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
Both the good Anna and her cherished Miss Mathilda tried hard to think
that this would not really happen. Anna made missions and all kinds of
things to keep her Miss Mathilda and Miss Mathilda thought out all the
ways to see if the good Anna could not go with her, but neither the
missions nor the plans had much success. Miss Mathilda would go, and
she was going far away to a new country where Anna could not live, for
she would be too lonesome.
There was nothing that these two could do but part. Perhaps we all be
dead by then, the good Anna would repeat, but even that did not really
happen. If we all live till then Miss Mathilda, came out truer. They
all did live till then, all except poor old blind Baby, and they
simply had to part.
Poor Anna and poor Miss Mathilda. They could not look at each other
that last day. Anna could not keep herself busy working. She just went
in and out and sometimes scolded.
Anna could not make up her mind what she should do now for her future.
She said that she would for a while keep this little red brick house
that they had lived in. Perhaps she might just take in a few boarders.
She did not know, she would write about it later and tell it all to
Miss Mathilda.
The dreary day dragged out and then all was ready and Miss Mathilda
left to take her train. Anna stood strained and pale and dry eyed
on the white stone steps of the little red brick house that they had
lived in. The last thing Miss Mathilda heard was the good Anna bidding
foolish Peter say good bye and be sure to remember Miss Mathilda.
Part III
THE DEATH OF THE GOOD ANNA
Every one who had known of Miss Mathilda wanted the good Anna now to
take a place with them, for they all knew how well Anna could take
care of people and all their clothes and goods. Anna too could always
go to Curden to Miss Mary Wadsmith, but none of all these ways seemed
very good to Anna.
It was not now any longer that she wanted to stay near Mrs. Lehntman.
There was no one now that made anything important, but Anna was
certain that she did not want to take a place where she would be
under some new people. No one could ever be for Anna as had been her
cherished Miss Mathilda. No one could ever again so freely let her do
it all. It would be better Anna thought in her strong strained weary
body, it would be better just to keep on there in the little red
brick house that was all furnished, and make a living taking in some
boarders. Miss Mathilda had let her have the things, so it would not
cost any money to begin. She could perhaps manage to live on so. She
could do all the work and do everything as she thought best, and she
was too weary with the changes to do more than she just had to, to
keep living. So she stayed on in the house where they had lived, and
she found some men, she would not take in women, who took her rooms
and who were her boarders.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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