"I shan't be here to
see it."
"Oh yes you will. You'll be helping me with the spring cleaning,"
said Huldah, trying to keep cheerful,--one of the hardest of her
daily tasks, for Aunt Emma's melancholy seldom left her. She never
saw the bright side of anything, poor soul, nor the best, nor did she
try to; and the depressingness of it told on the child's spirits more
than anyone knew.
She worked very hard indeed at this time. The vicar had given them
the rooms rent-free; but Huldah's basket-making had to supply almost
everything else--food, clothing, lights, and many an extra--needed
for Aunt Emma. Their rooms were few, and there was not much in them,
but all that had to be done fell to Huldah to do. Emma Smith never
put her hand to anything, not even to wash a dish, cook a meal, or
make her own bed. She needed a great deal of waiting on, too, and
was very fretful. She did not like to be left alone, even while
Huldah went out to do the errands; and on the days when the poor
child had to go to Belmouth to deliver her work, or get more raffia,
Aunt Emma had always a very bad turn, and an attack of melancholy.
It was quite pathetic to see the way she clung to the little waif she
had treated so cruelly when she had her in her power. She wanted no
one but Huldah now, and she wanted her always.
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