The yellow book: an illustrated quarterly (2.1894)

The Gospel of Content

By Frederick Greenwood

I

How it was that I, being so young a man and not a very tactful
one, was sent on such an errand is more than I should be
able to explain. But many years ago some one came to me with
a request that I should go that evening to acertain street at King's
Cross, where would be found a poor lady in great distress; that I
should take a small sum of money which was given to me for the
purpose in a little packet which disguised all appearance of coin,
present it to her as a " parcel" which I had been desired to deliver,
and ask if there were any particular Service that could be done for
her. For my own information I was told that she was a beautiful
Russian whose husband had barely contrived to get her out of the
country, with her child, before his own arrest for some deep
political offence of which she was more than cognisant, and that
now she was living in desperate ignorance of his fate. Moreover,
she was penniless and companionless, though not quite without
friends ; for some there were who knew of her husband and had a
little help for her, though they were almost as poor as herseif.
But none of these dare approach her, so fearful was she of the
danger of their doing so, either to themselves or her husband or

her