The poor girl looked round her in amazement at the pretty spacious room, as she spread her hands, knotted and coarsened by work, to the blaze.

Elizabeth held her sickly babe, rocking it and crooning to it, while upstairs one of kind-eyed Cumberland women was getting a warm bath ready, and lighting a fire in the guest-room.
"How old is it ?" she asked.
"Thirteen months." "You ought to give up nursing it.

It would be better for you both." "I tried giving it a bit o' what we had ourselves," said the mother, dully--"But I nearly lost her." "I should think so!" laughed Elizabeth indignantly; and she began to preach rational ways of feeding and caring for the child, while the mother sat by, despondent, and too crushed and hopeless to take much notice.

Presently Elizabeth gave her back the babe, and went to fetch hot tea and bread and butter.
"Shall I come and get it in the kitchen ?" said the woman, rising.
"No, no--stay where you are!" cried Elizabeth.

And she was just carrying back a laden tray from the dining-room when Anderson caught her.
"Darling!--that's too heavy for you!--what are you about ?" "There's a woman in there who's got to be fed--and there's a man in there"-- she pointed to the kitchen--"who's got to be talked to.