answers were to be received. The first that
came I opened with a nervous trepidation.
It was the printed circular of a magazine, with
my own advertisement cut out and pasted
therein, pointing out the great sale and
circulation of that periodical both at home and
abroad, and describing the benefit I should
derive from using its columns to make my
desires known amongst the nobility, clergy,
gentry, and the public at large.

The course of the day brought other letters,
almost as disappointing. One was from the
friends of an invalid old gentleman, who
resided almost beyond the limits of omnibus
route. An appointment was made. I kept
it, and was received by a formal-looking old
lady, a friend of the advertiser, who had
undertaken the task of looking out for a
likely person. The house was large, well
furnished, and everything about it bore
unmistakable signs of comfort; of, indeed,
affluence. The lady, notwithstanding her
age, was dressed with some attention to the
niceties of the toilette; her handsome black
silk dress, lace collar, sleeves, and cap, being
in perfect taste.

This lady made known, in stately accents,
that my services would be required each
evening at six o'clock to read to her friend
until ten. For this the sum of six shillings
a-week was offered, with other advantages.
These had need, I thought, to be very great;
but, on narrow investigation, they were
reduced to one very slender privilege:

"If you are punctual," said my informant,
"you can always have a cup of tea. Mr.
Donnert, being a great invalid, is obliged to
be regular with his meals, and his hour for
tea is six exactly."

I asked if the omnibus fare would be paid;
for otherwise it would be quite impossible
for me to accept such terms. The lady was
indignant.

"I never heard," she replied, "of such a
preposterous idea! I thought all you ladies
seeking your living by head-work, were only
too happy of a walk. It must be such a
relief after the confinement of the day."

"True," I observed, very quietly, "but a
walk of more than four miles out and four
miles home, would be too much exercise even
for health; not to speak of the time that
would be lost; which, to people in my
circumstances, is a consideration."

This ended the interview. Scarcely
condescending to speak another word, the old
lady went slowly to the bell, rang it, and
dismissed me with a cold "Good morning."

The writer of the next letter which led to
an interview, had been neglected in her
youth, and was anxious, in mature age, to
repair in some degree her frequent errors
against the laws of Lindley Murray. This
lady admitted that she had not even availed
herself, since her marriage, of the advantages
her husband's position gave her to improve
herself, as she might have done; but she was
now really anxious to learn, and to become
acquainted with literature. She had heard
much talk of three writers—Shakespeare,
Bulwer, and Byron—but did not know which
of them was still living. She had a desire to
learn French, "a few words just to introduce
into conversation. It looks clever; besides I
visit Bullon in the season, and a phrase or
two goes a long way there, I find." Her time,
she added, was much taken up with her
numerous friends; but, she was so anxious to
get on and to surprise her husband on his
return from one of the colonies (which would
happen in a few months) that she had
determined to devote three hours a-day to this
honourable task. She seemed so earnest
and zealous for improvement, that I flattered
myself I had now found the employment I
had been seeking, for something above
starvation pay. But, alas! I was again
doomed to disappointment. On being asked
to name my terms, and replying (modestly
as I thought) that half-a-guinea a-week
would not be too much, I so startled the
lady by this exorbitant demand, that she
required time to think it over; and eventually
offered me the third of what I had asked.
At last an arrangement was made, by which
I agreed to give a little less time for a little
less money; and, four times a-week, I
make a lengthy call upon Mrs. Smith. Her
desire for improvement was genuine; but
she had considerable difficulty in the
accomplishment of her purpose. Her fear of the
servants discovering her secret, constantly
interrupted our lessons: "if they did," she
said, "they would lose all respect for me.''
She was confident that cook and housemaid
could both beat her in reading and writing;
but it would not do to let them know that.
When either of them, entered the room
which they did frequently with some
message, or something to be known—the
confusion in which grammar and spelling-book
were thrust out of sight under the table,
or scrambled under a newspaper, and the
flustered manner in which we began a
conversation about the opera, the fashions, or
some other news of the day, must have
revealed to their quick sight that there was
something more going on, than mistress would
have liked them to know.

Another lady offered me her four children,
between the ages of five and ten, to instruct
in English, music, and French (if dancing
and Latin could be included, it would be
more desirable) five mornings in the week.,
from nine till one. For this one pound
per month was thought sufficient
remuneration. I objected that this sum was too
little. The reply I got furnished one of
those curious instances of perverted logic to
which the framers of mean excuses are
frequently driven. It was actually asserted that
my task would be all the easier, and that my
services ought, therefore, to be purchased at a
cheaper rate, because mamma's little darlings