ered lunch here," he said, "and I am quite alone." He stopped
in confusion, and looked as if he rather expected me to box his ears. "I
shall be forty next birthday," he went on; "I am old enough to be your
father." I all but burst out laughing, and stepped across the street, on
my way home. He followed me. "We might invite the landlady to join
us," he said, looking the picture of a headlong man, dismayed by the
consciousness of his own imprudence. "Couldn't you honor me by lunching
with me if we had the landlady?" he asked.

This was a little too much. "Quite out of the question, sir--and you
ought to know it," I said with severity. He half put out his hand.
"Won't you even shake hands with me?" he inquired piteously. When
we have most properly administered a reproof to a man, what is the
perversity which makes us weakly pity him the minute afterward? I was
fool enough to shake hands with this perfect stranger. And, having done
it, I completed the total loss of my dignity by running away. Our dear
crooked little streets hid me from him directly.

As I rang at the door-bell of my employer's house, a thought occurred to
me which might have been alarming to a better regulated mind than mine.

"Suppose he should come back to Sandwich?"

II.

BEFORE many more days passed I had troubles of my own to contend with,
which put the eccentric stranger out of my head for the time.

Unfortunately, my troubles are part of my story; and my early life mixes
itself up with them. In consideration of what is to follow, may I say
two words relating to the period before I was a governess?

I am the orphan daughter of a shopkeeper of Sandwich. My father died,
leaving to his widow and child an honest name and a little income of L80
a year. We kept on the shop--neither gaining nor losing by it. The truth
is nobody would buy our poor little business. I was thirteen years old
at the time; and I was able to help my mother, whose health was then
beginning to fail. Never shall I forget a certain bright summer's day,
when I saw a new customer enter our shop. He was an elderly gentleman;
and he seemed surprised to find so young a girl as myself in charge
of the business, and, what is more, competent to support the charge. I
answered his questions in a manner which seemed to please him. He soon
discovered that my education (excepting my knowledge of the business)
had been sadly neglected; and he inquired if he could see my mother. She
was restin