loves you Miss Mathilda, and you scold her please once."

"But Anna," cried poor Miss Mathilda, "I don't want to," and that
large, cheerful, but faint hearted woman looked all aghast at such a
prospect. "But you must, please Miss Mathilda!" Anna said.

Miss Mathilda never wanted to do any scolding. "But you must please
Miss Mathilda," Anna said.

Miss Mathilda every day put off the scolding, hoping always that Anna
would learn to manage Molly better. It never did get better and at
last Miss Mathilda saw that the scolding simply had to be.

It was agreed between the good Anna and her Miss Mathilda that Anna
should be away when Molly would be scolded. The next evening that it
was Anna's evening out, Miss Mathilda faced her task and went down
into the kitchen.

Molly was sitting in the little kitchen leaning her elbows on the
table. She was a tall, thin, sallow girl, aged twenty-three, by nature
slatternly and careless but trained by Anna into superficial neatness.
Her drab striped cotton dress and gray black checked apron increased
the length and sadness of her melancholy figure. "Oh, Lord!" groaned
Miss Mathilda to herself as she approached her.

"Molly, I want to speak to you about your behaviour to Anna!", here
Molly dropped her head still lower on her arms and began to cry.

"Oh! Oh!" groaned Miss Mathilda.

"It's all Miss Annie's fault, all of it," Molly said at last, in a
trembling voice, "I do my best."

"I know Anna is often hard to please," began Miss Mathilda, with a
twinge of mischief, and then she sobered herself to her task, "but
you must remember, Molly, she means it for your good and she is really
very kind to you."

"I don't want her kindness," Molly cried, "I wish you would tell me
what to do, Miss Mathilda, and then I would be all right. I hate Miss
Annie."

"This will never do Molly," Miss Mathilda said sternly, in her
deepest, firmest tones, "Anna is the head of the kitchen and you must
either obey her or leave."

"I don't want to leave you," whimpered melancholy Molly. "Well Molly
then try and do better," answered Miss Mathilda, keeping a good stern
front, and backing quickly from the kitchen.

"Oh! Oh!" groaned Miss Mathilda, as she went back up the stairs.

Miss Mathilda's attempt to make peace between the constantly
contending women in the kitchen had no real effect. They were very
soon as bitter as before.

At last it was decided that Molly was to go away. Molly went away to