to interrupt him till he was ready she
re-entered the cabin, where she patiently seated herself among the books
and papers that lay scattered about.

She did as she had often done before when waiting there for him; that is,
she occupied her moments in turning over the papers and examining the
progress of his labours. The notes were mostly astronomical, of course,
and she had managed to keep sufficiently abreast of him to catch the
meaning of a good many of these. The litter on the table, however, was
somewhat more marked this morning than usual, as if it had been hurriedly
overhauled. Among the rest of the sheets lay an open note, and, in the
entire confidence that existed between them, she glanced over and read it
as a matter of course.

It was a most business-like communication, and beyond the address and
date contained only the following words:--

'DEAR SIR,--We beg leave to draw your attention to a letter we
addressed to you on the 26th ult., to which we have not yet been
favoured with a reply. As the time for payment of the first moiety of
the six hundred pounds per annum settled on you by your late uncle is
now at hand, we should be obliged by your giving directions as to
where and in what manner the money is to be handed over to you, and
shall also be glad to receive any other definite instructions from you
with regard to the future.--We are, dear Sir, yours faithfully,

HANNER AND RAWLES.'

'SWITHIN ST. CLEEVE, Esq.'

An income of six hundred a year for Swithin, whom she had hitherto
understood to be possessed of an annuity of eighty pounds at the outside,
with no prospect of increasing the sum but by hard work! What could this
communication mean? He whose custom and delight it was to tell her all
his heart, had breathed not a syllable of this matter to her, though it
met the very difficulty towards which their discussions invariably
tended--how to secure for him a competency that should enable him to
establish his pursuits on a wider basis, and throw himself into more
direct communion with the scientific world. Quite bewildered by the lack
of any explanation she rose from her seat, and with the note in her hand
ascended the winding tower-steps.

Reaching the upper aperture she perceived him under the dome, moving
musingly about as if he had never been absent an hour, his light hair
frilling out from under the edge of his velvet skull-cap as it was always
wont to do.