ing with their eyes shut.
Will was about the last man in the world to be cajoled or frightened into
marriage. You had only to look into his eyes, limpid and still like pools
of water, and yet with a sort of clear light that seemed to come from
within, and you would understand at once that here was one who knew his
own mind, and would stand to it immovably. Marjory herself was no
weakling by her looks, with strong, steady eyes and a resolute and quiet
bearing. It might be a question whether she was not Will's match in
steadfastness, after all, or which of them would rule the roast in
marriage. But Marjory had never given it a thought, and accompanied her
father with the most unshaken innocence and unconcern.

The season was still so early that Will's customers were few and far
between; but the lilacs were already flowering, and the weather was so
mild that the party took dinner under the trellis, with the noise of the
river in their ears and the woods ringing about them with the songs of
birds. Will soon began to take a particular pleasure in these dinners.
The parson was rather a dull companion, with a habit of dozing at table;
but nothing rude or cruel ever fell from his lips. And as for the
parson's daughter, she suited her surroundings with the best grace
imaginable; and whatever she said seemed so pat and pretty that Will
conceived a great idea of her talents. He could see her face, as she
leaned forward, against a background of rising pine-woods; her eyes shone
peaceably; the light lay around her hair like a kerchief; something that
was hardly a smile rippled her pale cheeks, and Will could not contain
himself from gazing on her in an agreeable dismay. She looked, even in
her quietest moments, so complete in herself, and so quick with life down
to her finger-tips and the very skirts of her dress, that the remainder
of created things became no more than a blot by comparison; and if Will
glanced away from her to her surroundings, the trees looked inanimate and
senseless, the clouds hung in heaven like dead things, and even the
mountain tops were disenchanted. The whole valley could not compare in
looks with this one girl.

Will was always observant in the society of his fellow-creatures; but his
observation became almost painfully eager in the case of Marjory. He
listened to all she uttered, and read her eyes, at the same time, for the
unspoken commentary. Many kind, simple, and sincere speeches found an
echo in his