CHAPTER VI
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. It had never
occurred to him that anyone could or should be ashamed of the
position; nevertheless, Mr.
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