Year: 1873




lilac ribbons in her cap. and old china ir
her cabinets, and who could scold anC
pet little people, and sometimes big peo
pie too. She was somewhat severe upor
grown-up young folks, unless they hap
| pened to get sick, when she became an
| angel. Arthur Gray was an invalid wher
she first made his acquaintance, and peo
pie said this was why she took such q
fancy to him. He was son of a distant
connection of the family, dropped by
chance into their lives-clever, poor, and
with no friends. The ladies, hearing he
was scientific, had at first stood little in
awe of him, with an idea that science is
uncomfortable; but Gray had been pre-
sented to Granny by the most famous sci
entific man in London. We do not say
that Granny would not have been kind tC
him if she had picked him up in the gut
ter, yet the great man had his weight
when he did choose to step into the scale
of the young mans chances of finding ia
vor among his kinsfolk.


Granny was sitting in her dainty antique
drawing room at hehead of table drawn
UP in a cool corner under the shade Of
green blinds, her work. basket before her
her children on either side with open
books, and Arthur Gray at the foot of the
table, pencil in hand. He was now nc
longer an invalid, and was supposed to
be pluming his wings for some wonderful
flight IN the regions of scientific discOv
cry. By the sidelong looks of awe which
Granny was casting towards him over the
rims of her spectacles, she evidently
thought he was at this moment deep in
some abstruse calculation; but he was
only scribbling faces in his pocket book.
He had a broad, square brow, and
troubled eyes, and mouth which be-
trayed character resOlute and tender
He was man who had great future be-
fore him-of hard toll, heartache and
fame


Lola was late. Granny pointed to the
timepiece, and the lessons began. Lola's
voice was low in asking the questions,
and the children's tones were shrill in
giving the answers. Granny raped with
her knitting needle on the table when
things were not going so as to please her.
Arthur Gray remained for the study and
his study was Lola's face. Lola's voice
grew lower, and Granny's raps fell fast
upon the board. Arthur Gray suddenly
got up, and left the room.


He walked out on terrace, and paced
up and down. Life was at this moment
tangled skein to him. He wanted to
have for his own that sweet woman in
doors who was teaching the children, yet
how was he to have her without blighting
his career? Marriage meant poverty,
struggling, uncOngenial drudgery, and
Arthur had had enough of it from child
hood up. Genius was stirring within
him; opportunity, at this moment, lay in
vitingly before him. He held in his hand
a letter which invited him to join sci
entiic expedition to the other side of the
world. A few months ago such an offer
would have been hailed as the realization
of his sweetest dreams. But now there
was Lola. Success, power, fame, all to
be swept away by WOman's hand. Only
this morning, as he sat scribbling at the
table, he had declared to himself that the
thing was monstrOus, that it could not
be; but Lola had walked into the room,
and he had felt at once that it would be
easier to walk hand in hand with her in
stantly into the valley of death, than to
set out on any sunny path to fortune,
leaving her behind.


He was nowhere to be seen when Lola
and the children came out of Granny's
house, and ran off towards the woods.
The children from the next house met
them with dinner in their bags; for this
was to be an outdoor holiday, while the
elders of both families dined with aneigh-
boring magnate of the land. The chill
dren were wild with glee, Lola less wild
than was usual on such occasions. The
children tried to light fire to roast their
chestnuts, but failed, and Lola lay in the
grass, her hat tilted over her mouth and
ewes, andlfstened to the happy humming
hi ohoproS a.
denly, the breeze blew Lola's hat aside,
and here was Arthur Gray coming to
Join them.


This was like one of the old primeval
DAYS when the Garden of Eden bloomed,
and before sorrow came into the world.
Gray made a great fire, and screened it
with thick boughs, so that the sun could
not put it out. The children shrieked
with delight, the chestnuts hissed and
spluttered, the thrushes sang, the quail
away in the meadows below sent up
satisfied comment on the state of things,
and the lilies tapped their golden wings
wantonly down in the river. The purple
distance that girded the forest world
looked as inviting as the beautiful future
which young eyes see in dreams. The
sunshine Redeemed on the bOles of the
trees, and on two faces that leaned to-
ward each other often across the heads of
the children. Dinner was eaten in the
grass, with dOck-leaves for dishes, and
Arthur Gray told stories to the children
about wonderful places and things which
are to be found on this moving globe;
showed them glittering caves IN the heart
of the earth, deserts with fierce sun
brooding over their blighted flats, and
flying camel carrying dark faced men and
women out of reach of a burning death;
and, again, regions where the stars glitter
big above mountains of ice, and the white
bears wander from block to block Of
snow in the lonely seas. The children
listened with bated breath. Had Mr..
Gray seen these places? Should he ever
see them? No, he thought not; ne should
never see them now. Yet that letter from
the band of explorers burned unanswered
against his heart.


Twilight came, and the little forest
party went home for schoolroom tea. AS
they walked through the tunnel of leaves,
the children ran on before to have the
kettle boiling, and Lola and Gray walked
through the purple hollow, alone together
They did not speak much, but walked
close together, hand in hand, slowly, and
with fullhearts. Arthur thought of moth
ing but that Lola's hand was in his; Lola
thought of nothing but that he had taken
that hand, and it could help him. AS they
turned from the shade into the open
space lighted by last glaring reflection
from the vanished sun. a gorgeous troop
of moving clouds was sailing along the
horizon, purple and crimson edged, upon
a sea of gold. They had taken shape
like the pleasure galley of some ancient
Eastern queen, and floated solemnly, as
if to music not heard on earth. Some
thing like this was suggested to Lola's
mind as the lovers stood still to look, but
Arthur saw only the expedition, sailing