And Amity waited a minute before opening the basket, while she asked that she might have help to do the work faithfully. There is no kind of good work in which we cannot ask his help.
"But I can't think what any one could be thinking about to cut patchwork like that," said Amity as she spread out the pieces on the floor. "Just see here, Anna, what work! There are no two pieces alike."
"That comes from cutting one piece by another," said Anna, who was an excellent seamstress and a very good girl beside. "You must have a stiff paper pattern and measure by that. Keep to your pattern all the time: that is a good rule for more things than patchwork. But what is it all for, Miss Amity?"
Amity told her the story.
"Dear heart, how very nice!" said Anna, who was an English girl. "Where I came from, we all learned to sew in school. I think it would be good for you to have a class, Miss Amity; it would be a very nice diversion for you."
"I am hardly old enough for that," said Amity, smiling. "I'm afraid the girls wouldn't respect me, and I should be dreadfully afraid of them. And besides, Anna, I don't think I should quite like to do such work for a diversion."
"Many ladies do it," said Anna.
"Perhaps that is the reason they get tired and leave off so soon."
"I shouldn't wonder if you were right, miss. Well, I'll get you the red wrapper Miss Bogardus said you were to have; it will be very pretty to put your stripes together with."
Amity found her work more difficult than she expected; but she was very persevering, and she had Anna to appeal to in any difficulty. By Saturday she had a large number of pieces basted and ready for use.