Catharine Furze

ng westerly and parallel with the river at a distance of about a mile from it sends out at the fourth milestone a byroad to the south, which crosses the river by a stone bridge, and

full tide of life, although not a soul is to be seen. Opposite the house were the farm-buildings and the farmyard. The gate to the right of the farm-buildings led into the meadow, and thus anybody sitting in the front rooms could see the barges slowly and silently towed from the sea to the uplands and back again, the rising ground beyond, and so on to Thingleby, whose little spire just emerged above the horizon. The river, deep and sluggish for the most part, was fringed with willows on the side opposite the towing-path. At the bridge, just where the ford used to be, it was broken into shallows, over which the stream slipped faster, and here and there there were not above two or three feet of water, so that sometimes the barges were almost aground. The farmhouse was not quite ideal. It was plain red brick, now grey and lichen-covered, about a hundred

Mrs. Bellamy would have been sorely vexed if she had found a footmark upon it. If a friend was expected she put some straw outside the garden gate, and she asked him in gentle tones when he dismounted if he would kindly "just take the worst off" there. The kitchen was scoured and scrubbed till it was fleckless. It was theoretically the living-room, and a defence for the parlour, but it also was defended in its turn like the scraper, and the back kitchen, which had a fireplace, was used for cooking, the fire in the state kitchen not being lighted in summer time. Partly Mrs. Bellamy's excessive neatness was due to

t were her especial delight. Naturally, as is the case with all country girls, the circumference of her kno

Mrs. Bellamy to her husband one

showed you what extrornary quarters King Tom had when he came here? It is a curious thing, there ain't one of his foals that hasn't got that mark of him. I allus likes a horse,

eemed healthy to m

out a fortnight old her mother died. They didn'

when they are young," said Mrs. Bella

t, and, after a bit, chucked up. I put in Maggie - you should have seen her! She moved it, a'most all herself, aye, as far as from here to the gate, and then of course the others took it up. That's blood! What a thing blood is! - you may load

full force. The time was yet to come when death would mean despair - when the insolubility of the problem would induce carelessness to all other problems and their solution. Furthermore, this was only a horse. Still, the contrast struck her between the corpse before her and Maggie with her bright eyes and vivid force. What had become of all that strength; what had become of her? - and the girl mused, as countless generations had mused before her. Then there was the pathos of it. She thought of the brave animal which s

llamy

human as I should less have missed than Maggie. I can't ma

s they

do. What's the Lord to do with

iful mane, twisted it up, put it carefully in a piece of paper, and placed it in a little pocket-book which she always carried. The next morning as soon as it wa

had wandered to this point without her usual companion. A barge had gone down just before she arrived, and for some reason or other had made fast to the bank about a quarter of a mile below her on the side opposite to

Why, you was asle

en't a

shame; if you was mine, my love

with as much presence of mind as she could muster

n' alongside a gal with sich eyes as yourn, my beauty.

but the bargee caugh

jist for a minute. Who'

apel Farm, was a deep hole in the river bed, about five feet wide. On the other side of it there were not more than eighteen inches of water at any point. Catharine knew that hole well, as the haunt of the jack and the perch. She reached it, cleared it at a bound, and alighted on the bit of shingle just beyond it. Her pursuer came up and stared at her silently, with his mouth half open. Just at that moment the instant sound of wheels was heard, and h

e, you are all wet!

ipped

Tom looked at her inquiringly as if he was not quite sure, but th

nnot walk home; will you let me

straw: it is grass n

, if you will show

by this time

feet; it isn't all grass

n, and reflected that the barge might s

l, then,

all to mind, across forty years, a silly passage like this in his life. His hair has whitened; all passion ought long ago to have died out of him; thousands of events of infinitely greater consequence have happened; he has read much in philosophy and religion, and h

" said Tom, putting s

relinquishing her very carefully, and, in fact, n

you man

pen: it was all-over in a minu

re very

pause for a

things going on

rts done. I don't think, Miss Catharine, y

do you

father and mother wi

be better, perhaps, that they should not. I am

wish my bedroom could have been built up again betwe

he same for my silkworms, and then, somehow when I do a thing on a sudden l

en in a strangely different

quite und

I do not a bit reflect at such times upon what I do. It is as if something or somebody took hold of me, and, before I know where I am, the

never seen her in that mood before, although he had often seen her abstracted and heedless of what was pas

you say nothing to father or mot

my came to

child! whereve

most contradictory presentations, a constant glimmer of Catharine's ankles, wonderment at her accident - was it all true? - the strange look when she disclaimed the honour of his rescue and expounded her philosophy, and the fall between h