Jones——havingjustdiedofgeneralbad-temperandselfishness。
MissJones，buriedduringthelasttwentyyearsinthegreendepthsofaGlebeshirevalley，foundherselfnow，attheageoffifty，withoutfriends，withoutmoney，withoutrelations。Shethoughtthatshewouldbeagoverness。
TheDeanrecommendedher，Mrs。Coleapprovedofherbirth，educationandsobriety，Mr。Colelikedtheseverityofhercountenancewhenshecametocall，andshewasengaged。
“Jeremyneedsatighthand，“saidMr。Cole。“It’snousehavingayounggirl。“
“MissJoneseasilyescapesthatcharge，“saidUncleSamuel，whohadmetherinthehall。
Thechildrenwerepreparedtobegood。Jeremyfeltthatitwastimetotakelifeseriously。Heputawayhistoyvillage，scoldedHamletforeatingMary’spincushion，anddraggedouthisdirtyexercise-
bookinwhichhedidsums。
“Idohatesums！“hesaid，withasigh，regardingthehideoussmudgesofthumbsandtearsthatscoredthepage。“Ishallneverunderstandanythingaboutthem。“
“I’llhelpyou，“saidMary，whowasgreatlyexcitedatthethoughtofagoverness。“We’lldothemtogether。“
“Nowewon’t，“saidJeremy，whohatedtobedependent。
“I’lllearnitmyself——ifonlythepaperdidn’tgetdirtysoquickly。“
“Mothersays，“remarkedHelen，“thatshe’shadaveryhardlife，andnoone’severbeenkindtoher。’Shewantsaffection，’Mothersays。“
“I’llgivehermynapkin-ringthatyougavemelastChristmas，Mary，“saidJeremy。“Youdon’tmind，doyou？It’salldirtynow。I
hopeHamletwon’tbarkather。“
HamletwasworryingMary’spincushionatthemoment，holdingitbetweenhispaws，hisbodystretchedoutinquiveringexcitement，hisshort，“snappy“tail，asUncleSamuelcalledit，standingupstraightinair。Hestoppedforaninstantwhenheheardhisname，andshookoneear。
“Mothersays，“continuedHelen，“thatshelivedwithabrotherwhonevergaveherenoughtoeat。“
Jeremyopenedhiseyes。Thisseemedtohimahorriblething。
“Sheshallhavemyporridge，ifshelikes，“hesaid；“Idon’tlikeitverymuch。AndI’llgiveherthatchocolatethatMr。Jellybrandsentus。There’sstillsome，althoughit’sratherdampnow，I
expect。“
“Howsillyyouare！“saidHelenscornfully。“Ofcourse，Motherwillgiveheranythingshewants。“
“Itisn’tsilly，“saidJeremy。“Perhapsshe’llwantmorethanshereallywants。Ioftendo。“
“Oh，you！“saidHelen。
“Andifforeversolong，“saidJeremy，“shehasn’thadenoughtoeat，she’llwanttwiceasbigmealsnowasotherpeople——tomakeup。“
“Mothersayswe’vegottoremembershe’salady，“saidHelen。
“What’sthedifference，“askedJeremy，“betweenaladyandnotalady？“
“Oh，youare！“saidHelen。“Why，AuntAmy’salady，andRoseisn’t。“
“Roseisnicer，“saidJeremy。
MissJoneshad，Iamsorrytosay，liedtoMrs。Coleinoneparticular。Shehadtoldherthat“shehadhadtodowithchildrenallherlife，“thefactbeingthatonseveraloccasionssomelittlecousinshadcometostaywithherselfandherbrother。Ontheseoccasionsthelittlecousinshadbeensoparalysedwithterrorthatdisciplinehadnotbeendifficult。ItwasfromtheseexperiencesthatMissJonesflatteredherselfthat“sheunderstoodchildren。“
Soaudaciousaself-confidenceisdoomedtoinvitethescornfulpunishmentofthegods。
MissJonesarriveduponawetJanuaryafternoon，oneofthoseGlebeshiredayswhenthetownsinksintoabathofmudandmistandallthepipesrunwaterandtheeavesdripandhorsessplashandonlyducksarehappy。Outofablurredlamp-litduskstumbledMissJones’scab，andoutofablurredunlitcabstumbledMissJones。
Asshestoodinthehalltryingtolookwarmandamiable，Mrs。
Cole’sheartforsookher。OnthatearlierdayofhervisitMissJoneshadlookedpossible，sittingupinMrs。Cole’sdrawing-room，smilingherbrightest，becauseshesodesperatelyneededthesituation，andwearingherbestdress。Nowshewasallinpieces；
shehadhadtoleaveherlittlevillageearlyinthemorningtocatchthevillagebus；shehadwaitedatwaysidestations，asinGlebeshireonlyonecanwait；theworldhaddrippeduponherheadandspattereduponherlegs。Shehadneuralgiaandapaininherback；shehadwornherolderdressbecause，uponsuchaday，itwouldnotdototravelinherbest；andthen，asaclimaxtoeverything，shehadleftherumbrellainthetrain。Howshecoulddosuchathinguponsuchaday！Hermemorywasnotherstrongestpoint，poorlady，anditwasagoodumbrella，andshecouldnotaffordtobuyanother。Perhapstheywouldfinditforher，butitwasveryunlikely。
Shehadhaditforanumberofyears。
Shewasalittlewoman，allskinandbone，withdriedwitheredcheeks，alargebrownnoseandprotrudingears。Herfacehadformedseverelinesinself-defenceagainstherbrother，buthereyesweremild，andwhenshesmiledhermouthwasratherpleasantlypathetic。
“Oh，she’llneverdo，“thoughtMrs。Cole，asshelookedatherdrippinginthehall。
“Ican’tthinkhowIforgotit，saidthepoorlady，hermindfixeduponherumbrella。“Theysaidthatperhapstheywouldfinditforme，buttherewasamaninmycarriage，Iremember，whowillmostcertainlyhavetakenit——anditwasaniceonewithasilverhandle。“
“Nevermind，“saidMrs。Colecheerfully，“I’msurethey’llfindit。
Youmustcomeuptothenursery——ortheschoolroomIsupposewemustcallitnow；there’salovelyfirethere，andwe’llbothhaveteawiththechildrento-day，soastofeelathome，allofus，asquicklyaspossible。“
WhatMissJoneswantedwastoliedownonabedinadarkroomandtryandconquerherneuralgia。Thethoughtofalightednurseryfilledherwithdismay。However，firstimpressionsaresoimportant。
Shepulledherselftogether。
Thechildrenhadheardthearrival；theywaitedinabunchbythefire，theireyespartlyfixedonthedoor，partlyonthestrawberryjamthattheywereallowedto-dayasatreatinthenewgoverness’shonour。Hamlet，hiseyesandearsalsouponthedoor，expectingperhapsarat，perhapsAuntAmy，satinfrontofthegroup，itsbodyguard。
“She’sinthehall，“saidHelen，“andnowMother’ssaying：’Dotakeoffyourthings。Youmustbewet，’andnowshe’ssaying：’You’llliketoseethechildren，Iexpect，’andnow——“
Theretheywere，standinginthedoorway，Mrs。ColeandMissJones。
Therefollowedadismalpause。ThechildrenhadnotexpectedanyonesooldandsouglyasMissJones。Hamletdidnotbark——nothingoccurred。
AtlastMrs。Colesaid：“Now，children，comeandsay，’Howdoyoudo？’toMissJones。ThisisHelen，oureldest——thisMary——andthisJeremy。“
MissJonesdidadreadfulthing。Inhereagernesstobepleasantandfriendlyshekissedthegirls，andthen，beforeanyonecouldstopher，kissedJeremy。Hetookitlikeaman，neverturninghisheadnorwipinghismouthwithhishandafterwards，butshemighthaveseeninhiseyes，hadshelooked，whathefeltaboutit。
Shesaid：“Ihopeweshallbehappytogether，dears。“
Thechildrensaidnothing，andpresentlytheyallsatdowntotea。
II
Itwasunfortunatethattherewassolittleprecedentonbothsides。
MissJoneshadneverbeenagovernessbeforeandthechildrenhadneverhadone。Ofcourse，manymistakesweremade。MissJoneshadhadatrueadmirationforwhatsheusedtocall“herbrother’sindomitablespirit，“hernameforhisselfishnessandbadtemper。
Shewasherselfneitherselfishnorbad-tempered，butshewasignorant，nervous，over-anxious，anddesperatelyafraidoflosinghersituation。Shehadduringsomanyyearslivedwithoutaffectionthatthewellsofithaddriedupwithinher，andnow，withoutbeingatallabadoldlady，shewassimplypreoccupiedwiththebusinessofmanagingherneuralgia，livingonnothingaweek，andbuildingtoherdeceasedbrother’smemoryamonument，ofheroiccharacterandself-sacrifice。Shewasshort-sightedandhadaperpetualcold；shewasforgetfulandcareless。Shehad，nevertheless，arealknowledgeofmanythings，awarmheartsomewherecouldshebeencouragedtolookforitagain，andasenseofhumourburieddeepbeneathhercaresandpreoccupations。ThereweremanyworsepersonsintheworldthanMissJones。But，mostunfortunately，herloveforherbrother’smemoryledhertoresolveonwhatshecalled“firmness。“Mrs。ColehadtoldherthatJeremywas“gettingtoomuch“forhisnurse；sheapproachedJeremywithexactlythetremorsandquakingboldnessthatshewouldhavesummonedtoheraidbeforeabulllooseinafield。
Shereallydidlookfrighteningwithherlargespectaclesontheendofherlargenose，hermouthfirmlyset，andarulerinherhand。“I
insistonabsoluteobedience，“washermotto。Jeremylookedatherbutsaidnoword。Itwasmadecleartothemallthatthenewregimewastobefarotherthantheearliernurseryone。Thereweretoberegularlessonhours——ninetotwelveandfourtofive。Aneatpieceofwhitepaperwasfastenedtothewallwith“Monday：Geography9-
10，Arithmetic10-11，“andsoon。Acarefulgraduationofpunishmentswasinstituted，copiestohewrittensomanytimes，standingonachair，threestrokesonthehandwitharuler，and，worstofall，standinginthecornerwearingapaperDunce’scap。