Page:A hairdresser's experience in high life.djvu/116

118 did he mean by saying our positions were not so different as I thought? Can it be possible he is not what he seems? I pray to Heaven it may be so.'

"I was much grieved to be a listener to this conversation, but had been, for some time, dreading such an occurrence. Still I was glad that she had so controlled herself in the presence of James, and had given him not one word of encouragement. Yet I wondered what his last words, coupled with his look of triumph, meant. Alas! they were too soon to be explained.

"That night Mr. did not come home until late, and sending for his daughter, told her that all his wealth was gone. Some large speculations, in which he had engaged, had turned out disastrously, and he was ruined. Not one dollar had he saved from the wreck; and in his old age, he must go out to seek a living for her and himself. He had many friends in New York, and did not doubt of success, but that she would have to live according to their altered circumstances.

"In a few days the furniture was all sold, and we started for New York, where Mr. had secured a situation with a large and wealthy firm, to the father of the junior member of which he had been an early friend. He now lived very plainly and comfortably. It was, however, a great change from our former life, and my young lady would often sigh for the luxuries of her earlier days.

"We had been in New York about a year. During this time, Mr. D., one of my master's employers, had been a constant visitor at our house. He was a fine looking man, in the prime of life, kind and courteous in his manners, and was possessed of immense wealth.