shment
had little terror for those whose hardships could scarcely be
artificially worsened. The stagger of despair, the stricken, helpless
aspect of such people, their gaunt faces and blurred eyes might
conceivably be their stock-in-trade, the keys wherewith they unlocked
hearts and purses and area-doors. It must be so when the sun was
shining and birds were singing across fields not immeasurably distant,
and children in walled gardens romped among fruits and flowers. She
would believe this, for it was the early morning when one must
believe, but when the nighttime came again she would laugh to scorn
such easy beliefs, she would see the lean ribs of humanity when she
undressed herself.

VIII

After her mother had gone Mary Makebelieve occupied herself settling
the room and performing the various offices which the keeping in order
of even one small room involves. There were pieces of the wall-paper
flapping loosely; these had to be gummed down with strips of
stamp-paper. The bed had to be made, the floor scrubbed, and a
miscellany of objects patted and tapped into order. Her few dresses
also had to be gone over for loose buttons, and the darning of
threadbare places was a duty exercising her constant attention. Her
clothing was always made by her mother, whose needle had once been
noted for expertness, and, therefore, fitted more accurately than is
customary in young girls' dresses. The arranging and rearranging of
her beads was a frequent and enjoyable labor. She had four different
necklaces, representing four different pennyworths of beads purchased
at a shop whose merchandise was sold for one penny per item. One
pennyworth of these beads was colored green, another red, a third was
colored like pearls, and the fourth was a miscellaneous packet of many
colors. A judicious selection of these beads could always provide a
new and magnificent necklace at the expense of little more than a
half-hour's easy work.

Because the sun was shining she brought out her white dress, and for a
time was busy on it. There had been five tucks in the dress, but one
after one they had to be let out. This was the last tuck that
remained, and it also had to go, but even with such extra lengthening
the dress would still swing free of her ankles. Her mother had
promised to add a false hem to it when she got time, and Mary
determined to remind her of this promise as soon as she came in from
work. She polished her shoes, put on the wh