Frances shut the piano and came out to
join us.

They had liked Antonia from their first
glimpse of her; felt they knew exactly what
kind of girl she was. As for Mrs. Shimerda,
they found her very amusing. Mrs. Harling
chuckled whenever she spoke of her. "I ex-
pect I am more at home with that sort of bird
than you are, Mrs. Burden. They're a pair,
Ambrosch and that old woman!"

They had had a long argument with Am-
brosch about Antonia's allowance for clothes
and pocket-money. It was his plan that every
cent of his sister's wages should be paid over
to him each month, and he would provide
her with such clothing as he thought neces-
sary. When Mrs. Harling told him firmly
that she would keep fifty dollars a year for
Antonia's own use, he declared they wanted
to take his sister to town and dress her up
and make a fool of her. Mrs. Harling gave
us a lively account of Ambrosch's behavior
throughout the interview; how he kept jump-
ing up and putting on his cap as if he were
through with the whole business, and how his
mother tweaked his coat-tail and prompted
him in Bohemian. Mrs. Harling finally agreed

[[173]]

p172 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p173w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p174

v?