hear more of divorces and marriage difficulties in Scottish law
courts."

"Oh, these Scotch are canny people and wonderfully logical. They seem
to regard present arrangements as inevitable, and act upon them. After
all, what is marriage when one comes to think about it? It is really
the promise of the man and the woman to take each other as husband and
wife. All the rest, Church services and legal documents, are mere
attestations to the fact. Marriage, true marriage, is simply a matter
for the parties in question who have determined upon union."

"Evidently you are not a High Churchman," remarked one of the others.

From this the conversation drifted on to other matters, and presently
dwindled down to mere snatches, freely punctuated by yawns. Then the
young men, having finished their pipes, retired to rest.

Two days later, Douglas Graham found himself alone. He had made
arrangements to pay a visit to a house near the borders of Scotland.
He was of Scotch descent on his father's side, while his mother's
family had always lived in the South of England. For that matter the
Grahams had lived in the South for three generations, so that, while he
was greatly interested in Scotland, he always called himself an
Englishman. The characteristics of both countries were clearly
expressed in both his mind and character. The Scotch side of him was
intellectual, practical, with, perhaps, a suggestion of hardness; but
to counteract this, he had inherited the gentleness and the softer
elements which appertain to the Southern peoples. He was only just
three and twenty; he had taken a good degree at Oxford, and then set
himself to qualify for the Bar. His personal appearance likewise
indicated a mixture of races--tall and well-knit, he suggested a strong
and determined nature; on the other hand, there was something almost
effeminate in the regularity of his features, and his lips were
somewhat sensuous. A passing stranger would be immediately attracted
by him. Blue eyes, brown hair, and well-formed features, together with
a sunny and kind-hearted disposition, had made him a popular man.
While very ambitious, he also possessed a happy disposition which made
him the best of companions. He was now on his way to visit a distant
relative on his father's side, and looked forward with exceeding
interest to spending the last weeks of his holiday in an old Scottish
stone mansion, situated among the wild hills.

As a lover of