e aisey... The question of the
hour is, Martin--_do_ you love me better in a veil, or without?"

She faced him, holding before her face lengths of filmy white, no
disfiguring scrolls, no shadows, such as the fashion of the day forces
on an unoffending public, but a gossamer tulle, invisible at a few
yards' distance, yet lending a becoming softness to the features.
Martin, however, gallantly refused to see the improvement, and gave the
verdict "Without!" in unhesitating accents, whereupon Grizel beamed upon
him, and deliberately proceeded to swathe the folds round the wide brim
of the hat.

"Sweet pusson! But you wouldn't, after a long drive, when the ends were
flying! No woman can look distinguished with tousley hair. I'm ready,
my loved ones! If you've any remarks to make, make 'em now, or else for
ever hold your peace. As for Katrine--she's quite unnecessarily
good-looking--no objections to make there. My hobject is--if you can
understand,--to appear as if I were `Somebody,' and have a train of
admirers following wherever I go!--If you didn't know any better, do you
think you could mistake me for `Some one in Particular,' and hang around
to stare?"

The brother and sister smiled indulgently.

"Isn't Grizel Dundas Somebody?" Martin enquired.

"She's a goose anyway!" corrected Katrine, but she said it with a laugh,
and in a voice which held no trace of the ordinary snap. Martin's eyes
turned upon her quickly; he also seemed to be infected with an unusual
gentleness and amenity of manner.

"How nice you look, dear--how very nice!" he said genially. In the way
of definite approval it was more than he had said to Grizel herself.
Katrine flushed with pleasure, and brushed his arm with a caressing
touch. Each was conscious of a longing to make up for the growing
disloyalty of the past months. The position remained unchanged, but
there was a different attitude towards it; they had grown suddenly
softer, kindlier; in each mind was a conviction of personal
responsibility, a disinclination to blame the other. "I haven't
considered her enough. She's had a desperately dull time." ... "I've
been so narrow-minded--so blind. I didn't understand!" Each heart made
its own confession of shortcomings, and felt lightened of a load. It
was in the happiest of moods that the trio started on their ten-mile
drive through the wooded country which stretched between Cumly and
Barfield Castle.

In the matter of rural sce