four to eight, sat
Except for the two dead children the room was empty , and Gertrude , softly closing the door , and breathing a silent prayer , she scarce knew whether for herself , for the living , or for the dead , she opened the other , and came upon a scene , the pathos and inexpressible sadness of which made a lasting impression upon her , which even after events did not efface from her memory . There was a bed in this room too , and upon it lay the emaciated form of a woman ; asleep , as the girl first thought -- dead , as she afterwards quickly discovered . By her side there nestled a little child , hardly more than an infant , wailing pitifully with that plaintive , persistent cry which had attracted her attention at the outset . Three children , varying in age from four to eight , sat huddled on the floor in a corner , their tear-stained faces all turned in wondering expectancy upon the newcomer . Stretched upon the floor beside the bed was another child , so still that Gertrude felt from the first that it , too , was dead , and when she lifted up the little form , she saw the dreaded death tokens upon the waxen skin . With a prayer in her heart for grace and strength and guidance , Gertrude laid the dead child beside its dead mother -- for she saw that the woman was cold and stiff in death ; and then she gathered the living children round her , and taking the infant in her arms , she led them all down into the lower room , and quickly kindled the fire that was laid ready in the grate . She found nothing of any sort in the house , and the children were crying for food ; but the watchman quickly provided what was needful , being , perhaps , a little ashamed of the condition in which this household had been found .