THE LISTENER. 171 
means of finishing her education. To her broth¬ 
er’s expostulations she had replied, — 
“ It is no disgraceful thing which I would do, 
Philip, but one most honorable. I would not 
make such employment a matter of choice, nor 
would I perhaps seek such companions as may 
surround me ; but at the worst, the employment 
will not degrade me, nor the associates contami¬ 
nate, and I shall the soonest gain what I require, 
and I shall have the satisfaction of knowing that 
I have not fettered you, my dear Philip, in the 
course you have adopted; for impeded you would 
be by the maintenance of an indolent, helpless 
girl.” 
With what astonishment was this intelligence 
received by Helen’s former schoolmates! Her 
mild dignity had gained for her the respect of all 
— her rare intellectual acquirements had com¬ 
manded it, and her amiable disposition had won 
even the most thoughtless; but when all these 
had failed, the aristocratic name she bore, and the 
knowledge of her father’s wealth, had been suffi¬ 
cient to gain an acknowledgment of her superiori¬ 
ty. What was she now ? “ A factory girl ” — 
“one of the Lowell crowd” — a class always 
placed, by the little would-be aristocrats of our 
number, far below the daughters of the retail gro¬ 
cer, or humble artisan. In spite of the circum¬ 
stances which had given me my station in the 
“ upper circle ” of our miniature world, this state 
