her keen eyes began to fail,
and while she made the old clo' into new, Daisy read aloud her English
story-books. Natalya took an absorbing interest in these nursery
tales, heard for the first time in her second childhood. 'Jack the
Giant-killer,' 'Aladdin,' 'Cinderella,' they were all delightful
novelties. The favourite story of both was 'Little Red Riding-Hood,'
with its refrain of 'Grandmother, what large eyes you've got!' That
could be said with pointed fun; it seemed to be written especially for
them. Often Daisy would look up suddenly and say: 'Grandmother, what a
large mouth you've got!' 'All the better to bite you with,'
grandmother would reply. And then there would be hugs and kisses.

But Friday night was the great night, the one night of the week on
which Natalya could be stopped from working. Only religion was strong
enough to achieve that. The two Sabbath candles in the copper
candlesticks stood on the white tablecloth, and were lighted as soon
as the welcome dusk announced the advent of the holy day, and they
shed their pious illumination on her dish of fish and the
ritually-twisted loaves. And after supper Natalya would sing the
Hebrew grace at much leisurely length and with great unction. Then she
would tell stories of her youth in Poland--comic tales mixed with
tales of oppression and the memories of ancient wrong. And Daisy would
weep and laugh and thrill. The fusion of races had indeed made her
sensitive and intelligent beyond the common, and Natalya was not
unjustified in planning out for her some illustrious future.

But after eighteen months of this delightful life Natalya's wonderful
vitality began slowly to collapse. She earned less and less, and, amid
her gratitude to God for having relieved her of the burden of Becky
and Joseph, a secret fear entered her heart. Would she be taken away
before Daisy became self-supporting? Nay, would she even be able to
endure the burden till the end? What made things worse was that, owing
to the increase of immigrants, her landlord now exacted an extra
shilling a week for rent. When Daisy was asleep the old woman hung
over the bed, praying for life, for strength.

It was a sultry summer, making the trudge from door to door, under the
ever-swelling sack, almost intolerable. And a little thing occurred to
bring home cruelly to Natalya the decline of all her resources,
physical and financial. The children's country holiday was in the air
at Daisy's Board School,