“Not you, I guess, and she was glad enough to go, pore creetur, and ’ide ’er shame in the country. Your young man too--though in course ’e ain’t your young man no longer--’e wouldn’t step in, not for a minute, ’e was so afeared of seeing you again. You’ve disgraced ’em all, Hannah Stubbs, that’s the long and the short of it, and they don’t want to look upon you no more, so the best thing you can do is to go arter your old gentleman and see what ’_e_ can do for you.” “What old gentleman?” inquired the girl, “the Professor? O! ’e is good, I know, and kind. ’E said that ’e would see as I never wanted nothing, but ’e ain’t mother and ’e ain’t Joe!” And she commenced to weep afresh. “Now, look ’ere,” said Mrs. Battleby, “it’s no good your doing that. It won’t bring ’em back to you, nor wipe out the ’arm you’ve done ’em. You’d much better go upstairs and clear the Sig-nor’s breakfast things, for that’s what you’ve got to do for the future, ’e tells me. It’s your business now, plain enough, so just dry your eyes and do your dooty, for I’ve got no time to waste over it to-day.” Hannah did as she was told, and the Professor took the opportunity to tell her about the new cottage and what he intended her to do for him there, and she went downstairs again, satisfied, that if she had lost the good-will of her friends, she had not, at least, the prospect of starvation before her eyes. CHAPTER IX. Karl Steinberg’s negociations for the cottage at Hampstead, proved eminently successful. The rooms were too small for most tenants, so it was still unlet, and before the end of the week, he had signed the agreement for it, and had such articles of furniture as were absolutely necessary, put in. Ricardo and Hannah moved to their new abode on the appointed day--their departure being loudly lamented by Mrs. Battleby, who, finding her quiet, well-behaved lodger had taken her at her word, was very doubtful where she should find such another occupant for her attics. The Professor was delighted at the prospect of the change. He had seen the black draperies carefully taken down from the séance chamber--had packed his precious books himself--and put together his few articles of furniture, and now had the pleasure of looking forward to arranging them in their place again, without any prospect of being turned out at a moment’s notice. Hannah also, though still in great grief for the loss of her young man and the anger of her mother, was much cheered by the idea of having twenty pounds a year, and reigning sole mistress over the little domicile at Hampstead. It was a tiny house, consisting of a sitting-room and kitchen on the ground floor, with two bedrooms and two dressing-rooms above--the larger of which were to belong to Ricardo and his friend, whilst Hannah slept in one of the smaller, and the other was to be hung with the black draperies and devoted to their séances.