Three Lives: Stories of The Good Anna, Melanctha and The Gentle LenaStein, Gertrude
General
Three Lives: Stories of The Good Anna, Melanctha and The Gentle Lena
Stein, Gertrude
Working class women -- Fiction
Poor Mrs. Drehten still had trouble with her tumor. She could hardly
do any work now any more. Mrs. Drehten was a large, worn, patient
german woman, with a soft face, lined, yellow brown in color and the
look that comes from a german husband to obey, and many solid girls
and boys to bear and rear, and from being always on one's feet and
never having any troubles cured.
Mrs. Drehten was always getting worse, and now the doctor thought it
would be best to take the tumor out.
It was no longer Dr. Shonjen who treated Mrs. Drehten. They all went
now to a good old german doctor they all knew.
"You see, Miss Mathilda," Anna said, "All the old german patients
don't go no more now to Doctor. I stayed with him just so long as
I could stand it, but now he is moved away up town too far for poor
people, and his wife, she holds her head up so and always is spending
so much money just for show, and so he can't take right care of us
poor people any more. Poor man, he has got always to be thinking about
making money now. I am awful sorry about Doctor, Miss Mathilda, but
he neglected Mrs. Drehten shameful when she had her trouble, so now I
never see him any more. Doctor Herman is a good, plain, german doctor
and he would never do things so, and Miss Mathilda, Mrs. Drehten is
coming in to-morrow to see you before she goes to the hospital for her
operation. She could not go comfortable till she had seen you first to
see what you would say."
All Anna's friends reverenced the good Anna's cherished Miss Mathilda.
How could they not do so and still remain friends with the good Anna?
Miss Mathilda rarely really saw them but they were always sending
flowers and words of admiration through her Anna. Every now and then
Anna would bring one of them to Miss Mathilda for advice.
It is wonderful how poor people love to take advice from people who
are friendly and above them, from people who read in books and who are
good.
Miss Mathilda saw Mrs. Drehten and told her she was glad that she was
going to the hospital for operation for that surely would be best, and
so good Mrs. Drehten's mind was set at rest.
Mrs. Drehten's tumor came out very well. Mrs. Drehten was afterwards
never really well, but she could do her work a little better, and be
on her feet and yet not get so tired.
And so Anna's life went on, taking care of Miss Mathilda and all her
clothes and goods, and being good to every one that asked or seemed to
need her help.
Now, slowly, Anna began to make it up with Mrs. Lehntman. They could
never be as they had been before. Mrs, Lehntman could never be again
the romance in the good Anna's life, but they could be friends again,
and Anna could help all the Lehntmans in their need. This slowly came
about.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account