wn language; at which she was no
little incensed.

When evening came, I found things worse. My wife had set her whole
force to work upon our chamber, early in the day, in order to have
it finished as quickly as possible, that it might be in a sleeping
condition by night--dry and well aired. But, instead of this, Ann
and Hannah had "dilly-dallied" the whole day over cleaning the
paint, and now the floor was not even washed up. My poor wife was
a sad way about it; and I am sure that I felt uncomfortable enough.
Afraid to sleep in a damp chamber, we put two sofas together in the
parlor, and passed the night there.

The morning rose cloudily enough. I understood matters clearly. If
Mrs. Sunderland had hired a couple of women for two or three days to
do the cleaning, and got a man to shake the carpets, nothing would
have been heard about the sulkiness of John, or the notice to quit
of cook and chamber maid. Putting upon them the task of
house-cleaning was considered an imposition, and they were not
disposed to stand it.

"I shall not be home to dinner to-day," I said, as I rose from the
breakfast table. "As you are all in so much confusion, and you have
to do the cooking, I prefer getting something to eat down town."

"Very well," said Mrs. Sunderland--"so much the better."

I left the house a few minutes afterwards, glad to get away. Every
thing was confusion, and every face under a cloud.

"How are you getting along?" I asked, on coming home at night.

"Humph! Not getting along at all!" replied Mrs. Sunderland, in a
fretful tone. "In two days, the girls might have thoroughly cleaned
the house from top to bottom, and what do you think they have done?
Nothing at all!"

"Nothing at all! They must have done something."

"Well, next to nothing, then. They havn't finished the front and
back chambers. And what is worse, Ann has gone away sick, and Hannah
is in bed with a real or pretended sick-headache."

"Oh, dear!" I ejaculated, involuntarily.

"Now, a'nt things in a pretty way?"

"I think they are," I replied, and then asked, "what are you going
to do?"

"I have sent John for old Jane, who helped us to clean house last
spring. But, as likely as not, she's at work somewhere."

Such was in fact the case, for John came in a moment after with that
consoling report.

"Go and see Nancy, then," my wife said, sharply, to John, as if he
were to blame for Jane's being at work.

John turned away slowly and went on h