Miss Ophelia was quite puzzled . She shut her up in a dark room till she could think about it . ' I do n't see , ' she said to Mr. St. Clare , ` how I am going to manage that child without whipping her . ' ` Well , whip her , then . ' ' I never heard of bringing up children without it , ' said Miss Ophelia . ` Oh , well , do as you think best . Only , I have seen this child beaten with a poker , knocked down with the shovel or tongs , or anything that came handy . So I do n't think your beatings will have much effect . ' ` What is to be done with her , then ? ' said Miss Ophelia . ' I never saw such a child as this . ' But Mr. St. Clare could not answer her question . So Miss Ophelia had to go on , as best she could , trying to make Topsy a good girl . She taught her to read and to sew . Topsy liked reading , and learned her letters like magic . But she could not bear sewing . So she broke her needles or threw them away . She tangled , broke , and dirtied her cotton and hid her reels . Miss Ophelia felt sure all these things could not be accidents . Yet she could never catch Topsy doing them .
In a very few days XXXXX had learned how to do Miss Ophelia 's room perfectly , for she was very quick and clever .
Clare Ophelia Topsy accidents beatings effect question room shovel things