'  I  have  made  the  inquiry  you  wished,'  he  said  in  a  low
tone,  'and  I  am  truly  glad  to  be  able  to  assure  you  your  sym-
pathy has  fallen  on  a  deserving  object ;  the  poor  woman  is  as
she  represented  herself— a  widow,  with  a  family  of  young
children  depending  upon  her  for  support,  and  her  poverty  is
extreme.'

'  Many  thanks  for  taking  so  much  trouble,'  returned  Kate,
in  a  tone  of  voice  more  cordial  than  she  generally  used  towards
her  companion ;  '  and  now  tell  me  how  best  I  can  assist  them.'

'  I  have  a  plan,  but  can  scarcely  give  you  the  details  here ;
when  would  it  be  agreeable  to  you  to' — (here  his  eye  rested
for  a  moment  on  Mr  Crane,  contending  with  a  button-hole) —
'to  resume  the  subject,  and  give  me  your  opinion  on  my
scheme?'

Kate  reflected  a  moment,  during  which  she  struggled  with
an  instinctive  feeling,  and  deeming  it  reasonless,  conquered  it,
then  replied, — -

'  If  you  should  be  disengaged  at  eleven  o'clock  to-morrow,
and  would  look  in,  I  should  be  very  much  obliged  to  you.'

While  this  conversation  passed  between  Kate  and
D'Almayne,  they  had  been  themselves  the  subjects  of  observa-
tion to  a  party  of  strangers,  who,  coming  probably  from  the
country,  had  not  yet  attuned  their  voices  to  the  requirements


AND  ALL  THAT  CAME  OF  IT  219

of  London  sight-seeing.  Accordingly,  the  following  remarks
were  distinctly  audible  to  those  for  whom,  of  all  others,  they
were  not  intended.
'  What  a  lovely  young  woman  ! '  observed  Mater  Familias.
'I  suppose  the  mustachioed  gentleman  is  her  fufur.'

'She  don't  look  over  loving  at  him,  if  he  is,'  grumbled
Pater  F.
