"Unsuccessfully."
"From what cause?"
"I do not know."
"You have no other means of support?"
"None."
"If you are unsuccessful in this application, what will you do?"
Mrs. Lenoir did not reply to this question. Had the contractor known what was in the woman's mind, he would have been startled out of his propriety. She had been in London for nearly six months, and although she had been indefatigable in her endeavours, had not succeeded in obtaining a day's work. All her resources were exhausted, and she saw nothing but starvation before her. She was wearied and sick with trying, and she pined for rest or work. She must obtain either the one or the other. A vague fear oppressed her that if she were unsuccessful in this application she would be compelled, when the night came, to walk to the river, and gaze upon the restful waters. Then the end would come; she felt that she had not strength to resist it.
The contractor resumed his questioning; it was a kind of angling he seemed to enjoy.
"Have you no friends?"
"No."