BEING USEFUL. 40

she allowed her to come down-stairs; and from
that day, till the time she left her house, nurse
had no cause to punish her for breaking a promise
once it was made.
 The summer passed away very speedily, Bertha
going to Dame Trimmer's school every morning,-
and making such progress, that the worthy old
dame said she had got a second Miss Beeta as a
pupil. Then the very girls who had stared at her
so much were exceedingly kind to her, and became
very pleasant companions. As the season advanced,
and the harvest was fairly begun, Mrs. Bevan had
a good deal of extra work to do, Martha and Jane
being in the field. Bertha soon found that she could
make herself very useful to her kind nurse. She
happened to hear her saying to Mr. Bevan that she
had so much to do that she could not visit one
or two old men and women who lived in little
cottages on the farm. Then Bertha thought to
herself, I wonder if I could do it. And so, when
Mr. Bevan went away, she asked nurse if she
thought she could help her in any way about the
old people; for she had once or twice gone over
with nurse when she paid her visits. "That
you could," said nurse. "It makes me often
vexed to think the poor old things may be want-


 I.