ntly gave to sleep in the day-time what he had stolen from it in the night watches. The first object that met
t the eye could scarcely meet its reflections. Here was a crystal in whose depths were
ure to his telescope manufactory at the homes
n he lingered about uncertainly, in the hope of intercepting her on her return from a drive, occasionally walking with an indifferent lounge across glades commanded by the windows, that if she were indoors she might know he was near. But she did not
, and to-night was such an occasion. Swithin went forward, and met her
ady Constantine. How did t
that he had come to her in this wa
ped from the clouds
u be so good t
deserves anothe
lt from this shall be ascribed to you as much as
en so much the nobler for your struggle against ill-luck. I hope that now you
oo much feeling, the reverse of stoical, when the
ur age. When you are older you will smile at such
ill never realize that an incident which filled but a degree in the circle of your thoughts covere
unded his feelings. She awoke in the night, and thought and thought on the same thing, till she had worked herself into a fever
the labours of the day, and I fear that watching so late at night must make you very weary. If I can help you again, please let me know. I never realized the grandeur of astronomy till you showed me how to do so. Also let me kn
VI
TANT
y in so curious a case. The door, as she had expected, was locked; and, slipping the letter under it, she went home again. During lunch her ardour in the cau
rly into the chink under the door. She could discern no letter, and, on trying the latch, found
She had, in short, in her own opinion, somewhat overstepped the bounds of dignity. Her instinc
been sufficient to divert her mind from Swithin St. Cleeve and astronomy for some little time. But as none of these incidents were within the range of expecta
nt; but his counter-move of silence and avoidance, though probably the result of pure unconsciousness on his part, completely dispersed such self-considerations now. Her eyes never fell upon the Rings-Hill column without a solicitous wonder arising as to what he was doing. A true woman, she would assume the remo
whom she was fond. The distance was but short; and she returned along a narrow lane, divided from the river by a hedge, through whose leaf
hen he heard her, and turned round. She
though I invited you,'
won't work!' he re
t. So it has made y
ve answered. Well, I did forget, Lady Constantine. My new tele
ist you an
esides, you have a
out of all your difficulti
ok his
be some solu
l gaze into the stream; 'SOME solution
t's
h's axis, and fitted up with graduated circles for denoting right ascensions and declinations; besides having special eye-pieces, a finder, and all sorts of ap
ne instrument required
l, y
e what I
astronomer, 'an equatorial such as I des
s; but she rallied gallantly, and sa
! It would have to be fixed to the masonry. And there must be
hough as far as the fixing and roofing go, I would of course consent to your do
Blount say, if he came ho
cheek. 'Ah - my husband!' she whispered. . . . 'I am just now going to churc
easure. The course of rendering him instant material help began to have a great fascination for her; it was a new and unexpected channel for her cribbed and confined emotions. With experiences so much wider than his, Lady Constantine saw that the chances were perhaps a million to one against Swithin St. Cleeve ever being Astronomer Royal, or Astronomer Extraordinary of any sort; yet the remain
rks she had been able to unearth from the worm-eaten shelves. As these publications were, for a science of such rapid development, somewhat venerable, there was not much help of a
Welland Bottom, where the homestead of Swithin's grandmother was situated,
ing, instead of the leaden air which was too frequent with her before the sun reached the meridian, and sometimes a