ah's gettin' married and leavin' you 'most
any time, there's another reason for not hirin' her. She's the
everlastin'est gossip in Ostable County, and that's sayin' somethin'.
What Sarah don't know about everybody's private affairs she guesses and
she always guesses out loud. Inside of a fortnight she'd have all you
ever done and a whole lot you never thought of doin' advertised from
Race P'int to Sagamore. She's a reg'lar talkin' foghorn, if there was
such a thing--only a foghorn shuts down in clear weather and SHE don't
shut down, day or night. Talks in her sleep, I shouldn't wonder. If I
was you, Mrs. Barnes, I wouldn't bother with any help from 'round here.
I'd hire a girl from Boston, or somewheres; then you could be skipper of
your own ship."

Thankful, after thinking the matter over, decided that the advice was
good. The difficulty, of course, was in determining the "somewhere" from
which the right sort of servant, one willing to work for a small wage,
might be obtained. At length she wrote to a Miss Coffin, once a nurse in
Middleboro but now matron of an orphans' home in Boston. Miss Coffin's
reply was to the effect that she had, in her institution, a girl who
might in time prove to be just the sort which her friend desired.

Of course [she wrote], she isn't at all a competent servant now, but
she is bright and anxious to learn. And she is a good girl, although
something of a character. Her Christian name is Marguerite, at least
she says it is. What her other name is goodness only knows. She has been
with us now for nearly seven years. Before that she lived with and took
care of a drunken old woman who said she was the girl's aunt, though I
doubt if she was. Suppose I send her to you on trial; you can send her
back to us if she doesn't suit. It would be a real act of charity to
give her a chance, and I think you will like her in spite of her funny
ways.

This doubtful recommendation caused Thankful to shake her head. She had
great confidence in Miss Coffin's judgment, but she was far from certain
that "Marguerite" would suit. However, guarded inquiries in Wellmouth
and Trumet strengthened her conviction that Captain Obed knew what he
was talking about, and, the time approaching when she must have some
sort of servant, she, at last, in desperation wrote her friend to send
"the Marguerite one" along for a month's trial.

The new girl arrived two days later. Winnie S. brought her down in the
depot-wagon, in