into the house to see Mrs. Bowles. She was an invalid, he told me,
and could not leave her room.

"Girls, the minute I saw that sweet, pale face, with the look of
pain and patience in it, I knew what I had come for. I do think we
understood each other from the first minute, Mrs. Bowles and I; for
she held my hand a good while, looking into my face and I into hers,
and she must have seen how sorry I was for her, and how I hoped I
could help her; for when I went into the kitchen I heard her say,
with a little sigh, as she lay back again, 'O John, I do believe
this is the right one at last!' You may believe I made up my mind
that I would be the right one, Lottie!

"That kitchen was in a scandalous condition. It was well I had seen
Mrs. Bowles first or I should have wanted to run away that very
minute. The eldest little girl--it seems strange to think that there
ever was a time when I didn't know Barbara's name!--followed me out,
--I think her father told her to,--and rubbed along against the wall,
just exactly as I used to when I felt shy. When I asked her a little
about where things were, and so on--they were everywhere and nowhere;
you never saw such a looking place in your life!--she took her
finger out of her mouth, and pretty soon I told her about our yellow
coon kittens, and after that we got on very well. She said they had
had one girl after another, each worse than the last. The shoe
factory had taken off all the good help and left only the incapable
ones. The last one, Barbara said, had almost starved them, and been
saucy to Mrs. Bowles, and dirty--well, there was no need to tell me
that. It was a shame to see good things so destroyed; for the things
were good, only all dirty and broken, and--oh, well! there's no use
in telling about that part.