such a waste of daylight! Should she
try to arouse him? Dolly did try, after a little while; for she could
not bear the still waiting; she knocked at the inner door; but she got
no response. Then she went down to Mrs. Jersey at the cab, and told her
the state of the case, begging her to go away and not wait any longer.
_She_ must wait, and it was impossible to say how long.

"Miss Dolly, does your father often rise so late?"

"They say so. He never used, but it seems he does now."

"It's the way with a many," said the housekeeper. "Never mind me, my
dear. I'll wait here, or if I get tired of that, I will come in and sit
with the landlady. I shall not leave you."

Inwardly thankful, Dolly went back to her post and sat down and looked
around her. She could tell nothing by the room or its contents. Both
were nice enough; there was a slight smell of cigars, that was all to
find fault with. Dolly waited. The stillness grew dreadful. To
seventeen years old the first trouble comes hard; albeit seventeen
years old has also a great fund of spirit and strength to meet and
conquer trouble. But what was the trouble here? It was not the unusual
scantiness of means; _that_ could soon be made right, if other things
were not wrong which wrought to cause it. On the other hand, if her
father had fallen irreparably into bad habits--Dolly would not admit
the "irreparably" into her thoughts. But it was bitter to her that
children should ever have to find their parents in the wrong; dreadful
to have occasion to be ashamed of them. She knew, if her case proved
such a one, it would be only one of a great many; she had read of such
things, although chiefly among another class of people who were of
coarser habits and duller natures, and if they fell had less distance
to fall to get to the lowest level of society. But _her father!_--Dolly
cowered with her head down upon the back of a chair, and a cry in her
heart calling upon his name. Her father? could she have to blush for
him? All her nature revolted against it; the thought came over her as a
thick black cloud, so thick that for the moment light was banished from
all her little landscape. Oh, how can fathers do such things! and how
can daughters live under them! Death might be borne easier; but
disgrace? Death would leave the loved one still her own; disgrace
seemed to have a power of annihilation. Still, Dolly knew not that such
trouble was really come upon her; alas, she did know too well