"What a handsome young man! Who is he?"

"Oh, the clerk, of course."

"He looks a gentleman."

"A person of no consequence, by his shabby dress and awkward manners."

I closed the door, and walked hastily away. How I despised the new
suit, of which a few minutes before I had felt so proud. The remarks of
the younger lady tingled in my ears for weeks. She had considered me
worth looking at, in spite of my unfashionable garments; and I blessed
her for the amiable condescension, and thought her in return as
beautiful as an angel. I never saw her again--but I caught myself
scribbling her name on my desk, and I covered many sheets of waste
paper with indifferent rhymes in her praise.

This confession may call up a smile on the lip of the reader, and I am
content that he should accuse me of vanity. But these were the first
words of commendation which had ever reached my ears from the lips of
woman, and though I have since laughed heartily at the deep impression
they made on my mind, they produced a beneficial effect at the time,
and helped to reconcile me to my lot.

It was about this period, that Mr. Bassett left the office, and went
into the profession on his own account. The want of means, and an
imprudent marriage in early life, had hindered him from entering it
sooner. For twenty years he had worked as a clerk, when he was fully
qualified to have been the head of the firm. The death of an uncle who
left him a small property unchained him from the oar, and as he said,
"made a man of him at last."

Poor little man. I shall never forget his joy when he got that
important letter. He sprang from his desk, upsetting the high stool in
his haste, and shook hands with us all round, laughing and crying
alternately.

He was a great favourite in the office, and we all rejoiced in his good
fortune, though I felt sincerely grieved at parting with him. He had
been a kind friend to me when I had no friends; and I had spent some
quiet, happy evenings with him at his humble lodgings, in the company
of a very pretty and amiable wife. My occasional visit to him was the
only indulgence I had ever been allowed, and these visits were not
permitted to be of too frequent recurrence.

He saw how much I was affected at bidding him good-by.

"Geoffrey," said he, taking me by the hand and drawing me aside: "one
word with you before we part. I know your attachment for me is sincere.
Believe me, the feeling is reciprocated in its fullest