"
"Did you give her to understand that this was practicable?"
"No, sir."
"Why not? She will have to be boarded, you know."
"I neither liked the woman's face, manner, nor appearance."
"Why not?"
"Oh, she was a vulgar, coarse, hard-looking creature to my eyes."
"Kind hearts often lie concealed under unpromising externals."
"True; but they lie not concealed under that exterior, be well
assured, Mr. Jasper. No, no. The child who has met with so sad a loss
as that of a mother, needs the tenderest guardianship. At best, the
case is hard enough."
Jasper did not respond to this humane sentiment, for there was no pity
in him. The waves of feeling, stirred so suddenly a few hours before,
had all subsided, and the surface of his heart bore no ripple of
emotion. He thought not of the child as an object claiming his regard,
but as a trouble and a hinderance thrown in his way, to be disposed of
as summarily as possible.
"I'm obliged to you, Edward, for the trouble you have taken in my
stead," he remarked, after a slight pause. "To-morrow, I may wish
you to call there again. Of course, the neighbours will give needful
attention until the funeral takes place. By that time, perhaps, the
child will have made a friend of some one of them, and secure, through
this means, a home for the present.
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