of treating children. In India she had always
been attended by her Ayah, who had followed her
about and waited on her, hand and foot. She
had often been tired of her company. Now she
was followed by nobody and was learning to dress
herself because Martha looked as though she
thought she was silly and stupid when she wanted
to have things handed to her and put on.

"Hasn't tha' got good sense?" she said once,
when Mary had stood waiting for her to put on
her gloves for her. "Our Susan Ann is twice as
sharp as thee an' she's only four year' old.
Sometimes tha' looks fair soft in th' head."

Mary had worn her contrary scowl for an hour
after that, but it made her think several entirely
new things.

She stood at the window for about ten minutes
this morning after Martha had swept up the hearth
for the last time and gone down-stairs. She was
thinking over the new idea which had come to
her when she heard of the library. She did not
care very much about the library itself, because she
had read very few books; but to hear of it brought
back to her mind the hundred rooms with closed
doors. She wondered if they were all really
locked and what she would find if she could get
into any of them. Were there a hundred really?
Why shouldn't she go and see how many doors

[[68]]

p067 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p068w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p069

v?