"I've never had a young man," sobbed Bella. "An' that's why I turned
to Gawd and looked down on the young ladies here, as 'as as many
young men as they want; too many sometimes. An' speaking of Gawd,
it's nice to 'ave Someone yer know as cares for you, though you
can't never see 'Im or walk out with 'Im."

From this time, she tried to do Bella many little kindnesses, but,
saving this one instance, the servant was always on her guard and
never again opened her heart to Mavis.

Miss Striem did not carry out her threat of charging Mavis for the
extras she refused to eat. In time, Mavis got used to the food
supplied by "Dawes'"; she did not swallow everything that was put
upon her plate, indeed, she did not eat with good appetite at three
consecutive meals; but she could sit at the table in the feeding-
room without overwhelming feelings of repulsion, and, by shutting
her eyes to the unconcealed mastication of the girl opposite, could
often pick enough to satisfy her immediate needs. The evening was
the time when she was most hungry; after the walk which she made a
point of taking in all weathers, she would get quite famished, when
the morsel of Canadian cheese and sour bread supplied for supper was
wholly insufficient. At first, she was tempted to enter the cheaper
restaurants with which the streets about Oxford Street abound; but
these extravagances made serious inroads on her scanty capital and
had to be given up, especially as she was saving up to buy new
boots, of which she was in need.

She confided in Miss Meakin, who was now looking better and plumper,
since nearly every evening she had taken to supping with her "boy's"