Norton fairly drew a low whistle and sat down to consider the matter.
"And _this_ is what keeps you away so. Judy will be obliged to you, I hope. She doesn"t deserve it. And grandmamma don"t know! Well, Pink, I always said you were a brick."
Matilda smiled and took up her mending.
"But how are you going to be ready for Christmas?"
"O I think about it, Norton, while I am working."
"Yes, but thinking will not buy your things."
"_That_ won"t take very long. I do not think I shall get a great deal now. O Norton, I have found something else that wants money."
"Money! I dare say," said Norton. "Everything wants money. What is it, Pink? It isn"t Lilac lane, anyhow."
"No, Norton; but worse."
"Go on," said Norton. "You needn"t stop and look so._I_ can stand it.
What is it?"
Matilda dropped her lace for the minute, and told her walk and visit of Sunday afternoon. As she told it, the tears gathered; and at the end she dropped her face upon her knees and sobbed. Norton did not know what to do.
"There"s lots of such places," he said at last. "You needn"t fret so.
This isn"t the only one."
"O Norton, that makes it worse. One is enough; and I cannot help that; and I _must_."
"Must what?" said Norton. "Help them? You cannot, Pink. It is no use for you to try to lift all New York on your shoulders. It"s no use to think about it."
"I am not going to try to lift all New York," said the little girl, making an effort to dry her eyes.
"And it is no good crying about it, you know."
"No, no good," said Matilda. "But I don"t know, Norton; perhaps it is.
If other people cried about it, the thing would get mended."
"Not so easy as lace work," said Norton, looking at the cobweb tracery tissue before him.
"But it must be mended, Norton?" said Matilda inquiringly, and almost imploringly.
"Well, Pink, anybody that tries it will get mired. That"s all I have to say. There"s no end to New York mud."
"But we can lift people out of it."
"_I_ can"t," said Norton. "Nor you neither. No, you can"t. There"s lots of societies and inst.i.tutions and committees and boards, and all that sort of thing; and no end of collections and contributions; and the people that get the collections must attend to the people they are collected for. _We_ can"t, you know. Well, I must go and rehea.r.s.e."
He went off; but immediately after another tap at the door announced David. He stepped inside the door; a great mark of condescension. He had never come to Matilda"s room until now.
"So busy you can"t spare time for proverbs?" he said. "But what is the matter?" For Norton"s want of sympathy had disappointed Matilda, and she had tears in her eyes and on her cheeks again. What should she do now? she thought. She had half counted on Norton"s helping her. David was quite earnest to know the cause of trouble; and Matilda at last confessed she was thinking about the people that lived in that cellar room.
"Where is the place?" David inquired.
"I can"t tell; and I am sure you couldn"t find it. We turned and turned, going and coming. It"s an ugly way too. You couldn"t find it, David."
"But your crying will not help them, Tilly."
"No," said Matilda, trying to dash the tears away. "If I could help them, I wouldn"t cry. But I must. O think of living so, David! No beds, that we would call beds; and those on the dirty ground; and living without _anything_. O I didn"t know people lived so! What can I do?"
"I"ll tell you," said David. "We"ll try to find another place for them to live, and see how much that would cost; and then we can lay our plans."
Matilda was breathless for a minute. "O thank you. How can we find out about that? I might ask Mr. Wharncliffe! mightn"t I?"
"I should think you might."
"Then I"ll do that, next time I see him. But I haven"t got much money, David."
"Well, we"ll see about that. Find out how much a decent lodging would cost; and then we can tell, you know. I"ll make Judy help; and Norton will sh.e.l.l out something. He always keeps holes in his purse."
"I don"t see how he can have much in it, then," said Matilda, trying to laugh. "But you are _very_ good, David."
"Well, you are good, I am sure," said he glancing at the lace. "Is that thing going to keep you prisoner much longer?"
"No; it is getting done; it will be done in time," the little girl answered gratefully and happily; and with a smile David left her.
The work went on nicely after that day. Matilda"s visions grew glorious, not of Christmas toys, but of changed human life, in one place, at least. She went over and over all sorts of plans and additions to plans; and half unconsciously her lace work grew like her visions, fine and smooth, under her hands. However, Christmas gifts were not to be quite despised or neglected, either; Matilda took time once or twice to go out and make purchases. They were as modest and carefully made purchases as could be. Mrs. Laval she had already provided for, and Norton. For Judy Matilda bought a Scotch book mark or leaf cutter, which cost two shillings. For David, a nice photograph view of Jerusalem. A basket of fruit she sent by express to Poughkeepsie to Maria; and Let.i.tia"s dress she matched with a silk cravat for Anne. When these things were off her mind, and out of her purse, Matilda counted carefully the money that was left, and put it away in her trunk with tolerable satisfaction. It was, she thought, a good little fund yet.
Meanwhile the lace-mending was almost done. Mrs. Laval came into Matilda"s room on the Thursday morning before Christmas, when Matilda was putting her last touches to the work; and sat for some time watching her. Then suddenly broke out with a new thought, as it seemed.
"You have no dress to wear to-morrow night!"
Matilda looked up in great astonishment.
"Mamma!--there is my red silk--and my green--and my blue c.r.a.pe."
"No white dress. I must have you in white."
"I have a white frock. It is old."
"_That_ wouldn"t do, you dear child," said Mrs. Laval. "I"ll have a muslin for you. Judy will be in white, and so must you."
Matilda bent over her work again with pulses throbbing and cheeks tingling with pleasure. But in another minute she looked up, and her face had changed.
"How much would that new white dress cost, mamma?"
"I don"t know," Mrs. Laval answered carelessly. "Sash and all--twenty or twenty-five dollars perhaps."
Matilda went at her work again, but her fingers trembled. A minute more, and she had thrown it down and was kneeling at Mrs. Laval"s knee.