Paths of Judgement

responded easily to sunshine and buoyancy, and, in spite of her pessimistic education, easily expected happiness. Sometimes it seemed that it might be waiting for her behind every bush

of the sense of response when, at a turning of the road, she met a young man, who seemed quite magically to personify the breeziness, the brightness, the mazurka-like element of the day. Coming thus upon each other, both smiling to themselves, both looking, listening, and, as it were, expectant, it seemed only na

te sure he was not the ambitious politician. Their cer

on, and that you lived on top of a hill and had a wonderful garden; and as I love

elling himself that he l

her chin, shaded her thick, smooth hair-hair the colour of sandal-wood-and her pale face. He w

the pale yet vivid tints of her face her clear grey eyes seemed dark, and her eyelashes slanted across them like sunshine on deep pools of woodland water. Maurice was seeing all this, delighte

ing me," said Felicia, "unless you follow this ro

r, and Felicia, also making inner comments, reflected that a person so assured of his own graceful intentions could hardly be

nusual garden, though the

st stage of my journey towards it has been. It is very

e on the hill-side, I shouldn't have been so in harmony. There the pine-

n. I am a painter of sorts, and so I may tell you, may I not, that the picture you made as you fluttered in

seemed as inevitable as the bird's song. She could hardly feel that his rights were only those of a stranger. Anything she said, she felt sure, he would like, and a person who likes anything one says is no str

s eyes as hard had not their blue been so caressing. His look, with its intent sympathy, his smile, claiming intimacy with child-like trust, were all response and understanding. He enveloped one like a sunbeam. A species of sparkling emotion shone from him. He reall

pictures, even about life-he asked her how she had guessed that he was Maurice Wynne-"Be

wo young men, and one of them sounded rather sta

u have guessed at him! But he is a good deal more than th

y flippancy; it was founded on

eel bound to testify. Geoffrey is the best of friends to me, you see; has been since our boyhood." His smiling homage was an e

is another great chum of mine. I wonder how she will strike you. You must tell m

they are the

he only test of cle

re clever, one must be cleve

iled Maurice, "and such heap

into account and to make what o

ice. It was what she had imagined of him. "And such

going rather far since it was of his friend they were talking. "It woul

s to get

e again, fo

er an end

nk it ought t

ess stupid? raising the mass

f the powerful pe

ne. Now Lady Angela does," he went on, in a sequence that again gave Felicia that rather alarming sense of sudden intimacy. "She lives under tremendously high pressure, you know." They had passed dow