general
agency in the city, when I had not been permitted to enter my name in
the books for want of a reference. Toward the close of October I
received a note from him, desiring me to call at the office at two
o'clock the following afternoon, without fail.

No danger of my failing to keep such an appointment! I felt in better
spirits that night than I had done since I had been driven from Sark.
There was an opening for me, a chance of finding employment, and I
resolved beforehand to take it, whatever it might be.

It was an agency for almost every branch of employment not actually
menial, from curates to lady's-maids, and the place of business was a
large one. There were two entrances, and two distinct compartments, at
the opposite ends of the building; but a broad, long counter ran the
whole length of it, and a person at one end could see the applicants at
the other as they stood by the counter. The compartment into which I
entered was filled with a crowd of women, waiting their turn to transact
their business. Behind the counter were two or three private boxes, in
which employers might see the candidates, and question them on the spot.
A lady was at that moment examining a governess, in a loud, imperious
voice which we could all hear distinctly. My heart sank at the idea of
passing through such a cross-examination as to my age, my personal
history, my friends, and a number of particulars foreign to the question
of whether I was fit for the work I offered myself for.

At last I heard the imperious voice say, "You may go. I do not think you
will suit me," and a girl of about my own age came away from the
interview, pale and trembling, and with tears stealing down her cheeks.
A second girl was summoned to go through the same ordeal.

What was I to do if this person, unseen in her chamber of torture, was
the lady I had been summoned to meet?

It was a miserable sight, this crowd of poor women seeking work, and my
spirits sank like lead. A set of mournful, depressed, broken-down women!
There was not one I would have chosen to be a governess for my girls.
Those who were not dispirited were vulgar and self-asserting; a class
that wished to rise above the position they were fitted for by becoming
teachers. These were laughing loudly among themselves at the
cross-questioning going on so calmly within their hearing. I shrank away
into a corner, until my turn to speak to the busy clerk should come.

I had a long time to wa