DEATH 117 



and liavinf^ myself become one by working a stage, I 

 considered my position as established, and I felt myself 

 justified in making an alteration in my condition I had 

 long and earnestly contemplated. 



And, first, I must revert to an awful and sudden 

 visitation of Providence, which, distressing and lament- 

 able as it was, opened the way to my ultimately revisiting 

 St. Albans. I had finished my day's work in London, 

 and had gone into the down office, as I always did, to 

 inquire who or what there was booked for the morning, 

 when the guard of the Liverpool, Avho generally arrived 

 about half-an-houi' before me, and ^vas standino- talkino; 

 to the book-keeper, turned round when he saw me, and 

 said, " I have been waiting to see you, sir." 



" Me ? " I exclaimed. " For what ? " 



The man hesitated for a minute, and walked out of the 

 office. I followed him, and asked, — 



" What have you got to say to me ? " 



'•'Very bad news indeed, sir." 



" What about ? " said I, growing impatient. 



"Your intended father-in-law is dead." 



" It cannot be ! " I replied. 



" Yes, sir, it is too true : he dropped doAvn dead 

 yesterday in church time." 



Struck dumb almost with this sad intelligence — a 

 little annoyed, too, at what I thought presumption on 

 his part — scarcely knowing how to contain myself, I 

 stammered out, " Who told you to tell me ?" when he 

 mentioned the name of a friend who was the first cause 

 of my introduction to the family. 



It would be impossible for me to describe my emotions 



