The Man in Possession — page 38: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE MAN IN POSSESSION. 33 I couldn't cook a dinner, or at least know how one should be cooked, and make my father’s beef-tea and jellies. Have you any sisters?” she asked abruptly. ‘‘Sisters—no-o,” stammered the young man, ‘‘only a cousin who lives in the house and does what is called ‘art furnishing.’ She makes all kinds of things, and I do the woodwork for her.” ‘‘Well, can’t she cook and see after a house as well as do ‘art furnishing ’?” ‘‘QOh,” said the young man laughing, ‘‘I suppose she can, but I’ve never seen her do it.” ‘‘Tsometimes think,” said the girl, as she took the frothing eggs from his hand and added them to the compound in her basin, ‘‘ that the workers have the best of life. It is dreadful to be aimless and hope- less, and see day after day slipping by—nothing done —and nothing to do.” ‘‘ Young ladies,” observed the carpenter as he cut up some lemons and handed them to her, ‘‘are not expected to work.” ‘‘I wish I could do something,” continued the girl, speaking half to herself. ‘‘I want to go on the stage, but my father won't let me; he thinks ladies and gentlemen should never do any work.” She laughed contemptuously. ‘‘Ladies and gentle- men! If i had my way every one should work at’ something useful or ennobling. We have only one life. How different the world would be now ig all who have lived in it had made that life of real use while they had it. If artists had worked for art and been appreciated as they deserved ; if great writers COMicloe (Sri C(O)