love
had taken possession of her, this embarrassment had vanished.

Two people in the first fine rapture of mutual affection do not,
presumably, discuss any of the weighty matters which occupy the
attention of ordinary individuals, nor, it is safe to say, would their
conversation be of the smallest interest to any one but themselves. It
is possible that lovers spend a certain portion of their time in a
silence more expressive than words; for the rest, let those who have
been in a similar situation fill in the blanks--experience will have
taught them understanding.

That Francis realised his condition to some degree was evident, for he
occasionally asked for enlightenment on a point he did not understand;
also he would sometimes be puzzled over the meanings of words. He
would use one without thinking, and then hesitate, in doubt as to
whether it was the right one to convey his meaning. He would treat the
matter lightly, making a joke of it, but would be obviously relieved
when Philippa assured him that it was correct. And it was almost
invariably correct, for it seemed that although his memory failed him,
he drew unknowingly upon a subconscious power which worked
independently--a store of knowledge which existed in his brain, but of
which he had mislaid the key.

She was reading to him one day, a light story from a magazine, which
described an act of gallantry on the part of the soldier hero, and
ended in his death. It concluded with a sentence in which the
expression "facing fearful odds" was used. When she finished reading
Francis said suddenly--

'"And how can man die better, than facing fearful odds
For the ashes of his fathers and the temples of his gods?'"

She looked up to meet the utter bewilderment in his eyes. "Where on
earth did I get that from?" he asked with a little laugh. "I seem to
know the words."

She recited as much of the original poem as she could remember, and he
seemed interested for the moment, but apparently paid little heed to
this odd trick of his memory.

Nor had Philippa thought further of it. If she had not been so
entirely engrossed in love, to the blinding of her reasoning power and
common sense, she would have appreciated the episode at its true value,
for it was important, in that it proved that Dr. Gale had been right
when he had suggested that under the cloud which shadowed so much,
there was a force at work which they could not measure.

The quotation in itse