Mrs. Elliott, as she had supposed, she exclaimed:

"Go 'way wid yez! Wud I be workin' for the likes of a child like that?
No, mum, I ain't no nurse; I'm a cook, and I want a mistress as has got
past playing wid dolls."

"I hope you'll find one," said Patty politely; "and I'm afraid we
wouldn't suit each other."

Another Irish girl, with a merry rosy face and frizzled blonde hair, was
very anxious to go to work for Patty.

"Sure, it will be fun!" she said. "I'd like to work for such a pretty
little lady; and, sure, we'd have the good times. Could I have all me
afternoons out, miss?"

"Not if you lived with me," said Patty, laughing. "My house is large,
and there's a great deal of work to be done by somebody. I think my cook
couldn't do her share if she went out every afternoon."

Many others were interviewed, but each seemed to have more or less
objectionable traits. One would not come unless she were the only
servant; another would not come unless Patty kept five. Most of them
showed such a decided lack of respect to so young a mistress that Aunt
Alice began to despair of finding the kind, capable woman she had
imagined. They went home feeling rather discouraged, but when Patty told
her troubles to her father, he only laughed.

"Bless your heart, child," he said; "you couldn't expect to engage a
whole cook in one afternoon! It's a long and serious process."