was written sir john at this she knocked a timid little tap which met no response then she tried again this time a more loudly in reply to which a voice fi om within roared to her to enter she opened the door and found herself in a room where two clerks were sitting each at a separate desk can i see sir john she asked half hesitatingly one of the clerks looked up miss he asked in an tone yes that is my name sir john expects to see me he got up at once yes madam please come this way sir john is waiting for you poor little thing he remarked to his companion as he sat down at his desk again meantime with a quickly beating heart had walked into the presence of the great q c sir john i hope she said as she laid her hand in his that you do not think me very bold to come here and ask advice of you he was a very tall and large man and he stood looking down upon her with a very kindly expression upon his clean shaven rather ugly face my dear miss he said speaking in a rich mellow voice it is a perfectly natural thing that your aunt s niece should come here to ask advice of me we were great friends she and i i regret her death deeply sit down my dear young lady if there is sir john q c anything that i can do to serve you why it is done already she hesitated for a moment well she said i ought to tell you that has not left me much to live upon � all that she had poor darling but it was not much because she lived herself upon an i didn t know it never told me she always seemed to think that money should not be talked about � as if it were not quite to talk about money but now i am left i have got to think about money and to think a lot ah that often happens so said sir john in the tone of one to whom nothing can come as a surprise of course i knew that your aunt never had much money but i thought of late years that she had enough to live upon so she had but it was from an my george an for her � left it to her explained and i � i want to earn money and i want you to help me to help you to earn money ah now you have set me a difficult task he said i don t think so said you know everybody i want to go on the stage sir john go on the stage my dear child all young ladies want to go on the stage yes i know they say so i know they say that it s the dream of every woman s life but i am different i am not afraid of work and i h� ive ability i have talent see � look at this she hastily drew from the recesses of her an envelope containing half a dozen slips of newspaper just the few which had been written about the at little sir john just glanced at them my dear child he said you don t need me to tell you that it is one thing to play to a friendly audience in heart and sword one s own village and it is quite another thing to make one s living by acting out in the world i am not afraid said they never are said the great q c shaking his head solemnly i never knew a girl who wanted to go on the stage who was afraid of anything yet they say you know my dear child that every private soldier in the french army carries a field s h ton in his and equally certain is it that every girl who desires to go on the stage feels that she can without any trouble or become an or a but sir john said won t you give me a chance you know all these people � there is not a manager in london that you don t know intimately i don t ask you to do more than give me just a chance i can do the rest for myself it is the chance i want just the chance of a hearing he looked at her hard for just a minute or so where are you living now he asked i am staying at the for a few days � with the � yes and what do they think of this crack scheme of yours i haven t told them yet they didn t quite like � at least mrs didn t quite like � my coming to london without my having somebody with me to take care of me but i had s consent so i didn t think it mattered is that young yes i am going to marry him you know some day but i am afraid it will be a long time first as we haven t either of us got any money and you want to make some yes i want to make some if i can sir john q c what does he do he is in the service he is going out to india next year ah really what regiment � the black horse i see not much money making in that and he doesn t mind you going on the stage i have his consent to do as i like said flushing painfully at thus in a measure deceiving him and you think you will become a famous young woman my dear child it is a very hard and a very precarious life it is only one out of a thousand or so that makes a decent living 