Little Women - 912 Freedom Library

Little WomenLaurie dashed downstairs for water, while Meg andHannah supported her, and Jo read aloud, in a frightenedvoice...Mrs. March:Your husband is very ill. Come at once.S. HALEBlank Hospital, Washington.How still the room was as they listened breathlessly,how strangely the day darkened outside, and howsuddenly the whole world seemed to change, as the girlsgathered about their mother, feeling as if all the happinessand support of their lives was about to be taken fromthem.Mrs. March was herself again directly, read the messageover, and stretched out her arms to her daughters, saying,in a tone they never forgot, ‘I shall go at once, but it maybe too late. Oh, children, children, help me to bear it!’For several minutes there was nothing but the sound ofsobbing in the room, mingled with broken words ofcomfort, tender assurances of help, and hopeful whispersthat died away in tears. Poor Hannah was the first torecover, and with unconscious wisdom she set all the rest a282 of 861