The Point of View

her betrothed. And although it was just such a letter as any nice girl engaged of her own free will to the Bishop

ke he describes when I stand in St. Peter's. I believe I would rather go into the Pantheon. I seem to be tired of everything I ought to like to-day!"

Ebley said. "People may call it what names they

te-even a prelate of Rome-should have countenanced the housi

t merit-because it reminded her of the unknown; and she wished with all her

t the low armchair beside the escritoire was tenanted by a pair of long legs with singularly fine silk socks showing upon singularly fine ankles-and a pair of strong slende

r-and not a rustle

es blankly upon the column of births, marriages, and deaths. She was staring at it with sightless eye

ep voice said in English, "is not this world full of bores and tiresome duties;

lf rose from her seat. Then she sat down

even if it is not wrong. I am not desirous of hurting or insulting you-I fe

preposterous fact that a stranger should have addressed her at all, ev

I cannot use the standard of my own. You are weary of a number of things, and you do not know anything at all about life, and you are hedged round with those

e determined she might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb, and she was conscious that there was a strong attraction in the mild blue eyes of the

e," he went on, "and to the loggia and Bramant'

re," Miss Rawson said, now regaining her compos

steady eyes fixed upon

ke you, the same droop of head-I remarked it immediately-I am superstitious-I suppose you would call what I mean by th

he Bishop's junior chaplain, to be listening to a grotesque-looking foreigner making subtle speeches of an insinuating character,

sweet bashfulness, raising two eyes as soft as brown ve

id simply. "I come from

nt Roumovski. Yours, I

how you are called-

lis

with the same mild frankness which disarmed any resentment. She felt they were as calm as deep pools of bl

peaceful expectancy seemed to comp

added nervously: "I am engaged to Mr. Eustace Medlicott, an En

first time since he had addressed her, he turned his eyes from h

your life as the wife of a priest-but I understand it is different in En

fe-even the Bishop's junior young gentleman with eight hundred a year of his own-had never appeared a thrilling picture, and wa

had been clasped idly over the Ti

Family who is here. You will go, perhaps. If so, I will do so also, although I dislike parties-and there I will be presented to you with ceremony-it

s was rapidly approaching her with an envelope in his hand. She seized her pen again and continued her broken sentence to Eustace-her betro

morrow night, Stella; I am glad we wrote names when we arrived. Yo

ut down the Times, which he wanted himself-or, at all events, remove his long legs and hidden body from su

re he was, and turned a page of t

asmus announced, as Stella placed her acceptance in the env

lied a little hurriedly: "I was just fini

, not altogether pleased, as

wise blue eyes beneath the saintly parted hair twinkle

ing conversed-the uncle-is it not so? H

, too-she cou

red, and then rapidly addressed an en

e, to circumvent people," Count Roumovski said. "We are all masters of our own lives, you know, once w

with Eustace Medlicott, and now forced her to go up and put on her hat and accompany her uncle and aunt to see the Lat

one sees," Count Roumovsk

t is," said

ctions and wishes. We must all submit to the laws of our countr

ike a paradox,

ome I will wait in this hall from five to six. You need not take the least notice of me, you can walk past, out of the hotel, then turn to the left, and there in the square, where there are a few trees, you will see a large blue motor waitin

to agree to it was the strongest temptation she had ever had in all her life. She was filled with a wild longing to live, to d

l rest-I cannot say-I-" sh

es, and was gazing into her face

softly. "If fate means us to be happy, s

r to her fiance-which contained merely the sentence that th

now-good-by

y. "By six o'clock, we shall be driving in the Bo

outraged all her ideas as to what an English gentleman should look like-had yet the power to fascinate her completely. Of course, she would not go for a drive with him-and yet, wha

th exhilarating sense of adven

ran in a little Roman Victoria, "it is Count Roumovski; I asked the hall porter-reprehensible curiosity I fear you will think, my dea

that he has no less than two valets, and a suite of princely rooms and motor

g of the information she picked up. This luridly extravagant picture, however, did not appal her. And she found herse

n-and there sat for at least half an hour, while Stella saw Count Roumovski come in and sit down and leisurely begin a cigarette, as he glanced at an Italian pape

table place," she snapped, "with his long hair and his b

r," Canon Ebley replied, irritab

Dinner would be at a quarter to eight, she told Stella at her door, and recom

e with the count. She would live and amuse herself, if it was only for this once in her life, come what might of it! And since he would be pres

urned back when she reached the street, but there, standing by the trees, was a large blue motor car, and as she advanced the chauffeur stepped forwa

ble-looking cloak, which, however, proved to be lined with fine sable, "and here, also, is a veil. If you will please me by putting t

the boredom of her existence seemed to be urging her on. So she meekly slipped into the cloak, and wrapped the veil r

ul silence reassured her. There seemed to be some rapport between them, she was c

the lowering sun make its beautiful effects in the trees, and we shall hear the nightingales throbbing out love songs-the world is full of rest and peace-when we

th a feeling that she

I am not aware that the way my hair is cut is a shock to most civilized persons; and that you English would strongly disapprove of my watch and my many other things. But I like them myself-it is no trouble for one of my valets to draw a straight line with a pair of scissors-and i

Stella ventured to say-

some convention prevents their doing what would give them innocent pleasure. If I had been under the dominion of these things w

he Corso by now, and, as ever, it appeared as though it were a holiday, so thronged with pedestrians was the whole thor

for me. They are a million to one that anyone could recognize you in that veil and that cloak; believe me, although I am not of your

s convulsively-and he d

eeking hers and compelling them at last to look at him. "Do you understand that it is foolish to spoil

n, and allowed herself to

have the car opened; then we can see all the charming young green, and I will te

ally, and the next half hour passed like some fairy tale. His deep, quiet voice took her into realms of fancy that her imagination had

of the late spring, as the day grew toward evening and all nature seemed full of beauty and peace. It can easily be imagined what this drive meant, then, to a fine, sensitive yo

estrainedly, showing glimpses of her inner self that she had not known she possessed. It

t, but when at last they were turning back again, he permitted himself once more to gaze deeply into her e

a question, I am stating a fact-when lives have been hedged and controlled and retenu like yours has been, even the feel

ella Rawson, and with difficulty she turned

they were silent until they came to the entrance gat

t?" the owner whispered, "and we have hurt no one. Will you tru

," Stella murmu

tage to me now in civilization-nothing is impossible if one only keeps cool. If one becomes agitated one inst

h," admitted Stella, looking down. "I s

ou could see the vast plains of snow in my country and the deep forests-with never a human being for miles and miles, you would understand how nature grows to talk to one-and how small the littleness

be a star to shine upon any man's dark night-because you have a pure sp

es, at perhaps two hundred yards from

ski told her respectfully, "and walk along on the inner s

d in doing so his hand touched her soft pink cheek. She thrilled with a new kind of mad enjo

and he drew into the far corner as she got out of the car, letting the chauffeur help her. Nor did he look her w

eing aware that she had been absent. But as she descended in the lift with her uncle and aunt it

ering the restaurant a

was from the Rev. Eust

d join them in Rome t

unt Caroline said, with conscious pride, "but I would not tell you, Stell

ook her seat where she could see the solitary occupant of a small tabl

ner was full of the same reflective calm as the night before. And, for some unaccountable reason, Stell

such things as drives in motor cars with strange Russian