k him out of a cellar and put him into one of
the finest houses in town--albeit it was a cold and gloomy house. It
was large, and white, and square, with sharp gables, and its blinds
were always closed. He went up to dinner that day with the judge, to
meet Mrs. Brown, whom he had never seen; nobody saw her, for she was a
"perfect recluse."

She looked at her husband through her glasses in a calm surprise, as he
introduced Bradley, and stated he had invited him to dinner.

"Well, Mr. Brown, if you will do such things, you must expect your
company to take every-day fare."

"Maybe our every-day fare, Mrs. Brown, will be Sunday fare for this
young man."

They sat down at the table, which Mrs. Brown waited upon herself,
rising from her place for the tea or the biscuits. She said very little
thereafter, but Bradley caught the gleam of her glasses fixed upon him
several times. She had a beautiful mouth, but the line of her lips
seemed to indicate sadness and a determined silence.

"Mrs. Brown, I wish you'd take care of this young man for a few weeks.
He's my clerk, and I--ahem!--I--suppose he's going to milk the cow and
split the kindlings for me, to pay for his board in that useful way."

She looked at him again in silence, and the line of her lips got a
little straighter, as she waited for the Judge to go on.

"This young man is going to study law with me, and I hope to make a
great man of him, Mrs. Brown."

"Mr. Brown, I wish you'd consult with me once in a while," she said
without anger.

"Mrs. Brown, it was a case of necessity. I was on the point of giving
up the milking of that cow, and my back got a crick in it every time I
split the kindlings. I consider I've done you a benefit and myself a
favor, Mrs. Brown."

She turned her glasses upon Bradley again, and studied him in silence.
She was a very dignified woman of fifty. Her hair was like wavy masses
of molasses candy, and her brow cold and placid. Her eyes could not be
seen, but her mouth and chin were almost girlish in their beauty.

The Judge felt that he had done a hazardous thing. He took a new tone,
his reminiscent tone. "Mrs. Brown, do you remember the first time you
saw me? Well, I was 'pirating' through Oberlin--(chopping wood, you
remember we didn't saw it in those days) and living in a cellar, just
like this young man. He's been cookin' his own grub, just as I did
then, because he hasn't any money to pay for board. Now I think we
ought to give