Home Sickness
- Margaret and the servant Dixon spend two days unpacking and arranging everything in the new house. Looking around, Mrs. Hale asks if the family truly has to live in such a miserable place.
- Mr. Hale isn't much more optimistic. He mopes about how much the house might negatively affect his family's health.
- Eventually, Margaret can't keep up her positive attitude anymore. She sinks onto her bed, alone with her misery. She reads a letter from her pretty cousin Edith, who seems to be loving life in Greece with her new husband. Margaret starts to reminisce about the luxurious life she had while living with Edith's family in London.
- Before long, Mr. Hale sets to work with his new pupils, teaching them all kinds of stuff about the classics and philosophy. The oldest of these new students is Mr. John Thornton, the wealthy factory owner who has helped get the Hales settled in Milton.
- Margaret is responsible for finding a local servant to help Dixon around the house. But she finds that most young girls prefer to work in the mills because of the better wages.
- As she walks about Milton's streets, Margaret becomes intimidated by how openly the people of the factory town, both men and women, comment on her looks or on what she's wearing.
- Part of her actually likes the thought that her pretty face can make some of the poorer men smile.
- One day after picking flowers, Margaret passes a poor young girl on the road and hands her the flowers as a present. The girl's father thanks her. He knows that she's not from around there and asks her all about herself. She learns that the man's name is Nicholas Higgins and his daughter's name is Bessy. She also learns that Bessy is sick and that neither she nor her dad thinks she has any chance of getting better.
- Margaret offers to visit them sometime. The Higginses aren't used to the custom of paying visits like Margaret is. Higgins admits that he's not fond of having strangers in his house, but agrees to her visit.
- When she gets back home, Margaret feels a little cheerier for having met the Higginses.