e grew fond of Mrs. Bartlett,
because Mrs. Bartlett grew fond of her. The children adored her; and she
kept an eye to them; and it ended in her engaging to spend the winter
there, half-seamstress, half-nurse, half-nursery-governess, and a little
of everything. From such a beginning, it had happened that she had lived
there six years, in confidential service. She could cook better than
anybody in the house,--better than Mrs. Bartlett herself; but it was not
often that she tried her talent there. On a birthday perhaps, in August,
she would make huckleberry cakes, by the old homestead "receipt," for
the children. She had the run of all their clothes as nobody else did;
took the younger ones to be measured; and saw that none of the older
ones went out with a crack in a seam, or a rough edge at the foot of a
trowser. It was whispered that Minnie had rather go into the sewing-room
to get Huldah to "show her" about "alligation" or "square-root," than
to wait for Miss Thurber's explanations in the morning. In fifty such
ways, it happened that Huldah--who, on the roll-call of the census-man,
probably rated as a nursery-maid in the house--was the confidential
friend of every member of the family, from Mr. Bartlett, who wanted to
know where "The Intelligencer" was, down to the chore-boy who came in to
black the shoes. And so it was, that, when poor little Horace was
brought in with his skull knocked in by the pony, Huldah was--and
modestly knew that she was--the most essential person in the stunned
family circle.

While her brothers and sisters were putting out their lights at New
Durham, heart-sick and wounded, Huldah was sitting in that still room,
where only the rough broken breathing of poor Horace broke the sound.
She was changing, once in ten minutes, the ice-water cloths; was feeling
of his feet sometimes; wetting his tongue once or twice in an hour;
putting her finger to his pulse with a native sense, which needed no
second-hand to help it; and all the time, with the thought of him, was
remembering how grieved and hurt and heart-broken they were at home.
Every half-hour or less, a pale face appeared at the door; and Huldah
just slid across the room, and said, "He is really doing nicely, pray
lie down;" or, "His pulse is surely better, I will certainly come to you
if it flags;" or "Pray trust me, I will not let you wait a moment if he
needs you;" or, "Pray get ready for to-morrow. An hour's sleep now will
be worth everythin