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a white horse one would think it was the last colour for a man in that line looked and saw the white shape of the animal as it passed by but before the had gone another ten yards in his horse and said something to his companion which neither nor could hear its drift was however soon made evident for the other man stopped also and sharply turning the horses heads they cautiously their steps when they were again opposite mrs s garden dismounted and the man on the dark horse did the same and intently listening and observing the proceedings naturally put their heads as dose as possible to the formed by the slightly opened and thus it occurred that at last their cheeks came positively into contact they went on listening as if they did not know of the singular which had happened to their and the pressure of each to each rather increased than lessened with the lapse of time they could hear the the air like bounds as they paced slowly along when they reached the distracted preacher the spot where the tub had burst both stopped on the instant ay ay tis quite strong here said the second officer shall we knock at the door well no said maybe this is only a trick to put us off the scent they wouldn t kick up this anywhere near their hiding place i have known such things before anyhow the things or some of em must have been brought this way said the other yes said unless tis all done to us the wrong way i have a mind that we go home for to night without saying a word and come the first thing in the morning with more hands i know they have about here but we can do nothing by this owl s light we will look round the parish and see if everybody is in bed john and if all is quiet we will do as i say they went on and the two inside the window could hear them passing leisurely through the whole village the street of whidi curved round at the bottom and entered the road at another this way the followed and the of their horses died quite away what you do said withdrawing from his position she knew that he alluded to the coming search by the officers to divert her attention from their own tender incident by the which he wished to be passed over as a thing rather of than done o nothing she replied with as much coolness as she could command under her disappointment at his manner we often have such storms as this you would not be frightened if you knew what fools they are fancy riding o horseback through the place of course they will hear and see nobody while they make that noise but they are always afraid to get off tales in case some of our fellows should burst out upon em and tie them up to the gate post as they have done before now good night mr she closed the window and went to her room where a tear fell from her eyes and that not because of the of the riding officers the great search at mo vi was so excited by the events of the evening and the that he was placed in between conscience and love that he did not sleep or even but remained as awake as at as soon as the grey light began to touch ever so faintly the objects in his bedroom he arose dressed himself and went downstairs into the road the village was already several of the had heard the well known tramp of s horse while they were in the dark that night and had already communicated with each other and on the subject the only doubt seemed to be about the safety of those which had been left under the church gallery stairs and after a short discussion at the comer of the mill it was agreed that these should be removed before it got lighter and hidden in the middle of a double hedge the adjoining field however before anything could be carried into effect the footsteps of many men were heard coming down the lane from the highway damn it here they be said who having already drawn the and started his mill for the tales day stood at the mill door covered with floor as if the interest of his whole soul was bound up in the shaking walls around him the two or three with whom he had been talking dispersed to their usual work and when the officers and the formidable body of men they had hired reached the village cross between the mill and mrs s house the village wore the natural aspect of a place beginning its morning labours now said to his associates who numbered thirteen men in all what i know is that the things are somewhere in this here place we have got the day before us and tis hard if we can t light upon em and get em to custom house night first we will try the fuel houses and then we ll work our way into the and then to the and stables and so creep round you have nothing but your noses to guide ye mind so use em to day if you never did in your lives before then the search began during the early part watched from his mill window from the door of her house with the greatest self possession a farmer down below who also had a share in the run rode about with one eye on his fields and the other on and his prepared to put them off the scent if he should be asked a question who was no at all felt more anxiety than the worst of them and went about his studies with	45
a heavy heart coming frequently to the door to ask some question or other on the consequences to her of the being found the consequences she said quietly are simply that i shall lose em as i have none in the house or garden they can t touch me personally but you have some in the orchard rents that of me and he it to others so it will be hard to say who put any there if they should be found the distracted preacher there was never such a tremendous known as that which took place in parish and its vicinity this day all was done and mostly on hands and knees at different hours of the day they had different plans from daybreak to breakfast time the officers used their sense of smell in a direct and straightforward manner only pausing nowhere but at such places as the might be supposed to be in at that very moment their removal on the following night among the places tested and examined were hollow trees graves clock cases fuel houses chimney apple and after breakfast they with renewed vigour taking a new line that is to say directing their attention to clothes that might be supposed to have come in contact with the in their removal from the shore such garments being usually with the spirit owing to its between the they now at and old shirts and knee and gloves coats and hats breeches and market women s and gowns and as soon as the mid day meal was over they pushed their search into places where the spirits might have been thrown away in alarm horse sinks in yards stable wet road and back door tales but still these nothing more than the original tell tale smell in the road opposite s house which even yet had not passed off i ll tell ye what it is men said about three o clock in the afternoon we must b in over again find them i will the men who had been hired for the day looked at their hands and knees muddy with creeping on all so frequently and rubbed their noses as if they had almost had enough of it for the quantity of bad air which had passed into each one s had rendered it nearly as insensible as a however after a moments hesitation they prepared to start anew except three whose power of smell had quite under the excessive wear and tear of the day by this time not a male was to be seen in the parish was not at his mill the were not in their fields the parson was not in his garden the smith had left his and the s shop was silent where the are the folk gone said waking up to the fact of their absence and looking round i ll have em up for this why don t they come and help us there s not a man about the place but the parson and he s an old woman i demand assistance in the king s name i we must find the public afore we can demand that said his lieutenant well well we shall do better without em said who changed his moods at a moment s notice but there s great cause of suspicion in this silence and this keeping out of sight and i ll bear it in mind now we will go across to s orchard and see what we can find there who heard this discussion from the over which he had been leaning was rather alarmed the distracted preacher and thought it a mistake of the villagers to keep so completely out of the way he himself like the had been wondering for the last half hour what could have become of them some were of necessity engaged in distant fields but the master workmen should have been at home though one and all after just showing themselves at their shops had apparently gone off for the day he went in to who sat at a back window sewing and said where are the men laughed where they mostly are when they re run so hard as this she cast her eyes to heaven up there she said looked up what on the top of the church tower he asked seeing the direction of her glance yes well i expect they will soon have to come down said he gravely i have been listening to the officers and they are going to search the orchard over again and then every nook in the church looked alarmed for the first time will you go and tell our folk she said they ought to be let know seeing his conscience struggling within him like a boiling pot she added no never mind i ll go myself she went out descended the garden and climbed over the churchyard wall at the same time that the men were ascending the road to the orchard could do no less than follow her by the time that she reached the tower entrance he was at her side and they entered together ton church tower was as in many villages without a and the only way to the top was by going up to the singers gallery and thence ascending by a ladder to a square trap door in the floor of the bell above which a permanent ladder was tales fixed passing the bells to a hole in the when and reached the gallery and looked up nothing but the trap door and the five holes for the bell ropes appeared the ladder was gone there s no getting up said o there is said she there s an eye looking at us at moment through a knot hole in that and as she spoke the trap opened and the dark line of the ladder was seen descending against the wall when it	45
touched the bottom dragged it to its place and said if go up i ll follow the young man ascended and presently found himself among consecrated bells for the first time in his life having been in the blood for some generations he eyed them uneasily and looked round for stood here holding the top of the ladder what be you really one of us said the miller it seems so said sadly he s not said who overheard he s neither for nor against us hell do us no harm she stepped up beside them and then they went on to the next stage which when they had over the dusty bell carriages was of easy ascent leading towards the hole through which the pale sky appeared and into the open air remained behind for a moment to pull up the lower ladder keep down your heads said a voice as soon as they set foot on the flat here beheld all the missing lying on their on the tower roof except a few who elevated on their hands and knees were peeping through the of the did the same and saw the village lying like a map below him over which moved the figures of the each to a object the crown the distracted preacher his hat forming a circular in the centre of him some of the men had turned their heads when the young preacher s figure arose among them what mr said grey in a tone of surprise i d as that it hadn t been said jim if the pa son should see him a here in his tower be none the better for we seeing how a do hate members he d never buy a tub of us again and he s as good a customer as we have got this side o where is the pa son said in his house to be sure that he mid see nothing of what s going on where all good folks ought to b and this young man likewise well he has brought some news said they are going to search the and church can we do anything if they should find yes said her cousin that s what we ve been talking o and we have settled our line well be dazed the exclamation was caused by his perceiving that some of the having got into the orchard and begun stooping and creeping hither and thither were pausing in the middle where a tree smaller than the rest was growing they drew closer and bent lower than ever upon the ground o my said as she peered through the at them they have got em a said the interest in the movements of the officers was so keen that not a single eye was looking in any other direction but at that moment a shout from the church beneath them attracted the attention of the as it did also of the party in the orchard who sprang to their feet and went towards the churchyard wall at the same time those of the government men who had tales entered the church by the cried aloud here be some of em at last the remained in a blank silence uncertain whether some of em meant or men but again peeping cautiously over the edge of the tower they that were the things and soon these ted articles were brought one by one into the middle of the churchyard from their hiding place under the gallery stairs they are going to put em on s vault till they find the rest said hopelessly the had in fact b un to pile up the on a stone which was fixed there and when all were brought out from the tower two or three of the men were left standing by them the rest of the party again proceeding to the orchard the interest of the in the next of their enemies became painfully intense only about thirty had been in the lumber of the tower but seventy were hidden in the orchard making up all that they had brought ashore as yet the remainder of the cargo having been tied to a and dropped overboard for another night s operations the having re entered the orchard acted as if they were positive that here lay hidden the rest of the which they were determined to find before nightfall they spread themselves out round the field and advancing on all as before went anew round every apple tree in the the young tree in the middle again led them to pause and at length the whole company gathered there in a way which signified that a second chain of reasoning had led to the same results as the first when they had examined the sod for some minutes one of the men rose ran to a porch of the church where tools were kept and returned with the s and with which they set to the distracted preacher are they really buried there said the minister for the grass was so green and that it was difficult to believe it had been disturbed the were too interested to reply and presently they saw to their the officers stand several on each side of the tree and stooping and applying their hands to the soil they bodily lifted the tree and the turf around it the apple tree now showed itself to be growing in a shallow box with handles for lifting at each of the four sides under the site of the tree a square hole was revealed and an went and looked down it is all up now said quietly and now all of ye get down before they notice we are here and be ready for our next move i had better bide here till dark or they may take me on suspicion as tis on my ground i u be with ye as	45
soon as daylight begins to pink in and i said you please look to the pins and then go indoors and know nothing at all the will do the rest the ladder was replaced and all but descended the men passing off one by one at the back of the church and vanishing on their respective errands walked boldly along the street followed closely by the minister you are going indoors mrs he said she knew from the words mrs that the division between them had yet another degree i am not going home she said i have a little thing to do before i go in will get your tea o i don t mean on that account said what can you have to do further in this affair only a little she said tales what is that ill go with you no i shall go by myself will you please go indoors i shall be there in less than an hour you are not going to run any danger said the young man his tenderness itself none whatever worth mentioning answered she and went down towards the cross entered the garden gate and stood behind it looking on the were still busy in the orchard and at last he was tempted to enter and watch their proceedings when he came closer he found that the secret cellar of whose existence he had been totally unaware was formed by placed across from side to side about a foot under the ground and over the looked up at s fair and countenance and evidently thinking him above suspicion went on with their work again as soon as all the were taken out they began tearing up the turf pulling out the and breaking in the sides till the cellar was wholly and the apple tree lying with its roots high to the air but the hole which had in its time held so much was never completely filled up either then or afterwards a depression in the marking the spot to day walk to cross and afterwards vii as the goods had all to be carried to that night the s next object was to find horses and carts for the journey and they went about the village for that purpose strode hither and thither with a lump of chalk in his hand marking broad arrows so vigorously on every vehicle and set of harness that he came across that it seemed as if he would chalk broad arrows on the very hedges and roads the owner of every conveyance so marked was bound to give it up for government purposes who had had enough of the scene turned indoors thoughtful and depressed was already there having come in at the back though she had not yet taken off her bonnet she looked tired and her mood was not much brighter than his own they had but little to say to each other and the minister went away and attempted to read but at this he could not succeed and he shook the little bell for tea herself brought in the tray the girl having run off into the village during the afternoon too full of excitement at the proceedings to remember her state of life however almost before the sad lovers tales had said anything to each other came in in a steaming state there s such a mrs and mr the king s can t get the carts ready at all they pulled thomas s and william s and s carts into the road and off came the wheels and down fell the carts and they found there was no pins in the arms and then they tried samuel s and found that the were gone from he and at last they looked at the s cart and he s got none neither they have gone now to the blacksmith s to get some made but he s nowhere to be found looked at who blushed very slightly and went out of the room followed by but before they had got through the passage there was a rap at the front door and recognized s voice addressing mrs who had turned back for god s sake mrs have you seen the blacksmith up this way if we could get hold of him we d e en a most drag him by the hair of his head to his where he ought to be he s an idle man mr said what do you want him for why there isn t a horse in the place that has got more than three shoes on and some have only two the wheels be without and there s no pins to the carts what with that and the bother about every set of harness being out of order we shan t be off before nightfall upon my soul we shan t tis a rough lot mrs that you ve got about you here but they ll play at this game once too often mark my words they wiu there s not a man in the parish that don t deserve to be whipped the distracted preacher it happened that was at that moment a little further up the lane smoking his pipe behind a bush when had done speaking he went on in this direction and hearing the s steps found curiosity too strong for prudence he peeped out from the bush at the very moment that s glance was on it there was nothing left for him to do but to come forward with i ve been looking for you for the last hour said with a glare in his eye sorry to hear that said i ve been out for a stroll to look for more hid to deliver em up to ment o yes we know it said with withering sarcasm we know that you ll deliver em up to ment we know that	45
all the parish is helping us and have been all day now you please walk along with me down to your shop and kindly let me hire ye in the king s name they went down the lane together and presently there from the the ring of a hammer not very briskly swung however the carts and horses were got into some sort of travelling condition but it was until after the clock had struck six when the muddy roads were glistening under the light of the fading day the were soon packed into the and with three of his drove slowly out of the village in the direction of the port of some considerable number of miles distant the other being left to watch for the remainder of the cargo which they knew to have been sunk somewhere between and and to the only person clearly by the discovery of the cave women and children stood at the doors as the carts each with the government passed in the increasing twilight and as they stood they looked t tales at the property with a melancholy expression that told only too plainly the relation whidi they to the trade well said when the of the wheels had nearly died away this is a fit finish to your adventure i am truly thankful that you hare got off without suspicion and the loss only of the liquor will you sit down and let me talk to you by and by she said but i must go out now not to that horrid shore again he said no not there i am only going to see the end of this day s business he did not answer to this and she moved towards the door slowly as if waiting for him to say something more you don t offer to come with me she added at last i suppose that s because you hate me after all this can you say it when you know i only want to save you from such come with you of course i if it is only to take care of you but why will you go out again because i cannot rest indoors something is happening and i must know what now come and they went into the dusk together when they reached the road she turned to the right and he soon perceived that they were following the direction of the and their load he had given her his arm and every now and then she suddenly pulled it back to signify that he was to halt a moment and listen they had walked rather quickly along the first quarter of a mile and on the second or third time of standing still she said i hear them ahead don t you yes he said i hear the wheels but what of that i only want to know if they get dear away from the neighbourhood a o the distracted preacher ah said he a light breaking upon him something desperate is to be attempted and now i remember there was not a man about the village when we left she murmured the noise of the had stopped and given place to another sort oi sound tis a said there be murder let go my arm i am going on on my conscience i must not stay here and do nothing be no murder and not even a broken head she said our men are thirty to four of them no harm will be done at all then there is an attack exclaimed and you knew it was to be why should you side with men who break the laws like this why should you side with men who take from country what they have honestly bought wi their own money in france said she firmly they are not honestly bought said he they are she contradicted i and and the others paid thirty shillings for every one of the before they were put on board at and if a king who is nothing to us sends his people to steal our property we have a right to steal it back again did not stop to argue the matter but went quickly in the direction of the noise keeping at his side don t you interfere will you dear richard she said anxiously as they drew near don t let us go any closer tis at warm ell cross where they are seizing em you can do no good and you may meet with a hard blow let us see first what is going on he said but before they had got much further the noise of the began again and soon found that they were coming towards him in another tales the three carts came up and and stood in the ditch to let them pass instead of being conducted by four men as had happened when they went out of the the horses and carts were now accompanied by a body of from twenty to thirty all of whom as perceived to his astonishment had blackened among them walked six or eight huge female figures whom from their wide strides guessed to be men in disguise as soon as the party discerned and her companion four or five fell back and when the carts had passed came dose to the pair there is no walking up this way for the present said one of the gaunt women who wore curls a foot long dangling down the sides of her ce in the fashion of the time recognized this lady s voice as s why not said this is the public highway now look here said o tis the parson what and mrs well you d better not go up that way they ve au run off and folks have got their own again the miller then hastened on and joined his comrades and also turned back	45
i wish all this hadn t been forced upon us she said but if those had got off with the half the people in the parish would have been in want for the next month or two was not paying much attention to her words and he said i don t think i can go back like this those four poor may be murdered for all i know murdered said impatiently we don t do murder here i shall go as far as warm cross to see said and without wishing her safe a the distracted preacher home or anything else the minister turned back stood looking at him till his form was absorbed in the shades and then with sadness she went in the direction of the road was lonely and after nightfall at this time of the year there was often not a for hours pursued his way without hearing a sound beyond that of his own footsteps and in due time he passed beneath the trees of the plantation which surrounded the warm ell cross road before he had reached the point of he heard voices from the thicket i help help the voices were not at all feeble or despairing but they were anxious had no weapon and before plunging into the darkness of the plantation he pulled a stake from the hedge to use in case of need when he got among the trees he shouted s the matter where are you here answered the voices and pushing through the in that direction he came near the objects of his search why don t you come forward said we be tied to the trees i who are you poor wiu the said one just come and cut these there s a good man we were afraid nobody would pass by to night soon loosened them upon which they stretched their limbs and stood at their ease the i said getting now into a rage though he had seemed quite meek when first came up tis the same set of fellows i know they were to a man but we can t swear to em said another not one of em spoke a tales what are you going to do said i d fain go back to and have at em again said so would we said his comrades fight till we die i said we will we will i said his men but said more as they came out of the plantation we don t know that these with black faces were men and proof is a hard so it is said the rest and therefore we won t do nothing at all said with complete for my part i d sooner be them than we the of my arms are burning like fire from the those two women tied round em my opinion is now i have had time to think o t that you may serve your ment at too high a price for these two nights and days i have not had an hour s rest and please god here s for home along the other officers agreed heartily to this course and thanking for his assistance they parted from him at the cross taking themselves the western road and going to during that walk the minister was lost in reverie of the most painful kind as soon as he got into the house and before entering his own rooms he advanced to the door of the little back parlour in which usually sat with her mother he found her there alone went forward and like a man in a dream looked down upon the table that stood between him and the young woman who had her bonnet and cloak still on as he did not speak she looked up from her chair at him with in her eye where are they gone he then said who i don t know i have seen nothing of them since i came straight in here thb distracted preacher if your men can manage to get off with those it will be a great profit to you i suppose a share will be mine a share my cousin a share to each of the two farmers and a share divided amongst the men who helped us and you still think he went on slowly that you will not give this business up rose and put her hand upon his shoulder don t ask that she whispered you don t know what you are asking i must tell you though i meant not to do it what i make by that trade is all i have to keep my mother and myself with he was astonished i did not dream of such a thing he said i would rather have swept the streets had i been you what is money compared with a dear conscience my conscience is dear i know my mother but the king i have never seen his are nothing to me but it is a great deal to me that my mother and i should live marry me and promise to give it up i will keep your mother it is good of you she said trembling a little let me think of it by myself i would rather not answer now she reserved her answer till the next day and came into his room with a solemn face i cannot do what you wished she said it is too much to ask my whole life ha been passed in this way her words and manner showed that before entering she had been struggling with herself in private and that the had been strong turned pale but he spoke quietly then we must part i cannot go against my in this matter and i cannot make my profession a mockery you know how i love you and what i would do for you but this one thing	45
i cannot da tales but why should you belong to that profession she burst out i have got this large house why can t you marry me and live here with us and not be a preacher any more i assure you richard it is no harm and i wish you could only see it as i do i we only carry it on in winter in summer it is never done at all it up one s dull life at thb time o the year and gives excitement which i have got so used to now that i should hardly know how to do it at nights when the wind blows instead of being dull and stupid and not noticing whether it do blow or not your mind is even if you are not yourself and you are wondering how the are getting on and you walk up and down the room and look out o window and then you go out yourself and know your way about as well by night as by day and have escapes from old and his fellows who are too stupid ever to really frighten us and only make us a bit he frightened you a httle last night anyhow and i would advise you to drop it before it is worse she shook her head no i must go on as i have begun i was bom to it it is in my blood and i can t be cured o richard you cannot think what a hard thing you have asked and how sharp you try me when you put me between this and my love for ee was leaning with his elbow on the his hands over his eyes we ought never to have met he said it was an ill day for us i little thought there was anything so hopeless and impossible in our engagement as this well it is too late now to regret consequences in this way i have had the happiness of seeing you and knowing you at least you from church and i from state she said and i don t see why we are not well matched i i the distracted preacher he smiled sadly while remained looking down her eyes beginning to that was an unhappy evening for both of them and the days that followed were unhappy days both she and he went mechanically about their and his depression was marked in the village by more than one of his with whom he came in contact but who passed her days indoors was of being the cause for it was generally understood that a quiet engagement to many existed between her and her cousin and had existed for some time thus the week passed on till one morning said to her i have had a letter i must call you that till i am gone gone said she yes he said i am going from this place i felt it would be better for us both that i should not stay after what has happened in fact i couldn t stay here and look on you from day to day without becoming weak and faltering in my course i have just heard of an arrangement by which the other minister can arrive here in about a week and let me go else where that he had all this time continued so firmly fixed in his resolution came upon her as a grievous surprise you never loved me she said bitterly i might say the same he returned but i will not grant me one favour come and hear my last sermon on the day before i go who was a church on sunday mornings attended s chapel in the evening with the rest of the double minded and she promised it became known that was going to leave and a good many people outside his own were sorry to hear it the intervening days flew rapidly away and on the evening of the sunday which preceded the morning of his departure sat in the chapel to hear tales him for the last time the little building was full to overflowing and he took up the subject which all had expected that of the trade so practised among them his hearers in laying his words to their own hearts did not perceive that they were most particularly directed against till the sermon warm and nearly broke down with emotion in truth his own earnestness and her sad eyes looking up at him were too much for the young man s he hardly knew how he ended he saw as through a mist turn and go away with the rest of the congregation and afterwards followed her home she invited him to supper and they sat down alone her mother having as was usual with her on sunday nights gone to bed early we will part friends won t we said with forced gaiety and never alluding to the sermon a which rather disappointed him we will he said with a forced smile on his part and they sat down it was the first meal that they had ever shared together in their lives and probably the last that they would so share when it was over and the indifferent conversation could no longer be continued he arose and took her hand he said do you say we must part do you you do she said solemnly i can say no more nor i said he if that is your answer bent over her and kissed her and she involuntarily returned his kiss i shall go early he said hurriedly i shall not see you again and he did leave early he fancied when stepping forth into the grey morning light to mount the van which was to carry him away that he saw a ce between a the distracted preacher the parted curtains of s window but the	45
rd cliff in particular figures in the narrative and for some forgotten reason or other this cliff was described in the story as being without a name accuracy would require the statement to be that a remarkable cliff which in many points the cliff of the description bears a name that no event has made famous t h march vi the persons smith henry knight lady mary and william worm john smith jane smith martin unity a young lady a clergyman an a and a rich widow a poor widow a peer his wife two little girls a dated a master his wife a a maid servant other servants etc etc the scene mostly on the outskirts of lower vii a pair of blue eyes a fair in the west was a girl whose emotions lay very near the surface their nature more precisely and as modified by the creeping hours of time was known only to those who watched the circumstances of her history personally she was the combination of very interesting particulars whose however lay in the combination itself rather than in the individual elements combined as a matter of fact you did not see the form and substance of her features when conversing with her and this charming power of preventing a material study of her by an originated not in the effect of a well formed manner for her manner was childish and scarcely formed but in the attractive of the remarks themselves she had lived all her life in retirement the of idle men had not flattered her and at the age of nineteen or twenty she was no further on in social consciousness than an young lady of fifteen one point in her however you did notice that was her eyes in them was seen a of all of i a a pair of blue eyes her it was not necessary to look further there she lived these eyes were blue blue as autumn distance blue as the blue we see between the retreating of hills and slopes on a sunny september morning a misty and shady blue that had no beginning or surface and was looked into rather than at as to her presence it was not powerful it was weak some women can make their personality the atmosphere of a whole hall s was no more than that of a had as her own the which appears in the face of the without its rapture the warmth and spirit of the type of woman s feature most common to the beauties mortal and immortal of without their the characteristic expression of the female faces of that of the yearning human thoughts that lie too deep for tears was hers sometimes but seldom under ordinary conditions the point in s life at which a deeper current may be said to have permanently set in was one winter afternoon when she found herself standing in the character of hostess face to face with a man she had never seen before moreover looking at him with a like curiosity and interest that she had never yet bestowed on a mortal on this particular day her father the of a parish on the sea swept outskirts of lower and a was suffering from an attack of after finishing her household became restless and several times left the room ascended the staircase and knocked at her father s chamber door come in was always answered in a hearty out voice from the inside papa she said on one occasion to the fine handsome man of forty who puffing and a pair of blue eyes like a bursting bottle lay on the bed wrapped in a dressing gown and every now and then in spite of himself about one letter of some word or words that were almost oaths papa will you not come downstairs this evening she spoke distinctly he was rather deaf afraid eh h h very much afraid i shall not i can t bear even a handkerchief upon this toe of mine much less a or there tis again no i shan t get up till to morrow then i hope this london man won t come for i don t know what i should do papa well it would be awkward certainly i should hardly think he would come to day why because the wind blows so wind what ideas you have who ever heard of wind stopping a man from doing his business the idea of this toe of mine coming on so suddenly if he should come you must send him up to me i suppose and then give him some food and put him to bed in some way dear me what a nuisance all this is must he have dinner too heavy for a tired man at the end of a tedious journey tea then not substantial enough high tea then there is cold fowl rabbit pie some and things of that kind yes high tea must i pour out his tea papa of course you are the mistress of the house what sit there all the time with a stranger just as if i knew him and not anybody to introduce us nonsense child about introducing you know a pair of blue eyes better than that a practical professional man tired and hungry who has been travelling ever since daylight this morning will hardly be inclined to talk and air to night he wants food and shelter and you must see that he has it simply because i am suddenly laid up and cannot there is nothing so dreadful in that i hope you get all kinds of stuff into your head from reading so many of those novels oh no there is nothing dreadful in it when it becomes plainly a case of necessity like this but you see you are always there when people come	45
to dinner even if we know them and this is some strange london man of the world who will think it odd perhaps i very well let him is he mr s partner i should scarcely think so he may be how old is he i wonder that i cannot tell you will find the copy of my letter to mr and his answer upon the table in the study you may read them and then you ll know as much as i do about our visitor i i have read them well what s the use of asking questions then they contain all i know h h od plague you you young don t put anything there i can t bear the weight of a fly oh i am sorry papa i forgot i thought you might be cold she said hastily removing the rug she had thrown upon the feet of the sufferer and waiting till she saw that consciousness of her offence had passed from his face she withdrew from the room and retired again downstairs a pair of blue eyes n twas on the evening of a winter s day hen two or three additional hours had the same afternoon in evening some moving outlines might have been observed against the sky on the summit of a wild lone hill in that district they two men having at present the aspect of sitting in a dog cart and pushing along in the teeth of the wind scarcely a solitary house or man had been visible along the whole dreary distance of open country they were and now that night had begun to fall the faint twilight which still gave an idea of the landscape to their observation was by the quiet appearance of the planet gleaming in brilliancy in front of them and by shedding his rays in from his position over their shoulders the only lights apparent on earth were some spots of dull red glowing here and there upon the distant hills which as the driver of the vehicle remarked to the were fires for the consumption of and roots where the common was being broken up for agricultural purposes the wind prevailed with but little from its three a pair of blue eyes or four small clouds delicate and pale creeping along under the sky southward to the channel fourteen of the sixteen miles intervening between the railway and the end of their journey had been gone over when they began to pass along the brink of a valley some miles in extent wherein the wintry of a more luxuriant vegetation than had hitherto surrounded them proclaimed an increased richness of soil which showed signs of far more careful and management than had any slopes they had yet passed a little farther and an opening in the elms stretching up from this fertile valley revealed a mansion that s house lord s said the driver house lord s repeated the other mechanically he then turned himself sideways and keenly the almost invisible house with an interest which the indistinct picture itself seemed far from adequate to create yes that s lord s he said yet again after a while as he still looked in the same direction what be we going there no as i have told you i thought you m t have altered your mind sir as ye have stared that way at nothing so long oh no i am interested in the house that s all most people be as the saying is not in the sense that i am oh well his family is no better than my own a b how is that and by rights but once in ancient times one of em when he was at work changed clothes with king charles the second and saved the king s life king charles came up to him like a common man and said off hand man in the a pair of blue eyes frock my name is charles the second and that s the truth on t will you lend me your clothes i don t mind if i do said and they changed there and then now mind ye king charles the second said like a common man as he rode away if ever i come to the crown you come to court knock at the door and say out bold is king charles the second at home tell your name and they shall let you in and you shall be made a lord now that was very nice of master very nice indeed well as the story is the king came to the throne and some years after that away went knocked at the king s door and asked if king charles the second was in no he isn t they said then is charles the third said yes said a young standing by like a common man only he had a crown on my name is charles the third and i really fancy that must be a mistake i don t recollect anything in english history about charles the third said the other in a tone of mild remonstrance oil that s right history enough only t he was rather a queer tempered man if you remember very well go on and by hook or by was made a lord and everything went on well till some time after when he got into a most terrible row with king charles the fourth i can t stand charles the fourth upon my word that s too much why there was a george the fourth wasn t there certainly well be as common as however i ll say no more about it ah well tis the a pair of blue eyes world ever i lived in upon my life tis ah that such should be the dusk had into darkness while they thus conversed and the outline and surface of the mansion	45
gradually disappeared the windows which had before been as black on a lighter expanse of wall became illuminated and were to squares of light on the general dark body of the night landscape as it absorbed the outlines of the edifice into its gloomy not another word was spoken for some time and they climbed a hill then another hill piled on the summit of the first an additional mile of followed from which could be discerned two on the coast they were on the horizon with a calm lustre of another was reached a little lay like a nest at their feet towards which the driver pulled the horse at a sharp angle and descended a steep slope which under the trees like a rabbit s they sank lower and lower is inside here continued the man with the reins this part about here is west lord s is east and has a church to itself pa son is the pa son of both and backward and forward ah well tis a funny world a b there was once a where this house stands the man who built it in past time scraped all the for earth to put round the and laid out a little paradise of flowers and trees in the soil he had got together in this way whilst the fields he scraped have been good for nothing ever since how long has the present incumbent been here maybe about a year or a year and half t two years for they don t him yet and as a rule a parish begins to the pa son at the end of a pair of blue eyes two years among em familiar but he s a very nice party ay pa son knows me pretty well from often driving over and i know pa son they emerged from the bower swept round in a curve and the chimneys and of the became darkly visible not a light showed anywhere they alighted the man felt his way into the porch and rang the bell at the end of three or four minutes spent in patient waiting without hearing any sounds of a response the stranger advanced and repeated the call in a more decided manner he then fancied he heard footsteps in the hail and sundry movements of the door but nobody appeared perhaps they at home sighed the driver and i promised myself a bit of supper in pa son s kitchen lovely mate and and and drops o cordial that they do keep here all right be ye rich men or be ye poor men that ye must needs come to the world s end at this time o night exclaimed a voice at this instant and turning their heads they saw a individual round from the back door with a horn lantern dangling from his hand time o night a b and the clock only gone seven of em show a light and let us in william worm oh that you robert nobody else william worm and is the visiting man a come yes said the stranger is mr at home that a is sir and would ye mind coming round by the back way the front door is got stuck wi the wet as he will do sometimes and the can t open a pair of blue eyes en i know i am only a poor man that ill never pay the lord for my making sir but i can show the way in sir the new arrival followed his guide through a little door in a wall and then a and a kitchen along which he passed with eyes rigidly fixed in advance an horror of forbidding him to gaze around apartments that formed the back side of the household entering the hall he was about to be shown to his room when from the inner of the front entrance whither she had gone to learn the cause of the delay sailed forth the form of her start of amazement at the sight of the visitor coming forth from under the stairs proved that she had not been expecting this surprising flank movement which had been originated entirely by the ingenuity of william worm she appeared in the prettiest of all feminine that is to say in with plenty of loose curly hair tumbling down about her shoulders an expression of uneasiness pervaded her countenance and altogether she scarcely appeared woman enough for the situation the visitor removed his hat and the first words were spoken looking with a deal of interest not with surprise at the person towards whom she was to do the duties of hospitality i am mr smith said the stranger in a musical voice i am miss said her was over the great contrast between the reality she beheld before her and the dark sharp elderly man of business who had in her imagination a man with clothes smelling of city smoke skin sallow from want of sun and talk with was such a relief to her that smiled almost laughed in the new comer s face a pair of blue eyes smith who has hitherto been hidden from us by the darkness was at this time of his life but a youth in appearance and barely a man in years judging from his look london was the last place in the world that one would have imagined to be the scene of his such a face surely could not be nourished amid smoke and mud and fog and dust such an open countenance could never even have seen anything of the weariness the fever and the fret of the second his complexion was as fine as s own the pink of his cheeks as delicate his mouth as perfect as s bow in form and as cherry red in colour as hers bright curly hair bright sparkling blue gray eyes a boy s blush	45
and manner neither nor moustache unless a little light brown fur on his upper lip deserved the latter title this composed the london professional man the prospect of whose advent had so troubled hastened to say she was sorry to tell him that mr was not able to receive him that evening and gave the reason why mr smith replied in a voice boyish by nature and manly by art that he was very sorry to hear this news but that as far as his reception was concerned it did not matter in the least was shown up to his room in his absence stealthily glided into her father s he s come papa such a young man for a business man oh indeed his face is well pretty just like mine h m what next nothing that s all i know of him yet it is rather nice is it not well we shall see that when we know him better go down and give the poor fellow something to eat and drink for heaven s sake and when he has done ii a pair of blue eyes eating say i should like to have a few words with him if he doesn t mind coming up here the young lady glided downstairs again and whilst she young smith s entry the letters referring to his visit had better be given i mr to mr sir we are thinking of restoring the tower and aisle of the church in this parish and lord the patron of the living has mentioned your name as that of a whom it would be desirable to ask to the work i am exceedingly ignorant of the necessary preliminary steps probably however the first is that should you be as lord says you are disposed to assist us yourself or some member of your staff come and see the building and report thereupon for the satisfaction of and others the spot is a very remote one we have no railway within fourteen miles and the nearest place for putting up at called a town though merely a large village is castle two miles further on so that it would be most convenient for you to stay at the which i am glad to place at your disposal instead of pushing on to the hotel at castle and coming back again in the morning any day of the next week that you like to name for the visit will find us quite ready to receive you yours very truly mr to mr place cross dear sir agreeably to your request of the th instant i have arranged to survey and make drawings a pair of blue eyes of the aisle and tower of your parish church and of the which have been suffered to with a view to its restoration my assistant mr smith will leave london by the early train to morrow morning for the purpose many thanks for your proposal to accommodate him he will take advantage of your offer and will probably reach your house at some hour of the evening you may put every confidence in him and may rely upon his in the matter of church architecture trusting that the plans for the restoration which i shall prepare from the details of his survey will prove satisfactory to yourself and lord i am dear sir yours faithfully walter iii melodious birds sing that first in was a very agreeable one to young smith the table was spread as had suggested to her father with the materials for the meal called high tea a class of welcome to all when away from men and towns and particularly attractive to youthful the table was prettily with winter flowers and leaves amid which the eye was greeted by chicken pie c and two huge overhanging the sides of the dish with a cheerful aspect of abundance at the end towards the fireplace appeared the of old fashioned and behind this arose the slight form of attempting to add dignity to the movement of pouring out tea and to have a and concerned look in matters of honey and cream having made her own meal before he arrived she found to her embarrassment that there was nothing left for her to do but talk when not assisting him she asked him if he would excuse her finishing a letter she had been writing at a side table and after sitting down to it with a sense of being rude however a pair of blue eyes seeing that he noticed nothing personally wrong in her and that he too was embarrassed when she attentively watched his cup to it became better at ease and when he accidentally kicked the leg of the table and then nearly upset his tea cup just as did she felt herself mistress of the situation and could talk very well in a few minutes and a common term of years all recollection that they were strangers just met began to wax eloquent on extremely slight experiences connected with his professional pursuits and she having no experiences to fall back upon with much animation stories that had been related to her by her father which would have astonished him had he heard with what fidelity of action and tone they were rendered upon the whole a very interesting picture of sweet and twenty was on view that evening in mr s house ultimately had to go upstairs and talk loud to the receiving from him between his a great many apologies for calling him so to a stranger s bedroom but continued mr felt that i wanted to say a few words to you before the morning on the business of your visit one s patience gets exhausted by staying a prisoner in bed all day through a sudden of one s enemy new to	45
me though for i have known very little of as yet however he s gone to my other toe in a very mild manner and i expect he ll off altogether by the morning i hope you have been well attended to downstairs perfectly and though it is unfortunate and i am sorry to see you laid up i beg you will not take the slightest notice of my being in the house the while will not but i shall be down to morrow my daughter is an excellent doctor a dose or two of her mild will fetch me round quicker than all the a pair of blue eyes stuff in the world well now about the church business take a seat do we can t afford to stand upon ceremony in these parts as you see and for this reason that a civilized human being seldom stays long with us and so we cannot waste time in approaching him or he will be gone before we have had the pleasure of close acquaintance this tower of ours is as you will notice entirely gone beyond the possibility of restoration but the church itself is well enough you should see some of the churches in this county floors rotten ivy the walls dear me oh that s nothing the congregation of a neighbour of mine whenever a storm of rain comes on during service open their and hold them up till the dripping ceases from the roof now if you will kindly bring me those papers and letters you see lying on the table i will show you how far we have got crossed the room to fetch them and the seemed to notice more particularly the slim figure of his visitor suppose you are quite competent he said quite said the young man colouring slightly you are very young i fancy i should say you are not more than nineteen i am nearly twenty one exactly half my age i am forty two by the way said mr after some conversation you said your whole name was and that your grandfather came originally from since i have been speaking it has occurred to me that i know something of you you belong to a well known ancient county family not ordinary in the least don t think we have any of their blood in our veins nonsense you must hand me the landed a pair of blue eyes gentry now let me see there smith he lies in st mary s church doesn t he well out of that family sprang the and came general sir smith of yes i have seen his monument there shouted but there is no connection between his family and mine there cannot be there is none possibly to your knowledge but look at this my dear sir said the striking his fist upon the for emphasis here are you smith living in london but springing from here in this book is a tree of the of you may be only a family of professional men now i am not inquisitive i don t ask questions of that kind it is not in me to do so but it is as plain as the nose in your face that there s your origin and mr smith i congratulate you upon your blood blue blood sir and upon my life a very desirable colour as the world goes i wish you could congratulate me upon some more quality said the younger man sadly no less than modestly nonsense that will come with time you are young all your life is before you now look see how far back in the mists of antiquity my own family of have a root here you see he continued turning to the page is the one among my ancestors who lost a because he would cut his joke ah it s the sort of us but the story is too long to tell now ay i m a poor man a poor gentleman in fact those i would be friends with won t be friends with me those who are willing to be friends with me i am above being friends with beyond dining with a neighbouring incumbent or two and an occasional chat sometimes b a pair of blue eyes dinner with lord a connection of mine i am in absolute solitude absolute you have your studies your books and daughter oh yes yes and i don t complain of poverty well mr smith don t let me detain you any longer in a sick room ha that reminds me of a story i once heard in my younger days here the began a series of small private laughs and looked inquiry oh no no it is too bad too bad to tell continued mr in of grim mirth well go downstairs my daughter must do the best she can with you this evening ask her to sing to you she plays and sings very nicely good night i feel as if i had known you for five or six years i ll ring for somebody to show you down never mind said i can find the way and he went downstairs thinking of the delightful freedom of manner in the in comparison with the reserve of london i forgot to tell you that my father was rather deaf said anxiously when entered the little drawing room never mind i know all about it and we are great friends the man of business replied and miss will you kindly sing to me to miss this request seemed what in fact it was point blank though she guessed that her father had some hand in it knowing rather to her cost of his way of her for the benefit of dull at the same time as mr smith s manner was too frank	45
to provoke criticism and his age too little to inspire fear she was ready not to say pleased to selecting from the some old family that in years i a pair of blue eyes by had been played and sung by her mother sat down to the and began twas on the evening of a winter s day in a pretty voice do you like that old thing mr smith she said at the end yes i do much said words he would have uttered and sincerely to anything on earth from glee to that she might have chosen you shall have a little one by de that was given me by a young french lady who was staying at house je l ai je l ai ce beau oil les c and then i shall want to give you my own favourite for the very last s when the lamp is shattered as set to music by my poor mother i so much like singing to anybody who really cares to hear me every woman who makes a permanent impression on a man is usually recalled to his mind s eye as she appeared in one particular scene which seems ordained to be her special form of throughout the pages of his memory as the patron saint has her attitude and in illumination so the sweetheart may be said to have hers upon the table of her true love s fancy without which she is rarely introduced there except by effort and this though she may on further acquaintance have been observed in many other phases which one would imagine to be far more appropriate to love s young dream miss s image chose the form in which she was beheld during these minutes of singing for her permanent attitude of to s eyes during his sleeping and waking hours in after days the is seen of a young woman in a pale gray silk dress with of swan s down and opening up from a point in front like a waistcoat without a shirt the cool colour a pair of blue eyes admirably with the warm bloom of her neck and face the candle on the piano comes immediately in a line with her head and half invisible itself forms the accidentally hair into a haze of light surrounding her crown like an her hands are in their place on the keys her lips parted and forth in a tender the closing words of the sad o love who the of all things here why choose you the for your cradle your home and your her head is forward a little and her eyes directed keenly upward to the top of the page of music her then comes a rapid look into s face and a still more rapid look back again to her business her face having dropped its sadness and acquired a certain expression of mischievous the while which lingered there for some time but was never developed into a positive smile of suddenly shifted his position from her right hand to her left where there was just room enough for a small to stand between the piano and the corner of the room into this nook he squeezed himself and gazed wistfully up into s face so long and so earnestly gazed he that her cheek deepened to a more and more crimson tint as each line was added to her song concluding and pausing motionless after the last word for a minute or two she ventured to look at him again his features wore an expression of unutterable you don t hear many songs do you mr smith to take so much notice of these of mine perhaps it was the means and vehicle of the song that i was noticing i mean yourself he answered gently now mr smith so a pair of blue eyes it is perfectly true i don t hear much singing you mistake what i am i fancy because i come as a stranger to a secluded spot you think i must needs come from a life of bustle and know the latest movements of the day but i don t my life is as quiet as yours and more solitary solitary as death the death which comes from a of life but seriously i can quite see that you are not the least what i thought you would be before i saw you you are not critical or experienced or much to mind that s why i don t mind singing airs to you that i only half know finding that by this confession she had vexed him in a way she did not intend she added i mean mr smith that you are better not worse for being only young and not very experienced you don t think my life here so very tame and dull i know i do not indeed he said with it must be delightfully poetical and sparkling and fresh and there you go mr smith well men of another kind when i get them to be honest enough to own the truth think just the reverse that my life must be a dreadful bore in its normal state though pleasant for the exceptional few days they pass here could live here always he said and with such a tone and look of unconscious revelation that was startled to find that her had fired a small in the shape of s heart she said quickly but you can t live here always oh no and he drew himself in with the of a s emotions were sudden as his in but the least of woman s lesser love of caused an disposition on his part so exactly similar to her own to appear as in him as modesty made her own seem in her iv where the turf in many a mould ring heap jt or reasons	45
of his own smith was stirring a short time after dawn the next morning from the window of his room he could see first two bold sloping down together like the letter v towards the bottom like liquid in a appeared the sea gray and small on the brow of one hill of rather greater than its neighbour stood the church which was to be the scene of his operations the lonely edifice was black and bare cutting up into the sky from the very tip of the hill it had a square tower neither nor and seemed a termination of one substance with the ridge rather than a structure raised round the church ran a low wall over the wall in general level was the not as a usually is a fragment of landscape with its due variety of but a mere against the sky with the outlines of graves and a very few memorial stones not a tree could exist up there nothing but the monotonous gray green grass five minutes after this casual survey was made his a pair of blue eyes bedroom was empty and its had vanished quietly from the house at the end of two hours he was again in the room looking warm and glowing he now pursued the artistic details of dressing which on his first rising had been entirely omitted and a very blooming boy he looked after that mysterious morning his mouth was a triumph of its class it was the cut up mouth of william as represented in the well or little known bust by a mouth which is in itself a young man s fortune if properly exercised his round chin where its upper part turned inward still continued its perfect and full curve seeming to press in to a point the bottom of his lip at their place of once he murmured the name of ah there she was on the lawn in a plain dress without hat or bonnet running with a boy s to a girl s lightness after a tame rabbit she was endeavouring to capture her of words with desperate rushes so much out of keeping with them that the of such expressions was but too evident to her pet who darted and in carefully timed the scene down there was altogether different from that of the hills a thicket of shrubs and trees enclosed the favoured spot from the wilderness without even at this time of the year the grass was luxuriant there no wind blew inside the protecting belt of wasting its force upon the higher and stronger trees forming the outer margin of the grove then he heard a heavy person shuffling about in slippers and calling mr smith smith proceeded to the study and found mr the young man expressed his gladness to see his host downstairs oh yes i knew i should soon be right again i have not made the acquaintance of for more than a pair of blue eyes two years and it generally goes off the second night well where have you been this morning i saw you come in just now i think yes i have been for a walk start early yes very early i think yes it was rather early which way did you go to the sea i suppose everybody goes no i followed up the river as far as the park wall you are different from your kind well i suppose such a wild place is a novelty and so tempted you out of bed not altogether a novelty i like it the youth seemed averse to explanation you must you must to go cock watching the morning after a journey of fourteen or sixteen hours but there s no for tastes and i am glad to see that yours are no after breakfast but not before i shall be good for a ten miles walk master smith certainly there seemed nothing exaggerated in that assertion mr by daylight showed himself to be a man who in common with the other two people under his roof had really strong claims to be considered handsome handsome that is in the sense in which the moon is bright the and valleys which on a close inspection are seen to its surface being left out of the argument his face was of a tint that never deepened upon his cheeks nor lightened upon his forehead but remained uniform throughout the usual salmon colour of a man who well not to say too well and does not think hard every pore being in visible working order his was that of a highly improved class of farmer dressed up in the wrong clothes that of a firm standing a pair of blue eyes man whose fall would have been backwards in direction if he had ever lost his balance the s background was at present what a s background should be his study here the ends all along the were ranged bottles of horse pig and cow and against the wall was a high table made up of the fragments of an old oak gate upon this stood stuffed specimens of divers and and over them of wheat and ears with the date of the year that produced them some cases and shelves more or less laden with books the prominent titles of which were dr brown s notes on the dr smith s notes on the and dr robinson s notes on the and just saved the character of the place in spite of a girl s standing above them a marine in the window and s hat hanging on its corner c business business said mr after breakfast he began to find it necessary to act the part of a fly wheel towards the somewhat irregular forces of his visitor they prepared to go to the church the on second thoughts mounting his coal black mare to avoid his	45
foot too much at starting said he should want a man to assist him worm the shouted a minute or two after a voice was heard round the corner of the building ah i used to be strong enough but tis altered now i well there i m as independent as one here and there even if they do write squire after their names what s the matter said the as william worm appeared when the remarks were repeated to him worm says some very true things sometimes mr said turning to now as regards o a pair of blue eyes that word why mr smith that word is gone to the dogs used on the letters of every who has a black coat anything else worm ay the folk have begun again dear me i m sorry to hear that yes worm said to i ve got such a noise in my head that there s no living night nor day tis just for all the world like people fish all day long in my poor head till i don t know r i m here or yonder there god a mighty will find it out sooner or later i hope and relieve me now my said mr is a dead silence but william worm s is that of people fish in his head very remarkable isn t it i can hear the pan a as as life said worm yes it is remarkable said mr smith very peculiar very peculiar echoed the and they all then followed the path up the hill bounded on each side by a little stone wall from which gleamed fragments of and blood red apparently of value in their setting of brown walked with the dignity of a man close to the horse s head worm stumbled along a stone s throw in the rear and was nowhere in particular yet everywhere sometimes in front sometimes behind sometimes at the sides hovering about the procession like a butterfly not definitely engaged in travelling yet somehow in at points with the general progress the explained things as he went on the fact is mr smith i didn t want this bother of church restoration at all but it was necessary to do something in self defence on account of those d a pair of blue eyes i use the word in its meaning of course not as an how very odd said with the concern demanded of serious friendliness odd that s nothing to how it is in the parish of both the are there i won t say what they are and the clerk and the as well how veiy strange said strange my dear sir that s nothing to how it is in the parish of however as to our own parish i hope we shall make some progress soon you must trust to circumstances there are no circumstances to trust to we may as well trust in providence if we trust at all but here we are a wild place isn t it but i like it on such days as these the churchyard was entered on this side by a stone over which having you remained still on the wild hill the within not being so divided from the without as to the sense of open freedom a delightful place to be buried in that delight can accompany a man to his tomb under any circumstances there was nothing horrible in this churchyard in the shape of tight with sticks which shout imprisonment in the ears rather than whisper rest or trim garden flowers which only raise images of people in new black and white handkerchiefs coming to tend them or wheel marks which remind us of and mourning or bushes which make a parade of sorrow or coffin boards and bones lying behind trees showing that we are only of our graves no nothing but long wild grass the forms of the it covered themselves shaped with no eye to effect the impressive presence of the old mountain that all this was a part of being a pair of blue eyes nowhere excluded by art outside were similar slopes and similar grass and then the serene sea visible to a width of half the horizon and meeting the eye with the effect of a vast like the interior of a blue vessel detached rocks stood upright afar a collar of foam their and repeating in its whiteness the of a countless multitude of that hovered about now worm said mr sharply and worm started into an attitude of attention at once to receive orders and himself were then left in possession and the work went on till early in the afternoon when dinner was announced by unity of the kitchen running up the hill without a bonnet did not make her appearance inside the building till late in the afternoon and came then by special invitation from during dinner she looked so intensely living and full of movement as she came into the old silent place that young smith s world began to be lit by the purple light in all its worm was got rid of by sending him to measure the height of the tower what could she do but come close so close that a minute arc of her skirt touched his foot and asked him how he was getting on with his sketches and set herself to learn the principles of practical as applied to irregular buildings then she must ascend the pulpit to re imagine for the time how it would seem to be a preacher presently she over the front of the pulpit don t you tell papa will you mr smith if i tell you something she said with a sudden impulse to make a confidence oh no that i won t said he staring up a pair of blue eyes well i write papa s sermons for	45
him very often and he them better than he does his own and then afterwards he talks to people and to me about what he said in his sermon to day and forgets that i wrote it for him isn t it absurd how clever you must be said i couldn t write a sermon for the world oh it s easy enough she said descending from the pulpit and coming close to him to explain more vividly you do it like this did you ever play a game of called when is it where is it what bit no never ah that s a pity because writing a sermon is very much like playing that game you take the text you think why is it what is it and so on you put that down under generally then you proceed to the first secondly and papa won t have they are all my eye then you have a final several pages of this being put in great black writing opposite leave this out if the farmers are falling asleep then comes your in conclusion then a few words and i have done well all this time you have put on the back of each page keep your voice down i mean she added herself that s how i do in papa s sermon book because otherwise he gets louder and louder till at last he shouts like a up a field oh papa is so funny in some things then after this childish burst of confidence she was frightened as if warned by womanly instinct which for the moment her had that she had been too forward to a comparative stranger saw her father then and went away into the wind being caught by a gust as she ascended the churchyard slope in which gust she had the motions without the motives of a the grace without the a fair of eyes self consciousness of a she conversed for a minute or two with her father and proceeded homeward mr coming on to the church to the wind had his warm complexion as it the glow of a brand he was in a mood of and watched down the hill with a smile you little you look wild enough now he said and turned to but she s not a wild child at all mr smith as steady as you and that you are steady i see from your diligence here i think miss very clever observed yes she is certainly she is said papa turning his voice as much as possible to the tone of disinterested criticism i now smith i ll tell you something but she mustn t know it for the world not for the world mind for she upon keeping it a dead secret why she writes my sermons for me often and a very good job she makes of them she can do anything she can do that the little rascal has the very trick of the trade but mind you smith not a word about it to her not a single word not a word said smith look there said mr what do you think of my he pointed with his at the roof did you do that sir yes i worked in shirt sleeves all the time that was going on i pulled down the old fixed the new ones put on the the roof all with my own hands worm being my assistant we worked like slaves didn t we worm ay sure we did harder than some here and there said william worm up from somewhere like slaves a b and a pair of blue eyes weren t ye foaming mad sir when the nails wouldn t go straight mighty i there t so bad to and keep it in as to and let it out is it sir why because you sir when ye were a putting on the roof only used to in your mind which is i suppose no harm at all i don t think you know what goes on in my mind worm oh t i sir maybe i m but a poor thing sir and can t read much but i can spell as well as some here and there t ye mind sir that night when ye asked me to hold the candle to ye in yer when you were making a new chair for the yes what of that i stood with the candle and you said you liked company if twas only a dog or cat me and the chair wouldn t do ah i remember no the chair wouldn t do a was very well to look at but lord worm how often have i corrected you for speaking a was very well to look at but you couldn t sit in the chair twas all a twist wi the chair like the letter z directly you sat down upon the chair get up worm says you when you seed the chair go all a sway wi me up you took the chair and flung en like fire and to t other end of your shop all in a passion damn the chair says i just what i was thinking says you sir i could see it in your face sir says i and i hope you and god will e me for saying what you wouldn t to save your life you couldn t help laughing sir at a poor reading your thoughts so plain ay i m as wise as one here and there a pair of blue eyes i thought you had better have a practical man to go over the church and tower with you mr said to the following morning so i got lord s permission to send for a man when you came i told him to be there at ten o	45
clock he s a very intelligent man and he will tell you all you want to know about the state of the walls his name is john smith did not like to be seen again at the church with i will watch here for your appearance at the top of the tower she said i shall see your figure against the sky and when i am up there i ll wave my handkerchief to you miss said c in twelve minutes from this present moment he added looking at his watch i ll be at the summit and look out for you she went round to the corner of the whence she could watch him down the slope leading to the foot of the hill on which the church stood there she saw waiting for him a white spot a in his working clothes met this man and stopped to her surprise instead of their moving on to the churchyard they both leisurely sat down upon a stone close by their meeting place and remained as if in deep conversation looked at the time nine of the twelve minutes had passed and showed no signs of moving more minutes passed she grew cold with waiting and shivered it was not till the end of a quarter of an hour that they began to slowly up the hill at a s pace rude and she said to herself colouring with anybody would think he was in love with that horrid instead of with the sentence remained though not a pair of blue eyes she returned to the porch is the man you sent for a lazy sit still do nothing kind of man she inquired of her father no he said surprised c quite the reverse he is lord s master john smith oh said indifferently and returned towards her bleak station and waited and shivered again it was a trifle after all a childish thing looking out from a tower and waving a handkerchief but her new friend had promised and why should he her so the effect of a blow is as to the texture of the object struck as to its own and she had such a capacity for being wounded that little struck her hard it was not till the end of half an hour that two figures were seen above the of the dreary old pile motionless as on a ruined even then was not true enough to perform what he was so courteous to promise and he vanished without making a sign he returned at midday looked vexed when unconscious that his eyes were upon her when conscious severe however her attitude of coldness had long the coldness itself and she could no longer utter feigned words of indifference ah you weren t kind to keep me waiting in the cold and break your promise she said at last reproachfully in tones too low for her father s powers of hearing forgive forgive me said with dismay i had forgotten quite forgotten something prevented my remembering any further explanation said miss capricious he was silent for a few minutes and looked none he said with the accent of one who concealed a sin c bosom d high in trees it was breakfast time as seen from the dining room which took a warm tone of light from the fire the weather and scene outside seemed to have themselves in shades of gray the long armed trees and shrubs of and pine varieties were black those of the broad sort together with the were green the eternal hills and tower behind them were brown the sky dropping behind all gray of the purest melancholy yet in spite of this sombre artistic effect the morning was not one which tended to lower the spirits it was even cheering for it did not rain nor was rain likely to fall for many days to come had turned from the table towards the fire and was idly a hand screen before her face when she heard the click of a little gate outside ah here s the she said as a shuffling active man came through an opening in the and across the lawn she vanished and met him in the porch afterwards coming in with her hands behind her back a pair op blue eyes how many are there three for papa one for mr smith none for miss and papa look here one of yours is from whom do you think lord and it has something hard in it a lump of something i ve been feeling it through the envelope and can t think what it is what does write for i wonder mr had said simultaneously with her words he handed his letter and took his own putting on his countenance a higher class of look than was customary as became a poor gentleman who was going to read a letter from a peer read his with a countenance quite the reverse of the s place thursday evening dear smith old h is in a towering rage with you for being so long about the church sketches you are more trouble than you are worth he says i am to write and say you are to stay no longer on any consideration that he would have done it all in three hours very easily i told him that you were not like an experienced hand which he seemed to forget but it did not make much difference however between you and me privately if i were you i would not alarm myself for a day or so if i were not inclined to return i would make out the week and finish my he will blow up just as much if you appear here on saturday as if you keep away till monday morning yours very truly dear me very awkward said rather	45
en and confused with the kind of confusion that an when he has been enlarged by accident to the dimensions of a superior and is somewhat rudely down to his original size a pair of blue eyes what is awkward said miss smith by this time recovered his and with it the professional dignity of an experienced important business demands my immediate presence in london i regret to say he replied what must you go at once said mr looking over the edge of his letter important business a young fellow like you to have important business the truth is said blushing and rather ashamed of having pretended even so slightly to a consequence which did not belong to him the truth is mr has sent to say i am to come home and i must obey him i see i see it is to do so you mean now i can see more than you think you are to be his partner i you for that directly i read his letter to me the other day and the way he spoke of you he thinks a great deal of you mr smith or he wouldn t be so anxious for your return unpleasant to such remarks as these could not sound to have the of with one of the largest in london thrust upon him was cheering however he felt the idea to be he saw that whatever mr might think mr certainly thought much of him to entertain such an idea on such slender ground as to be absolutely no ground at all and then his speaking face exhibited a cloud of sadness which a reflection on the of any such could hardly have to cause was struck with that look of his even mr noticed it well he said cheerfully never mind that now you must come again on your own account not on a pair of blue eyes business come to see me as a visitor you know say in your holidays all you town men have holidays like when are they in august i believe very well come in august and then you need not hurry away so i am glad to get somebody decent to talk to or at in this but by the bye i have something to say you won t go to day no i need not said hesitatingly i am not obliged to get back before monday morning very well then that brings me to what i am going to propose this is a letter from lord i think you heard me speak of him as the resident in this district and patron of this living i know of him he is in london now it seems that he has run up on business for a day or two and taken lady with him he has written to ask me to go to his house and search for a paper among his private which he forgot to take with him what did he send in the letter inquired the key of a private desk in which the papers are he doesn t like to trust such a matter to anybody else i have done such things for him before and what i propose is that we make an afternoon of it all three of us go for a drive to bay come home by way of house and whilst i am looking over the documents you can about the rooms where you like i have the run of the house at any time you know the building though nothing but a mass of outside has a splendid hall staircase and gallery within and there are a few good pictures yes there are said have you seen the place then a pair of blue eyes saw it as i came by he said hastily oh yes but i was alluding to the interior and the church st is much older than our st here i do duty in that and this alternately you know the fact is i ought to have some help riding across that park for two miles on a wet morning is not at all the thing if my constitution were not well as thank god it is here mr looked down his front as if his constitution were visible there i should be and barking all the year round and when the family goes away there are only about three servants to preach to when i get there well that shall be the arrangement then you will like to go assented and the little breakfast party separated rose to go and take a few final at the church the following him to the door with a mysterious expression of inquiry on his face you ll put up with our not having family prayer this morning i hope he whispered yes quite so said to tell you the truth he continued in the same we don t make a regular thing of it but when we have strangers visiting us i am strongly of opinion that it is the proper thing to do and i always do it i am very strict on that point but you smith there is something in your face which makes me feel quite at home no nonsense about you in short ah it reminds me of a splendid story i used to hear when i was a young fellow such a story but here the shook his head self and grimly laughed was it a good story said young smith smiling too c oh yes but tis too bad too bad couldn t tell it to you for the world a pair of blue eyes went across the lawn hearing the privately at the recollection as he withdrew they started at three o clock the gray morning had resolved itself into an afternoon bright with a	45
and lady and as it proved had been left at home during their parents temporary absence in the of nurse and lord was fond of the children rather indifferent towards his wife since she had begun to show an inclination not to please him by giving him a boy all children instinctively ran after looking upon her more as an unusually nice large specimen of their own tribe than as a grown up elder it had now become an established rule that whenever she met them indoors or out of doors or sundays they were to be pressed against her face and bosom for the space of a quarter of a minute and otherwise made much of on the delightful system of a pair of blue eyes epithet and caress to which girls will occasionally abandon themselves a look of by the towards the door by which they had entered directed attention to a maid servant appearing from the same quarter to put an end to this sweet freedom of the poor mary and wish you lived here miss one like a melancholy so do i the other like a rather more melancholy mamma can t play with us so nicely as you do i don t think she ever learnt playing when she was little when shall we come to see you as soon as you like and sleep at your house all night that s what i mean by coming to see you i don t care to see people with hats and on and all standing up and walking about as soon as we can get mamma s permission you shall come and stay as long as ever you like the prisoners were then led off again turning her attention to her guest whom she had left standing at the remote end of the gallery on looking around for him he was nowhere to be seen stepped down to the library thinking he might have rejoined her father there but mr now cheerfully illuminated by a pair of candles was still alone of letters and papers and tying them up again as did not stand on a sufficiently intimate footing with the object k her interest to justify her as a proper young lady to commence the active search for him that youthful prompted and as nevertheless for a reason connected with those cut lips of his she did not like him to be absent a pair of blue eyes from her side she wandered back to the oak staircase and casting her eyes about in hope of his boyish figure though daylight still prevailed in the rooms the were in a depth of shadow chill sad and silent and it was only by looking along them towards light spaces beyond that anything or anybody could be discerned therein one of these light spots she found to be caused by a side door with glass in the upper part opened it and found herself a secondary or inner lawn separated from the principal lawn front by a and now she saw a sight at right angles to the face of the wing she had emerged from and within a few feet of the door out another wing of the mansion lower and with less character immediately opposite to her in the wall of this wing was a large broad window having its blind drawn down and illuminated by a light in the room it on the blind was a shadow from somebody close inside it a person in the was that of it was just possible to see that his arms were uplifted and that his hands held an article of some kind then another shadow appeared also in and came close to him this was the shadow of a woman she turned her back towards he lifted and held out what now proved to be a shawl or mantle placed it carefully so carefully round the lady disappeared reappeared in her front fastened the mantle did he then kiss her surely not yet the motion might have been a kiss then both shadows swelled to colossal dimensions grew distorted vanished two minutes elapsed ah miss i am so glad to find a pair of blue eyes you i was looking for you said a voice at her elbow s voice she stepped into the passage do you know any of the members of this establishment said she not a single one how should i he replied vi fare thee awhile i simultaneously with the conclusion of s remark the sound of the closing of an external door in their immediate neighbourhood reached s ears it came from the further side of the wing containing the illuminated room she then discerned by the aid of the dusky departing light a figure whose sex was walking down the path by the towards the river the figure grew fainter and vanished under the trees mr s voice was heard calling out their names from a distant corridor in the body of the building they their steps and found him with his coat up and his hat on awaiting their advent in a mood of self satisfaction at having brought his search to a successful close the carriage was brought round and without further delay the drove away from the mansion under the echoing arch and along by the as the stars began to their trembling lights behind the of branches and twigs no words were spoken either by youth or maiden a pair of blue eyes her mind was completely occupied in its recent acquisition the young man who had inspired her with such novelty of feeling who had come directly from london on business to her father having been brought by chance to house had by some means or other acquired the privilege of approaching some lady he had found therein and of her by	45
of a marked kind all in the space of half an hour what room were they standing in thought as nearly as she could guess it was lord s business room or office what people were in the house none but the and servants as far as she knew and of these he had professed a total ignorance had the person she had seen leaving the house anything to do with the performance it was impossible to say without appealing to the himself and that she would never do the more reflected the more certain did it appear that the meeting was a chance and not an appointment on the ultimate inquiry as to the individuality of the woman at once assumed that she could not be an inferior smith was not the man to care about passages at love with women beneath him though gentle ambition was visible in his eyes he evidently hoped for much hoped but was puzzled and being puzzled was by a natural of girlish sensations vexed with him no more pleasure came in that from liking to attract him she was getting on to love him boyish as he was and innocent as he had seemed they reached the bridge which formed a link between the eastern and western of the parish situated in a valley that was bounded outwardly by the sea it formed a point of depression from which the road ascended with great to west and a pair of blue eyes the there was no absolute necessity for either of them to alight but as it was the s custom after a long journey to humour the horse in making this winding ascent moved by an instinct suddenly jumped out when pleasant had just begun to adopt the deliberate stalk he associated with this portion of the road the young man seemed glad of any excuse for breaking the silence c why miss what a thing to do he exclaimed immediately following her example by jumping down on the other side oh no not at all replied she coldly the shadow phenomenon at house still within her walked along by himself for two or three minutes wrapped in the rigid reserve dictated by her tone then apparently thinking that it was only for girls to he came serenely round to her side and offered his arm with gallantry to assist her in ascending the remaining three quarters of the steep here was a temptation it was the first time in her life that had been treated as a grown up woman in this way offered an arm in a manner that she had a right to refuse it till to night she had never received masculine attentions beyond those which might be contained in such homely remarks as give me your hand take hold of my arm from her father her heart made an epoch of the incident she considered her array of feelings for and against they were for taking this offered arm the single one of determined her to punish by refusing no thank you mr smith i can get along better by myself it was s first fragile attempt at a lover fearing more the issue of such an undertaking than what a gentle young man might think of her a pair of blue eyes she immediately afterwards determined to please herself by her statement on second thoughts i will take it she said they slowly went their way up the hill a few yards behind the carriage how silent you are miss observed perhaps i think you silent too she returned i may have reason to be scarcely it is sadness that makes people silent and you can have none you don t know i have a trouble though some might think it less a trouble than a what is it she asked hesitated i might tell he said at the same time perhaps it is as well she let go his arm and pushed it from her tossing her head she had just learnt that a good deal of dignity is lost by asking a question to which an answer is refused even ever so politely for though politeness does good service in cases of and compromise it but little helps a direct refusal i don t wish to know anything of it i don t wish it she went on the carriage is waiting for us at the top of the hill we must get in and flitted to the front papa here is your she exclaimed to the dusky figure of the old gentleman as she sprang up and sank by his side without to accept aid from ah yes uttered the in alert tones from a most profound sleep and suddenly preparing to alight why what are you doing papa we are not home yet oh no no of course not we are not at home yet mr said very hastily endeavouring to back to his original position with the air of a d a pair of blue eyes man who had not moved at all the fact is i was so lost in deep meditation that i forgot whereabouts we were and in a minute the was again that evening being the last seemed to throw an exceptional shade of sadness over smith and the repeated of the that he was to come and them in the summer apparently tended less to raise his spirits than to some he left them in the gray light of dawn whilst the colours of earth were sombre and the sun was yet hidden in the east had all night in her little bed lest none of the household should be awake soon enough to start him and also lest she might miss seeing again the bright eyes and curly hair to which their owner s possession of a hidden mystery added a deeper tinge of romance to some extent so soon does	45
womanly interest take a turn she felt herself responsible for his safe conduct they before daylight mr being more and more taken with his guest s appearance having determined to rise early and bid him a friendly farewell it was however rather to the s astonishment that he saw walk in to the candle in hand whilst william worm performed his toilet during which performance the inmates of the were always in the habit of waiting with patience wandered to the summer house followed her thither the covered valley was visible from this position a mist now lying all along its length hiding the stream which through it though the themselves were in clear air they stood close together leaning over the rustic which bounded the on the outward side and formed the crest of a steep slope beneath pointed out some features of the i a pair op distant rising opposite but the artistic eye was either from nature or circumstance very faint in now and he only half attended to her description as if he spared time from some other thought going on within him well good bye he said suddenly c i must never see you again i suppose miss in spite of invitations his genuine played directly upon the delicate of her nature she could afford to forgive him for a concealment or two moreover the shyness which would not allow him to look her in the face lent bravery to her own eyes and tongue oh do come again mr smith she said prettily i should delight in it but it will be better if i do not why certain circumstances in connection with me make it not on my account on yours goodness as if anything in connection with you could hurt me she said with serene but seeing that this plan of treatment was she a smaller note ah i know why you will not come you don t want to you ll go home to london and to all the stirring people there and will never want to see us any more you know i have no such reason and go on writing letters to the lady you are engaged to just as before what does that mean i am not engaged you wrote a letter to a miss somebody i saw it in the letter rack an elderly woman who keeps a s shop and it was to tell her to keep my newspapers till i get back you needn t have explained it was not my business at all miss was rather relieved to hear that a t of blue statement nevertheless and you won t come again to see my father she insisted i should like to and to see you again but c will you reveal to me that matter you hide she interrupted no not now she could not but go on as it might seem tell me this she with a trembling mouth c does any meeting of yours with a lady at clash with any interest you may take in me he started a little it does not he said emphatically and looked into the pupils of her eyes with the confidence that only honesty can give and even that to youth alone the explanation had not come but a gloom left her she could not but believe that utterance whatever might lie in the shadow on the blind it was not an of passion she turned towards the house entering it through the went round to the front door mr was standing on the step in his slippers worm was a in the harness and murmuring about his poor head and everything was ready for s departure you named august for your visit august it shall be that is if you care for the society of such a tory said mr mr smith only responded hesitatingly that he should like to come again you said you would and you must insisted coming to the door and speaking under her father s arm whatever reason the youth may have had for not wishing to enter the house as a guest it no longer he promised and bade them adieu a pair of blue eyes and got into the pony carriage which crept up the slope and bore him out of their sight i never was so much taken with anybody in my life as i am with that young fellow never i cannot understand it can t understand it anyhow said mr quite to himself and went indoors vn no more of me you knew my love i smith agreeably to his promise he had a genuine artistic reason for coming though no such reason seemed to be required six and thirty old seat ends of exquisite century were rapidly in an aisle of the church and it became to make drawings of their worm eaten ere they were battered past recognition in the turmoil of the so called restoration he entered the house at sunset and the world was pleasant again to the two fair haired ones a momentary pang of disappointment had nevertheless passed through when she casually discovered that he had not come that minute post haste from london but had reached the neighbourhood the previous evening surprise would have accompanied the feeling had she not remembered that several were haunting the coast at this season and that might have chosen to do likewise they did little besides chat that evening mr beginning to question his visitor closely yet and in good part on his hopes and a pair of blue eyes from the profession he had embraced gave vague answers the next day it rained in the evening when twenty four hours of had completely her admirer s a game of was proposed between them the game had its value in helping on the of their future soon perceived that her opponent was but a	45
seriously set to work on this last occasion mr had left the room you have been trifling with me till now he exclaimed his face flushing you did not play your best in the first two games s guilt showed in her face became the picture of vexation and sadness which for a moment caused her the next instant to regret the mistake she had made mr smith forgive me she said sweetly i see now though i did not at first that what i have done seems like contempt for your skill but indeed i a pair of eyes s did not mean it in that sense i could not upon my conscience win a victory in those first and second games over one who fought at such a disadvantage and so he drew a long breath and murmured bitterly ah you are than i you can do everything i can do nothing o miss he burst out wildly his heart swelling in his throat i must tell you how i love you all these months of my absence i have worshipped you he from his seat like the impulsive lad that he was slid round to her side and almost before she suspected it his arm was round her waist and the two sets of curls so entirely new was full blown love to that she trembled as much from the novelty of the emotion as from the emotion itself then she suddenly withdrew herself and stood upright vexed that she had submitted even to his momentary pressure she resolved to consider this demonstration as premature you must not begin such things as those she said with of a very transparent nature and you must not do so again and papa is coming let me kiss you only a little one he said with his usual delicacy and without reading the of her manner no not one only on your cheek no forehead certainly not you care for somebody else then ah i thought c i am sure do not nor for me either a pair of blue eyes how can i tell she said simply the simplicity lying merely in the broad outlines of her manner and speech there were the of voice and expression of eyes which tell the how very fragile is the ice of reserve at these times footsteps were heard mr then entered the room and their private ended the day after this partial revelation mr proposed a drive to the cliffs beyond bay a distance of three or four miles half an hour before the time of departure a crash was heard in the back yard and presently worm came in saying partly to the world in general partly to himself and slightly to his ay ay sure that of fish will be the end of william worm they be at it again this morning same as ever your head bad again worm said mr what was that noise we heard in the yard ay sir a weak man am i and the have been going on in my poor head all through the long night and this morning as usual and i was so dazed wi it that down fell a piece of leg wood across the shaft of the pony and it off ay says i i feel it as if twas my own and though i ve done it and parish pay is my lot if i go from here perhaps i am as independent as one here and there dear me the shaft of the carriage broken cried she was disappointed doubly so the showed more warmth of temper than the accident seemed to demand much to s uneasiness and rather to his surprise he had not supposed so much latent could co exist with mr s frankness and good nature you shall not be disappointed said the at length it is almost too long a distance for you to a pair of eyes walk can trot down on her pony and you shall have my old smith exclaimed triumphantly c you have never seen me on horseback oh you must she looked at and read his thoughts immediately ah you don t ride mr smith i am sorry to say i don t fancy a man not able to ride said she rather the came to his rescue that s common enough he has had other lessons to learn now i recommend this plan let ride on horseback and you mr smith walk beside her the arrangement was welcomed with secret delight by it seemed to combine in itself all the advantages of a long slow with without the possibility of the enjoyment being spoilt by her becoming weary the pony was and brought round now mr smith said the lady coming downstairs and appearing in her riding habit as she always did in a change of dress like a new edition of a delightful volume you have a task to perform to day these are my very favourite darling ones but the worst of it is that they have such short hooks that they are liable to be dropped if i toss my head about much and when i am riding i can t give my mind to them it would be doing me knight service if you keep your eyes fixed upon them and remember them every minute of the day and tell me directly i drop one they have had such escapes haven t they unity she continued to the parlour maid who was standing at the door yes miss that they have said unity with once twas in the lane that i found one of them pursued a pair of blue eyes and then twas by the gate into eighteen acres unity in and then twas on the carpet in my own room rejoined merrily and then twas dangling on the of your	45
miss and then twas down your back miss wasn t it and oh what a way you was in miss wasn t you my until you found it took s slight foot upon his hand one two three and up she said unfortunately not so he staggered and lifted and the horse edged round and was ultimately deposited upon the ground rather more forcibly than was pleasant smith looked all never mind said the try again tis a little accomplishment that requires some practice although it looks so easy stand closer to the horse s head mr smith indeed i shan t let him try again said she with a look of indignation worm come here and help me to mount worm stepped forward and she was in the saddle in a then they moved on going for some distance in silence the hot air of the valley being occasionally brushed from their faces by a cool breeze which wound its way along leading up from the sea i suppose said that a man who can neither sit in a saddle himself nor help another person into one seems a useless but miss j u learn to do it all for your sake i will indeed what is so unusual in you she said in a tone in a s address to a is that your knowledge of certain things should be combined with your ignorance of certain other things lifted his eyes earnestly to hers a pair of blue eyes you know he said it is simply because there are so many other things to be learnt in this wide world that i didn t trouble about that particular bit of knowledge i thought it would be useless to me but i don t think so now i will learn riding and all connected with it because then you would like me better do you like me much less for this she looked sideways at him with critical meditation tenderly rendered do i seem like la dame she began suddenly without replying to his question fancy yourself saying mr smith i sat her on my pacing and nothing else saw all day long for would she bend and sing a fairy s song she found me roots of relish sweet and honey wild and dew and that s all she did no no said the young man and with a rising colour f and sure in language strange she said i love thee true not at all she rejoined quickly see how i can gallop now off and started and beheld her light figure to the dimensions of a bird as she sank into the distance her hair flowing he walked on in the same direction and for a considerable time could see no signs of her returning dull as a flower without the sun he sat down upon a stone and not for fifteen minutes was any sound of horse or rider to be heard then and appeared on the hill in a round trot such a delightful as we have had she a pair of blue eyes said her face flushed and her eyes sparkling she turned the horse s head arose and they went on again well what have you to say to me mr smith after my long absence do you remember a question you could not exactly answer last night whether i was more to you than anybody else said he i cannot exactly answer now either why can t you because i don t know if am more to you than any one else yes indeed you are he exclaimed in a voice of appreciation at the same time gliding round and looking into her face eyes in eyes he murmured and she obeyed looking back into his and why not lips on lips continued no certainly not anybody might look and it would be the death of me you may kiss my hand if you like he expressed by a look that to kiss a hand through a glove and that a riding glove was not a great treat under the circumstances there then i ll take my glove off isn t it a pretty white hand ah you don t want to kiss it and you shall not now if i do not may i never kiss again you severe you know i think more of you than i can tell that you are my queen i would die for you i a rapid red again filled her cheeks and she looked at him what a proud moment it was for then she was ruling a heart with absolute for the first time in her life stealthily upon her hand a pair of blue eyes no i won t i won t she said and you shouldn t take me by surprise there ensued a mild form of for absolute possession of the much hand in which the of boy and girl was far more prominent than the dignity of man and woman then became restless recovered her position and remembered herself you make me behave in not a nice way at all she exclaimed in a tone neither of pleasure nor anger but of both i ought not to have allowed such a we are too old now for that sort of thing c i hope you don t think me too too much of a creeping round sort of man said he in a penitent tone conscious that he too had lost a little dignity by the proceeding you are too familiar and i can t have it considering the of the time we have known each other mr smith you take too much upon you you think i am a country girl and it doesn t matter how you behave to me assure you miss that i had no idea of in my mind i wanted to a sweet serious kiss upon your hand	45
and that s all now that s creeping round again and you mustn t look into my eyes so she said shaking her head at him and trotting on a few paces in advance thus she led the way out of the lane and across some fields in the direction of the cliffs at the boundary of the fields nearest the sea she expressed a wish to the horse was tied to a post and they both followed an irregular path which ultimately terminated upon a flat ledge passing round the face of the huge blue black rock at a height about between the sea and the verge there far beneath and before them lay the everlasting stretch of ocean there s a pair of blue eyes upon detached rocks were the white screaming seeming ever intending to settle and yet always passing on right and left the and line of storm torn heights forming the series which in the one beneath their feet behind the youth and maiden was a tempting and seat formed naturally in the mass and wide enough to admit two or three persons sat down and sat beside her i am afraid it is hardly proper of us to be here either she said half we have not known each other long enough for this kind of thing have we oh yes he replied quite long enough how do you know c it is not length of time but the manner in which our minutes beat that makes enough or not enough in our yes i see that but i wish papa suspected or knew what a very new thing i am doing he does not think of it at all darling i wish we could be married it is wrong for me to say it i know it is before you know more but i wish we might be all the same do you love me deeply deeply no she said in a at this point blank denial turned his face away and preserved an ominous silence the only objects of interest on earth for him being apparently the three or four score sea birds in the air afar off didn t mean to stop you quite she faltered with some alarm and seeing that he still remained silent she added more anxiously if you say that again perhaps i will not be quite so obstinate if if you don t like me to be oh my he exclaimed and kissed her a blue it was s first kiss and so awkward and unused was she full of striving no there was none of those apparent struggles to get out of the trap which only results in getting further in no final attitude of no easy close of shoulder to shoulder hand upon hand face upon face and in spite of the lips in the right place at the supreme moment that graceful though apparently accidental falling into position which many have noticed as the end and making the sweeter was not here why because experience was absent a woman must have had many kisses before she kisses well in fact the art of the lips for these follows the principles laid down in on for performing the trick called forcing a card the card is to be shifted withdrawn edged under and withal not to be offered till the moment the person s hand reaches the pack this forcing to be done so modestly and yet so that the person with he is really choosing what is in fact thrust into his hand well there were no such now and was conscious of it first with a momentary regret that his kiss should be spoilt by her confused receipt of it and then with the pleasant perception that her awkwardness was her charm and you do care for me and love me said he yes very much yes and i mustn t ask you if you ll wait for me and be my wife some day why not she said there is a reason why my not any one that i know of suppose there is something connected with me which a pair of blue eyes makes it almost impossible for you to agree to be my wife or for your father to countenance such an idea nothing shall make me cease to love you no can be found upon your personal nature that is pure and generous i know and having that how can i be cold to you and shall nothing else affect us shall nothing beyond my nature be a part of my quality in your eyes nothing whatever she said with a breath of relief is that all some outside circumstance what do i care you can hardly judge dear till you know what has to be judged for that we will stop till we get home i believe in you but i cannot feel bright love is new and fresh to us as the dew and we are together as the lover s world goes this is a great deal i fancy i see the difference between me and you between men and women generally perhaps i am content to build happiness on any accidental basis that may lie near at hand you are for making a world to suit your happiness you sometimes say things which make you seem suddenly to become five years older than you are or than i am and that remark is one i couldn t think so old as that try how i might and no lover has ever kissed you before never i knew that you were so unused you ride well but you don t kiss nicely at all and i was told once by my friend knight that that is an excellent fault in woman now come i must mount again or we shall not be home by dinner time	45
and they returned to where stood instead of my weight to a young man s palm she continued gaily i prefer a stock as the villagers call a pair of blue eyes it in the form of a gate there now i am myself again they proceeded homeward at the same walking pace her won out of his and each forgot everything but the tone of the moment what did you love me for she said after a long musing look at a flying bird i don t know he replied idly oh yes you do insisted perhaps for your eyes what of them now don t vex me by a light answer what of my eyes oh nothing to be mentioned they are indifferently good come i won t have that what did you love me for it might have been for your mouth well what about my mouth i thought it was a mouth enough that s not very comforting with a pretty and sweet lips but actually nothing more than what everybody has don t make up things out of your head as you go on there s a dear now what did you love me for perhaps twas for your neck and hair though i am not sure or for your idle blood that did nothing but wander away from your cheeks and back again but i am not sure or your hands and arms that they all other hands and arms or your feet that they played about under your dress like little or your tongue that it was of a dear delicate tone but i am not altogether sure ah that s pretty to say but i don t care for your love if it made a mere flat picture of me in that way and not being sure and such cold reasoning but a pair of blue eyes what you felt i was you know at this a stealthy laugh and look into his face when you said to yourself i ll certainly love that young lady c i never said it when you said to yourself then i never will love that young lady didn t say that either then was it i suppose i must love that young lady no what then twas much more not so definite tell me do do c it was that i ought not to think about you if i loved you truly ah that i don t understand there s no getting it out of you and i ll not ask you ever any more never more to say out of the deep reality of your heart what you loved me for sweet what s the use it comes to this sole simple thing that at one time i had never seen you and i didn t love you that then i saw you and i did love you is that enough yes i will make it do i know i think what i love you for you are nice looking of course but i didn t mean for that it is because you are so and gentle those are not quite the correct qualities for a man to be loved for said in rather a dissatisfied tone of self criticism well never mind i must ask your father to allow us to be engaged directly we get indoors it will be for a long time i like it the better don t mention it till to morrow why because if he should object i don t think he a pair of blue eyes will but if he should we shall have a day longer of happiness from our ignorance well what are you thinking of so deeply i was thinking how my dear friend knight would enjoy this scene i wish he could come here you seem very much engrossed with him she answered with a jealous little toss he must be an interesting man to take up so much of your attention c interesting said his face glowing with his noble you ought to say oh yes yes i forgot she said half the noblest man in england as you told us last night he is a fine fellow laugh as you will miss i know he is your hero but what does he do anything he writes what does he write i have never heard of his name because his personality and that of several others like him is absorbed into a huge we namely the called the present a social and literary review is he only a only why i can tell you it is a fine thing to be on the staff of the present finer than being a considerably that s a hit at me and my poor court of no he whispered i didn t mean that i mean that he is really a literary man of some eminence and not altogether a he writes things of a higher class than though he a book occasionally his ordinary productions are social and essays all that the present contains which is not literary i admit he must be if he writes for the a pair of blue eyes present we have it sent to us i want papa to be a but he s so now the next point in this mr knight i suppose he is a very good man an excellent man i shall try to be his intimate friend some day but aren t you now no not so much as that replied as if such a supposition were extravagant you see it was in this way he came originally from the same place as i and taught me things but i am not intimate with him shan t i be glad when i get richer and better known and and with him s eyes sparkled	45
a began to shape itself upon s soft lips you think always of him and like him better than you do me no indeed the feeling is different quite but i do like him and he deserves even more affection from me than i give you are not nice now and you make me as jealous as possible she exclaimed i know you will never speak to any third person of me so warmly as you do to me of him but you don t understand he said with an anxious movement you shall know him some day he is so brilliant no it isn t exactly brilliant so thoughtful nor does thoughtful express him that it would charm you to talk to him he s a most desirable friend and that isn t half i could say i don t care how good he is i don t want to know him because he comes between me and you you think of him night and day ever so much more than of anybody else and when you are thinking of him i am shut out of your mind c no dear i love you dearly and i don t like you to tell me so warmly about a pair op blue eyes him when you are in the middle of loving me suppose that i and this man knight of yours were both drowning and you could only save one of us yes the stupid old proposition which would i save well which not me both of you he said pressing her hand no that won t do only one of us i cannot say i don t know it is disagreeable quite a horrid idea to have to handle a ha i know you would save him and let me drown drown drown and i don t care about your love she had endeavoured to give a playful tone to her words but the latter speech was rather forced in its gaiety at this point in the discussion she trotted off to turn a corner which was avoided by the the road and the path at a point a little further on on again making her appearance she continually managed to look in a direction away from him and left him in the cool shade of her displeasure was soon beaten at this game of indifference he went round and entered the range of her vision are you offended why don t you talk save me then and let that mr clever of yours drown i hate him now which would you really you should not press such a hard question it is ridiculous then i won t be alone with you any more unkind to wound me so she laughed at her own absurdity but persisted come let s make it up and be friends say you would save me then and let him drown i would save you and him too and let him drown come or you don t love me she went on and let him drown he ejaculated a pair of blue eyes there now i am yours she said and a woman s flush of triumph lit her eyes only one miss as i m alive said unity on their entering the hall with a face expressive of wretched s hand flew like an arrow to her ear there she exclaimed to looking at him with eyes full of reproach i quite forgot indeed if i had only remembered he answered with a conscience stricken face she wheeled herself round and turned into the followed if you had told me to watch anything i should have done it she went on as soon as she heard him behind her c forgetting is well you will find it if you want me to respect you and be engaged to you when we have asked papa she considered a moment and added more seriously i know now where i dropped it it was on the cliff i remember a sensation of some change about me but i was too absent to think of it then and that s where it is now and you must go and look there i ll go at once and he strode away up the valley under a sun and amid the silence of early afternoon he ascended with giddy paced haste the windy range of rocks to where they had sat felt and peered about the stones and but s stray jewel was nowhere to be seen next slowly his steps and pausing at a cross road to reflect a while he left the and struck downwards across some fields in the direction of house he walked along the path by the river without the slightest hesitation as to its bearing apparently quite a pair of blue eyes familiar with every inch of the ground as the shadows began to and the sunlight to mellow he passed through two gates and drew near the outskirts of park the river now ran along under the park fence previous to entering the grove itself a little further on here stood a cottage between the fence and the stream on a slightly elevated spot of ground round which the river took a turn the characteristic feature of this snug habitation was its one chimney in the end its of form disguised by a huge cloak of ivy which had grown so and extended so far from its base as to increase the apparent bulk of the chimney to the dimensions of a tower some little distance from the back of the house rose the park boundary and over this were to be seen the of the grove making slow inclinations to the air crossed the little wood bridge in front went up to the cottage door and opened it without knock or signal of any kind exclamations of welcome burst from some	45
person or persons when the door was thrust followed by the scrape of chairs on a stone floor as if pushed back by their in rising from a table the door was closed again and nothing could now be heard from within save a lively chatter and the rattle of plates o is no baron or lord he mists were creeping out of pools and for their of the night when came up to the front door of the was standing on the step illuminated by a expanse of western sky you never have been all this time looking for that she said anxiously oh no and i have not found it never mind though i am much vexed they are my prettiest but what ever have you been doing where have you been i have been so uneasy i feared for you knowing not an inch of the country i thought suppose he has fallen over the cliff but now i am inclined to you for me so i must speak to your father now he said rather abruptly c i have so much to say to him and to you will what you have to say this nice time of ours and is it that same shadowy secret you allude to so frequently and will it make me unhappy possibly i a pair of blue eyes she breathed heavily and looked around as if for a put it off till to morrow she said he involuntarily sighed too no it must come to night where is your father t somewhere in the kitchen garden i think she replied that is his favourite evening retreat i will leave you now say all that s to be said do all there is to be done think of me waiting anxiously for the end and she re entered the house she waited in the drawing room watching the lights sink to shadows the shadows sink to darkness until her impatience to know what had occurred in the garden could no longer be controlled she passed round the the garden door and with her keen eyes the whole space that the four walls enclosed and sheltered they were not there she mounted a little ladder which had been used for gathering fruit and looked over the wall into the field this field extended to the limits of the which was enclosed on that side by a hedge under the hedge was mr walking up and down and talking aloud to himself as it sounded at first no another voice shouted occasional replies and this seemed to be on the other side of the hedge the voice though soft in quality was not s the second speaker must have been in the garden of an old house hard by which together with a small estate attached had lately been purchased by a person named whom had never seen her father might have struck up an with some member of that family through the hedge or a stranger to the neighbourhood might have wandered thither well there was no necessity for disturbing him a pair of blue eyes and it seemed that after all had not yet made his desired communication to her father again she went indoors wondering where could be for want of something better to do she went upstairs to her own little room here she sat down at the open window and leaning with her elbow on the table and her cheek upon her hand she fell into meditation it was a hot and still august night every disturbance of the silence which rose to the dignity of a noise could be heard for miles and the merest sound for a long distance so she remained thinking of and wishing he had not deprived her of his company to no purpose as it appeared how delicate and sensitive he was she reflected and yet he was man enough to have a private mystery which considerably elevated him in her eyes thus looking at things with an inward vision she lost consciousness of the flight of time strange of circumstances particularly those of a trivial kind are so frequent in an ordinary life that we grow used to their and forget the question whether the very long odds against such is not almost a of it being a matter of chance at all what occurred to at this moment was a case in point she was vividly imagining for the twentieth time the kiss of the morning and putting her lips together in the position another such a one would demand when she heard the identical operation performed on the lawn immediately beneath her window a kiss not of the quiet and stealthy kind but decisive loud and smart her face flushed and she looked out but to no purpose the dark rim of the drew a keen sad line against the pale glow of the sky unbroken except where a young on the lawn that had its fellow trees shot its pointed head across a pair of blue eyes the horizon piercing the lustre like a sting it was just possible that had any persons been standing on the grassy portions of the lawn might have seen their dusky forms but the shrubs which once had merely dotted the had now grown and large till they hid at least half the containing them the kissing pair might have been behind some of these at any rate nobody was in sight had no ever been connected with her lover by his hints and would never have thought of admitting into her mind a suspicion that he might be concerned in the foregoing but the he at present insisted on while they added to the mystery without which perhaps she would never have seriously loved him at all were calculated to doubts of all kinds and with a slow flush of jealousy she asked herself	45
might he not be the glided downstairs on and out to the precise spot on which she had parted from to enable him to speak privately to her father thence she wandered into all the around the place from which the sound seemed to proceed among the huge about the of amid the under the weeping elm nobody was there returning indoors she called unity i she is gone to her aunt s to spend the evening said mr thrusting his head out of his study door and letting the light of his candles stream upon s face less revealing than as it seemed to herself creating the blush of uneasy perplexity that was burning upon her cheek i i didn t know you were indoors papa she said with surprise surely no light was shining from the a pair of blue eyes window when i was on the lawn and she looked and saw that the shutters were still open oh yes i am in he said indifferently what did you want unity for i think she laid supper before she went out did she i have not been to i didn t want her for that scarcely knew now that a definite reason was required what that reason was her mind for a moment strayed to another subject unimportant as it seemed the red of a match was lying inside the which explained that why she had seen no rays from the window was because the candles had only just been lighted i ll come directly said the i thought you were out somewhere with mr smith even the inexperienced could not help thinking that her father must be wonderfully blind if he failed to perceive what was the consequence of herself and being so left together wonderfully careless if he saw it and did not think about it wonderfully good if as seemed to her by far the most probable supposition he saw it and thought about it and approved of it these reflections were cut short by the appearance of just outside the porch about the head and shoulders with touches of moonlight that had begun to creep through the trees c has your trouble anything to do with a kiss on the lawn she asked abruptly almost passionately kiss on the lawn yes she said now i didn t comprehend your meaning nor do i now exactly i certainly have kissed nobody on the lawn if that is really what you want to know you know nothing about such a performance nothing whatever what makes you ask so a pair of blue eyes don t press me to tell it is nothing of importance and you have not yet spoken to papa about our engagement no he said i could not find him directly and then i went on thinking so much of what you said about objections bitter words possibly ending our happiness that i resolved to put it off till to morrow that gives us one more day of delight delight of a tremulous kind yes but it would be improper to be silent too long i think she said in a delicate voice which implied that her face had grown warm i want him to know we love why did you adopt as your own my thought of delay i will explain but i want to tell you of my secret first to tell you now it is two or three hours yet to let us walk up the hill to the church assented and they went from the lawn by a side and ascended into the open expanse of moonlight which streamed around the lonely edifice on the summit of the hill the door was locked they turned from the porch and walked hand in hand to find a resting place in the churchyard chose a flat tomb showing itself to be and than those around it and sitting down himself gently drew her hand towards him no not there she said why not here a mere fancy but never mind and she sat down will you love me in spite of everything that may be said against me o what makes you repeat that so continually and so sadly you know i will yes indeed she said drawing closer whatever may be said of you and nothing bad can be i will cling to you just the same your ways shall be my ways until i die si w a pair of blue eyes i did you ever think what my parents might be or what society i originally moved in no not particularly i have observed one or two little points in your manners which are rather quaint no more i suppose you have moved in the ordinary society of professional people supposing i have not that none of my family have a profession except me i i don t mind what you are only concerns me where do you think i went to school i mean to what kind of school dr somebody s academy she said simply no to a dame school originally then to a national school only to those well i love you just as much dear she murmured tenderly i do indeed and why should you tell me these things so what do they matter to me he held her closer and proceeded what do you think my father is does for his living that is to say he some profession or calling i suppose no he is a a no a and said nothing at first after a while she whispered that is a strange idea to me but never mind what does it matter but aren t you angry with me for not telling you before no not at all is your mother alive yes is she a nice lady very the best mother	45
in the world her people had been well to do for centuries but she was only a a pair of blue eyes came from her in whispered exclamation she continued to attend to a long after my father married her pursued without further hesitation and i remember very well how when i was very young i used to go to the look on at the sleep through the and make believe i helped her ah that was a happy time enough no never not happy yes it was i don t see how happiness could be where the of work had to be done for a living the hands red and and the shoes i do own that it seems odd to regard you in the light of of having been so rough in your youth and done things of that kind withdrew an inch or two from her side but i do lave you just the same she continued getting closer under his shoulder again and i don t care anything about the past and i see that you are all the for having pushed on in the world in such a way it is not my it is knight s who pushed me ah always he always he yes and properly so now you see the reason of his teaching me by letter i knew him years before he went to oxford but i had not got far enough in my reading for him to entertain the idea of helping me in till he left home then i was sent away from the village and we very seldom met but he kept up this system of by correspondence with the greatest regularity i will tell you all the story but not now there is nothing more to say now beyond giving places persons and dates his voice became timidly slow at this point no don t take trouble to say more you are a pair of blue eyes a dear honest fellow to say so much as you have and it is not so dreadful either it has become a normal thing that commence by going up to london with their tools at their back and half in their pockets that sort of origin is getting so respected she continued cheerfully that it is acquiring some of the of ah if i had made my fortune i shouldn t mind but i am only a possible maker of it as yet it is quite enough and so this is what your trouble was i thought i was doing wrong in letting you love me without telling you my story and yet i feared to do so i dreaded to lose you and i was cowardly on that account how plain everything about you seems after this explanation your peculiarities in playing the papa noticed in your latin your odd mixture of book knowledge with ignorance of ordinary social accomplishments are accounted for in a moment and has this anything to do with what i saw at lord s what did you see saw the shadow of yourself putting a cloak round a lady i was at the side door you two were in a room with the window towards me you came to me a moment later she was my mother your mother there t she withdrew herself to look at him silently in her interest said i was going to tell you the remainder to morrow i have been keeping it back i must tell it now after all the remainder of my revelation to where my parents are where do you think they live you know them by sight at any rate know them she said in suspended amazement a pair of blue eyes yes my father is john smith lord s master who lives under the park wall by the river can it be he built or assisted at the building of the house you live in years ago he put up those stone gate at the lodge entrance to lord s park my grandfather planted the trees that belt in your lawn my grandmother who worked in the fields with him held each tree upright whilst he filled in the earth they told me so when i was a child he was the too and dug many of the graves around us and was your unaccountable vanishing on the first morning of your arrival and again this afternoon a run to see your father and mother i understand now no wonder you seemed to know your way about the village i no wonder but remember i have not lived here since i was nine years old i then went to live with my uncle a blacksmith near in order to be able to attend a national school as a day scholar there was none on this remote coast then it was there i met with my friend knight and when i was fifteen and had been fairly educated by the and more particularly by knight i was put as a pupil in an s office in that town because i was skilful in the use of the pencil a full was paid by the efforts of my mother and father rather against the wishes of lord who likes my father however and thinks a great deal of him there i stayed till six months ago when i obtained a situation as as it is called in a london office that s all of me to think you the london visitor the town man should have been born here and have known this village so many years before i did how very strange it seems she murmured a pair of blue eyes my mother to you and your father sunday said with a pained smile at the thought of the and your papa said to her i am glad	45
to see you so regular at church i i remember it but i have never spoken to her we have only been here eighteen months and the parish is so large contrast with this said with a miserable laugh your father s belief in my blue blood which is still in his mind the first night i came he insisted upon proving my descent from one of the most ancient west county families on account of my second christian name when the truth is it was given me because my grandfather was assistant gardener in the smith family for thirty years having seen your face my darling i had not heart to contradict him and tell him what would have cut me off from a friendly knowledge of you she sighed deeply l yes i see now how this may be made to trouble us she murmured and continued in a low sad whisper i wouldn t have minded if they had lived far away papa might have consented to an engagement between us if your connection had been with villagers a hundred miles off family but he will not like o what can i do do he said yet with give me up let me go back to on and think no more of me no no i cannot give you up this hop in our affairs makes me care more for you i see what did not strike me at first why do we trouble why should papa object an in london is an in london who there nobody we shall live there shall we not why need we be so alarmed a pair of blue eyes and said his hopes with hers knight thinks nothing of my being only a s son he says i am as worthy of his friendship as if i were a lord s and if i am worthy of his friendship i am worthy of you am i not i not only have never loved anybody but you she said instead of giving an answer but i have not even formed a strong friendship such as you have for knight i wish you hadn t it me now you know better he said and had you really never any sweetheart at all t none that was ever recognized by me as such but did nobody ever love you yes a man did once very much he said how long ago oh a long time how long dearest a i that s not very long rather i i said long not very long i and did he want to marry you i i believe he did but i didn t see anything in him he was not good enough even if i had loved him may i ask what he was a farmer a farmer not good enough how much better than my family murmured where is he now he continued to here here what do you mean by that i mean that he is here where here under us he is under this tomb he is dead and we are sitting on his grave said the young man standing up and looking at the tomb how odd and sad that revelation seems it quite me for the moment a pair of blue eyes i didn t wish to sit here but you would do so you never encouraged him c never by look word or sign she said solemnly he died of consumption and was buried the day you first came let us go away i don t like standing by him even if you never loved him he was before me make you unreasonable she half following at the distance of a few steps perhaps i ought to have told you before we sat down yes let us go ix her father did oppressed in spite of themselves by a foresight of impending and returned down the hill hand in hand at the door they paused wistfully like children late at school women accept their destiny more readily than men had now resigned herself to the overwhelming idea of her lover s sorry had not forgotten the trifling grievance that had known earlier admiration than his own what was that young man s name he inquired a widow s only son i remember the family she hates me now she says i killed him mused and they entered the porch i love only you she whispered he pressed her fingers and the trifling shadow passed away to admit again the mutual and more trouble the study appeared to be the only room lighted up they entered each with a intended to conceal the fact that love was their dominant perceived a man sitting o a pair of blue eyes with his back towards herself talking to her father she would have retired but mr had seen her come in he said it is only martin come for a copy of the register for poor mrs martin the was rather a favourite with he used to her attention by telling her of his strange experiences in digging up after long years the bodies of persons he had known and them by some little sign though in reality he had never recognized any he had shrewd small eyes and a great wealth of double chin which in some measure for considerable poverty of nose the appearance of a slip of paper in s hand and a few shillings lying on the table in front of him that the business had been and the tenor of their conversation went to show that a summary of village news was now engaging the attention of and parson mr stood up and touched his forehead over his eye with his finger in respectful salutation of gave half as much salute to whom he in common with other villagers had never for a moment recognized then sat down again and	45
resumed his discourse where had i got on to sir to driving the pile said mr the pile twas so as i was saying was driving the pile in this manner as i might say here mr held his walking stick with his left hand and struck a blow with great force on the of the stick with his right john was the pile so as i might say here he gave the stick a slight shake and looked firmly in the various eyes around to see that before proceeding further his listeners well grasped the subject at that a pair of blue eyes stage well when had struck some half dozen blows more upon the pile a stopped for a second or two john thinking he had done striking put his hand upon the top o the pile to en a pull and see if a were firm in the ground mr spread his hand over the top of the stick completely covering it with his palm well so to speak hadn t to stop striking and when john had put his hand upon the pile the oh dreadful said the was already coming down you see sir just caught sight of his hand but couldn t stop the blow in time down came the upon poor john smith s hand and en to a dear me dear me poor fellow said the with an like the groans of the wounded in a performance of the battle of john smith the master cried hurriedly ay no other and a better hearted man god a mighty never made is he so much hurt i have heard said mr not noticing that he has a son in london a very promising young fellow oh how he must be hurt repeated a couldn t hurt very little well sir t ye and ye sir and you miss i m sure mr had been making motions of and by the time this farewell remark came from his lips he was just outside the door of the room he along the hall stayed more than a minute endeavouring to close the door properly and then was lost to their hearing had meanwhile turned and said to the please excuse me this evening i must leave john smith is my father a pair of blue eyes the did not comprehend at first what did you say he inquired john smith is my father said deliberately a tinge of rose from mr s neck and came round over his face the lines of his features became more firmly defined and his lips seemed to get thinner it was evident that a series of little circumstances hitherto were now fitting themselves together and forming a picture in mr s mind in such a manner as to render useless further explanation on s part indeed the said in a voice dry and without this being a word which depends entirely upon its tone for its meaning mr s was equivalent to no expression at all i have to go now said with an agitated bearing and a movement as if he scarcely knew whether he ought to run off or stay longer on my return sir will you kindly grant me a few minutes private conversation certainly though it does not seem possible that there can be anything of the nature of private business between us mr put on his straw hat crossed the drawing room into which the moonlight was shining and stepped out of the french window into the it required no further effort to perceive what indeed reasoning might have foretold as the natural colour of a mind whose pleasures were taken amid good dinners and reminiscences that mr s prejudices were too strong for his generosity and that s moments as his friend and equal were numbered or had even now ceased moved forward as if he would follow the then as if he would not and in absolute per a pair of blue eyes whither to turn himself went awkwardly to the door followed behind him before he had two yards from the unity and ann the came home from their visit to the village have you heard anything about john smith the accident is not so bad as was reported is it said oh no the doctor says it is only a bad thought so i cried gladly he says that although believes he did not check the as it came down he must have done so without knowing it checked it very considerably too for the full blow would have knocked his hand abroad and in reality it is only made black like how thankful lam said the perplexed unity looked at him with her mouth rather than with her eyes that will do unity said and the two maids passed on do you forgive me said with a faint smile no man is fair in love and he took her fingers lightly in his own with her head thrown sideways in the attitude she looked a tender reproach at his doubt and pressed his hand returned the pressure then hastily went off to his father s cottage by the wall of park what have you to say to this inquired her father coming up immediately had retired with feminine quickness she grasped at any straw that would enable her to plead his cause he had told me of it she faltered so that it is not a discovery in spite of him he was just coming in to tell you coming to tell why hadn t he already told i object as much if not more to his conceal a pair of blue eyes ment of this than i do to the fact itself it looks very much like his making a fool of me and of you too you and he have been about together and corresponding together in a way i don t at all	45
approve of in a most way you should have known how improper such conduct is a woman can t be too careful not to be seen alone with i don t know whom c you saw us papa and have never said a word my fault of course my fault what the deuce could i be thinking of he a s son and we connections of the we have been to nothing for centuries and now i believe we have got there what shall i next invite here i wonder began to cry at this very aspect of affairs o papa papa forgive me and him we care so much for one another papa o so much and what he was going to ask you is if you will allow of an engagement between us till he is a gentleman as good as you we are not in a hurry dear papa we don t want in the least to marry now not until he is richer only will you let us be engaged because i love him so and he loves me mr s feelings were a little touched by this appeal and he was annoyed that such should be the case certainly not he replied he pronounced the and so that the not sounded like n o o o t no no no don t say it i a fine story it is not enough that i have been and disgraced by having him here the son of one of my village but now i am to make him my son in law heavens above us are you mad you have seen his letters come to me ever since his first visit papa and you knew they were a sort of and since he has been here you have let him be a pair of blue eyes alone with me almost entirely and you guessed you must have guessed what we were thinking of and doing and you didn t stop him next to love making comes love winning and you knew it would come to that papa the this common sense thrust i know since you press me so i know i did guess some childish attachment might arise between you i own i did not take much trouble to prevent it but i have not particularly it and how can you expect that i should now it is impossible no father in england would hear of such a thing but he is the same man papa the same in every particular and how can he be less fit for me than he was before he appeared a young man with well to do friends and a little property but having neither he is another man you inquired nothing about him i went by s introduction he should have told me so should the young man himself of course he should i consider it a most thing to come into a man s house like a treacherous i don t but he was afraid to tell you and so should i have been he loved me too well to like to run the risk and as to speaking of his friends on his first visit i don t see why he should have done so at all he came here on business it was no affair of ours who his parents were and then he knew that if he told you he would never be asked here and would perhaps never see me again and he wanted to see me who can blame him for trying by any means to stay near me the girl he loves all is fair in love i have heard you say so yourself papa and you yourself would have done just as he so would any man and any man on discovering what i have discovered would also do as i do and mend my mistake that is get shot of him again as soon as the laws of a pair of blue eyes hospitality will allow but mr then remembered that he was a christian i would not for the world seem to turn him out of doors he added but i think he will have the tact to see that he cannot stay long after this with good taste he will because he s a gentleman see how graceful his manners are went on though perhaps s manners like the of owed their in her eyes rather to the of his person than to their own excellence ay anybody can be what you call graceful if he lives a little time in a city and keeps his eyes open and he might have picked up his by going to the galleries of theatres and watching stage drawing room manners he reminds me of one of the worst stories i ever heard in my life what story was that oh no thank you i wouldn t tell you such an improper matter for the world if his father and mother had lived in the north or east of england gallantly persisted though her sobs began to interrupt her anywhere but here you would only regarded him and not them his station would have been what his profession makes it and not fixed by his father s humble position at all whom he never lives with now though john smith has saved lots of money and is better off than we are they say or he couldn t have put his son to such an expensive profession and it is clever and honourable of to be the best of his family yes let a beast be lord of beasts and his shall stand at the king s mess you insult me papa she burst out you do you do he is my own he is that may or may not be	45
true returned her father again agitated in spite of a pair op blue eyes himself you future with present facts what the young man may be with what he is we must look at what he is not what an improbable degree of success in his profession may make him the case is this the of a working man in my parish who may or may not be able to buy me up a youth who has not yet advanced so far into life as to have any income of his own deserving the name and therefore of his father s degree as regards station wants to be engaged to you his family are living in precisely the same spot in england as yours so throughout this county which is the world to us you would always be known as the wife of jack smith the s son and not under any circumstances as the wife of a london professional man it is the not the fact that is talked of always there say no more you may argue all night and prove what you will i ll stick to my words looked silently and hopelessly out of the window with large heavy eyes and wet cheeks i call it great and long to call it audacity in resumed her father i never heard such a thing giving such a native of this place such an introduction to me as he did naturally you were deceived as well as i was i don t blame you at all so far he went and searched for mr s original letter here s what he said to me dear sir agreeably to your request of the th instant i have arranged to survey and make drawings et my assistant mr smith assistant you see he called him and naturally i understood him to mean a sort of partner why didn t he say clerk they never call them clerks in that profession because they do not write mr smith told me so so that mr simply used the accepted word let me speak please my assistant mr g a pair of blue eyes smith will leave london by the early train to morrow morning many thanks for your proposal to accommodate him you may put every confidence in him and may rely upon his in the matter of church architecture well i repeat that ought to be ashamed of himself for making so much of a poor lad of that sort professional men in london argued don t know anything about their clerks fathers and mothers they have who come to their offices and shops for years and hardly even know where they live what they can do what profits they can bring the firm that s all london men care about and that is helped in him by his faculty of being uniformly pleasant uniform is rather a defect than a faculty it shows that a man hasn t sense enough to know whom to despise it shows that he acts by faith and not by sight as those you claim succession from directed that s some more of what he s been telling you i suppose yes i was inclined to suspect him because he didn t care about of any kind i always did doubt a man s being a gentleman if his had no acquired tastes an is the irrepressible foot of the the idea of my bringing out a bottle of my only eleven of them left now to a man who didn t know it from then the latin line he gave to my quotation it was very cut and dried very or i who haven t looked into a classical author for the last eighteen years shouldn t have remembered it well you had better go to your room you ll get over this bit of in time i no no no papa she moaned for of all the miseries to miserable love the worst is the misery of thinking that the passion which is the cause of them all may cease a pair of blue eyes said her father with rough friendliness i have an excellent scheme on hand which i cannot tell you of now a scheme to benefit you and me it has been thrust upon me for some little time yes thrust upon me but i didn t dream of its value till this afternoon when the revelation came i should be most unwise to refuse to entertain it i don t like that word she returned wearily you have lost so much already by schemes is it those wretched mines again no not a scheme nor it is like those mysterious offers we see advertised by which any gentleman with no brains at all may make so much a week without risk trouble or his fingers however i am intending to say nothing till it is settled though i will just say this much that you soon may have other fish to than to think of smith remember i wish not to be angry but friendly to the young man for your sake i ll regard him as a friend in a certain sense but this is enough in a few days you will be quite my way of thinking there now go to your bedroom unity shall bring you up some supper i wish you not to be here when he comes back beneath the shelter of an aged tree his steps towards the cottage he had visited only two or three hours previously he drew near and under the rich foliage growing about the outskirts of park the lights and shades from the shining moon maintaining a race over his head and down his back in an endless when he crossed the plank bridge and entered the garden gate he	45
saw an illuminated figure coming from the enclosed plot towards the house on the other side it was his father with his hand in a taking a general moonlight view of the garden and particularly of a plot of the youngest of young previous to closing the cottage for the night he saluted his son with customary force we should ha been in bed in another ten minutes come to see what s the matter wi me i suppose my lad the doctor had come and gone and the hand had been pronounced as injured but slightly though it might possibly have been considered a far more serious case if mr smith had been a more important man s anxious inquiry drew from his father words a pair of blue eyes of regret at the inconvenience to the world of his doing nothing for the next two days rather than of concern for the pain of the accident together they entered the house john smith brown as autumn as to skin white as winter as to clothes was a satisfactory specimen of the village in stone in common with most rural he had too much individuality to be a typical working man a of that beach with his kind only to be experienced in large towns which the self into a of the there was not the in his labour which the of towns though only a strictly speaking he was not above handling a brick if bricks were the order of the day or a slate or tile if a roof had to be covered before the wet weather set in and nobody was near who could do it better indeed on one or two occasions in the depth of winter when frost all use of the making foundations to settle stones to fly and mortar to he had taken to and trees moreover he had practised in his own plot for so many years that on an emergency he might have made a living by that calling probably our was not such an accomplished in a particular direction as his town brethren in the trades but he was in truth like that clumsy pin maker who made the whole pin and who was despised by adam smith on that account and respected by much more the artist nevertheless appearing now indoors by the light of the candle his was a sight to see his beard was close and knotted as that of a his shirt sleeves were partly rolled up his waistcoat a pair of blue eyes the difference in hue between the snowy linen and the ruddy arms and face like the white of an egg and its mrs smith on hearing them enter advanced from the mrs smith was a matron whose countenance addressed itself to the mind rather than to the eye though not exclusively she retained her personal freshness even now in the afternoon time of her life but what her features were of was a sound common sense behind them as a whole appearing to carry with them a sort of on the world in general the details of the accident were then by s father in the dramatic manner also common to martin other individuals of the neighbourhood and the rural world generally mrs smith threw in her sentiments between the acts as of the tragedy to make the description complete the story at last came to an end as the longest will and directed the conversation into another channel well mother they know everything about me now he said quietly well done replied his father now my mind s at peace i blame myself i never shall forgive myself for not telling them before continued the young man mrs smith at this point abstracted her mind from the former subject c i don t see what you have to grieve about she said people who accidentally get friends don t as a first stroke tell the history of their families ye ve done no wrong certainly said his father c no but i should have spoken sooner there s more in this visit of mine than you think a good deal more not more than i think mrs smith replied looking at him blushed and his a pair of blue eyes father looked from one to the other in a state of utter she s a pretty piece enough mrs smith continued and very lady like and clever too but though she s very well fit for you as far as that is why mercy me what ever do you want any woman at all for yet john made his naturally short mouth a long one and wrinkled his forehead that s the way the wind d blow is it he said mother exclaimed how you speak whether she s fit for me or no as if there were room for doubt on the matter why to marry her would be the great blessing of my life and practically as well as in other respects no such good fortune as that i m afraid she s too far above me her family doesn t want such country lads as i in it then if they don t want you i d see them dead before i d want them and go to better families who do want you ah yes but i could never put up with the of being welcomed among such people as you mean whilst i could get indifference among such people as hers what crazy twist o thinking will enter your head next said his mother and come to that she s not a bit too high for you or you too low for her see how careful i be to keep myself up i m sure i never stop for more than a minute together to talk to any people and i never invite anybody to our party	45
o who are not in business for themselves and i talk to several carriage people that come to my lord s without saying ma am or sir to em and they take it as quiet as you to the mother and i wish you hadn t but it was before he called me by my christian a pair op blue eyes name or he would have got very little from me said mrs smith and sparkling with vexation you go on at me as if i were your worst enemy what else could i do with the man to get rid of him it into me and your father by side and by about his greatness and what happened when he was a young fellow at college and i don t know what all the tongue o en round his mouth like a rag round a that a did didn t he john that s about the size o t replied her husband every woman now a days resumed mrs smith if she marry at all must expect a father in law of a rank lower than her father the men have gone up so and the women have stood still every man you meet is more the than his father and you are just level wi her that s what she thinks herself it only shows her sense i knew she was after ee i knew it after me good lord what next and i really must say again that you ought not to be in such a hurry and wait for a few years you might go higher than a pa son s girl then the fact is mother said impatiently you don t know anything about it i shall never go higher because i don t want to nor should i if i lived to be a hundred as to you saying that she s after me i don t like such a remark about her for it a woman and a man worth for both of which are not only but of this case isn t it so father i m afraid i don t understand the matter well enough to my opinion said his father in the tone of the fox who had a cold and could not smell she couldn t have been very backward anyhow considering the short time you have known her said a pair of blue eyes his mother well i think that five years hence you ll be plenty young enough to think of such things and really she can very well afford to wait and will too take my word living down in an out step place like this i am sure she ought to be very thankful that you took notice of her she d most likely have died an old maid if you hadn t turned up all nonsense said but not aloud a nice little thing she is mrs smith went on in a more complacent tone now that had been talked down there s not a word to say against her i ll own i see her sometimes out like a horse going to fair and i admire her for t a perfect little lady but people can t help their thoughts and if she d learnt to make figures instead of letters when she was at school have been better for her pocket for as i said there never were worse times for such as she than now now now mother said with smiling but i will said his mother with i don t read the papers for nothing and i know men all move up a stage by marriage men of her class that is marry daughters marry lords daughters lords marry daughters marry queens daughters ad stages of gentlemen mate a stage higher and the lowest stage of are left single or marry out of their class but you said just now dear mother retorted unable to resist the temptation of showing his mother her then he paused well what did i say and mrs smith prepared her lips for a new campaign that he had begun since a might be the consequence was obliged to go on you said i wasn t out of her class just before a pair of blue eyes yes there there that s you that s my own flesh and blood i ll warrant that you ll pick holes in everything your mother says if you can you are just like your father for that take anybody s part but mine whilst i am speaking and talking and trying and away for your good you are waiting to catch me out in that way so you are in her class but tis what her people would call marrying out of her class don t be so preserved a discreet silence in which he was by his father and for several minutes nothing was heard but the of the green faced case clock against the wall i m sure added mrs smith in a more philosophic tone and as a speech if there d been so much trouble to get a husband in my time as there is in these days when you must make a god almighty of a man to get en to ye i d have trod clay for bricks before i d ever have lowered my dignity to marry or there s no bread in nine the discussion now dropped and as it was getting late bade his parents farewell for the evening his mother none the less warmly for their for although mrs smith and were always they were never at enmity and possibly said i may leave here altogether to morrow i don t know so that if i shouldn t call again before returning to london don t be alarmed will you but didn t you come for a fortnight said his i mother and haven	45
t you a month s holiday altogether they are going to turn you out then not at all i may stay longer i may go if i go you had better say nothing about my having been here i for her sake at what time of the morning does the j pass lane seven o clock a pair of blue eyes and then he left them his thoughts were that should the permit him to become engaged to hope for an engagement or in any way to think of his beloved he might stay longer should he be forbidden to think of any such thing he resolved to go at once and the latter even to young seemed the more probable alternative walked back to the through the meadows as he had come surrounded by the soft musical of the water through little the modest light of the moon the smell of the around it was a time when mere seeing is meditation and meditation peace was hardly philosopher enough to avail himself of nature s his constitution was made up of very simple particulars was one which rare in the spring time of seems to grow abundant as a nation gets older individuality and education that is his brain had extraordinary powers and no great quickly acquiring any kind of knowledge he saw around him and having a more common in woman than in man he changed colour like a as the society he found himself in assumed a higher and more artificial tone he had not many original ideas and yet there was scarcely an idea to which under proper training he could not have added a respectable co he saw nothing outside himself to night and what he saw within was a weariness to his flesh yet to a observer his pretensions to though rather premature were far from absurd as marriages go unless the accidental of simple but honest parents could be said to make them so the clock struck eleven when he entered the house had been waiting with scarcely a movement since he departed before he had spoken to her she caught sight of him passing into the study with her father she a pair of blue eyes saw that he had by some means obtained the private interview he desired a nervous headache had been growing on the girl during the absence of and now she could do nothing beyond going up again to her room as she had done before instead of lying down she sat again in the darkness without closing the door and listened with a beating heart to every sound from downstairs the servants had gone to bed she ultimately heard the two men come from the study and cross to the dining room where supper had been lingering for more than an hour the door was left open and she found that the meal such as it was passed off between her father and her lover without any remark save as to and their and culture uttered in a stiff and formal way it seemed to failure shortly afterwards came upstairs to his bedroom and was almost immediately followed by her father who also retired for the night not inclined to get a light she partly and sat on the bed where she remained in pained thought for some time possibly an hour then rising to close her door previously to fully she saw a streak of light shining across the landing her father s door was shut and he could be heard regularly the light came from s room and the slight sounds also coming thence emphatically what he was doing in the perfect silence she could hear the closing of a lid and the of a lock he was his hat box then the of and the click of another key he was securing his with she opened her door softly and went towards his one sensation pervaded her to distraction her handsome youth and darling was going away and she might never see him again except in secret and in sadness perhaps never more at a pair of blue eyes any rate she could no longer wait till the morning to hear the result of the interview as she had intended she flung her dressing gown round her tapped lightly at his door and whispered he came instantly opened the door and stepped out tell me are we to hope he replied in a disturbed whisper and a tear approached its outlet though none fell am not to think of such a preposterous thing that s what he said and i am going to morrow i should have called you up to bid you good bye but he didn t say you were to go o he didn t say that no not in words but i cannot stay oh don t don t go i do come and let us talk let us come down to the drawing room for a few minutes he will hear us here she preceded him down the staircase with the light in her hand looking tall and thin in the long dove coloured dressing gown she wore she did not stop to think of the propriety or otherwise of this midnight interview under such circumstances she thought that the tragedy of her life was beginning and for the first time almost felt that her existence might have a grave side the shade of which enveloped and rendered invisible the delicate of custom and softly opened the drawing room door and they both went in when she had placed the candle on the table he enclosed her with his arms dried her eyes with his handkerchief and kissed their it is over happy love is over and there is no more sunshine now i will make a fortune and come to you and have you yes i will papa will never hear of	45
it never never you don t know him i do he is either in favour a pair op eyes of a thing or prejudiced against it argument is powerless against either feeling no i won t think of him so said if i appear before him some time hence as a man of established name he will accept me i know he will he is not a wicked man no he is not wicked but you say some time hence as if it were no time to you among bustle and excitement it will be comparatively a short time perhaps oh to me it will be its real length every summer will be a year autumn a year winter a year i o and you may forget me forget that was and is the real sting of waiting to fond hearted woman the remark awoke in the converse fear you too may be persuaded to give me up when time has made me fainter in your memory for remember your love for me must be nourished in secret there will be no long visits from me to support you circumstances will always tend to me she said filled with her own and his last words there are beautiful women where you live of course i know there are and they may win you away from me her tears came visibly as she drew a mental picture of his and it won t be your fault she continued looking into the candle with eyes no you will think that our family don t want you and get to include me with them and there will be a in your heart and some others will be let in i could not i would not do not be so full of oh yes they will she replied and you will look at them not caring at first and then you will look and be interested and after a while you will think ah they know all about city life and and and the manners of the and poor no a pair of blue eyes little with all the fuss that s made about her having me doesn t know about anything but a little house and a few cliffs and a space of sea far away and then you ll be more interested in them and they ll make you have them instead of me on purpose to be cruel to me because i am silly and they are clever and hate me and i hate them too yes i do her impulsive words had power to impress him at any rate with the recognition of the uncertainty of all that is not accomplished and worse than that general feeling there of course remained the sadness which arose from the special features of his own case however remote a desired issue may be the mere fact of having entered the which leads to it cheers to some extent with a sense of accomplishment had mr consented to an engagement of no less length than ten years would have been comparatively cheerful in waiting they would have felt that they were somewhere on the road to s garden but with a possibility of a shorter they had not as yet any prospect of the beginning the of hope had yet to be reached mr would have to his formidable words before the waiting for marriage could even set in and this was despair wish we could marry now murmured as an impossible fancy so do i said she also as if regarding an idle dream tis the only thing that ever does good secretly would do would it not yes secretly would do secretly would indeed be best she said and went on all we want is to render it absolutely impossible for any future circumstance to upset our future intention of being happy together not to begin being happy now exactly he murmured in a voice and manner the in a pair of blue eyes of hers to marry and part secretly and live on as we are living now merely to put it out of anybody s power to force you away from me dearest or you away from me or me from you it is possible to conceive a force of circumstance strong enough to make any woman in the world marry against her will no conceivable pressure up to torture or starvation can make a woman once married to her lover anybody else s wife now up to this point the idea of an immediate secret marriage had been held by both as an wherewith simply to a miserable moment during a pause which followed s last remark a fascinating perception then an conviction flashed along the brain of both the perception was that an immediate marriage could be contrived the conviction that such an act in spite of its daring its results its would be preferred by each to the life they must lead under any other conditions the youth spoke first and his voice trembled with the magnitude of the conception he was how strong we should feel going on our separate courses as before without the fear of ultimate separation o think of it think of it it is certain that the young girl s love for received a from her father s opposition which made it blaze with a dozen times the intensity it would have exhibited if left alone never were conditions more favourable for developing a girl s first passing fancy for a handsome boyish face a fancy rooted in and nourished by seclusion into a wild passion enough for anything all the elements of such a development were there the chief one being a necessary always to perfect the mixture of feelings united under the name of loving to distraction a pair of blue eyes we would tell papa soon would we	45
not she inquired timidly nobody else need know he would then be convinced that hearts cannot be played with love encouraged be ready to grow love discouraged be ready to die at a moment s notice do you not think that if marriages against a parent s consent are ever they are when young people have been favoured up to a point as we have and then have had that favour suddenly withdrawn yes it is not as if we had from the beginning acted in opposition to your papa s wishes only think how pleasant he was towards me but six hours ago he liked me praised me never objected to my being alone with you i believe he must like you now she cried c and if he found that you belonged to me he would own it and help you o she burst out again as the remembrance of his packing came afresh to her mind i cannot bear your going away like this it is too dreadful all i have been expecting miserably killed within me like this flushed hot with impulse i will not be a doubt to you thought of you shall not be a misery to me he said we will be wife and husband before we part for long she hid her face on his shoulder anything to make sure she whispered i did not like to propose it immediately continued it seemed to me it seems to me now like trying to catch you a girl better in the world than i not that indeed and am i better in worldly station what s the use of have we may have been something once we are nothing now then they whispered long and earnestly together hesitatingly proposing this and that plan h a pair of blue eyes them with quick and flush and bright eyes it was two o clock before an arrangement was finally concluded she then told him to leave her giving him his light to go up to his own room they parted with an agreement not to meet again in the morning after his door had been some time closed he heard her softly gliding into her chamber xi journeys end in lovers meeting lay watching the great bear was regarding a monotonous of window blind neither slept that night early the next morning that is to say four hours after their stolen interview and just as the earliest servant was heard moving about smith went downstairs in hand throughout the night he had intended to see mr again but the sharp of the previous evening rendered such an interview particularly distasteful perhaps there was another and less honest reason he decided to put it off whatever of moral timidity or may have lain in such a decision no perception of it was strong enough to detain him he wrote a note in his room which stated simply that he did not feel happy in the house after mr s sudden on what he had favoured a few hours before but that he hoped a time would come and that soon when his original feelings of pleasure as mr s guest might be recovered he expected to find the downstairs rooms wearing the gray and cheerless aspect that early morning gives a pair of eyes to everything out of the sun he found in the a breakfast laid of which somebody had just gave the maid servant his note of adieu she stated that mr had risen early that morning and made an early breakfast he was not going away that she knew of took a cup of coffee left the house of his love and turned into the lane it was so early that the shaded places still smelt like night time and the sunny spots had hardly felt the sun the rays made every shallow dip in the ground to show as a well marked hollow even the channel of the path was enough to throw shade and the very stones of the road cast of darkness westward as long as s tent nail at a spot not more than a hundred yards from the s residence the lane leading thence crossed the high road reached the point of stood still and listened nothing could be heard save the murmuring line of the sea upon the adjacent shore he looked at his watch and then mounted a gate upon which he seated himself to await the arrival of the whilst he sat he heard wheels coming in two directions the vehicle approaching on his right he soon recognized as the s there were the accompanying sounds of the owner s voice and the of his whip distinct in the still morning air by which he encouraged his horses up the hill the other set of wheels sounded from the lane had just traversed on closer observation he perceived that they were moving from the of the ancient house adjoining the grounds a carriage then left the entrance gates of the house and round came fully in sight it was a plain travelling carriage with a small quantity of luggage a pair of blue eyes apparently a lady s the vehicle came to the of the four ways half a minute before the reached the same spot and crossed directly in his front proceeding by the lane on the other side inside the carriage could just discern an elderly lady with a younger woman who seemed to be her maid the road they had taken led to a small watering place sixteen miles north he heard the house gates swing again and looking up saw another person leaving them and walking off in the direction of the ah how much i wish i were moving that way felt he the gentleman was tall and resembled mr in outline and attire he opened the gate and went in mr then	45
it certainly was instead of remaining in bed that morning mr must have taken it into his head to see his new neighbour off on a journey he must have been greatly interested in that neighbour to do such an unusual thing the s conveyance had pulled up and now handed in his and mounted the shafts who is that lady in the carriage he inquired indifferently of the that sir is mrs a wi a o money she s the owner of all that part of that is not lord s only been here a short time she came into it by law the owner formerly was a terrible mysterious party never lived here hardly ever was seen here except in the month of september as i might say the horses were started again and noise rendered further discourse a matter of too great exertion crept inside under the and was soon lost in reverie three hours and a half of straining up hills and down brought them to st s the market town and railway station nearest to and the place from which smith had over the a pair of blue eyes downs on the to him memorable winter evening at the beginning of the same year the s van was so timed as to meet a starting up train which entered two or three hours railway travel through in rock through oak rich and green stretching over slopes and down delightful valleys and sparkling with water like many and he plunged amid the hundred and fifty thousand people the town of there being some time upon his hands he left his luggage at the cloak room and went on foot along street to the nearest church here wandered among the and looked in at the window dreaming of something that was likely to happen by the altar there in the course of the coming month he turned away and ascended the viewed the magnificent stretch of sea and massive of land but without particularly one feature of the varied perspective he still saw that inner prospect the event he hoped for in yonder church the wide sound the the on far off the dark steam vessels and either floating or gliding with motion were as the dream then the dreamed of event was as the reality soon went down from the and returned to the railway station he took his ticket and entered the london train that day was an irksome time at neither father nor daughter alluded to the departure of mr s manner towards her partook of the kindness that arises from a as to the justice of some previous act either from lack of the capacity to grasp the whole if or from a natural for certain kinds a pair of blue eyes of women are cooler than men in critical situations of the passive form probably in s case at least it was blindness to the greater of the future she was preparing for herself which enabled her to ask her father in a quiet voice if he could give her a holiday soon to ride to st s and go on to now she had only once before gone alone to and that was in consequence of some difficulty being a country girl and a good not to say a wild it had been her delight to without the ghost of an attendant over the fourteen or sixteen miles of hard road intervening between their home and the station at st s put up the horse and go on the remainder of the distance by train returning in the same manner in the evening it was then resolved that though she had successfully accomplished this journey once it was not to be repeated without some attendance but must not be confounded with ordinary young feminine the circumstances of her lonely and narrow life made it imperative that in trotting about the neighbourhood she must trot alone or else not at all usage soon rendered this perfectly natural to herself her father who had had other experiences did not much like the idea of a whose could be as distinctly traced as a thread in a of silk over the hills like a farmer s daughter even though he could habitually neglect her but what with his not being able to afford her a regular attendant and his habit of letting anything be to save himself trouble the circumstance grew customary and so there arose a notion in the villagers minds that all ladies rode without an attendant like miss except a few who were sometimes visiting at lord s i don t like your going to alone a pair of blue eyes going to st s on horseback why not drive and take the man it is not nice to be so overlooked worm s company would not seriously have interfered with her plans but it was her humour to go without him when do you want to go said her father she only answered soon will consider he said only a few days elapsed before she asked again a letter had reached her from it had been timed to come on that day by special arrangement between them in it he named the earliest morning on which he could meet her at her father had been on a journey to and returned in unusual of spirit it was a good opportunity and since the dismissal of her father had been generally in a mood to make small that he might steer clear of large ones connected with that outcast lover of hers next thursday week i am going from home in a different direction said her father in fact i shall leave home the night before you might choose the same day for they wish to take up the carpets or some such thing i think as i said i don t like you to be seen in	45
a town on horseback alone but go if you will thursday week her father had named the very day that also had named that morning as the earliest on which it would be of any use to meet her that was about fifteen days from the day on which he had left fifteen days that fragment of duration which has acquired such an interesting individuality from its connection with the english marriage law she involuntarily looked at her father so strangely that on becoming conscious of the look she with embarrassment her father too looked confused what was he thinking of there seemed to be a special facility offered her by a a pair op blue eyes power external to herself in the circumstance that mr had proposed to leave home the night previous to her wished for day her father seldom took long journeys seldom slept from home except perhaps on the night following a remote well she would not inquire too curiously into the reason of the opportunity nor did he as would have been natural proceed to explain it of his own accord in matters of fact there had hitherto been no reserve between them though they were not usually confidential in its full sense but the of their emotions on s account had produced an which just at present went even to the extent of on the most ordinary household topics was almost unconsciously relieved persuading herself that her father s reserve on his business justified her in secrecy as regarded her own a secrecy which was necessarily a decision with her so anxious is a young conscience to discover a that the ex post nature of a reason is of no account in it the intervening fortnight was spent by her mostly in walking by herself among the shrubs and trees indulging sometimes in sanguine more far more frequently in all her flowers seemed dull of hue her seemed to look wistfully into her eyes as if they no longer stood in the same friendly relation to her as formerly she wore melancholy gazed at and talked to old men and women it was the first time that she had had an inner and private world apart from the visible one about her she wished that her father instead of her even more than usual would make some advance just one word she would then tell all and risk s displeasure thus brought round to the youth again she saw him in her fancy standing touching her his eyes full of sad affection hopelessly i a pair of blue eyes his attempt because she had hers and she could not on the wednesday she was to receive another letter she had resolved to let her father see the arrival of this one be the consequences what they might the dread of losing her lover by this deed of honesty prevented her acting upon the resolve five minutes before the s expected arrival she slipped out and down the lane to meet him she met him immediately upon turning a sharp angle which hid her from view in the direction of the the man handed one and was going on to hand another a circular from some no she said take that on to the house why miss you are doing what your father has done for the last fortnight she did not comprehend c why come to this corner and take a letter of me every morning all writ in the same handwriting and letting any others for him go on to the house and on the went no sooner had he turned the corner behind her back than she heard her father meet and address the man she had saved her letter by two minutes her father audibly went through precisely the same performance as she had just been guilty of herself this stealthy conduct of his was to say the least peculiar given an impulsive girl neglected as to her inner life by her only parent and the following forces alive within her to determine a first love acted upon by a deadly fear of separation from its object guiding onward a frantic wish to prevent the above named issue as to propriety met by hope of ultimate indignation at parental in first a pair of blue eyes then forbidding a sense of overpowered by a conscientious inability to brook a breaking of faith with a man who in had remained from the beginning a blessed hope that opposition would turn an judgment a bright faith that things would mend thereby and wind up well probably the result would after all have been had not the following few remarks been made one day at breakfast her father was in his old hearty spirits he smiled to himself at stories too bad to tell and called a little for preserving some blind that ought to have been drowned after this expression she said to him suddenly if mr smith had been already in the family you would not have been made wretched by discovering he had poor relations do you mean in the family by marriage he replied and continuing to his egg the scarlet told that was her meaning as much as the affirmative reply i should have put up with it no doubt mr observed so that you would not have been driven into hopeless melancholy but have made the best of him s mind had from her youth upwards been constantly in the habit of her father by questions based on absurd conditions the present seemed to be cast so precisely in the mould of previous ones that not being given to of circumstances he answered it with customary complacency if he were allied to us of course i or any sensible man should accept conditions that could not be altered certainly not be hopelessly melancholy about jt j don t believe anything in the a pair of	45
blue eyes world would make me hopelessly melancholy and don t let anything make you so either i won t papa she cried with a serene brightness that pleased him certainly mr must have been far from thinking that the brightness came from an intention to hold back no longer from the mad action she had planned in the evening he drove away towards quite alone it was an unusual course for him at the door had been again almost impelled by her feelings to pour out all why are you going to papa she said and looked at him i will tell you to morrow when i come back he said cheerily not before then thou wilt not utter what thou dost not know and so far will i trust thee gentle she was repressed and hurt will tell you my errand to too when i come back she murmured he went away his made her intention seem the lighter as his indifference made her more resolved to do as she liked it was a familiar september sunset dark blue fragments of cloud upon an orange yellow sky these used to tempt her to walk towards them as any beautiful thing a near approach she went through the field to the hedge into the middle of it and upon the thick boughs after looking westward for a considerable time she blamed herself for not looking eastward to where was and turned round ultimately her eyes fell upon the ground a peculiarity was beneath her a green field spread itself on each side of the hedge one belonging to the the other being a part of the land z a pair of eyes attached to the house adjoining on the side she saw a little the and altogether exceptional feature of which consisted in its being only about ten yards long it terminated abruptly at each end a suddenly beginning and suddenly ending coming from nowhere and leading nowhere she had never seen before yes she had on second thoughts she had seen exactly such a path trodden in the front of by the and this recollection explained the origin of the path here her father had trodden it by pacing up and down as she had once seen him doing sitting on the hedge as she sat now her eyes commanded a view of both sides of it and a few minutes later looked over to the side here was another path it was like the first in length and it began and ended exactly opposite the beginning and ending of its neighbour but it was thinner and less distinct two reasons existed for the difference this one might have been trodden by a similar weight of tread to the other exercised a less number of times or it might have been walked just as frequently but by lighter feet probably a gentleman from scotland yard had he been passing at the time might have considered the latter alternative as the more probable thought otherwise so far as she thought at all but her own great to morrow was now imminent all thoughts inspired by casual sights of the eye were only allowed to exercise themselves in inferior corners of her brain previously to being banished altogether was at length compelled to reason practically upon her undertaking all her definite when the emotion accompanying them was abstracted amounted to no more than these a pair of blue eyes say an hour and three quarters to ride to st s say half an hour at the to change my dress say two hours waiting for some train and getting to say an hour to spare before twelve o clock total time from leaving till twelve o clock five hours therefore i shall have to start at seven no surprise or sense of entered the minds of the servants at her early ride the monotony of life we associate with people of small in districts out of the sound of the railway whistle has one exception which puts into shade the experience of about the great of population that is in travelling every journey there is more or less an adventure adventurous hours are necessarily chosen for the most commonplace miss had to leave early that was all never went out on horseback but she brought home something something found or something bought if she trotted to town or village her burden was books if to hills woods or the it was wonderful twigs a handkerchief of wet shells or once in muddy weather when was walking with her down the street of castle on a a packet in front of her and a packet under her arm an accident the and they slipped down on one side of her three volumes of fiction lay kissing the mud on the other numerous of lay absorbing it unpleasant women smiled through windows at the the men all looked round and a boy who was a stall whilst the owner had gone to get drunk a pair of blue eyes laughed loudly the blue eyes turned to and the cheeks with vexation after that she set her wits to work and was ingenious enough to invent an arrangement of small about the saddle by which a great deal could be safely carried in a small compass here she now spread out and fastened a plain dark walking dress and a few other trifles of apparel worm opened the gate for her and she vanished away one of the brightest mornings of late summer shone upon her the was at its the at its the loud enough for birds the like little engines and at first felt lively sitting at ease upon in her riding habit and hat she looked what she felt but the of those days had a trick of falling unexpectedly first only for one minute in ten had she a sense of depression then a large cloud	45
that had been hanging in the north like a black came and placed itself between her and the sun it helped on what was already inevitable and she sank into a of sadness she turned in the saddle and looked back they were now on an open table land whose still gave her a view of the sea by she looked at that spot during this little of feeling had been still advancing and felt it would absurd to turn her little mare s head the other way still she thought if i had a mamma at home i would go back and making one of those stealthy movements by which women let their hearts with their brains she did put the horse s head about as if unconsciously and went at a hand gallop towards home for more than a mile by this time from the habit of what we have directly the alternative a pair of blue eyes is chosen the thought of her forsaken recalled her and she turned about and on to st s again this miserable strife of thought now began to rage in all its and trembling she dropped the rein upon s shoulders and vowed she would be led whither the horse would take her her pace to a walk and walked on with her agitated burden for three or four minutes at the of this time they had come to a little by way on the right leading down a slope to a pool of water the pony stopped looked towards the pool and then advanced and stooped to drink looked at her watch and discovered that if she were going to reach st s early enough to change her dress at the and get a chance of some early train to there were only two available it was necessary to proceed at once she was impatient it seemed as if would never stop drinking and the repose of the pool the idle motions of the insects and flies upon it the placid waving of the flags the leaf like placidly sleeping at the bottom by their contrast with her own turmoil made her impatience greater did turn at last and went up the slope again to the high road the pony came upon it and stood looking up and down s heart and she thought c horses if left to themselves make for where they are best fed will go home turned and walked on towards st s at home during summer had little but grass to live on after a run to st s she always had a feed of corn to support her on the return journey therefore being now more than half way she preferred st s but did not remember this now all she a pair of blue eyes cared to recognize was a dreamy fancy that to day s rash action was not her own she was by her moods and it seemed indispensable to to the programme so strangely involved are motives that more than by her promise to more even than by her love she was forced on by a sense of the necessity of keeping faith with herself as promised in the vow of ten minutes ago she hesitated no longer went like the of as if she told the steps presently the quaint and roofs of st s were spread beneath her and going down the hill she entered the of the mrs the landlady came to the door to meet her the were well known here the transition from to the ordinary guise of railway travellers had been more than once performed by father and daughter in this establishment in less than a quarter of an hour emerged from the door in her walking dress and went to the railway she had not told mrs anything as to her intentions and was supposed to have gone out an hour and forty minutes later and she was in s arms at the station not upon the platform in the secret retreat of a deserted waiting room s face ill he was pale and what is the matter she asked we cannot be married here to day my i ought to have known it and stayed here in my ignorance i did not i have the but it can only be used in my parish in london i only came down last night as you know what shall we do she said there s only one thing we can do darling a pair of blue eyes what s that go on to london by a train just starting and be married there to morrow passengers for the up train take their seats said a guard s voice on the platform will you go i will in three minutes the train had moved off bearing away with it and adieu i she cries and waved her lily hand he few tattered clouds of the morning enlarged and united the sun withdrew behind them to no more that day and the evening drew to a close in pf rain the water drops beat like duck shot against the window of the railway carriage containing and the journey from to by even the most headlong express allows quite enough leisure for passion of any sort to cool s excitement had passed off and she sat in a kind of stupor during the latter half of the journey she was aroused by the of the of rails over which they traced their way at the entrance to the station is this london she said yes darling said in a tone of assurance he was far from feeling to him no less than to her the reality so greatly differed from the she peered out as well as the window with drops would allow her and saw only the lamps which had just been lit in the wet atmosphere and rows of hideous	45
chimney pipes in dim relief against the sky she uneasily as when a thought is a pair of blue eyes swelling in the mind which must cause much pain at its in words had known no more about the of evil report than the native wild fowl knew of the effects of s first shot now she saw a little further and a little further still the train stopped the soft hand he had held all the day and proceeded to assist her on to the platform this act of upon strange ground seemed all that was wanted to complete a resolution within her she looked at her with despairing eyes o she exclaimed i am so miserable i must go home again i must i must forgive my wretched i don t like it here nor myself nor you looked bewildered and did not speak will you allow me to go home she implored i won t trouble you to go with me i will not be any weight upon you only say you will agree to my returning that you will not hate me for it it is better that i should return again indeed it is but we can t return now he said in a tone must i will how when do you want to go now can we go at once the lad looked hopelessly along the platform if you must go and think it wrong to remain dearest said he sadly you shall you shall do whatever you like my but would you in reality rather go now than stay till to morrow and go as my wife yes yes much anything to go now i must i must she cried we ought to have done one of two things he a pair of blue eyes answered gloomily never to have started or not to have returned without being married i don t like to say it indeed i don t but you must be told this that going back unmarried may compromise your good name in the eyes of people who may hear of it they will not and i must go o i am to blame for bringing you away not at all i am the elder by a month and what s that but never mind that now he looked around is there a train for to night he inquired of a guard the guard passed on and did not speak is there a train for to night said to another yes miss the leaves in ten minutes you have come to the wrong platform it is the other side change at into the night mail down that stain case and under the line they ran down the staircase first to the office and into a carriage with an official standing beside the door show your tickets please they are locked in men about the platform their till they fly up and down like in a loom a whistle the waving of a flag a human cry a steam groan and away they go to again just catching these words as they glide off those two had a near run for it and no mistake found her breath and have you come too why did you i shall not leave you till i see you safe at st s do not think worse of me than i am and then they rattled along through the night back again by the way they had come the weather cleared and the stars shone in upon them their two or three fellow passengers sat for most of the time with closed a pair of blue eyes eyes sometimes slept alone was and hour after hour the day began to break and revealed that they were by the sea red rocks them and receding into distance grew livid in the blue grey atmosphere the sun rose and sent penetrating shafts of light in upon their weary faces another hour and the world began to be busy they waited yet a little and the train its speed in view of the platform at st s she shivered and mused sadly i did not see all the consequences she said appearances are against me if anybody finds me out i am i suppose disgraced then appearances will speak and how can that matter even if they do i shall be your husband sooner or later for certain and so prove your purity once in london i ought to have married you she said firmly it was my only safe defence i see more things now than i did yesterday my only remaining chance is not to be discovered and that we must fight for most desperately they stepped out pulled a thick veil over her face a woman with red and eyelids and glistening eyes was sitting on a bench just inside the office door she fixed her eyes upon with an expression whose force it was impossible to doubt but the meaning of which was not clear then upon the carriage they had left she seemed to read a sinister story in the scene shrank back and turned the other way c who is that woman said c she looked hard at you mrs a widow and mother of that young man whose tomb we sat on the other night she is my enemy would that god had had mercy enough upon me to have hidden this from fur a pair op blue eyes do not talk so hopelessly he remonstrated i don t think she recognized us i pray that she did not he put on a more vigorous mood now we will go and get some breakfast no no she begged i cannot eat i must get back to was as if she had grown years older than now but you have had nothing since last	45
night but that cup of tea at can t eat wine and no nor tea nor coffee no a glass of water no i want something that makes people strong and energetic for the present that the strength of to morrow for use to day leaving to morrow without any at all for that matter or even that would take all life away to morrow so long as it enabled me to get home again now brandy that s what i want that woman s eyes have eaten my heart away you are wild and you grieve me darling must it be brandy yes if you please how much c i don t know i have never drunk more than a at once all i know is that i want it don t get it at the he left her in the fields and went to the nearest inn in that direction presently he returned with a small nearly full and some of bread thin as in a paper bag took a or two it goes into my eyes she said wearily i can t a pair op blue take any more yes i will i will close my eyes ah it goes to them by an inside route i don t want it throw it away however she could eat and did eat her chief attention was concentrated upon how to get the horse from the stables without suspicion was not allowed to accompany her into the town she acted now upon conclusions reached without any aid from him his power over her seemed to have departed you had better not be seen with me even here where i am so little known we have begun stealthily as thieves and we must end stealthily as thieves at all until papa has been told by me myself a discovery would be terrible walking and gloomily talking thus they waited till nearly nine o clock at which time thought she might call at the without creating much surprise behind the railway station was the river by an old bridge whence the road in two directions one the of the town and winding round again into the to beside this road sat and awaited her return from the he sat as one sitting for a portrait motionless watching the lights and shades on the the children playing opposite the school previous to entering for the morning lesson the in a field afar off the certainty of possession had not come and there was nothing to the youth s gloom that increased with the thought of the parting now so near at length she came trotting round to him in appearance much as on the romantic morning of their visit to the cliff but of the radiance which about her then however her comparative from further risk and trouble had con a pair of blue eyes composed her s capacity for being wounded was only surpassed by her capacity for healing which rightly or is by some considered an index of of feeling in general what did they say at the nothing nobody seemed curious about me they knew i went to and i have stayed there a night now and then with miss i rather calculated upon that and now parting arose like a death to these children for it was imperative that she should at once walked beside her for nearly a mile during the walk he said sadly four and twenty hours have passed and the thing is not done but you have that it shall be done how have i you ask how do you think i could marry another man on earth after having gone thus far with you have i not shown beyond possibility of doubt that i can be nobody else s have i not committed myself pride has stood for nothing in the face of my great love you misunderstood my turning back and i cannot explain it it was wrong to go with you at all and though it would have been worse to go further it would have been better policy perhaps be assured of this that whenever you have a home for me however poor and humble and come and claim me i am ready she added bitterly when my father knows of this day s work he may be only too glad to let me go perhaps he may then insist upon our marriage at once answered seeing a ray of hope in the very of her remorse i hope he may even if we had still to part till i am ready for you as we intended did not reply a pair of eyes you don t seem the same woman that you were yesterday nor am i but good bye go back now and she the horse for parting o she cried i feel so weak i don t know how to meet him cannot you after all come back with me shall i come paused to think no it will not do it is my utter foolishness that makes me say such words but he will send for you say to him continued that we did this in the absolute despair of our minds tell him we don t wish him to favour us only to deal justly with us if he says marry now so much the better if not say that all may be put right by his promise to allow me to have you when i am good enough for you which may be soon say i have nothing to offer him in exchange for his treasure the more sorry i but all the love and all the life and all the labour of an honest man shall be yours as to when this had better be told i leave you to judge his words made her cheerful enough to toy with her position and if	45
of blue eyes c and a large well a fair sized mansion in town and a as long as my walking stick though that bears evidence of being rather a up affair done since the family got rich people do those things now as they build ruins on maiden estates and cast at merely listened and said nothing he continued more quietly and yes she is wealthy in comparison with us though with few connections however she will introduce you to the world a little we are going to exchange her house in baker street for one at for your sake everybody is going there now she says at we shall fly to town for the usual three months i shall have a of course by that time i am past love you know and i honestly confess that i married her for your sake why a woman of her standing should have thrown herself away upon me god knows but i suppose her age and were too pronounced for a town man with your good looks if you now play your cards well you may marry anybody of course a little contrivance will be necessary but there s nothing to stand between you and a husband with a title that i can see lady was only a squire s daughter now don t you see how foolish the old fancy was but come she is indoors waiting to see you it is as good as a play too continued the as they walked towards the house i her through the hedge yonder not entirely you know but we used to walk there of an evening nearly every evening at last but i needn t tell you details now everything was terribly matter i assure you at last that day i saw her at we determined to settle it off hand and you never said a word to me replied not reproachfully either in tone or thought indeed her feeling was the very reverse of she a pair of blue eyes felt relieved and even thankful where confidence had not been given how could confidence be expected her father her for a veil of politeness over a sense of ill usage i am not altogether to blame he said there were two or three reasons for secrecy one was the recent death of her relative the though that did not apply to you but remember he continued in a tone you had mixed yourself up so foolishly with those low people the and it was just too when mrs and myself were beginning to understand each other that i resolved to say nothing even to you how did i know how far you had gone with them and their son you might have made a point of taking tea with them every day for all that i knew swallowed her feelings as she best could and languidly though asked a question did you kiss mrs on the lawn about three weeks ago that evening i came into the study and found you had just had candles in mr looked rather red and abashed as middle aged lovers are apt to do when caught in the tricks of younger ones well yes i think i did he stammered just to please her you know and then recovering himself he laughed heartily c and was this what your quotation referred to it was they stepped into the drawing room from the at that moment mrs came downstairs and entered the same room by the door here is my little said mr with the increased affection of tone often adopted towards relations when newly produced poor not knowing what to do did nothing a pair of blue eyes at all but stood of all that came to her by sight hearing and touch mrs moved forward took her s hand then kissed her ah darling she exclaimed good you didn t think when you showed a strange old woman over the a month or two ago and explained the flowers to her so prettily that she would so soon be here in new colours nor did she i am sure the new mother had been enough described by mr she was not physically attractive she was dark very dark in complexion in figure and with a plentiful of hair in the proportion of half a dozen white ones to half a dozen black ones though the latter were black indeed no further observed she was not a woman to like but there was more to see to the most superficial critic it was apparent that she made no attempt to disguise her age she looked sixty at the first glance and close never proved her older another and still more winning trait was one to the corners of her mouth before she made a remark these often gently not backwards and forwards the index of not down upon the jaw the sign of determination but upwards in precisely the curve adopted to represent mirth in the broad of only this element in her face was expressive of anything within the woman but it was unmistakable it expressed humour as well as which could survey the peculiarities of self in as a light as those of other people this is not all of mrs she had held out to hands whose fingers were literally stiff with rings like s robe these rows of rings were not worn in vanity apparently they were mostly antique and dull though a few were the reverse a pair of blue eyes right hand i st plainly set oval representing a devil s head nd green with red veins rd entirely gold bearing figure of a hideous th a sea green monster diamond with small diamonds round it th antique of dancing figure of a th an band chased with heads th a accompanied by ten little twinkling	45
c c left hand st a yellow nd a heavy ring in colours and bearing a rd an th a polished surrounded by diamonds th the engraved ring of an th a gloomy c c beyond this rather quaint array of stone and metal mrs wore no ornament whatever had been impressed with mrs at their meeting about two months earlier but to be pleased with a woman as a momentary acquaintance was different from being taken with her as a however the of feeling was but for a moment decided to like her still mrs was a woman of the world as to knowledge the reverse as to action as her marriage suggested and the lady were soon involved in conversation and mr left them to themselves and what do you find to do with yourself here mrs said after a few remarks about the wedding you ride i know yes i ride but not much because papa doesn t like my going alone c you must have somebody to look after you a pair of blue eyes and i read and write a little you should write a novel the regular resource of people who don t go enough into the world to live a novel is to write one i have done it said looking at mrs as if in doubt whether she would meet with ridicule there that s right now then what is it about dear about well it is a romance of the middle ages c knowing nothing of the present age which everybody knows about for safety you chose an age known neither to you nor other people that s it eh no no i don t mean it dear well i have had some opportunities of studying art and manners in the library and private museum at house and i thought i should like to try my hand upon a fiction i know the time for these tales is past but i was interested in it very much interested when is it to appear oh never i suppose nonsense my dear girl publish it by all means all ladies do that sort of thing now not for profit you know but as a of mental respectability to their future husbands an excellent idea of us ladies though i am afraid it rather the melancholy of throwing over castle walls at and suggests desperation rather than plenty inside did you ever try it no i was too for gone even for that papa says no will take my book that remains to be proved i ll give my word my dear that by this time next year it shall be printed will you indeed said partially brightening with pleasure though she was sad enough in her a pair of blue eyes depths i thought brains were the indispensable even if the only for admission to the republic of letters a mere commonplace creature like me will soon be turned out again oh no once you are there you ll be like a drop of water in a piece of rock crystal your medium will your c it will be a great satisfaction murmured and thought of and wished she could make a great fortune by writing and marry him and live happily and then we ll go to london and then to paris said mrs i have been talking to your father about it but we have first to move into the house and we think of staying at whilst that is going on meanwhile instead of going on a by ourselves we have come home to fetch you and go all together to bath for two or three weeks assented pleasantly even gladly but she saw that by this marriage her father and herself had ceased for ever to be the close relations they had been up to a few weeks ago it was impossible now to tell him the tale of her wild with smith he was still in her heart his absence had regained for him much of that of which had been nearly abstracted during her mood on that miserable journey from london rapture is often cooled by contact with its cause especially if under awkward conditions and that last experience with had done anything but make him shine in her eyes his very kindness in letting her return was his offence had her sex s love of sheer force in a man however ill directed and at that critical juncture in london s only chance of retaining the over her that his a pair of blue eyes face and not his parts had acquired for him would have been by doing what for one thing he was too youthful to undertake that was dragging her by the wrist to the rails of some altar and marrying her decisive action is seen by minds to be frequently and sometimes fatal but decision however has more charm for a woman than the most success however some of the unpleasant of that occasion were now out of sight again and had resumed not a few of his fancy colours xiii he set in order many it is london in october two months further on in the story s inn has this peculiarity that it faces receives from and into a bustling speaking only of wealth and respectability whilst its on as crowded and poverty stricken a of as are to be found anywhere in the metropolis the moral consequences are first that those who occupy chambers in the inn may see a great deal of humanity s habits and without doing more than look down from a back window and second they may hear wholesome though unpleasant social through the medium of a harsh voice an unequal footstep the echo of a blow or a fall which in the person of some or as he crosses and with the quiet of the square characters	45
of this kind frequently pass through the inn from a little of an alley at the back but they never there it is hardly necessary to state that all the sights and movements proper to the inn are most orderly on the fine october evening on which we follow a pair of blue eyes smith to this place a placid porter is sitting on a stool under a tree in the midst with a little cane in his hand we notice the thick coat of upon the branches hanging underneath them in as in a chimney the blackness of these boughs does not at present improve the tree nearly forsaken by its leaves as it is but in the spring their green fresh beauty is made doubly beautiful by the contrast within the is a flower garden of respectable and where a man is sweeping the leaves from the grass a doorway and an old though wide wooden staircase with and which in a country house would be considered a specimen of he reaches a door on the first floor over which is painted in black letters c mr henry knight c at law being understood but not expressed the wall is thick and there is a door at its outer and inner face the outer one happens to be goes to the other and come in from distant first was a small divided from the inner apartment by a two or three yards wide across this hung a pair of dark green curtains making a mystery of all within the arch except the scratching of a pen here was a assemblage of articles mainly old framed prints and leaning against the wall like in a s yard all the books visible here were too big to be stolen some lying on a heavy oak table in one corner some on the floor among the pictures the whole with old coats hats and walking sticks pushed aside the curtain and before him sat a man writing away as if his life depended upon it which it did a pair of blue eyes a man of thirty in a coat with dark brown hair curly beard and crisp moustache the latter running into the beard on each side of the mouth and as usual hiding the real expression of that organ under a aspect of c ah my dear fellow i knew twas you said knight looking up with a smile and holding out his hand knight s mouth and eyes came to view now both features were good and had the peculiarity of appearing younger and than the brow and face they belonged to which were getting o er by the unmistakable pale cast the mouth had not quite of curve for the firm of middle life and the eyes though keen rather than penetrated what they had lost of their boy time brightness by a dozen years of hard reading a to their gaze which suited them well a lady would have said there was a smell of tobacco in the room a man that there was not knight did not rise he looked at a on the then turned again to his letters pointing to a chair well i am glad you have come i only returned to town yesterday now don t speak for ten minutes i have just that time to the late post at the minute i m your man sat down as if this kind of reception was by no means new and away went knight s pen beating up and down like a ship in a storm called the library the soul of the house here the house was all soul portions of the floor and half the wall space were taken up by book shelves ordinary and extraordinary the remaining parts together with side tables c being occupied by casts and of various descriptions picked up by the owner in his wanderings through france and italy a pair of blue eyes one stream only of evening sunlight came into the room from a window quite in the corner overlooking a court an stood in the window it was a dull enough for living creatures at most hours of the day but for a few minutes in the evening as now an kindly ray lighted up and warmed the little world therein when the many coloured opened and put forth their arms the weeds acquired a rich the shells gleamed of a more golden yellow and the timid community expressed gladness more plainly than in words within the prescribed ten minutes knight flung down his pen rang for the boy to take the letters to the post and at the closing of the door exclaimed there thank god that s done now pull your chair round and tell me what you have been doing all this time have you kept up your greek no how s that haven t enough spare time c that s nonsense well i have done a great many things if not that and i have done one extraordinary thing knight turned full upon ah ha now then let me look into your face put two and two together and make a shrewd guess changed to a colour why smith said knight after holding him rigidly by the shoulders and keenly his countenance for a minute in silence you have fallen in love the fact is now out with it but seeing that looked rather distressed he changed to a kindly tone now smith my lad you know me well enough by this time or you ought to and you know very well that if you choose to give me a detailed account of the phenomenon a pair of blue eyes within you i shall listen if you don t i am the last man in the world to care to hear it i ll tell this much i have fallen	45
in love and i want to be married knight looked ominous as this passed s lips don t judge me before you have heard more cried anxiously seeing the change in his friend s countenance don t judge does your mother know about it nothing definite father no but i ll tell you the young person come that s dreadfully but perhaps i understand the frame of mind a little so go on your sweetheart c she is rather higher in the world than i am as it should be and her father won t hear of it as i now stand not an uncommon case and now comes what i want your advice upon something has happened at her house which makes it out of the question for us to ask her father again now so we are keeping silent in the meantime an in india has just written to mr to ask whether he can find for him a young assistant willing to go over to to prepare drawings for work formerly done by the the salary he offers is a month or about has mentioned it to me and i have been to dr who says i shall without much illness now would you go you mean to say because it is a possible road to the young lady yes i was thinking i could go over and make a little money and then come back and ask for her i have the of for myself after a year l s a pair of would she be oh yes for ever to the end of her life how do you know c why how do people know of course she will knight back in his chair now though i know her thoroughly as she exists in your heart i don t know her in the flesh all i want to ask is is this idea of going to india based entirely upon a belief in her fidelity yes i should not go if it were not for her well you have put me in rather an awkward position if i give my true sentiments i shall hurt your feelings if i don t i shall hurt my own judgment and remember i don t know much about women but you have had although you tell me very little about them and i only hope you ll continue to prosper till i tell you more at this rap i have never formed a deep attachment continued knight i never have found a woman worth it nor have i been once engaged to be married you write as if you had been engaged a hundred times if i may be allowed to say so said in an injured tone yes that may be but my dear it is only those who half know a thing that write about it those who know it thoroughly don t take the trouble all i know about women or men either is a mass of i along and occasionally lift my eyes and the surface of mankind lying between me and the horizon as a crow might no more knight stopped as if he had fallen into a train of thought and looked with affectionate awe at a master whose mind he believed could swallow up at one meal all that his own head contained a pair op blue eyes there was sympathy but no great intellectual fellowship between knight and smith knight had seen his young friend when the latter was a cherry happy boy had been interested in him had kept his eye upon him and generously helped the lad to books till the mere connection of patronage grew to acquaintance and that to friendship and so though smith was not at all the man knight would have deliberately chosen as a friend or even for one of a group of a dozen friends he somehow was his friend circumstance as usual did it all how many of us can say of our most intimate alter leaving alone friends of the outer circle that he is the man we should have chosen as the net result after adding up all the points in human nature that we love and principles we hold and all that we hate the man is really somebody we got to know by mere physical long maintained and was taken into our confidence and even heart as a and what do you think of her ventured to say after a silence taking her merits on trust from you said knight as we do those of the roman poets of whom we know nothing but that they lived i still think she will not stick to you through say three years of absence in india but she will cried desperately she is a girl all delicacy and honour and no woman of that kind who has committed herself so into a man s hands as she has into mine could possibly marry another how has she committed herself asked knight curiously did not answer knight had looked on his love so that it would not do to say all that he had intended to say by any means a pair op blue eyes well don t tell said knight but you are begging the question which is i suppose inevitable in love and tell you another thing the younger man pleaded you remember what you said to me once about women receiving a kiss don t you why that instead of our being charmed by the fascination of their bearing at such a time we should immediately doubt them if their confusion has any grace in it that awkward was the true charm of the occasion that we are the first who has played such a part with them it is true quite said knight it often happened that the thus remembered the lessons of the master long after the master himself had	45
forgotten them well that was like her cried triumphantly she was in such a that she didn t know what she was doing splendid splendid said knight soothingly so that all i have to say is that if you see a good opening in there s no reason why you should not go without troubling to draw fine distinctions as to reasons no man fully what opinions he acts upon or what his actions mean yes i go to i ll write a note here if you don t mind sleep over it it is the best plan and write to morrow meantime go there to that window and sit down and look at my humanity show i am going to dine out this evening and have to dress here out of my i bring up my things like this to save the trouble of going down to my place at and back again knight then went to the middle of the room and flung open his and drew near the window the streak of sunlight had crept upward i s a pair of eyes edged away and vanished the slept a dusky gloom pervaded the room and now another volume of light shone over the window there said knight where is there in england a spectacle to equal that i sit there and watch them every night before i go home softly open the beneath them was an alley running up to the wall and thence turning sideways and passing under an arch so that knight s back window was immediately over the angle and commanded a view of the alley crowds mostly of women were bustling and pacing up and down glared from the of flesh to of orange and like the wild colouring of s later pictures whilst the and of tongues of every pitch and mood was to this human wild wood what the ripple of a brook is to the natural forest nearly ten minutes passed then knight also came to the window well now i call a cab and vanish down the street in the direction of square he said his waistcoat and kicking his morning suit into a corner rose to leave what a heap of literature remarked the young man taking a final longing survey round the room as if to abide there for ever would be the great pleasure of his life yet feeling that he had almost his welcome while his eyes rested upon an arm chair piled full of newspapers magazines and bright new volumes in green and red yes said knight also looking at them and breathing a sigh of weariness something must be done with several of them soon i suppose you needn t hurry away for a few minutes you know if you want to stay i am not quite ready those volumes a pair op eyes whilst i put on my coat and i ll walk a little way with you sat down beside the arm chair and began to tumble the books about among the rest he found a in one volume the court of castle by field c are you going to review this inquired with apparent and holding up s which oh that i may though i don t do much light now but it is c how do you mean knight never liked to be asked what he meant mean i mean that the majority of books published are neither good enough nor bad enough to provoke criticism and that that book does provoke it by its goodness or its said with some anxiety on poor little s score its it seems to be written by some girl in her said not another word he did not care to speak plainly of after that unfortunate slip his tongue had made in respect of her having committed herself and apart from that knight s severe almost dogged and self willed honesty in was by the humble wish of a youthful friend like knight was now ready turning of the gas and together the door they went downstairs and into the street xiv we while tis may it has now to be realized that nearly three quarters of a year have passed away in place of the scenery which formed a setting to the previous we have the of summer in the year following is in india away at an office in occasionally going up the country on professional errands and wondering why people who had been there longer than he complained so much of the effect of the climate upon their never had a young man a finer start than seemed now to present itself to it was just in that exceptional of prosperity which shone over some few years ago that he arrived on the scene building and partook of the general speculation moved with an every successive day the only disagreeable connected with it being the possibility of a had never told her father of the four s with nor had it to her knowledge come to his ears by any other route it was a secret trouble and grief to the girl for a short a pair of blue eyes time and s departure was another in her sorrow but possessed special for getting rid of trouble after a decent interval whilst a slow nature was a misfortune little by little she had swallowed the whole agony of it at a draught and was brightening again she could off a sadness and replace it by a hope as easily as a a limb and two such excellent had presented themselves one was bringing out the romance and looking for notices in the papers which though they had been significantly short so far had served to divert her thoughts the other was from the to the more old house of mrs s overlooking the same valley mr at first disliked the idea	45
the girls are stared at by the and above all the look of the girls themselves losing their gaze in the depths of handsome men s eyes without appearing to notice whether they are observing masculine eyes or the leaves of the trees there s praise for you but i am only child you know that how warm it is to be sure said mr a pair op blue eyes as if his mind were a long distance from all he saw i declare that my watch is so hot that i can scarcely bear to touch it to see what the time is and all the world smells like the inside of a hat how the men stare at you said the elder lady you will kill me quite i am afraid kill you as a diamond an in the same setting i have noticed several ladies and gentlemen looking at me said showing her pleasure at being observed c my dear you mustn t say gentlemen nowadays her answered in the tones of arch concern that so well became her we have handed over gentlemen to the lower middle class where the word is still to be heard at s balls and provincial tea parties i believe it is done with here what must i say then ladies and men always at this moment appeared in the stream of moving in the contrary direction a chariot presenting in its general surface the rich hue of a midnight sky the wheels and being picked out in delicate lines of the servants were coats and silver lace and breeches of indian red the whole concern formed an whole and moved along behind a pair of dark chestnut who advanced in an indifferently zealous trot very performed and occasionally shrugged divers points of their surface as if they were rather above the business in this sat a gentleman with no decided characteristics more than that he somewhat resembled a good natured commercial traveller of the superior class beside him was a lady with eyes and complexion belonging to the interesting class of women where that class in the sickly her greatest pleasure a pair of blue eyes being apparently to enjoy nothing opposite this pair sat two little girls in white hats and blue feathers the lady saw smiled and bowed and touched her husband s elbow who turned and received s movement of recognition with a gallant elevation of his hat then the two children held up their arms to and laughed who is that why lord isn t it said mrs who with the had been seated with her back towards them yes replied he is the one man of those i have seen here whom i consider than papa thank you dear said mr yes but your father is so much older when lord gets a little further on in life he won t be half so good looking as our man thank you dear likewise said mr see exclaimed still looking towards them how those little want me actually one of them is crying for me to come we were talking of just now look at lady s said mrs as that lifted up her arm to support one of the children it is slipping up her arm too large by half i hate to see daylight between a and a wrist i wonder women haven t better taste it is not on that account indeed it is that her arm has got thin poor thing you cannot think how much she has altered in this last the carriages were now nearer together and there was an exchange of more familiar greetings between the two families then the crossed over and drew up under the plane trees just in the rear of the lord alighted and came forward with a musical laugh a pair op blue eyes it was his attraction as a man people liked him for those tones and forgot that he had no talents acquaintances remembered mr by his manner they remembered smith by his face lord by his laugh mr made some friendly remarks among others things upon the heat yes said lord we were driving by a s window this afternoon and the sight filled us all with such a sense of that we were glad to get away ha ha he turned to miss i have hardly seen or spoken to you since your literary feat was made public i had no idea a was taking notes down at quiet or i should certainly have put myself and friends upon our best behaviour why didn t you give me a hint fluttered blushed laughed said it was nothing to speak of c c well i think you were rather treated by the present i certainly do writing a heavy review like that upon an elegant trifle like the court of castle was absurd what said opening her eyes was i in the present v oh yes didn t you see it why it was four or five months ago no i never saw it how sorry i am what a shame of my they promised to send me every notice that appeared ah then i am almost afraid i have been giving you disagreeable information withheld out of courtesy depend upon it they thought no good would come of sending it and so would not pain you oh no i am indeed glad you have told me lord it is quite a mistaken kindness their a pair of blue eyes part is the review so much against me she inquired no no not that exactly though i almost forget its exact purport now it was merely merely sharp you know i might say but really my memory does not enable me to speak decidedly we ll drive to the present office and get one directly shall we papa if you are so	45
anxious dear we will or send but to morrow will do and do oblige me in a little matter now said lord warmly and looking as if he were sorry he had brought news that disturbed her i am in reality sent here as a special messenger by my little and to ask you to come into our carriage with them for a short time i am just going to walk across into and my wife is left alone with them i am afraid they are rather spoilt children but i have half promised them you shall come the steps were let down and was transferred to the intense delight of the little girls and to the mild interest of with red skins and long necks who eyed the performance with their walking sticks to their lips occasionally laughing from far down their throats and with their eyes their mouths not being concerned in the operation at all lord then told the coachman to drive on lifted his hat smiled a smile that missed its mark and alighted on a total stranger who bowed in bewilderment lord looked long at the look was a manly open and genuine look of admiration a momentary tribute of a kind which any honest englishman might have paid to without being ashamed of the feeling or permitting it to in the slightest degree upon his obligations as a husband and head of a family then lord a pair op blue turned away and walked to the upper end ol the mr had alighted at the same time with crossing over to the row for a few minutes to speak to a friend he recognized there and his wife was thus left sole tenant of the carriage now whilst this little act had been in course of performance there stood among the spectators a man of somewhat different description from the rest behind the general throng in the rear of the chairs and leaning against the trunk of a tree he looked at with quiet and critical interest three points about this person showed promptly to the exercised eye that he was not a row man sang first an irrepressible or two in the waist of his frock coat that he had not damned his tailor sufficiently to drive that up to the high pressure of cunning second a slight of umbrella occasioned by its owner s habit of resting heavily upon it and using it as a veritable walking stick instead of letting its point touch the ground in the most of kisses as is the proper row manner to do third and chief reason that try how you might you could scarcely help supposing on looking at his face that your eyes were not far from a well mind instead of the skin et which is by rights the mark of the row the probability is that had not mrs been left alone in her carriage under the tree this man would have remained in his unobserved seclusion but seeing her thus he came round to the front stooped under the rail and stood beside the carriage door mrs looked at him for a quarter of a minute then held out her hand why henry knight of course it is my second a pair of blue eyes third fourth cousin what shall i say at any rate my yes one of a remnant not yet cut off i scarcely was certain of you either from where i was standing have not seen you since you first went to oxford consider the number of years you know i suppose of my marriage and there sprang up a dialogue concerning family matters of birth death and marriage which it is not necessary to detail knight presently inquired the young lady who changed into the other carriage is then your yes you must know her and who was the lady in the carriage entered who had an ill defined and watery look as if she were only the reflection of herself in a pool lady very weakly says my husband is connected with them but there is not much intimacy on account of however henry you ll come and see us of course square come this week we shall only be in town a week or two longer let me see i ve got to run up to oxford tomorrow where i shall be for several days so that i must i fear lose the pleasure of seeing you in london this year then come to why not return with us i am afraid if i were to come before august i should have to leave again in a day or two i should be delighted to be with you at the beginning of that month and i could stay a nice long time i have thought of going westward all the summer very well now remember that s a compact and won t you wait now and see mr he will not be away ten minutes longer no i ll beg to be excused for i must get to my a pair of blue chambers again this evening before i go home indeed i ought to have been there now i have such a press of matters to attend to just at present you will explain to him please good bye and let us know the day of your appearance as soon as you can xv a wandering voice though sheer and intelligible are not charmed away by being confided to mere acquaintances the process is a to certain ill among these perplexed vexation is one a species of trouble which like a stream gets by the simple operation of it in any quarter on the evening of the day succeeding that of the meeting in the park and mrs were engaged in conversation in the dressing room of the latter such a treatment of such	45
a case was in course of here had just before received an affectionate letter from smith in which had been forwarded to her from but since this is not the case referred to it is not worth while to further into the contents of the letter than to discover that with rash though confidence in coming times he addressed her in high spirits as his darling future wife probably there cannot be a and rule of thumb test of a man s temperament sanguine or cautious than this did he or does he a pair of blue eyes date the word wife in corresponding with a sweetheart he honestly loves she had taken this into her own room read a little of it then saved the rest for to morrow not wishing to be so extravagant as to the pleasure all at once nevertheless she could not resist the wish to enjoy yet a little more so out came the letter again and in spite of as to the whole was devoured the letter was finally and placed in her pocket what was this also a newspaper for which she had overlooked in her hurry to open the letter it was the old number of the present containing the article upon her book forwarded as had been requested had hastily read it through shrunk smaller and had then gone with the paper in her hand to mrs s dressing room to or at least her vexation by a estimate from her she was now looking out of the window never mind my child said mrs after a careful perusal of the matter indicated i don t see that the review is such a terrible one after all besides everybody has forgotten about it by this time i m sure the opening is good enough for any book ever written just listen it sounds better read aloud than when you pore over it silently the court of castle a romance of the middle ages by field in the belief that we were for a while escaping the monotonous repetition of wearisome details in modern social scenery of uninteresting character or the unnatural of a sensation plot we took this volume into our hands with a feeling of pleasure we were disposed to ourselves with the fancy that some new change might possibly be rung upon a a pair op blue eyes keeps chain and plate deeply cheeks tender maidens disguised as pages to which we had not listened long ago now that s a very good beginning in my opinion and one to be proud of having brought out of a man who has never seen you ah yes murmured but then see further on well the next bit is rather unkind i must own said mrs and read on instead of this we found ourselves in the hands of some young lady hardly arrived at years of discretion to judge by the silly device it has been thought worth while to adopt on the title page with the idea of her sex i am not silly said indignantly he might have called me anything but that you are not indeed well hands of a young lady whose chapters are simply devoted to impossible towers and which read like flat copies of like scenes in the stories of mr g p r james and the most unreal portions of the bait is so artificial that the most turns away now my dear i don t see to complain of in that it proves that you were clever enough to make him think of sir walter scott which is a great deal oh yes though i cannot romance myself i am able to remind him of those who can intended to these words at her invisible enemy but as she had no more power than a wood pigeon they merely fell in a pretty murmur from lips shaped to a certainly and that s something your book is good enough to be bad in an ordinary literary manner and doesn t stand by itself in a melancholy position altogether worse than that interest in an historical romance may nowadays have any chance of being sustained it is indispensable that the reader find a pair op blue eyes himself the guidance of some nearly extinct species of who in addition to an impulse towards and an faith in the shall possess an faculty in which delicacy of sentiment is far by a power of to stirring incident a spirited variety of the human passions well that doesn t refer to you at all merely something put in to fill up let me see when does he come to you again not till the very end actually here you are finally polished off but to return to the little work we have used as the text of this article we are far from altogether the author s powers she has a certain that her to use with effect a style of peculiar to herself which may be called a murmuring of delicate trifles the particular gift of those to whom the social sympathies of a peaceful time are as daily food hence where matters of domestic experience and the natural touches which make people real can be introduced without too striking she is occasionally and upon the whole we feel justified in saying that the book will bear looking into for the sake of those portions which have nothing whatever to do with the story well i suppose it is intended for satire but don t think anything more of it now my dear it is seven o clock and mrs rang for her maid attack is more than s letter was concerning nothing but with her the review was the very reverse and a stranger with neither name nor shape age nor appearance but a mighty voice is naturally rather an interesting novelty to a	45
lady he chooses to address when fell that night she was loving the writer of the thinking of the writer of that article xvi then fancy s fancy can on a day about three weeks later the were sitting quietly in the drawing room of the mrs s house at and taking survey of their previous month or two of town a weariness even to people whose acquaintances there might be counted on the fingers a mere season in london with her practised had so advanced s that her courtship by seemed meagre and to have drifted back several years into a childish past in regarding our mental experiences as in observation our own progress reads like a of that we progress from she was seated on a low chair looking over her romance with melancholy interest for the first time since she had become acquainted with the remarks of the present thereupon still thinking of that not of him personally but i am thinking of his opinion really on looking into the volume after this long time has elapsed he seems to have estimated one part of it fairly enough a pair of blue eyes no no i wouldn t show the white feather now fancy that of all people in the world the writer herself should go over to the enemy how shall s men fight when runs away i don t do that but i think he is right in some of his arguments though wrong in others and because he has some claim to my respect i regret all the more that he should think so of my motives in one or two instances it is more to be misunderstood than to be and he me i cannot be easy whilst a person goes to rest night after night to me intentions i never had he doesn t know your name or anything about you and he has doubtless forgotten there is such a book in existence by this time i myself should certainly like him to be put right upon one or two matters said the who had hitherto been silent you see critics go on writing and are never corrected or argued with and therefore are never improved papa said brightening write to him i would as soon write to him as look at him for the matter of that said mr do and say the young person who wrote the book did not adopt a masculine in vanity or conceit but because she was afraid it would be thought to publish her name and that she did not mean the story for such as he but as a of history for young people who might thereby acquire a taste for what went on in their own country hundreds of years ago and be tempted to deeper into the subject oh there is so much to explain i wish i might write myself now i ll tell you what we will do answered mr with a sort of humour at the idea of the critic you shall write a clear a pair of blue eyes account of what he is wrong in and i will copy it and send it as mine yes now directly said jumping up when will you send it papa oh in a day or two i suppose he returned then the paused and slightly yawned and in the manner of elderly people began to cool from his for the undertaking now that it came to the point but really it is hardly worth while he said o papa said with much disappointment you said you would and now you won t that is not fair but how can we send it if we don t know whom to send it to if you really want to send such a thing it can easily be done said mrs coming to her s rescue an envelope addressed to the critic of the court of castle care of the editor of the present would find him yes i suppose it would why not write your answer yourself mrs inquired i might she said hesitatingly and send it that would be treating him as he has treated me no use in the world but i don t like to let him know my exact name suppose i put my only the less you are known the more you are thought of c yes you might do that set to work there and then her one desire for the last fortnight seemed likely to be realized as happens with sensitive and secluded minds a continual dwelling upon the subject had to colossal proportions the space she assumed herself to occupy or to have occupied in the critic s mind at noon and at night she had been herself with m a pair of blue eyes to perceive more distinctly his conception of her as a woman apart from an author whether he really despised her whether he thought more or less of her than of ordinary young women who never ventured into the fire of criticism at all now she would have the satisfaction of feeling that at any rate he knew her true intent in crossing his path and him so by her performance and be taught perhaps to despise it a little less four days later an envelope directed to miss in a strange hand made its appearance from the post bag oh said her heart sinking within her can it be from that man a lecture for impertinence and actually one for mrs in the same handwriting she feared to open hers yet how can he know my name no it is somebody else nonsense said her father grimly you sent your and the was available though he wouldn t have taken the trouble to look there unless he had been thoroughly savage with you i thought you wrote with rather more than simple literary	45
discussion required this was introduced to save the character of the s judgment under any issue of affairs well here i go said desperately tearing open the seal to be sure of course exclaimed mrs and looking up from her own letter i quite forgot to tell you when i mentioned that i had seen my distant relative harry knight that i invited him here for whatever length of time he could spare and now he says he can come any day in august write and say the first of the month replied the she read on goodness me and that isn t all he is actually the of s book how a pair of blue absurd to be sure i had no idea he novels or had anything to do with the present he is a and i thought he only wrote in the why you have brought about an odd what does he say to you had put down her letter with a dissatisfied flush on her face i don t know the idea of his knowing my name and all about me why he says nothing particular only this my dear madam though i am sorry that my remarks should have seemed harsh to you it is a pleasure to find that they have been the means of bringing forth such an argued reply unfortunately it is so long since i wrote my review that my memory does not serve me sufficiently to say a single word in my defence even supposing there remains one to be said which is doubtful you will find from a letter i have written to mrs that we are not such strangers to each other as we have been imagining possibly i may have the pleasure of seeing you soon when any argument you choose to advance shall receive all the attention it deserves that is dim sarcasm i know it is oh no and then his remarks didn t seem harsh i mean i did not say so he thinks you are in a frightful temper said mr in and he will come and see me and find the a as contemptible in speech as she has been impertinent in manner i do heartily wish i had never written a word to him never mind said mrs also laughing in low quiet it will make the meeting such a affair and afford splendid by play for your a pair of blue eyes father and myself the idea of our running our heads against harry knight all the time i cannot get over that the had immediately remembered the name to be that of smith s and friend but having ceased to concern himself in the matter he made no remark to that effect to allude to anything which could restore recollection of the to him disagreeable mistake with regard to poor s and position had of course perceived the same thing which added to the of relationship a that her knew nothing of the scarcely heightened knight s attractions now though a ago she would only have cared to see him for the interest he possessed as s friend fortunately for knight s advent such a reason for welcome had only begun to be awkward to her at a time when the interest he had acquired on his own account made it no longer necessary these in common with all relating to him tended to keep s mind upon the stretch concerning knight as was her custom when upon the horns of a she walked off by herself among the laurel bushes and there standing still and up a leaf without removing it from its stalk fetched back recollections of s frequent words in praise of his friend and wished she had listened more attentively then still pulling the leaf she would blush at some fancied mortification that would to her from his words when they met in consequence of her as she now considered it in writing to him the next development of her meditations was the subject of what this man s personal appearance might a pair of blue eyes be was he tall or short dark or fair gay or grim she would have asked mrs but for the risk she might thereby of some remark being returned ultimately would say oh what a plague that is to me and turn her face to where she imagined india lay and murmur to herself ah my little husband what are you doing now let me see where are you south east where behind that hill ever so far behind her welcome spoke in faltering phrase there is henry knight i declare said mrs one day they were gazing from the angle of a wild not far from the which almost the valley already described as leading up from the sea and little port of castle the stony upon which they stood had the of a man s face and it was covered with as with a beard people in the field above were preserved from an accidental roll down these and hollows by a hedge on the very crest which was doing that kindly service for and her mother now higher into the hedge and stretching her neck further over the beheld the individual signified he was walking leisurely along the little green path at the bottom beside the stream a upon his left hip a stout walking stick in his hand and a brown holland sun hat upon his head the was worn and old and the outer polished surface of the leather was cracked and off knight having arrived over the hills to castle upon the top of a crazy preferred to a pair of blue eyes walk the remaining two miles up the valley leaving his luggage to be brought on behind him wandered a boy of whom knight had briefly inquired the	45
from experience in the art you would make a great name for certain she continued so many people make a name nowadays that it is more distinguished to remain in obscurity tell me seriously apart from the subject why don t you write a volume instead of loose articles she insisted since you are pleased to make me talk of myself i will tell you seriously said knight not less amused at this by his young friend than he was interested in her appearance as i have implied i have not the wish and if i had the wish i could not now sufficiently we all have only our one a pair of eyes of energy given us to make the best of and where that energy has been away week by week quarter by quarter as mine has for the last nine or ten years there is not enough back behind the mill at any given period to supply the force a complete book on any subject requires then there is the self confidence and waiting power where quick results have grown customary they are fatal to a lively faith in the future yes i comprehend and so you choose to write in fragments no i don t choose to do it in the sense you mean choosing from a whole world of professions all possible it was by the of accident merely not that i object to the accident c why don t you object i mean why do you feel so quiet about things was half afraid to question him so but her intense curiosity to see what the inside of literary mr knight was like kept her going on knight certainly did not mind being frank with her instances of this trait in men who are not without feeling but are from habit may be recalled by all of us when they find a listener who can by no possibility make use of them rival them or condemn them reserved and even suspicious men of the world become frank keenly enjoying the inner side of their frankness why i don t mind the accidental he replied is because in making a chance of direction is often better than absolute freedom i that is i should if i quite understood what all those mean why this that an arbitrary foundation for one s work which no length of thought can alter leaves the attention free to c itself on the work itself and make the best of it a pair of blue eyes forcing as would be said in that tongue she said and i suppose where no limit exists as in the case of a rich man with a wide taste who wants to do something it will be better to choose a limit than to have none yes he said i can go as far as that well resumed i think it better for a man s nature if he does nothing in particular there is such a case as being obliged to yes yes i was speaking of when you are not obliged for any other reason than delight in the prospect of fame i have thought many times lately that a thin happiness now and of a piece with the days of your life is to an anticipated heap far away in the future and none now why that s the very thing i said just now as being the principle of all like myself oh i am sorry to have you she said with some confusion yes of course that is what you meant about not trying to be famous and she added with the quickness of conviction characteristic of her mind there is much in trying to be great a man must think a good deal of himself and be conceited enough to believe in himself before he tries at all but it is soon enough to say there is harm in a man s thinking a good deal of himself when it is proved he has been thinking wrong and too soon then sometimes besides we should not conclude that a man who earnestly for success does so with a strong sense of his own merit he may see how little success has to do with merit and his motive may be his very humility this manner of treating her rather provoked no sooner did she agree with him than he ceased to a pair of blue eyes seem to wish it and took the other side ah she thought inwardly i shall have nothing to do with a man of this kind though he is our visitor think you will find resumed knight pursuing the conversation more for the sake of finishing off his thoughts on the subject than for engaging her attention that in actual life it is merely a matter of instinct with men this trying to push on they awake to a recognition that they have without begun to try a little and they say to themselves since i have tried thus much i will try a little more they go on because they have begun in her turn was not particularly attending to his words at this moment she had unconsciously to herself a way of seizing any point in the remarks of an which interested her and dwelling upon it and thinking thoughts of her own thereupon totally of all that he might say in on such occasions she surveyed the person speaking and then there was a time for a painter her eyes seemed to look at you and past you as you were then into your future and past your future into your eternity not reading it but gazing in an unused unconscious way her mind still clinging to its original thought this is how she was looking at knight suddenly became conscious of what she was doing and was painfully confused what were you so	45
intent upon in me he inquired as far as i was thinking of you at all i was thinking how clever you are she said with a want of that was startling in its honesty and simplicity feeling restless now that she had so spoken she arose and stepped to the window having heard the voices of her father and mrs a pair of blue coming up below the terrace here they are she said going out knight walked out upon the lawn behind her she stood upon the edge of the terrace close to the stone and looked towards the sun hanging over a just now fair as s up which her father was walking knight could not help looking at her the sun was within ten degrees of the horizon and its warm light her face and heightened the bright rose colour of her cheeks to a red their moderate pink hue being only seen in its natural tone where the cheek curved round into shadow the ends of her hanging hair softly dragged themselves backwards and forwards upon her shoulder as each faint breeze thrust against or it and ribbons of her dress moved by the same breeze licked like tongues upon the parts around them and fluttering forward from shady folds caught likewise their share of the orange glow mr shouted out a welcome to knight from a distance of about thirty yards and after a few preliminary words proceeded to a conversation of deep earnestness on knight s fine old family name and theories as to and connected knight s having in the meantime arrived they soon retired to prepare for dinner which had been postponed two hours later than the usual time of that meal an arrival was an event in the life of now that they were again in the country and that of knight necessarily an one and that evening she went to bed for the first time without thinking of at all he heard her musical he old tower of west church had reached the last weeks of its existence it was to be replaced by a new one from the designs of mr the who had sent down and poles had arrived in the churchyard iron bars had been thrust into the venerable crack extending down the wall to the foundation the bells had been taken down the had forsaken this home of their forefathers and six in white to whom a cracked edifice was a species of had taken lodgings in the village previous to beginning the actual removal of the stones this was the day after knight s arrival to enjoy for the last time the prospect from the summit the mrs knight and all ascended the winding mr stepping forward with many loud his wife struggling along silently but suffering none the less they had hardly reached the top when a large lurid cloud a of rain thunder and lightning was seen to be advancing overhead from the north the two cautious elders suggested an immediate a pair of blue eyes return and proceeded to put it in practice as regarded themselves dear me i wish i had not come up exclaimed mrs c we shall be slower than you two in going down the said over his shoulder and so don t you start till we are nearly at the bottom or you will run over us and break our necks somewhere in the darkness of the accordingly and knight waited on the leads till the staircase should be clear knight was not in a mood that morning was rather wilful by reason of his which she privately set down to his thinking her not worth talking to whilst knight stood watching the rise of the cloud she sauntered to the other side of the tower and there remembered a giddy feat she had performed the year before it was to walk round upon the of the tower which was quite without or and presented a smooth flat surface about two feet wide forming a pathway on all the four sides without reflecting in the least upon what she was doing she now stepped upon the in the old way and began walking along we are down cousin henry cried mrs up the follow us when you like knight turned and saw beginning her elevated his face flushed with mingled concern and anger at her i certainly gave you credit for more common sense he said she a little and walked on miss i insist upon your coming down he exclaimed i will in a minute i am safe enough i have done it often at that moment by reason of a slight a pair of blue his words had caused in her s foot caught itself in a little of grass growing in a joint of the and she almost lost her balance knight sprang forward with a face of horror by what seemed the special of a considerate providence she to the inner edge of the instead of to the outer and over upon the lead roof two or three feet below the wall knight seized her as in a vice and he said panting that ever i should have met a woman fool enough to do a thing of that kind good god you ought to be ashamed of yourself the close of the shadow of death had made her sick and pale as a corpse before he spoke already lowered to that state his words completely overpowered her and she away as he held her s eyes were not closed for more than forty seconds she opened them and remembered the position instantly his face had altered its expression from stern anger to pity but his severe remarks had rather frightened her and she struggled to be free if you can stand of you may he said and loosened his arms i hardly know whether most to laugh at your	45
or to you for its folly she immediately sank upon the lead work knight lifted her again are you hurt he said she murmured an expression and tried to smile saying with a fitful aversion of her face i am only frightened put me down do put me down but you can t walk said knight you don t know that how can you i am only frightened i tell you she answered and raised her hand to her forehead knight then saw that she was bleeding from a severe cut in her wrist apparently where it had descended upon a corner of the lead work too seemed to perceive and feel this now for the first time and for a minute nearly n a pair of blue eyes lost consciousness again knight rapidly bound his handkerchief round the place and to add to the the he had been watching began to shed some heavy drops of rain knight looked up and saw the towards the house and mrs beside him like a hard driven duck as you are so faint it will be much better to let me carry you down said knight or at any rate inside out of the rain but her objection to be lifted made it impossible for him to support her for more than five steps this is folly great folly he exclaimed setting her down indeed she murmured with tears in her eyes i say i will not be carried and you say this is folly so it is no it isn t it is folly i think at any rate the origin of it all is i don t agree to it and you needn t get so angry with me i am not worth it indeed you are you are worth the enmity of princes as was said of such another now then will you clasp your hands behind my neck that i may carry you down without you no no you had better or i shall what s that deprive you of your chance gave a little toss c now don t so when i attempt to carry you i can t help it c then submit quietly i don t care i don t care she murmured in languid tones and with closed eyes he took her into his arms entered the and a pair of blue eyes with slow and cautious steps descended round and round then with the gentleness of a nursing mother he attended to the cut on her arm during his progress through the operations of wiping it and binding it up anew her face changed its aspect from pained indifference to something like interest with small and of a trifling kind in the centre of each pale cheek a small red spot the size of a had now made its appearance and continued to grow larger expected a to the lecture on her foolishness but knight said no more than this promise me never to walk on that again it will be pulled down soon so i do in a few minutes she continued in a lower tone and seriously you are familiar of course as everybody is with those strange sensations we sometimes have that our life for the moment exists in that we have lived through that moment before or shall again well i felt on the tower that something similar to that scene is again to be common to us both god forbid said knight promise me that you will never again walk on any such place on any consideration i do that such a thing has not been before we know that it shall not be again you vow therefore think no more of such a foolish fancy there had fallen a great deal of rain but by lightning a few minutes longer and the storm had ceased now take my arm please oh no it is not necessary this into was because he had again connected the epithet foolish with her a pair of blue eyes c nonsense it is quite necessary it will rain again directly and you are not half recovered and without more knight took her hand drew it under his arm and held it there so firmly that she could not have removed it without a struggle feeling like a in a for the first time at thus being led along yet afraid to be angry it was to her great relief that she saw the carriage coming round the corner to fetch them her fall upon the roof was necessarily explained to some extent upon their entering the house but both to mention a word of what she had been doing to cause such an accident during the remainder of the afternoon was invisible but at dinner time she appeared as bright as ever in the drawing room after having been exclusively engaged with mr and mrs through the intervening hour knight again found himself thrown with she had been looking over a problem in one of the illustrated you like miss c yes it is my favourite scientific game indeed every other do you play i have played though not lately challenge him said the heartily c she plays very well for a lady mr knight shall we play asked c oh certainly i shall be delighted the game began mr had forgotten a similar performance with smith the year before had not but she had begun to take for her the truth that the necessity of continuing faithful to without suspicion dictated a behaviour almost as as itself a fact however which would give a startling advantage to the latter quality should it ever appear knight by one of those which will sometimes the best of players placed his a pair of blue eyes in the arms of one of her it was her first advantage she looked even by george what was i thinking of said knight quietly and	45
then dismissed all concern at his accident club laws we ll have won t we mr knight said oh yes certainly said mr knight a thought however just to his mind that he had two or three times allowed her to replace a man on her assuring him that such a move was an absolute blunder she immediately took up the unfortunate and the contest proceeded having now rather the better of the game then he won the exchange regained his position and began to press her hard grew and placed her queen on his remaining s file there how stupid upon my word i did not see your of course nobody but a fool would have put a queen there she spoke excitedly half expecting her to give her back the move nobody of course said knight serenely and stretched out his hand towards his royal victim it is not very pleasant to have it taken advantage of then she said with some vexation club laws i think you said returned knight and the queen she was on the brink of but was ashamed to show it tears almost stood in her eyes she had been trying so hard so very hard thinking and thinking till her brain was in a whirl and it seemed so heartless of him to treat her so after all i think it is she began what c unkind to take advantage of a pure mistake make in that way a pair of blue eyes i lost my by even a purer mistake said the enemy in an inexorable tone without lifting his eyes yes but however as his logic was absolutely she merely a protest i cannot endure those cold blooded ways of clubs and professional players like and just as if it really mattered whether you have raised your fingers from a man or no knight smiled as as before and they went on in silence said knight another game said and looking very warm with all my heart said knight said knight again at the end of forty minutes another game she returned resolutely give you the odds of a bishop knight said to her kindly no thank you replied in a tone intended for courteous indifference but as a fact very indeed said her opponent without the least emotion oh the difference between s condition of mind now and when she purposely made that smith might win it was her mind as distracted as if it would throb itself out of her head she went off to her chamber full of mortification at being beaten time after time when she herself was the having for two or three years enjoyed the reputation throughout the globe of her father s brain which almost constituted her entire world of being an excellent player this was intolerable for unfortunately the person most dogged in the belief in a false reputation is always a pair of eyes that one the possessor who has the best means of knowing that it is not true in bed no sleep came to soothe her that gentle thing being the very middle of summer friend in this respect of flying away at the merest cloud after lying awake till two o clock an idea seemed to strike her she softly arose got a light and fetched a from the library returning and sitting up in bed she diligently studied the volume till the clock struck five and her eyelids felt thick and heavy she then extinguished the light and lay down again you look pale said mrs the next morning at breakfast isn t she cousin harry a young girl who is scarcely ill at all can hardly help becoming so when regarded as such by all eyes turning upon her at the table in obedience to some remark everybody looked at she certainly was pale am i pale she said with a faint smile i did not sleep much i could not get rid of armies of and knights try how i would is a bad thing just before especially for people like yourself dear don t ever play late again i ll play early instead cousin knight she said in imitation of mrs will you oblige me in something even to half my kingdom well it is to play one game more when now instantly the moment we have nonsense said her father making yourself a slave to the game like that but i want to papa honestly i am restless at having been so overcome and mr knight doesn t mind so what harm can there be let us play by all means if you wish it said knight a pair of eyes so when breakfast was over the withdrew to the quiet of the library and the door was closed seemed to have an idea that her conduct was rather ill regulated and free from conventional restraint and worse she fancied upon knight s face a slightly amused look at her proceedings you think me foolish i suppose she said c but i want to do my very best just once and see whether i can overcome you c certainly nothing more natural though i am afraid it is not the plan adopted by women of the world after a defeat why pray because they know that as good as is skill in recollection of being overcome and turn their attention to that entirely i am wrong again of course perhaps your wrong is more pleasing than their right i don t quite know whether you mean that or whether you are laughing at me she said looking at him yet to accept the more flattering interpretation i am almost sure you think it vanity in me to think i am a match for you well if you do i say that vanity is no crime in such a case well perhaps not	45
though it is hardly a virtue c oh yes in battle s bravery lay in his vanity indeed then so did his death oh no no for it is written in the book of the prophet shakespeare fear and be slain no worse can come to fight and fight and die is death destroying death m and down they sat and the contest began having the first move the game s heart beat so violently that she could not sit still her a pair of blue eyes dread was lest he should hear it and he did discover it at last some flowers upon the table being set throbbing by its i think we had better give over said knight looking at her gently c it is too much for you i know let us write down the position and finish another time c no please not she implored c i should not rest if i did not know the result at once it is your move ten minutes passed she started up suddenly i know what you are doing she cried an angry colour upon her cheeks and her eyes indignant you were thinking of letting me win to please me i don t mind that i was knight responded and appearing all the more so by contrast with her own turmoil but you must not i won t have it very well no that will not do i insist that you promise not to do any such absurd thing it is insulting me very well madam i won t do any such absurd thing you shall not win that is to be proved she returned proudly and the play went on nothing is now heard but the of a quaint old on the summit of a ten minutes pass he her knight she takes his knight and looks a very more minutes away she takes his and has the advantage showing her sense of it rather five minutes more he takes her bishop she brings things even by taking his knight three minutes she looks bold and takes his queen he looks placid and takes hers eight or ten minutes pass he takes a she o a pair of blue eyes a little but not the ghost of a can she take in ten minutes pass he takes another and says check she herself by his bishop and looks triumphant he immediately lakes her bishop she looks surprised five minutes longer she makes a dash and takes his only remaining bishop he replies by taking her only remaining knight two minutes he gives check her mind is now in a painful state of and she shades her face with her hand yet a few minutes more he takes her and again she literally now lest an artful surprise she has in store for him shall be anticipated by the artful surprise he evidently has in store for her five minutes in two moves if you can says knight oh i have that is cruel says knight and the victory is won arose and turned away without letting him see her face once in the hall she ran upstairs and into her room and flung herself down upon her bed weeping bitterly where is said her father at luncheon knight listened anxiously for the answer he had been hoping to see her again before this time she isn t well sir was the reply mrs rose and left the room going upstairs to s apartment at the door was unity who occupied in the new establishment a position between young lady s maid and middle she is sound asleep ma am unity whispered mrs opened the door was lying a pair of blue eyes full dressed on the bed her face hot and red her arms thrown abroad at intervals of a minute she tossed from side to side and moaned words used in the game of mrs had a turn for and felt her pulse it was like a harp string at the rate of nearly a hundred and fifty a minute softly moving the sleeping girl to a little less cramped position she went downstairs again she is asleep now said mrs she does not seem very well cousin knight what were you thinking of her tender brain won t bear like your great head you should have strictly forbidden her to play again in truth the s experience of the nature of young women was far less extensive than his abstract knowledge of them led himself and others to believe he could pack them into sentences like a workman but practically was nowhere am indeed sorry said knight feeling even more than he expressed but surely the young lady knows best what is good for her bless you that s just what she doesn t know she never thinks of such things does she her father and i have to command her and keep her in order as you would a child she will say things worthy of a french and act like a robin in a but i think we will send for dr there can be no harm a man was straightway despatched on horseback to castle and the gentleman known as dr came in the course of the afternoon he pronounced her nervous system to be in a decided state of disorder forwarded some soothing draught and gave orders that on no account whatever was she to play again the next morning knight much vexed with himself a pair of blue eyes waited with a curiously feeling for her entry to breakfast the women servants came in to prayers at irregular intervals and as each entered he could not to save his life avoid turning his head with the hope that she might be mr began reading without waiting for her then somebody glided in noiselessly knight softly glanced up it was only the little kitchen maid knight thought	45
reading prayers a bore he went out alone and for almost the first time failed to recognize that holding converse with nature s charms was not solitude on the house again he perceived his young friend crossing a slope by a path which ran into the one he was following in the angle of the field here they met was at once and abashed coming into his presence had upon her the effect of entering a cathedral knight had his note book in his hand and had in fact been in the very act of writing therein when they came in view of each other he left off in the midst of a sentence and proceeded to inquire warmly concerning her state of health she said she was perfectly well and indeed had never looked better her health was as as her actions her lips were red without the polish that have and their with the white skin in a clearly defined line which had nothing of jagged confusion in it altogether she stood as the last person in the world to be knocked over ty a game of because too looking to play one are you taking notes she inquired with an alacrity plainly arising less from interest in the subject than from a wish to divert his thoughts from herself yes i was making an entry and with your permission i will complete it knight then stood still and wrote remained beside him a moment and afterwards walked on a t air of blue i should like to see all the secrets that are in that book she gaily flung back to him over her shoulder i don t think you would find much to interest you i know i should then of course i have no more to say but i would ask this question first is it a book of mere facts concerning journeys and expenditure and so on or a book of thoughts well to tell the truth it is not exactly either it consists for the most part of for articles and essays and of no possible interest to anybody but myself it contains i suppose your developed thoughts in yes if they are interesting when enlarged to the size of an article what must they be in their concentrated form pure spirit above proof before it is lowered to be fit for human consumption words that burn indeed rather like a before it is dead you could hardly read them may i try she said c i wrote my poor romance in that way i mean in bits out of doors and i should like to see whether your way of entering things is the same as mine really that s rather an awkward request i suppose i can hardly refuse now you have asked so directly but you think me ill in asking but does not this justify me your writing in my presence mr knight if i had lighted upon your book by chance it would have been different but you stand before me and say excuse me without caring whether i do or not and write on and then tell me they are not private facts but public ideas very well miss if you really must see a pair of blue eyes the consequences be upon your own head remember my advice to you is to leave my book alone but with that caution i have your permission yes she hesitated a moment looked at his hand containing the book then laughed and saying i must see it withdrew it from his fingers knight on towards the house leaving her standing in the path turning over the leaves by the time he had reached the gate he saw that she had moved and waited till she came up had closed the note book and was carrying it by the corner between her finger and thumb her face wore a look she silently extended the volume towards him raising her eyes no higher than her hand was lifted take it said quickly i don t want to read it could you understand it said knight as far as i looked but i didn t care to read much why miss only because i didn t wish to that s all i warned you that you might not yes but i never supposed you would have put me there your name is not mentioned once within the four corners not my name i know that nor your description nor anything by which anybody would recognize you except myself for what is this she exclaimed taking it from him and opening a page august that s the day before yesterday but i won t read it said closing the book again with pretty why should i i had no business to ask to see your book and it serves me right a pair of blue eyes knight hardly recollected what he had written and turned over the book to see he came to this girl gets into her and her is born after a certain interval passed in helplessness it begins to act simple young and inexperienced at first persons of observation can tell to a how old this consciousness is by the skill it has acquired in the art necessary to its success the art of hiding itself generally begins career by actions which are termed method adopted depends in each case upon the disposition rank residence of the young lady attempting it town bred girl will utter some moral on fast men or love country miss the more material of taking a ghastly fence whistling or making your blood run cold by appearing to risk her neck on tower an innocent vanity is of course the origin of these look at me say these youthful in womanly without reflecting whether or not it be to their advantage to show so very much of themselves and	45
correct for paper on arts c yes i remember now said knight the notes were certainly suggested by your on the church tower but you must not think too much of such random observations he continued as he noticed her injured looks c a mere fancy passing through my head a importance to you because it has been made permanent by being written down all mankind think thoughts as bad as those of people they most love on earth but such thoughts never getting embodied on paper it becomes assumed that they never existed i that you yourself have thought some disagreeable thing or other of me which would seem just as bad as this if written i challenge you now to tell me a pair of blue eyes the worst thing i have thought of you yes i must not oh yes i thought you were rather round shouldered knight looked slightly and that there was a little bald spot on the top of your head two defects said knight there being a faint in his laugh they are much worse in a lady s eye than being thought self conscious i suppose ah that s very fine she said too inexperienced to perceive her hit and hence not quite disposed to forgive his notes you alluded to me in that entry as if i were such a child too everybody does that i cannot understand it i am quite a woman you know how old do you think i am how old why seventeen i should say all girls are seventeen you are wrong i am nearly nineteen which class of women do you like best those who seem younger or those who seem older than they are off hand i should be inclined to say those who seem older so it was not s class but it is well known she said eagerly and there was something touching in the anxiety to be thought much of which she revealed by her words that the slower a nature is to develop the richer the nature youths and girls who are men and women before they come of age are by the time that backward people have shown their full compass yes said knight thoughtfully there is really something in that remark but at the risk of offence i must remind you that you there take it for granted that the woman behind her time at a given age has not a pair of blue eyes reached the end of her her may be not because she is slow to develop but because she soon exhausted her capacity for developing looked disappointed by this time they were indoors mrs to whom match making by any honest means was meat and drink had now a little scheme of that nature concerning this pair the morning room in which they both expected to find her was empty the old lady having for the above reason it by the second door as they entered by the first knight went to the chimney piece and carelessly surveyed two portraits on ivory though these pink ladies had very features judging by what i see here he observed they had unquestionably beautiful heads of hair yes and that is everything said possibly conscious of her own possibly not not everything though a great deal certainly which colour do you like best she ventured to ask more depends on its abundance than on its colour being equal may i inquire your favourite colour dark i mean for women she said with the fall of countenance and a hope that she had been misunderstood so do i knight replied it was impossible for any man not to know the colour of s hair in women who wear it plainly such a feature may be overlooked by men not given to but hers was always in the way you saw her hair as far as you could see her sex and knew that it was the brown she knew instantly that knight being perfectly aware of this had an independent standard of admiration in the matter a pair of blue eyes was thoroughly vexed she could not but be struck with the honesty of his opinions and the worst of it was that the more they went against her the more she respected them and now like a reckless she i her last and best treasure her eyes they were her all now what coloured eyes do you like best mr knight she said slowly honestly or as a compliment of course honestly i don t want anybody s compliment and yet knew otherwise that a compliment or word of approval from that man then would have been like a well to a i prefer he said serenely she had played and lost again xix love was in the next degree knight had none of those light of speech which by judicious touches of flattery a woman s recollection of the speaker s abstract opinions so no more was said by either on the subject of hair eyes or development s mind had been with sentiments of her own to an uncomfortable degree of distinctness and her discomfort was visible in her face the whole tendency of the conversation had been to quietly but surely her and she was fain to take into favour in self defence he would not have been so she said as to admire an and features different from her own true had declared he loved her mr knight had never done anything of the sort somehow this did not mend matters and the sensation of her in knight s eyes still remained had the position been reversed had loved her in spite of a taste and had knight been indifferent in spite of her resemblance to his ideal it would have far happier thoughts as matters stood s admiration might have its root in a six a pair op blue eyes	45
blindness the result of passion perhaps any keen man s judgment was of her during the remainder of saturday they were more or less thrown with their and no conversation arose which was exclusively their own when was in bed that night her thoughts to the same subject at one moment she insisted that it was ill natured of him to speak so as he had done the next that it was sterling honesty ah what a poor nobody i am she said sighing people like him who go about the great world don t care in the least what i am like either in mood or feature perhaps a man who has got thoroughly into a woman s mind in this manner is half way to her heart the distance between those two stations is short and are you really going away this week said mrs to knight on the following evening which was sunday they were all leisurely climbing the hill to the church where a last service was now to be held at the rather exceptional time of evening instead of in the afternoon previous to the of the portions i am intending to cross to cork from returned knight and then i go on to return this way and stay a little longer with us said the a week is nothing we have hardly been able to realize your presence yet i remember a story which the suddenly stopped he had forgotten it was sunday and would probably have gone on in his week day mode of thought had not a turn in the breeze blown the skirt of his college gown within the range of his vision and so reminded him he at once diverted the current of his narrative with the dexterity the occasion demanded a pair of eyes the story of the who to from which i took my text the sunday before last is quite to the point he continued with the of a man who far from having intended to tell a week day story a moment earlier had thought of nothing but sabbath matters for several weeks what did he gain after all by his restlessness he remained in the city of the and not been so anxious for none of his troubles would have arisen but he had wasted five days already said knight closing his eyes to the s diversion his fault lay in beginning the system originally true true my illustration fails but not the hospitality which prompted the story so you are to come just the same urged mrs for she had seen an almost fall of countenance in her at knight s announcement knight half promised to call on his return journey but the uncertainty with which he spoke was quite enough to fill with a interest in all he did during the few remaining hours the having already twice that day in the two churches mr had undertaken the whole of the evening service and knight read the lessons for him the sun streamed across from the west window and lighted all the assembled with a golden glow knight as he read being illuminated by the same mellow lustre at the organ regarded him with a throbbing sadness of mood which was fed by a sense of being far removed from his sphere as he went deliberately through the chapter appointed a portion of the history of and ascended that magnificent climax of the wind the earthquake the fire and the still small voice his deep tones echoed past with such apparent disregard of her existence that his presence inspired her a pair of blue eyes with a forlorn sense of which his absence would hardly have been able to cause at the same time turning her face for a moment to catch the glory of the dying sun as it fell on his form her eyes were arrested by the shape and aspect of a woman in the west gallery it was the bleak barren countenance of the widow whom had not seen much of since the morning of her return with smith possessing the smallest of this unhappy woman appeared to spend her life in between churchyard and that of a village near where her father and mother were laid she had not attended the service here for a considerable time and she now seemed to have a reason for her choice of seat from the gallery window the tomb of her son was plainly visible standing as the nearest object in a prospect which was closed outwardly by the horizon of the sea the streaming rays too her face now bent towards with a hard and bitter expression that the solemnity of the place raised to a tragic dignity it did not possess the girl resumed her normal attitude with an added s emotion was and after a while would assert itself on a sudden a slight touch was enough to set it free a poem a sunset a contrived of music a vague imagining being the usual accidents of its exhibition the longing for knight s respect which was leading up to an yearning for his love made the present a sufficient one whilst kneeling down previous to leaving when the sunny streaks had gone upward to the roof and the lower part of the church was in soft shadow she could not help thinking of s morbid poem the three graves and shuddering as she wondered if mrs were cursing her she wept as if her heart would break a pair of blue eyes they came out of church just as the sun went down leaving the landscape like a platform from which an eloquent speaker has retired and nothing remains for the audience to do but to rise and go home mr and mrs went off in the carriage knight and preferring to walk as the skilful old had imagined they descended the hill	45
together i liked your reading mr knight presently found herself saying you read better than papa will praise anybody that will praise me you played miss and very correctly correctly yes it must be a great pleasure to you to take an active part in the service i want to be able to play with more feeling but i have not a good selection of music sacred or i wish i had a nice little music library well chosen and that the only new pieces sent me were those of genuine merit i am glad to hear such a wish from you it is extraordinary how many women have no honest love of music as an end and not as a means even leaving out those who have nothing in them they mostly like it for its i have never met a woman who loves music as do ten or a dozen men i know how would you draw the line between women with something and women with nothing in them well said knight reflecting a moment i mean by nothing in them those who don t care about anything solid this is an instance i knew a man who had a young friend in whom he was much interested in fact they were going to be married she was seemingly poetical and he offered her a choice of two of the british poets which she pretended to want badly he said which of them would you like best for me to send she said a pair of the prettiest in bond street if you don t mind would be a pair of blue eyes than either now i call her a girl with not much in her but vanity and so do you i oh yes replied with an effort happening to catch a glimpse of her face as she was speaking and noticing that her attempt at was a miserable failure he appeared to have you miss would not under such circumstances have preferred the no i don t think i should indeed she stammered i ll put it to you said the knight which will you have of these two things of about equal value the well chosen little library of the best music you spoke of bound in case lock and key or a pair of the very prettiest in bond street windows of course the music replied with forced earnestness you are quite certain he said emphatically quite she faltered if i could for certain buy the afterwards knight somewhat keenly enjoyed with the creature whose nature made any such thing a species of cruelty he looked at her rather oddly and said forgive me she said laughing a little a little frightened and blushing very deeply ah miss why didn t you say at first as any firm woman would have said i am as bad as she and shall choose the same i don t know said and with a smile i thought you were musical so i am i think but the test is so severe quite painful i don t understand music doesn t do any real good or r a pair of blue eyes that is a thing to say miss why what you don t understand you don t understand why what conceivable use is there in no no no no she cried i didn t mean what you think i like the music best only i like better own it he said in a tone well i think i should have had the moral courage to own it at once without pretending to an elevation i could not reach like the french was not brave when on the so it was almost with tears in her eyes that she answered desperately my meaning is that i like best just now because i lost one of my prettiest pair last year and papa said he would not buy any more or allow me to myself because i was careless and now i wish i had some like them that s what my meaning is indeed it is mr knight i am afraid i have been very harsh and rude said knight with a look of regret at seeing how disturbed she was but seriously if women only knew how they ruin their good looks by such i am sure they would never want them they were lovely and became me so i not if they were like the ordinary hideous things women stuff their ears with nowadays like the governor of a steam engine or a pair of scales or gold and chains and artists and compensation and heaven knows what besides no they were not one of those things so pretty like this she said with eager animation and she drew with the point of her an enlarged view of one of the lamented to a scale that would have suited a half a mile high p j a pair op blue yes very pretty very said knight how did you come to lose such a precious pair of articles i only lost one nobody ever loses both at the same time she made this remark with embarrassment and a nervous movement of the fingers seeing that the loss occurred whilst smith was attempting to kiss her for the first time on the cliff her confusion was hardly to be wondered at the question had been awkward and received no direct answer knight seemed not to notice her manner oh nobody ever loses both i see and certainly the fact that it was a case of loss takes away all of vanity from your choice as i never know whether you are in earnest i don t now she said looking up at the hairy face of the and coming gallantly to her own rescue if i really seem vain it	45
is that i am only vain in my ways not in my heart the worst women are those vain in their hearts and not in their ways an distinction well they are certainly the more objectionable of the two said knight is vanity a mortal or a sin you know what life is tell me i am very far from knowing what life is a just conception of life is too large a thing to grasp during the short interval of passing through it will the fact of a woman being fond of be likely to make her life in its higher sense a failure nobody s life is altogether a failure well you know what i mean even though my words are badly selected and commonplace she said impatiently because i utter commonplace words you must not suppose i think only commonplace thoughts my poor stock of words are like a limited number of rough i have to cast all my materials in good and bad and the novelty or delicacy of the a pair of blue eyes substance is often lost in the coarse of the form very well believe that ingenious representation as to the subject in hand lives which are failures you need not trouble yourself anybody s life may be just as romantic and strange and interesting if he or she fails as if he or she succeed all the difference is that the last chapter is wanting in the story if a man of power tries to do a great deed and just falls short of it by an accident not his fault up to that time his history had as much in it as that of a great man who has done his great deed it is of the world to hold that particulars of how a lad went to school and so on should be as an interesting romance or as nothing to them precisely in proportion to his after renown they were walking between the sunset and the with the dropping of the sun a nearly full moon had begun to raise itself their shadows as cast by the western glare showed signs of becoming in the interest of a rival pair in the opposite direction which the moon was bringing to distinctness i consider my life to some extent a failure said knight again after a pause during which he had noticed the shadows you how don t precisely know but in some way i have missed the mark really to have done it is not much to be sad about but to feel that you have done it must be a cause of sorrow am i right partly though not quite for a sensation of being profoundly experienced serves as a sort of consolation to people who are conscious of having taken wrong contradictory as it seems there is nothing truer than that people who have always gone right don t know half as much about the nature and ways of going a pair of blue eyes right as those do who have gone wrong however it is not desirable for me to chill your summer time by going into this you have not told me even now if i am really vain if i say yes i shall offend you if i say no you ll think i don t mean it he replied looking curiously into her face ah well she replied with a little breath of distress that which is exceeding deep who will find it out i suppose i must take you as i do the bible find out and understand all i can and on the strength of that swallow the rest in a lump by simple faith think me vain if you will worldly greatness requires so much to grow up in that an infirmity more or less is not a matter for regret as regards women i can t say answered knight carelessly but it is without doubt a misfortune for a man who has a living to get to be born of a truly noble nature a high soul will bring a man to the so you may be right in sticking up for vanity no no i don t do that she said mr knight when you are gone will you send me something you have written i think i should like to see whether you write as you have lately spoken or in your better mood which is your true self the you have been this evening or the nice philosopher you were up to to night ah which you know as well as i their conversation detained them on the lawn and in the till the stars out flung back her head and said idly there s a bright star exactly over me each bright star is overhead somewhere is it oh yes of course where is that one and she pointed with her finger q a pair of blue that is poised like a white hawk over one of the cape islands and that looking down upon the source of the and that lonely quiet looking one he watches the north pole and has no less than the whole for his horizon and that idle one low down upon the ground that we have almost rolled away from is in india over the head of a young friend of mine who very possibly looks at the star in our as it hangs low upon his horizon and thinks of it as marking where his true love dwells glanced at knight with did he mean her she could not see his features but his attitude seemed to show the star is over my head she said with hesitation c or anybody else s in england oh yes i see she breathed her relief his parents i believe are natives of this county i don t know them though	45
i have been in correspondence with him for many years till lately fortunately or unfortunately for him he fell in love and then went to since that time i have heard very little of him knight went no further in his volunteered statement and though at one moment was inclined to profit by the lessons in honesty he had just been giving her the flesh was weak and the intention dispersed into silence there seemed a reproach in knight s blind words and yet she was not able to clearly define any that she had been guilty of xx a distant in the hill knight turned his back upon the parish of and crossed over to cork one day of absence itself on another and his heart he pushed on to the lakes of amid their luxuriant woods surveyed the infinite variety of island hill and there to be found listened to the marvellous echoes of that romantic spot but altogether missed the glory and the dream he formerly found in such favoured regions whilst in the company of her girlish presence had not affected him to any depth he had not been conscious that her entry into his sphere had added anything to himself but now that she was taken away he was very conscious of a great deal being abstracted the had become a necessity and knight was in love fell in love with by looking at her knight by ceasing to do so when or how the spirit entered into him he knew not certain he was that when on the point of leaving he had felt none of that exquisite of sadness a pair of blue eyes natural to such seeing how delightful a subject of contemplation had been ever since had he begun to love her when she met his eye after her on the tower he had simply thought her weak had he grown to love her whilst standing on the lawn brightened all over by the evening sun he had thought her complexion good no more was it her conversation that had sown the seed he had thought her words ingenious and very creditable to a young woman but not had the anything to do with it certainly not he had thought her at that time a rather conceited child knight s experience was a complete of the assumption that love always comes by glances of the eye and sympathetic touches of the that like flame it makes itself palpable at the moment of generation not till they were parted and she had become in his memory could he be said to have even attentively regarded her thus having gathered up images of her which his mind did not act upon till the cause of them was no longer before him he appeared to himself to have fallen in love with her soul which had temporarily assumed its to accompany him on his way she began to rule him so now that accustomed to analysis he almost trembled at the possible result of the introduction of this new force among the nicely adjusted ones of his ordinary life he became restless then he forgot all subjects in the pleasure of thinking about her yet it must be said that knight loved rather than with romance he thought of her manner towards him simplicity on was she he said to himself no forcible translation of favour into suspicion was able to such a theory the performance a pair of blue eyes had been too well done to be anything but real it had the defects without which nothing is genuine no of twenty years standing no bald lady whose earliest season out was lost in the discreet mist of talk could have played before him the part of girl as lived it she had the little artful ways which partly make up there are by nature and by circumstance there doubtless are also of both kinds though some think only those of the latter however knight had been looked upon as a bachelor by nature what was he coming to it was very odd to himself to look at his theories on the subject of love and reading them now by the full light of a new experience to see how much more his sentences meant than he had felt them to mean when they were written people often discover the real force of a old only when it is thrust upon them by a chance adventure but knight had never before known the case of a man who learnt the full compass of his own by such means he was intensely satisfied with one aspect of the affair in him was an invincible objection to be any but the first comer in a woman s heart he had discovered within himself the condition that if ever he did make up his mind to marry it must be on the certainty that no out of inconvenient old letters no bow and blush to a mysterious stranger casually met should be a possible source of knight s sentiments were only the ordinary ones of a man of his age who loves perhaps exaggerated a little by his pursuits when men first love as lads it is with the very centre of their hearts nothing else being concerned in the operation with added years more of the faculties attempt a in the passion till at knight s age the understanding is fain to have a hand in it it may as well a pair of blue eyes be left out a man in love setting up his brains as a of his position is as one a ship s from a light at the mast head knight argued from s of manner which was matter of fact to an in love which was matter of only he said had hardly looked upon a man till she saw me he had never forgotten his severity to	45
all after his arrival had been announced that they had formed an intention to go to st for a few days at the end of the month no satisfactory offered itself on this first evening of his return for presenting with what he had been at such pains to procure he was fastidious in his reading of opportunities for such an intended act the next morning to break fine after a week of cloudy weather it was proposed and decided that they should all drive to strand a local lion which neither mrs nor knight had seen knight scented romantic occasions from afar and foresaw that such a one might be expected before the coming night the journey was along a road by green hills upon which lay trailing like ropes on a in these revealed the blue sea with a few of white and a solitary white sail the whole up to a keen horizon which lay like a line ruled from to then they rolled down a pass the toned rocks forming a wall on both sides from one of which fell a heavy jagged shade over half the a of fresh a pair of blue eyes water burst from an occasional and down upon broad green leaves ran along as a at the bottom locks of the brow of each steep whence at divers points a swung forth into mid air at their head dresses like a they mounted the last crest and the bay which was to be the end of their pilgrimage burst upon them the ocean deepened its colour as it stretched to the foot of the where it terminated in a fringe of white silent at this distance though moving and heaving like a upon a restless the hollows of the purple and brown rocks would have been called blue had not that tint been so entirely appropriated by the water beside them the carriage was put up at a little cottage with a shed attached and an and the coachman carried the of provisions down to the shore knight found his opportunity i did not forget your wish he began when they were apart from their friends looked as if she did not understand and i have brought you these he continued awkwardly pulling out the case and opening it while holding it towards her o mr knight said and turning to a lively red i didn t know you had any intention or meaning in what you said i thought it a mere supposition i don t want them a thought which had flashed into her mind gave the reply a greater than it might otherwise have possessed to morrow was the day for s letter but will you not accept them knight returned feeling less her master than heretofore i would rather not they are beautiful more beautiful than any i have ever seen she answered a pair of blue eyes earnestly looking half at the temptation as eve may have looked at the apple but i don t want to have them if you will kindly forgive me mr knight no kindness at all said mr knight brought to a full stop at this unexpected turn of events a silence followed knight held the open case looking rather at the glittering forms he had forsaken his to procure turning it about and holding it up as if feeling his gift to be by her he were endeavouring to admire it very much himself shut them up and don t let me see them any longer do she said and with a quaint mixture of reluctance and entreaty why not to you mr knight oh because i shall want them there i am silly i know to say that but i have a reason for not taking them now she kept in the last word for a moment intending to imply that her refusal was but somehow the word slipped out and all the rest you will take them some day i don t want to why don t you want to because i don t i don t like to take them i have read a fact of distressing significance in that said knight since you like them your dislike to having them must be towards me no it isn t what then do you like me deepened in tint and looked into the distance with features shaped to an expression of the criticism as regarded her answer i like you pretty well she at length murmured mildly not very much a pair op eyes you are so sharp with me and say hard things and so how can i she replied you think me a i suppose no i don t i mean i do i don t know what i think you i mean let us go to papa responded with somewhat of a delivery well i ll tell you my object in getting the present said knight with a composure intended to remove from her mind any possible impression of his being what he was her lover you see it was the very least i could do in common civility felt rather blank at this statement knight continued putting away the case i felt as anybody naturally would have you know that my words on your choice the other day were and unfair and thought an apology should take a practical shape oh yes was sorry she could not tell why that he gave such a legitimate reason it was a disappointment that he had all the time a cool motive which might be stated to anybody without raising a smile had she known they were offered in that spirit she would certainly have accepted the gift and the feature was that perhaps he suspected her to imagine them offered as a lover s token which was enough if they were not mrs came	45
now to where they were sitting to select a flat for spreading their table cloth upon and amid the discussion on that subject the matter between knight and was for a while he read her refusal so certainly as the of a girl in a novel position that upon the whole he could such a beginning could knight have been told that it was a sense of fidelity struggling against new love whilst no less assuring as to his ultimate victory it might have entirely abstracted the wish to secure it a pair of blue at the same time a slight of manner was visible between them for the remainder of the afternoon the tide turned and they were obliged to ascend to higher ground the day glided on to its end with the usual quiet dreamy of such occasions when every deed done and thing thought is in endeavouring to avoid doing and thinking more looking idly oyer the verge of a they beheld their stone dining table gradually being upon and their and fragments all washed away by the sea the drew a moral lesson from the scene knight replied in the same satisfied strain and then the waves rolled in furiously the green and blue tongues of water slid up the slopes and were into foam by a blow falling back white and faint and leaving trailing followers behind the passing of a heavy shower was the next scene driving them to shelter in a shallow cave after which the horses were put in and they started to return homeward by the time they reached the higher the sky had again cleared and the sunset rays glanced directly upon the wet road they had climbed the formed by their carriage wheels on the ascent a pair of were as shining bars of gold to nothing in the distance upon this also they turned their backs and night spread over the sea the evening was chilly and there was no moon knight sat close to and when the darkness rendered the position of a person a matter of uncertainty particularly close edged away i hope you allow me my place he whispered oh yes tis the least i can do in common civility she said the words so that he might recognize them as his own returned both of them felt delicately balanced between two possibilities thus they reached home a pair of blue eyes to knight this mild experience was delightful it was to him a gentle innocent time a time which though there may not be much in it seldom itself in a man s life and has a peculiar when glanced at he is not deep in love and is by a peaceful sense of being able to enjoy the most trivial thing with a enjoyment the movement of a wave the colour of a stone anything was enough for knight s drowsy thoughts of that day to themselves upon even the the had delivered himself of chiefly because something seemed to be required of him in the presence of a man of knight s were swallowed whole the presence of led him not merely to that kind of talk from the necessities of ordinary courtesy but he listened to it took in the ideas with an make believe that they were proper and necessary and indulged in a feeling that the face of things was complete entering her room that evening found a packet for herself on the dressing table how it came there she did not know she the folds of white paper that covered it yes it was the treasure of a case containing those treasures of ornament she had refused in the dressed herself in them for a moment looked at herself in the glass blushed red and put them away they filled her dreams all that night never had she seen anything so lovely and never was it more clear that as an honest woman she was in duty bound to refuse them why it was not equally clear to her that duty required more vigorous co conduct as well let those who her say the next morning glared in like a upon her it was s letter day and she was bound to meet the to stealthily do a deed she m a pair of blue eyes had never liked to secure an end she now had ceased to desire but she went there were two letters one was from the bank at st s in which she had a small private deposit probably something about interest she put that in her pocket for a moment and going indoors and upstairs to be safer from observation opened s what was this he said to her she was to go to the st s bank and take a sum of money which they had received private to pay her the sum was two hundred pounds there was no check order or anything of the nature of in fact the information amounted to this the money was now in the st s bank standing in her name she instantly opened the other letter it contained a deposit note from the bank for the sum of two hundred pounds which had that day been added to her account s information then was correct and the transfer made i have saved this in one year s letter went on to say and what so proper as well as pleasant for me to do as to hand it over to you to keep for your use i have plenty for myself of this should you not be disposed to let it lie idle in the bank get your father to invest it in your name on good security it is a little present to you from your more than he will i think feel now that my pretensions to your hand are	45
anything but the dream of a silly boy not worth rational consideration with a natural delicacy in mentioning her father s marriage had refrained from all allusion to the pecuniary resources of the lady a pair of blue eyes leaving this matter of fact subject he went on somewhat after his boyish manner do you remember darling that first morning of my arrival at your house when your father read at prayers the miracle of healing the sick of the where he is told to take up his bed and walk i do and i can now so well realize the force of that passage the smallest piece of mat is the bed of the oriental and yesterday i saw a native perform the very action which reminded me to mention it but you are better read than i and perhaps you knew all this long ago one day i bought some small native to send home to you as but afterwards finding they had been cast in england made to look old and over i threw them away in disgust speaking of this reminds me that we are obliged to import all our house building from england never was such foresight required to be exercised in building houses as here before we begin we have to order every column lock and screw that will be required we cannot go into the next street as in london and get them cast at a minute s notice mr l says somebody will have to go to england very soon and the selection of a large order of this kind i only wish i may be the man there before her lay the deposit receipt for the two hundred pounds and beside it the elegant present of knight grew cold then her cheeks felt heated by beating blood if by destroying the piece of paper the whole transaction could have been withdrawn from her experience she would willingly have sacrificed the money it represented she did not know what to do in either case she almost feared to let the two articles lie in so were the interests they represented that a miraculous of one by the other was almost to be expected that day she was seen little of by the evening a pair op blue eyes she had come to a resolution and acted upon it the packet was sealed up with a tear of regret as she the case upon the pretty forms it contained directed and placed upon the writing table in knight s room and a letter was written to stating that as yet she hardly understood her position with regard to the money sent but declaring that she was ready to fulfil her promise to marry him after this letter had been written she delayed it although never ceasing to feel that the deed must be done several days passed there was another indian letter for coming unexpectedly her father saw it but made no remark why she could not tell the news this time was absolutely overwhelming as he had wished had been actually chosen as the most fitting to execute the iron work commission he had alluded to as impending this duty completed he would have three months leave his letter continued that he should follow it in a week and should take the opportunity to plainly ask her father to permit the engagement then came a page expressive of his delight and hers at the and finally the information that he would write to the shipping agents asking them to telegraph and tell her when the ship bringing him home should be in sight knowing how acceptable such information would be lived and moved now as in a dream knight had at first become almost angry at her persistent refusal of his offering and no less with the manner than the fact of it but he saw that she began to look worn and ill and his vexation lessened to simple perplexity he ceased now to remain in the house for long hours together as before but made it a mere centre for and excursions in the neighbourhood throw up his cards and go away he fain would a pair of blue eyes have done but could not and thus himself of the privileges of a relative he went in and out the premises as fancy led him but still lingered on i don t wish to stay here another day if my presence is distasteful he said one afternoon at first you used to imply that i was severe with you and when i am kind you treat me no no don t say so the origin of their had been such as to render their manner towards each other peculiar and uncommon it was of a kind to cause them to speak out their minds on any feelings of objection and difference to be on matters i have a good mind to go away and never trouble you again continued knight she said nothing but the eloquent expression of her eyes and wan face was enough to reproach him for do you like me to be here then inquired knight gently yes she said fidelity to the old love and truth to the new were ranged on opposite sides and truth prevailed then i ll stay a little longer said knight don t be vexed if i keep by myself a good deal will you perhaps something may happen and i may tell you something mere said knight to himself and went away with a lighter heart the trick of reading truly the forces at work in women at given times which with some men is an instinct is peculiar to minds less direct and honest than knight s the next evening about five o clock before knight had returned from a pilgrimage along the shore a man walked	45
up to the house he was a messenger from a town a few miles off to which place the railway had been advanced during the summer a pair op eyes a for miss and three and sixpence to pay for the special messenger miss sent out the money signed the paper and opened her letter with a trembling hand she read johnson liverpool to miss near castle off four d clock expect will dock and land passengers at basin ten d clock to morrow morning her father called her into the study who sent you that message he asked suspiciously johnson who is johnson for heaven s sake i don t know the deuce you don t who is to know then i have never heard of him till now that s a singular story isn t it i don t know come come miss what was the do you really wish to know papa well i do remember i am a full grown woman now well what then being a woman and not a child i may i think have a secret or two you will it seems f women have as a rule but don t keep them so speak out if you will not press me now i give my word to tell you the meaning of all this before the week is past on your honour on my honour very well i have had a certain suspicion you a pair of blue eyes know and i shall be glad to find it false i don t like your manner lately at the end of the week i said papa her father did not reply and left the room she began to look out for the again three mornings later he brought an inland letter from it contained very little matter having been written in haste but the meaning was enough said that having executed a commission in liverpool he should arrive at his father s house east at five or six o clock that same evening that he would after dusk walk on to the next village and meet her if she would in the church porch as in the old time he proposed this plan because he thought it to call formally at her house so late in the evening yet he could not sleep without having seen her the minutes would seem hours till he clasped her in his arms was still steadfast in her opinion that honour compelled her to meet him probably the very longing to avoid him lent additional weight to the conviction for she was one of those who sigh for the to whom a hope is pleasing because not a possession and she knew it so well that her intellect was inclined to this defect in herself so during the day she looked her duty in the face read s yet to that deity committed herself to her guidance and still felt the weight of chance desires but she began to take a melancholy pleasure in contemplating the sacrifice of herself to the man whom a sense of propriety compelled her to regard as her only possible husband she would meet him and do all that lay in her power to marry him to guard against a a note was at once despatched to his father s cottage for on his arrival fixing an hour for the interview xxi on thy cold grey stones o seal had said that he should come by way of and thence by a steamer to castle in order to avoid the long journey over the hills from st s he did not know of the extension of the railway to during the afternoon a thought occurred to that from any cliff along the shore it would be possible to see the steamer some hours before its arrival she had accumulated religious force enough to do an act of the act was this to go to some point of land and watch for the ship that brought her future husband home it was a cloudy afternoon was often diverted from a purpose by a dull sky and though she used to persuade herself that the weather was as fine as possible on the other side of the clouds she could not bring about any practical result from this fancy now her mood was such that the sky with it having ascended and passed over a hill behind the house came to a small stream she used it as a guide to the coast it was smaller than that in a pair of blue eyes her own valley and flowed altogether at a higher level bushes lined the slopes of its shallow but at the bottom where the water ran was a soft green carpet in a strip two or three yards wide in winter the water flowed over the grass in summer as now it along a channel in the midst had a sensation of eyes regarding her from somewhere she turned and there was mr knight he had dropped into the valley from the side of the hill she felt a thrill of pleasure and allowed it to exist what utter loneliness to find you in i am going to the shore by the stream i believe it itself not far off in a silver thread of water over a of great height why do you load yourself with that heavy to look over the sea with it she said faintly i ll carry it for you to your journey s end and he took the glass from her hands it cannot be half a mile further see there is the water he pointed to a short fragment of level muddy gray colour cutting against the sky had already the small surface of ocean visible and had seen no ship they walked along in company sometimes with the brook between them for it was no wider than a	45
man s stride sometimes close together the green carpet grew and they kept higher up one of the two between which they walked lower and became insignificant that on the right hand rose with their advance and terminated in a clearly defined edge against the light as if it were abruptly off a little further and the bed of the ended in the same fashion they had come to a bank breast high and over it x q a pair of eyes the valley was no longer to be seen it was withdrawn and completely in its place was sky and boundless atmosphere and down beneath them small and far off lay the surface of the atlantic the small stream here found its death running over the precipice it was dispersed in spray before it was half way down and falling like rain upon projecting made minute grassy meadows of them at the bottom the water drops soaked away amid the of the cliff this was the end of the river what are you looking for said knight following the direction of her eyes she was gazing hard at a black object nearer to the shore than to the horizon from the summit of which came a haze stretching like over the sea the a little summer from to castle she said i think that is it look will you give me the glass knight pulled open the old fashioned but powerful and handed it to who had looked on with heavy eyes i can t keep it up now she said rest it on my shoulder it is too high under my arm too low you may look instead she murmured weakly knight raised the glass to his eye and swept the sea till the entered its field yes it is a tiny craft i can see her figure head distinctly a bird with a as big as its head can you see the deck wait a minute yes pretty clearly and i can a pair of see the black forms of the passengers against its white surface one of them has taken something from another a glass i think yes it is and he is it in this direction depend upon it we are conspicuous objects against the sky to them now it seems to rain upon them and they put on and open they vanish and go below all but that one who has borrowed the glass he is a slim young fellow and still watches us grew pale and shifted her little feet uneasily knight lowered the glass i think we had better return he said that cloud which is on them may soon reach us why you look ill how is that something in the air affects my face those fair cheeks are very fastidious i fear returned knight tenderly this air would make those rosy that were never so before one would think eh nature s spoilt child s colour returned again there is more to see behind us after all said knight she turned her back upon the boat and smith and saw towering still higher than themselves the face of the hill on the right which did not project so far as the bed of the valley but formed the back of a small and so was visible like a wall bending round from their position towards the left the composition of the huge hill was revealed to its and here at its rent extremity it consisted of a vast of gray slate in its whole height by a single change of shade it is with cliffs and mountains as with persons they have what is called a presence which is not necessarily to their actual bulk a little a pair op eyes cliff will impress you powerfully a great one not at all it depends as with man upon the countenance of the cliff i cannot bear to look at that cliff said it has a horrid personality and makes me shudder we will go can you climb said knight c if so we will ascend by that path over the grim old fellow s brow try me said c i have ascended slopes than that from where they had been a grassy path wound along inside a bank placed as a for to the top of the precipice and over it along the hill in an inland direction take my arm miss said knight i can get on better without it thank you when they were one quarter of the way up stopped to take breath knight stretched out his hand she took it and they ascended the remaining slope together reaching the very top they sat down to rest by mutual consent heavens what an said knight between his and looking far over the sea the at the bottom of the slope appeared a mere span in height from where they were now was looking to the left the was in full view again and by reason of the vast surface of sea their higher position uncovered it seemed almost close to the shore over that edge said knight s where nothing but appears is a moving compact mass the wind strikes the face of the rock runs up it rises like a fountain to a height far above our heads curls over us in an arch and behind us in fact an is there as perfect as the falls but rising instead of calling and air instead of water now look here a pair of blue eyes knight threw a stone over the bank it as if to go onward over the cliff reaching the verge it into the air like a bird turned back and alighted on the ground behind them they themselves were in a dead calm a boat crosses immediately at the foot of the falls where	45
the water is quite still the fallen mass under it we are in precisely the same position with regard to our here if you run back from the cliff fifty yards you will be in a brisk wind now i over the bank is a little backward current knight rose and over the bank no sooner was his head above it than his hat appeared to be sucked from his head slipping over his forehead in a direction that s the backward as i told you he cried and vanished over the little bank after his hat waited one minute he did not return she waited another and there was no sign of him a few drops of rain fell then a sudden shower she arose and looked over the bank on the other side were two or three yards of level ground then a short steep preparatory slope then the verge of the precipice on the slope was knight his hat on his head he was on his hands and knees trying to climb back to the level ground the rain had the surface of the incline a slight superficial of the soil made it far more slippery to stand on than the same soil thoroughly the inner substance was still hard and was by the c i find a difficulty in getting back said knight s heart fell like lead but you can get back she wildly inquired knight strove with all his might for two or three a pair of blue eyes minutes and the drops of perspiration began to bead his brow no i am unable to do it he answered by a of thought forced away from her mind the sensation that knight was in bodily danger but attempt to help him she must she ventured upon the treacherous incline propped herself with the closed and gave him her hand before he saw her movements o why did you said he i am afraid you have only yourself and as if to prove his statement in making an endeavour by her assistance they both slipped lower and then he was again stayed his foot was propped by a of rock balanced on the verge of the precipice fixed by this he her her head being about a foot below the beginning of the slope had dropped the glass it rolled to the edge and vanished over it into a sky hold tightly to me he said she flung her arms round his neck with such a firm grasp that whilst he remained it was impossible for her to fall don t be knight continued so long as we stay above this block we are perfectly safe wait a moment whilst i consider what we had better do he turned his eyes to the dizzy depths beneath them and surveyed the position of affairs two glances told him a tale with ghastly distinctness it was that unless they performed their feat of getting up the slope with the precision of machines they were over the edge and whirling in mid air for this purpose it was necessary that he should recover the breath and strength which his previous efforts had cost him so he still waited and looked in the face of the enemy the crest of this terrible natural passed a pair of blue eyes among the neighbouring inhabitants as being seven hundred feet above the water it it had been proved by actual to be not a foot less than six hundred and fifty that is to say it is nearly three times the height of half as high again as the south a hundred feet higher than head the on the east or south side of this island twice the height of st s thrice as high as the and just double the height of st bee s one sea point on the western coast is known to it in but only by a few feet this is great s head in and it must be remembered that the cliff an feature which some of those are without sheer from the half tide level yet this remarkable forms no it rather walls in an the on each side being much lower thus far from being its section is the sea rolling direct from the shores of north america has in fact eaten a chasm into the middle of a hill and the giant and stands in the rear of not least singularly neither hill chasm nor precipice has a name on this account i will call the precipice the cliff without a name what gave an added terror to its height was its blackness and upon this dark face the beating of ten thousand west winds had formed a kind of bloom which had a effect not unlike that of a moreover it seemed to float off into the atmosphere and inspire terror through the lungs this piece of supporting my feet is on the very nose of the cliff said knight breaking the silence after his rigid meditation now what you are ce a pair of blue eyes to do is this up my body till your feet are on my shoulders when you are there you will i think be able to climb on to level ground what will you do wait whilst you run for assistance i ought to have done that in the first place ought i not i was in the act of slipping and should have reached no stand point without your weight in all probability but don t let us talk be brave and climb she prepared to ascend saying this is the moment i anticipated when on the tower i thought it would come this is not a time for superstition said knight dismiss all that i will she said humbly now put your foot into my hand next the other that s good well done	45
the mind of man when he pauses in moments of suspense opposite knight s eyes was an standing forth in low relief from the rock it was a creature with eyes the eyes dead and turned to stone were even now regarding him it was one of the early called separated by millions of years in their lives knight and this seemed to have met in their death it was the single instance within reach of his vision of anything that had ever been alive and had had a body to save as he himself had now the creature represented but a low type of animal existence for never in their years had the plains indicated by those been a pair of blue eyes by an intelligence worthy of the name shell fish were the highest of those ancient dates the immense of time each formation represented had known nothing of the dignity of man they were grand times but they were mean times too and mean were their relics he was to be with the small in his death knight was a and such is the of habit over occasion as a of the thoughts of men that at this dreadful juncture his mind found time to take in by a momentary sweep the varied scenes that had had their day between this creature s epoch and his own there is no place like a landscape for bringing home such as these time closed up like a fan before him he saw himself at one extremity of the years face to face with the beginning and all the centuries simultaneously fierce men clothed in the hides of beasts and carrying for defence and attack huge clubs and pointed rose from the rock like the before the doomed they lived in hollows woods and mud huts perhaps in of the neighbouring rocks behind them stood an earlier band no man was there huge forms the the the of monstrous size the and the all for the moment in further back and by these were perched huge birds and creatures as large as horses still more shadowy were the sinister outlines and other uncouth shapes in the colossal the folded behind were forms and clouds of flying still underneath were beings of lower development and so on till the lifetime scenes of the him were a present and modern condition of things these images passed before knight s inner eye in less than half a minute and he was again a pair of blue eyes considering the actual present was he to die the mental picture of in the world without himself to cherish her smote his heart like a whip he had hoped for but what could a girl do he dared not move an inch was death really stretching out his hand the previous sensation that it was improbable he would die was fainter now however knight still clung to the cliff to those musing weather beaten west country folk who pass the greater part of their days and nights out of doors nature seems to have moods in other than a poetical sense for certain deeds at certain times without any apparent law to govern or season to account for them she is read as a person with a curious temper as one who does not scatter and alternately and in order but heartless or overwhelming in lawless caprice man s case is always that of the prodigal s favourite or the s in her moments there seems a fun in her tricks by a of her pleasure in the victim such a way of thinking had been absurd to knight but he began to adopt it now he was first on to a rock new followed the rain increased and persecuted him with an exceptional which he was moved to believe owed its cause to the fact that he was in such a wretched state already an entirely new order of things could be observed in this introduction of rain upon the scene it rained upwards instead of down the strong ascending air carried the rain drops with it in its race up the coming to him with such that they stuck into his flesh like cold needles each drop was a shaft and it pierced him to his skin the seemed to lift him on their points no downward rain ever had such a effect in a brief space a pair of blue eyes he was except in two places these were on the top of his shoulders and on the crown of his hat the wind though not intense in other situations was strong here it at his coat and lifted it we are mostly accustomed to look upon all opposition which is not as that of the stolid inexorable hand of indifference which wears out the patience more than the strength here at any rate hostility did not assume that slow and sickening form it was a agency active eager for conquest determination not an standing in the way knight had over estimated the strength of his hands they were getting weak already she will never come again she has been gone ten minutes he said to himself this mistake arose from the unusual of his experiences just now she had really been gone but three as many more minutes will be my end he thought next came another instance of the of the mind to make at such times this is a summer afternoon he said and there can never have been such a heavy and cold rain on a summer day in my life before he was again mistaken the rain was quite ordinary in quantity the air in temperature it was as is usual the menacing attitude in which they approached him that their powers he again looked straight downwards the wind and the water lifting his moustache up his cheeks under his eyelids and into his eyes	45
this is what he saw down there the surface of the sea just past his toes and under his feet actually one eighth of a mile or more than two hundred yards below them we colour according to our moods the objects we survey the sea would have been a deep a pair of blue eyes blue had happier attended the it was now no otherwise than distinctly black to his vision that narrow white border was foam he knew well but its boisterous were so distant as to appear a only and its was barely audible a white border to a black sea his funeral pall and its the world was to some extent turned down for him rain descended from below beneath his feet was space and the unknown above him was the firm familiar ground and upon it all that he loved best pitiless nature had then two voices and two only the nearer was the voice of the wind in his ears rising and falling as it and thrust him hard or softly the second and distant one was the moan of that ocean below and rubbing its restless flank against the cliff without a name knight held fast had he any faith in perhaps love is faith and faith like a gathered flower will live on nobody would have expected the sun to shine on such an evening as this yet it appeared low down upon the sea not with its natural golden fringe sweeping the ends of the landscape not with the strange glare of whiteness which it sometimes puts on as an alternative to colour but as a of red upon a leaden ground a red face looking on with a drunken most men who have brains know it and few are so foolish as to disguise this fact from themselves or others even though an display may be called knight without showing it much knew that his intellect was above the average and he thought he could not help thinking that his death would be a deliberate loss to earth of good material that such an experiment in killing might have been practised upon some less developed life a pair of blue eyes a fancy some people hold when in a bitter mood is that inexorable circumstance only tries to prevent what intelligence attempts a desire for a long position and go on another tack and after a while the prize is thrown at you seemingly in disappointment that no more is possible knight gave up thoughts of life utterly and entirely and turned to contemplate the dark valley and the unknown future beyond into the shadowy depths of these speculations we will not follow him let it suffice to state what ensued at that moment of taking no more thought for this life something disturbed the outline of the bank above him a spot appeared it was the head of knight immediately prepared to welcome life again the expression of a face consigned to utter loneliness when a friend first looks in upon it is moving in the extreme in to a light ship or sea where without any immediate terror of death the inmates experience the gloom of monotonous seclusion the grateful eloquence of their countenances at the greeting expressive of for the visit is enough to stir the emotions of the most careless observer knight s upward look at was of a nature with but far such an instance as this the lines of his face had deepened to and every one of them thanked her visibly his lips moved to the word though the emotion no sound his eyes passed all description in their combination of the whole of eloquence from lover s deep love to fellow man s gratitude for a token of remembrance from one of his kind had come back what she had come to do he did not know she could only look on at his death perhaps still she had come back and not deserted him utterly and it was much a pair of blue eyes it was a novelty in the extreme to see henry knight to whom was but a child who had swayed her as a tree a bird s nest who mastered her and made her weep most bitterly at her own thus thankful for a sight of her face she looked down upon him her face glistening with rain and tears he smiled faintly how calm he is she thought how great and noble he is to be so calm she would have died ten times for him then the gliding form of the caught her eye she it no longer how much longer can you wait came from her pale lips and along the wind to his position four minutes said knight in a weaker voice than her own but with a good hope of being saved seven or eight he now noticed that in her arms she bore a bundle of white linen and that her form was singularly so thin and was at this moment that she appeared to bend under the light blows of the rain shafts as they struck into her sides and bosom and into spray on her face there is nothing like a thorough for the of clothes but s seemed to cling to her like a glove without the attack of the clouds further than by raising her hand and wiping away the of rain when they went more particularly into her eyes she sat down and hurriedly began the linen into these she knotted end to end and afterwards twisted them like the of a cord in a short space of time she had formed a perfect rope by this means six or seven yards long can you wait while i bind it she said anxiously extending her gaze down to him a pair of blue eyes yes if not very long hope	45
has given me a wonderful of strength dropped her eyes again tore the remaining material into narrow like knotted each to each as before but on a smaller scale and wound the string she had thus formed round and round the linen rope which without this binding had a tendency to spread abroad now said knight who watching the proceedings intently had by this time not only grasped her scheme but reasoned further on i can hold three minutes longer yet and do you use the time in the strength of the knots one by one she at once obeyed tested each singly by putting her foot on the rope between each knot and pulling with her hands one of the knots slipped oh think it would have broken but for your exclaimed she the two ends the rope was now firm in every part c when you have let it down said knight already his position of ruling power go back from the edge of the slope and over the bank as far as the rope will allow you then lean down and hold the end with both hands he had first thought of a safer plan for his own but it involved the disadvantage of possibly her life have tied it round my waist she cried and i will lean directly upon the bank holding with my hands as well it was the arrangement he had thought of but would not suggest i will raise and drop it three times when i am behind the bank she continued to signify that i am ready take care oh take the greatest care i beg a pair of blue eyes she dropped the rope over him to learn how much of its length it would be necessary to on that side of the bank went back and disappeared as she had done before the rope was trailing by knight s shoulders in a few moments it three times he waited yet a second or two then laid hold the incline of this upper portion of the precipice to the length only of a few feet useless to a empty handed was invaluable now not more than half his weight depended entirely on the linen rope half a dozen of the arms with half a dozen of the rope with his feet brought him up to the level of the soil he was saved and by he extended his cramped limbs like an awakened and sprang over the bank at sight of him she to her feet with almost a shriek of joy knight s eyes met hers and with supreme eloquence the glance of each told a tale of emotion in that short half moment moved by an impulse neither could resist they ran together and into each other s arms at the moment of embracing s eyes involuntarily flashed towards the it had doubled the point and was no longer to be seen an overwhelming rush of exultation at having delivered the man she from one of the most terrible forms of death shook the gentle girl to the centre of her soul it in a defiance of duty to and a total as to faith every nerve of her will was now in entire to her feeling as a guiding power had forsaken her to remain passive as she remained now encircled by his arms was a sufficiently complete result a glorious crown to all the years of her life perhaps he was only grateful and did not love her no matter a pair of blue eyes it was infinitely more to be even the slave of the greater than the queen of the less some such sensation as this though it was not recognized as a finished thought along the soul of regarding their attitude it was impossible for two persons to go nearer to a kiss than went knight and during those minutes of impulsive embrace in the rain yet they did not kiss knight s peculiarity of nature was such that it would not allow him to take advantage of the and passionate she had made recovered herself and gently struggled to be free he reluctantly her and then surveyed her from crown to toe she seemed as small as an infant he perceived whence she had obtained the rope my he exclaimed in gratified amazement i must leave you now she said her face its red with an expression between gladness and shame e you follow me but at some distance the rain and wind pierce you through the chill will kill you god bless you for such devotion take my coat and put it on e no i shall get warm running had absolutely nothing between her and the weather but her exterior robe or costume the door had been made upon a woman s wit and it had found its way out behind the bank whilst knight upon the dizzy slope waiting for death she had taken off her whole clothing and replaced only her outer and skirt every thread of the remainder lay upon the ground in the form of a and cotton rope i am used to being wet through she added i have been on of times good a pair of blue eyes bye till we meet clothed and in our right minds by the fireside at home she then ran off from him through the rain like a hare or more like a when away with a lowered tail it has a mind to fly but does not was soon out of sight knight felt wet and chilled but glowing with nevertheless he fully appreciated s girlish delicacy in refusing his escort in the meagre she wore yet felt that necessary abstraction of herself for a short half hour as a most grievous loss to him he gathered up her knotted and twisted of linen lace and work and laid it across his arm he	45
noticed on the ground an envelope limp and wet in endeavouring to restore this to its proper shape he loosened from the envelope a piece of paper it had contained which was seized by the wind in falling from knight s hand it was blown to the right blown to the left it floated to the edge of the cliff and over the sea where it was hurled aloft it in the air and then flew back over his head knight followed the paper and secured it having done so he looked to discover if it had been worth securing the troublesome sheet was a banker s receipt for two hundred pounds placed to the credit of miss which the girl had totally forgotten she carried with her knight folded it as carefully as its moist condition would allow put it in his pocket and followed should acquaintance be forgot this time smith had stepped out upon the at castle and breathed his native air a darker skin a more pronounced moustache and an beard were the chief additions and changes noticeable in his appearance in spite of the falling rain which had somewhat lessened he took a small in his hand and leaving the remainder of his luggage at the inn ascended the hills towards east this place lay in a of its own further inland than the west village and though so near it had little of physical feature in common with the latter east was more wooded and fertile it boasted of lord s mansion and park and was free from those bleak open which lent such an air of desolation to the of the coast always excepting the small valley in which stood the and mrs s old house the had arrived nearly at the summit of the ridge when the rain again increased its volume and looking about for temporary shelter he ascended a steep path which penetrated dense bushes in the a pair of blue eyes lower part of its course further up it emerged upon a ledge immediately over the road and sheltered by an overhanging face of rock with bushes above for a reason of his own he made this spot his refuge from the storm and turning his face to the left the landscape as a book he was overlooking the valley containing s residence from this point of observation the prospect exhibited the peculiarity of being either brilliant or the subdued tone of distance a sudden dip in the surface of the country lowering out of sight all the prospect in apparent contact with the trees and bushes growing close beside him appeared the distant tract terminated suddenly by the brink of the series of cliffs which in the tall giant without a name small and unimportant as here beheld a leaf on a bough at s elbow blotted out a whole hill in the district far away a green bunch of nuts covered a complete there and the great cliff itself was by a in the bank hard by him had looked upon these things hundreds of times before to day but he had never viewed them with such tenderness as now stepping forward in this direction yet a little further he could see the tower of west church beneath which he was to meet his that night and at the same time he noticed coming over the hill from the cliffs a white speck in motion it seemed first to be a sea flying low but ultimately proved to be a human figure running with great rapidity the form flitted on heedless of the rain which had caused s halt in this place dropped down the hill entered the and was out of sight whilst he meditated upon the meaning of this phenomenon he was surprised to see swim into his ken from the same point of departure another moving speck as a pair op different from the first as well could be that it was perceptible only by its blackness slowly and regularly it took the same course and there was not much doubt that this was the form of a man he too gradually descended from the upper and was lost in the valley below the rain had by this time again and returned to the road looking ahead he saw two men and a cart they were soon obscured by the of a high hedge just before they emerged again he heard voices in conversation a must soon be in the too if so be he s a coming said a tenor tongue which instantly recognized as martin s c a must a b said another voice that of s father stepped forward and came before them face to face his father and martin were walking dressed in their second best suits and beside them along a horse and brightly painted spring cart i ad right mr here s the lost man exclaimed young smith entering at once upon the old style of greeting father here i am all right my and glad i be fort returned john smith to see the young man how be ye well come along home and don t let s bide out here in the damp such weather must be terrible bad for a young chap just come from a fiery nation like hey and about getting home his traps boxes monstrous and noble of foreign description i make no doubt hardly all that said laughing we brought the cart to go right on to castle afore ye landed said his father put in the horse says martin ay says i so we will and did it straightway now maybe martin had better a pair of blue eyes go on the cart for the things and you and i walk home along c and i shall be back a most as soon as you is a pretty step still though time d begin to tell	45
upon her as upon the rest o us told martin where to find his baggage and then continued his journey homeward in the company of his father owing to your coming a day sooner than we first expected said john you ll find us in a of a mess sir sir says i to my own son but gone up so we ve killed the pig this morning for ye thinking ye d be hungry and glad of a morsel of fresh mate and a won t be cut up till to night however we can make ye a good supper of which will up well wi a o and a few nice new and a drop of shilling ale to wash it down your mother have the house through because ye were coming and all the furniture and bought a new basin and of a travelling that came to our door and the and the ay i don t know what a ha n t a done never were such a steer a b conversation of this kind and inquiries of for his mother s occupied them for the remainder of the journey when they drew near the river and the cottage behind it they could hear the master s clock striking off the hours of the day at intervals of a quarter of a minute during which intervals s imagination readily pictured his mother s forefinger wandering round the dial in company with the minute hand the clock stopped this morning and your mother in putting en right seemingly said his father in an tone and they went up the garden to the door when they had entered and had a pair of blue eyes and warmly greeted his mother who appeared in a cotton dress of a dark blue ground covered with a multitude of new and full stars and with an occasional dash of a like aspect to the scene the of cart wheels was heard outside and martin stamped in at the doorway in the form of a pair of legs beneath a great box his body being nowhere visible when the luggage had been all taken down and had gone upstairs to change his clothes mrs smith s mind seemed to recover a lost thread really our clock is not worth a penny she said turning to it and attempting to start the stopped again inquired martin with yes sure replied mrs smith and continued after the manner of certain to whose tongues the harmony of a subject with a casual mood is a greater recommendation than its to the occasion john would spend pounds a year upon the old thing if he might in having it when at the same time you may doctor it yourself as well the clock s stopped again john i say to him u better have en says he there s five shillings that clock again i say to en better have en a says again that clock strikes wrong john says i better have en he goes on the wheels would have been polished to by this time if i had listened to en and i assure you we could have bought a faced beauty wi the good money we ve flung away these last ten years upon this old green faced mortal and martin you must be wet my son is gone up to change john is than i should like to be but a calls it nothing some of mrs s servants have been here they ran in out of the rain when going for a walk and i assure you the state of their was frightful a pair of blue eyes how s the folks we ve been over to castle and what wi running and stopping out of the storms my poor head is beyond everything i tis o fish from morning to night said a cracked voice in the doorway at this instant lord so s who s that said mrs smith in a private exclamation and turning round saw william worm endeavouring to make himself look passing civil and friendly by his face with a large smile that seemed to have no connection with the humour he was in behind him stood a woman about twice his size with a large umbrella over her head this was mrs worm william s wife come in william said john smith we don t kill a pig every day and you likewise mrs worm i make ye welcome since ye left parson william i don t see much of ee no for to tell the truth since i took to the gate line i ve been out but little coming to church o sundays not being my duty now as twas in a parson s family you see however our boy is able to mind the gate now and i said says i let s call and see john smith i am sorry to hear yer pore head is so bad still ay i assure you that o fish is going on for nights and days and you know sometimes t only fish but o bacon and ay i can hear the fat pop and as as life can t i mrs worm who had been all this time engaged in closing her umbrella this statement and now coming indoors showed herself to be a wide faced comfortable looking woman with a upon her cheek bearing a small of hair in its centre have ye ever tried anything to cure yer noise worm inquired martin oh ay j bless ye i ve tried everything ay a pair of blue eyes is a merciful man and i have hoped he d have found it out by this time living so many years in a parson s family too as i have but a don t seem to relieve me ay i be a poor man and life s a	45
o trouble i true mournful true william worm tis so the world wants looking to or tis all and wi us take your things off mrs worm said mrs smith we be rather in a to tell the truth for my son is just dropped in from a day sooner than we expected and the pig is coming presently to cut up mrs worm not wishing to take any mean advantage of persons in a by observing them removed her bonnet and mantle with eyes fixed upon the flowers in the plot outside the door what beautiful tiger lilies said mrs worm yes they be very well but such a trouble to me on account of the children that come here they will go eating the on the stem and call em taste wi is quite fancy really and your look as fierce as ever well really answered mrs smith entering into the subject they are more like christians than flowers but they make up well enough wi the rest and don t require much tending and the same can be said o these miller s wheels tis a flower i like very much though so simple john says he never cares about the flowers o em but men have no eye for anything neat he says his favourite flower is a and i assure you i tremble in the for tis perfect murder c you don t say so mrs smith john round the roots you know in goes his through roots everything that hasn t got a good show above ground turning em up a pair of cat all to only the very last call i went to move some when i found every down and the stems crooked round he had turned em over in the spring and the cunning creatures had soon found that heaven was not where it used to be what s that long favoured flower under the hedge they o lord they are the horrid jacob s instead of em i be mad wi em for being so ready to bide where they are not wanted they be very well in their way but i do not care for things that neglect won t kill do what i will dig drag scrap pull i get too many of em i chop the roots up they ll come strong throw em over hedge there they ll grow staring me in the face like a hungry dog driven away and creep back again in a week or two the same as before tis jacob s ladder here jacob s ladder there and plant em where nothing in the world will grow you get crowds of em in a month or two john made a new last summer and he said maria now if you ve got any flowers or such like that you don t want you may plant em round my so as to hide it a bit though tis not likely anything of much value will grow there i thought there s them jacob s i ll put them there since they can t do harm in such a place and i planted the jacob s sure enough they and they in the and out of the all over the litter covering it quite up when john wanted to use it about the garden a said nation seize them jacob s of yours maria they ve eat the goodness out of every morsel of my so that tis no better than sand itself sure enough the hungry mortals had tis my belief that in the secret souls o em jacob s be weeds and not flowers at all if the truth was known robert pig and arrived at this moment the animal hanging in the back a pair of blue eyes kitchen was down the middle of its mrs smith being meanwhile engaged in cooking supper between the cutting and ale was handed round and worm and the pig listened to john smith s description of the meeting with with eyes fixed upon the table cloth in order that nothing in the external world should interrupt their efforts to up the scene correctly came downstairs in the middle of the story and after the little interruption occasioned by his entrance and welcome the narrative was again continued precisely as if he had not been there at all and was told to him as to somebody who knew nothing about the matter ay i said as i sight o en through the that s the lad for i d know en by his grandfather s walk for a out like poor father for all the world still there was a touch o the that set me wondering a got closer and i said that s the lad for i d know en by his carrying a black case like a travelling man still a road is common to all the world and there be more travelling men than one but i kept my eye cocked and i said to martin tis the boy now for i d know en by the o the stick and the family step then a come closer and a said all right i could swear to en then s personal appearance was next he d look a deal thinner in face surely than when i seed en at the parson s and never en if ye ll believe me said martin c ay there said another without removing his eyes from s face i should ha en anywhere tis his father s nose to a t it has been often remarked said modestly and he s certainly taller said martin letting his glance run over s form from bottom to top a pair of blue eyes i was thinking a was exactly the same height worm replied bless thy soul that s because he s bigger round likewise and the united eyes all moved to s waist	45
c i be a poor man but i can make said william worm ah sure and how he came as a stranger and pilgrim to parson s that time not a soul knowing en after so many years ay life s a strange but i suppose i must say sir to ye oh it is not necessary at present replied though mentally to avoid the vicinity of that familiar friend as soon as he had made pretensions to the hand of ah well said worm some would have looked for no less than a sir there s a sight of difference in people and in pigs likewise observed john smith looking at the of his own robert the pig here seemed called upon to enter the lists of conversation yes they ve got their particular good now he remarked man s the rum tempered pig i ve i don t doubt it master answered martin in a tone expressing that his convictions no less than good manners demanded the reply yes continued the pig as one accustomed to be heard one that i was deaf and dumb and we couldn t make out what was the matter wi the pig a would eat well enough when a seed the but when his back was turned you might a rattled the bucket all day the poor soul never heard ye ye could play tricks upon en behind his back and a wouldn t find it out no quicker than poor deaf gates but a well and i never seed a pair of blue eyes a pig open better when a was killed and a was very tender eating very as pretty a bit of mate as ever you see you could that mate through a and another i resumed the after quietly letting a pint of ale run down his throat of its own accord and setting down the cup with upon the spot from which he had raised it another went out of his mind how very mournful murmured mrs worm ay poor thing a did as clean out of his mind as the christian could go in early life a was very melancholy and never seemed a hopeful pig by no means twas s pig that s whose pig twas i can mind the pig well enough john smith and a pretty little a was and you all know farmer s sort every jack o em suffer from the to this day owing to a damp they lived in when they were as well now we ll weigh said john if so be he were not so fine we d weigh en whole but as he is we ll take a side at a time john you can mind my old joke ey i do so though twas a good few years ago i first heard en yes said that there old familiar joke have been in our family for generations i may say my father used that joke regular at pig for more than five and forty years the time he followed the calling and a told me that a had it from his father when he was quite a who made use o en just the same at every killing more or less and were pig in those days they were i ve never heard the joke said mrs smith a pair of blue eyes nor i in mrs worm who being the only other lady in the room felt bound by the laws of courtesy to feel like mrs smith in everything surely surely you have said the looking at the females however t much i don t wish to say it is it like this bob will tell the weight of your pig a b says i the congregation of neighbours think i mane my son bob naturally but the secret is that i mane the bob o the ha ha ha laughed martin who had heard the explanation of this striking story for the time laughed john smith who had heard it for the laughed william worm who had never heard it at all but was afraid to say so thy grandfather robert must have been a chap to make that story said martin to a placid aspect of delighted criticism he had a head by all account and you see as the first born of the have all been they ve all been so the story was handed down to the present day poor joseph your second boy will never be able to bring it out in company which is rather unfortunate said mrs worm thoughtfully a won t yes was a clever chap as ye say but i a twas my uncle uncle made a snuff box that should be a puzzle to his friends to open he used to hand en round at wedding parties and in other jolly company and let em try their skill this extraordinary snuff box had a spring behind that would push in and out a where seemed to be the cover a slide at the end a screw in front and and queer everywhere one man would try the spring a pair of blue eyes another would try the screw another would try the slide but try as they would the box wouldn t and they couldn t open en and they didn t open en now what might you think was the secret of that box all put on an expression that their united thoughts were inadequate to the occasion why the box wouldn t open at all a were made not to open and ye might have tried till the end of revelations have been as naught for the box were all round a very deep man to have made such a box yes twas like uncle all over twas i can mind the man very well man ever i seed a was so he	45
never slept upon a after he up a hard boy chap never could get one long enough when a lived in that little small house by the pond he used to have to leave open his chamber door every night at going to his bed and let his feet out upon the landing he s dead and gone now nevertheless poor man as we all shall observed worm to fill the pause which followed the conclusion of robert s speech the weighing and cutting up was pursued amid an animated discourse on s travels and at the finish the first fruits of the day s slaughter in were then turned from the pan into a dish on the table each piece steaming and hissing till it reached their very mouths it must be owned that the gentlemanly son of the house looked rather out of place in the course of this operation nor was his mind quite philosophic enough to allow him to be comfortable with these old established persons his father s friends he had never lived long at home scarcely at all since his childhood the presence of william worm was the most awkward feature of the case for though worm had left the house of mr a pair op blue eyes the being hand in glove with a ci reminded too forcibly of the s of himself before he went from england mrs smith was conscious of the defect in her arrangements which had brought about the she spoke to privately i am above having such people here but what could i do and your father is so rough in his nature that he s more mixed up with them than need be never mind mother said put up with it now when we leave my lord s service and get further up the country as i hope we shall soon it will be different we shall be among fresh people and in a larger house and shall keep ourselves up a bit i hope is miss at home do you know inquired yes your father saw her this morning do you often see her scarcely ever mr the calls occasionally but the don t come into the village now any more than to drive through it they dine at my lord s oftener than they used ah here s a note was brought this morning for you by a boy eagerly took the note and opened it his mother watching him he read what had written and sent before she started for the cliff that afternoon yes i will meet you in the church at nine e s i don t know his mother said r you still think about miss but if i were you i wouldn t concern about her they say that none a pair of blue eyes of old mrs s money will come to her i see the evening has turned out fine i am going out for a little while to look round the place he said the direct probably by the time i return our visitors will be gone and we ll have a more confidential talk xxiv bird and flower confess the he rain had ceased since the sunset but it was a cloudy night and the light of the moon softened and dispersed by its misty veil was distributed over the land in pale gray a dark figure stepped from the doorway of john smith s river side cottage and strode rapidly towards west with a light footstep soon ascending from the lower he turned a corner followed a cart track and saw the tower of the church he was in quest of distinctly shaped forth against the sky in less than half an hour from the time of starting he swung himself over the churchyard the wild irregular was as much as ever an part of the old hill the grass was still long the graves were shaped precisely as passing years chose to alter them from their form as laid down by martin and by s own grandfather before him a sound sped into the air from the direction in which castle lay it was the striking of the church clock distinct in the still atmosphere as if it had come from the tower hard by which a pair of blue eyes in its solitary gave out no such sounds of life one two three four five six seven eight nine carefully counted the strokes though he well knew their number beforehand nine o clock it was the hour had herself named as the most convenient for meeting him stood at the door of the porch and listened he could have heard the breathing of any person within the porch nobody was there he went inside the doorway sat down upon the stone bench and waited with a beating heart the faint sounds heard only the silence the rising and falling of the sea far away along the coast was the most important a minor sound was the of a distant night hawk among the where all were minute were the light settlement of fragments floating in the air a humbly along through the grass near the entrance the of a dead leaf which a worm was endeavouring to pull into the earth a of air getting nearer and nearer and at his feet under the burden of a winged seed among all these soft sounds came not the only soft sound he cared to hear the of for a whole quarter of an hour sat thus intent without moving a muscle at the end of that time he walked to the west front of the church turning the corner of the tower a white form stared him in the face he started back and recovered himself it was the tomb of young former looking still as fresh and as new as when it was first erected the white stone	45
in which it was having a singular amid the dark blue from local of which the whole remaining were formed he thought of the night when he had sat with as his companion and well remembered a pair op blue eyes his regret that she had received even unwillingly earlier homage than his own but his present anxiety reduced such a feeling to sentimental nonsense in comparison and he strolled on over the graves to the border of the churchyard whence in the could be clearly seen the and the present residence of the no footstep was upon the path up the hill but a light was shining from a window in the last named house knew there could be no mistake about the time or place and no difficulty about keeping the engagement he waited yet longer passing from impatience into a mood which to take any account of the lapse of time he was awakened from his reverie by castle clock one two three four five six seven eight nine ten one little fall of the hammer in addition to the number it had been sharp pleasure to hear and what a difference to him he left the churchyard on the side opposite to his point of entrance and went down the hill slowly he drew near the gate of her house this he softly opened and walked up the gravel drive to the door here he paused for several minutes at the of that time the murmured speech of a manly voice came out to his ears through an open window behind the corner of the house this was responded to by a clear soft laugh it was the laugh of was conscious of a pain at his heart he retreated as he had come there are disappointments which us and there are those which inflict a wound whose mark we bear to our graves such are so keen that no future gratification of the same desire can ever them they become as a permanent loss of happiness such a a pair of blue eyes one was s now the crowning of the dream had been the meeting here by and if had come to him only ten minutes after he had turned away the disappointment would have been still when the young man reached home he found there a letter which had arrived in his absence believing it to contain some reason for her non appearance yet unable to imagine one that could justify her he hastily tore open the envelope the paper contained not a word from it was the deposit note for his two hundred pounds on the back was the form of a and this she had filled up with the same sum to the bearer was confounded he attempted to divine her motive considering how limited was his knowledge of her later actions he guessed rather that between the time of her sending the note in the morning and the evening s silent refusal of his gift something had occurred which had caused a total change in her attitude towards him he knew not what to do it seemed absurd now to go to her father next morning as he had and ask for an engagement with her a possibility impending all the while that herself would not be on his side only one course recommended itself as wise to wait and see what the days would bring forth to go and execute his in then to return learn if anything had happened and try what a meeting might do perhaps her surprise at his would bring her forward to show latent warmth as decidedly as in old times this act of patience was in keeping only with the nature of a man precisely of s constitution nine men out of ten would perhaps have rushed off got into her presence by fair means or foul and pro t a pair of blue eyes a catastrophe of some sort possibly for the better probably for the worse he started for the next morning a day s delay would have made no difference but he could not rest until he had begun and ended the programme proposed to himself bodily activity will sometimes take the sting out of anxiety as completely as assurance itself i xxv mine own familiar friend during these days of absence lived under alternate conditions whenever his emotions were active he was in agony whenever he was not in agony the business in hand had driven out of his mind by sheer force all deep reflection on the subject of and love by the time he took his return journey at the week s end had very nearly worked himself up to an intention to call and see her face to face on this occasion also he adopted his favourite route by the little summer steamer from to castle the time saved by speed on the railway being wasted at and in following a course it was a bright silent evening at the beginning of september when smith again set foot in the little town he felt inclined to linger awhile upon the before ascending the hills having formed a romantic intention to go home by way of her house yet not wishing to wander in its neighbourhood till the evening shades should sufficiently screen him from observation and thus waiting for night s nearer approach he watched the placid scene over which the pale a pair op of the west cast a sorrowful that became slowly by the dusk a star appeared and another and another they sparkled amid the yards and of the two coal lying alongside as if they had been tiny lamps suspended in the ropes the rocked to the of the tide which and with idle regularity in and holes of the harbour wall the twilight was now quite pronounced enough for his purpose and as rather sad at heart he was about	45
to move on a little boat containing two persons glided up the middle of the harbour with the lightness of a shadow the boat came opposite him passed on and touched the landing steps at the further end one of its occupants was a man as had known by the easy stroke of the oars when the pair ascended the steps and came into greater he was enabled to discern that the second personage was a woman also that she wore a white apparently a feather in her hat or bonnet which spot of white was the only distinctly visible portion of her clothing remained a moment in their rear and they passed on when he pursued his way also and soon forgot the circumstance having crossed a bridge forsaken the high road and entered the which led up the to west he heard a little click softly together some yards ahead by the time that had reached the and passed it he heard another click of precisely the same nature from another gate yet further on some person or persons were preceding him along the path their footsteps being rendered noiseless by the soft carpet of turf now walked a little quicker and perceived two forms one of them bore aloft the white feather he had noticed in the woman s hat on the they were the couple he had seen in the boat dropped a little further to the rear a pair of blue from the bottom of the valley along which the path had hitherto lain beside the margin of the another path now and ascended the slope of the left hand hill this led only to the residence of mrs and a cottage or two in its vicinity no grass covered this path in portions of its length and was reminded that the pair in front of him had taken this route by the occasional rattle of loose stones under their feet climbed in the same direction but for some reason he trod more softly than did those preceding him his mind was unconsciously in exercise upon whom the woman might be whether a visitor to the a servant or he put it to himself yet more forcibly could the lady be a possible reason for her unaccountable failure to keep the appointment with him returned with painful force they entered the grounds of the house by the side whence the path now wide and well trimmed wound through the to an called the by reason of the comprehensive view over the adjacent district that its green seats afforded the path passed this and went on to the house as well as to the gardener s cottage on the other side straggling thence to east so that felt no hesitation in entering a which could scarcely be called private he fancied that he heard the gate open and swing together again behind him turning he saw nobody the people of the boat came to the summer house one of them spoke am afraid we shall get a scolding for being so late instantly recognised the familiar voice richer and fuller now than it used to be a pair of eyes he whispered to himself and held fast by a to steady himself under the agitation her presence caused him his heart from its beat he receiving the meaning he sought a breeze is rising again how the ash tree said don t you hear it i wonder what the time is the i will get a light and tell you step into the summer house the air is quiet there the of that voice its peculiarity seemed to come home to him like that of some notes of the northern birds on his return to his native as an old natural thing renewed yet not particularly noticed as natural before that renewal they entered the in the lower part it was formed of close wood work nailed and had in the upper by way of windows the scratch of a striking light was heard and a bright glow from the interior of the building the light gave birth to dancing leaf shadows stem shadows streaks and threads of silver of all imaginable variety and it awakened which flew towards it revealed shiny threads disturbed gave but little attention to these phenomena and less time he saw in the summer house a strongly illuminated picture first the face of his friend and henry knight between whom and himself an had arisen not from any definite causes beyond those of absence increasing age and sympathies next his bright particular star the face of was more womanly than when she had called herself his but as clear and healthy as ever her of beautiful hair were looking much as with the exception of a slight a pair of blue eyes in their arrangement in deference to the changes of fashion their two were close together almost touching and both were looking down was holding her watch knight was holding the light with one hand his left arm being round her waist part of the scene reached s eyes through the bars of which crossed their forms like the ribs of a skeleton knight s arm stole still further round the waist of it is half past eight she said in a low voice which had a peculiar music in it seemingly born of a thrill of pleasure at the new proof that she was beloved the flame down died away and all was wrapped in a darkness to which the gloom before the illumination bore no comparison in apparent shattered in spirit and sick to his heart s centre turned away in turning he saw a shadowy outline behind the summer house on the other side his eyes grew accustomed to the darkness was the form a human form or was it an bush of the lovers arose brushed against the and pursued their way	45
to the house the indistinct figure had moved and now passed across smith s front so completely enveloped was the person that it was impossible to discern him or her any more than as a shape the shape glided noiselessly on stepped forward fearing any mischief was intended to the other two who are you he said never mind who i am answered a weak whisper from the folds what i am may she be perhaps i k e v well ah so well a youth whose place you took as he there now takes yours will you let her break your heart and bring you to an grave as she did the one before you a pair of blue eyes you are mrs i think what do you do here and why do you talk so wildly because my heart is desolate and nobody cares about it may hers be so that brought trouble upon me silence said to in spite v of himself she would harm nobody never would she how do you come here i saw the two coming up the path and wanted to learn if she were not one of them can i help her if i think of the past can i help watching her if i remember my boy can i help ill wishing her if i well wish him the bowed form went on passed through the and was enveloped by the shadows of the field had heard that mrs since the death of her son had become a forlorn woman k and a pitying thought upon her he dismissed her fancied wrongs from his mind but not her condemnation of s that entered into and mingled with the sensations his new experience had the tale told by the little scene he had witnessed ran parallel with the unhappy woman s opinion which however it might have been had become true enough as regarded himself a slow weight of despair as distinct from a violent as starvation from a mortal shot filled him and wrung him body and soul the discovery had not been altogether unexpected for throughout his anxiety of the last few days since the night in the churchyard he had been inclined to the uncertainty for himself his hopes for the best had been but to a fear of the worst a strange of his misery was the of its form that his rival should be knight whom once upon a time he had adored as a man is a pair of blue eyes very rarely adored by another in modern times and whom he loved now added to sorrow and to both henry knight whose praises he had so frequently in her ears of whom she had actually been jealous lest she herself should be lessened in s love on account of him had probably won her the more easily by reason of those very praises which he had only ceased to utter by her command she had ruled him like a queen in that matter as in all others could tell by her manner brief as had been his observation of it and by her words few as they were that her position was far different with knight that she looked up at and adored her new lover from below his was even more perceptible than that she had smiled down upon from a height above him the suddenness of s of himself was food for more torture to an it admitted of at least two it might either have proceeded from an endeavour to be faithful to her first choice till the lover seen absolutely overpowered the lover remembered or from a wish not to lose his love till sure of the love of another but to smith the motive involved in the latter alternative made it where was the actor he mused on her letters to him in which she had never mentioned a syllable concerning knight it is desirable however to observe that only in two letters could she possibly have done so one was written about a week before knight s arrival when though she did not mention his promised coming to she had hardly a definite reason in her mind for to do it in the next she did casually allude to knight but had left long before that letter arrived looked at the black form of the adjacent t a pair of blue eyes house where it cut a dark out of the sky and felt that he hated the spot he did not know many facts of the case but could not help instinctively s with the marriage of her father and their introduction to london society he closed the iron gate bounding the as noiselessly as he had opened it and went into the grassy field here he could see the old the house alone that was associated with the sweet pleasant time of his love for turning sadly from the place that was no longer a nook in which his thoughts might when he was far away he wandered in the direction of the east village to reach his father s house before they retired to rest the nearest way to the cottage was by crossing the park he did not hurry happiness frequently has reason for haste but it is seldom that desolation need scramble or strain sometimes he paused under the low hanging arms of the trees looking on the ground was standing thus scarcely less crippled in thought than he was blank in vision when a clear sound the quiet air about him and spread on far beyond the sound was the stroke of a bell from the tower of east church which stood in a not forty yards from lord s mansion and within the park another stroke greeted his ear and gave character to both then came a slow succession of them somebody is dead he said aloud the	45
death of an of the eastern parish was being an unusual feature in the was that it had not been begun according to the custom in and other in the neighbourhood at every death the sex and age of the deceased were announced by a system of changes three times three strokes a pair of eyes signified that the departed one was a man three times two a woman twice three a boy twice two a girl the regular of the suggested that it was the rather than the beginning of a the opening portion of which had not been near enough to hear the momentary anxiety he had felt with regard to his parents passed away he had left them in perfect health and had any serious illness seized either a communication would have reached him ere this at the same time since his way homeward lay under the churchyard he resolved to look into the in passing by and speak a word to martin who would be there reached the brow of the hill and felt inclined to his idea his mood was such that talking to any person to whom he could not himself would be wearisome however before he could put any inclination into effect the young man saw from amid the trees a bright light shining the rays from which like needles through the sad foliage of the its direction was from the centre of the churchyard mechanically went forward never could there be a greater contrast between two places of like purpose than between this and that of the further village here the grass was carefully tended and formed a part of the house lawn flowers and shrubs being planted over both whilst the few graves visible were exact in shape and appearing in the like newly shaven there was no wall the division between s acre and lord s being marked only by a few square stones set at points among those persons who have romantic sentiments on the subject of their last dwelling place probably the greater number would have a pair of blue eyes chosen such a spot as this in preference to any other a few would have fancied a in its trim neatness and would have preferred the wild hill top of the neighbouring she with nature in her most attire the light in the churchyard he next discovered to have its source in a point very near the ground and imagined it might come from a lantern in the interior of a partly dug grave but a nearer approach showed him that its position was immediately under the wall of the aisle and within the mouth of an he could now hear voices and the truth of the whole matter began to dawn upon him walking on towards the opening smith discerned on his left hand a heap of earth and before him a flight of stone steps which the removed earth had uncovered leading down under the edifice it was the entrance to a large family vault extending under the north aisle had never before seen it open and descending one or steps stooped to look under the arch the vault appeared to be crowded with with the exception of an open central space which had been necessarily kept free for and access to the sides round three of which the were in stone or the place was well lighted with candles stuck in slips of wood that were fastened to the wall on making the descent of another step the living inhabitants of the vault were they were his father the master an under martin and two or three young and old men and workmen s were scattered about the whole company sitting round on which had been removed from their places apparently for some alteration or of the vault were eating bread and cheese and drinking ale from a cup with two handles passed round from each to each who is dead inquired stepping down xxvi to that last nothing under earth all eyes were turned to the entrance as spoke and the ancient him why tis our said his father rising from his seat and still retaining the in his left hand he swung forward his right for a grasp your mother is expecting ye thought you would have come afore dark but you ll wait and go home with me i have all but done for the day and was going directly yes tis master sure enough glad to see you so soon again master smith said martin the gladness expressed in his words by a strict of countenance in order to the feeling as much as possible with the solemnity of a family vault the same to you martin and you william said nodding around to the rest who having their mouths full of bread and cheese were of necessity compelled to reply merely by their eyes to friendly lines and wrinkles and who is dead repeated lady poor as we all shall a pair of blue eyes said the under ay and we be going to the vault to make room for her when did she die early this morning his father replied with an appearance of to a thought yes this morning martin been ever since almost there twas expected she was very ay poor soul this morning resumed the a old man whose skin seemed so much too large for his body that it would not stay in position she must know by this time whether she s to go up or down poor woman what was her age not more than seven or eight and twenty by but lord by day a was forty if a were an hour ay night time or day time makes a difference of twenty years to rich observed martin she was one and thirty really said john smith i had it from them that know not more than	45
that a looked very bad poor lady in faith ye might say she was dead for years afore a would own it i as my old father used to say dead but wouldn t drop down i i seed her poor soul said a from behind some removed only but last s day of all the world a was arm in wi my lord i says to myself you be churchyard my noble lady although you don t dream on t i suppose my lord will write to all the other lords in the nation to let em know that she that was is now no more tis done and past i see a bundle of letters go off an hour after the death wonderful black as they letters had half an inch wide at the very least too much observed martin in short tis out a pair of eyes of the question that a human being can be so mournful as black edges half an inch wide i m sure people don t feel more than a very narrow border when they feels most of all and there are two little girls are there not said nice little faces left now they used to come to parson s to play with miss when i were there said william worm ah they did so s the latter sentence was introduced to add the necessary melancholy to a remark which could hardly be made to possess enough for the occasion yes continued worm they d run upstairs they d run down flitting about with her everywhere very fond of her they were ah well than ever they were of their mother so tis said here and there added a well you see tis natural lady stood aloof from em so was so drowsy like that they couldn t love her in the jolly companion way children want to like folks only last winter i seed miss talking to my lady and the two children and miss wiped their noses for em so careful my lady never once seeing that it wanted doing and naturally children take to people that s their best friend be as the woman is dead and gone and we must make a place for her said john come lads drink up your ale and we ll just rid this corner so as to have all clear for beginning at the wall as soon as tis light to morrow then asked where lady was to lie here said his father we are going to set back this wall and make a recess and tis enough for us to do before the funeral when my lord s mother died she said john the place must be enlarged before another can be put in but a never expected a pair op blue be wanted so soon better move lord george first i suppose he pointed with his foot to a heavy coffin covered with what had originally been red velvet the colour of which could only just be distinguished now just as ye think best master john replied the l ah poor lord george he continued looking at the huge coffin l he and i were as bitter enemies once as any could be when one is a lord and t other only a mortal man poor fellow he d his hand upon my shoulder and me as familiar and as if he d been a common chap ay a me up hill and a me down and then a would out again and the of his fine new teeth would in the sun like of brass while i being a small man and poor was fain to say nothing at all such a fine gentleman as he was too yes i rather liked en sometimes but once now and then when i looked at his towering height i d think in my inside what a weight you ll be my for our arms to lower under the aisle of church some day and was he inquired a young he was he was five if a were a pound what with his lead and his oak and his handles and his one thing and t other here the ancient man his hand upon the cover with a force that caused a rattle among the bones inside he half broke my back when i took his feet to lower en down the steps there ah i to john there didn t i john that ever one man s glory should be such a weight upon another man but there i liked my lord george sometimes tis a strange thought said another that while they be all here under one roof a snug united family o they be really scattered miles away from a pair of blue eyes one another in the form of good sheep and wicked isn t it true tis a thought to look at and that one if he s gone upward don t know what his wife is doing no more than the man in the moon if she s gone downward and that some unfortunate one in the hot place is a across to a lucky one up in the clouds and quite forgetting their bodies be close together all the time ay tis a thought to look at too that i can say close to fiery lord george and a can t hear me and that i be eating my close to dainty lady jane s nose and she can t smell me what do em put all their heads one way for inquired a young man because tis churchyard law you simple the law of the living is that a man shall be upright and downright and the law of the dead is that a man shall be east and west every state of society have its laws we must break the law wi	45
a few of the poor souls however come to said the master and they set to work anew the order of could be distinctly traced by observing the appearance of the as they lay piled around on those which had been standing there but a generation or two the still remained those of an earlier period showed bare wood with a few tattered rags dangling earlier still the wood lay in fragments on the floor of the and the coffin consisted of naked lead alone whilst in the case of the very oldest even the lead was and in pieces revealing to the curious eye a heap of dust within the upon many were quite loose and by the hand their still exhibiting the name and title of the deceased overhead the and of the arches u a pair of blue eyes curved in all directions dropping low towards the walls where the height was no more than sufficient to enable a person to stand upright the body of george the baron together with two or three others all of more recent date than the great bulk of piled there had for want of room been placed at the end of the vault on and not in like the others these it was necessary to remove to form behind them the chamber in which they were ultimately to be deposited finding the place and proceedings in keeping with the sombre colours of his mind waited there still i suppose you can mind poor lady and how she ran away with the actor said john smith after awhile i think it fell upon the time my father was here let us see where is she here somewhere returned looking round him why i ve got my arms round the very at this moment he lowered the end of the coffin he was holding wiped his face and throwing a morsel of rotten wood upon another as an continued c that s her husband there they was as fair a couple as you should see anywhere round about and a pair likewise ay i can mind it though i was but a at the time she fell in love with this young man of hers and their were asked in some church in london and the old lord her father actually heard em asked the three times and didn t notice her name being on wi a host of others when she had married she told her father and a into a monstrous rage and said she shouldn a lady said she didn t think of wishing it if he d her twas all she asked and as for a living she was content to play plays with her husband this frightened the old lord and a d em a house to live in and a great garden and a little field or two and a a pair of blue eyes carriage and a good few guineas well the poor thing died at her first and her husband who was as tender hearted a man as ever eat meat and would have died for her went wild in his mind and broke his heart so twas said anyhow they were buried the same day father and mother but the baby lived ay my lord s family made much of that man then and put him here with his wife and there in the corner the man is now the sunday after there was a funeral sermon the text was or ever the silver cord be or the golden bowl be broken and when twas preaching the men drew their hands across their eyes several times and every woman cried out loud and what became of the baby said who had frequently heard portions of the story she was brought up by her grandmother and a pretty maid she were and she must needs run away with the parson that is now then her grandmother died and the title and everything went away to another branch of the family altogether parson wasted a good deal of his wife s money and she left him miss that trick of running away seems to be handed down in families like or and they two women be alike as peas which two lady and young miss that s alive now the same hair and eyes but miss s mother was darker a good deal life s a ye see said william worm for if the lord s had descended upon women instead of men miss would be lord lady i mane but as it is the blood is run out and she s nothing to the family by law whatever she may be by gospel i used to fancy said when i seed miss the little that there was a a pair op eyes likeness but i suppose twas only my dream for years must have altered the old family shape and now we ll move these two and home along interposed john smith as became a master the spirit of labour which had showed unmistakable signs of being nearly by the spirit of chat the of ale we don t want we ll let bide here till to morrow none of the poor souls will touch it a b so the evening s work was concluded and the party drew from the abode of the quiet dead closing the old iron door and shooting the lock loudly into the huge copper an act of imprisonment towards those who had no dreams of escape how should i greet thee love frequently dies of time alone much more frequently of with a powerful reason why the should be successful was that the new comer was a greater man than the first by the side of the instructive and she received from knight s general seemed watery by the side of knight s spare love making s	45
continual seemed she had begun to sigh for somebody further on in manhood was hardly enough of a man perhaps there was a to in her a nature to those who contemplate it from a beyond the influence of that the most exquisite of all in its and ready sympathies partly too s failure to make his hold on her heart a permanent one was his too timid habit of himself beside her a peculiarity which exercised towards sensible men a kindly of attachment that a marked would leave untouched but inevitably leads the most sensible woman in the world to him who a pair op eyes it directly ceases in the man begins in the woman the but no less unfortunate fact being that the creature rarely has the capacity to appreciate fair treatment from her natural the abiding perception of the position of s parents had of course a little to do with s to such girls poverty may not be as to the more worldly masses of humanity a sin in itself but it is a sin because graceful and dainty manners seldom exist in such an atmosphere few women of old family can be thoroughly taught that a fine soul may wear a frock and an common man in one is but a worm in their eyes john smith s rough hands and clothes his wife s dialect the necessary of their ways being constantly under s notice were not without their influence on reaching home after the perilous adventure by the sea shore knight had felt and retired almost immediately the young lady who had so materially assisted him had done the same but she reappeared properly clothed about five o clock she wandered about the house but not on account of their joint narrow escape from death the storm which had torn the tree had merely bowed the reed and with the of knight all deep thought of the accident had left her the mutual which it had been the means of occupied a far longer length of her meditations s now was on account of that miserable promise to meet which returned like a again and again the perception of his beside knight grew upon her she now thought how sound had been her father s advice to her to give him up and was as passionately desirous of following it as she had hitherto been averse perhaps there is nothing more to the tone of young a pair of blue eyes minds than thus to discover how their dearest and strongest wishes become gradually by time the to the very note of some selfish policy which in earlier days they despised the hour of appointment came and with it a crisis and with the crisis a god forgive me i can t meet she exclaimed to herself i don t love him less but i love mr knight more yes she would save herself from a man not fit for her in spite of vows she would obey her father and have no more to do with smith thus the resolve showed signs of assuming the complexion of a virtue the following days were passed without any definite from knight s lips such solitary walks and scenes as that witnessed by smith in the summer house were frequent but he her so that to any but such a delicate perception as s it would have appeared no courtship at all the time now really began to be sweet with her she dismissed the sense of sin in her past actions and was in the of the moment the fact that knight made no actual declaration was no knowing since the of his sentiments that love for her really existed she preferred it for the present in its form of essence and was willing to avoid for awhile the medium of words their feelings having been forced to a rather premature demonstration a reaction was indulged in by both but no sooner had she got rid of her troubled conscience on the matter of than a new anxiety confronted her it was lest knight should accidentally meet in the parish and that herself should be the subject of discourse learning knight more thoroughly perceived that far from having a notion of s a pair of he had no idea that she had ever been before by anybody on ordinary occasions she had a tongue so frank as to show her whole mind and a mind so straightforward as to reveal her heart to its shrine but the time for a change had come she never alluded to even a knowledge of knight s friend when women are secret they are secret indeed and more often than not they only begin to be secret with the advent of a second lover the was now a worse than the first and like the spirit in it taller with every attempt to lay it her natural honesty invited her to confide in knight and trust to his generosity for forgiveness she knew also that as mere policy it would be better to tell him early if he was to be told at all the longer her concealment the more difficult would be the revelation but she put it off the intense fear which intense love in young women was too strong to allow the exercise of a moral quality to itself where love is great the doubts are fear where little fears grow great great love grows there the match was looked upon as made by her father and mother the remembered her promise to reveal the meaning of the she had received and two days after the scene in the summer house asked her she was frank with him now i had been corresponding with smith ever since he left england till lately she calmly said what cried the aghast under the eyes of mr knight too no when i found i	45
cared most for mr knight i obeyed you you were very kind i m sure when did you begin to like mr knight i don t see that that is a question papa a pair of eyes the was from the shipping agent and was not sent at my request it announced the arrival of the vessel bringing him home home what is he here yes in the village i believe has he tried to see you only by fair means but don t papa question me so it is torture i will only say one word more he replied have you met him i have not i can assure you that at the present moment there is no more of an understanding between me and the young man you so much disliked than between him and you you told me to forget him and i have forgotten him oh well though you did not obey me in the beginning you are a good girl in obeying me at last don t call me good papa she said bitterly you don t know and the less said about some things the better remember mr knight knows nothing about the other oh how wrong it all is i don t know what i am coming to as matters stand i should be inclined to tell him or at any rate i should not alarm myself about his knowing he found out the other day that this was the parish young smith s father lives in what puts you in such a i can t say but promise pray don t let him know it would be my ruin child knight is a good fellow and a clever man but at the same time it does not escape my that he is no great catch for you men of his turn of mind are nothing so wonderful in the way of husbands if you had chosen to wait you might have with a much man but remember i have not a word to say against your having him if you like him is delighted as you know s v a pair op blue well papa she said smiling through a sigh it is nice to feel that in giving way to to caring for him i have pleased my family but i am not good oh no i am very far from that none of us are good i am sorry to say said her father but girls have a right to change their minds you know it has been recognized by poets from time says in what a memory mine is however the passage is that a woman s words to a lover are as a matter of course written only on wind and water now don t be troubled about that ah you don t know they had been standing on the lawn and knight was now seen lingering some way down a winding walk when met him it was with a much greater lightness of heart things were more straightforward now the responsibility of her seemed partly shifted from her own shoulders to her father s still there were shadows ah could he have known how far i went with and yet have said the same how much happier i should be that was her prevailing thought in the afternoon the lovers went out together on horseback for an hour or two and though not wishing to be observed by reason of the late death of lady whose funeral had taken place very privately on the previous day they yet found it necessary to pass east church the steps to the vault as has been stated were on the outside of the building immediately under the aisle wall being on horseback both knight and could overlook the shrubs which the churchyard look the vault seems still to be open said knight yes it is open she answered a pair of who is that man close by it the i suppose yes wonder if it is john smith s father i believe it is said with apprehension ah and can it be i should like to inquire how his son my is going on and from your father s description of the vault the interior must be interesting suppose we go in had we better do you think may not lord be there it is not at all likely then assented since she could do nothing else her heart which at first had in consternation recovered itself when she considered the character of john smith a quiet man he would be sure to act towards her as before those love passages with his son which might have given a more airs so without much alarm she took knight s arm after and went with him between and over the graves the master recognized her as she approached and as usual lifted his hat respectfully i know you to be mr smith my former friend s father said knight directly he had the and ruddy features of john c yes sir i b i be how is your son now i have only once heard from him since he went to india i you have heard him speak of me mr knight who became acquainted with him some years ago in ay that i have is very well thank you sir and he s in england in fact he s at home in short sir he s down in the vault there a looking at the departed s heart fluttered like a butterfly knight looked amazed well that is a pair of eyes he murmured did he know i was in the parish c i really can t say sir said john wishing himself out of the he rather suspected than thoroughly understood would it be considered an intrusion by the family if we went into the vault oh bless ye no sir scores	45
light which stood on the stone in the new and the remainder of the family are on this side who are those two so snug and close together s voice altered slightly as he replied that s lady born and that is arthur her husband i have heard my father say that they he ran away with her and married her against the wish of her parents then i imagine this to be where you got your christian name miss said knight turning to her i think you told me it was three or four generations ago that your family off from the she was my grandmother said vainly endeavouring to her dry lips before she spoke had then the conscience stricken look of s rendered upon a more form she kept her face partially away from knight and and set her eyes upon the sky visible outside as if her a pair of blue eyes salvation depended upon quickly reaching it her left hand rested lightly within knight s arm half withdrawn from a sense of shame at claiming him before her old lover yet unwilling to him so that her glove merely touched his sleeve can one be and retain the offence quoted s heart then conversation seemed to have no self power and went on in the shape of remarks one s mind gets thronged with thoughts while standing so solemnly here knight said in a measured quiet voice how much has been said on death from time to time how much we ourselves can think upon it i we may fancy each of these who lie here saying for thou to make my fell more great lift me up on high what comes next it is the hundred i am thinking of yes i know it she murmured and went on in a still lower voice seemingly afraid for any words from the side of her nature to reach c it my days just hastening to their end are like an evening shade my beauty doth like withered grass with lustre fade well said knight let us leave them such occasions as these seem to compel us to outside ourselves far away from the fragile frame we live in and to till our perception grows so vast that our physical reality bears no sort of proportion to it we look back upon the weak and minute stem on which this luxuriant growth depends and ask can it be possible that such a capacity has a foundation so small must i again return to my daily walk in that narrow cell a human body where worldly thoughts can torture me do we not a pair of blue c yes said and one has a sense of wrong too that such an breadth as a being possesses should be committed to the frail of a body what one s intentions regarding the future like the thought of this however let us tune ourselves to a more cheerful for there s a great deal to be done yet by us all as knight addressed his thus unconscious of the deception practised for different reasons by the severed hearts at his side and of the scenes that had in earlier days united them each one felt that he and she did not gain by contrast with their musing physically not so handsome as either the youthful or the s daughter the and integrity of knight illuminated his features with a dignity not even in the other two it is difficult to frame rules which shall apply to both sexes and an girl must perhaps hardly be laden with the moral which attach to a man in like circumstances the charm of woman too lies partly in her in matters of love but if honesty is a virtue in itself having none of it now seemed being for being scarcely good enough for knight though for no unworthy purpose was after all and whatever good results grace such if it succeed it seldom draws admiration especially when it fails on an ordinary occasion had knight been even quite alone with he would hardly have alluded to his possible relationship to but moved by attendant circumstances knight was impelled to be confiding he said this lady is miss i am staying at her father s house as you probably know he stepped a few paces nearer to smith and said in a lower tone i may as well tell you that we are engaged to be married x a pair op blue eyes low as the words had been spoken had heard them and awaited s reply in breathless silence if that could be called silence where s dress at each throb of her heart shook and indicated it like a pulse glass rustling also against the wall in reply to the same throbbing the ray of daylight which her face lent it a blue in comparison with those of the other two i congratulate you whispered and said aloud i know miss a little you must remember that my father is a of mr s i thought you might possibly not have lived at home since they have been here i have never lived at home certainly since that time i have seen mr smith faltered well there is no excuse for me as strangers to each other i ought i suppose to have introduced you as acquaintances i should not have stood so persistently between you but the fact is smith you seem a boy to me even now appeared to have a more than previous consciousness of the intense cruelty of his fate at the present moment he could not repress the words uttered with a dim bitterness you should have said that i seemed still the rural s son i am and hence an unfit subject for the ceremony of oh no no i won t have that knight endeavoured to give his	45
reply a laughing tone in s ears and an earnestness in s in both which efforts he failed and produced a forced speech pleasant to neither well let us go into the open air again miss you are particularly silent you mustn t mind smith i have known him for years as i have told you a pair of blue eyes yes you have she said to think she has never mentioned her knowledge of me smith murmured and thought with some remorse how much her conduct resembled his own on his first arrival at her house as a stranger to the place they ascended to the daylight knight taking no further notice of s manner which as usual he attributed to the natural shyness of a young woman at being discovered walking with him on terms which left not much doubt of their meaning stepped a little in advance and passed through the churchyard you are changed very considerably smith said knight and i suppose it is no more than was to be expected however don t imagine that i shall feel any the less interest in you and your fortunes whenever you care to confide them to me i have not forgotten the attachment you spoke of as your reason for going away to india a london young lady was it not i hope all is prosperous no the match is broken off it being always difficult to know whether to express sorrow or gladness under such circumstances all depending upon the character of the match knight took shelter in the safe words i trust it was for the best i hope it was but i beg that you will not press me further no you have not pressed me i don t mean that but i would rather not speak upon the subject s words were hurried knight said no more and they followed in the footsteps of who still kept some paces in advance and had not heard knight s unconscious allusion to her bade him adieu at the churchyard gate without going outside and watched whilst he and his sweetheart mounted their horses heavens knight exclaimed how a pair op blue eyes pale you are i suppose i ought not to have taken you into that vault what is the matter nothing said faintly i shall be myself in a moment all was so strange and unexpected down there that it made me i thought you said very little shall i get some water no no do you think it is safe for you to mount quite indeed it is she said with a look of appeal now then up she goes whispered knight and lifted her tenderly into the saddle her old lover still looked on at the performance as he over the gate a dozen yards off once in the saddle and having a firm grip of the reins she turned her head as if by a fascination and for the first time since that memorable parting on the outside st s after the passionate attempt at marriage with him looked in the face of the young man she first had loved he was the youth who had called her his inseparable wife many a time and whom she had even addressed as her husband their eyes met of life should be rather to the intensity of the experience than to its actual length their glance but a moment was a season in their history to the intense agony of reproach in s eye was a nail piercing her heart with a no words can describe with a effort she withdrew her eyes urged on the horse and in the chaos of memories was of any presence beside her the deed of deception was complete gaining a on which the park transformed itself into wood and knight came still closer to her side and said are you better now dearest oh yes she pressed a hand to her eyes as if to blot out the image of a vivid scarlet spot a pair op now shone with brightness in the centre of each cheek leaving the remainder of her face as before said knight rather in his old tone of you know i don t for a moment you but is there not a great deal of weakness in your allowing yourself to be so overwhelmed by the sight of what after all is no novelty every woman worthy of the name should i think be able to look upon death with something like composure surely you think so too i yes i own it his to the cause of her by his entire freedom from the suspicion of anything behind the scenes showed how incapable knight was of deception himself rather than any inherent in him regarding human nature this clearly perceived by added to her self reproach and she him the more because of their difference even the recent sight of s face and the sound of his voice which for a moment had stirred a or two of ancient kindness were unable to keep down the adoration re now that he was again out of view she had replied to knight s question hastily and immediately went on to speak of indifferent subjects after they had reached home she was apart from him till dinner time when dinner was over and they were watching the dusk in the drawing room knight stepped out upon the terrace went after him very on the spur of a virtuous intention mr knight i want to tell you something she said with quiet firmness and what is it about gaily returned her lover happiness i hope do not let anything keep you so sad as you seem to have been to day i i cannot mention the matter until i tell you the a pair op blue whole substance of it she said and that i will do	45
to morrow i have been reminded of it to day it is about something i once did and don t think i ought to have done this it must be said was rather a mild way of referring to a frantic passion and flight which much or little in itself only accident had saved from being a scandal in the public eye knight thought the matter some trifle and said pleasantly then i am not to hear the dreadful confession now no not now i did not mean to night responded with a slight decline in the firmness of her voice it is not light as you think it it troubles me a great deal fearing now the effect of her own earnestness she added though perhaps you may think it light after all but you have not said when it is to be to morrow morning name a time will you and bind me to it i want you to fix an hour because i am weak and may otherwise try to get out of it she added a little artificial laugh which showed how her resolution was still well say after breakfast at eleven o clock yes eleven o clock i promise you bind me strictly to my word lull a fancy trouble it is eleven o clock she was looking out of her dressing room window on the first floor and knight was regarding her from the terrace upon which he had been idly sitting for some time dividing the glances of his eye between the pages of a book in his hand the brilliant hues of the and and the open window yes it is i know i am coming he drew closer and under the window how are you this morning you look no better for your long night s rest she appeared at the door shortly after took his offered arm and together they walked slowly down the gravel path leading to the river and away under the trees her resolution sustained during the last fifteen hours had been to tell the whole truth and now the moment had come step by step they advanced and still she did not speak they were nearly at the end of the walk when knight broke the silence well what is the confession a pair of blue eyes she paused a moment drew a long breath and this is what she said told you one day or rather i gave you to understand what was not true i fancy you thought me to mean i was nineteen my next birthday but it was my last i was nineteen the moment had been too much for her now that the crisis had come no of conscience no love of honesty no yearning to make a confidence and obtain forgiveness with a kiss could string up to the venture her dread lest he should be was heightened by the thought of yesterday s which might possibly add disgust to his disappointment the certainty of one more day s affection which she gained by silence the hope of a combined with the risk of all the caused by these thoughts on what she had intended to say shook so naturally the words she did say that knight never for a moment suspected them to be a last moment s he smiled and pressed her hand warmly my dear yes you are now no what a winning little woman you are to be so scrupulous about a mere really i never once have thought whether your nineteenth year was the last or the present and by george well i may not for it would never do for a staid a dozen years older to stand upon such a trifle as that don t praise me don t praise though i prize it from your lips i don t deserve it now but knight being in an genial mood merely saw this exclamation as modesty well he added after a minute i like you all the better you know for such moral precision although i called it absurd he went on with tender earnestness for there is one thing i do love to see in a woman that is a soul truthful and clear as heaven s a pair of blue eyes light i could put up with anything if i had that forgive nothing if i had it not you have such a soul if ever woman had and having it retain it and don t ever listen to the fashionable theories of the day about a woman s privileges and natural right to practise depend upon it my dear girl that a noble woman must be as honest as a noble man i specially mean by honesty not only in matters of business and social detail but in all the delicate dealings of love to which the given to your sex particularly looked at the trees now let us go on to the river i would if i had a hat on she said with a sort of suppressed woe i will get it for you said knight very willing to purchase her companionship at so cheap a price you sit down there a minute and he turned and walked rapidly back to the house for the article in question sat down upon one of the rustic benches which adorned this portion of the grounds and remained with her eyes upon the grass she was induced to lift them by hearing the brush of light and irregular footsteps hard by passing along the path which the one she was in and traversed the outer beheld the farmer s widow mrs before she noticed she paused to look at the house portions of which were visible through the bushes shrinking back hoped the unpleasant woman might go on without seeing her but mrs silently the house with actions which	45
seemed dictated by a half reason had discerned the girl and immediately came up and stood in front of her ah miss why did you disturb me mustn t i here you may walk here if you like mrs i do not disturb you x a pair of blue eyes you disturb my mind and my mind is my whole life for my boy is there still and he is gone from my body yes poor young man i was sorry when he died do you know what he died of consumption oh no no said the widow that word consumption covers a good deal he died because you were his own well agreed sweetheart and then proved false and it killed him yes miss she said in an excited whisper you killed my son how can you be so wicked and foolish replied rising indignantly but indignation was not natural to her and having been so worn and by late events she lost any powers of defence that mood might have lent her i could not help his loving me mrs that s just what you could have helped you know how it began miss yes you said you liked the name of better than any other name in the parish and you knew it was his name and that those you said it to would report it to him i knew it was his name of course i did but i am sure mrs i did not intend anybody to tell him but you knew they would no i didn t and then after that when you were riding on day by our house and the lads were gathered there and you wanted to when jim and george and three or four more ran forward to hold your pony and stood back timid why did you to him and say you would rather he held it o mrs you do think so i liked him best that s why i wanted him to do it he was gentle and nice i always thought him and i liked him a pair of blue eyes then why did you let him kiss you it is a falsehood oh it is it is said weeping with desperation he came behind me and attempted to kiss me and that was why i told him never to let me see him again but you did not tell your father or anybody as you would have if you had looked upon it then as the insult you now pretend it was he begged me not to tell and foolishly enough i did not and i wish i had now i little expected to be with my own kindness pray leave me mrs the girl only now well you harshly dismissed him and he died and before his body was cold you took another to your heart then as carelessly sent him about his business and took a third and if you consider that nothing miss she continued drawing closer it led on to what was very serious indeed have you forgotten the would be marriage the journey to london and the return the next day without being married and that there s enough disgrace in that to ruin a woman s good name far less light than yours you may have i have not towards a lover is bad but after playing the wife is oh it s a wicked cruel lie do not say it oh do not does your new man know of it i think not or he would be no man of yours as much of the story as was known is creeping about the neighbourhood even now but i know more than any of them and why should i respect your love i defy you cried do and say all you can to ruin me try put your tongue at work i invite it i defy you as a woman look there he comes and her voice trembled greatly as she saw through the leaves the a pair of blue eyes beloved form of knight coming from the door with her hat in his hand tell him at once i can bear it not now said the woman and disappeared down the path the excitement of her latter words had restored colour to s cheeks and hastily wiping her eyes she walked farther on so that by the time her lover had overtaken her the traces of emotion had nearly disappeared from her face knight put the hat upon her head took her hand and drew it within his arm it was the last day but one previous to their departure for st and knight seemed to have a purpose in being much in her company that day they along the valley the season was that period in the autumn when the foliage alone of an ordinary plantation is rich enough in hues to the of an artist s most of all are the from bright rusty red at the extremity of the boughs to a bright yellow at their inner parts young oaks are still of a green scotch and are nearly blue whilst occasional of other varieties give and of every tinge the river such as it was here pursued its course amid as level as a pavement but divided by of irregular width with the summer the torrent had till it was now but a thread of crystal clearness along a central channel in the rocky bed of the winter current knight scrambled through the bushes which at this point nearly covered the brook from sight and down upon the dry portion of the river bottom i never saw such a sight he exclaimed the the river s course in a perfect arch and the floor is beautifully paved the place reminds one of the passages of a let me help you down a pair of blue	45
eyes he assisted her through the and down to the stones they walked on together to a tiny about a foot wide and high and sat down beside it on the flags that for nine months in the year were beneath a from their feet the thread of water which alone remained to tell the intent and reason of this leaf covered aisle and on in a line till lost in the shade knight leaning on his elbow after contemplating all this looked at does not such a luxuriant head of hair itself and get thin as the years go on from eighteen to eight and twenty he asked at length oh no she said quickly with a visible to harbour such a thought which came upon her with an whose force it would be difficult for men to understand she added afterwards with uneasiness do you really think that a great abundance of hair is more likely to get thin than a moderate quantity yes i really do i believe am almost sure in fact that if could be obtained on the subject you would find the persons with thin hair were those who had a originally and that those who start with a moderate quantity retain it without much loss s troubles sat upon her face as well as in her heart perhaps to a woman it is almost as dreadful to think of losing her beauty as of losing her reputation at any rate she looked quite as gloomy as she had looked at any minute that day you shouldn t be so troubled about a mere personal said knight with some of the severity of tone that had been customary before she had him into softness think it is a woman s duty to be as beautiful as a pair of blue eyes she can if i were a scholar i would give you chapter and verse for it from one of your own latin authors i know there is such a passage for papa has alluded to it et et c is that it a passage in which is no defence at all no it is not that never mind then for i have a reason for not taking up my old against you can you guess what the reason is no but i am glad to hear it she said for it is dreadful when you talk so for whatever dreadful name the weakness may deserve i must candidly own that i am terrified to think my hair may ever get thin of course a sensible woman would rather lose her wits than her beauty i don t care if you do say satire and judge me cruelly i know my hair is beautiful everybody says so why my dear miss he tenderly replied i have not said anything against it but you know what is said about handsome being and handsome doing poor miss handsome does cuts but a sorry figure beside miss handsome is in every man s eyes your own not mr knight though it pleases you to throw off so said and lowering her voice you ought not to have taken so much trouble to save me from falling over the cliff for you don t think mine a life worth much trouble evidently perhaps you think mine was not worth yours it was worth anybody s her hand was in the little and her eyes were bent the same way you talk about my severity with you you axe unkind to me you know a pair of blue eyes how she asked looking up from her idle occupation after my taking trouble to get to please you you wouldn t accept it perhaps i would now perhaps i want to do said knight and the packet was withdrawn from his pocket and presented the third time took it with delight the obstacle was rent in twain and the significant gift was hers i ll take out these ugly ones at once she exclaimed and i ll wear yours shall i i should be gratified now though it may seem unlikely considering how far the two had gone in converse knight had never yet ventured to kiss far slower was he than smith in matters like that the utmost advance he had made in such had been to the degree witnessed by in the so s cheek being still forbidden fruit to him he said i should like to touch that ear of yours those are my gifts so let me dress you in them she hesitated with a hesitation let me put just one in its place then her face grew much warmer i don t think it would be quite the usual or proper course she said suddenly turning and her operation of in the miniature the stillness of things was disturbed by a bird coming to the to drink after watching him dip his bill himself and fly into a tree knight replied with the courteous she so much liked to hear now you may as well be fair you would mind my doing it but little i think so give me leave do a pair of eyes will be fair then she said and looking him full in the face it was a particular pleasure to her to be able to do a little honesty without fear should not mind your doing so i should like such an attention my thought was would it be right to let you then i will he rejoined with that singular earnestness about a small matter in the eyes of a ladies man but a momentary for or jest which is only found in deep natures who have been wholly unused to with and which from its is in itself a tribute the most precious that can be rendered and homage the most exquisite to be received and you shall she	45
whispered without reserve and no longer mistress of the ceremonies and then inclined herself towards him thrust back her hair and poised her head sideways in doing this her arm and shoulder necessarily rested against his breast at the touch the sensation of both seemed to be concentrated at the point of contact all the time he was performing the delicate knight trembled like a young surgeon in his first operation now the other said knight in a whisper no no why not i don t know exactly you must know your touch me so let us go home don t say that what is it after all a mere nothing now turn round dearest she was powerless to and turned forthwith and then without any defined intention in either s mind his face and hers drew closer together and he supported her there and kissed her knight was at once the most ardent and the man alive when his emotions he appeared a pair of blue eyes almost when they were moved he was no less than passionate and now without having quite intended an early marriage he put the question plainly it came with all the which was the of long years behind a natural reserve when shall we be married the words were sweet to her but there was a bitter in the sweet these newly acts of his which had in this plain question coming on the very day of mrs s reproaches painted distinctly her as an loving him in secret had not seemed such thorough going as the same love recognized and acted upon in the face of threats her distraction was interpreted by him at her side as the outward signs of an unwonted experience i don t press you for an answer now darling he said seeing she was not likely to give a reply take your time knight was as honourable a man as was ever loved and by woman it may be said that his blindness in love proved the point for in love usually goes with meanness in general once the passion had mastered him the intellect had gone for naught knight as a lover was more single minded and far than his friend who in other was shallow beside him without saying more on the subject of their marriage knight held her at arm s length as if she had been a large and looked at her with critical affection does your pretty gift become me she inquired with tears of excitement on the of her eyes undoubtedly perfectly said her lover a lighter tone to put her at her ease ah you should see them you look than ever fancy that i have been able to improve you am i really so nice i am glad for your sake i wish i could see myself t a pair blue op eyes you can t you must wait till we get home i shall never be able she said laughing look here s a way so there is well done woman s wit hold me steady oh yes and don t let me fall will you by no means below their seat the thread of water paused to spread out into a smooth small pool knight supported her whilst she knelt down and over it i can see myself really try as as i will i cannot help admiring my appearance in them doubtless how can you be so fond of finery i believe you are me into a taste for it i used to hate every such thing before i knew you c i like ornaments because i want people to admire what you possess and envy you and say i wish i was he c i suppose i ought not to object after that and how much longer are you going to look in there at yourself until you are tired of holding me oh i want to ask you something and she turned round now tell truly won t you what colour of hair do you like best now knight did not answer at the moment say light do she whispered don t say dark as you did that time light brown then exactly the colour of my sweetheart s really said enjoying as truth what she knew to be flattery yes and blue eyes too not say yes say yes one is enough for to day no no a pair of blue eyes very well blue eyes and knight laughed and drew her close and kissed her the second time which operations he performed with the of a touching a bunch of grapes so as not to disturb their bloom objected to a second and flung away her face the movement causing a slight of hat and hair hardly thinking what she said in the of the moment she exclaimed clapping her hand to her ear ah we must be careful i lost the other doing like this no sooner did she the significant words than a troubled look passed across her face and she shut her lips as if to keep them back doing like what said knight perplexed oh sitting down out of doors she replied hastily care thou it is an evening at the beginning of october and the of autumn london even to its eastern end between the eye and the flaming west columns of smoke stand up in the still air like tall trees everything in the shade is rich and misty blue mr and mrs and are looking at these and lurid from the window of a large hotel near london bridge the visit to their friends at st is over and they are staying a day or two in the metropolis on their way home knight spent the same interval of time in crossing over to by way of and st he then passed through and returned to london also his arrival there	45
having been two days later than that of and her parents so the evening of this october day saw them all meeting at the above mentioned hotel where they had previously engaged apartments during the afternoon knight had been to his lodgings at to make a little change in the nature of his baggage and on a pair of blue eyes coming up again there was never ushered by a bland waiter into a comfortable room a happier man than knight when shown to where and her were sitting after a day of looked none the better for her change knight was as brown as a nut they were soon engaged by themselves in a corner of the room now that the precious words of promise had been spoken the young girl had no idea of keeping up her price by the system of reserve which other more accomplished maidens use her lover was with her again and it was enough she made her heart over to him entirely dinner was soon despatched and when a preliminary round of conversation concerning their doings since the last parting had been concluded they to the subject of to s journey home c that ride through the climate of south how i dread it to morrow mrs was saying i had hoped the weather would have been cooler by this time did you ever go by water said knight never by never i mean not since the time of then if you can afford an additional day i propose that we do it said knight the channel is like a lake just now we should reach in about forty hours i think and the boats start from just below the bridge here pointing over his shoulder eastward i hear hear said the it s an idea certainly said his wife of course these are rather said knight c but you wouldn t mind that no we wouldn t mind and the saloon is a place like the of a ninth rate country town but that wouldn t matter oh dear no if we had only thought of it soon enough we might have had the use of lord s a pair of blue eyes but never mind we ll go we shall escape the worrying rattle through the whole length of london tomorrow morning not to mention the risk of being killed by excursion trains which is not a little one at this time of the year if the papers are true too thought the arrangement delightful and accordingly ten o clock the following morning saw two crawling round by the and between the high walls of lane towards the river side the first vehicle was occupied by the travellers in person and the second brought up the luggage under the of mrs mrs s maid and for the last fortnight s also for although the younger lady had never been accustomed to any such attendant at times her forced her into a semblance of familiarity with one when they were away from home presently and smells of all descriptions increased to such an extent that the advance of the was at the possible rate at intervals it was necessary to halt entirely that the heavy in front might be moved aside a feat which was not accomplished without a deal of swearing and noise the put his head out of the window surely there must be some mistake in the way he said with great concern drawing in his head again there s not a respectable conveyance to be seen here except ours i ve heard that there are strange in this part of london into which people have been and murdered surely there is no conspiracy on the part of the oh no no it is all right said mr knight who was as placid as eve by the side of but what i argue from said the with a greater emphasis of uneasiness are plain appearances this can t be the highway from london to a pair of eyes by water because it is no way at all to any place we shall miss our steamer and our train too that s what i think depend upon it we are right in fact here we are s wharf said the opening the door no sooner had they alighted than they perceived a going on between the and a crowd of light who had charged him in column to obtain possession of the bags and boxes mrs s hands being seen stretched towards heaven in the midst of the knight advanced gallantly and after a hard struggle reduced the crowd to two upon whose shoulders and the goods vanished away in the direction of the water s edge with startling rapidity then more of the same tribe who had run on ahead were heard shouting to three of whom pulled alongside and two being the luggage went tumbling into the remaining one c never saw such a dreadful scene in my life never said mr into the boat worse than famine and sword upon one i thought such customs were confined to continental ports aren t you astonished oh no said appearing amid the dingy scene like a rainbow in a sky it is a pleasant novelty i think where in the wide ocean is our steamer the inquired i can see nothing but old for the life of me just behind that one said knight we shall soon be round under her the object of their search was soon after disclosed to view a great form of blackness which looked as if it had never known the touch of a paint brush for fifty years it was lying beside just a pair of blue eyes such another and the way on board was down a narrow lane of water between the two about a yard and a half wide at	45
one end and gradually to a point at the moment of their entry into this narrow passage a brilliantly painted rival down the river like a trotting creating such a series of waves and that their frail was tossed like a and the and his wife this way and that their heads into contact with a punch and air and countenance the striking the sides of the two and flapping back into their dreadful horrible mr murmured privately and said aloud i thought we walked on board i don t think really i should have come if i had known this trouble was attached to it if they must splash i wish they would splash us with clean water said the old lady wiping her dress with her handkerchief i hope it is perfectly safe continued the c o papa you are not very brave cried merrily bravery is only to the perception of mr severely answered mrs laughed and laughed and knight laughed in the midst of which a man shouted to them from some position between their heads and the sky and they found they were close to the into which they ascended it having been found that the of the tide would prevent their getting off for an hour the having nothing else to do allowed their eyes to idle upon men in blue performing mysterious mending operations with tar they turned to look at the of lurid sunlight like copper stars afloat on the which danced into and their vision or listened to the loud music of a a pair of blue eyes steam at work close by or to sighing sounds from the of passing getting dead as they grew more distant or to shouts from the decks of different craft in their vicinity all of them assuming the form of ah he hay half past ten not yet off mr breathed a breath of weariness and looked at his fellow travellers in general their faces were certainly not worth looking at the expression waiting was written upon them so absolutely that nothing more could be discerned there all animation was suspended till providence should raise the water and let them go i have been thinking said knight that we have come amongst the class of people in the kingdom of all human characteristics a low opinion of the value of his own time by an individual must be among the strangest to find here we see numbers of that patient and happy species as distinct from travellers but they are pleasure to whom time is of no importance oh no the pleasure we meet on the grand are more anxious than commercial travellers to rush on and added to the loss of time in getting to their journey s end these exceptional people take their chance of sea sickness by coming this way c can it be inquired the with apprehension surely not mr knight just here in our english channel close at our doors as i may say c entrance passages are very places and the channel is like the rest it ruins the temper of sailors it has been calculated by philosophers that more go up to heaven from the channel in the course of a year than from all the five put together they really start now and the dead looks of all the throng come to life immediately the man who has been in a rope that bade fair to have v a pair of blue eyes no end ceases his labours and they glide down the of the thames anything anywhere was a mine of interest to and so was this it is well enough now said mrs after they had passed the but i can t say i have cared for my voyage hitherto for being now in the open sea a slight breeze had sprung up which cheered her as well as her two younger companions but unfortunately it had a reverse effect upon the who after turning a sort of jam colour with of pleaded and vanished from their sight the afternoon wore on mrs kindly sat apart by herself reading and the pair were left to themselves clung to knight s arm and proud was she to walk with him up and down the deck or to go forward and leaning with him against the rails watch the setting sun gradually withdrawing itself over their stern into a huge bank of livid cloud with golden edges that rose to meet it she was full of life and spirits though in walking up and down with him before the passengers and getting noticed by them she was at starting rather confused it being the first time she had shown herself so openly under that kind of protection i expect they are envious and saying things about us don t you she would whisper to knight with a stealthy smile oh no he would answer why should they envy us and what can they say not any harm of course replied c except such as this how happy those two are she is proud enough now what makes it worse she continued in the extremity of confidence i heard those two men say just now she s the girl on the boat but i don t mind it you know harry a pair of blue eyes i should hardly have supposed you did even if you had not told me said knight with great she was never tired of asking her lover questions and admiring his answers good bad or indifferent as they might be the evening grew dark and night came on and lights shone upon them from the horizon and from the sky now look there ahead of us at that in the air of silvery brightness watch it and you will see what it comes to she watched for a few minutes when two white lights emerged from the side of a	45
the gloom their pointed rising like shadowy phantom figures against the sky it became necessary to go below to an eight o clock meal of kind and was immensely relieved at finding no sign of mrs there they again ascended and remained above till mrs staggered up to them with the message that mrs thought it was time for to come below knight accompanied her down and returned again to pass a little more time on deck partly herself and lay down and a pair op blue eyes soon became unconscious though her sleep was light how long she had lain she knew not when by slow degrees she became of a whispering in her ear you are well on with him i can see well provoke me now but my day will come you will find that seemed to be the utterance or words to that effect became broad awake and terrified she knew the words if real could be only those of one person and that person the widow the lamp had gone out and the place was in darkness in the next berth she could hear her breathing heavily further on breathing more heavily still these were the only other legitimate occupants of the cabin and mrs must have stealthily come in by some means and retreated again or else she had entered an empty berth next s the fear that this was the case increased s till it assumed the dimensions of a certainty for how could a stranger from the other end of the ship possibly contrive to get in could it have been a dream raised herself higher and looked out of the window there was the sea and rushing against the ship s side just by her head and thence stretching away dim and moaning into an expanse of and far beyond all this two placid lights like stars now almost fearing to turn her face again lest mrs should appear at her elbow meditated upon whether to call to keep her company four bells sounded and she heard voices which gave her a little courage it was not worth while to call at any rate could not stay there panting longer at the risk of being again disturbed by that dreadful whispering so herself up hurriedly she emerged into the passage and by the aid of a faint light burning at the entrance to the saloon found the a pair of blue eyes foot of the stairs and ascended to the deck dreary the place was in the extreme it seemed a new spot altogether in contrast with its self she could see the light from the and the dim outline of the man at the wheel also a form at the bows not another soul was apparent from stem to stern yes there were two more by the one proved to be her harry the other the mate she was glad indeed and on drawing closer found they were holding a low slow chat about affairs she ran up and slipped her hand through knight s arm partly for love partly for not asleep said knight after moving a few steps aside with her c no i cannot sleep may i stay here it is so dismal down there and and i was afraid where are we now due south of bill those are the lights of us look a terrible spot that on a stormy night and do you see a very small light that and rises to the right that s a light ship on the dangerous called the where many a good vessel has gone to pieces between it and ourselves is the race a place where currents meet and form a spot which is rough in the weather and terrific in a wind that dark dreary horizon we just discern to the left is the west bay terminated by the beach what time is it harry just past two are you going below oh no not to night i prefer pure air she fancied he might be displeased with her for coming to him at this hour i should like to stay here too if you will allow me she said timidly c i want to ask you things a pair op blue eyes allow you said knight putting his arm round her and drawing her closer i am twice as happy with you by my side yes we will stay and watch the approach of day so they again sought out the sheltered nook and sitting down wrapped in the rug as before what were you going to ask me he inquired as they up and down oh it was not much perhaps a thing i ought not to ask she said hesitatingly her sudden wish had really been to discover at once whether he had ever before been engaged to be married if he had she would make that a ground for telling him a little of her conduct with mrs s seeming words had so depressed the girl that she herself now painted her flight in the darkest colours and longed to ease her mind by an instant confession if knight had ever been himself he might she hoped forgive all i wanted to ask you she went on if you had ever been engaged before she added i hope you have i mean i don t mind at all if you have no i never was knight instantly and heartily replied and there was a certain happy pride in his tone i am twelve years older than you and i have been about the world and in a way into society and you have not and yet i am not so unfit for you as strict thinking people might imagine who would assume the difference in age to signify most surely an equal addition to my practice in love making shivered you	45
are cold is the wind too much for you no she said gloomily the belief which had been her sheet anchor in hoping for forgiveness had proved false this account of the exceptional nature of his experience a matter which would have set her rejoicing two years ago chilled her now like a frost a pair of blue eyes you don t mind my asking you she continued c oh no not at all and have you never kissed many ladies she whispered hoping he would say a hundred at the least the time the circumstances and the scene were such as to draw confidences from the most reserved whispered knight in reply it is strange you should have asked that question but i ll answer it though i have never told such a thing before i have been rather absurd in my of women i have never given a woman a kiss in my life except yourself and my mother the man of two and thirty with the experienced mind warmed all over with a boy s shame as he made the confession what not one she faltered no not one how very strange c yes the reverse experience may be and yet to those who have observed their own sex as i have my case is not remarkable men about town are women s that s the and superficial people don t think far enough to see that there may be reserved lonely exceptions are you proud of it harry c no indeed of late years i have wished i had gone my ways and trod out my measure like men i have thought of how many happy experiences i may have lost through never going to then why did you hold aloof c i cannot say i don t think it was my nature to circumstance me perhaps i have regretted it for another reason this great of mine has had its effect upon me the older i have grown the more distinctly have i perceived that it was absolutely preventing me from liking any woman who was not as as i and i gave up the expectation of finding a nineteenth century young lady in my own a pair of blue eyes raw state then i found you and i felt for the first time that my was a blessing and it helped to make me worthy of you i felt at once that as we did in other experiences in this matter i resembled you well aren t you glad to hear it yes i am she answered in a forced voice but i always had thought that men made lots of engagements before they especially if they don t marry very young so all women think i suppose and rightly indeed of the majority of as i said before but an of slow coach men do not and it them very awkward when they do come to the point however it didn t matter in my case why she asked uneasily because you know even less of love making and matrimonial than i and so you can t draw if i do my engaging i think you do it beautifully thank you dear but continued knight your opinion is not that of an expert which alone is of value had she answered yes it is half as strongly as she felt it knight might have been a little astonished if you had ever been engaged to be married before he went on i expect your opinion of my addresses would be different but then i should not should not what harry oh i was merely going to say that in that case i should never have given myself the pleasure of proposing to you since your freedom from that experience was your attraction darling you are severe on women are you not no i think not i had a right to please my taste and that was for lips other men than those of a pair of blue eyes my sort acquire the taste as they get older but don t find an what horrid sound is that we hear when we pitch forward only the screw don t find an as i did to think that i should have discovered such an unseen flower down there in the west to whom a man is as much as a multitude to some women and a trip down the english channel like a voyage round the world and would you she said and her voice was tremulous have given up a lady if you had become engaged to her and then found she had had one kiss before yours and would you have gone away and left her one kiss no hardly for that two c well i could hardly say like that too much of that sort of thing certainly would make me dislike a woman but let us confine our attention to ourselves not go thinking of might have so had allowed her thoughts to with false and every one of knight s words fell upon her like a weight after this they were silent for a long time gazing upon the black mysterious sea and hearing the strange voice of the restless wind a rocking to and fro on the waves when the breeze is not too violent and cold produces a soothing effect even upon the most highly wrought mind slowly sank against knight and looking down he found by her soft regular breathing that she had fallen asleep not wishing to disturb her he continued still and took an intense pleasure in supporting her warm young form as it rose and fell with her every breath knight fell to dreaming too though he continued wide awake it was pleasant to realize the trust she placed in him and to think of the charming innocence	45
of one who could sink to sleep in so simple a pair op blue eyes and a manner more than all the musing student felt the immense responsibility he was taking upon himself by becoming the protector and guide of such a trusting creature the quiet slumber of her soul lent a to his own then she moaned and turned herself presently her became distinct don t tell him he will not love me i did not mean any disgrace indeed i did not so don t tell harry we were going to be married that was why i ran away and he says he will not have a kissed woman and if you tell him he will go away and i shall die i pray have mercy oh started up wildly the previous moment a musical had spread into the air from their right hand and awakened her what is it she exclaimed in terror only eight bells said knight soothingly don t be frightened little bird you are safe what have you been dreaming about can t tell i can t tell she said with a shudder oh i don t know what to do stay quietly with me we shall soon see the dawn now look the morning star is lovely over there the clouds have completely cleared off whilst you have been sleeping what have you been dreaming of a woman in our parish i don t you like her i i don t she doesn t like me where are we about south of the knight said no more on the words of her dream they watched the sky till grew calm and the dawn appeared it was mere wan lightness first then the wind blew in a changed spirit and died away to a the star dissolved into the day that s how i should like to die said rising a pair op blue eyes from her seat and leaning over the to watch the star s last gleam as the lines say knight replied to set as sets the morning star which goes not down behind the d west nor hides obscured among the of the sky bat away into the light of heaven i oh other people have thought the same thing have they that s always the case with my they are original to nobody but myself not only the case with yours when i was a young hand at i used to find that a frightful upon subjects i met with which were to me and finding afterwards they had been exhausted by the thinking world when i was in that is delightful whenever i find you have done a foolish thing i am glad because it seems to bring you a little nearer to me who have done many and thought again of her enemy asleep under the deck they trod all up the coast themselves out from recesses then a rosy sky spread over the eastern sea and behind the low line of land flinging its livery in upon the thin airy clouds in that direction every on the land seemed now so many fingers anxious to catch a little of the liquid light thrown so over the sky and after a fantastic time of in the east the higher along the shore were with the same hues the bluff and bare of start point caught the brightest earliest glow of all and so also did the sides of its white perched upon a shelf in its front like a saint in a their lofty neighbour bolt head on the left remained as yet and retained its gray o a pair of fc blue eyes then up came the sun as it were in just to of the point of land flinging out a jacob s ladder path of light from itself to and knight and them with rays in a few minutes the inferior of the shore point head and all had acquired their share of the illumination ere this and at length the very smallest of wave cliff or even to the recesses of the lovely valley of the dart had its portion and sunlight now the common possession of all ceased to be the wonderful and thing it had been a short half hour before after breakfast arose into view and grew to their vision the appearing like a streak of light upon the surface of the sea looked around for mrs but could discern no shape like hers afterwards in the bustle of landing she looked again with the same result by which time the woman had probably glided upon the unobserved with a sense of relief waited whilst knight looked to their luggage and then saw her father approaching through the crowd his walking stick to catch their attention their way to him they all entered the town which smiled as sunny a smile upon as it had done between one and two years earlier when she had entered it at precisely the same hour as the bride elect of smith xxx unto love clung closer to knight as day succeeded day whatever else might admit of question there could be no dispute that the she bore him absorbed her whole soul and existence a greater than had arisen and she had left all to follow him the girl was never of letting her lover discover how much she admired him she never once held an idea in opposition to any one of his or insisted on any point with him or showed any independence or held her own on any subject his whim she respected and obeyed as law and if expressing her opinion on a matter he took up the subject and differed from her she instantly threw down her own opinion as wrong and even her and were but of the same acted the words of her the	45
tender and susceptible daughter in law of let me find favour in thy sight my lord for that thou hast comforted me and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine she was the plants one wet day in the a pair of blue eyes knight was sitting under a great observing the scene sometimes he looked out at the rain from the sky and then at s inner rain of larger drops which fell from trees and shrubs after having previously hung from the twigs like small silver fruit must give you something to make you think of me during this autumn at your chambers she was saying what shall it be portraits do more harm than good by selecting the worst expression of which your face is capable hair is unlucky and you don t like something which shall bring back to my mind the many scenes we have in this i see what i should prize very much that dwarf tree in the pot which you have been so carefully tending looked thoughtfully at the i can carry it comfortably in my hat box said knight and i will put it in my window and so it being always before my eyes i shall think of you continually it so happened that the which knight had out had a peculiar beginning and history it had originally been a worn in smith s button hole and he had taken it thence stuck it into the pot and told her that if it grew she was to take care of it and keep it in remembrance of him when he was far away she looked wistfully at the plant and a sense of to smith s memory caused her a pang of regret that knight should have asked for that very one it seemed exceeding a common to let it go is there not anything you like better she said sadly that is only an ordinary no i am fond of seeing that she did z a pair of blue eyes not take kindly to the idea he said again why do you object to my having that oh no i don t object precisely it was a feeling ah here s another cutting lately struck and just as small of a better kind and with prettier leaves that will do nicely let it be put in my room that i may not forget it what romance to the other it was a gift to me the subject then dropped knight thought no more of the matter till on entering his bedroom in the evening he found the second placed upon his dressing table as he had directed he stood for a moment admiring the fresh appearance of the leaves by and then he thought of the transaction of the day male lovers as well as female can be spoilt by too much kindness and s uniform had given knight a rather manner at attached to her as he was why should she have refused the one i first chose he now asked himself even such slight opposition as she had shown then was exceptional enough to make itself noticeable he was not vexed with her in the least the mere of her way to day from her usual ways kept him musing on the subject because it perplexed him it was a gift those were her words admitting it to be a gift he thought she could hardly value a mere friend more than she valued him as a lover and giving the plant into his charge would have made no difference except indeed it was the gift of a lover he murmured i wonder if has ever had a lover before he said aloud as a new idea quite this and companion thoughts were enough to occupy him completely till he fell asleep rather later than usual a pair of blue eyes the next day when they were again alone he said to her rather suddenly c do you love me more or less for what i told you on board the steamer you told me s many things she returned lifting her eyes to his and smiling mean the confession you out of me that i had never been in the position of lover before it is a satisfaction i suppose to be the first in your heart she said to him with an attempt to continue her smiling i am going to ask you a question now said knight somewhat awkwardly i only ask it in a way you know not with great seriousness you may think it odd perhaps tried desperately to keep the colour in her face she could not though distressed to think that getting pale showed consciousness of deeper guilt than merely getting red oh no i shall not think that she said because obliged to say something to fill the pause which followed her s remark it is this have you ever had a lover i am almost sure you have not but have you not as it were a lover i mean not worth mentioning harry she faltered knight in sentiment as he knew the feeling to be felt some sickness of heart still he was a lover well a sort of lover i suppose she responded a man i mean you know yes but only a mere person and but truly your lover yes a lover certainly he was that yes he might have been called my lover knight said nothing to this for a minute or more a pair of blue eyes and kept silent time with his finger to the of the old library clock in which room the was going on you don t mind harry do you she said anxiously close to him and watching his face of course i don t seriously mind in reason a man cannot object to such	45
a trifle i only thought you hadn t that was all however one ray was abstracted from the glory about her head but afterwards when knight was wandering by himself over the bare and hills meditating on the subject that ray suddenly returned for she might have had a lover and never have cared in the least for him she might have used the word and meant admirer all the time of course she had been admired and one man might have made his admiration more prominent than that of the rest a very natural case they were sitting on one of the garden seats when he found occasion to put the supposition to the test did you love that lover or admirer of yours ever so little she murmured reluctantly yes i think i did knight felt the same faint touch of misery only a very little he said am not sure how much but you are sure darling you loved him a little i think i am sure i loved him a little and not a great deal my love was not supported by reverence for his powers but did you love him deeply said knight i don t exactly know how deep you mean by deeply that s nonsense you and you have let go my a pair of blue eyes hand she cried her eyes filling with tears harry don t be severe with me and don t question me i did not love him as i do you and could it be deeply if i did not think him than myself for i did not you grieve me so much you can t think i will not say another word about it and you will not think about it either will you i know you think of weaknesses in me after i am out of your sight and not knowing what they are i cannot combat them i almost wish you were of a nature harry in truth i do or rather i wish i could have the advantages such a nature in you would afford me and yet have you as you are c what advantages would they be less anxiety and more security ordinary men are not so delicate in their tastes as you and where the lover or husband is not fastidious and refined and of a deep nature things seem to go on better i fancy as far as i have been able to observe the world yes i suppose it is right has this advantage that you can t be drowned there but i think i ll have you as you are yes i will she said the practical husbands and wives who take things are very are they not yes it would kill me quite you please me best as you are even though i wish you had never cared for one before me yes and you must not wish it don t i ll try not to so she hoped but her heart was troubled if he felt so deeply on this point what would he say did he know all and see it as mrs saw it he would never make her the happiest girl in the world by taking her to be his own for aye the thought enclosed her as a tomb whenever it presented itself to her brain she tried to believe that mrs would a pair of blue eyes never do her such a cruel wrong as to increase the bad appearance of her folly by and concluded that concealment having been begun must be persisted in if possible for what he might consider as bad as the fact was her previous concealment of it by but knew mrs to be her enemy and to hate her it was possible she would do her worst and should she do it all might be over would the woman listen to reason and be persuaded not to ruin one who had never her it was night in the valley between and the shore the brook which that way to the sea was distinct in its murmurs now and over the line of its course there began to hang a white of fog against the sky on the left hand of the the black form of the church could be seen on ths other rose bushes a few trees and where these were absent as tall as men on stems nearly as stout as timber the shriek of some bird was occasionally heard as it flew terror stricken from its first to seek a new sleeping place where it might pass the night in the evening shade some way down the valley and under a row of oaks a cottage could still be discerned it stood absolutely alone the house was rather large and the windows of some of the rooms were nailed up with boards on the outside which gave a particularly deserted appearance to the whole from the front door an irregular series of rough and steps cut in the solid rock led down to the edge of the which at their extremity was into a basin through which the water this was evidently the means of water supply to the or in the cottage a light footstep was heard descending from the a pair of blue eyes higher slopes of the indistinct in the pathway appeared a moving female shape who advanced and knocked timidly at the door no answer being returned the knock was repeated with the same result and it was then repeated a third time this also was unsuccessful from one of the only two windows on the ground floor which were not up came rays of light no or curtain the room from the eyes of a on the outside so few walked that way after nightfall that any such means to secure secrecy were probably deemed unnecessary the of the rays falling	45

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