t;
but it was not often openly discussed as a pleasant topic--in fact,
not much mentioned at all except for fault-finding purposes; for it
was the custom to be censorious on the subject, and naturally those
were most so who knew most about it, like the vicar, who had married
four times. He was so rabid that he almost went the length of
denouncing men and maidens by name from the pulpit if he caught them
strolling about together in pairs. His mind was so constituted that he
could not believe their dalliance to be innocent, and yet he did not
try to introduce any other interest or pleasure into their lives to
divert them from the incessant pursuit of each other.

It was the grown-up people who were so nasty on the subject of
sweethearts; the boys and girls never could understand why. Their own
inclination was to go about together openly in the most public places;
that was how they understood sweethearting; part of the pleasure of it
consisted in other people seeing them, and knowing that they were
sweethearts, and smiling upon them sympathetically. This, however, the
grown-up people never did; on the contrary, they frowned and jeered;
and so the boys and girls kept out of their way, and sought secret
sympathy from each other.

Any little boy at the Mansion-House School who secured a sweetheart
enjoyed a proud distinction, and Sammy soon found that his
acquaintance with Beth placed him in quite an enviable position. He
therefore let his fear of Mrs. Caldwell lapse, and did his best to be
seen with Beth as much as possible. And to her it was a surprise as
well as a joy to find him hanging about, waiting to have a word with
her. Her mother's treatment of her had so damaged her self-respect
that she had never expected anybody to care for her particularly, and
Sammy's attentions, therefore, were peculiarly sweet. She did not
consider the position at all, however. There are subjects about which
we think, and subjects upon which we feel, and the two are quite
distinct and different. Beth felt on the subject of Sammy. The fact of
his having a cherubic face made her feel nice inside her chest--set up
a glow there which warmed and brightened her whole existence--a glow
which never flickered day or night, except in Sammy's presence, when
it went out altogether more often than not; only to revive, however,
when the real Sammy had gone and the ideal Sammy returned to his place
in her bosom. For Sammy adored at a distance and Sammy w