aps was not herself sufficiently conscious of them,
but the young man did not seem to be repelled by her imperfections; he
invariably treated her with gentle forbearance, pitied her sufferings,
did many a graceful little kindness in hope of pleasing her.

The first interview between Julian and Waymark was followed by a second
a few days after, when it was agreed that they should spend each Sunday
evening together in Kennington; Julian had no room in which he could
well receive visitors. The next Sunday proved fine; Julian planned to
take Harriet for a walk in the afternoon, then, after accompanying her
home, to proceed to Walcot Square. As was usual on these occasions, he
was to meet his cousin at the Holborn end of Gray's Inn Road, and, as
also was the rule, Harriet came some twenty minutes late. Julian was
scrupulously punctual, and waiting irritated him not a little, but he
never allowed himself to show his annoyance. There was always the same
kind smile on his handsome face, and the pressure of his hand was warm.

Harriet Smales was about a year younger than her cousin. Her dress
showed moderately good taste, with the usual fault of a desire to
imitate an elegance which she could not in reality afford. She wore a
black jacket, fur-trimmed, over a light grey dress; her black straw hat
had a few flowers in front. Her figure was good and her movements
graceful; she was nearly as tall as Julian. Her face, however, could
not be called attractive; it was hollow and of a sickly hue, even the
lips scarcely red. Grey eyes, beneath which were dark circles, looked
about with a quick, suspicious glance; the eye-brows made almost a
straight line. The nose was of a coarse type, the lips heavy and
indicative of ill-temper. The disagreeable effect of these lineaments
was heightened by a long scar over her right temple; she evidently did
her best to conceal it by letting her hair come forward very much on
each side, an arrangement in itself unsuited to her countenance.

"I think I'm going to leave my place," was her first remark to-day, as
they turned to walk westward. She spoke in a dogged way with which
Julian was familiar enough, holding her eyes down, and, as she walked,
swinging her arms impatiently.

"I hope not," said her cousin, looking at her anxiously. "What has
happened?"

"Oh, I don't know; it's always the same; people treat you as if you was
so much dirt. I haven't been accustomed to it, and I don't see why I
shoul