Anna found all this very hard to bear, but she kept Molly a long time out of kindness.  The kitchen was constantly a battle-ground.  Anna scolded and Molly swore strange oaths, and then Miss Mathilda would shut her door hard to show that she could hear it all.

At last Anna had to give it up.  “Please Miss Mathilda won’t you speak to Molly,” Anna said, “I can’t do a thing with her.  I scold her, and she don’t seem to hear and then she swears so that she scares me.  She loves you Miss Mathilda, and you scold her please once.”

“But Anna,” cried poor Miss Mathilda, “I don’t want to,” and that large, cheerful, but faint hearted woman looked all aghast at such a prospect.  “But you must, please Miss Mathilda!” Anna said.

Miss Mathilda never wanted to do any scolding.  “But you must please Miss Mathilda,” Anna said.

Miss Mathilda every day put off the scolding, hoping always that Anna would learn to manage Molly better.  It never did get better and at last Miss Mathilda saw that the scolding simply had to be.

It was agreed between the good Anna and her Miss Mathilda that Anna should be away when Molly would be scolded.  The next evening that it was Anna’s evening out, Miss Mathilda faced her task and went down into the kitchen.

Molly was sitting in the little kitchen leaning her elbows on the table.  She was a tall, thin, sallow girl, aged twenty-three, by nature slatternly and careless but trained by Anna into superficial neatness.  Her drab striped cotton dress and gray black checked apron increased the length and sadness of her melancholy figure.  “Oh, Lord!” groaned Miss Mathilda to herself as she approached her.

“Molly, I want to speak to you about your behaviour to Anna!”, here Molly dropped her head still lower on her arms and began to cry.

“Oh!  Oh!” groaned Miss Mathilda.

“It’s all Miss Annie’s fault, all of it,” Molly said at last, in a trembling voice, “I do my best.”

“I know Anna is often hard to please,” began Miss Mathilda, with a twinge of mischief, and then she sobered herself to her task, “but you must remember, Molly, she means it for your good and she is really very kind to you.”

“I don’t want her kindness,” Molly cried, “I wish you would tell me what to do, Miss Mathilda, and then I would be all right.  I hate Miss Annie.”

“This will never do Molly,” Miss Mathilda said sternly, in her deepest, firmest tones, “Anna is the head of the kitchen and you must either obey her or leave.”

“I don’t want to leave you,” whimpered melancholy Molly.  “Well Molly then try and do better,” answered Miss Mathilda, keeping a good stern front, and backing quickly from the kitchen.

“Oh!  Oh!” groaned Miss Mathilda, as she went back up the stairs.

Miss Mathilda’s attempt to make peace between the constantly contending women in the kitchen had no real effect.  They were very soon as bitter as before.