"What absurd questions you ask," said Mrs. Lincoln, overturning a
work-box to find a spool of cotton, which lay directly on top. "Do
what you please with the bonnet, which I fancy you'll find as much
too small for Mary as the one she now has is too large."

Jenny felt fearful of this, but "where there's a will there's a way;"
and after considering a moment, she went in quest of her sister, who
had one just like it. Rose did not care a fig for the bonnet, and
after a while she agreed to part with it on condition that Jenny would
give her a coral bracelet, with gold clasps, which she had long
coveted. This fanciful little ornament was a birth-day present from
Billy and at first Jenny thought that nothing would tempt her to part
with it, but as Rose was decided, she finally yielded the point,
brushing away a tear as she placed the bracelet in her sister's hand.
Then putting the bonnet in a basket, and covering it with a newspaper,
she started for the poor-house.

"Good morning, Miss Grundy," said she, as she appeared in the doorway.
"May I see Mary, just a little minute? I've got something for her."

Miss Grundy was crosser than usual this morning on account of a sudden
illness which had come upon Patsy, so she jerked her shoulders, and
without turning her head, replied, "It's Monday mornin', and Mary
ain't goin' to be hindered by big bugs nor nobody else. Here 'tis
goin' on nine o'clock, and them dishes not done yet! If you want to
see her, you can go into the back room where she is."

Nothing daunted by this ungracious reception, Jenny advanced towards
the "back room," where she found Mary at the "sink," her arms immersed
in dishwater, and a formidable pile of plates, platters and bowls all