be sure that nothing but pain to her would be the
result. I therefore compromised the affair by inclosing the money in a
letter, in which I told her that I comprehended her difficulty and
sent with pleasure the amount she needed, but that as a friend I must
add that while in the present instance she had run no risk of being
misunderstood or unkindly censured, that such a request made to
another man and under other circumstances might provoke a surprise
capable of leading to the most unpleasant consequences, and advised
her if she ever again found herself in such a strait to appeal
directly to her father, or else to deny herself a charity which she
was in no position to bestow.

"This letter I undertook to deliver myself, for one of the curious
points of her communication had been the entreaty that I would not
delay the help she needed by trusting the money to any hand but my
own, but would bring it to a certain hotel down-town and place it at
the beginning of the book of Isaiah in the large Bible I would find
lying on a side table in the small parlor off the main one. She would
seek it there before the morning was over, and so, without the
intervention of a third party, acquire the means she desired for
helping a poor and deserving family.

"I knew the hotel she mentioned, and I remembered the room, but I did
not remember the Bible. However, it was sure to be in the place she
indicated; and though I was not in much sympathy with my errand, I
respected her whim and carried the letter down-town. I had reached
Main Street and was in sight of the hotel designated, when suddenly on
the opposite corner of the street I saw the young girl herself. She
looked as fresh as the morning, and smiled so gayly I felt somewhat
repaid for the annoyance she had caused me, and gratified that I could
cut matters short by putting the letter directly in her hand, I
crossed the street to her side. As soon as we were face to face, I
said:

"'How fortunate I am to meet you. Here is the amount you need sealed
up in this letter. You see I had it all ready.'

"The face she lifted to mine wore so blank a look that I paused,
astonished.

"'What do you mean?' she asked, her eyes looking straight into mine
with such innocence in their clear blue depths, I was at once
convinced she knew nothing of the matter with which my thoughts were
busy. 'I am very glad to see you, but I do not in the least understand
what you mean by the amount I need.' And