know whatever lies upon it i hope you will see the justice of keeping wide and clear of me and will find a consolation in completely all but yourself i hope before many years are out to succeed the master in my present school and the mistress being a single woman though some years older than i am i might even marry her if it is any comfort to you to know what plans i may work out by keeping myself strictly respectable in the scale of society these are the plans at present to me in conclusion if you feel a sense of having injured me and a desire to make some small i hope you will think how respectable you might have been yourself and will contemplate your existence was it strange that the wretched man should take this heavily to heart perhaps he had taken the boy to heart first through some long laborious years perhaps through the same years he had found his lightened by communication with a brighter and more apprehensive spirit than his own perhaps a family resemblance of face and voice between the boy and his sister smote him hard in the gloom of his fallen state for reason or for all he drooped his devoted head when the boy was gone and shrank together on the floor and there with the palms of his hands tight clasping his hot temples in unutterable misery and by a single tear rogue had been busy with the river that day he had with on the previous evening but the light was short and he had he had again that day with better luck and had carried his fish home to mill lock house in a bundle perfect of mine wiu fl i � ti i � i va � � n � t better to be than the new d a r y foundations a l mutual friend chapter a few of the went no more to the business premises of and co in st mary axe after chance had disclosed to her as she supposed the and character of mr she often over her work on the tricks and the manners of that venerable cheat but made her little purchases elsewhere and lived a secluded life after much consultation with herself she decided not to put on her guard against the old man arguing that the disappointment of finding him out would come upon her quite soon enough therefore in her communication with her friend by letter she was silent on this theme and principally dilated on the of her bad child who every day grew worse and worse you wicked old boy miss would say to him with a menacing forefinger you ll force me to run away from you after all you will and then you ll shake to bits and be nobody to pick up the pieces at this of a desolate the wicked old boy would and and would sit shaking himself into the lowest of low spirits until such time as he could shake himself out of the house and shake another o himself but dead drunk or dead sober he had come to such a pass that he was least alive in the latter state it was always on the conscience of the that ne had betrayed his sharp parent for sixty of rum which were all gone and that her would detect his having done it sooner or later things considered therefore and addition made of the state of his body to the state of his mind the bed on which mr was a bed of roses from which the flowers and leaves had entirely faded leaving him to lie upon the thorns and on a certain day miss was alone at her work with the house door set open for coolness and was in a small sweet voice a mournful little song which might have been the song of the doll she was dressing the and of wax when whom should she standing on the pavement looking in at her but mr i thought it was you said coming up the two steps did you miss retorted and i thought it was you young man quite a coincidence you re not mistaken and i m not mistaken how clever we are well and how are you said i am pretty much as usual sir replied miss a very unfortunate parent worried out of my life and senses by a very bad child s small eyes opened so wide that they might have passed vol n q mutual men for ordinary sized eyes as he stared about him for the very young person whom he supposed to be in question but you re not a parent said miss and consequently it s of no use talking to you upon a family subject � to what am i to attribute the honor and favor to a wish to improve your acquaintance mr replied miss stopping to bite her thread looked at him very we never meet now said do we no said miss off the word m so i had a mind pursued m to come and have a talk with yon about our friend the child of so he gave you my address did he asked miss i got it out of him said with a you seem to see a good deal of ham remarked miss with shrewd distrust a good deal of him you seem to see considering yes i do said w considering haven t you inquired the bending over the doll on which her art was being exercised done with him yet no said shaking his head u la been with him all this time and sticking to him still said miss busy with her work sticking to him is the word said miss pursued her occupation with a concentrated air and asked after an interval of silent industry are you in the 