ich would give the sisters very pleasant occupation, such as
decorative art or clerical work.'

"At this her face brightened. 'Clerical work is very nice. I tried that
once, myself.'

"'Was it book-keeping?' I asked.

"'Oh, no,' she answered; 'I shouldn't have liked that. It was writing
from dictation. I worked regularly so many hours every morning. It was a
book which was dictated to me,--sketches of travel; that is, it was
partly travel and partly fiction. It was very interesting.'

"'I should think it would be so,' I answered. 'To ladies of education
and literary taste, I should say such employment would be highly
congenial. Do you intend to devote yourself principally to that sort of
thing?'

"'Oh, no,' said she, 'not at all. I like the work very much, but, for
various reasons, I shall not do any more of it.'

"I endeavored mildly to remonstrate against such a decision, but she
shook her head. 'I was not a full sister at the time,' she said, 'and
this was an experiment. I shall do no more of it.'

"Her manner was very decided, but I did not drop the subject. 'If you do
not fancy writing from dictation,' I said, 'why don't you try
typewriting? I should think that would be very interesting, and it could
be done in your own room. The work would not require you to go out at
all, if you object to that.' Now this was a slip, because she had not
told me that she had gone out, but she did not notice it.

"'A sister does not have a room of her own,' she answered, 'and I do not
understand typewriting;' and with that she left me, and went below,
looking very meditative.

"But my remark had had an effect. I think it was not half an hour
afterward when she came to me.

"'I have been thinking about your suggestion of typewriting,' she said.
'Is it difficult to learn? Do you understand it? What use could I make
of a machine in the House of Martha?'

"I told her that I understood the art, and gave her all the information
I could in regard to it, taking care to make the vocation as attractive
as my conscience would allow. As to the use she could make of it, I said
that at present there was a constant demand for typewritten copies of
all sorts of writings,--legal, literary, scientific, everything.

"'And people would send me things,' she asked, 'and I would copy them on
the typewriter, and send them back, and that would be all?'

"'You have put it exactly,' I said. 'If you do not choose, you need have
no communication