Year: 1873

ceived with tears and lamentations: but
the old lady bore it much better than we
could have hoped and we subscribed large
ly, and bought her a testimonial-of
course it was teapot-and we invited
her to a party, when the Vicar and the
Churchwarden made speeches, and every
body else cried, and we felt much better
afterwards.


So, on the whole, we got rid of Mrs
Todkins much better than we expected.
But finding her successor, the certifcated
mistress, was quite another business. We
had thought it would be an exceedingly
simple matter, for naturally there would
be a great competition for such a school
as ours, and the Vicar would select the
most suitable person from among the list
of candidates. 1t took us several days to
realize this astonishing fact, and we doubt
ed whether the Guardian had duly inserted
the advertisement. But when we came to
look, we found it in the proper column,
only it struck US for the first time that
there were an enormous number Of other
advertisements very much like ours in
deed, except that some of them offered a
great deal more money than we had
| thought of giving.


Mrs Ambrose made this discovery as
she looked over the Guardian on Thurs
day morning.


My dear, here are three-no, four
advertisements for certifcated mistresses,
offering fifty pounds a year"


Fifty! We have only said thirty five"
replied the Vicar. No wonder we have
no answers"


And as the days went on, and weeks be-
gan to slip away, he saw that it behooved
him to do something, or the inspector
would ha hot laI
| mistress, and. there was no saying what
would happen then; we should lose our
| grant, and possibly incur other penalties


I'm write to Dobson," said Mr.. Am
brose to his wife.


| And he wrote to Mr. Dobson the next
morning, as soon as he went to his study
| Mr. DobsOn was the principal of the great
| training college at Hatley, and an old
| friend of the Wears, so he might just as
| well have written to him sooner, only
none of us think Of all the right things to
| do just at the right time.


If you want mistress, offer seventy
pounds" said the principal, by return OF
post.


And the Vicar did offer seventy pounds,
though where the money was to come
from | could not tell, and / don't think he
could, either. But he said we must all
put our shoulders to the wheel; and |
generally found that means giving money
Back came another letter from Mr.. Dob
son, to say that he had a mistress who had
just finished training-a widow; exactly
the person to suit St Bridget's, and she
would accept the situation on certain CON
ditions. | don't know what the condi-
tions were, except that her evenings were
to be at her own disposal, only | know
that it seemed to me very odd to hear of a
schoolmistress making conditions, and ac-
cepting such an enormous salary as if she
were comforting favor.


The Vicar said it was the result of com
petition, the supply not being equal to the
demand; but thought it might be indi-
reCtlv referred to strikes and unions,
though l did not exactly see how; but
when there are so many dreadful things
going on in the country, they work into
each other in a dreadful manner


1T is a comfort that we are to have a
widow" | remarked to Mr.. Ambrose
she will be staid and respectable, and
not such a responsibility as a young girl. !"


"Oh, | don't know" sighed Mrs Am
brose, piteously; II think I would rather
have a young person, even if she did wear
chignons and feathers. Widows are
So


She stopped suddenly, remembering
that | was a widow, and went on to
fresh sentence; but I wondered what she
was going to say.


Il know | shall be afraid of her" she
said. And she is going to play the or
gan and manage the choir. She will be
sure to want her own way in everything,
and it won't be nice and comfortable, as
it used to be. And then, my dear, she is
certain to be quite young; no middle-aged
person would have taken the trouble to
train herself, even if she had the clever
ness, which isn't likely. Depend upon it,
she will be young and pretty and all the
shopmen Will be falling in love with her,
and the people will talk scandal, and
there will be unpleasantness."


Il don't see that it follows" | said,
rather sharply; but ] did not like the way
she spoke of widows. 1t is very odd but
women whose husbands are alive always
give themselves airs about us. | think it
is because they are jealous of our power
of marrying again, having, as it were, two
chances to their one; at least, | cannot
discover any other reason, but of course,
there may be one that | do not know Of.


CHAPTER II.