Sentence:  And now he's dead, and left her a widow, and she is staying here; and we are racking our brains to find out some way of helping her to a <WSD>livelihood</WSD> without parting her from her child. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A means of providing the necessities of life for oneself (for example, a job or income). (from 14thc.)