e it she did.

"And I," thought Ernest to himself again when the arrangement was
concluded, "am the man who thought himself unlucky!"

I may as well say here all that need be said further about Ellen. For
the next three years she used to call regularly at Mr Ottery's every
Monday morning for her pound. She was always neatly dressed, and looked
so quiet and pretty that no one would have suspected her antecedents. At
first she wanted sometimes to anticipate, but after three or four
ineffectual attempts--on each of which occasions she told a most pitiful
story--she gave it up and took her money regularly without a word. Once
she came with a bad black eye, "which a boy had throwed a stone and hit
her by mistake"; but on the whole she looked pretty much the same at the
end of the three years as she had done at the beginning. Then she
explained that she was going to be married again. Mr Ottery saw her on
this, and pointed out to her that she would very likely be again
committing bigamy by doing so. "You may call it what you like," she
replied, "but I am going off to America with Bill the butcher's man, and
we hope Mr Pontifex won't be too hard on us and stop the allowance."
Ernest was little likely to do this, so the pair went in peace. I
believe it was Bill who had blacked her eye, and she liked him all the
better for it.

From one or two little things I have been able to gather that the couple
got on very well together, and that in Bill she has found a partner
better suited to her than either John or Ernest. On his birthday Ernest
generally receives an envelope with an American post-mark containing a
book-marker with a flaunting text upon it, or a moral kettle-holder, or
some other similar small token of recognition, but no letter. Of the
children she has taken no notice.

CHAPTER LXXVIII

Ernest was now well turned twenty-six years old, and in little more than
another year and a half would come into possession of his money. I saw
no reason for letting him have it earlier than the date fixed by Miss
Pontifex herself; at the same time I did not like his continuing the shop
at Blackfriars after the present crisis. It was not till now that I
fully understood how much he had suffered, nor how nearly his supposed
wife's habits had brought him to actual want.

I had indeed noted the old wan worn look settling upon his face, but was
either too indolent or too hopeless of being able to sustain a protracted