style="font-size:15px;"> “I thought he was a violin teacher.”
“He is.”
“Then how can he teach singing?”
“He doesn’t.”
Irving went no farther, and Miss Temple, realising that she had been rude, hastened to atone. “I mean by that,” she explained, “that he doesn’t teach anyone but me. I had a few lessons a long time ago, from a lady who spent the Summer here, and he has been helping me ever since. That is all. He says it doesn’t matter whether people have voices or not – if they have hearts, he can make them sing.”
“You play, don’t you?”
“Yes – a little. I play accompaniments for him sometimes.”
“Then you’ll play with me, won’t you?”
“Perhaps.”
“When – to-morrow?”
“I’ll see,” laughed Iris. “You should be a lawyer instead of a violinist. You make me feel as if I were on the witness stand.”
“My father was a lawyer; I suppose I inherit it.” Iris had a question upon her lips, but checked it.
“He is dead,” the young man went on, as though in answer to it. “He died when I was about five years old, and I remember him scarcely at all.”
“I don’t remember either father or mother,” she said. “I had a very unhappy childhood, and things that happened then make me shudder even now. Just at the time it was hardest – when I couldn’t possibly have borne any more – Aunt Peace discovered me. She adopted me, and I’ve been happy ever since, except for all the misery I can’t forget.”
“She’s not really your aunt, then?”
“No. Legally, I am her daughter, but she wouldn’t want me to call her ‘mother,’ even if I could.”
The talk in the other room had become merely monosyllables, with bits of understanding silence between. Iris went back, and Mrs. Irving thanked her prettily for the song.
“Thank you for listening,” she returned.
“Come, Aunt Peace, you’re nodding.”
“So I was, dearie. Is it late?”
“It’s almost ten.”
In her stately fashion, Miss Field bade her guests good night. Iris lit a candle and followed her up the broad, winding stairway. It made a charming picture – the old lady in her trailing gown, the light throwing her white hair into bold relief, and the girl behind her, smiling back over the banister, and waving her hand in farewell.
In Lynn’s fond sight, his mother was very lovely as she sat there, with the firelight shining upon her face. He liked the way her dark hair grew about her low forehead, her fair, smooth skin, and the mysterious depths of her eyes. Ever since he could remember, she had worn a black gown, with soft folds of white at the throat and wrists.
“It’s time to go out for our walk now,” he said.
“Not to-night, son. I’m tired.”
“That doesn’t make any difference; you must have exercise.”
“I’ve had some, and besides, it’s wet.”
Lynn was already out of hearing, in search of her wraps. He put on her rubbers, paying no heed to her protests, and almost before she knew it, she was out in the April night, woman-like, finding a certain pleasure in his quiet mastery.
The storm was over and the hidden moon silvered the edges of the clouds. Here and there a timid planet looked out from behind its friendly curtain, but only the pole star kept its beacon steadily burning. The air was sweet with the freshness of the rain, and belated drops, falling from the trees, made a faint patter upon the ground.
Down the long elm-bordered path they went, the boy eager to explore the unfamiliar place; the mother, harked back to her girlhood, thrilled with both pleasure and pain.
Happy are they who leave the scenes of early youth to the ministry of Time. Going back, one finds the river a little brook, the long stretch of woodland only a grove in the midst of a clearing, and the upland pastures, that once seemed mountains, are naught but stony, barren fields.
As they stood upon the bridge, looking down into the rushing waters, Margaret remembered the lost majesty of that narrow stream, and sighed. The child who had played so often upon its banks had grown to a woman, rich with Life’s deepest experiences, but the brook was still the same. Through endless years it must be the same, drawing its waters from unseen sources, while generation after generation withered away, like the flowers that bloomed upon its grassy borders while the years were young.
Lynn broke rudely into her thoughts. “I wish I’d known you when you were a kid, mother,” he said.
“Why?”
“Oh, I think I’d have liked to play with you. We could have made some jolly mud pies.”
“We did, but you were three, and I was twenty-five. Much ashamed, too, I remember, when your father caught me doing it.”
“Am I like him?”
He had asked the question many times and her answer was always the same. “Yes, very much like him. He was a good man, Lynn.”
“Do I look like him?”
“Yes, all but your eyes.”
“When you lived here, did you know Herr Kaufmann?”
“By sight, yes.” He was looking straight at her, but she had turned her face away, forgetting the darkness. “We used to see him passing in the street,” she went on, in a different tone. “He was a student and never seemed to know many people. He would not remember me.”
“Then there’s no use of my telling him who I am?”
“Not the least.”
“Maybe he won’t take me.”
“Yes, he will,” she answered, though her heart suddenly misgave her. “He must – there is no other way.”
“Will you go with me?”
“No, indeed; you must go alone. I shall not appear at all.”
“Why, mother?”
“Because.” It was her woman’s reason, which he had learned to accept as final. Beyond that there was no appeal.
East Lancaster lay on one side of the brook and West Lancaster on the other. The two settlements were quite distinct, though they had a common bond of interest in the post-office, which was harmoniously situated near the border line. East Lancaster was the home of the aristocracy. Here were old Colonial mansions in which, through their descendants, the builders still lived. The set traditions of a bygone century held full sway in the place, but, though circumscribed by conditions, the upper circle proudly considered itself complete.
West Lancaster was on a hill, and
