be physically at ease there, at least. The old garden had
always been a pleasure to him, and on a hot summer day it was full of
sweet scents and sounds he was fond of. At this time there were tangles
of honeysuckle and bushes heavy with mock-orange; an arbour near him was
covered by a multiflora rose, weighted with masses of its small, delicate
blossoms; within a few feet of it a bed of mignonette grew, and the
sun-warmed breathing of all these fragrant things was a luxurious
accompaniment to the booming of the bees, blundering and buzzing in and
out of their flowers, and the summer languid notes of the stray birds
which lit on the branches and called to each other among the thick
leaves.

At twenty-three a man may be very young. Rupert was both young and old.
His silent resentment of the shadow which he felt had always rested upon
him, had become a morbid thing. It had led him to seclude himself from
the gay little Delisleville world and cut himself off from young
friendships. After his mother--who had understood his temperament and his
resentment--had died, nobody cared very much for him. The youth of
Delisleville was picturesque, pleasure-loving, and inconsequent. It had
little parties at which it danced; it had little clubs which were vaguely
musical or literary; and it had an ingenuous belief in the talents and
graces displayed at these gatherings. The feminine members of these
societies were sometimes wonderfully lovely. They were very young, and
had soft eyes and soft Southern voices, and were the owners of the
tiniest arched feet and the slenderest little, supple waists in the
world. Until they were married--which usually happened very early--they
were always being made love to and knew that this was what God had made
them for--that they should dance a great deal, that they should have many
flowers and bonbons laid at their small feet, that beautiful youths with
sentimental tenor voices should serenade them with guitars on moonlight
nights, which last charming thing led them to congratulate themselves on
having been born in the South, as such romantic incidents were not a
feature of life in New York and Boston. The masculine members were
usually lithe and slim, and often of graceful height; they frequently
possessed their share of good looks, danced and rode well, and could sing
love songs. As it was the portion of their fair companions to be made
love to, it was theirs to make love. They often wrote verses, and