coursenot
;
but
when
it
receives
its
full
weight
from
the
printer’s
bands
,
you
will
see
that
it
will
tell
.
That
bit
about
the
weak
tea
fumes
I
thought
of
afterwards
,
and
I
am
afraid
I
did
not
read
it
well
.
”
“
I
remember
it
;
but
forgive
me
if
I
say
first
I
think
the
whole
is
rather
too
—
too
lengthy
to
take
.
”
“
Oh
,
that
is
only
because
manuscript
takes
long
to
read
aloud
.
I
counted
the
words
,
so
I
can’t
be
mistaken
,
at
least
I
collated
twenty
lines
,
and
multiplied
;
and
it
is
not
so
long
as
the
Invalid’s
last
letter
about
systematic
reading
.
”
“
And
then
comes
my
question
again
,
Is
good
to
come
of
it
?
”
“
That
I
can’t
expect
you
to
see
at
this
time
;
but
it
is
to
be
the
beginning
of
a
series
,
exposing
the
fallacies
of
woman’s
life
as
at
present
conducted
;
and
out
of
these
I
mean
to
point
the
way
to
more
consistent
,
more
independent
,
better
combined
exertion
.
If
I
can
make
myself
useful
with
my
pen
,
it
will
compensate
for
the
being
debarred
from
so
many
more
obvious
outlets
.
I
should
like
to
have
as
much
influence
over
people’s
minds
as
that
Invalid
for
instance
,
and
by
earnest
effort
I
know
I
shall
attain
it
.
”
“
I
—
I
—
”
half-laughing
and
blushing
,
“
I
hope
you
will
,
for
I
know
you
would
wish
to
use
it
for
good
;
but
,
to
speak
plainly
,
I
doubt
about
the
success
of
this
effort
,
or
—
or
if
it
ought
to
succeed
.
”
“
Yes
,
I
know
you
do
,
”
said
Rachel
.
“
No
one
ever
can
judge
of
a
manuscript
.
You
have
done
all
I
wished
you
to
do
,
and
I
value
your
sincerity
.
Of
course
I
did
not
expect
praise
,
since
the
more
telling
it
is
on
the
opposite
side
,
the
less
you
could
like
it
.
I
saw
you
appreciated
it
.
”
And
Rachel
departed
,
while
Rose
crept
up
to
her
aunt
,
asking
,
“
Aunt
Ermine
,
why
do
you
look
so
very
funny
?
It
was
very
tiresome
.
Are
not
you
glad
it
is
over
?
”
“
I
was
thinking
,
Rose
,
what
a
difficult
language
plain
English
is
sometimes
.
”
“
What
,
Miss
Rachel’s
?
I
couldn’t
understand
one
bit
of
her
long
story
,
except
that
she
did
not
like
weak
tea
.
”
“
It
was
my
own
that
I
meant
,
”
said
Ermine
.
“
But
,
Rose
,
always
remember
that
a
person
who
stands
plain
speaking
from
one
like
me
has
something
very
noble
and
generous
in
her
.
Were
you
here
all
the
time
,
Rosie
?
I
don’t
wonder
you
were
tired
.
”
“
No
,
Aunt
Ermine
,
I
went
and
told
Violetta
and
Augustus
a
fairy
tale
out
of
my
own
head
.
”
“
Indeed
;
and
how
did
they
like
it
?
”
“
Violetta
looked
at
me
all
the
time
,
and
Augustus
gave
three
winks
,
so
I
think
he
liked
it
.
”
“
Appreciated
it
!
”
said
Aunt
Ermine
.
CHAPTER
IV
.
THE
HERO
.
“
And
which
is
Lucy’s
?
Can
it
be
That
puny
fop
,
armed
cap-a-pie
,
Who
loves
in
the
saloon
to
show
The
arms
that
never
knew
a
foe
.
”
—
SCOTT
.
“
My
lady’s
compliments
,
ma’am
,
and
she
would
he
much
obliged
if
you
would
remain
till
she
comes
home
,
”
was
Coombe’s
reception
of
Alison
.
“
She
is
gone
to
Avoncester
with
Master
Temple
and
Master
Francis
.
”
“
Gone
to
Avoncester
!
”
exclaimed
Rachel
,
who
had
walked
from
church
to
Myrtlewood
with
Alison
.
“
Mamma
is
gone
to
meet
the
Major
!
”
cried
three
of
the
lesser
boys
,
rushing
upon
them
in
full
cry
;
then
Leoline
,
facing
round
,
“
Not
the
major
,
he
is
lieutenant-colonel
now
—
Colonel
Keith
,
hurrah
!
”
“
What
—
what
do
you
mean
?
Speak
rationally
,
Leoline
,
if
you
can
.
”
“
My
lady
sent
a
note
to
the
Homestead
this
morning
,
”
explained
Coombe
.
“
She
heard
this
morning
that
Colonel
Keith
intended
to
arrive
to-day
,
and
took
the
young
gentlemen
with
her
to
meet
him
.
”
Rachel
could
hardly
refrain
from
manifesting
her
displeasure
,
and
bluntly
asked
what
time
Lady
Temple
was
likely
to
be
at
home
.
“
It
depended
,
”
Coombe
said
,
“
upon
the
train
;
it
was
not
certain
whether
Colonel
Keith
would
come
by
the
twelve
or
the
two
o’clock
train
.
”
And
Rachel
was
going
to
turn
sharply
round
,
and
dash
home
with
the
tidings
,
when
Alison
arrested
her
with
the
question
—
“
And
who
is
Colonel
Keith
?
”
Rachel
was
too
much
wrapped
up
in
her
own
view
to
hear
the
trembling
of
the
voice
,
and
answered
,
“
Colonel
Keith
!
why
,
the
Major
!
You
have
not
been
here
so
long
without
hearing
of
the
Major
?
”
“
Yes
,
but
I
did
not
know
.
Who
is
he
?
”
And
a
more
observant
person
would
have
seen
the
governess’s
gasping
effort
to
veil
her
eagerness
under
her
wonted
self-control
.
“
Don’t
you
know
who
the
Major
is
?
”
shouted
Leoline
.
“
He
is
our
military
secretary
.
”
“
That’s
the
sum
total
of
my
knowledge
,
”
said
Rachel
,
“
I
don’t
understand
his
influence
,
nor
know
where
he
was
picked
up
.
”
“
Nor
his
regiment
?
”
“
He
is
not
a
regimental
officer
;
he
is
on
our
staff
,
”
said
Leoline
,
whose
imagination
could
not
attain
to
an
earlier
condition
than
“
on
our
staff
.
”
“
I
shall
go
home
,
then
,
”
said
Rachel
,
“
and
see
if
there
is
any
explanation
there
.
”
“
I
shall
ask
the
Major
not
to
let
Aunt
Rachel
come
here
,
”
observed
Hubert
,
as
she
departed
;
it
was
well
it
was
not
before
.
“
Leoline
,
”
anxiously
asked
Alison
,
“
can
you
tell
me
the
Major’s
name
?
”
“
Colonel
Keith
—
Lieutenant-Colonel
Keith
,
”
was
all
the
answer
.
“
I
meant
his
Christian
name
,
my
dear
.
”
“
Only
little
boys
have
Christian
names
!
”
they
returned
,
and
Alison
was
forced
to
do
her
best
to
tame
herself
and
them
to
the
duties
of
the
long
day
of
anticipation
so
joyous
on
their
part
,
so
full
of
confusion
and
bewildered
anxiety
on
her
own
.
She
looked
in
vain
,
half
stealthily
,
as
often
before
,
for
a
recent
Army
List
or
Peerage
.
Long
ago
she
had
lost
the
Honourable
Colin
A
.
Keith
from
among
the
officers
of
the
—
th
Highlanders
,
and
though
in
the
last
Peerage
she
had
laid
hands
on
he
was
still
among
the
surviving
sons
of
the
late
Lord
Keith
,
of
Gowanbrae
,
the
date
had
not
gone
back
far
enough
to
establish
that
he
had
not
died
in
the
Indian
war
.
It
was
fear
that
predominated
with
her
,
there
were
many
moments
when
she
would
have
given
worlds
to
be
secure
that
the
newcomer
was
not
the
man
she
thought
of
,
who
,
whether
constant
or
inconstant
,
could
bring
nothing
but
pain
and
disturbance
to
the
calm
tenour
of
her
sister’s
life
.
Everything
was
an
oppression
to
her
;
the
children
,
in
their
wild
,
joyous
spirits
and
gladsome
inattention
,
tried
her
patience
almost
beyond
her
powers
;
the
charge
of
the
younger
ones
in
their
mother’s
absence
was
burthensome
,
and
the
delay
in
returning
to
her
sister
became
well-nigh
intolerable
,
when
she
figured
to
herself
Rachel
Curtis
going
down
to
Ermine
with
the
tidings
of
Colonel
Keith’s
arrival
,
and
her
own
discontent
at
his
influence
with
her
cousin
.
Would
that
she
had
spoken
a
word
of
warning
;
yet
that
might
have
been
merely
mischievous
,
for
the
subject
was
surely
too
delicate
for
Rachel
to
broach
with
so
recent
a
friend
.
But
Rachel
had
bad
taste
for
anything
!
That
the
little
boys
did
not
find
Miss
Williams
very
cross
that
day
was
an
effect
of
the
long
habit
of
self-control
,
and
she
could
hardly
sit
still
under
the
additional
fret
,
when
,
just
as
tea
was
spread
for
the
school-room
party
,
in
walked
Miss
Rachel
,
and
sat
herself
down
,
in
spite
of
Hubert
,
who
made
up
a
most
coaxing
,
entreating
face
,
as
he
said
,
“
Please
,
Aunt
Rachel
,
doesn’t
Aunt
Grace
want
you
very
much
!
”
“
Not
at
all
.
Why
,
Hubert
?
”
“
Oh
,
if
you
would
only
go
away
,
and
not
spoil
our
fun
when
the
Major
comes
.
”
For
once
Rachel
did
laugh
,
but
she
did
not
take
the
hint
,
and
Alison
obtained
only
the
satisfaction
of
hearing
that
she
had
at
least
not
been
in
Mackarel
Lane
.
The
wheels
sounded
on
the
gravel
,
out
rushed
the
boys
;
Alison
and
Rachel
sat
in
strange
,
absolute
silence
,
each
forgetful
of
the
other
,
neither
guarding
her
own
looks
,
nor
remarking
her
companion’s
.
Alison’s
lips
were
parted
by
intense
listening
;
Rachel’s
teeth
were
set
to
receive
her
enemy
.
There
was
a
chorus
of
voices
in
the
hall
,
and
something
about
tea
and
coming
in
warned
both
to
gather
up
their
looks
before
Lady
Temple
had
opened
the
door
,
and
brought
in
upon
them
not
one
foe
,
but
two
!
Was
Rachel
seeing
double
?
Hardly
that
,
for
one
was
tall
,
bald
,
and
bearded
,
not
dangerously
young
,
but
on
that
very
account
the
more
dangerously
good-looking
;
and
the
other
was
almost
a
boy
,
slim
and
light
,
just
of
the
empty
young
officer
type
.
Here
,
too
,
was
Fanny
,
flushed
,
excited
,
prettier
and
brighter
than
Rachel
had
seen
her
at
all
,
waving
an
introduction
with
head
and
hand
;
and
the
boys
hanging
round
the
Major
with
deafening
exclamations
of
welcome
,
in
which
they
were
speedily
joined
by
the
nursery
detachment
.
Those
greetings
,
those
observations
on
growth
and
looks
,
those
glad
,
eager
questions
and
answers
,
were
like
the
welcome
of
an
integral
part
of
the
family
;
it
was
far
more
intimate
and
familiar
than
had
been
possible
with
the
Curtises
after
the
long
separation
,
and
it
was
enough
to
have
made
the
two
spectators
feel
out
of
place
,
if
such
a
sensation
had
been
within
Rachel’s
capacity
,
or
if
Alison
had
not
been
engaged
with
the
tea
.
Lady
Temple
made
a
few
explanations
,
sotto
voce
,
to
Alison
,
whom
she
always
treated
as
though
in
dread
of
not
being
sufficiently
considerate
.
“
I
do
hope
the
children
have
been
good
;
I
knew
you
would
not
mind
;
I
could
not
wait
to
see
you
,
or
I
should
have
been
too
late
to
meet
the
train
,
and
then
he
would
have
come
by
the
coach
;
and
it
is
such
a
raw
east
wind
.
He
must
be
careful
in
this
climate
.
”
“
How
warm
and
sunshiny
it
has
been
all
day
,
”
said
Rachel
,
by
way
of
opposition
to
some
distant
echo
of
this
whisper
.
“
Sunshiny
,
but
treacherous
,
”
answered
Colonel
Keith
;
“
there
are
cold
gusts
round
corners
.
This
must
be
a
very
sheltered
nook
of
the
coast
.
”
“
Quite
a
different
zone
from
Avoncester
,
”
said
the
youth
.
“
Yes
,
delightful
.
I
told
you
it
was
just
what
would
suit
you
,
”
added
Fanny
,
to
the
colonel
.
“
Some
winds
are
very
cold
here
,
”
interposed
Rachel
.
“
I
always
pity
people
who
are
imposed
upon
to
think
it
a
Mentone
near
home
.
They
are
choking
our
churchyard
.
”
“
Very
inconsiderate
of
them
,
”
muttered
the
young
man
.
“
But
what
made
you
come
home
so
late
,
Fanny
?
”
said
Rachel
.
Alison
suspected
a
slight
look
of
wonder
on
the
part
of
both
the
officers
at
hearing
their
general’s
wife
thus
called
to
account
;
but
Fanny
,
taking
it
as
a
matter
of
course
,
answered
,
“
We
found
that
the-th
was
at
Avoncester
.
I
had
no
idea
of
it
,
and
they
did
not
know
I
was
here
;
so
I
went
to
call
upon
Mrs.
Hammond
,
and
Colonel
Keith
went
to
look
for
Alick
,
and
we
have
brought
him
home
to
dine
.
”
Fanny
took
it
for
granted
that
Rachel
must
know
who
Alick
was
,
but
she
was
far
from
doing
so
,
though
she
remembered
that
the
—
th
had
been
her
uncle’s
regiment
,
and
had
been
under
Sir
Stephen
Temple’s
command
in
India
at
the
time
of
the
mutiny
.
The
thought
of
Fanny’s
lapsing
into
military
society
was
shocking
to
her
.
The
boys
were
vociferating
about
boats
,
ponies
,
and
all
that
had
been
deferred
till
the
Major’s
arrival
,
and
he
was
answering
them
kindly
,
but
hushing
the
extra
outcry
less
by
word
than
sign
,
and
his
own
lowered
voice
and
polished
manner
—
a
manner
that
excessively
chafed
her
as
a
sort
of
insult
to
the
blunt
,
rapid
ways
that
she
considered
as
sincere
and
unaffected
,
a
silkiness
that
no
doubt
had
worked
on
the
honest
,
simple
general
,
as
it
was
now
working
on
the
weak
young
widow
.
Anything
was
better
than
leaving
her
to
such
influence
,
and
in
pursuance
of
the
intention
that
Rachel
had
already
announced
at
home
,
she
invited
herself
to
stay
to
dinner
;
and
Fanny
eagerly
thanked
her
,
for
making
it
a
little
less
dull
for
Colonel
Keith
and
Alick
.
It
was
so
good
to
come
down
and
help
.
Certainly
Fanny
was
an
innocent
creature
,
provided
she
was
not
spoilt
,
and
it
was
a
duty
to
guard
her
innocence
.
Alison
Williams
escaped
to
her
home
,
sure
of
nothing
but
that
her
sister
must
not
be
allowed
to
share
her
uncertainties
;
and
Lady
Temple
and
her
guests
sat
down
to
dinner
.
Rachel
meant
to
have
sat
at
the
bottom
and
carved
,
as
belonging
to
the
house
;
but
Fanny
motioned
the
Colonel
to
the
place
,
observing
,
“
It
is
so
natural
to
see
you
there
!
One
only
wants
poor
Captain
Dent
at
the
other
end
.
Do
you
know
whether
he
has
his
leave
?
”
Wherewith
commenced
a
discussion
of
military
friends
—
who
had
been
heard
of
from
Australia
,
who
had
been
met
in
England
,
who
was
promoted
,
who
married
,
who
retired
,
etc.
,
and
all
the
quarters
of
the-th
since
its
return
from
India
two
years
ago
;
Fanny
eagerly
asking
questions
and
making
remarks
,
quite
at
home
and
all
animation
,
absolutely
a
different
being
from
the
subdued
,
meek
little
creature
that
Rachel
had
hitherto
seen
.
Attempts
were
made
to
include
Miss
Curtis
in
the
conversation
by
addressing
anecdotes
to
her
,
and
asking
if
she
knew
the
places
named
;
but
she
had
been
to
none
,
and
the
three
old
friends
quickly
fell
into
the
swing
of
talk
about
what
interested
them
.
Once
,
however
,
she
came
down
on
them
with
,
“
What
conclusion
have
you
formed
upon
female
emigration
?
”
“
‘His
sister
she
went
beyond
the
seas
,
And
died
an
old
maid
among
black
savagees.’
“
That’s
the
most
remarkable
instance
of
female
emigration
on
record
,
isn’t
it
?
”
observed
Alick
.
“
What
;
her
dying
an
old
maid
?
”
said
Colonel
Keith
.
“
I
am
not
sure
.
Wholesale
exportations
of
wives
are
spoiling
the
market
.
”
“
I
did
not
mean
marriage
,
”
said
Rachel
,
stoutly
.
“
I
am
particularly
anxious
to
know
whether
there
is
a
field
open
to
independent
female
labour
.
”
“
All
the
superior
young
women
seemed
to
turn
nurserymaids
,
”
said
the
Colonel
.
“
Oh
,
”
interposed
Fanny
,
“
do
you
remember
that
nice
girl
of
ours
who
would
marry
that
Orderly-Sergeant
O’Donoghoe
?
I
have
had
a
letter
from
her
in
such
distress
.
”
“
Of
course
,
the
natural
termination
,
”
said
Alick
,
in
his
lazy
voice
.
“
And
I
thought
you
would
tell
me
how
to
manage
sending
her
some
help
,
”
proceeded
Fanny
.
“
I
could
have
helped
you
,
Fanny
.
Won’t
an
order
do
it
?
”
“
Not
quite
,
”
said
Fanny
,
a
shade
of
a
smile
playing
on
her
lip
.
“
It
is
whether
to
send
it
through
one
of
the
officers
or
not
.
If
Captain
Lee
is
with
the
regiment
,
I
know
he
would
take
care
of
it
for
her
.
”
So
they
plunged
into
another
regiment
,
and
Rachel
decided
that
nothing
was
so
wearisome
as
to
hear
triflers
talk
shop
.
There
was
no
opportunity
of
calling
Fanny
to
order
after
dinner
,
for
she
went
off
on
her
progress
to
all
the
seven
cribs
,
and
was
only
just
returning
from
them
when
the
gentlemen
came
in
,
and
then
she
made
room
for
the
younger
beside
her
on
the
sofa
,
saying
,
“
Now
,
Alick
,
I
do
so
want
to
hear
about
poor
,
dear
little
Bessie
;
”
and
they
began
so
low
and
confidentially
,
that
Rachel
wondered
if
her
alarms
wore
to
be
transfered
from
the
bearded
colonel
to
the
dapper
boy
,
or
if
,
in
very
truth
,
she
must
deem
poor
Fanny
a
general
coquette
.
Besides
,
a
man
must
be
contemptible
who
wore
gloves
at
so
small
a
party
,
when
she
did
not
.
She
had
been
whiling
away
the
time
of
Fanny’s
absence
by
looking
over
the
books
on
the
table
,
and
she
did
not
regard
the
present
company
sufficiently
to
desist
on
their
account
.
Colonel
Keith
began
to
turn
over
some
numbers
of
the
“
Traveller
”
that
lay
near
him
,
and
presently
looked
up
,
and
said
,
“
Do
you
know
who
is
the
writer
of
this
?
”
“
What
is
it
?
Ah
!
one
of
the
Invalid’s
essays
.
They
strike
every
one
;
but
I
fancy
the
authorship
is
a
great
secret
.
”
“
You
do
not
know
it
?
”
“
No
,
I
wish
I
did
.
Which
of
them
are
you
reading
?
‘Country
Walks.’
That
is
not
one
that
I
care
about
,
it
is
a
mere
hash
of
old
recollections
;
but
there
are
some
very
sensible
and
superior
ones
,
so
that
I
have
heard
it
sometimes
doubted
whether
they
are
man’s
or
woman’s
writing
.
For
my
part
,
I
think
them
too
earnest
to
be
a
man’s
;
men
always
play
with
their
subject
.
”
“
Oh
,
yes
,
”
said
Fanny
,
“
I
am
sure
only
a
lady
could
have
written
anything
so
sweet
as
that
about
flowers
in
a
sick-room
;
it
so
put
me
in
mind
of
the
lovely
flowers
you
used
to
bring
me
one
at
a
time
,
when
I
was
ill
at
Cape
Town
.
”
There
was
no
more
sense
to
be
had
after
those
three
once
fell
upon
their
reminiscences
.
That
night
,
after
having
betrayed
her
wakefulness
by
a
movement
in
her
bed
,
Alison
Williams
heard
her
sister’s
voice
,
low
and
steady
,
saying
,
“
Ailie
,
dear
,
be
it
what
it
may
,
guessing
is
worse
than
certainty
.
”
“
Oh
,
Ermine
,
I
hoped
—
I
know
nothing
—
I
have
nothing
to
tell
.
”
“
You
dread
something
,
”
said
Ermine
;
“
you
have
been
striving
for
unconcern
all
the
evening
,
my
poor
dear
,
but
surely
you
know
,
Ailie
,
that
nothing
is
so
bad
while
we
share
it
.
”
“
And
I
have
frightened
you
about
nothing
.
”
“
Nothing
!
nothing
about
Edward
?
”
“
Oh
,
no
,
no
!
”
“
And
no
one
has
made
you
uncomfortable
?
”
“
No.
”
“
Then
there
is
only
one
thing
that
it
can
be
,
Ailie
,
and
you
need
not
fear
to
tell
me
that
.
I
always
knew
that
if
he
lived
I
must
be
prepared
for
it
,
and
you
would
not
have
hesitated
to
tell
me
of
his
death
.
”
“
It
is
not
that
,
indeed
it
is
not
,
Ermine
,
it
is
only
this
—
that
I
found
to-day
that
Lady
Temple’s
major
has
the
same
name
.
”
“
But
you
said
she
was
come
home
.
You
must
have
seen
him
.
”
“
Yes
,
but
I
should
not
know
him
.
I
had
only
seen
him
once
,
remember
,
twelve
years
ago
,
and
when
I
durst
not
look
at
him
.
”
“
At
least
,
”
said
Ermine
,
quickly
,
“
you
can
tell
me
what
you
saw
to-day
.
”
“
A
Scotch
face
,
bald
head
,
dark
beard
,
grizzled
hair
.
”
“
Yes
I
am
grey
,
and
he
was
five
years
older
;
but
he
used
not
to
have
a
Scotch
face
.
Can
you
tell
me
about
his
eyes
?
”
“
Dark
,
”
I
think
.
“
They
were
very
dark
blue
,
almost
black
.
Time
and
climate
must
have
left
them
alone
.
You
may
know
him
by
those
eyes
,
Ailie
.
And
you
could
not
make
out
anything
about
him
?
”
“
No
,
not
even
his
Christian
name
nor
his
regiment
.
I
had
only
the
little
ones
and
Miss
Rachel
to
ask
,
and
they
knew
nothing
.
I
wanted
to
keep
this
from
you
till
I
was
sure
,
but
you
always
find
me
out
.
”
“
Do
you
think
I
couldn’t
see
the
misery
you
were
in
all
the
evening
,
poor
child
?
But
now
you
have
had
it
out
,
sleep
,
and
don’t
be
distressed
.
”
“
But
,
Ermine
,
if
you
—
”
“
My
dear
,
I
am
thankful
that
nothing
is
amiss
with
you
or
Edward
.
For
the
rest
,
there
is
nothing
but
patience
.
Now
,
not
another
word
;
you
must
not
lose
your
sleep
,
nor
take
away
my
chance
of
any
.
”
How
much
the
sisters
slept
they
did
not
confide
to
one
another
,
but
when
they
rose
,
Alison
shook
her
head
at
her
sister’s
heavy
eyelids
,
and
Ermine
retorted
with
a
reproachful
smile
at
certain
dark
tokens
of
sleeplessness
under
Alison’s
eyes
.
“
No
,
not
the
flowered
flimsiness
,
please
,
”
she
said
,
in
the
course
of
her
toilette
,
“
let
me
have
the
respectable
grey
silk
.
”
And
next
she
asked
for
a
drawer
,
whence
she
chose
a
little
Nuremberg
horn
brooch
for
her
neck
.
“
I
know
it
is
very
silly
,
”
she
said
,
“
but
I
can’t
quite
help
it
.
Only
one
question
,
Ailie
,
that
I
thought
of
too
late
.
Did
he
hear
your
name
?
”
“
I
think
not
,
Lady
Temple
named
nobody
.
But
why
did
you
not
ask
me
last
night
?
”
“
I
thought
beginning
to
talk
again
would
destroy
your
chance
of
sleep
,
and
we
had
resolved
to
stop
.
”
“
And
,
Ermine
,
if
it
be
,
what
shall
I
do
?
”
“
Do
as
you
feel
right
at
the
moment
,
”
said
Ermine
,
after
a
moment’s
pause
.
“
I
cannot
tell
how
it
may
be
.
I
have
been
thinking
over
what
you
told
me
about
the
Major
and
Lady
Temple
.
”
“
Oh
,
Ermine
,
what
a
reproof
this
is
for
that
bit
of
gossip
.
”
“
Not
at
all
,
my
dear
,
the
warning
may
be
all
the
better
for
me
,
”
said
Ermine
,
with
a
voice
less
steady
than
her
words
.
“
It
is
not
what
,
under
the
circumstances
,
I
could
think
likely
in
the
Colin
whom
I
knew
;
but
were
it
indeed
so
,
then
,
Ailie
,
you
had
better
say
nothing
about
me
,
unless
he
found
you
out
.
We
would
get
employment
elsewhere
.
”
“
And
I
must
leave
you
to
the
suspense
all
day
.
”
“
Much
better
so
.
The
worst
thing
we
could
do
would
be
to
go
on
talking
about
it
.
It
is
far
better
for
me
to
be
left
with
my
dear
little
unconscious
companion
.
”
Alison
tried
to
comfort
herself
with
this
belief
through
the
long
hours
of
the
morning
,
during
which
she
only
heard
that
mamma
and
Colonel
Keith
were
gone
to
the
Homestead
,
and
she
saw
no
one
till
she
came
forth
with
her
troop
to
the
midday
meal
.
And
there
,
at
sight
of
Lady
Temple’s
content
and
calm
,
satisfied
look
,
as
though
she
were
once
more
in
an
accustomed
atmosphere
,
and
felt
herself
and
the
boys
protected
,
and
of
the
Colonel’s
courteous
attention
to
her
and
affectionate
authority
towards
her
sons
,
it
was
an
absolute
pang
to
recognise
the
hue
of
eye
described
by
Ermine
;
but
still
Alison
tried
to
think
them
generic
Keith
eyes
,
till
at
length
,
amid
the
merry
chatter
of
her
pupils
,
came
an
appeal
to
“
Miss
Williams
,
”
and
then
came
a
look
that
thrilled
through
her
,
the
same
glance
that
she
had
met
for
one
terrible
moment
twelve
years
before
,
and
renewing
the
same
longing
to
shrink
from
all
sight
or
sound
.
How
she
kept
her
seat
and
continued
to
attend
to
the
children
she
never
knew
,
but
the
voices
sounded
like
a
distant
Babel
;
and
she
did
not
know
whether
she
were
most
relieved
,
disappointed
,
or
indignant
when
she
left
the
dining-room
to
take
the
boys
for
their
walk
.
Oh
,
that
Ermine
could
be
hid
from
all
knowledge
of
what
would
be
so
much
harder
to
bear
than
the
death
in
which
she
had
long
believed
!
Harder
to
bear
?
Yes
,
Ermine
had
already
been
passing
through
a
heart
sickness
that
made
the
morning
like
an
age
.
Her
resolute
will
had
struggled
hard
for
composure
,
cheerfulness
,
and
occupation
;
but
the
little
watchful
niece
had
seen
through
the
endeavour
,
and
had
made
her
own
to
the
sleepless
night
and
the
headache
.
The
usual
remedy
was
a
drive
in
a
wheeled
chair
,
and
Rose
was
so
urgent
to
be
allowed
to
go
and
order
one
,
that
Ermine
at
last
yielded
,
partly
because
she
had
hardly
energy
enough
to
turn
her
refusal
graciously
,
partly
because
she
would
not
feel
herself
staying
at
home
for
the
vague
hope
and
when
the
child
was
out
of
sight
,
she
had
the
comfort
of
clasping
her
hands
,
and
ceasing
to
restrain
her
countenance
,
while
she
murmured
,
“
Oh
,
Colin
,
Colin
,
are
you
what
you
were
twelve
years
back
?
Is
this
all
dream
,
all
delusion
,
and
waste
of
feeling
,
while
you
are
lying
in
your
Indian
grave
,
more
mine
than
you
can
ever
be
living
be
as
it
may
,
—
“
‘Calm
me
,
my
God
,
and
keep
me
calm
While
these
hot
breezes
blow
;
Be
like
the
night
dew’s
cooling
balm
Upon
earth’s
fevered
brow
.
Calm
me
,
my
God
,
and
keep
me
calm
,
Soft
resting
on
Thy
breast
;
Soothe
me
with
holy
hymn
and
psalm
,
And
bid
my
spirit
rest.’
”
CHAPTER
V.
MILITARY
SOCIETY
.
“
My
trust
Like
a
good
parent
did
beget
of
him
A
falsehood
in
its
contrary
as
great
As
my
trust
was
,
which
had
indeed
no
limit
.
”
—
TEMPEST
.
Rose
found
the
wheeled
chair
,
to
which
her
aunt
gave
the
preference
,
was
engaged
,
and
shaking
her
little
discreet
head
at
“
the
shakey
chair
”
and
“
the
stuffy
chair
,
”
she
turned
pensively
homeward
,
and
was
speeding
down
Mackarel
Lane
,
when
she
was
stayed
by
the
words
,
“
My
little
girl
!
”
and
the
grandest
and
most
bearded
gentleman
she
had
ever
seen
,
demanded
,
“
Can
you
tell
me
if
Miss
Williams
lives
here
?
”
“
My
aunt
?
”
exclaimed
Rose
,
gazing
up
with
her
pretty
,
frightened-fawn
look
.
“
Indeed
!
”
he
exclaimed
,
looking
eagerly
at
her
,
“
then
you
are
the
child
of
a
very
old
friend
of
mine
!
Did
you
never
hear
him
speak
of
his
old
school-fellow
,
Colin
Keith
?
”
“
Papa
is
away
,
”
said
Rose
,
turning
back
her
neck
to
get
a
full
view
of
his
face
from
under
the
brim
of
her
hat
.
“
‘Will
you
run
on
and
ask
your
aunt
if
she
would
like
to
see
me
?
”
he
added
.
Thus
it
was
that
Ermine
heard
the
quick
patter
of
the
child’s
steps
,
followed
by
the
manly
tread
,
and
the
words
sounded
in
her
ears
,
“
Aunt
Ermine
,
there’s
a
gentleman
,
and
he
has
a
great
beard
,
and
he
says
he
is
papa’s
old
friend
!
And
here
he
is
.
”
Ermine’s
beaming
eyes
as
absolutely
met
the
new
comer
as
though
she
had
sprung
forward
.
“
I
thought
you
would
come
,
”
she
said
,
in
a
voice
serene
with
exceeding
bliss
.
“
I
have
found
you
at
last
,
”
as
their
hands
clasped
;
and
they
gazed
into
each
other’s
faces
in
the
untroubled
repose
of
the
meeting
,
exclusive
of
all
else
.
Ermine
was
the
first
to
break
silence
.
“
Oh
,
Colin
,
you
look
worn
and
altered
.
”
“
You
don’t
;
you
have
kept
your
sunbeam
face
for
me
with
the
dear
brown
glow
I
never
thought
to
have
seen
again
.
Why
did
they
tell
me
you
were
an
invalid
,
Ermine
?
”
“
Have
you
not
seen
Alison
?
”
she
asked
,
supposing
he
would
have
known
all
.
“
I
saw
her
,
but
did
not
hear
her
name
,
till
just
now
at
luncheon
,
when
our
looks
met
,
and
I
saw
it
was
not
another
disappointment
.
”
“
And
she
knows
you
are
come
to
me
?
”
“
It
was
not
in
me
to
speak
to
her
till
I
had
recovered
you
!
One
can
forgive
,
but
not
forget
.
”
“
You
will
do
more
when
you
know
her
,
and
how
she
has
only
lived
and
worked
for
me
,
dear
Ailie
,
and
suffered
far
more
than
I
—
”
“
While
I
was
suffering
from
being
unable
to
do
anything
but
live
for
you
,
”
he
repeated
,
taking
up
her
words
;
“
but
that
is
ended
now
—
”
and
as
she
made
a
negative
motion
of
her
head
,
“
have
you
not
trusted
to
me
?
”
“
I
have
thought
you
not
living
,
”
she
said
;
“
the
last
I
know
was
your
letter
to
dear
Lady
Alison
,
written
from
the
hospital
at
Cape
Town
,
after
your
wound
.
She
was
ill
even
when
it
came
,
and
she
could
only
give
it
to
Ailie
for
me
.
”
“
Dear
good
aunt
,
she
got
into
trouble
with
all
the
family
for
our
sake
;
and
when
she
was
gone
no
one
would
give
me
any
tidings
of
you
.
”
“
It
was
her
last
disappointment
that
you
were
not
sent
home
on
sick
leave
.
Did
you
get
well
too
fast
?
”
“
Not
exactly
;
but
my
father
,
or
rather
,
I
believe
,
my
brother
,
intimated
that
I
should
be
welcome
only
if
I
had
laid
aside
a
certain
foolish
fancy
,
and
as
lying
on
my
back
had
not
conduced
to
that
end
,
I
could
only
say
I
would
stay
where
I
was
.
”
“
And
was
it
worse
for
you
?
I
am
sure
,
in
spite
of
all
that
tanned
skin
,
that
your
health
has
suffered
.
Ought
you
to
have
come
home
?
”
“
No
,
I
do
not
know
that
London
surgeons
could
have
got
at
the
ball
,
”
he
said
,
putting
his
hand
on
his
chest
,
“
and
it
gives
me
no
trouble
in
general
.
I
was
such
a
spectacle
when
I
returned
to
duty
,
that
good
old
Sir
Stephen
Temple
,
always
a
proverb
for
making
his
staff
a
refuge
for
the
infirm
,
made
me
his
aide-de-camp
,
and
was
like
a
father
to
me
.
”
“
Now
I
see
why
I
never
could
find
your
name
in
any
list
of
the
officers
in
the
moves
of
the
regiment
!
I
gave
you
quite
up
when
I
saw
no
Keith
among
those
that
came
home
from
India
.
I
did
believe
then
that
you
were
the
Colonel
Alexander
Keith
whose
death
I
had
seen
mentioned
,
though
I
had
long
trusted
to
his
not
being
honourable
,
nor
having
your
first
name
.
”
“
Ah
!
he
succeeded
to
the
command
after
Lady
Temple’s
father
.
A
kind
friend
to
me
he
was
,
and
he
left
me
in
charge
of
his
son
and
daughter
.
A
very
good
and
gallant
fellow
is
that
young
Alick
.
I
must
bring
him
to
see
you
some
day
—
”
“
Oh
!
I
saw
his
name
;
I
remember
!
I
gloried
in
the
doings
of
a
Keith
;
but
I
was
afraid
he
had
died
,
as
there
was
no
such
name
with
the
regiment
when
it
came
home
.
”
“
No
,
he
was
almost
shattered
to
pieces
;
but
Sir
Stephen
sent
him
up
the
hills
to
be
nursed
by
Lady
Temple
and
her
mother
,
and
he
was
sent
home
as
soon
as
he
could
be
moved
.
I
was
astonished
to
see
how
entirely
he
had
recovered
.
”
“
Then
you
went
through
all
that
Indian
war
?
”
“
Yes
;
with
Sir
Stephen
.
”
“
You
must
show
me
all
your
medals
!
How
much
you
have
to
tell
me
!
And
then
—
?
”
“
Just
when
the
regiment
was
coming
home
,
my
dear
old
chief
was
appointed
to
the
command
in
Australia
,
and
insisted
on
my
coming
with
him
as
military
secretary
.
He
had
come
to
depend
on
me
so
much
that
I
could
not
well
leave
him
;
and
in
five
years
there
was
the
way
to
promotion
and
to
claiming
you
at
once
.
We
were
just
settled
there
,
when
what
I
heard
made
me
long
to
have
decided
otherwise
,
but
I
could
not
break
with
him
then
.
I
wrote
to
Edward
,
but
had
my
letter
returned
to
me
.
”
“
No
wonder
;
Edward
was
abroad
,
all
connexion
broken
.
”
“
I
wrote
to
Beauchamp
,
and
he
knew
nothing
,
and
I
could
only
wait
till
my
chief’s
time
should
be
up
.
You
know
how
it
was
cut
short
,
and
how
the
care
of
the
poor
little
widow
detained
me
till
she
was
fit
for
the
voyage
.
I
came
and
sought
you
in
vain
in
town
.
I
went
home
,
and
found
my
brother
lonely
and
dispirited
.
He
has
lost
his
son
,
his
daughters
are
married
,
and
he
and
I
are
all
the
brothers
left
out
of
the
six
!
He
was
urgent
that
I
should
come
and
live
with
him
and
marry
.
I
told
him
I
would
,
with
all
my
heart
,
when
I
had
found
you
,
and
he
saw
I
was
too
much
in
earnest
to
be
opposed
.
Then
I
went
to
Beauchamp
,
but
Harry
knew
nothing
about
any
one
.
I
tried
to
find
out
your
sister
and
Dr.
Long
,
but
heard
they
were
gone
to
Belfast
.
”
“
Yes
,
they
lost
a
good
deal
in
the
crash
,
and
did
not
like
retrenching
among
their
neighbours
,
so
they
went
to
Ireland
,
and
there
they
have
a
flourishing
practice
.
”
“
I
thought
myself
on
my
way
there
,
”
he
said
,
smiling
;
“
only
I
had
first
to
settle
Lady
Temple
,
little
guessing
who
was
her
treasure
of
a
governess
!
Last
night
I
had
nearly
opened
,
on
another
false
scent
;
I
fell
in
with
a
description
that
I
could
have
sworn
was
yours
,
of
the
heather
behind
the
parsonage
.
I
made
a
note
of
the
publisher
in
case
all
else
had
failed
.
”
“
I’m
glad
you
knew
the
scent
of
the
thyme
!
”
“
Then
it
was
no
false
scent
?
”
“
One
must
live
,
and
I
was
thankful
to
do
anything
to
lighten
Ailie’s
burthen
.
I
wrote
down
that
description
that
I
might
live
in
the
place
in
fancy
;
and
one
day
,
when
the
contribution
was
wanted
and
I
was
hard
up
for
ideas
,
I
sent
it
,
though
I
was
loth
to
lay
open
that
bit
of
home
and
heart
.
”
“
Well
it
might
give
me
the
sense
of
meeting
you
!
And
in
other
papers
of
the
series
I
traced
your
old
self
more
ripened
.
”
“
The
editor
was
a
friend
of
Edward’s
,
and
in
our
London
days
he
asked
me
to
write
letters
on
things
in
general
,
and
when
I
said
I
saw
the
world
through
a
key-hole
,
he
answered
that
a
circumscribed
view
gained
in
distinctness
.
Most
kind
and
helpful
he
has
been
,
and
what
began
between
sport
and
need
to
say
out
one’s
mind
has
come
to
be
a
resource
for
which
we
are
very
thankful
.
He
sends
us
books
for
reviewal
,
and
that
is
pleasant
and
improving
,
not
to
say
profitable
.
”
“
Little
did
I
think
you
were
in
such
straits
!
”
he
said
,
stroking
the
child’s
head
,
and
waiting
as
though
her
presence
were
a
restraint
on
inquiries
,
but
she
eagerly
availed
herself
of
the
pause
.
“
Aunt
Ermine
,
please
what
shall
I
say
about
the
chairs
?
Will
you
have
the
nice
one
and
Billy
when
they
come
home
?
I
was
to
take
the
answer
,
only
you
did
talk
so
that
I
could
not
ask
!
”
“
Thank
you
,
my
dear
;
I
don’t
want
chairs
nor
anything
else
while
I
can
talk
so
,
”
she
answered
,
smiling
.
“
You
had
better
take
a
run
in
the
garden
when
you
come
back
;
”
and
Rose
replied
with
a
nod
of
assent
that
made
the
colonel
smile
and
say
,
“
Good-bye
then
,
my
sweet
Lady
Discretion
,
some
day
we
will
be
better
acquainted
.
”
“
Dear
child
,
”
said
Ermine
,
“
she
is
our
great
blessing
,
and
some
day
I
trust
will
be
the
same
to
her
dear
father
.
Oh
,
Colin
!
it
is
too
much
to
hope
that
you
have
not
believed
what
you
must
have
heard
!
And
yet
you
wrote
to
him
.
”
“
Nay
,
I
could
not
but
feel
great
distrust
of
what
I
heard
,
since
I
was
also
told
that
his
sisters
were
unconvinced
;
and
besides
,
I
had
continually
seen
him
at
school
the
victim
of
other
people’s
faults
.
”
“
This
is
best
of
all
,
”
exclaimed
Ermine
,
with
glistening
eyes
,
and
hand
laid
upon
his
;
“
it
is
the
most
comfortable
word
I
have
heard
since
it
happened
.
Yes
,
indeed
,
many
a
time
before
I
saw
you
,
had
I
heard
of
‘Keith’
as
the
friend
who
saw
him
righted
.
Oh
,
Colin
!
thanks
,
thanks
for
believing
in
him
more
than
for
all
!
”
“
Not
believing
,
but
knowing
,
”
he
answered
—
“
knowing
both
you
and
Edward
.
Besides
,
is
it
not
almost
invariable
that
the
inventor
is
ruined
by
his
invention
—
a
Prospero
by
nature
?
”
“
It
was
not
the
invention
,
”
she
answered
;
“
that
throve
as
long
as
my
father
lived
.
”
“
Yes
,
he
was
an
excellent
man
of
business
.
”
“
And
he
thought
the
concern
so
secure
that
there
was
no
danger
in
embarking
all
the
available
capital
of
the
family
in
it
,
and
it
did
bring
us
in
a
very
good
income
.
”
“
I
remember
that
it
struck
me
that
the
people
at
home
would
find
that
they
had
made
a
mistake
after
all
,
and
missed
a
fortune
for
me
!
It
was
an
invention
for
diminishing
the
fragility
of
glass
under
heat
;
was
it
not
?
”
“
Yes
,
and
the
manufacture
was
very
prosperous
,
so
that
my
father
was
quite
at
ease
about
us
.
After
his
death
we
made
a
home
for
Edward
in
London
,
and
looked
after
him
when
he
used
to
be
smitten
with
some
new
idea
and
forgot
all
sublunary
matters
.
When
he
married
we
went
to
live
at
Richmond
,
and
had
his
dear
little
wife
very
much
with
us
,
for
she
was
a
delicate
tender
creature
,
half
killed
by
London
.
In
process
of
time
he
fell
in
with
a
man
named
Maddox
,
plausible
and
clever
,
who
became
a
sort
of
manager
,
especially
while
Edward
was
in
his
trances
of
invention
;
and
at
all
times
knew
more
about
his
accounts
than
he
did
himself
.
Nothing
but
my
father’s
authority
had
ever
made
him
really
look
into
them
,
and
this
man
took
them
all
off
his
hands
.
There
was
a
matter
about
the
glass
that
Edward
was
bent
on
ascertaining
,
and
he
went
to
study
the
manufacture
in
Bohemia
,
taking
his
wife
with
him
,
and
leaving
Rose
with
us
.
Shortly
after
,
Dr.
Long
and
Harry
Beauchamp
received
letters
asking
for
a
considerable
advance
,
to
be
laid
out
on
the
materials
that
this
improvement
would
require
.
Immediately
afterwards
came
the
crash
.
”
“
Exactly
what
I
heard
.
Of
course
the
letters
were
written
in
ignorance
of
what
was
impending
.
”
“
Colin
,
they
were
never
written
at
all
by
Edward
!
He
denied
all
knowledge
of
them
.
Alison
saw
Dr.
Long’s
,
most
ingeniously
managed
—
foreign
paper
and
all
—
but
she
could
swear
to
the
forgery
—
”
“
You
suspect
this
Maddox
?
”
“
Most
strongly
!
He
knew
the
state
of
the
business
;
Edward
did
not
.
And
he
had
a
correspondence
that
would
have
enabled
so
ingenious
a
person
easily
to
imitate
Edward’s
letters
.
I
do
not
wonder
at
their
having
been
taken
in
;
but
how
Julia
—
how
Harry
Beauchamp
could
believe
—
what
they
do
believe
.
Oh
,
Colin
!
it
will
not
do
to
think
about
it
!
”
“
Oh
,
that
I
had
been
at
home
!
Were
no
measures
taken
?
”
“
Alas
!
alas
!
we
urged
Edward
to
come
home
and
clear
himself
;
but
that
poor
little
wife
of
his
was
terrified
beyond
measure
,
imagined
prisons
and
trials
.
She
was
unable
to
move
,
and
he
could
not
leave
her
;
she
took
from
him
an
unhappy
promise
not
to
put
himself
in
what
she
fancied
danger
from
the
law
,
and
then
died
,
leaving
him
a
baby
that
did
not
live
a
day
.
He
was
too
broken-hearted
to
care
for
vindicating
himself
,
and
no
one-no
one
would
do
it
for
him
!
”
Colonel
Keith
frowned
and
clenched
the
hand
that
lay
in
his
grasp
till
it
was
absolute
pain
,
but
pain
that
was
a
relief
to
feel
.
“
Madness
,
madness
!
”
he
said
.
“
Miserable
!
But
how
was
it
at
home
—
?
Did
this
Maddox
stand
his
ground
?
”
“
Yes
,
if
he
had
fled
,
all
would
have
been
clear
,
but
he
doctored
the
accounts
his
own
way
,
and
quite
satisfied
Dr.
Long
and
Harry
.
He
showed
Edward’s
receipt
for
the
£
6000
that
had
been
advanced
,
and
besides
,
there
was
a
large
sum
not
accounted
for
,
which
was
,
of
course
,
supposed
to
have
been
invested
abroad
by
Edward
—
some
said
gambled
away
—
as
if
he
had
not
had
a
regular
hatred
of
all
sorts
of
games
.
”
“
Edward
with
his
head
in
the
clouds
!
One
notion
is
as
likely
as
the
other
.
—
Then
absolutely
nothing
was
done
!
”
“
Nothing
!
The
bankruptcy
was
declared
,
the
whole
affair
broken
up
;
and
certainly
if
every
one
had
not
known
Edward
to
be
the
most
heedless
of
men
,
the
confusion
would
have
justified
them
in
thinking
him
a
dishonest
one
.
Things
had
been
done
in
his
name
by
Maddox
that
might
have
made
a
stranger
think
him
guilty
of
the
rest
,
but
to
those
who
had
ever
known
his
abstraction
,
and
far
more
his
real
honour
and
uprightness
,
nothing
could
have
been
plainer
.
”
“
It
all
turned
upon
his
absence
.
”
“
Yes
,
he
must
have
borne
the
brunt
of
what
had
been
done
in
his
name
,
I
know
;
that
would
have
been
bad
enough
,
but
in
a
court
of
justice
,
his
whole
character
would
have
been
shown
,
and
besides
,
a
prosecution
for
forgery
of
his
receipt
would
have
shown
what
Maddox
was
,
sufficiently
to
exculpate
him
.
”
“
And
you
say
the
losers
by
the
deception
would
not
believe
in
it
?
”
“
No
,
they
only
shook
their
heads
at
our
weak
sisterly
affection
.
”
“
I
wish
I
could
see
one
of
those
letters
.
Where
is
Maddox
now
?
”
“
I
cannot
tell
.
He
certainly
did
not
go
away
immediately
after
the
settlement
of
accounts
,
but
it
has
not
been
possible
to
us
to
keep
up
a
knowledge
of
his
movements
,
or
something
might
have
turned
up
to
justify
Edward
.
Oh
,
what
it
is
to
be
helpless
women
!
You
are
the
very
first
person
,
Colin
,
who
has
not
looked
at
me
pityingly
,
like
a
creature
to
be
forborne
with
an
undeniable
delusion
!
”
“
They
must
be
very
insolent
people
,
then
,
to
look
at
that
brow
and
eyes
,
and
think
even
sisterly
love
could
blind
them
,
”
he
said
.
“
Yes
,
Ermine
,
I
was
certain
that
unless
Edward
were
more
changed
than
I
could
believe
,
there
must
be
some
such
explanation
.
You
have
never
seen
him
since
?
”
“
No
,
he
was
too
utterly
broken
by
the
loss
of
his
wife
to
feel
anything
else
.
For
a
long
time
we
heard
nothing
,
and
that
was
the
most
dreadful
time
of
all
!
Then
he
wrote
from
a
little
German
town
,
where
he
was
getting
his
bread
as
a
photographer’s
assistant
.
And
since
that
he
has
cast
about
the
world
,
till
just
now
he
has
some
rather
interesting
employment
at
the
mines
in
the
Oural
Mountains
,
the
first
thing
he
has
really
seemed
to
like
or
care
for
.
”
“
The
Oural
Mountains
!
that
is
out
of
reach
.
I
wish
I
could
see
him
.
One
might
find
some
means
of
clearing
him
.
What
directed
your
suspicion
to
Maddox
?
”
“
Chiefly
that
the
letters
professed
to
have
been
sent
in
a
parcel
to
him
to
be
posted
from
the
office
.
If
it
had
been
so
,
Edward
and
Lucy
would
certainly
have
written
to
us
at
the
same
time
.
I
could
have
shown
,
too
,
that
Maddox
had
written
to
me
the
day
before
to
ascertain
where
Edward
was
,
so
as
to
be
sure
of
the
date
.
It
was
a
little
country
village
,
and
I
made
a
blunder
in
copying
the
spelling
from
Lucy’s
writing
.
Ailie
found
that
very
blunder
repeated
in
Dr.
Long’s
letter
,
and
we
showed
him
that
Edward
did
not
write
it
so
.
Besides
,
before
going
abroad
,
Edward
had
lost
the
seal-ring
with
his
crest
,
which
you
gave
him
.
You
remember
the
Saxon’s
head
?
”
“
I
remember
!
You
all
took
it
much
to
heart
that
the
engraver
had
made
it
a
Saracen’s
head
,
and
not
a
long-haired
Saxon
.
”
“
Well
,
Edward
had
renewed
the
ring
,
and
taken
care
to
make
it
a
Saxon
.
Now
Ailie
could
get
no
one
to
believe
her
,
but
she
is
certain
that
the
letter
was
sealed
with
the
old
Saracen
not
the
new
Saxon
.
But
—
but
—
if
you
had
but
been
there
—
”
“
Tell
me
you
wished
for
me
,
Ermine
.
”
“
I
durst
not
wish
anything
about
you
,
”
she
said
,
looking
up
through
a
mist
of
tears
.
“
And
you
,
what
fixed
you
here
?
”
“
An
old
servant
of
ours
had
married
and
settled
here
,
and
had
written
to
us
of
her
satisfaction
in
finding
that
the
clergyman
was
from
Hereford
.
We
thought
he
would
recommend
Ailie
as
daily
governess
to
visitors
,
and
that
Sarah
would
be
a
comfortable
landlady
.
It
has
answered
very
well
;
Rose
deserves
her
name
far
more
than
when
we
brought
her
here
,
and
it
is
wonderful
how
much
better
I
have
been
since
doctors
have
become
a
mere
luxury
.
”
“
Do
you
,
can
you
really
mean
that
you
are
supporting
yourselves
?
”
“
All
but
twenty-five
pounds
a
year
,
from
a
legacy
to
us
,
that
Mr.
Beauchamp
would
not
let
them
touch
.
But
it
has
been
most
remarkable
,
Colin
,
”
she
said
,
with
the
dew
in
her
eyes
,
“
how
we
have
never
wanted
our
daily
bread
,
and
how
happy
we
have
been
!
If
it
had
not
been
for
Edward
,
this
would
in
many
ways
have
been
our
happiest
time
.
Since
the
old
days
the
little
frets
have
told
less
,
and
Ailie
has
been
infinitely
happier
and
brighter
since
she
has
had
to
work
instead
of
only
to
watch
me
.
Ah
,
Colin
,
must
I
not
own
to
having
been
happy
?
Indeed
it
was
very
much
because
peace
had
come
when
the
suspense
had
sunk
into
belief
that
I
might
think
of
you
as
—
,
where
you
would
not
be
grieved
by
the
sight
of
what
I
am
now
—
”
As
she
spoke
,
a
knock
,
not
at
the
house
,
but
at
the
room
door
,
made
them
both
start
,
and
impel
their
chairs
to
a
more
ordinary
distance
,
just
as
Rachel
Curtis
made
her
entrance
,
extremely
amazed
to
find
,
not
Mr.
Touchett
,
but
a
much
greater
foe
and
rival
in
that
unexpected
quarter
.
Ermine
,
the
least
disconcerted
,
was
the
first
to
speak
.
“
You
are
surprised
to
find
a
visitor
here
,
”
she
said
,
“
and
indeed
only
now
,
did
we
find
out
that
‘our
military
secretary
,
’
as
your
little
cousins
say
,
was
our
clear
old
squire’s
nephew
.
”
There
was
a
ring
of
gladness
in
the
usually
patient
voice
that
struck
even
Rachel
,
though
she
was
usually
too
eager
to
be
observant
,
but
she
was
still
unready
with
talk
for
the
occasion
,
and
Ermine
continued
:
“
We
had
heard
so
much
of
the
Major
before-hand
,
that
we
had
a
sort
of
Jupiter-like
expectation
of
the
coming
man
.
I
am
not
sure
that
I
shall
not
go
on
expecting
a
mythic
major
!
”
Rachel
,
never
understanding
playfulness
,
thought
this
both
audacious
and
unnecessary
,
and
if
it
had
come
from
any
one
else
,
would
have
administered
a
snub
,
but
she
felt
the
invalid
sacred
from
her
weapons
.
“
Have
you
ever
seen
the
boys
?
”
asked
Colonel
Keith
.
“
I
am
rather
proud
of
Conrade
,
my
pupil
;
he
is
so
chivalrous
towards
his
mother
.
”
“
Alison
has
brought
down
a
division
or
two
to
show
me
.
How
much
alike
they
are
.
”
“
Exactly
alike
,
and
excessively
unruly
and
unmanageable
,
”
said
Rachel
.
“
I
pity
your
sister
.
”
“
More
unmanageable
in
appearance
than
in
reality
,
”
said
the
colonel
:
“
there’s
always
a
little
trial
of
strength
against
the
hand
over
them
,
and
they
yield
when
they
find
it
is
really
a
hand
.
They
were
wonderfully
good
and
considerate
when
it
was
an
object
to
keep
the
house
quiet
.
”
Rachel
would
not
encourage
him
to
talk
of
Lady
Temple
,
so
she
turned
to
Ermine
on
the
business
that
had
brought
her
,
collecting
and
adapting
old
clothes
for
emigrants
.
—
It
was
not
exactly
gentlemen’s
pastime
,
and
Ermine
tried
to
put
it
aside
and
converse
,
but
Rachel
never
permitted
any
petty
consideration
to
interfere
with
a
useful
design
,
and
as
there
was
a
press
of
time
for
the
things
,
she
felt
herself
justified
in
driving
the
intruder
off
the
field
and
outstaying
him
.
She
succeeded
;
he
recollected
the
desire
of
the
boys
that
he
should
take
them
to
inspect
the
pony
at
the
“
Jolly
Mariner
,
”
and
took
leave
with
—
“
I
shall
see
you
to-morrow
.
”
“
You
knew
him
all
the
time
!
”
exclaimed
Rachel
,
pausing
in
her
unfolding
of
the
Master
Temples’
ship
wardrobe
.
“
Why
did
you
not
say
so
?
”
“
We
did
not
know
his
name
.
He
was
always
the
‘Major.’
”
“
Who
,
and
what
is
he
?
”
demanded
Rachel
,
as
she
knelt
before
her
victim
,
fixing
those
great
prominent
eyes
,
so
like
those
of
Red
Riding
Hood’s
grandmother
,
that
Ermine
involuntarily
gave
a
backward
impulse
to
her
wheeled
chair
,
as
she
answered
the
readiest
thing
that
occurred
to
her
,
—
“
He
is
brother
to
Lord
Keith
of
Gowan-brae
.
”
“
Oh
,
”
said
Rachel
,
kneeling
on
meditatively
,
“
that
accounts
for
it
.
So
much
the
worse
.
The
staff
is
made
up
of
idle
honourables
.
”
“
Quoth
the
‘Times
!
’
”
replied
Ermine
;
“
but
his
appointment
began
on
account
of
a
wound
,
and
went
on
because
of
his
usefulness
—
”
“
Wounded
!
I
don’t
like
wounded
heroes
,
”
said
Rachel
;
“
people
make
such
a
fuss
with
them
that
they
always
get
spoilt
.
”
“
This
was
nine
years
ago
,
so
you
may
forget
it
if
you
like
,
”
said
Ermine
,
diversion
suppressing
displeasure
.
“
And
what
is
your
opinion
of
him
?
”
said
Rachel
,
edging
forward
on
her
knees
,
so
as
to
bring
her
inquisitorial
eyes
to
bear
more
fully
.
“
I
had
not
seen
him
for
twelve
years
,
”
said
Ermine
,
rather
faintly
.
“
He
must
have
had
a
formed
character
when
you
saw
him
last
.
The
twelve
years
before
five-and-forty
don’t
alter
the
nature
.
”
“
Five-and-forty
!
Illness
and
climate
have
told
,
but
I
did
not
think
it
was
so
much
.
He
is
only
thirty-six
—
”
“
That
is
not
what
I
care
about
,
”
said
Rachel
,
“
you
are
both
of
you
so
cautious
that
you
tell
me
what
amounts
to
nothing
!
You
should
consider
how
important
it
is
to
me
to
know
something
about
the
person
in
whose
power
my
cousin’s
affairs
are
left
.
”
“
Have
you
not
sufficient
guarantee
in
the
very
fact
of
her
husband’s
confidence
?
”
“
I
don’t
know
.
A
simple-hearted
old
soldier
always
means
a
very
foolish
old
man
.
”
“
Witness
the
Newcomes
,
”
said
Ermine
,
who
,
besides
her
usual
amusement
in
tracing
Rachel’s
dicta
to
their
source
,
could
only
keep
in
her
indignation
by
laughing
.
“
General
observation
,
”
said
Rachel
,
not
to
be
turned
from
her
purpose
.
“
I
am
not
foolishly
suspicious
,
but
it
is
not
pleasant
to
see
great
influence
and
intimacy
without
some
knowledge
of
the
person
exercising
it
.
”
“
I
think
,
”
said
Ermine
,
bringing
herself
with
difficulty
to
answer
quietly
,
“
that
you
can
hardly
understand
the
terms
they
are
on
without
having
seen
how
much
a
staff
officer
becomes
one
of
the
family
.
”
“
I
suppose
much
must
be
allowed
for
the
frivolity
and
narrowness
of
a
military
set
in
a
colony
.
Imagine
my
one
attempt
at
rational
conversation
last
night
.
Asking
his
views
on
female
emigration
,
absolutely
he
had
none
at
all
;
he
and
Fanny
only
went
off
upon
a
nursemaid
married
to
a
sergeant
!
”
“
Perhaps
the
bearings
of
the
question
would
hardly
suit
mixed
company
.
”
“
To
be
sure
there
was
a
conceited
young
officer
there
;
for
as
ill
luck
will
have
it
,
my
uncle’s
old
regiment
is
quartered
at
Avoncester
,
and
I
suppose
they
will
all
be
coming
after
Fanny
.
It
is
well
they
are
