I do hope she will like me."
"It is quite right, my dear, and I am most glad to see thee; for we
need help at this season of the year, and have had none for several
weeks. Step up to the room at the head of the stairs, and lay off
thy things. Then, if thee is not tired, I will give thee a little
job with me in the kitchen," said the old lady with a kindly
directness which left no room for awkwardness on the new-comer's
part.
Up went Christie, and after a hasty look round a room as plain and
white and still as a nun's cell, she whisked on a working-apron and
ran down again, feeling, as she fancied the children did in the
fairy tale, when they first arrived at the house of the little old
woman who lived in the wood.
Mrs. Wilkins's kitchen was as neat as a room could be, wherein six
children came and went, but this kitchen was tidy with the
immaculate order of which Shakers and Quakers alone seem to possess
the secret,--a fragrant, shining cleanliness, that made even black
kettles ornamental and dish-pans objects of interest. Nothing burned
or boiled over, though the stove was full of dinner-pots and
skillets. There was no litter or hurry, though the baking of cake
and pies was going on, and when Mrs.
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