timent be crushed; die out in sterility; or worse, coarsen to the
animal like to those whose companion she is forced to be.

"I live to the Rockies, an' Uncle Tom he come up after me and carried
me down hyar. My auntie died two weeks ago in the livin'-room; she had
catchin' pneumonia. I tuk care of her all through her sickness, did
every mite for her, and there was bo'ders, tew--I guess half a dozen of
'em--and I cooked and washed and everything for 'em all. When she died I
went to work in the mill. Say, I reckon you-all didn't see my new hat?"
It was fetched, done up with care in paper. She displayed it, a white
straw round hat, covered with roses. At praise of it and admiration the
girl flushed with pleasure.

"My, you _dew_ like it? Why, I didn't think it _pretty, much_. Uncle Tom
dun buy it for me."

She gives all her wages to Uncle Tom, who in turn brings her from time
to time such stimulus to labour as some pretty feminine thing like this.
_This_ shall crown Molly's hair freed from the crimpers when the one day
of the week, Sunday, comes! Not from Sunday till Sunday again are those
hair crimpers unloosed.

Despite Uncle Tom's opposition to mill work for women, despite his
cognizance of the unhealthfulness of the mills, he knew a thing or two
when he put his strapping innocent niece to work thirteen hours a day
and pocketed himself the spoils.

"I can't go to bade awful early, because I don't sleep ef I do; I'm too
tired to sleep. When I feel real sick I tries to stay home a day, and
then the overseer he rides around and _worries_ me to git up. I declare
ef I wouldn't near as soon git up as to be roused up. They don't give
you no peace, rousing you out of bed when you can scarcely stand. I
suttenly dew feel bade to-night; I suttenly can't scarcely get to bed!"

Here into our discourse, mounting the stairs, comes the pale mother and
her little child. This ghost of a woman, wedding-ringless, who called
herself Mrs. White, could scarcely crawl to her bed. She was whiter than
the moon and as slender. Molly's bed is close to mine. The night toilet
of this girl consisted of her divesting herself of her shoes, stockings
and her cotton wrapper, then in all the other garments she wore during
the day she turned herself into bed, nightgownless, unwashed.

Mrs. White undressed her child, giving it very good care. It was a tiny
creature, small-boned and meager. Every time I looked over at it it
smiled appealingly, touchi