The Argosy — page 259: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Edina. 243 Alfred came in almost as she spoke, a can of milk in his hand. By sending to a dairy half a mile off, Edina had discovered that she could get unadulterated skimmed milk cheaper than any left by the milk- man ; so Alfred went for it morning and night. “Tt is so jolly hard!” exclaimed he, with a glowing face, alluding to the ice in the roads. ‘ The slides are beautiful.” “Don’t you get sliding when you have the milk in your hand,” advised Edina, “Take off your cap and comforter, lad. The bread’s ready.” She was cutting some slices of bread for him to toast. Unused to hard fare, the children could not yet get into eating dry bredd with any relish: so, when there was nothing to put upon it, neither butter, nor dripping, nor treacle, Edina had the bread toasted. They eat that readily. Alfred knelt down before the parlour fire—the only fire they had—and began to toast. The kettle was singing on the hob. Edina turned the milk out of the can into a jug. They were sitting down to the tea table when Charles came in. A glance at his weary and dispirited face told Edina that he had met with no more luck this day than usual. Putting aside a brown paper parcel that he carried, containing a fresh supply of material to be made inte nets, he took his place at the table. How hungry he was, how sick from want of food, no one but himself knew. And how poor the food was that he could be supplied with ! But for the later experience of his life, Charles could not have be- lieved that it was so difficult for a young man to obtain a situation in London. Edina, less hopeful than he, would not have believed ii, Charles Raynor had not been brought up to work of any kind, had never done any ; and this seemed to be one of the stumbling-blocks in the way of his success. Perhaps he looked too much of a gentle- man ; perhaps his refined manners and tones told against him in the eyes of men of business, testifying that he might prove unfit for work : at any rate, he had not found anyone to take him. Another impedi- ment was this: no sooner did a situation fall vacant, than so large a number of applicants made a rush to fill it. Only one of them could be engaged: and it never happened to be Charles. Charles got a sight of the Zimes advertisements in the morning through the friend- liness of a newsvendor near. He would read of a clerk being wanted in some place or another, and away he would go, at the pace of a steam-engine, to present himself. But he invariably found other appli- cants there before him, and as invariably he seemed not to have the slightest chance. The disappointment was beginning to tell upon him. There were times when he felt almost mad, His conscience had been awake these last many bitter weeks, and the prolonged strain often seemed more than he could bear. Had it been only himself! (Ab then, as it comicbooks.com