Paula the Waldensian | Page 5

new books were continually brought in; but nothing
seemed to have power to put a smile of satisfaction on her thin, wasted
face.
Poor Catalina! It was certainly true--I didn't love her very much. I was
so accustomed to see my sister in her invalid state that her pitiful
condition didn't seem to move me, and she was always in such a bad
humor that I only went to see her on rare occasions.
However, on this particular afternoon, I had, of course, a great desire to
carry her the news of our cousin's coming, and so I gladly went to visit
her; but forgetting all the warnings of Rosa I burst open the door like a
gust of wind.
Catalina was lying with her face toward the wall with the curtains of
the bed partly drawn, and a green shade had been placed over the cages
of the two birds in order to stop their singing. Under other
circumstances I would have prudently retired, thinking that Catalina,
more irritated or sicker than usual, was endeavoring to sleep. Doubtless

our old servant had come in to speak to her regarding Paula, and
finding her apparently asleep had arranged things as I found them. She
turned her head on hearing me come in and in a sharp tone exclaimed,
"What a noise, Lisita! Can't you give me a single quiet moment!"
"You know I haven't been here all day!" I answered impatiently. "In
fact, I haven't been here since yesterday morning, and besides, I forgot
that Rosa told me that you had a headache."
"Well, you know it now!"
"So you wouldn't care to have me tell you the big news!"
"No!"
"Well, I am going to tell you anyhow, because I can't keep it to myself
any longer! Uncle John is dead!"
"Uncle John! Dead?"
"Yes, and I'm happy!"
"What do you mean, you're happy!"
"Well, I am happy!--not because Uncle John is dead, but because his
little girl, Paula, who is just my age, is coming to live with us, so, of
course, why shouldn't I be happy?"
"Well, you can just forget your 'happiness,' because Paula is not going
to live with us. I can tell you that right now!"
"And why not? Father said she was coming! You can ask Teresa, or
Rosa, or Louis!"
"I am not going to ask anyone, but I tell you that Paula is not coming
here! No! and indeed, NO! I've got enough to put up with, with Louis
and you! It seems as if you tear my head apart, for you quarrel from
morning till night; and when you play it seems as if the house is
coming down; and now suppose another bad-mannered little girl should

come among us! But I tell you it never shall happen!"
"You're not the one who orders things here!"
"Neither do you, you impertinent little thing."
"Now, don't get mad, Catalina!" I cried, as I burst into tears.
"You don't know what you are talking about. You do not realize that
Paula has no one in the world to care for her. Teresa read us the letter
out loud. I know I'm not a good girl and I'm almost as disagreeable as
you are, but I am going to be good when Paula comes. You shall see.
She will be my dearly beloved sister and she is almost exactly my age.
Oh, I certainly shall love her so, and we shall always be together and
we, we...."
"Keep quiet, Lisita. Your tongue runs like a mill-wheel. Besides, where
did you get all these details?"
"It was this afternoon, just as we finished tea. They wrote to father, and
father gave the letter to Teresa, and Teresa said that a little extra work
didn't bother her, and so father said, 'All right, let her come!'"
"And I? Father said nothing about me?"
"Not that I remember."
"Oh," sobbed Catalina, "everything is done without me now! Because I
am nothing more than an invalid, everything is arranged without
consulting me! What difference does it make to you--who are able to
laugh and run and play--if I suffer here without having a thing to say
about what goes on in the house! How would you like to be in my place?
Father never came to say one single word to me about the matter, and
now without consulting me as to whether it would disturb me, they
wish to bring another trouble to torment me more! But it shall not be,
and the day that she comes I shall go to a hospital, because they do not
want me here any more!"

Poor Catalina! She had passed a very bad day, and always on such days
she would weep on the slightest pretext. I didn't care for her very