all this would never lord we were all the victims of circumstances weren t we but i at least have no reason to regret it and if i may ask one last indulgence will you � a � let me have an opportunity of saying good bye to miss mrs she she doesn t deserve � oh i don t know what i m saying of course lord anything anything i can do to i will send her down to you if you will only wait she shall not keep you long lord alone to himself it s an ill wind c i shall have all to myself now to think that � but for a lucky blunder � i should be out and things on the wrong side of that wall at this moment and never dreaming that was so ah she s coming miss enters looking pale and you ve no idea what you ve missed i must tell you � it s too good to lose what do you think all these good people have been taking me the man from for never guess they actually believed i was hired from s give you my word they did � why don t you laugh miss faintly i � i am laughing no i m not i can t i haven t the conscience to oh i never meant you to know � but i must tell you whatever comes of it believed it too at first i did lord did you though then by jove i must have looked the character miss timidly i knew you � you weren t very well off and so i fancied you might oh i know it was hateful of me ever to think such a thing but i did and you can never really forgive me i lord couldn t think of it shall i tell you something else i ve a strong impression that you will not be an of this happy english household m longer miss i m sure i shan t from mrs s expression just now but i don t care lord don t be reckless how do you know there isn t a moral lion about and where will you go next miss with a shrug i don t know i suppose to anybody who wants a and doesn t mind taking her without a reference if there is such a person lord well oddly enough i fancy i know somebody who has been trying for a long time to find a young person of just your age and appearance and might be induced to a reference after a personal interview miss looks incredulous � � don t you understand if i hadn t been such a i d have spoken long ago when we were up in scotland together only it didn t seem fair then i � i dare say i ve no better chance now but at least i ve more right to speak than i had and � and � will you have me she turns away i � i won t worry you dear if you really can t care about me in that way but � but if you only could even a little miss the man from same scene � somewhat later lord not yet � i can t let you go just yet i � must i really before i ve said half what i wanted well � in one minute then and you re coming to my people as soon as you can get out of this and shall see you every day till � till we shall never be separated any confound it � who s that mr enters suddenly mr oh � er � lord sorry to interrupt you but � hem � my wife who s feeling too to come down again desires me to say that in her opinion miss has been here quite long enough miss escapes by tlie back drawing room lord i entirely agree with mrs but i am happy to say that miss will not remain here very much longer as she has just done me the honour of to be my wife � good night sir and many thanks for a most � a � evening he goes out mr making an effort to escort him down stairs but giving it up and sitting down heavily on a instead she ll be lady and i shall have to break it to maria � after she s just gone in and stuck a month s salary and immediate notice on her i oh lor � as if my poor wife hadn t trouble enough to bear as it was end of the man from s � c one side of the an scene � a narrow south london of two houses with a rag and bone at one end and a public house at the other time about four o clock on a saturday afternoon enter mr a middle aged gentleman in get up who in a moment of weakness undertaken to the district for his friend the candidate mr c j to himself as he regards his surroundings with dismay and tries to arrange his cards i suppose this is little maria street i didn t understand at the committee rooms that it was quite such a � however i must do my best for dear old who s the first man i must see and use my best to persuade him into promising his vote ah mr j no i he his way delicately along attempting to make out t ie numbers on the which are all thrown back female watch him from and windows with amused interest no no the next is no i is but the entrance is blocked by a small infant with a very dirty face who is in a baby chair between the door posts very embarrassing really can t ask 