her, then
hastened to cover her emotion with a sudden look into the cup and an
exclamation of--

"Ah! ah!"

"What seest thou?" said Cedric.

"A thing that means more to thee than aught else; 'tis an awful thing
if thou shouldst choose wrong!"

"Haste, wench, what is it?" Cedric was growing impatient.

"Thy kinswoman will bring thee a fine heir--"

"By God, the other will bring me a dozen then!"

"Nay, 'tis not so, she--" She stepped close to his ear and whispered.

"Thousand devils, thou infernal, lying pot-house brawler--" and Cedric
glared fiercely upon her and bent forward, his hand falling upon his
sword-hilt; then he grew red at his hot action, and looked about to
see if 'twas noticed. "Get thee gone, thou saucy, lisping minx." The
poor thing was well-nigh distraught with fear of this man whose anger
came like a thunderbolt, and she fell heavy upon the lackey who
conducted her forth. She slipped through the corridors like a fast
fleeting shadow, and Janet followed her close and saw her enter a
certain chamber apart where she was met by one of the dancers; and
'twas Lady Constance that threw from her the gipsy attire and put a
bag of gold in the celebrated Babbet's waiting fingers; and with a
warning pressure of finger-on-lip, she came forth and fled to her own
grand apartments, and Janet watched until the latch clicked upon this
great mistress of beauty, title, wealth and virtue.

CHAPTER VI

JANET'S PHILOSOPHY

"This world of ours hangs midway 'twixt zenith and nadir: the superior
and inferior: the positive and negative; and 'tis a pertinent thought
that susceptible human nature takes on the characteristic of the one
or the other. One is away up in zenithdom or away down in nadirdom,
one is not content to go along the halfway place and see the good that
lies ever before them. But, again, there are natures that are not
susceptible to extremes; as a simile: a maid whose soul is ever
vibrant with the ineffable joys of the world to come, walks by the
seashore and mayhap beholds the full moon rise from the water and cast
to her very feet a pathway of gold, and she will quickly join herself
to those who see like visions, and pathway will lie against pathway
and produce a sea of gold; on the other hand, if she be a foolish
virgin and looks not before her, but tosses high head in pride or
walks with downcast eyes and smiles and blushes and smirks and flings
aside thoughts of deity, until she become