"She pricked her finger with a mattress needle, and as she could not stop work, blood poisoning followed, and she was forced to have her arm amputated."
"Poor woman," broke in the old man, absent-mindedly.
"As for her lung trouble, it is very common among women who continually breathe the dust arising from the wool used in mattresses. My godmother is almost bent double, and during her long paroxysms of coughing I am sometimes obliged to support her in my arms for hours."
"You alone, then, contribute to her support?"
"Certainly, since she is unable to work."
"Such devotion on your part is very generous."
"I only do my duty, monsieur. She gave me shelter after my parents died, and paid for my three years of apprenticeship in the shop. Is it not just that I should now care for her?"
"You must work very hard to earn sufficiently."
"From fifteen to eighteen hours a day."
"And instead of taking a much needed rest at night, you watch over your godmother?"