worse of her for it. Rather it seemed he thought better than she had
even believed; he, himself, too, was rather different--there had
crept a note of warmth and personality into their acquaintance which
had not been there before. Julia had pleasant thoughts for company on
her homeward walk, in spite of the worry of the letters she carried
with her; she even for a moment had an idea of putting the matter they
contained before Rawson-Clew and asking his advice; that is, if the
friendship which had begun to dawn on their acquaintance that evening
grew yet further. It did grow, but she did not ask him, loyalty to her
family prevented; there were, however, plenty of other things to talk
about, and the friendship got on well until the end came.

The end came about the time of the annual fair. This fair was a great
event in the little town; it only lasted three days, and only the
middle one of the three was important, or in the least provocative of
disorder; but--so Mijnheer said--it upset business very much. After
inquiry as to how this came about, Julia learnt that it was found
necessary to give the workmen a holiday on the principal day. They got
so drunk the night before, that most of them were unfit for work, and
a few even had the hardihood to stop away entirely, so as to devote
the whole day to getting drunk again. Under these circumstances,
Mijnheer made a virtue of necessity, and gave a whole holiday to the
entire staff.

"Does the office have a holiday too?" Julia asked.

Mijnheer nodded. "These young fellows," he said, "are all for
holidays; they are not like their fathers. Now it is always 'I must
ride on my wheel; I must row in my boat; I must play my piano; let us
put the work away as soon as we can, and forget it.' It was not so in