he actualities of the moment was
characteristic of the man. A street to him was only a thoroughfare, in
which there were certain things that concerned him personally, or
through which he must pass to reach a definite destination. To Leigh,
on the contrary, it was sometimes a comparative unreality, a vista
suggesting thoughts of Thebes and Babylon and Rome, a symbol of life's
pilgrimage, a path where multitudinous sounds blended into a universal
chant of the voyager. It was perhaps this difference that constituted
an element of attraction between the two men. The star-gazer admired
the practical qualities that made for success in the world below his
tower, and the politician paid an involuntary tribute to a spirituality
above his own.

Lena Harpster also heard the midnight bell, as she stood in the shadow
of a row of tall brick mansions and gazed patiently down the alley,
listening for her lover's step. She was undoubtedly as pretty a girl
as could be found in Warwick; so pretty, in fact, that when she applied
for a position as maid, experienced housekeepers were wont to balance
her attractions against the probity of their men-folk. Not
infrequently they decided that the former might weigh heavier in the
scale, and reserved the place for one less favoured. She was tall and
slender, with a light step and a winning grace of movement. When she
spoke, her voice was pitched in a key that was pleasantly low and
musical, whether from lack of physical force, or because of timidity,
or in unconscious imitation of those she served. But more likely this
characteristic was merely an expression of innate refinement; for Lena
was of native American stock, educated in a country school of some
merit; and she regarded herself as a lady, compared with the Irish
maids and coloured cooks among whom her lot was cast.

Her throat was long, with a skin of peculiar whiteness. When her
sleeves were rolled back while she washed the most valuable of her
mistress's glasses, her arms were seen to be of such a satin smoothness
as to invite instinctively a caressing touch. And one felt assured,
without trying the experiment, that her resentment at such a liberty
would be expressed only by a gentle and deprecatory withdrawal. This
same whiteness of her complexion was enhanced rather than marred by the
presence of a few faint freckles, that suggested sunny fields and the
wholesome associations of country life. When excited, her grey eyes