The Palace Beautiful | Page 8

room.
"What was to be done with these lonely and defenceless girls? how
were they to meet the world? how were they to earn their living?"
Miss Martineau had never before found herself propounding so painful
and interesting a problem; her mind worked round it, and tried to
grapple with it, but though she stayed up far into the night, and even
had recourse to figures, and marked down on paper the very lowest sum
a girl could possibly exist on, she went to bed, having found no
solution to this vexed question.
Even Miss Martineau, ignorant and narrow-minded as she was, could

scarcely pronounce Primrose fit to do much in the educational world;
Jasmine's, of course, was only a little giddy pate, and she required a
vast amount of teaching herself; and pretty Daisy was still but a young
child.
Miss Martineau went to bed and to sleep; she dreamed troubled dreams,
but in the morning she awoke strengthened and restored, even by such
restless slumbers, and quite resolved to do something.
"Sophia Martineau," she said--for living quite alone she was fond of
holding conversations with herself--"Sophia Martineau, those girls are
placed, to put it figuratively, at your door, and take them up you must.
Gold you have none to bestow, but you can give interest; you can, in
short, rouse others to help the helpless. This is your bounden duty, and
you had better see to it at once."
Miss Martineau went briskly downstairs, ate her frugal breakfast, and
then made her plans. These plans were decisive enough. At Rosebury
no one thought of being so silly as to be over-educated. None of the
young brains of the rising generation were over-forced or
over-stimulated, and Miss Martineau felt no compunction whatever in
writing a short note to each of six little pupils, and telling them that
they need not come to her that morning, for she meant to give them a
holiday.
Having done this, and sent Susan out with the notes, she went upstairs,
and once more put on her black silk dress, her old-fashioned mantle,
and her high poke bonnet. Thus attired, she started on an expedition
which she trusted would lead to many happy results for the
Mainwarings.

CHAPTER V
.
THE CONTENTS OF THE CABINET.
The uneasiness Miss Martineau felt was by no means shared by the
girls. Primrose had in reality a very practical nature; she could
housekeep well, and no baker or butcher who ventured to show his face
in Rosebury would dream of cheating this bright young lady. No one
could make half-a-crown, or even a shilling, go farther than Primrose
could. No one could more cleverly convert an old dress into a new, but

her little experiences ended here. She had kept the house for her mother,
and been both thrifty and saving, but real responsibility had never been
hers. The overpowering sensation of knowing that she must make so
much money meet so many absolute necessities had never touched her
young life. Miss Martineau's words had made her a little thoughtful, but
by no means anxious. If she and her sisters could not live on thirty
pounds a year there was still the money in the bank.
Primrose thought two hundred pounds, if not a large, at least a very
comfortable sum. The only real effect that her old governess's words
had on her was to make her a little extra saving.
Jasmine never liked Primrose when she was in a saving mood, and she
grumbled audibly when, the morning after Miss Martineau's visit, her
elder sister suggested that they should do without some black cotton
dresses which the day before they had decided to buy and to make for
themselves.
"Such nonsense!" said Jasmine, stamping her little foot impatiently;
"you know we want the dresses, Primrose. You know poor Daisy can't
run and play in the garden in her black cashmere frock, and I can't dig
or weed. You know, when we decided to go on just as usual, just as if
mamma--was--was--"
Here Jasmine paused, gulped down a sob, and said, hastily, "We want
our print dresses, and we can't do without them. You are just frightened,
Primrose, by what Miss Martineau said."
"I am not at all frightened," answered Primrose, calmly; "only I think
we ought to be careful."
"And we are so rich, too," said Jasmine. "I never thought we had two
hundred pounds in the bank. Why it's heaps and lots of money.
Primrose, what are you so grave about?"
"Only," said Primrose, in her slow voice, "only Miss Martineau thought
it very, very little money. She looked so grave when she spoke about
it--indeed, she seemed almost sad. Jasmine, I really think Miss
Martineau quite loves us."
"Perhaps," said Jasmine, in an indifferent tone.