A Plucky Girl

"At Home," mother came to me, and earne

may be taken as a matter of course, but I do think you

e cottage in the country, as they will in the boarding-house in town; sooner, in fact, if that is any cons

r us, for at present I cannot see that it is; but if we can find a suitable house, an

o doubt myself, and my own judgment. I began even seriously to consider the cottage in the country with its genteel poverty, a

, oh, it is different. There old age comes before its time. I knew that I was not the girl to endure having nothing to do, and yet that seemed to be my appointed portion. So during the night I shed very bitter tears, and I hated society for its coldness and want of comprehension. I longed more frantically than ever to find myself in the midst of the people, where "a man was a man for a' t

, "I do not quite k

er quickly, it

hat he is willing in your case to come to terms with regard to his house, and if you will take it for a lease of fourteen years, he will do it up for you, i

be glad to hear if you still entert

faith

ister

m Square was a house where any one might be happy. It was charmingly built; it was large, commodious, cheerful, and then the landlord-he must be a delightful man when he wit

ndid, mother!

y that first day, darling, and the only impression they left upon me was, that they were all stairs and

de it was, and you know there were darling balconies, and you shall have one, little mother, all to yourself, and such a swee

s bad as the other houses; but still, Westenra, what does thi

ed, "I suppose the landlord was not going

rent of the hou

such a house, and the landlord, Mr. Hardcastle, will do it up for us. Mothe

e quite dete

I do think father wo

and mine, and that at times I spoke so exactly like him, and made use of the identically same expressions, and in short impressed her with the feeling that he was close

go and see the

elightful than the first, for the agent's clerk accompanied us. We found him in an excellent humour, most willing to offer suggestions and

's clerk was quite astonishingly cheery; he knew just the colour the paper ought to be, for instance, and the tone of the paint, and he even suggeste

use-agents could be such agreeable people. No. 17 Graham Square is a handso

very midst of our friends," I said with a smile; "we shall do splend

questions, it was finally decided that he was to see Mr. Hardcastle, the landlord, and that the landlord was to have an interview the next d

are having your own way; it will be a lesson to you, I only trust we shall not be

when the landlord, a nice, jovial, rosy-faced man, arrived, accompanied by the agent. They both saw my mother, who told them frankly that she knew nothing abo

equire references. I am going to lay out a good deal of

d mother, but she lo

of referenc

; "but your banker's will be all-sufficient-an interview with

looked first at me and then at Mr. Har

dertake our present scheme if w

"and yet you propose to take a house with a r

ut of the profit we get fr

ord, but he raised his brows, looked fixedly

ies, but I cannot let my house without references. If you, for instance, Mrs. Wickham, could get any one

hen he and the agent, both of th

eferences," said Mr. Hardcastle as he bowed himself

day, we had thr

d, and as that nice, jovial looking Mr. Hardcastle will not let us the house without our having capital, and as we have no capital, there surely is an end to the matter

the present moment I feel at my wits' end, but I

s in my eyes, for mothe

me," s

arms, and laid my

because you are, and because I love you so passionately, I wil

. We wanted money, and we would earn it; we would go in debt to no man; we would earn money for ourselves. But then the thought came to me, "Was my scheme too expensive? had I any right to saddle mother with such an enormous rent?" I had always considered myself a very fair arithmetician, and I now sat down and went carefully in

pirits, for my accounts would not, howeve

I to overcome them. Presently I took a sheet of paper and wrote a few

g me know what capital my mother will require in

ding a postscript, "An e

swer about noon t

pluck and endeavour, and I should certainly do my utmost to please you, b

thers it is as impossible and as unget-at-able as the moon. We, when our debts were paid, would have nothing at all

age in the country, and to what part of the country it would be best

I mean-downstairs, and s

nd read the name-

I asked; "I do

showed her into the li'bry. I said you was m

ad the name aloud. "Show

an?" said mother; "that sort of p

as anywhere else," I said. "I have rather

tly built, and very neatly and at the same time quietly dressed. Her dress was black silk, and I saw at a glance that the quality of the silk was poor. It gave her a harsh appearance, which was further intensified by a kind of fixed colour in her cheeks. Her face was all over a sort of chocolate red. She

retired to the other end of the long drawing-room an

rkable response to this; "but I suppose Jane will come in time." Here she heaved a very deep

e you would like me to proceed to business. I have come, Miss Wickha

have been more amazed. What had this little, rather u

"I went all over it this morning. I heard from your agents,

nd a stately bend of my head. I was glad that mother was occupying herself with some d

forward and sat in such a position

she said; "I am here on business. A

wish to take

ing to take it,

ed this speech,

me is blunt, and so is my

lf r

Wickham, and d

uld call to mother to protect me, but Jane Mullins had such twinkling, good-hu

17 Graham Square, and so do I. You have got beauty and good birth and taste and style, and your name and your appearance will draw cu

felt more astonished,

gether?"

at least some furniture"-here she glanced in a rather contemptuous way round our lovely drawing-room. "You also, of

nds will notice us when we go to-to Bloomsbury, and we have not half enough furnitur

ag with my experience and my capital-or rather, the capital that is to be given to me. Will you do it? There's a plain question. Is it to be yes, or is it to be no? I want 17 Graham Square, and so do you. Shall we take

r seat and came with slow and

" she said; "what does

n, and what you ought to give a dozen for eggs, and for butter, and how to get the best and freshest provisions at the lowest possible price. I know a thousand things, my dear madam, that you do not know, and that your pretty daughter doesn't know, and what I say is; as we both want 17 Graham Square, shall we put our pride in our pockets and our finances in

stounding thing I ever heard of in my life. Westenra dear, thank this person very kindly, tell her th

and I looked at Jane Mullins, and Jane Mullins looked at me, and

ou have said it, for Jane Mullins could have don

and tripped out of the room. I was too stunned even to ring

ne Mullins, and to consider their proposals, there was an end of everything, and she could not, for my father's sake, hear of such an outrageous proposal for a moment. This she said with tears in her eyes, and I listened quite submissively until at last the precious dar

e slightest doubt that, with Jane Mulli

w that it was the straw too much, and at that moment who should come to visit us but pr

I want you to come for a long drive in my carriage, and afterwards we will go to the theatre together; there is a very good piece on at th

so pleasant that she made mother forget Jane Mullins; but then during dinner, in the queerest, most marvellous way,

-I would fifty thousand times rather introduce my nice American friends to Jane Mullins's boarding-house than I would to yours, Westenra, for in Jane's the

d even mother looked angry, and I think she

my rash refusal of her aid. Surely, if Providence had meant us to carry out our scheme, Providence had also supplied Jane Mullins to help us to do it,

nd whispered to her all about Jane and my thoughts duri

ou know, darling, you know nothing about cooking, and I know still less, and I suppose this Miss Mullins would un

d. I will go to her the moment I have fin