"This day, this very hour!" cried Ida May, eagerly.
The matron hesitated.
"I must first know what sort of employment you are seeking—what you are best suited for."
"I am suited for nothing," Ida answered, despondently. "But that must not deter me. If one did only the work one was fitted for, three-quarters of the world would be idle."
"Would you take a situation as governess if one could be found for you?"
She shook her head dejectedly.
"I have not education enough," she replied. "I did not have much opportunity of going to school when I was a little girl, and I am suffering for it now."
After a moment's pause the matron said, thoughtfully:
"Would you like to try dress-making?"
"That's another thing that I know nothing about," she said. "I was never taught to mend or sew. I always got out of it. Mother did it for me rather than scold me."