The San Francisco call., 1907-02-03

AT the sound OF my footsteps, and came
at once toward me-
She was bareheaded. and looked as
straight and slim as a cart. - .
cied that she could be no more tndu
eighteen, her figure and face were SO
girlish. The quiet composure OF het
manner. however, and the subdued yet
graceful ease of her movements, were
so suggestive of the great lady tnat
il was hard to believe that she was m
deed little more than schoolgirl
II hope that you are better, Mr. Du-
caine," she said.
Thank YOU Lady Angela, I ha~-
quite recovered" answered
She looked at me critically. 4
Il can assure you" she said. 'tnaS
vou look very different person. IaA
gave us quite fright last night
Il am ashamed to have been so nueh
trouble / answered Such tnlns
has never happened TO me before
You must take more care of your
self she said gravely. Il hope that
my father has expressed himseH
properly about the lecture
His Grace has been very kind I an
swered. "He has promised me the 1ree
use of the hall at any time
''Of course" she said I hope tnar
you will give your lecture soon. 1 am
looking forward very much to hearing
it, This always seems to me such a
quaint. fascinating corner Of the world
that love to read and hear all the peo-
pie hare 20 say about it,
You are very kind" I said; "but IL
you come am afraid you will be bored
The notes which I have put together
are prepared for the comprehension OF
the village people
$50 much the better" she declared
Il prefer anything which does not make
too great a strain upon the intellect
Besides. II is the very simplicity OF this
country which makes ii so beautiful"
Yet il is a land" i remarked "of
elusive charms.
Sometimes unless they are pOiHsed
out" she replied. by one who has the
eye and ear for nature. these are the
hardest to appreciate. Only the other
evening i was standing upon the cliffs.
and I thought what dreary waste OF
marshes and sands the place was. and
then single CLEAN Of late sunshine
seemed TO transform everything. There ,
is hidden color everywhere il one looks
closely enough. and suppose IL is true ?
that the most beautiful things in the
world are those which remain just be-
low the surface-a little invisible until
one searches for them. By the by. Mr..
Ducafne" she added. IF you are on
your way home 1 can show you path
which will save you nearly halr the
distance
You are very kind Lady Angela I
answered Cannot I find 1t. though,
without taking you out Of your way?
She smiled.
You might" she said. but I walk
down to the cliffs every afternoon I.
was just starting when you came. 1t
is quite a regular pilgrimage with me.
All day long we hear the sea. but eN-
cept from the upper windows we have
no clear view of il. This is the path.
We crossed the Park together. All
the while she talked to me easily and
naturally of the country around. the
great antiquity of its landmarks. the
survival of many ancient customs and
almost obsolete forms of speech. At
last we came to a small plantation.
through which we emerged on TO the
cliffs. Here TO my surprise, We came
upon a quantity shaped gray stone
cottage almost hidden by the trees
had passed on the sands below many
times without seeing it,
Rather a strange situation for a
house. is it not2 Lady Angela remark
ed MY grandfather built it for an
old pensioner. but I do not think that
il has been occupied for some time"
1T is marvelously hidden" I said
II never had the least idea that there
was a house here at ALL
We stood now on the edge of tbA
Cliff and she pointed downward
There is a little path there. you
see. leading to the sands" she said. 1T
saves you quite half the distance TO
your cottage il you do not mind
scramble, You must take care just at
first. So many OF the stones are loose"
i understood that I was dismissed
and I thanked her and turned away
But she almost Immediately called me
back.
Mr.. Dueaine-"
LADY AnReIa2's
Her dark eyes were hxed curiously
upon my face She seemed to be weigh
ing something in her mind. I had a
fancy that when she spoke again II
would be without that deliberation-
almost restraint-which seemed to ae-
cord little strangely with the girl
ishness of her appearance and actual
years. She stood on the extreme edge
of the cliff, her slim straight figure
outlined to angularity against the sky.
She remained so long without speech
that / had time to note all these things.
The sunshine. breaking through the
. thin topped pine trees, lay everywhere
) about us; little brown feathered bird.
scarcely a dozen yards away, sang TO
us so Justify that the soft feathers
around his throat stood out like a ruff
Down below the sea came rushing on to
the shingles.
Mr.. Ducaine." she said at last. did
my father make you any offer Of en-
ployment this afternoon
1t was direct. almost blunt quss-
tion. I was taken by surprise, but I .
answered her without hesitation
He made me no definite Offer" /
said "At the same time he asked mo
a great many questions. for which he
must have had some reason, and he
gave me the idea that. subject to the
approval OF some others, he was think
ing of me in connection with some
post"
Colonel Ray was telling me-" She
said. how unfortunate you have been
with your pupils. wonder--don't you
think perhaps that you might get some
otherse''
Il have tried I answered so far
have not been lucky. At present too.
l scarcely see how I can expect to
get any. for i have nowhere 10 o<r
them. had to give up the lease Of the
Grange. and there is no house around
here which / could afford to take"
Some portion of her delicate assur-