



Produced by Darleen Dove, Beth, Shannon Barker and the
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    A HUMBLE ENTERPRISE

    BY ADA CAMBRIDGE


    AUTHOR OF
    "THE THREE MISS KINGS," "FIDELIS,"
    "A LITTLE MINX," ETC.


    _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY ST. CLAIR SIMMONS_


    Second Edition


    LONDON
    WARD, LOCK, & BOWDEN, LIMITED
    WARWICK HOUSE, SALISBURY SQUARE, E.C.

    NEW YORK AND MELBOURNE
    1896

    [_All rights reserved_]




[Illustration: "Pinned the fragrant morsel to her throat."

_A Humble Enterprise._ _Page 97._]




CONTENTS.


    CHAP.                                     PAGE

    I. THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL                      9

    II. HER FIRST FRIEND                        24

    III. AFLOAT                                 33

    IV. THE HERO                                45

    V. HE MEETS THE HEROINE                     56

    VI. THE INEVITABLE ENSUES                   69

    VII. THERE ARE SUCH WOMEN IN THE WORLD      82

    VIII. ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW                 92

    IX. THE POTENTIAL HUSBAND                  105

    X. AS THE WIND BLOWS                       115

    XI. NATURE SPEAKS                          125

    XII. TWO WISE MEN                          138

    XIII. TWO UNWISE WOMEN                     150

    XIV. A WEAK FATHER                         159

    XV. A STRAW AGAINST THE TIDE               171

    XVI. A STAR IN TWILIGHT                    184

    XVII. "YOU NEED NOT EXPECT ME BACK"        193

    XVIII. JENNY IS TREATED LIKE A LADY        204

    XIX. WOMAN'S RIGHTS REFUSED                216

    XX. SHE CARES NOT                          228

    XXI. THE BEST AVAILABLE                    236




A HUMBLE ENTERPRISE




CHAPTER I

THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL


Joseph Liddon was deaf, and one day, when he was having a holiday in the
country, he crossed a curving railway line, and a train, sweeping round
the corner when he was looking another way, swept him out of existence.
On his shoulder he was carrying the infrequent and delightful
gun--reminiscent of happy days in English coverts and stubble
fields--and in his hand he held a dangling hare, about the cooking of
which he was dreaming pleasantly, wondering whether his wife would have
it jugged or baked. When they stopped the train and gathered him up, he
was as dead as the hare, dissolved into mere formless tatters, and his
women-folk were not allowed to see him afterwards. They came up from
town to the inquest and funeral--wife and two daughters, escorted by a
downy-lipped son--all dazed and bewildered in their suddenly transformed
world; and a gun and a broken watch and a few studs, that had been
carefully washed and polished, were the only "remains" on which they
could expend the valedictory kiss and tear. Their last memory of him was
full of the gay bustle of farewell at Spencer Street when he set forth
upon his trip. It was such an event for him to have a holiday, and to go
away by himself, that the whole family had to see him off. Even young
Joe was on the platform to carry his father's bag, and buy him the
evening papers, his train being the Sydney express, which did not leave
till after office hours. When they knew how the holiday had ended, their
bitter regrets for not having accompanied him further were greatly
soothed by the knowledge that they had gone with him so far--had closed
their life together with an act of love that had made him happy.

He had been born a gentleman in the technical sense, and had lived a
true man in every sense. In spite of this--to a great extent, probably,
because of it--he had not been very successful in the world; that is to
say, he had not made himself important or rich. Money had not come to
him with his gentle blood, and he had not had the art to command it, nor
ever would have had. It is a pursuit that requires the whole energies of
one's mind, and his mind had been distributed a good deal. He was fond
of books, which was a fatal weakness; he was fond of little scientific
experiments, which was worse; he was indifferent to the sovereign rule
of public opinion and the advantages enjoyed by those who can cut a
dash, which was worst of all. And, besides, he was deaf. He had begun to
grow deaf when quite a young man, after having a fever, and by the time
he was fifty one had to shout at him.

So, when at fifty-six he met his untimely end, because he could not hear
the train behind him, he was in the position of a clerk in a merchant's
office, highly valued and trusted indeed, but worth no more than L370
per annum, which salary he had received for sixteen years. The L70 had
paid the rent of the little house in which he had dwelt with his family
for the greater part of that time, and on the remainder they had lived
quite comfortably, in a small way, by dint of good management, without
owing a penny to anybody. Mrs. Liddon, otherwise a comparatively
uncultured person, was an accomplished cook and domestic administrator;
Jenny, the eldest daughter, in whom the qualities of both parents
blended, got up early in the morning to buy provisions at the market,
and did all the dressmaking for the family; Joe, a junior in his
father's office, paid something for his board, and otherwise kept and
clothed himself; and Sarah, the youngest, who had a bent spine, was
literary, like her father, in whose intellectual pursuits she had had
the largest share, and morally indispensable, though not practically
supporting, in the economy of the household.

When the father was gone, the income was gone too, and the home as it
had been. Mother and children found themselves possessed of L500, paid
by an insurance office, and their little family belongings, and a few
pounds that had been kept in store for the casual rainy day. To this the
firm who had employed him would have added a gift of L100 had the pride
of these humble folks allowed it; and their relatives were also
prepared to "do something" in the way of what seemed necessary help. But
the first resolution come to by the bereaved ones, when resolutions had
to be taken, was to decline all such help and depend upon themselves.
That being settled, they sat down to consult together as to how they
might invest their capital to the best advantage, so as to make it the
foundation of their future livelihood. Jenny called the meeting a few
days after their return from the funeral, and insisted that all should
rouse themselves to a sense of the extreme seriousness of the situation.

"We must at once set to work," she said impressively; "and we must not
shilly-shally about it either. Make your suggestions first, and then, if
I don't like them, I will make mine. What is your notion, mother?"

"Oh, my dear, I'm sure I don't know," quavered Mrs. Liddon, as she drew
forth the constant handkerchief; "I have no heart to think of anything
yet." She sobbed. "I suppose a boarding-house--that's the usual thing.
We _must_ have our own house and keep together; I could never bear to
part with any of you--all I've got now!" The handkerchief went to her
eyes, "Certainly we will all keep together," the children declared,
extending arms towards her. "That's understood, of course. That's what
we are planning for, first of all."

"And seeing that I can _cook_," whimpered the widow, "if I can't do
anything else----"

"Yes, dear," Jenny broke in. "But I don't think a boarding-house would
do, somehow. We haven't enough to make a good one, and to make it safe.
You see Melbourne simply swarms with them already."

"And you'd have to take men--women are no good, and, besides, there
aren't any--and I won't have all sorts of clerks and cads making free in
the house with my sisters," said young Joe severely.

"We needn't let them make free," said Jenny, smiling.

"And you're only a clerk yourself," said Sarah.

"And I don't think there's a boarding-house in the town that would have
a table like mine for the money," said his mother, with spirit, and with
the air of having considered the subject.

Jenny thought for a minute or two, rapidly; then she shook her head.
"Too much outlay," she objected, "and the result too uncertain."

"Everything is uncertain in this world," sighed Mrs. Liddon,
disappointed and discouraged. "Then what do you propose yourself, my
dear? A school?"

Jenny shook her head again. "The place is literally _stiff_ with them,"
she replied. "And, even if there were room for us, we are not
qualified."

"Let us have a four-roomed cottage," said Sarah, "and keep ourselves to
ourselves; have no servant, and take in sewing or type-writing."

"We should be insolvent in a couple of years or so," her sister replied,
"and we should <DW36> Joey."

"As to that," said Joey, "I'm not afraid. I _want_ to take care of you,
and I _ought_. I am the only man in the family, and women have no
business to work and slave while they have a man to do for them."

"My poor boy! On a hundred and thirty pounds a year!"

"It won't always be a hundred and thirty."

"No, Joe. We can do better than that. Thank you all the same, old
fellow."

"Well, tell us how you can do better."

He squared his arms on the table and looked at her. Her mother and
sister also looked at her, for it was evident that she was about to
bring forth her scheme, and that she expected it to impress them.

"What I should have _liked_," she began, "if there had been money enough
for a fair start--which there isn't--is a--quite a peculiar and
particular--not in any way a conventional--_shop_."

"Oh!"

"Good gracious!"

"Go _on_!"

"You needn't all look so shocked. A shop such as _I_ should have would
be a different kind of thing from the common, I assure you. I have often
thought of it. I have always felt"--with a smile of confidence--"that I
had it in me to conduct a good business--that I could give the