which she hath not seen. In the matter of this extraordinary belief of
yours I can give you no such comfort as one honest man should offer to
another: for I do not share it. But in the more practical matter of
your conduct towards July Constantine, it may help you to know that I
have accepted your word and propose henceforward to trust you as a
gentleman."

"I thank you, sir," he said, as he slipped on his coat. "May I have
your hand on that?"

"With pleasure," I answered, and, having shaken hands, conducted him to
the door.

From that day the affection between Joseph Laquedem and July
Constantine, and their frequent companionship, were open and avowed.
Scandal there was, to be sure; but as it blazed up like straw, so it
died down. Even the women feared to sharpen their tongues openly on
Laquedem, who by this time held the purse of the district, and to offend
whom might mean an empty skivet on Saturday night. July, to be sure,
was more tempting game; and one day her lover found her in the centre
of a knot of women fringed by a dozen children with open mouths and
ears. He stepped forward. "Ladies," said he, "the difficulty which
vexes you cannot, I feel sure, be altogether good for your small sons
and daughters. Let me put an end to it." He bent forward and
reverently took July's hand. "My dear, it appears that the depth of my
respect for you will not be credited by these ladies unless I offer you
marriage. And as I am proud of it, so forgive me if I put it beyond
their doubt. Will you marry me?" July, blushing scarlet, covered her
face with her hands, but shook her head. There was no mistaking the
gesture: all the women saw it. "Condole with me, ladies!" said
Laquedem, lifting his hat and including them in an ironical bow; and
placing July's arm in his, escorted her away.

I need not follow the history of their intimacy, of which I saw, indeed,
no more than my neighbours. On two points all accounts of it agree: the
rapid ageing of the man during this period and the improvement in the
poor girl's intellect. Some profess to have remarked an equally
vehement heightening of her beauty; but, as my recollection serves me,
she had always been a handsome maid; and I set down the
transfiguration--if such it was--entirely to the dawn and growth of her
reason. To this I can add a curious scrap of evidence. I was walking
along the cliff track, one afternoon, between Porthlooe and Lanihale
church-town, whe