Bashville bowed, and said in a low voice, very nervously, that he
had no intention of going into service again, but that he should
always be proud of her good opinion.
"You are fitted for better things," she said. "If you embark in any
enterprise requiring larger means than you possess, I will be your
security. I thank you for your invariable courtesy to me in the
discharge of your duties. Good-bye."
She bowed to him and left the room. Bashville, awestruck, returned
her salutation as best he could, and stood motionless after she
disappeared; his mind advancing on tiptoe to grasp what had just
passed. His chief sensation was one of relief. He no longer dared to
fancy himself in love with such a woman. Her sudden consideration
for him as a suitor overwhelmed him with a sense of his unfitness
for such a part. He saw himself as a very young, very humble, and
very ignorant man, whose head had been turned by a pleasant place
and a kind mistress. Wakened from his dream, he stole away to pack
his trunk, and to consider how best to account to his
fellow-servants for his departure.