le which always had the effect of subduing the tooth, and
rendering the plain face almost beautiful.

Although bordering on the lowest state of destitution--and that is a
remarkably low state in London!--old Liz had an air of refinement about
her tones, words, and manner which was very different from that of the
poor people around her. This was not altogether, though partly, due to
her Christianity. The fact is, the old woman had "seen better days."
For fifty years she had been nurse in an amiable and wealthy family, the
numerous children of which seemed to have been born to bloom for a few
years in the rugged garden of this world, and then be transplanted to
the better land. Only the youngest son survived. He entered the army
and went to India--that deadly maelstrom which has swallowed up so much
of British youth and blood and beauty! When the old couple became
bankrupt and died, the old nurse found herself alone and almost
destitute in the world.

It is not our purpose to detail here the sad steps by which she
descended to the very bottom of the social ladder, taking along with her
Susan, her adopted daughter and the child of a deceased fellow-servant.
We merely tell thus much to account for her position and her partial
refinement--both of which conditions she shared with Susan.

"Now then," said the latter, "I must go, granny. Stickle and Screw are
not the men to overlook faults. If I'm a single minute late I shall
have to pay for it."

"And quite right, Susy, quite right. Why should Stickle and Screw lose
a minute of their people's work? Their people would be angry enough if
they were to be paid a penny short of their wages! Besides, the firm
employs over two hundred hands, and if every one of these was to be late
a minute there would be two hundred minutes gone--nigh four hours, isn't
it? You should be able to count that right off, Susy, havin' been so
long at the Board-school."

"I don't dispute it, granny," said the girl with a light laugh, as she
stood in front of a triangular bit of looking-glass tying on her poor
but neatly made hat. "And I am usually three or four minutes before my
time, but Stickle and Screw are hard on us in other ways, so different
from Samson and Son, where Lily Hewat goes. Now, I'm off. I'll be sure
to be back by half-past nine or soon after."

As the girl spoke, footsteps were heard ascending the creaky wooden
stair. Another moment and Tommy Splint entering with a t