I sat up in bed by way of arousing this said brain:  it was a chilly night; I covered my shoulders with a shawl, and then I proceeded to think again with all my might.

“What do I want?  A new place, in a new house, amongst new faces, under new circumstances:  I want this because it is of no use wanting anything better.  How do people do to get a new place?  They apply to friends, I suppose:  I have no friends.  There are many others who have no friends, who must look about for themselves and be their own helpers; and what is their resource?”

I could not tell:  nothing answered me; I then ordered my brain to find a response, and quickly.  It worked and worked faster:  I felt the pulses throb in my head and temples; but for nearly an hour it worked in chaos; and no result came of its efforts.  Feverish with vain labour, I got up and took a turn in the room; undrew the curtain, noted a star or two, shivered with cold, and again crept to bed.

A kind fairy, in my absence, had surely dropped the required suggestion on my pillow; for as I lay down, it came quietly and naturally to my mind. —­ “Those who want situations advertise; you must advertise in the -shire Herald.”

“How?  I know nothing about advertising.”

Replies rose smooth and prompt now:-

“You must enclose the advertisement and the money to pay for it under a cover directed to the editor of the Herald; you must put it, the first opportunity you have, into the post at Lowton; answers must be addressed to J.E., at the post-office there; you can go and inquire in about a week after you send your letter, if any are come, and act accordingly.”

This scheme I went over twice, thrice; it was then digested in my mind; I had it in a clear practical form:  I felt satisfied, and fell asleep.

With earliest day, I was up:  I had my advertisement written, enclosed, and directed before the bell rang to rouse the school; it ran thus:-

“A young lady accustomed to tuition” (had I not been a teacher two years?) “is desirous of meeting with a situation in a private family where the children are under fourteen (I thought that as I was barely eighteen, it would not do to undertake the guidance of pupils nearer my own age).  She is qualified to teach the usual branches of a good English education, together with French, Drawing, and Music” (in those days, reader, this now narrow catalogue of accomplishments, would have been held tolerably comprehensive).  “Address, J.E., Post-office, Lowton, -shire.”

This document remained locked in my drawer all day:  after tea, I asked leave of the new superintendent to go to Lowton, in order to perform some small commissions for myself and one or two of my fellow-teachers; permission was readily granted; I went.  It was a walk of two miles, and the evening was wet, but the days were still long; I visited a shop or two, slipped the letter into the post-office, and came back through heavy rain, with streaming garments, but with a relieved heart.