": This addition in Rachel Lynde's comment to Marilla represents how Montgomery's additions to the text, even seemingly spontaneous ones, markedly improve the impact of the descriptions and dialogue; Montgomery has planned the details of Anne's fury so well that she is watching it happen as she writes.