"Your fingers to the bone--what good would that do? Listen to me, girls. Both of you can make a fair enough living for yourselves. You will easily get a good governess's place, Cicely; for, though you are not very accomplished, you are so thorough--and Mab, perhaps, if she succeeds, may do still better. But consider what that is: fifty pounds a year at the outside; and at first you could not look for that; and you are always expected to dress well and look nice, and Mab would have all sorts of expenses for her materials and models and so forth. The cheapest good school for boys I ever heard of was forty pounds without clothes, and at present they are too young for school. It is a woman's work to look after two little things like that. What can you do with them? If you stay and take care of them, you will all three starve. It would be far better to get them into some asylum where they would be well looked after; and then," said Aunt Jane, insinuatingly, "if you got on very well, or if anything fortunate happened, you could take them back, don't you see, whenever you liked." Mab, moved by this, turned her eyes to Cicely for her cue; for there was a great deal of reason in what Aunt Jane said. "Don't say anything more about it, please," said Cicely. "We must not say too much, for I may break down, or any one may break down; but they shall not go upon charity if I can help it. Oh, charity is very good, I know; we may be glad of it, all of us, if we get sick or can't find anything to do; but I must try first--I must try!" "O Cicely, this is pride, the same sort of pride that prevented your poor papa from asking for anything----" "Hush, Aunt Jane! Whatever he did was right; but I am not like papa. I don't mind asking so long as it is for work. I have an idea now. Poor Mrs. Jones! I am very very sorry for her, leaving her children desolate. But some one will have to come in her place. Why should it not be me? There is a little house quite comfortable and pleasant where I could have the children; and I think the parish would not refuse me, if it was only for papa's sake." "Cicely! my dear child, of what are you thinking?" said Miss Maydew, in dismay. "A parish schoolmistress! you are dreaming. All this has been too much for you. My dear, my dear, you must never think of such a thing again!" "O Cicely, it is not a place for a lady, surely," cried Mab. "Look here," said Cicely, the colour mounting to her face. "I'd take in washing if it was necessary, and if I knew how. A lady! there's nothing about ladies that I know of in the Bible. Whatever a woman can do I'm ready to try, and I don't care, not the worth of a pin, whether it's a place for a lady or not. O Aunt Jane, I beg your pardon. I know how good you are--but charity! I can't bear the thought of charity. I must try my own way."