196 IDLEHURST : 



least intention of dying yet for a girl the more or less, 

 and begged for his life, swearing that he would go 

 down to Newhaven at once, and go to sea in the first 

 ship he could find. No doubt Pierce began to find 

 life somewhat sweeter than he thought ; so he backed 

 Brewster very carefully down the ledge, both hold- 

 ing tight, I imagine, till they reached the end of the 

 wall, and got out on to the open down. I suppose 

 Brewster reflected that so very serious a rival would 

 be a recurring danger if he stayed within reach ; 

 at any rate, he seems to have kept his word and left 

 the neighbourhood. Gascoyne believed that Mary 

 Cheesman married Mark in the end ; he is going to 

 look them up in the Selmer registers when he next 

 goes that way." 



" But as to poetry," says the Rector, " how much 

 turns on conditions ! My man Awcock told me this 

 April that Spring had begun when you could set your 

 foot on three daisies at once. It's a poetical touch, 

 but what a difference it would make, even in the 

 almanac, whether the foot were in Awcock's hobnails 

 or in Alice's new party-shoe with the beads on it ! " 



We sat silent for some time after these histories, 

 in a lulling silence of that positive kind which is one 

 of the best country luxuries not the mere vacuum 

 of sound, but a most recreative element. From 



