In less than an hour she returned. I was promptly at hand to receive her
report.

"Well," said she, "I have visited the sisters, but I am sorry I did not
see Mother Anastasia. She was away."

"Away!" I exclaimed. "Where has she gone?"

"She went to Washington more than a week ago," was the answer.

"For a long stay?" I asked quickly.

"The sisters did not know," continued my grandmother, "but their
impression is that she will return in a few days."

I knitted my brows.

"You are disappointed, and so am I. I intended to ask her here to tea
next Friday, and to urge her, if she did not too greatly object, to
bring Sylvia with her. There is nothing like quiet intercourse of that
kind to break down obstacles."

"Alas," I said, "I am afraid there are obstacles"--

"But do not let us talk about them," she interrupted. "Nobody knows what
will happen, and let us be as happy as we can."

"Did you see Sylvia?" I asked.

"Oh, yes," she answered, "and I had some talk with her, but it did not
amount to much. She is trying to make a regular nun of herself,--that
is, if a Protestant can be a nun,--but I do not think she will ever
succeed. She admitted that she greatly disliked the ordinary work of the
sisters, and wished to employ herself in some way which would be just as
lucrative to the institution, and yet not so repugnant to her. Now you
can see for yourself that that will not do. If she intends to be a
sister of the House of Martha, she must do as the other sisters do. She
cannot always expect to be an exception. At present she is learning
typewriting."

I gave a great start. "Typewriting!" I exclaimed.

"Yes," said my grandmother. "Is it not odd that she should have taken up
that? She has a machine, and practices steadily on it. She showed me
some of her printed sheets, and I must say, so far as I am concerned,
that I should prefer plain handwriting, where the letters are not so
likely to get on top of one another. She wanted to know if I could give
her any advice about getting work, when she thought she could do it well
enough; but of course I know nothing about such things. My hope is that
she will get to dislike that as much as she does nursing and apothecary
work, and to find out that her real duty is to live like an ordinary
human being, and so make herself and other people truly happy."

I do not know that there is any inherent connection between a
typewriting machine and the emotions and sentiments of