Once Joseph has recovered enough to care for the children, Matilda is able to accompany Eliza on her rounds. Describe their day. How does Matilda feel about what she sees and does?

Matilda is saddened by the things she does and sees, she is overwhelmed not by the work, but by the heartache.

The sights and smells of Eliza’s patients were no worse than Bush Hill, but I was not prepared for the heartache. Walking into the homes of strangers, sitting on their furniture, and drying the tears of their children was harder than cleaning up the sick. A dying woman in a cot surrounded by strangers was sorrowful, but a dying woman surrounded by her children, her handiwork, the home where she worked so hard, left me in tears.