" Underpaid and underfed, these persons (they varied
in age from fourteen to forty) were of course incompetent, careless,
rebellious, and Mrs. Cross found the sole genuine pleasure of her
life in the war she waged with them. Having no reasonable way of
spending her hours, she was thus supplied with occupation; being of
acrid temper, she was thus supplied with a subject upon whom she
could fearlessly exercise it; being remarkably mean of disposition,
she saw in the paring-down of her servant's rations to a working
minimum, at once profit and sport; lastly, being fond of the most
trivial gossip, she had a never-failing topic of discussion with
such ladies as could endure her society.
Bertha, having been accustomed to this domestic turbulence all her
life long, for the most part paid no heed to it. She knew that if
the management of the house were in her hands, instead of her
mother's. things would go much more smoothly, but the mere
suggestion of such a change (ventured once at a moment of acute
crisis) had so amazed and exasperated Mrs. Cross, that Bertha never
again looked in that direction. Yet from time to time a revolt of
common sense forced her to speak, and as the only possible way, if
quarrel were to be avoided, she began her remonstrance on the
humorous note. Then when her mother had been wearying her for half
an hour with complaints and lamentations over the misdoings of one
Emma, Bertha as the alternative to throwing up her hands and rushing
out of the house, began laughing to herself, whereat Mrs.
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