The tears were fast coming; she put her hand upon her eyes to force them back.
"If you are so tired of being idle," said Miss Fortune, "I'll warrant I'll give you something to do; and something to learn, too, that you want enough, more than all those crinkum- crankums; I wonder what good they'd ever do you! That's the way your mother was brought up, I suppose. If she had been trained to use her hands and do something useful, instead of thinking herself above it, maybe she wouldn't have had to go to sea for her health just now; it doesn't do for women to be bookworms."
"Mamma isn't a bookworm!" said Ellen, indignantly; "I don't know what you mean; and she never thinks of herself above being useful; it's very strange you should say so when you don't know anything about her."
"I know she han't brought you up to know manners, anyhow," said Miss Fortune. "Look here I'll give you something to do just you put those plates and dishes together ready for washing while I am down stairs."
Ellen obeyed, unwillingly enough. She had neither knowledge of the business nor any liking for it; so it is no wonder Miss Fortune at her return was not well pleased.
"But I never did such a thing before," said Ellen.
"There it is now!" said Miss Fortune. "I wonder where your eyes have been every single time that I have done it since you have been here. I should think your own sense might have told you! But you're too busy learning of Mr. Van Brunt to know what's going on in the house. Is that what you call made ready for washing? Now just have the goodness to scrape every plate clean off and put them nicely in a pile here; and turn out the slops out of the tea cups and saucers, and set them by themselves. Well! what makes you handle them so? are you afraid they'll burn you?"
"I don't like to take hold of things people have drunk out of," said Ellen, who was indeed touching the cups and saucers very delicately with the tips of her fingers.
"Look here," said Miss Fortune "don't you let me hear no more of that, or I vow I'll give you something to do you won't like. Now, put the spoons here, and the knives and forks together here; and carry the salt-cellar, and the pepper-box, and the butter and the sugar into the buttery."
"I don't know where to put them," said Ellen.