THE HEAD WAITER AT CHAFFEY'S Polly Sparkes had a father.

That Mr.Sparkes still lived was not known to the outer circles of Polly's acquaintance; she never spoke of her family, and it was not easy to think of Polly in the filial relation.
For some years she had lived in complete independence, now and then exchanging a letter with her parent, but seeing him rarely.

Not that they were on ill terms, unpleasantness of that kind had been avoided by their satisfaction in living apart.

Polly sometimes wished she had a father "to be proud of"-- a sufficiently intelligible phrase on Polly's lips; but for the rest she thought of him with tolerance as a good, silly sort of man, who "couldn't help himself"-- that is to say, could not help being what he was.
And Mr.Sparkes was a waiter, had been a waiter for some thirty years, and would probably pursue the calling as long as he was fit for it.

In this fact he saw nothing to be ashamed of.