“Is Mr. T—— in?” inquired the old man.
“My name is T——,” replied the editor.
“You?” There was a slight expression of surprise in the old man’s voice.
“Yes, I am T——, my friend,” was kindly said. “Can I do any thing for you? Take this chair.”
The offered seat was accepted; and as the old man sunk into it, his countenance and manner betrayed his emotion.
“I have come,” said he, and his voice was unsteady, “to do what I could not do for myself alone. But I cannot see my poor, sick grandchild wear out and die under the weight of burdens that are too heavy to be borne. For her sake I have conquered my own pride.”
There was a pause.
“Go on,” said T——, who was looking at the old man earnestly, and endeavoring to fix his identity in his mind.
“You don’t know me?”
“Your face is not entirely strange,” said T——. “It must have been a long time since we met.”