CHAPTER VIII
A MOTHER
When Mr. Hellmut sat down to his coffee in the morning he always found letters and newspapers on the breakfast table.
“Good gracious!” he exclaimed on the morning after the ladies’ departure, “what correspondents have you in town, Cornelli Here is a letter for you.”
Cornelli, looking up from her cup, glanced incredulously at the letter.
“It is really for you. Listen! Miss Cornelli Hellmut, Iller-Stream, Iron Foundry,”
the father read. “Here it is!”
Cornelli opened the letter under great suspense and read:
Dear Cornelli:
Only think! I am ill and have to lie in bed. The doctor has forbidden me to read and write, so this letter will be very short. It is very tiresome to be sick, for my sisters are in school all day. Mama always has a lot to181
