of a grave uneasiness respecting his relations with
Jane. At the moment he might imagine himself to share the old man's
enthusiasm, or dream, or craze--whichever name were the most
appropriate--but not an hour had passed before he began to lament that
such a romance as this should envelop the life which had so linked
itself with his own. Immediately there arose in him a struggle between
the idealist tendency, of which he had his share, and stubborn everyday
sense, supported by his knowledge of the world and of his own being--a
struggle to continue for months, thwarting the natural current of his
life, racking his intellect, embittering his heart's truest emotions.
Conscious of mystery in Snowdon's affairs, he had never dreamed of such
a solution as this; the probability was--so he had thought--that
Michael received an annuity under the will of his son who died in
Australia. No word of the old man's had ever hinted at wealth in his
possession; the complaints he frequently made of the ill use to which
wealthy people put their means seemed to imply a regret that he, with
his purer purposes, had no power of doing anything. There was no
explaining the manner of Jane's bringing-up if it were not necessary
that she should be able to support herself; the idea on which Michael
acted was not such as would suggest itself, even to Sidney's mind.
Deliberately to withhold education from a girl who was to inherit any
property worth speaking of would be acting with such boldness of
originality that Sidney could not seriously have attributed it to his
friend. In fact, he did not know Michael until the revelation was made;
the depths of the man's character escaped him.

The struggle went all against idealism. It was a noble vision, that of
Michael's, but too certainly Jane Snowdon was not the person to make it
a reality; the fearful danger was, that all the possibilities of her
life might be sacrificed to a vain conscientiousness. Her character was
full of purity and sweetness and self-forgetful warmth, but it had not
the strength necessary for the carrying out of a purpose beset with
difficulties and perils. Michael, it was true, appeared to be aware of
this; it did not, however, gravely disturb him, and for the simple
reason that not to Jane alone did he look for the completion of his
design; destiny had brought him aid such as he could never have
anticipated; Jane's helpmate was at hand, in whom his trust was
unbounded.

What was i