found it difficult to
make out whether she realized that the deceased had really been
her father.

"If my poor boy," she would say, "had been brought up better, he might
have done better. Not that I reproach myself. I hope I have no cause
for that."

"None, indeed, Jenny, I am very certain."

"Thank you, godmother. It cheers me to hear you say so. But you see it
is so hard to bring up a child well, when you work, work, work, all day.
When he was out of employment, I couldn't always keep him near me. He
got fractious and nervous, and I was obliged to let him go into the
streets. And he never did well in the streets, he never did well out of
sight. How often it happens with children! How can I say what I might
have turned out myself, but for my back having been so bad and my legs
so queer, when I was young!" the dressmaker would go on. "I had nothing
to do but work, so I worked. I couldn't play. But my poor, unfortunate
child could play, and it turned out worse for him."

"And not for him alone, Jenny."

"Well, I don't know, godmother. He suffered heavily, did my unfortunate
boy. He was very, very ill sometimes. And I called him a quantity of
names;" shaking her head over her work, and dropping tears.

"You are a good girl, you are a patient girl."

"As for patience," she would reply with a shrug, "not much of that,
godmother. If I had been patient, I should never have called him names.
But I hope I did it for his good. And besides, I felt my responsibility
as a mother so much. I tried reasoning, and reasoning failed. I tried
coaxing, and coaxing failed. I tried scolding, and scolding failed. But
I was bound to try everything, with such a charge on my hands. Where
would have been my duty to my poor lost boy, if I had not tried
everything?"

With such talk, mostly in a cheerful tone on the part of the industrious
little creature, the day work and the night work were beguiled, until
enough of smart dolls had gone forth to bring in the sombre stuff that
the occasion required, and to bring into the house the other sombre
preparations. "And now," said Miss Jenny, "having knocked off my
rosy-cheeked young friends, I'll knock off my white-cheeked self." This
referred to her making her own dress which at last was done, in time for
the simple service, the arrangements for which were of her own planning.
The service ended, and the solitary dressmaker having returned to her
home, she said:

"I must have a very short cry,