I said I had known her lodgings well, many years ago--and, with that to prepare her, I told her who I was.

Ah, it was a melancholy meeting for both of us.

She burst out crying when I kissed her; and I had to tell her that my mother was dead, and my brother lost to me in spite of every effort to find him.

I asked to go into the kitchen, thinking the change would be a relief to both of us.

The kitchen used to be a paradise to me in those old days; it was so warm to a half-starved child--and I always got something to eat when I was there.