“Not much; why should I?” answered Polly, stoutly.
“Well, I don’t know; it ‘s a new thing, and must be a little bit hard
at first,” stammered Fanny, not liking to say that working for one’s
living seemed a dreadful hardship to her.
“It will be tiresome, of course, but I shall get used to it; I shall like
the exercise, and the new people and places I must see will amuse
me. Then the independence will be delightful, and if I can save a
little to help Kitty along with, that will be best of all.”
Polly’s face shone as if the prospect was full of pleasure instead of
work, and the hearty good will with which she undertook the new
task, seemed to dignify her humble hopes and plans, and make
them interesting in the sight of others.
“Who have you got for pupils?” asked Mrs. Shaw, forgetting her
nerves for a minute.
Polly named her list, and took a secret satisfaction in seeing the
impression which certain names made upon her hearers.
“How in the world did you get the Davenports and the Greys, my
dear?” said Mrs. Shaw, sitting erect in her surprise.
“Mrs. Davenport and mother are relations, you know.”
“You never told us that before!” “The Davenports have been away
some years, and I forgot all about them. But when I was making
my plan, I knew I must have a good name or two to set me going,
so I just wrote and asked Mrs. D. if she would help me. She came
and saw us and was very kind, and has got these pupils for me, like
a dear, good woman as she is.”
“Where did you learn so much worldly wisdom, Polly?” asked Mr.
Shaw, as his wife fell back in her chair, and took out her salts, as if
this discovery had been too much for her.
“I learnt it here, sir,” answered Polly, laughing. “I used to think
patronage and things of that sort very disagreeable and not worth
having, but I ‘ve got wiser, and to a certain extent I ‘m glad to use
whatever advantages I have in my power, if they can be honestly
got.”
“Why did n’t you let us help you in the beginning? We should have
been very glad to, I ‘m sure,” put in Mrs. Shaw, who quite burned
to be known as a joint patroness with Mrs. Davenport.
“I know you would, but you have all been so kind to me I did n’t
want to trouble you with my little plans till the first steps were
taken. Besides, I did n’t know as you would like to recommend me
as a teacher, though you like me well enough as plain Polly.”
“My dear, of course I would, and we want you to take Maud at
once, and teach her your sweet songs. She has a fine voice, and is
really suffering for a teacher.”
A slight smile passed over Polly’s face as she returned her thanks
for the new pupil, for she remembered a time when Mrs. Shaw
considered her “sweet songs” quite unfit for a fashionable young
lady’s repertoire. “Where is your room?” asked Maud.
“My old friend Miss Mills has taken me in, and I am nicely settled.
Mother did n’t like the idea of my going to a strange
boarding-house, so Miss Mills kindly made a place for me. You
know she lets her rooms without board, but she is going to give me
my dinners, and I ‘m to get my own breakfast and tea, quite
independently. I like that way, and it ‘s very little trouble, my
habits are so simple; a bowl of bread and milk night and morning,
with baked apples or something of that sort, is all I want, and I can
have it when I like.”
“Is your room comfortably furnished? Can’t we lend you anything,
my dear? An easy-chair now, or a little couch, so necessary when
one comes in tired,” said Mrs. Shaw, taking unusual interest in the
affair.
“Thank you, but I don’t need anything, for I brought all sorts of
home comforts with me. Oh, Fan, you ought to have seen my