and ashes," said the contractor's wife, shuddering at the sight; "surely they need to be cleansed before they are bound up in oil."
Nattie looked at her stomach and arms, without quailing.
"I can sop out the dirt, if you will give me some warm water and a sponge," she said.
The wife looked at her husband.
"Let her try," he said; "she has more nerve than both of us, I believe."
The water was brought, and Nattie went to work. It was a severe task, and several times she pressed her lips together, to prevent crying out with the pain which she was obliged to inflict on herself in the operation. She could not but remember how careful she used to be of her little body,—how much more precious than fine gold it was in her sight. A slight cut or scratch was lamented over, its anguish dwelt on pathetically, and the most assiduous care and attention demanded till it was healed. Here she sat to-
