the same
appearance. Of course there are some tiresome folks who are always
seeing likenesses; they will tell you glibly that Canada reminds them
of Cumberland, or South Africa of the Sahara, but that is merely
because they are blind. Having eyes they see not the subtle
characteristics of every land and miss its individuality. I have
journeyed all round the globe, and now, as I sit by my own fireside and
think of what I have seen, it is always some particular point about the
look of a country that comes first into my mind. The peculiar ochre
tint of the bare stretches of Northern China; the outlines of the hills
in Japan--so irregular and yet so sharp, as though they had been cut
out with a sharp pair of scissors in a shaky hand. The towering masses
of the Rockies, where the strata runs all sideways, as if a slice of
the very crust of the universe had been tilted up on edge by some
gigantic upheaval.

"I don't know why, but these peculiarities, which some people call
insignificant details, and some never notice at all, are for me the
very places themselves. They rise instantly before my eyes when the
name of the country is mentioned; just as when I was away the mere
mention of the word "home" brought a vision of Bessmoor and its
mysterious purple distance. But here I am letting my tongue run away
with me, and making long speeches in the most unpardonable way.
Forgive me. You must excuse a hermit who lives a solitary life. And
here we are almost in the village. I won't come any further."

She stopped and held out her hand. "Good-bye," she said. "I hope you
will let me see you again. I should so like to show you my cottage.
Would you come?"

"I should like to, thank you," answered Philippa. "But I hardly
know----" for all of a sudden the perplexities which had for a while
been forgotten crowded into her mind again.

"Could you come to-morrow, do you think?" continued the other, speaking
with some eagerness.

"Indeed I hardly know when I shall be able to get away. I will come if
I possibly can, but----"

"Well, never mind," said Miss Vernon quickly. "Do not settle now, but
come when you can. If you walk along this road I am pretty certain to
see you. I spend my life on Bessmoor, and I should like to teach you
to appreciate its beauties as they deserve."

"I shall certainly try to come, and I think you would find me a willing
pupil," said Philippa with a smile. Then with a murmured word of
than