Chapter V: Milly at Table

IT was not an easy task for Mrs. Morgan to tame this wild creature; but when her husband said, hopelessly:

"It will take years, Priscilla; and in the meantime Emily will be ruined."

She answered, in a cheerful voice:

"God has given us the work, George, I would not dare to refuse it."

There were many times every day that she was ready to despair. Milly had not one idea of neatness and order, and could not be made to comprehend that it was of any consequence to put her clothes, books and toys in place. Her hat as often was tossed on a chair in the hall, her sack on the doorstep as on the hook and shelves allotted to them. In her room were a bureau and closet. Her aunt showed her Emily's clothes, hung or folded so neatly; but when she asked kindly:

"Won't you try, Milly, to keep yours in place?" the only answer was the laughing one:

"I can't bother with things. Let the servants do it."

"My poor child," said the lady tenderly, "it would be much easier for me to send Hannah to dress your bed, and make your room tidy, than to teach you to do it. But can't you understand that I do it for your good?"

"If you do not learn to be neat now, while you are young, you never will be likely to learn at all. If you have a house of your own, you will not be able to find anything. You remember what an inconvenience it is every day not to find your hat, your gloves, your jumping-rope, your hoop-stick; and how much time it takes to hunt for them, when, if you had a place for every thing, and kept every thing in its place if not in use, you would—"

"Oh!" interrupted Milly, "I say, what's the use of learning so many things, when, as soon as I'm grown, I'm going back to India to live with father. There are plenty of servants in the bungalows, and if I did the work, they would have nothing to do, but chew betel nuts, which makes them lazy."

"But, Milly, you know the Bible is God's word. God, our heavenly Father, who loves us and preserves us from harm, tells us—"

"Yes, I know about him. The man on board ship told me that he is not cruel and hateful like the gods the Hindoos worship. I like him first-rate."

"Well, my dear, our God tells us what we must do in order to get into heaven when we die. I'm sure you want to please him and go there."

Milly nodded her head in a decided manner.

"One of his rules is this: 'Let every thing be done decently and is order;' and a writer has told us—'Order is heaven's first law.'"

"If we don't obey the law of God, we displease him."

"But he won't tell anybody to throw us to the crocodiles. The man told me that, or else I shouldn't like him. The man says he forgives everybody."

"He does, every man, woman and child, who pray for forgiveness; but not those who go on breaking his laws. That would be only mocking him."

"Oh! There's Emily, home from school."

And before Mrs. Morgan could put out her hand to detain the child, she had darted away.

Two weeks passed. To Mrs. Morgan, it did seem as though there was a slight improvement in the habits of the motherless girl. Her looks and dress were decidedly better. Her hair had been shortened, and showed a disposition to curl. She was required to brush it carefully several times in a day. Her face, hands and neck, were examined thoroughly by her aunt before she was allowed to leave her room in the morning, and her cousin's influence had made her more thoughtful concerning her dress.

Since the first evening of her arrival, she had never eaten at the table with her uncle, though. Unless they had company, she took her dinners with her aunt and cousins, Mr. Morgan being absent in the city. She had taken daily lessons, and not without some effect, in the handling of her knife and fork, keeping her elbows off the table, keeping her lips closed while eating, waiting until the food was passed her by a servant, asking when she wished anything, instead of making a dive at it. When she had cured herself of these uncouth habits, and learned to eat like a lady, instead of like a dog, she had been promised the reward of going to the table with her uncle.

At first, Milly said she'd rather not eat with him; it would be a great deal jollier to sit down with Hannah and Phebe in the kitchen. She wished she could go there; but when day after day she was sent from the room, and heard outside the pleasant talk, and the merry peals of laughter from Emily, she changed her mind, and really tried to do as her aunt wished.