The Beautiful Wretch; The Pupil of Aurelius; and The Four Macnicols

gaunt hostelry; snow on the small spire of the church; and snow on the far reaches of the hills, retreating up there into the gray mists, where every pine-tree was a sharp black

hen she came in there were flakes of snow in

d for pleasure,' said

de, and on going below they found Frank King in th

-this is great luck,

all it?' said

of the year! Most opportune. Of course

anything,' said

e Alps in a snowstorm, and that sounds well. And I daresay we shall amuse ou

hat drive the day before; the presence of a fourth person broke the monotony of the talking of three girls together. It is needless to add that Fran

ndscape, or settled down so close that they could see nothing but the wet snow in the road, and the black-stemmed pines beyond, with their green branches stretching out towards them through the pall of cloud. Then sometimes they would look down into extraordinary gulfs of mist-extrao

Nan to get ou

hrough,' her elder

said Nan, 'and Parso

n, and disappeared,

girl; she always w

way,' said Frank King. 'No doubt she prefers to be alone; but-but

s in these mountains,

ord, l

d the more serious Edith, 'unless

ut,' he said, and he

rhead; but he soon overtook her. She was startled when she

l clear soon,' he

om: it looks like some bygone Christmas come back suddenly. It is strange to find yourself in another part of the year: yesterday, s

e; 'I wonder what it feels like when you move from place

ow her for a minute a little English village in the real spring time, such as she must have known when she was a girl, with the daffodils in the cottage gardens, and the young leaves on the elm and the hawthorn. And perhaps a lark would be singing high up; and there might be a scent of wallflower; and the children coming home with daisy wreaths. She would cry, perhaps;

a strong faculty of as

far more interested

een born among great mountains, or amongst remote sea islands, or even beautiful lake scenery; and I know I should have loved my native place passionately and yearned for it; and I should have thou

ed with some

that you are very intimate with, especially if other people don't know much about it. And there is far more

t walker, are y

t I walk a

lways

seldom I have a compani

a

No. How should

lors down there; I daresay some of your men must have heard of her. She is a good-looking woman, and very pleasant in her

cquain

ack, if mamma will let me. Singing Sal knows far more about t

behold, far away in the valley beneath them, they could see the village of Splügen, shining quite yellow in the sunlight. Then the clouds slowly closed over the golden little picture, and they turned and walked on. But in front of them, overhead, the wind was

r seemed to have vivified her). 'I am very glad the big thieves of the world left Switzerland alone. It would have been a shame to steal this little bit

t her ramble on in this way, revealing the clear,

and he heard the sound of the Alphorn far away, and nothing would do but that he must try to escape and reach his fatherland by swimming the river. Then he

y for a second to her eyes,

alking. Suppose we w

nne,' said he. 'You prefer walking by yourse

, looking back for the carriage, 's

ey got clear of the mists altogether, and emerged on to the higher valleys of the Alps-vast, sterile, the white snow-plains glittering in the sun, except where the rocks showed through in points of intense black. There were no l

wheels, the vast gorge before them-descending and winding until it disappeared in a wall of mountains of the deepest blue-was again filled with sunlight;

same breakneck speed; with always below them-and so far below them that it was silent-a rushing river sweeping down between fair pastures and dots of villages. As the evening fell, this clatter of hoofs and wheels came to a sudden end; for they were entering the town of Chiavenna, and there you

R.N.,' in the case in the bureau; when Frank King had g

was not a very sympathetic person; but Frank King had brightened up their

om the officer I left in charge of the Fly-by-Night; I rather thi

or that,' she sai

in to-morrow,

proposing

nk of going to when y

o, most

as far as Bellagio, if I may,'