Chapter 14 When, the next morning, a note arrived from Miss Gilliken announcing that the end had come, it was fortunate for Mord Em’ly that she had near her so excellent a woman as the proprietress of the dining-rooms. The imminence of a funeral gave to Mrs. Mitchell such enjoyment that those about her could…
Chapter 13 The little waitress at Mitchell’s dining-rooms was so much absorbed in thought during the day following the contest, that humorous customers, noting this, told her she was in love. To Miss Mitchell’s requests for an opinion as to the number of g’s in Reggie, she replied absently, and showed so little interest in…
Flops’s Gymnasium belonged to Shoreditch; the entrance was from Kingsland Road, where a passage led to the club, members of which were gentlemen interested in sport generally, and the racing of horses in particular. Flops’s nights occurred twice a month, and a good many patrons went into them for nothing, in spite of the announcement…
Chapter 11 Mord Em’ly gave so much satisfaction as a vegetable girl in the kitchen at the back of Mrs. Mitchell’s dining-rooms that in a few weeks she, to her great content, was promoted to the position of assistant waitress. Here her natural alertness made her useful; the work suited her, and the patrons, finding…
Chapter 10 Mord Em’ly came down the wooden stairs of Walworth Road Station holding her breath, and looking eagerly at the faces of people who were rushing up to catch the train. At the doorway of the station she halted before going out into the windy night. Already there was a sense of disappointment in…
Chapter 9 The five-shilling piece which Mord Em’ly had received from the princesses for swift honesty was shown to nobody but Ronicker. The coin had a fine, substantial look about it, as though it were capable of almost anything, and Mord Em’ly, having exhibited it to her friend, returned it to her bodice. The two…
Chapter 8 Mord Em’ly became a half-timer, which, interpreted, meant that school claimed her only for an afternoon and the following morning, leaving her free for twenty-four hours to work in the dress-making room or in the laundry. Her conduct improved so much that small money prizes for excellent behaviour accumulated to her credit as…
Chapter 7 Mord Em’ly’s mother justified her daughter’s confidence. The interview took place in the presence of Mrs. Wingham, and the two excellent ladies talked to each other, and at Mord Em’ly. It seemed to Mord Em’ly that her mother’s face was thinner. “As I say, ma’am,” remarked Mord Em’ly’s mother, “I only hope she’s…
Chapter 6 Although, for some time, Mord Em’ly clung persistently to her attitude of reserve, there was little in the Home that escaped her attention. Conducted on the cottage system, the detached buildings bordered an oval, green space, with, at one end, the school-rooms and the infirmary. Each cottage had a “mother” in charge; usually…
Chapter 5 A large, square, green-walled room, with a shuffling crowd at the back; before her, a thoughtful, middle-aged gentleman, on a raised platform, seated at a desk, and signing, with a noisy pen, some blue forms, for which a clerk waited; at the side, two lads, with pencils, one telling the other, in a…