Though I would n't say , Anne dearie , that they are so bad , either . I like them -- everybody likes them . It 's impossible to help liking them . They would be real nice little souls if there was anyone to look after their manners and teach them what is right and proper . For instance , at school the teacher says they are model children . But at home they simply run wild . '' `` What about Mrs. Meredith ? '' asked Anne . `` There 's NO Mrs. Meredith . That is just the trouble . Mr. Meredith is a widower . His wife died four years ago . If we had known that I do n't suppose we would have called him , for a widower is even worse in a congregation than a single man . But he was heard to speak of his children and we all supposed there was a mother , too . And when they came there was nobody but old Aunt Martha , as they call her . She 's a cousin of Mr. Meredith 's mother , I believe , and he took her in to save her from the poorhouse . She is seventy-five years old , half blind , and very deaf and very cranky . '' `` And a very poor cook , Mrs. Dr. dear . '' `` The worst possible manager for a manse , '' said Miss Cornelia bitterly . `` Mr. Meredith wo n't get any other housekeeper because he says it would hurt Aunt Martha 's feelings .
Anne dearie , believe me , the state XXXXX that manse is something terrible .
For Though about as at because of than that to