pianos to play upon, and nobody good enough for her to know. Not on
visiting terms, if you please, with her neighbors; waiting for
duchesses to call upon her. And what is she, after all? A miserable
teacher!"

Mr. Joseph Gallop was a young man somewhere between twenty and thirty,
tall, large-limbed, well set-up, and broad-shouldered. A young man
who, at first sight, would seem eminently fitted to push his own
fortunes. Also, at first sight, a remarkably handsome fellow, with
straight, clear-cut features and light, curly hair. When he swung
along the street, his round hat carelessly thrown back, and his
handsome face lit up by the sun, the old women murmured a blessing
upon his comely head--as they used to do, a long time ago, upon the
comely and curly head of Absalom--and the young women looked meaningly
at one another--as was also done in the case of Absalom--and the
object of their admiration knew that they were saying to each other,
in the feminine way, where a look is as good as a whisper, "There goes
a handsome fellow." Those who knew him better, and had looked more
closely into his face, said that his mouth was bad and his eyes
shifty. The same opinion was held by the wiser sort as regards his
character. For, on the one hand, some averred that to their certain
knowledge Joe Gallop had shown himself a monster of ingratitude toward
his grandfather, who had paid his debts and done all kinds of things
for him; on the other hand there were some who thought he had been
badly treated; and some said that no good would ever come of a young
fellow who was never able to remain in the same situation more than a
month or so; and others said that he had certainly been unfortunate,
but that he was a quick and clever young man, who would some day find
the kind of work that suited him, and then he would show everybody of
what stuff he was composed. As for us, we have only to judge of him by