ian was more absorbed by the thought of Elizabeth than by any
remembrance of his own position or of the Prior's views, that he dropped
the letter of which the contents had so important a bearing on his
future life. In justice to Brian, it must be urged that he had no idea
that the Prior's letter was likely to be of any importance. Ever since
he left San Stefano, the Prior had corresponded with him; but his
letters were generally on very trivial subjects, or filled with advice
upon moral and doctrinal points, which Brian could not find interesting.
The severe animadversions upon his folly in returning to Scotland under
an assumed name, which filled the first sheet, did not rouse in him any
lively desire to read the rest of the letter. It was not likely to
contain anything that he ought to know; and, at any rate, he could
explain the loss and apologise for it in his next note to Padre
Cristoforo.

The meeting between him and Elizabeth in the garden, which had been such
a revelation to Hugo's mind, was purely accidental and led to no great
result. She had been begged by the children to ask Mr. Stretton for a
holiday. They wanted to go to a Wishing Well in the neighbourhood, and
to have a picnic in honour of Kitty's birthday. Mr. Stretton was sure
not to refuse them they said--if Elizabeth asked. And Mr. Stretton did
not refuse.

His love for Elizabeth--that love which had sprung into being almost as
soon as he beheld her, and which had grown with every hour spent in her
company--was one of those deep and overmastering passions which a man
can feel but once in a lifetime, and which many men never feel at all.
If Brian had lived his life in London and at Netherglen with no great
shock, no terrible grief, no overthrow of all his hopes, he might not
have experienced this glow and thrill of passionate emotion; he might
have walked quietly into love, made a suitable marriage, and remained
ignorant to his life's end of the capabilities for emotion which existed
within him. But, as often happens immediately after the occurrence of a
great sorrow or recovery from a serious illness, his whole being seemed
to undergo a change. When the strain of anxiety and prolonged anguish of
mind was relaxed, the claims of youth re-asserted themselves. With
returning health and strength there came an almost passionate
determination to enjoy as much as remained to be enjoyed in life. The
sunshine, the wind, the sea, the common objects of Nature,