"'What's that?' she asked, surprised to hear there was anything left
which she could _do_ for anybody.

"'I want you to turn out all these physic bottles, and make your room
pleasant and pretty for _me_ to come and sit in. You see, I shall spend
a good deal of my time here! Now I don't like dust and darkness. I like
to see flowers on the table, and sunshine in at the window. Will you do
this to please me?'

"'Yes,' said the girl, but she gave a sigh, and I am afraid she felt as
if it was going to be a dreadful trouble.

"'Then, another thing,' continued her father, 'I want _you_ to look
pretty. Can't nightgowns and wrappers be trimmed and made becoming just
as much as dresses? A sick woman who isn't neat is a disagreeable
object. Do, to please me, send for something pretty, and let me see you
looking nice again. I can't bear to have my Helen turn into a
slattern.'"

"Helen!" exclaimed Katy, with wide-open eyes, "was it _you_?"

"Yes," said her cousin, smiling. "It was I though I didn't mean to let
the name slip out so soon. So, after my father was gone away, I sent for
a looking-glass. Such a sight, Katy! My hair was a perfect mouse's nest,
and I had frowned so much that my forehead was all criss-crossed with
lines of pain, till it looked like an old woman's."

Katy stared at Cousin Helen's smooth brow and glossy hair. "I can't
believe it," she said; "your hair never could be rough."