i aroze at the ushil our. washed. dressed in me best. miss claire cum into me room brite and airly. ses she: “o delia, heres that auld green skurt of mine you always liked. your welcame to it.”
“thanks” ses i, “but i expect to be making sooch grand wages soon, miss claire, i’ll be bying finer skurts than that.” wid that i pushed the skurt aside with contemshus tooch.
she got all red and pretty, as she has a habit whin angry, and she put up her hed hy in the air.
“o well, if that’s the way you feel!” ses she and marched out.
mr. john cum into me kitchen.
“delia” ses he “heres a quarter. now hussle wid me brikfust, will you?”
i took the quarter and flipped it round.
“mr. johnny” ses i, “me munth is oop at 7 a.m. this marning. i’m after waiting for me wages.”
he drew up his brows frowning and wint aff into his mothers room.
a moment later the auld gintleman himsilf cum bloostering out. its his ushil custum to get up at 10.
“whats up! whats up!” ses he.
“wheres me chop? wheres me chop?”
master will started in to ball and mr. james kept ringing the table bell. such a house i never seen. out came the madame in her ushil nitegown.
“delia” ses she “didn’t i tell you yesterday i’d decided to guv you anuther chance.”
“you did mam, but i’m for going now” ses i.
“go about your wark” ses she, her proud voice becoming a bit narvous in toan.
“i’m waiting for me wages mam” ses i.
“delia——” she guv a hasty look about her, thin she spakes in a coaxing vyce:
“now delia, be sinsible. you no we think warlds of you. now——”
joost then, miss claire looks in, her face still red wid the snub i’m after giving her about the skurt.
“muther” ses she, “don’t descind to begging delia to remane. let her go. we can get on famissly widout her.”
“what!” shourts mr. james, sticking in his hed at the dure, “no cook! whats to becum of us. are we” ses he “to go throo a like nitemare such as we injured befure the advent of delia?”
willie now cum poking his hed in between his daddy’s legs.
“pleese delia” ses he “guv me my fareena. i love you, delia” ses he.
“god love the lamb!” ses i and flew to the stove, me hart going out of me body to the child.
“hold!” ses miss claire, very loftily, and she cum over to me and tuk the dubble boyler out of me hand. “put on yure things” ses she “and go. at once” ses she “at once!”
then she turned to her brothers and parents.
“go back to the dining-room” ses she “i’ll get brikfust to-day.”
mr. james guv a dridful groan, and sloonk off to the dining-room, wid his hands on his stummick.
“mamma” ses miss claire, “pay off delia. youve been composed upon long enuff” ses she. “hereafter i’ll manage things.”
and me, the last of 1,700 girls in the same place—for so i larned from me frind the janitor’s wife—walked out wid me $20 in me pocket.
