Mistress and Maid

She was a rather tall awkward and strongly-built girl of about fifteen. This was the first impression the maid gave to her mistresses the Misses Leaf when she entered their kitchen accompanied by her mother a widow and washer-woman by name Mrs. Hand. I must confess when they saw the damsel the ladies felt a certain twinge of doubt as to whether they had not been rash in offering to take her; whether it would not have been wiser to have gone on in their old way - now alas! grown into a very old way so as almost to make them forget they had ever had any other - and done without a servant still.