e swiftest way.

But there were, for all that, the elements of a very pretty dilemma in
the psychology of morals in the case of Miriam Gale and John Arniston.
True, the calf-skin Bible said when it was consulted, "The letter
killeth, but the spirit maketh alive."

But, after all, that might prove upon examination to have nothing to do
with the matter.

VI

THE GLISTERING BEACHES

_For wafts of unforgotten music come,
All unawares, into my lonely room,
To thrill me with the memories of the past--
Sometimes a tender voice from out the gloom,
A light hand on the keys, a shadow cast
Upon a learned tome
That blurs somewhat Alpha and Omega,
A touch upon my shoulder, a pale face,
Upon whose perfect curves the firelight plays,
Or love-lit eyes, the sweetest e'er I saw_.

"_Memory Harvest_."

It was clear morning upon Suliscanna. That lonely rock ran hundreds of
feet up into the heavens, and pointed downwards also to the deepest part
of the blue. Simeon and Anna were content.

Or, rather, I ought to say Anna and Simeon, and that for a reason which
will appear. Simeon was the son of the keeper of the temporary light
upon Suliscanna, Anna the daughter of the contractor for the new
lighthouse, which had already begun to grow like a tall-shafted tree on
its rock foundation at Easdaile Point. Suliscanna was not a large
island--in fact, only a mile across the top; but it was quite six or
eight in circumference when one followed the ins and outs of the rocky
shore. Tremendous cliffs rose to the south and west facing the Atlantic,
pierced with caves into which the surf thundered or grumbled, according
as the uneasy giant at the bottom of the sea was having a quiet night of
it or the contrary. Grassy and bare was the top of the island. There was
not a single tree upon it; and, besides the men's construction huts,
only a house or two, so white that each shone as far by day as the
lighthouse by night.

There was often enough little to do on Suliscanna. At such times, after
standing a long time with hands in their pockets, the inhabitants used
to have a happy inspiration: "Ha, let us go and whitewash the cottages!"
So this peculiarity gave the island an undeniably cheerful appearance,
and the passing ships justly envied the residents.

Simeon and Anna were playmates. That is, Anna played with Simeon when
she wanted him.

"Go and knit your sampler, girl!" Simeon was saying to-da