Fuel was added to the fire of her discontent when her mother announced
one morning that Jane Kimper had arrived and would assist the couple at
their sewing. To Eleanor, Jane represented the Kimper family, the head
of which was the cause of Reynolds Bartram's extraordinary course.
Eleanor blamed Sam for all the discomfort to which she had been
subjected on account of Bartram's religious aspirations, and she was
inclined to visit upon the new seamstress the blame for all the
annoyances from which she had suffered.
Like a great many other girls who are quite affectionate daughters, she
neglected to make a confidante of her mother; and Mrs. Prency was
therefore very much surprised, on entering the room after a short
shopping-tour, to discover the two young women in utter silence,
Eleanor looking greatly vexed and the new sewing-woman very much
distressed about something. The older lady endeavored to engage the
couple in conversation. After waiting a little while for the situation
to make itself manifest, but getting only very short replies, she left
the room and made an excuse to call her daughter after her.
"My dear child, what is the matter? Doesn't Jane know how to sew?"
"Yes," said Eleanor, "I suppose so; but she knows how to talk, too, and
she has done it so industriously and made me feel so uncomfortable that
I have not had any opportunity to examine her sewing.
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