here to be all the time around him, and now he had to help her
so the girl could learn too, not to hear it when his mother scolded,
and not to look so scared, and not to eat much, and always to be sure
to save it.

Herman really did not know very well what he could do to help Lena
to understand it. He could never answer his mother back to help Lena,
that never would make things any better for her, and he never could
feel in himself any way to comfort Lena, to make her strong not to
hear his mother, in all the awful ways she always scolded. It just
worried Herman to have it like that all the time around him. Herman
did not know much about how a man could make a struggle with a mother,
to do much to keep her quiet, and indeed Herman never knew much how to
make a struggle against anyone who really wanted to have anything very
badly. Herman all his life never wanted anything so badly, that he
would really make a struggle against any one to get it. Herman all his
life only wanted to live regular and quiet, and not talk much and to
do the same way every day like every other with his working. And now
his mother had made him get married to this Lena and now with his
mother making all that scolding, he had all this trouble and this
worry always on him.

Mrs. Haydon did not see Lena now very often. She had not lost her
interest in her niece Lena, but Lena could not come much to her house
to see her, it would not be right, now Lena was a married woman.
And then too Mrs. Haydon had her hands full just then with her two
daughters, for she was getting them ready to find them good husbands,
and then too her own husband now worried her very often about her
always spoiling that boy of hers, so he would be sure to turn out no
good and be a disgrace to a german family, and all because his mother
always spoiled him. All these things were very worrying now to Mrs.
Haydon, but still she wanted to be good to Lena, though she could not
see her very often. She only saw her when Mrs. Haydon went to call
on Mrs. Kreder or when Mrs. Kreder came to see Mrs. Haydon, and that
never could be very often. Then too these days Mrs. Haydon could not
scold Lena, Mrs. Kreder was always there with her, and it would not be
right to scold Lena, when Mrs. Kreder was there, who had now the real
right to do it. And so her aunt always said nice things now to Lena,
and though Mrs. Haydon sometimes was a little worried when she saw
Lena looking sad and not careful,