She and her children must have
food, clothing, and shelter. Her illness and feebleness at last
taught her that she must not yield to her grief, except so far as
she was unable to suppress it; that for the sake of those now
seemingly dependent upon her, she must rally every shattered nerve
and every relaxed muscle. With a heroism far beyond that of her
husband and his comrades in the field, she sought to fight the
wolf from the door, or at least to keep him at bay. Although the
struggle seemed a hopeless one, she patiently did her best from
day to day, eking out her scanty earnings by the sale or pawning
of such of her household goods as she could best spare. She felt
that she would do anything rather than reveal her poverty or
accept charity. Some help was more or less kindly offered, but
beyond such aid as one neighbor may receive of another, she had
said gently but firmly, "Not yet."
The Marlows were comparative strangers in the city where they had
resided. Her husband had been a teacher in one of its public
schools, and his salary small.
Pages:
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531