Poor Mac 's eyes gave out ; and well they might , for he had abused them , and never being very strong , they suffered doubly now . No one dared to tell him the dark predictions of the great oculist who came to look at them , and the boy tried to be patient , thinking that a few weeks of rest would repair the overwork of several years . He was forbidden to look at a book , and as that was the one thing he most delighted in , it was a terrible affliction to the Worm . Everyone was very ready to read to him , and at first the lads contended for this honour . But as week after week went by , and Mac was still condemned to idleness and a darkened room , their zeal abated , and one after the other fell off . It was hard for the active fellows , right in the midst of their vacation ; and nobody blamed them when they contented themselves with brief calls , running of errands , and warm expressions of sympathy . The elders did their best , but Uncle Mac was a busy man , Aunt Jane 's reading was of a funereal sort , impossible to listen to long , and the other aunties were all absorbed in their own cares , though they supplied the boy with every delicacy they could invent . Uncle Alec was a host in himself , but he could not give all his time to the invalid ; and if it had not been for Rose , the afflicted Worm would have fared ill . Her pleasant voice suited him , her patience was unfailing , her time of no apparent value , and her eager good-will was very comforting . The womanly power of self-devotion was strong in the child , and she remained faithfully at her post when all the rest dropped away . Hour after hour she sat in the dusky room , with one ray of light on her book , reading to the boy , who lay with shaded eyes silently enjoying the only pleasure that lightened the weary days . Sometimes he was peevish and hard to please , sometimes he growled because his reader could not manage the dry books he wished to hear , and sometimes he was so despondent that her heart ached to see him . Through all these trials Rose persevered , using all her little arts to please him . When he fretted , she was patient ; when he growled , she ploughed bravely through the hard pages not dry to her in one sense , for quiet tears dropped on them now and then ; and when Mac fell into a despairing mood , she comforted him with every hopeful word she dared to offer . He said little , but she knew he was grateful , for she suited him better than anyone else . If she was late , he was impatient ; when she had to go , he seemed forlorn ; and when the tired head ached worst , she could always soothe him to sleep , crooning the old songs her father used to love . `` I do n't know what I should do without that child , '' Aunt Jane often said . `` She 's worth all those racketing fellows put together , '' Mac would add , fumbling about to discover if the little chair was ready for her coming . That was the sort of reward Rose liked , the thanks that cheered her ; and whenever she grew very tired , one look at the green shade , the curly head so restless on the pillow , and the poor groping hands , touched her tender heart and put new spirit into the weary voice . She did not know how much she was learning , both from the books she read and the daily sacrifices she made .
Stories and poetry were her delight , but XXXXX did not care for them ; and since his favourite Greeks and Romans were forbidden , he satisfied himself with travels , biographies , and the history of great inventions or discoveries .
Alec Jane Mac Rose aunties days oculist right self-devotion weeks