ade no remark, but clasped her hands together and drew
them tightly across her breast, while her eyes glanced involuntarily
upward.

About an hour afterwards, a lady who felt a good deal of interest in
Mrs. Ellison, and who knew of the application that was to be made
through Mr. Burgess to Mr. C----, called in to express her sincere
regret at Lucy's having failed to secure the situation, a knowledge of
which had just reached her ears.

"Nothing but the neglect of Mr. Burgess to call upon Mr. C---- at once,
as he promised to do, has prevented Lucy from getting the place!" she
said, with the warmth of a just indignation. "A person who was present
when Mr. B. called this morning, told me, that after he left Mr. C----
remarked to her that he was perfectly aware of Lucy's high
qualifications for teaching French, and would have been glad of her
services had he known her wish to engage as an instructor, but that it
was now too late, as he had on the day before employed a competent
person to fill the situation."

Lucy covered her face with her hands on hearing this, and gave way to a
passionate burst of tears.

When Mr. Burgess came home at dinner-time, his wife said, immediately
on his entrance, "Have you secured that place for Lucy Ellison, my
dear? I hope you haven't neglected it again."

"I called upon Mr. C---- this morning," replied the husband, "but found
the vacancy already filled."

"Oh, I am so sorry!" said Mrs. Burgess, speaking in a tone of deep
regret. "When was it filled?"

"I didn't inquire. Mr. C---- said that Lucy would have suited him
exactly, but that her application came too late."

"Poor thing! She will be terribly disappointed," said the wife.

"No doubt she will be disappointed, but I don't know why it should be
so very terrible to her. She had no right to be positively certain of
obtaining the situation."

"Have you heard any particulars of her mother's situation?" inquired
Mrs. Burgess.

"Nothing very particular. Have you?"

"Yes. Mrs. Lemmon called to see me this morning; she is an intimate
friend of Mrs. Ellison. She told me that the small income which Mrs.
Ellison has enjoyed since her husband's death has, at the final
settlement of his estate, been cut off, the estate proving to be
utterly insolvent. A month has elapsed since she has been deprived of
all means of living beyond the small sum of money that happened to be
in her hands, an amount not over thirty or forty dollars. Since t