nd even Godmother expressed the hope that they would not be
kept waiting long, under her breath. But minute after minute went by;
there they sat and nothing happened. It began to seem as if they might
sit on for ever.

All of a sudden, from out the spacious halls of which they had caught a
glimpse on arriving, brisk steps began to come towards them over the
oilcloth--at first as a mere tapping in the distance, then rapidly
gaining in weight and decision. Laura's palpitations reached their
extreme limit--another second and they might have burst her chest.
Cousin Grace ceased to giggle; the door opened with a peculiar
flourish; and all three rose to their feet.

The person who entered was a very stately lady; she wore a cap with
black ribbons. With the door-handle still in her hand she made a slight
obeisance, in which her whole body joined, afterwards to become more
erect than before. Having introduced herself to Godmother as Mrs.
Gurley, the Lady Superintendent of the institution, she drew up a
chair, let herself down upon it, and began to converse with an air of
ineffable condescension.

While she talked Laura examined her, with a child's thirst for detail.
Mrs. Gurley was large and generous of form, and she carried her head in
such a haughty fashion that it made her look taller than she really
was. She had a high colour, her black hair was touched with grey, her
upper teeth were prominent. She wore gold eyeglasses, many rings, a
long gold chain, which hung from an immense cameo brooch at her throat,
and a black apron with white flowers on it, one point of which was
pinned to her ample bosom. The fact that Laura had just such an apron
in her box went only a very little way towards reviving her spirits;
for altogether Mrs. Gurley was the most impressive person she had ever
set eyes on. Beside her, God mother was nothing but a plump,
shortsighted fidgety lady.

Particularly awe-inspiring was Mrs. Gurley when she listened to another
speaking. She held her head a little to one side, her teeth met her
underlip and her be-ringed hands toyed incessantly with the long gold
chain, in a manner which seemed to denote that she set little value on
what was being said. Awful, too, was the habit she had of suddenly
lowering her head and looking at you over the tops of her glasses: when
she did this, and when her teeth came down on her lip, you would have
liked to shrink to the size of a mouse. Godmother, it was true, was not
afr