She did not think these things out consecutively in her
mind, but she knew that the dark room downstairs, the dark passages, the
stillness and silence of it all frightened her, and that it was always
out of these things that her aunts rose.
At night when she lay in bed with Rosie clasped tightly to her, she
whispered endlessly about the gardens, the fountain, the barrel organs,
the dogs, the other children in the Square--she had names of her own for
all these things--and him, who belonged, of course, to the world
outside.... Then her whisper would sink, and she would warn Rose about
the rooms downstairs, the dining-room with the black chairs, the soft
carpet, and the stuffed birds in glass cases--for these things, too, she
had names. Here was the hand of death and destruction, the land of
crooked stairs, sudden dark doors, mysterious bells and drippings of
water--out of all this her aunts came....
Unfortunately it was just at this moment that Miss Emily Braid decided
that it was time to take her niece in hand. "The child's three, Violet,
and very backward for her age. Why, Mrs.
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