Meals were dull and dirty.

The between-maid was sent away, and Aunt Emma came on a visit.

Aunt Emma was much older than Mother.

She was going abroad to be a governess.

She was very busy getting her clothes ready, and they were very ugly, dingy clothes, and she had them always littering about, and the sewing-machine seemed to whir--on and on all day and most of the night.