by an
afterthought, 'of course you understand that my motive is the acquisition
of knowledge?'

'Yes?' the answer was given interrogatively.

'Don't you think, dear, that Eve's object was not so much the acquisition
of knowledge as the gratification of curiosity.'

'That may be,' said the elder lady in a doubtful tone; 'but my dear, who
is to enlighten us as to which is which? We are apt in such matters to
deceive ourselves. The more we know, the better are we able to deceive
others; and the better we are able to deceive others the better we are
able to deceive ourselves. As I tell you, dear, knowledge is two-edged
and needs extra carefulness in its use!'

'True!' said Stephen reflectively. Long after her aunt had gone she sat
thinking.

* * * * *

Once again did Miss Rowly try to restrain Stephen from a project. This
was when a little later she wished to go for a few days to the University
Mission House in the East end of London. Ever since her visit to Oxford
she had kept up a correspondence with her mother's old friend. It was
this lady's habit to spend a part of vacation in the Mission; and Stephen
had had much correspondence with her regarding the work. At last she
wrote that if she might, she would like to come and see for herself. The
answer was a cordial invitation, armed with which she asked her father to
allow her to go. He at once assented. He had been watching keenly the
development of her character, and had seen with pride and satisfaction
that as time went on she seemed to acquire greater resolution, larger
self-dependence. She was becoming more and more of his ideal. Without
losing any of her womanhood, she was beginning to look at things more
from a man's point of view than is usually done by, or possible to,
women.

When she returned at the end of a week she was full of new gravity. After
a while this so far changed that her old lighter moods began to have
their place, but it seemed that she never lost, and that she never would
lose, the effect of that week of bitter experience amongst the 'submerged
tenth.'

The effect of the mental working was shown by a remark made by Harold
when home on his next college vacation. He had been entering with her on
a discussion of an episode on the estate:

'Stephen, you are learning to be just!'

At the moment she was chagrined by the remark, though she accepted it in
silence; but later, when she had thought the matter over, she took from