ing till it has so mastered
you?"

Kenrick stood still, his cheeks flushed, his eyes downcast; and Power,
as he turned away, sadly repeated, half to himself the wonderful verse--

"Virtutem _videant, intabescantque relicta_."

Kenrick understood it; it came to his heart like an arrow, and rankled
there; it made a wound, the faithful wound of a friend, better than the
kisses of an enemy--but the time of healing was far-off yet.

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT.

FALLING AWAY.

Oh deeper dole!
That so august a spirit, sphered so fair,
Should from the starry sessions of his peers,
Decline to quench so bright a brilliancy
In hell's sick spume. Ay me, the deeper dole!

Tannhauser.

It was generally on Sundays that boys walked in the croft with those who
were, and whom they wished to be considered as, their most intimate and
confidential friends. To one who knew anything of the boys' characters,
it was most curious and suggestive to observe the groups into which they
spontaneously formed themselves. The sets at Saint Winifred's were not
very exclusive or very accurately defined; and one boy might, by virtue
of different sympathies or accomplishments, belong to two or three sets
at once. Still there were some sets whose outermost circles barely
touched each other; and hitherto the friends among whom Kenrick had
chiefly moved would never have associated intimately with the fellows
among whom Harpour was considered as the leading spirit.

It was therefore with no little surprise that Mr Percival, who with Mr
Paton passed through the croft on his Sunday stroll, observed Kenrick--
not with his usual companions, Power or Walter or Whalley--but arm in
arm with Harpour and Tracy, and accompanied by one or two other boys of
similar character. It immediately explained to him much that had taken
place. He had heard vague rumours of the part Kenrick had taken at the
meeting; he had heard both from him and from Walter that they were no
longer on good terms with each other; but now it was further plain to
him that Kenrick was breaking loose from all his old moorings, and
sailing into the open sea of wilfulness and pride.

"What are you so much interested about?" asked Mr Paton, as his
colleague followed the boys with his glance.

"I am wondering how and why this change has come over Kenrick."

"What change?"

"Don't you see with whom he is walking? Oh, I forgot that you never
notice that kind of outer life a