will come and sit with you, my poor boy," she said.

"Much work I should do in that case!" he said. "But we'll see. In the
mean time go up-stairs and get your things off: that young person below
has breakfast ready, I dare say."

"But you have not shown me yet where Mr. Ingram lives," said Sheila
before she went to the door.

"Oh, that is miles away. You have only seen a little bit of London yet.
Ingram lives about as far away from here as the distance you have just
come, but in another direction."

"It is like a world made of houses," said Sheila, "and all filled with
strangers. But you will take me to see Mr. Ingram?"

"By-and-by, yes. But he is sure to drop in on you as soon as he fancies
you are settled in your new home."

And here at last was Mr. Ingram come; and the mere sound of his voice
seemed to carry her back to Borva, so that in talking to him and waiting
on him as of old, she would scarcely have been surprised if her father
had walked in to say that a coaster was making for the harbor, or that
Duncan was going over to Stornoway, and Sheila would have to give him
commissions.

Her husband did not take the same interest in the social and political
affairs of Borva that Mr. Ingram did. Lavender had made a pretense of
assisting Sheila in her work among the poor people, but the effort was a
hopeless failure. He could not remember the name of the family that
wanted a new boat, and was visibly impatient when Sheila would sit down
to write out for some aged crone a letter to her grandson in Canada. Now
Ingram, for the mere sake of occupation, had qualified himself during
his various visits to Lewis, so that he might have become the home
minister of the King of Borva; and Sheila was glad to have one attentive
listener as she described all the wonderful things that had happened in
the island since the previous summer.

But Ingram had got a full and complete holiday on which to come up and
see Sheila; and he had brought with him the wild and startling proposal
that in order that she should take her first plunge into the pleasures
of civilized life, her husband and herself should drive down to Richmond
and dine at the Star and Garter.

"What is that?" said Sheila.

"My dear girl," said her husband, seriously, "your ignorance is
something fearful to contemplate. It is quite bewildering. How can a
person who does not know what the Star and Garter is, be told what the
Star and Garter is?"

"But I am willing