“Please leave me alone, Martha. If you had spent the wretched night I have spent you might look tired and worn out too. I was turned out of my bedroom, to begin with, because Sister Helen required it.”
“Well, surely there was no hardship in that?” said Martha. “I, for instance, spent the night gladly with dear little Sylvia and Hester; we all had a room together in the lower school. Do you think I grumbled?”
“Oh, of course you are a saint!” said Fanny with a sneer.
“I am not, but I think I am human; and just at present, for some extraordinary reason, you are not.”
“Well, you haven’t heard the history of my woes. I had to share Miss Symes’s room with her.”
“St. Cecilia’s delightful room! Surely that was no great hardship?”
“Wait until you hear. St. Cecilia was quite kind, as she always is; and I was told that I could have a room to myself to-night. I found, to begin with, however, that most of the clothes I wanted had been left behind in my own room. Still, I made no complaint; although, of course, it was not comfortable, particularly as Miss Symes intended to sit up in order to see the doctors. But as I was preparing to get into bed, those twins—those horrid girls that you make such a fuss about, Martha—rushed into the room and put an awful spider into the center of my bed, and when I tried to get rid of it, it rushed towards me. Then I screamed out, and Susie and Olive came in. But we couldn’t catch the spider nor find it anywhere. You don’t suppose I was likely to go to bed with that thing in the room? The fire went nearly out. I was hungry, sleepy, cold. I assure you I have my own share of misery. Then Miss Symes came in and ordered me to bed. I went, but hardly slept a wink. And now you expect me to be as cheerful and bright and busy as a bee this morning!”
“Oh, not cheerful, poor Fanny!—we can none of us be that with Betty in such great danger; but you can at least be busy, you can at least help others.”
“Thank you,” replied Fanny; “self comes first now and then, and it does on the present occasion;” and Fanny marched to Miss Symes’s room.