But at that the leash broke: "Laughed? I hope not! I hope I wouldn't
laugh because a woman of her age has no more sense than a child. And
she gets up for breakfast, does she? Well, why shouldn't she get up
for breakfast? I am very tired, but I get up for breakfast. I don't
mean to be severe, William, and I never am; I'm only just. But
I must say, flatly and frankly, that ignorance and laziness do not
seem funny to me. Laugh? Would you laugh if I stayed in bed in
the mornings, and didn't know how to make soap, and save your money
for you? I guess not!"
The doctor's face reddened and he closed his lips with a snap. But
Martha found no more fault with Mrs. Richie. After a while she said in
that virtuous voice familiar to husbands, "William, I know you don't
like to do it, so I cleaned all the medicine-shelves in your office
this morning."
"Thank you," William said, curtly; and finished his supper in absolute
silence.