the circumstances, he was willing to overlook
entirely the fact of my being a school-master.

After the games, when the family was scattering--not to their several
bed-chambers, but apparently to various forms of recreation or study
which seemed to demand their attention--Miss Edith asked me if I would
not like to take a walk and look at the stars. As this suggestion was
made in the presence of her parents, I hesitated a moment, expecting
some discreet objection. But none came, and I assented most willingly
to a sub-astral promenade.

There was a long, flagged walk which led to the road, and backward and
forward upon this path we walked many, many times.

"I like starlight better than moonlight," said Miss Edith, "for it
doesn't pretend to be anything more than it is. You cannot do anything
by starlight except simply walk about, and if there are any trees,
that isn't easy. You know this, you don't expect anything more, and
you're satisfied. But moonlight is different. Sometimes it is so
bright out-of-doors when the moon is full that you are apt to think
you could play golf or croquet, or even sit on a bench and read. But
it isn't so. You can't do any of these things--at least, you can't do
them with any satisfaction. And yet, month after month, if you live in
the country, the moon deceives you into thinking that for a great many
things she is nearly as good as the sun. But all she does is to make
the world beautiful, and she doesn't do that as well as the sun does
it. The stars make no pretences, and that is the reason I like them
better.

"But I did not bring you out here to tell you all this," she
continued, offering me no opportunity of giving my opinions on the
stars and moon. "I simply wanted to say that I am so glad and thankful
to be walking about on the surface of the earth with whole bones and
not a scratch from head to foot"--at this point my heart began to
sink: I never do know what to say when people are grateful to
me--"that I am going to show you my gratitude by treating you as I
know you would like to be treated. I shall not pour out my gratitude
before you and make you say things which are incorrect, for you are
bound to do that if you say anything--"

"I thank you from the bottom of my heart," I said; "but now let us
talk some more about the stars."

"Oh, bother the stars!" said she. "But I will drop the subject of
gratitude as soon as I have said that if you ever come to know me
better than you