"
I scouted the idea as utterly absurd; but when, the next morning, I
mentioned it to my grandmother, she caught at it eagerly, and no sooner
had she finished her breakfast than she ordered her carriage and drove
to the House of Martha.
She returned triumphant.
"We had a long discussion," she said, "but Mother Anastasia finally saw
the matter in its proper light. She admitted that if a room could be
arranged in this house, in which a sister could be actually secluded,
there was no good reason why she should not work there as consistently
with their rules as if she were in the House of Martha. Therefore, she
agreed, if you concluded to carry out this plan, to send a sister every
morning to write for you. So now, if you want a secretary from the House
of Martha, you can have one."
To this I replied that I most positively wanted one; and Walkirk was
immediately instructed to have a suitable grating made for the doorway
between my study and the secretary's room.
Nearly a week was required for the execution of this work, and during
this time I took a rest from literary composition and visited some
friends, leaving all the arrangements for my new secretary in the hands
of my grandmother and Walkirk. When I returned, the iron grating was in
its place.
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