But then no goddess of Love would have had that expression about the mouth, so untender, so devoid of soft emotions. "I am sorry to have kept you so long," Hudson said. "I have ordered a nice little supper, which will be here directly." "Oh, but it is too kind of you," she exclaimed. "I should not have come up here if I had thought that you were going to take all this trouble." "Nonsense, Miss Grimm. You don't know how pleased I am to have met you. What do you mean by trouble? There is nothing unselfish in my behaviour, I assure you. It is a charitable action of yours to relieve my loneliness in this dismal old place. It is not very cheerful to sup here all alone, as you can well imagine." "It must be very lonely, living here," she said as she looked around. "Well, it is," he replied, but not without a smile as he thought how much more jovial revelry than quiet loneliness those chambers had seen since he had occupied them. "It is a pretty room," Mary said, "I like it very much. I have never seen anything like it before. It is very interesting. There are so many curious things in it." Suddenly her eyes fell on the dusty brief on the table, and she exclaimed, "Ah! you are a barrister, I see." "How on earth do you know that?" he asked. "Have you ever seen any of these interesting documents before?" "I should think I have," she replied as she picked it up, and turning over the pages glanced at them with the eye of a connoisseur. "I have drawn up so many of these, so many hundreds of folios of the dreary stuff," and she sighed as she thought over the dismal hours she had spent in that dingy back room off Fleet Street. She continued with vivacity, "Why, after just looking through it for a moment, I could tell you exactly how many _guas_ ought to be scrawled on the outside of a brief like that one. A little assault case I see it is. Your fee would not be much for that. I hope you get better work than that sometimes--but I beg your pardon," she said in a confused way as she remembered herself; "I did not mean to--" "The devil!" exclaimed the barrister in surprise, "are you a sister lawyer, then? I didn't know that woman's rights had got as far as that yet. As we are fellow chips we ought to get on very well together. Which branch of the profession do you belong to?" She laughed merrily and said with a mock bow, "To the lower; I have passed the greater portion of my life in a solicitor's office." "Dear me, how very interesting! I should like to hear about it if I may, if it is not a secret." "Not at all; I know you are very curious to know who I am, so if you like I'll give you my whole history." "I shall be very glad to hear it," Hudson said, this time speaking in a serious tone. "I shall be able to know how I can help you when I know more about you. But sit down in that arm-chair; it is more comfortable and you look very tired." She sat down in the arm-chair by the window, while he took a chair near her.