der significance. 'I am too big a fool about you to
keep you down as I ought; that's the fault of me, worse luck.'

He pressed the youth's hand with a smile, went forward, and looked
through the hole into the interior of the gymnasium. Dare withdrew
to some little distance, and watched Captain De Stancy's face, which
presently began to assume an expression of interest.

What was the captain seeing? A sort of optical poem.

Paula, in a pink flannel costume, was bending, wheeling and undulating
in the air like a gold-fish in its globe, sometimes ascending by her
arms nearly to the lantern, then lowering herself till she swung level
with the floor. Her aunt Mrs. Goodman, and Charlotte De Stancy, were
sitting on camp-stools at one end, watching her gyrations, Paula
occasionally addressing them with such an expression as--'Now, Aunt,
look at me--and you, Charlotte--is not that shocking to your weak
nerves,' when some adroit feat would be repeated, which, however, seemed
to give much more pleasure to Paula herself in performing it than to
Mrs. Goodman in looking on, the latter sometimes saying, 'O, it is
terrific--do not run such a risk again!'

It would have demanded the poetic passion of some joyous Elizabethan
lyrist like Lodge, Nash, or Constable, to fitly phrase Paula's
presentation of herself at this moment of absolute abandonment to every
muscular whim that could take possession of such a supple form. The
white manilla ropes clung about the performer like snakes as she took
her exercise, and the colour in her face deepened as she went on.
Captain De Stancy felt that, much as he had seen in early life of beauty
in woman, he had never seen beauty of such a real and living sort as
this. A recollection of his vow, together with a sense that to gaze
on the festival of this Bona Dea was, though so innocent and pretty a
sight, hardly fair or gentlemanly, would have compelled him to withdraw
his eyes, had not the sportive fascination of her appearance glued
them there in spite of all. And as if to complete the picture of Grace
personified and add the one thing wanting to the charm which bound him,
the clouds, till that time thick in the sky, broke away from the upper
heaven, and allowed the noonday sun to pour down through the lantern
upon her, irradiating her with a warm light that was incarnadined by her
pink doublet and hose, and reflected in upon her face. She only
required a cloud to rest on instead of the green silk n