rth of decent fellows in church that
morning then."

It was not merely the action, but the feeling revealed by the
Professor's words on that occasion, that had turned Hadria's sentiment
towards him, into one of worship.

Algitha warned her that even the Professor was human.

Hadria said she did not believe it, or rather she believed that he was
inordinately, tenderly, superlatively human, and that he had gone many
steps farther in that direction than the rest of his generation. He was
dowered with instincts and perceptions belonging to some kinder, nobler
race than ours.

Miss Du Prel looked grave. She took occasion to mention that the
Professor had never ceased to grieve for his wife, to whom he had been
passionately attached, and that he, almost alone among men, would never
love any other woman.

"I admire him only the more for that," said Hadria.

"Don't let yourself care too much for him."

"Too much!"

"Don't fall in love with him, if I must be frank."

Hadria was silent. "If one _were_ to fall in love at all, I don't see
how it would be possible to avoid his being the man," she pronounced at
last. "I defy any creature with the least vestige of a heart to remain
indifferent to him." (Valeria coloured.) "Why there isn't a man, woman,
child, or animal about the place who doesn't adore him; and what can _I_
do?"

CHAPTER XI.

The autumn was now on the wane; the robins sang clear, wild little songs
in the shrubberies, the sunshine fell slanting across the grass. And at
night, the stars twinkled with a frosty brilliancy, and the flowers were
cut down by cruel invisible hands. The long dark evenings and the
shrieking winds of winter were before them.

With the shortening of the days, and the sweeping away of great shoals
of leaves, in the frequent gales, Miss Du Prel's mood grew more and more
sombre. At last she announced that she could stand the gloom of this
wild North no longer. She had made arrangements to return to London, on
the morrow. As suddenly as she had appeared on the scene, she vanished,
leaving but one day to grieve at the prospect of parting.

It was through an accidental turn in the conversation, on this last day,
that the difference between her creed and the Professor's was brought to
light, accounting to Hadria for many things, and increasing, if
possible, her admiration for the unconscious Professor.

As for her own private and personal justification for hope, Valeria
assert