Year: 1866

"The first time you have ever been to
a theater! Is it really SOP"


"Oh. yes, indeed" she replied; really the
very first" And then after pause, 1T is
the first time have ever been In London"


Turning to pink ribbons, "ltis notyour
first yisit?"


son, no, of course not; but love the
play, and have not been half often enough;
should like to go every night"


"Ah, then can tell all about you. You
live in London? Yes! And your friend
here has come up from the country to pay
you a visit and see the Great Exhibition !
Now, come, tell me if l have not made a
capital guess. You must know am very
inquisitive person, a regular Paul Pry
about other peoples affairs. 1t is generally
said your sex Is very curious; | confess
that | think men are quite as inquisltlVe
when they are interested about any one, II
they would only admit it. Now, OF course,
! am interested in you both. | had been
watching you for some time before you were
obliged TO leave the theater, and had been
wOndering-curiosity succeeds to wonder
what condition of affairs could have
brought two such charming little creatures
unattended into such crowd. | strongly
suspect you are both playing truant, and
are here without any ones knowledge. Is
it SOP"


"Ah, now you want to know too much,"
says pink ribbons; "don't yOu?"


well, do want to know enough to sat-
isfy my curiosity"


BY dnt of beating about the bush, and
hazarding a direct question whenever saw
an opportunity, CLEANED and picked up
additional facts enough to prove to me more
than ever that the two were not fit COM
panions one for the other. | gathered that
my two new friends had been schoOlfelOws;
that the elder was now living in London,
Ostensibly as a dressmakcT, and that she
had invited the young girl to come up from
RingwoOd, in Hampshire, to visit her. The
little one vOuchsafed the information, after
time, that she was an orphan, her father
having been dead many years; she had
very recently lost her mother, by which
event she had come into actual possession
OF sum of money, small in reality, but
seeming ineXhaustible to her. She eXpati-
ated naively on the temptation to spend
money in town, admitting that although
she had only arrived the day before, she
had already spent twenty pounds in pres
ents for her friend, and trnkets for both.


BY this time we had arrived at Charing
Cross, and had turned toward st. Martins
Church, when both my companions paused,
as if anxious | should take my leave. Now
| was neither in the humor Of Bayard or
LOvelace, and yet was most unwilling
to part with my quondam friends. want
ed to discover why this apparently inno-
cent girl should have been with her suspi-
cious friend rather than under the care of
some members of her family. had found
out that her eldest sister still lived in the
old house at Ringwood whilst another
sister, also older than herself was living in
London. IT. order to prOlOng the inter-
view, and to gain information, | asked per-
mission to see them safely TO their lodging;
but this they refused So decidedly that
was iain to adopt the only course open to
insure my seeing them again speedily, by
appearing most anxious to make an ap-
pointment for Il second meeting.


This was Friday evening; on Saturday |
was particularly engaged. aud dared not
bind myself to anything like fresh en-
gagement for that day; Sunday, therefore,
was the earliest opportunity available. |
had an instructive notion that delay might
be fatal; so it was eventually settled that
we should meet under the pOrtico of St.
Martins Church at a quarter to nine on
the following Sunday evening. We said
good bye, and parted with mutual express
ions OF good wilton my part most sincere.
watched them disappear up st. Martins
lane, when | turned musingly hOmeward,
determined to sitt the cause of this uncon-
genial companiOnship to the bottom, and if
my suspicious proved correct, not to leave
stone unturned until | had rescued the
poor child from the brink of the precipice
In which imagined her own thoughtless-
ness had placed her. My experience OF
London life ha taught me how terribly
often evils of the kind Iapprehended might
have been averted by the kindly interposi-
ton OF friendly arm, if held out at the fit
ting moment. For the present | could do
nothing; must wait aud see what new
facts fate or my own ingenuity and good
fortune might bring to light at our next
interview.