Face to Face 
 
 ROBERT GRANT 
 
 msm 
 
 
 11 

 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 OF GAMF. MWURY. T,O*
 
 FACE TO FACE 
 
 By 
 
 ROBERT GRANT 
 
 "Our slender life runs rippling by, and glides 
 
 Into the silent hollow of tbe past ; 
 What is there thai abides 
 
 To make tbe next age belter for tbe last ? 
 Js earth too poor to give u-s 
 
 Something to live for here that sball outlive us?" 
 Lowell's Commemoration Ode 
 
 New York 
 
 International Association of Newspapers and Authors 
 1901
 
 , t886, BY 
 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 
 BECKTOLD 
 
 PRINTING AND BOOK MFG. CO. 
 ST. LOUIS. MO.
 
 PS 
 
 FACE TO FACE 
 
 I. 
 
 WHO can fitly describe the stretch of Thames 
 water between Henley and Windsor ? The 
 river glides past daisy-crowned fields, groves of state 
 ly trees and close-cropped lawns with a tranquillity 
 that suggests the blithe content of a matron whose 
 spouse and children satisfy her heart. Here is seen 
 the perfection of finished scenery, telling of an old 
 civilization self-centred and slow to change. Now 
 and again some vista of overarching boughs affords 
 a delicious glimpse of manor house or ornate villa, 
 or the eye lingers among the ruins of Medmenham 
 Abbey, built when abbots still ruled England and the 
 dead hand of the Church clutched far and wide. On 
 either side the landscape spreads away into the dis 
 tance with level precision, marked by the gardens 
 and hedge-rows and thatched cottages, neat even in 
 dilapidation, of a conservative yeomanry, who, en 
 grossed in the preparation of vegetable marrows for 
 the market, scarcely heed the gay water-parties that 
 
 2129697
 
 2 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 float along the stream with the buoyant aspirations 
 of youth. 
 
 One morning, early in the summer, a young lady 
 was taking a spin before breakfast in a wherry over 
 a portion of this stretch of water. Her father's resi 
 dence was on the banks of the river, situated near 
 by the famous Cookham Reach, the most charming 
 bit of scenery of the Thames. It was a pretty little 
 estate, comprising an ivy-mantled house of some an 
 tiquity, but recently doctored to suit the prevailing 
 fashion supposed to be in vogue when Anne was 
 queen, and an exquisite lawn kept in order by the 
 overflow of the current which at times penetrated 
 the cellar as well. The Honorable Mortimer Pim- 
 lico was the father of seven daughters, of whom the 
 young lady in question was his youngest. The 
 family goes back to the time of the Norman con 
 quest, with great credit to themselves, and can point 
 to a duke as ancestor ; but, being the representative 
 of a younger branch, Mr. Pimlico was only the Hon 
 orable, and from a stress of straitened circumstances 
 he had been forced to swallow his pride and become 
 a banker. 
 
 But, despite this degrading step, for which he had 
 been censured by the head- of the house, a leading 
 peer of the realm, Mr. Pimlico had never lost sight 
 of his aristocratic claims, and the hope of rehabili 
 tating himself some day in the eyes of the world 
 had given a zest to his speculations. He had pros 
 pered exceedingly, so much so that he had been 
 able to wed his three eldest daughters to men of
 
 FACE TO FACE. 3 
 
 high rank, one of whom was no less than an earl, 
 and to dower them proportionally. More than this, 
 his improved social position had lately permitted 
 him in turn to be a dictator of terms instead of an 
 aspirant for favors, and he had affianced the next to 
 the youngest of his girls to the son of a very affluent 
 brewer. Nor was he without hopes of doing equally 
 well for the others. 
 
 There was, however, notwithstanding her fine 
 physique and excelling beauty, a cloud of distrust 
 in Mr. Pimlico's mind that made him knit his brows 
 whenever he thought of the baby of the family, as 
 Evelyn was still called. She was totally unlike the 
 rest of his children, and when she announced her 
 desire to become a student of Girton College, it 
 was as though a thunder-bolt had fallen upon the 
 domestic circle. He had himself rather a fancy for 
 dabbling in the laws of heredity and was a moderate 
 disciple of Mr. Gallon, this being his sole inclina 
 tion toward the new thought of the day. In all 
 other respects he clung tenaciously to the old, and 
 took care, moreover, to hug his child of Satan, as 
 his excellent better half stigmatized this offshoot of 
 science, with circumspection. In his distress, how 
 ever, he had consulted in vain for a prototype, the 
 genealogy of his wife, who claimed descent through 
 a trio of orthodox deans, as well as his own. Being 
 a conscientious man, he further put the question to 
 himself whether, in deviating from the beaten path 
 pursued by the family for generations, he had not 
 been guilty of setting a bad example ; but reflection
 
 4 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 assured him that there was a wide difference be 
 tween his conduct and that proposed by Evelyn. 
 What might be pardonable in a man became mon 
 strous in a woman. 
 
 Nor had this been Evelyn's first offence. Ever 
 since childhood she had shown a tendency to disre 
 gard precedent and authority very distasteful to her 
 parents. She had early taken the stand that it was 
 her only brother's part to fetch her slippers rather 
 than hers to fetch his, a proposition aptly defined 
 by that young gentleman, with the applause of the 
 rest of the family, as savoring of radicalism, a word 
 which to a Pimhco was fraught with unspeakable 
 horror. They were one and all, from the aforesaid 
 peer of the realm to the most insignificant cadet of 
 the stock, staunch Tories, whom nothing could shake 
 in their allegiance to party principles, and who still 
 grieved at heart over the disestablishment of the 
 Irish Church and the passage of the Reform Bill. 
 To say that they viewed with distrust the innovating 
 spirit of the times would be a very mild statement 
 as compared with the truth, and there was no one 
 among them more stable in the profession of his 
 faith than the Honorable Mortimer, who would, if 
 he could have had his way, have banished Mr. Glad 
 stone from the national councils as an enemy to the 
 permanence of law and order ; and when in the 
 bosom of his family he gave vent, as was often the 
 case, to the vehemence of these feelings, he found 
 an admiring chorus in six of his daughters. 
 
 The reason why Evelyn was permitted to have
 
 FACE TO FACE. 5 
 
 her own way, and graduate from Girton, was due t 
 her having announced as an alternative her inten 
 tion of eloping with a young man in the neighbor 
 hood, of an intelligent cast of mind but lowly ori 
 gin, with whom she had become intimate in her six 
 teenth year through the medium of a common taste 
 for boating. Great as was the shock that a child of 
 the Pimlico blood should desire to be unconven 
 tional, it would palpably have been even more humili 
 ating that her future should be blasted by a plebeian 
 misalliance, for already it was apparent that in per 
 sonal charms she was to be the most favored of the 
 seven. Accordingly, she was packed off in disgrace 
 with all possible secrecy as to the whereabouts, and 
 the family ignored her existence, so to speak, dur 
 ing the term of four years that she remained at 
 college. During her visits home in vacation the 
 subject was never broached, except when her father 
 took her aside and sought to appeal to her pride, 
 by showing how famously her elder sisters had 
 prospered by following his advice. But he came 
 away with a graver face after each interview, filled 
 with wonder that a child of his could harbor such 
 sentiments, which, if put in practice, must, in his 
 opinion, induce chaos ; and once, when, in response 
 to his warning that such a course, if persevered in, 
 would irremediably prejudice against her a certain 
 nobleman he had in view as a husband for her, she 
 declared that the abolition of the entire peerage 
 would be a blessing to the country, he had been 
 seized with dizziness, an incident which furnished
 
 5 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 his wife a pretext for the familiar but cutting proph 
 ecy that Evelyn would bring down her father's gray 
 hairs in sorrow to the grave. 
 
 During Evelyn's last two or three visits home, it 
 had been observed that she was grown more digni 
 fied as well as more beautiful. A seriousness of 
 deportment that was rather awe-inspiring at times 
 had replaced the hobble-de-hoy immaturity of the 
 school-girl. Her tables were littered with books, 
 the very titles of which were unintelligible to the 
 rest of the family, over which she pored with assid 
 uity to the deep distress of either parent, who 
 scented anti-Christ between the lines. But her 
 spirits were fresh and buoyant as ever, and her 
 fondness for vigorous recreation had not abated a 
 jot. She could without difficulty beat the curate 
 at lawn-tennis, then a new-found pastime, and her 
 stroke on the river was the admiration of watermen. 
 To look at, she was tall and commanding, with a 
 broad brow, a sweet mouth, and eyes which, fit either 
 for love or for lightning, sparkled with an intelli 
 gence that was half playful and half tender. 
 
 One day her father had the mortification of read 
 ing in the daily newspaper, side by side with the 
 detailsof murders and defalcations and shop-keepers' 
 advertisements, her name his daughter's name as 
 the winner of a prize for a dissertation on " Evolu 
 tion," which she had apparently delivered, before a 
 host of people, from the rostrum of the dreadful 
 college of which she was a member. As if this were 
 not humiliating enough, short-haired women whc?
 
 I- ACE TO FACE. J 
 
 left visiting cards without a prefix to distinguish 
 maid from matron, began to come down from Lon 
 don to call upon her. 
 
 This was just at the date of Evelyn's graduation. 
 She had been at home for about a week on the day 
 we have discovered her enjoying a matutinal row. 
 The freshness of the beautiful summer morning, 
 and the verdure just in its prime, had a soothing 
 effect on her nerves, jaded with the severe study of 
 examination time, and the wear and tear of being on 
 unsympathetic terms with her family. For, firm as 
 she was in her ideas, the partial estrangement had 
 necessarily cost her many a sleepless night and 
 given to her reflections an almost morbid tinge. 
 And what made the situation all the more dis 
 couraging was that her highly creditable scholar 
 ship had rather widened the gulf than otherwise, 
 and no alternative seemed to be left between for 
 saking her principles and being ostracized by her 
 relatives. 
 
 The whole family happened for the moment to 
 be under one roof. It was natural that the Hon 
 orable Mortimer should seek to bring this to pass 
 as often as possible, for one might have ransacked 
 England in vain for a finer looking set of children, 
 and grandchildren to boot. They were a little 
 stolid in feature, perhaps, but that implied strong 
 wills and a proper self-respect. For the rest, they, 
 were very elegant and fastidious, with sufficient 
 languor not to be suspected of becoming unduly 
 enthusiastic over anything, saving always, in the
 
 FACE TO, FACE. 
 
 order named, their babies, their sovereign, and their 
 hereditary principles of church and state. There 
 was Gwendolen Edith, wife of Sir Edgar Bradish, 
 K.C.B., with six little Bradishes just one a year ; 
 Gladys, Countess of Harleth, with an embryo earl 
 in leading-strings ; Emily, Mrs. Caithness Corrie, 
 whose husband was an M. P. and never in need of 
 the party whip to make him toe the mark in de 
 fence of the rights of the noble class to which he 
 confidently expected to belong some day ; Florence 
 Henrietta and Muriel Grace, in the full flush of 
 social success ; and Margaret Frances, shortly to 
 become the wife of the brewer's son, Mr. Sparks, 
 just before whom in seniority stood the sole son 
 and heir, Mortimer Lawrence Ponsonby. 
 
 The countess had arrived only on the previous 
 evening, and brought with her such a flavor of the 
 Court that Evelyn felt herself more than commonly 
 out in the cold. But the fine exercise sufficed, as 
 has been said, to raise her spirits, and she sped down 
 stream without further effort to solve the knotty 
 problem of her own future, which had been her con 
 stant companion, both waking and sleeping, since 
 her return home. So cheery, in fact, became her 
 mood that she lost account of time and did not get 
 back to the house until all the family had break 
 fasted save the Countess Gladys, simultaneously 
 with whom she made her appearance at table. 
 
 So handsome did Evelyn look, with the glow of 
 exercise suffusing her cheeks, that her ladyship 
 could not repress a glance of admiration. She had
 
 FACE TO FACE. 9 
 
 left home while Evelyn was still a child, and knew of 
 her sister's eccentricities chiefly from second-hand 
 sources. She was an amiable, sweet-tempered 
 woman in her way, with a fondness for having 
 beautiful objects about her, and while she sipped 
 her coffee the idea of inviting Evelyn to come to her 
 for the next season struck her favorably. She felt 
 little doubt that Evelyn's peculiarities would speed 
 ily disappear in the whirl of the metropolis, and 
 coupled with this disinterested reflection was the 
 consciousness that her beauty would be apt to cause 
 a sensation in fashionable circles. It did not occur 
 to her as possible that Evelyn would refuse such an 
 invitation, one which, by the way, she had never 
 extended in so unreserved a fashion to any of the 
 others ; and her blue eyes opened in astonishment 
 akin to exasperation at the response she received, 
 which was to the effect that Evelyn was very much 
 obliged to her, but had no wish to go into London 
 society. 
 
 " But, Evelyn," murmured the Lady Gladys, feel 
 ing the duty of showing her sister how wrong- 
 headed she was added to her other motives (and 
 where a question of duty was concerned a Pimlico 
 never faltered), " how can you talk so ! You sure 
 ly don't want to live cooped up here all your days ? 
 It is time, high time you are twenty, I believe for 
 you to see something of the world. You are a wom 
 an now, and ideas which were all very well when 
 you were younger are out of place. If you would 
 reflect vou would see that I'm eiving you an oo-
 
 IO FACE TO FACE. 
 
 portunity to make a fresh start and please papa ; 
 for, without wishing to be unkind, you must be 
 aware that papa is very unhappy on your account. 
 If, now, you were to go to London and make a brill 
 iant match, we should all be united again. Why 
 shouldn't you do as well as I did ? If anything, you 
 are prettier than I was at your age." 
 
 In appealing to Evelyn's common-sense, and speak 
 ing thus firmly but without severity, the Countess 
 of Harleth flattered herself that she was displaying 
 tact. She had long had an impression that it would 
 merely be necessary to point out to Evelyn the error 
 of her ways in a dispassionate manner in order to con 
 vince her of her folly, instead of getting angry with 
 her as she suspected the others of doing. But she 
 experienced an annoyed and half-uneasy feeling at 
 observing the derisive smile with which her words 
 were listened to. Yet the reply was gracious enough : 
 
 " I am very much obliged to you, Gladys more 
 than I seem, perhaps and you must not think me 
 ungrateful because I do not accept your offer, but 
 I am sure I shouldn't enjoy the sort of life you 
 would wish me to lead in London. As you say, I 
 have not seen much of the world, but I am not en 
 tirely without knowledge of what would be expected 
 of me. Our tastes happen to be dissimilar, that's all. 
 Thank you kindly, but I would rather remain quietly 
 at home for the present." 
 
 " I don't understand what you mean. It is a 
 great misfortune to a girl to get the reputation of 
 being odd."
 
 FACE TO FACE. II 
 
 " I am pretty well used to that already." 
 
 The countess was resolved not to lose her temper. 
 She believed that Evelyn's contrariness was ac 
 counted for by being a little bitter at the censure of 
 the rest of the family. For her own part she felt 
 guiltless in this respect, as she forthwith explained. 
 
 " You must not forget that I am your sister, Eve 
 lyn, and that whatever others may have said to 
 wound your feelings, I have had no share in it. The 
 past is the past so far as I am concerned, and you 
 may rest assured that I shall never taunt you with 
 having been different from the rest of us." 
 
 For an instant the same amused expression stole 
 over Evelyn's face, then her eyes filled with tears 
 and she answered : 
 
 " I know you mean to be kind, Gladys dear, and 
 I wish I were not different from you all. But I am 
 made so, and I don't think you would understand 
 me if I were to try to explain why I had rather not 
 accept your invitation. Ask Florence or Muriel in 
 stead. Either one of them would be delighted at 
 the very idea of such a thing." 
 
 " It is you I want," answered Lady Gladys, with 
 Pimlico firmness. "The other girls are doing very 
 well as it is, and can go out with mamma. I really 
 wonder at you, Evelyn, that you do not appreciate 
 the advantages of my offer. You seem to forget 
 that my husband is an earl, and occupies a social 
 position that would bring you into association with 
 your sovereign and the princes of the blood. There 
 is no telling but that the queen might take a fancy
 
 12 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 to you and appoint you about her person. Only 
 think what an honor that would be ! " 
 
 " Do you think so, Gladys ? Now, to my mind, 
 it would be a dreadful bore." 
 
 "Why, Evelyn, I'm surprised at you. I wonder 
 you are not afraid to say such a thing. If anyone 
 were to overhear you and repeat it, you might get 
 us into serious trouble." 
 
 " You needn't be alarmed," laughed Evelyn ; " I 
 have no desire to compromise the family more than 
 is necessary. But the whole difficulty, Gladys, lies 
 in the fact that you and the other girls like to run 
 after lords and titles, and I don't care a button 
 about them. I'd just as soon talk to a respectable 
 commoner as a peer of the realm at any time ; in 
 fact, rather, nine times out of ten. So you see it 
 would only be a waste of opportunities to take me 
 to court." 
 
 Her sister gave a gasp. She was fast losing pa 
 tience at this uncalled-for attack on rank and pre 
 rogative. 
 
 " The next thing we shall hear is that you are on 
 the stage. You are very young and foolish, Evelyn. 
 As I have already told you, I have every disposi 
 tion to be your friend, but I cannot listen to such 
 sentiments without indignation. If you prefer the 
 society of vulgar people to that of dukes and cabi 
 net ministers, all I can say is, there is no account 
 ing for tastes." 
 
 " I quite agree with you. But there is no use in 
 our disputing, Gladys, for we should never take the
 
 FACE TO FACE. 13 
 
 same view. I only hope for your sake," Evelyn 
 added, indicating the embryo earl who was pulling 
 at his mother's wrapper, " that the peerage will not 
 be extinct before little Ponsonby gets his title." 
 
 This was the last straw. The countess, with flam 
 ing cheeks, snatched up the child as though fearful of 
 infection, and, in a voice trembling with anger, cried : 
 
 " You wicked girl, how dare you hint at such a 
 thing ?" 
 
 Evelyn's speech was unfortunate, certainly, and 
 one which she would never have made, could she 
 have foreseen the effect it would have upon her 
 sister, who, darting glances of reproach, swept out of 
 the room in the direction of the library, where the 
 Honorable Mortimer was engrossed in the morning 
 papers. Accordingly the culprit was hardly pre 
 pared for the complacent expression on her father's 
 face when the family came together at dinner time. 
 But the cause was soon made apparent. A Tory 
 administration had added to the royal titles that of 
 Empress of India, a fact which he proceeded to an 
 nounce with an unction that found response in the 
 murmur of gratification that ran around the table. 
 
 " Quite the most important measure of the ses 
 sion," he added, magnificently ; "one which cannot 
 fail to add greatly to our prestige as a nation. A 
 marvellously clever fellow, that Dizzy !" 
 
 Then his glance chanced to fall on Evelyn, and 
 his brow darkened ominously, for she was sitting 
 with her eyes fixed on her plate, taking no share in 
 the general applause.
 
 14 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 "Well, Evelyn, have you nothing to say in appro 
 bation of the great honor your queen has done us 
 all by assuming the title of Empress of India ? " 
 
 " I, papa ? " 
 
 "Yes, you, Evelyn. I should think that anyone 
 with the smallest particle of loyal feeling would wish 
 to celebrate such an event. It wounds me to the 
 quick to see a child of mine sit glum and uncon 
 cerned when all the rest of the empire are rejoicing. 
 Can it be possible you do not sympathize with us in 
 our satisfaction ?" 
 
 " If you ask my opinion, papa, I must say I think 
 it sounds rather ridiculous to give the queen a new 
 title at this time of her life, without any apparent 
 reason for it." 
 
 " Indeed ! " Mr. Pimlico crumbled his bread to 
 control his wrath. " I cannot say I am surprised at 
 such Agrarian sentiments, young lady. They are 
 quite of a piece with the radical and insulting re 
 marks which you have been reported to me as mak 
 ing this morning. If you will believe it, my dear," 
 he continued, addressing his wife, " even our sweet 
 little Ponsonby is not safe from the mad vagaries of 
 our undutiful child. Because Gladys, out of kind 
 ness of heart, invited Evelyn to pass the season with 
 her, Evelyn saw fit to predict that our grandson 
 would never be a peer. And now this insult to her 
 sovereign caps the climax. I am fairly worn out with 
 her unnatural conduct. One would suppose that she 
 had passed her days in the United States, among law 
 less and ignorant people, instead of under this roof."
 
 FACE TO FACE. 1 5 
 
 The Honorable Mortimer spoke with unusual 
 vehemence, and a dreadful pause followed what 
 seemed to the other sisters almost an anathema. 
 But, spite of tender hearts, they felt their father's 
 words to be just, and that the insinuation regarding 
 little Ponsonby deserved a most strenuous rebuke. 
 As for Evelyn, she sat. hardened as ever, to all ap 
 pearances, which diverted from her any sympathy 
 that might have been accumulating. 
 
 Although Mrs. Pimlico's feelings were no less 
 outraged than those of the rest of the family, being 
 a cautious woman, she deemed it unfortunate that 
 such an explosion should have occurred within ear 
 shot of the servants. With feminine tact she sought, 
 therefore, to change the subject, and, taking advan 
 tage of the allusion to the United States, she an 
 nounced the receipt that morning of a letter from 
 Willoughby Pimlico, a first-cousin of her husband, 
 who some years previous had married an American 
 heiress and taken up his residence in New York. 
 
 " And what has Willoughby to say for himself ? " 
 inquired the Honorable Mortimer, less savagely 
 than might have been expected. He was not an 
 unamiablc man, and having uttered his protest in 
 forcible language, was ready to smile again as soon 
 as dignity would permit. 
 
 ' He is very anxious to have one of our girls pay 
 him a visit," answered Mrs. Pimlico, with a simper 
 ing laugh that implied the extreme improbability of 
 such a thing. 
 
 " I dare say. Fancy, my love, one of your daugh-
 
 1 6 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 ters riding a buffalo, as is not an uncommon prac- 
 tice with young persons of your sex in the less 
 civilized portions of that country, I am given to 
 understand. Humph ! " he added, reflectively ; " has 
 Willoughby's wife any brothers of an eh eligible 
 age ? I believe some of those Americans make very 
 fair husbands when they are tamed." 
 
 " Oh, but the savages, papa ! " exclaimed Florence 
 Henrietta. 
 
 " Yes, and the Mormons, papa ? " cried Muriel 
 Grace. 
 
 " I have been told on good authority, sir," broke 
 in the son and heir, fingering as he spoke an in 
 cipient mustache, " that everybody over there is in 
 trade." 
 
 " How dreadful ! " sighed Mrs. Caithness Corrie. 
 
 " I fancy," answered the father, " that most of the 
 reports we hear have been somewhat exaggerated. 
 They are undoubtedly an ignorant and vulgar people, 
 lax both in their personal habits and marriage laws ; 
 but I judge that in the so-called sea-board cities one 
 rarely comes into contact with either the red-man 
 or the bigamist. The latest books, however, men 
 tion the almost universal carrying of firearms as a 
 protection against the cow-boy, a kind of satyr of 
 the plains ; and the flavor of the forest is still ob 
 servable in much of their nomenclature an instance 
 of which, in my own branch of business, comes to 
 my mind in the use of the word 'wild-cat' to de 
 scribe securities that are not sound. As you have 
 well observed, Mortimer, they are universally en-
 
 FACE TO FACE. 1J 
 
 gaged in trade, but such is the rapidity with which 
 fortunes are acquired owing partly to the natural 
 resources of the country and partly to the low 
 standard of commercial integrity that a class called 
 merchant princes has come into existence, whose 
 manner of living is said to rival the extreme luxury 
 of the East. Cities are built in a night by the in 
 dustry of the negro, who is, however, fast giving 
 place to the Chinaman, whose physical conformation 
 enables him to labor on a quantity of food utterly 
 insufficient to support civilized human life. But 
 notwithstanding these peculiarities, there are in 
 Boston and in parts of New York, where my cousin 
 lives, people whose habits are not dissimilar to our 
 own, and who have a fair degree of culture, I am 
 told by those who have stopped there. 
 
 "They, however, are very unpopular with the 
 masses, who exclude them from public office and 
 are threatening to pass laws of a still more Agrarian 
 character than already exist. It has long been a 
 source of surprise to me that a finished gentleman 
 like Willoughby Pimlico has escaped assassination. 
 He can scarcely have become popular, except at the 
 cost of much personal dignity and self-respect." 
 
 " What a terrible place to live in ! " exclaimed his 
 wife, as he finished this peroration. "I wonder 
 that Willoughby supposed we would allow one of 
 our girls to risk her life." 
 
 " Hardly so bad as that, I fancy. I have always 
 understood that they treat their women vvvth more 
 consideration than most foreigners do," said Mr. 
 
 2
 
 1 8 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 Pimlico, who, having defined his views regarding 
 the people of the United States, could not help re 
 flecting that, from all accounts, there must be young 
 men of large means among them who would doubt 
 less be glad to come over and settle in England for 
 the sake of the social position he would be able to 
 give them. He believed himself to be a progressive 
 person, and it had always been one of his theories 
 that, some day or other, the United States would de 
 velop into a great nation. Already their stocks 
 were coming into notice, as short cuts to fortune, 
 not desirable for the notice of the general public, 
 but opportunities that a wide-awake banker might 
 improve. He had himself made a few ventures in 
 that line with success. Moreover, Willoughby was 
 accustomed to write as if there were society of a cer 
 tain sort which he frequented, the members of which 
 paid their way in five-dollar gold pieces without ask- 
 i"g for change, and in which the women were at 
 tired with a gorgeousness equal to traditional con 
 ceptions of Cleopatra. He was conscious that if he 
 could knock off twenty years, he should be tempted 
 to investigate for himself. 
 
 To tell the truth, The Honorable Mortimer was 
 rather impatient to have his daughters married. De 
 spite his fortunate American speculations, he had 
 been hit pretty hard lately by a number of domestic 
 failures, which, coming after the drain on his purse 
 requisite to set up his three eldest daughters and to 
 see his son through the University, had left him feel 
 ing far from well off. The demands of his family
 
 FACE TO FACE. ig 
 
 were, however, as imperative as ever. In order to 
 give Florence and Muriel an opportunity to be seen, 
 a house had to be taken in town for the season, and 
 extensive orders given to the most expensive dress 
 makers. And now there was Evelyn to provide for. 
 
 He frowned as he thought of her, for he had been 
 sorely vexed by her refusal of her sister's offer. The 
 dinner was finished and he was puffing at his cigar 
 with an air of cogitation. He reflected that it would 
 hardly be fair to the other girls, with their delicate 
 tastes and ideas, to let either of them go to America ; 
 but it might be the very thing Evelyn needed to 
 counteract the vicious opinions which had taken pos 
 session of her. If she believed in radicalism, let 
 her see it in the country of its luxuriance, and learn 
 from personal experience what a monster she was 
 cherishing. And, if in the course of coming to he* 
 senses some desirable young fellow should be capti 
 vated by her beauty and breeding, he was not pre 
 pared to say that he would refuse to receive such a 
 son-in-law. 
 
 The more he thought over the scheme, the more 
 it pleased him, and when he mentioned it to his wife, 
 although shocked at first, she came round to his 
 view in the end. The next thing was to consult 
 Evelyn,
 
 II. 
 
 IF Mr. Pimlico had realized that an ardent par 
 tiality for America and everything American was 
 at the root of all his youngest daughter's short 
 comings, he would never have reached this conclu 
 sion. No wonder she accepted eagerly his proposal 
 that she should pay her cousin a visit, when for the 
 last six years her dearest ambition had been to look, 
 think, and act as an American girl would look, think, 
 and act. 
 
 Several summers before, while travelling with her 
 parents in Switzerland in a rebellious frame of mind 
 at sundry formalities which they obliged her to re 
 gard she had met a gay party from across the ocean 
 whose lack of conventionality seemed to her amply 
 justified by an apparent originality and independ 
 ence of soul which lifted them above the narrovr 
 prejudices of European life, much as the Alpine 
 peak soars beyond the limitations of the valley. 
 This had been her individual reflection, though it 
 was the result rather of observation from aloof than 
 personal contact, for both her father and her mother 
 had frowned unmistakably on the disposition the 
 strangers manifested to strike up an acquaintance. 
 So, with the exception of a few commonplace re
 
 FACE TO FACE. 21 
 
 marks apropos of passing the butter or the salt, Evelyn 
 had been unable to gratify her wish to become fam 
 iliar ; but she had watched them with a furtive and 
 constantly increasing admiration, dreamed about 
 them at night ; and, when her father diverged from 
 his carefully planned route in order to be rid of 
 them, constructed a theory regarding their charac 
 ters which had supplied her with an incentive ever 
 since. 
 
 She had been at the time of just the age when a 
 strong impression is apt to stretch its roots far down 
 and influence character. An incident supplies the 
 nucleus and imagination does the rest. Dating from 
 that summer, a decided change came over Evelyn, 
 noticeable in various ways, but chiefly in outcrop- 
 pings against the established order of things highly 
 distasteful to her own flesh and blood, who little sus 
 pected their impetus ascribable to the great raw Re 
 public founded on disobedience. It became a gen 
 uine cult with her to glean all the information pos 
 sible concerning the United States, and in the course 
 of her investigations she was still able to detect, in 
 the marvellous diatribes of her own countrymen who 
 had travelled there and the equally perplexing pages 
 of transatlantic fiction, a distinct flavor of the spirit 
 she worshipped. Her fancy claimed sympathy with 
 the pioneers of the boundless prairies, who, even as 
 they ploughed, carried on with the maidens of their 
 choice a dialogue whose goal was the secret of the 
 spheres. 
 
 But she had not been content with dreaming. The
 
 22 FACE 7*O FACE. 
 
 key-note of her conception was unremitting zeal in 
 the investigation after truth. Presently she was 
 quick to perceive that, outside the circle of her social 
 surroundings, there were ample facilities afforded by 
 the libraries, lecture-rooms, and colleges of her own 
 land for the detection of error. She plunged into 
 the sea of modern thought with all the zeal of a 
 proselyte. Darwin and Huxley and Ruskin and 
 Spencer and Browning and George Eliot appeased 
 her thirst, and yet left her yearning for more. Her 
 college life had been one vast, absorbing revelation, 
 and at this moment of her graduation she had come 
 to the surface, as it were, fora breathing spell before 
 renewing her investigations. But still her glance 
 stole over the real waters toward the land where she 
 believed there were no kings, nor fetters upon con 
 science, no superstitions, nor shams, nor gilded lies ; 
 where the rich accumulated for the eradication of 
 suffering, and the poor persevered for the perma 
 nence of order and the dignity of the race. 
 
 Her impressions regarding the land of her desire 
 were almost entirely subjective. Of its physical 
 properties, of its bricks and mortar or its dollars and 
 cents, she knew comparatively little, assuming per 
 haps, in philosophic fashion, that where the national 
 life is sound all else must conform. She had con 
 ceived in a vague way that America was a vast do 
 main with room enough for everybody, gladly shared 
 by the masters of a higher civilization with buffaloes, 
 Indians, and the other engaging types of untram 
 melled existence. To the tales' of its huge cities,
 
 FACE TO FACE. 2$ 
 
 abundant harvests, and inexhaustible wealth she had 
 listened with the heedless ear of one who values the 
 material but little as compared with the spiritual. 
 Hence it was that her father's description of the 
 United States at the dinner-table had seemed to her 
 inaccurate, because of the deductions he drew rather 
 than from any misstatement of facts. Ideas and 
 principles which he regarded as dangerous and dis 
 reputable were to her among the noblest springs oi 
 action. So she reasoned, and his stricture failed to 
 disturb her in the least degree. 
 
 But a reference to the Elysian Fields of her fancy 
 was sufficient at any time to set her rhapsodizing, 
 and as she went down to the water's edge after din 
 ner to watch the evening light creep over the river, 
 she felt that she would sacrifice a great deal to be 
 allowed to accept her relative's invitation. She 
 well knew that it was out of the question. From 
 what had been said it was plain that the chances of 
 any of them going were very small, and she felt that 
 she was the least likely to be selected of all the girls. 
 Still, even against conviction, she could not help 
 imagining herself on shipboard, and trying to form, 
 with more ardor and vividness than ever, out of the 
 resources of her imagination, a conception of the 
 so-called land of liberty. Mingled with the serious 
 visions of enfranchised humanity, her woman's nnt- 
 ure entertained doubtless the shy, sweet, personal 
 hope of an ideal relation bringing the souls of youth 
 and maiden into an accord unintelligible to the 
 grosser civilization of the old world.
 
 24 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 Happy in her dreaming she sat until the twilight 
 deepened into obscurity. At length, with a shake 
 of her head as though to banish the cobwebs from 
 her brain and fit it for reality, she arose and went 
 up the lawn to the house. Her father was in the 
 porch, still more content with his project, over an 
 other cigar. She listened to his proposal half dazed 
 and mistrusting what she heard. His homily on the 
 revolution which he expected the experience to 
 work in her ideas gave her time to collect her 
 thoughts. A few minutes later all was settled. 
 She was to go in a fortnight, under the care of Mr. 
 Brock, an elderly friend of their cousin's, whom 
 Willoughby Pimlico's letter had mentioned as in 
 tending to sail at that date. At last she was to 
 realize the dream of her life. 
 
 On the appointed day Evelyn went up to Londo* 
 with her father, to meet her escort, who was so little 
 unlike other people both in his behavior and dress, 
 that Mr. Pimlico expressed surprise on three differ 
 ent occasions at his speaking English so perfectly, 
 imagining that he was thereby paying him a grace 
 ful compliment. But he listened less cordially to 
 the account which Mr. Brock gave them, under the 
 pleasant influence of " a glass of wine," as he called 
 a bottle of champagne, of his rise in life from a penni 
 less country lad until he had become the founder of 
 some of the largest manufacturing interests in the 
 country, and the possessor of several million dollars 
 To Mr. Pimlico this frankness seemed ill-bred osten 
 tation, to say nothing of the doubt inspired in his
 
 FACE TO FACE. 2$ 
 
 mind as to the truth of the other's statements, by 
 the information which he had frequently received to 
 the effect that the Americans were prone to tell " tall 
 stories." But in proportion as her father's manner 
 grew frigid, Evelyn's delight increased. She had 
 been, perhaps, a trifle disappointed at first sight that 
 Mr. Brock was not more unconventional. As she 
 listened, however, to his graphic account of his own 
 fortunes, interspersed with quaintly shrewd obser 
 vations on men and things, she felt that she had mis 
 interpreted him. The Honorable Mortimer bade 
 them good-by at St. Pancras, and went home shak 
 ing his head over the fellowship already established 
 between his daughter and this sometime street Arab, 
 as he was inclined to stigmatize her companion. 
 
 Seated in the train and whirling toward Liverpool 
 Evelyn felt her travels fairly begun. Her spirits 
 were at full height, and she spoke concerning the 
 pleasure she expected to derive from her visit to 
 America with an enthusiasm that charmed the old 
 gentleman, inclined to believe, it may be, that Eng 
 lish girls ordinarily were stiff. Encouraged by her 
 cheeriness he chatted on in easy fashion, telling her 
 how much better most things were managed where 
 they were going to, and discoursing on the great 
 ness of his country's institutions, illustrated with 
 anecdotes taken from his own personal experience. 
 Presently he took out of his pocket a russia leather 
 case, and showed Evelyn the photograph of a girl of 
 about her age, and of rare beauty. His eyes filled 
 with tears as he explained that she was his niece,
 
 26 FACE 7'O FACE. 
 
 the last remaining member of his family, who had 
 died nearly two years before, and that he was quite 
 alone in the world. 
 
 On arriving they went up to the Adelphi to lunch, 
 and there Mr. Brock found a telegram obliging his 
 immediate return to London in consequence of the 
 decision of certain capitalists to accept terms which 
 he had offered them for the purchase of an Amer 
 ican railway. There was no escape from his going 
 back, he told Evelyn, and it was very possible he 
 might be detained all summer in England. 
 
 What was to be done ? Evelyn's first impulse 
 was that she must wait for another escort. It 
 seemed to her cruel. Just as she was about to be 
 perfectly happy, fate had conspired against her. 
 She inquired of Mr. Brock if there were not any 
 people on board whom he knew who would take 
 her under their charge. He shook his head. He 
 said that he had looked over the passenger-list, and 
 been to the ship in person, but that there was no 
 one of his acquaintance among them all. 
 
 Mr. Brock stood with his watch in his hand, for 
 there was no time to be lost in coming to a decision, 
 as both the steamship and his train would depart 
 almost immediately. He did not proffer any ad 
 vice. It was very perplexing. Evelyn could not 
 bear the thought of returning home, for she rea 
 soned that very likely her father would change his 
 mind .in such an event, and withdraw his permis 
 sion. She wondered what an American girl would 
 do, under similar circumstances. Sail alone, she
 
 FACE TO FACE. 2/ 
 
 could not help feeling. And why .should not s/tef 
 She was not afraid. She felt confident of being 
 able to take care of herself. But what would her 
 family think ? Would they not be scandalized at 
 such a proceeding ? They certainly would ; but, 
 after all, was there any real harm in it ? 
 
 '' Come, my dear, time's up. You must decide on 
 something before I go back," said Mr. Brock. 
 
 ' I have made up my mind to start alone," said 
 Evelyn. 
 
 There was a twinkle in Mr. Brock's eyes. 
 
 " What will Vic say ? " he asked. 
 
 " I don't quite understand, sir." 
 
 " Eh ? I mean are you sure the Queen won't he 
 down on me for letting you go without a chaperon ? " 
 
 "I've thought of what you mean, Mr. Brock. 
 Answer me one question please ; would a young 
 lady in your country give up going ? " 
 
 " Dear heart, no. She'd have been on board be 
 fore this," said the old man. 
 
 Mr. Brock seemed quite elated at what he termed 
 the pluckiness of her decision, and lost his train in 
 order that he might see her comfortably off. She 
 felt excited and buoyant ; but when at last the 
 tender left the ship, and Mr. Brock's white hair 
 fluttering in the breeze was no longer discernible, a 
 sense of loneliness came upon her. What an ordi 
 nary-looking set the passengers were ! The glimpse 
 she had taken of her state-room had no 1 : attracted 
 her, and the smell of the machinery was oppressive. 
 She reflected, however, that she had made her
 
 28 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 choice, and must face the occasion with all the for 
 titude she could muster. It was at least a consola 
 tion to feel that if she had been in the train instead, 
 her emotions would have been a hundred-fold more 
 despondent. 
 
 As she leaned against the railing thus commun 
 ing with herself, the last tender from shore ap 
 proached the vessel. The hour was late, and the 
 captain of the Britannic was inveighing against 
 the tardiness of the smaller craft. When the gang 
 plank was put in place only some half-a-dozen in 
 dividuals came on board, conspicuous among whom, 
 to the eyes of Evelyn at least, was a young man, 
 who carried a hat-box and umbrella, and was closely 
 followed by a couple of obsequious porters bearing 
 the rest of his luggage. He was quickly lost in the 
 interior of the ship, but the recollection of a striped 
 ulster, yellow dog-skin gloves, and high stiff collar, 
 remained with her as denoting a countryman of her 
 own in the same class of life. She wondered who 
 he was, and she was conscious with annoyance at 
 her weakness of being a little disturbed at the idea 
 of encountering anyone she knew or who knew her, 
 for up to this point she had seen no one on board 
 to cause her concern of this sort. It might be that 
 this young man was a nobleman or some one who 
 would recognize her from her likeness to her sis 
 ters. 
 
 Under the influence of this feeling she went down 
 to her state-room and put on a costume such as she 
 imagined would give her the look of being trans-
 
 FACE TO FACE. 2Q 
 
 atiantic. She had purchased it secretly in London, 
 on the assurance that it had just been imported 
 from New York, and she was inclined to be ex 
 ultant over the effect of the billycock hat and 
 long, tight-fitting ulster, of which it was composed, 
 as she surveyed herself in the mirror before going 
 on deck. The vessel was now under full steam, and 
 the land seemed already a gray bank on the horizon. 
 With the inhalation of the sea-breeze her spirits 
 had returned. She felt ready for adventure and 
 new experience. Her pulses throbbed with the 
 satisfaction of being free and her own mistress. 
 The sight of the broad blue ocean, already breaking 
 in white caps, suggested to her the liberty and 
 strength of the nation toward whose shores she was 
 being carried. Spellbound she stood, gazing out 
 over the deep, unconscious of the admiration of 
 some of her fellow-passengers struck by the expres 
 sive beauty of her face. 
 
 Chancing to look around, she saw come oat of the 
 so-called " captain's state-room," much sought after 
 by voyagers of means, the young man who had at 
 tracted her attention two hours before. He, also, 
 had altered his toilet to the extent of substituting a. 
 shirt collar of blue cheviot for his white one, and 
 donning as a head-gear a rough, knit Tarn o' Shan- 
 ter, which he may have fancied gave him the air of 
 a sea-dog, but which in complicity with his striped 
 ulster hanging down to his heels, and an orange 
 scarf about his neck, suggested rather a bandit in 
 easy circumstances.
 
 3O FACE TO FACE. 
 
 He had an air of intense reserve, which confirmed 
 Evelyn's impression that he was an Englishman of 
 social standing. This was indeed so engrossing a 
 characteristic that people not accustomed to it might 
 readily have failed to note at first that he was good- 
 looking, with eyes of a thoughtful, intelligent cast, 
 when their gaze became fixed, as it did for an in 
 stant on Evelyn, as he walked by. His cold and 
 somewhat supercilious scrutiny assured her that 
 she was not recognized. She had seen dozens of 
 men like him at home. In addition to the details 
 described, he wore a closely cut pair of whiskers, 
 the precision of which was typical of his whole ap 
 pearance. She fancied that he might be some future 
 peer going out to investigate the new world. Some 
 how he seemed to her even more pronounced in his 
 peculiarities than most of his class. He drew out a 
 pipe, and began to walk up and down the deck with 
 a hauteur likely to discountenance any disposition 
 for colloquy on the part of others. 
 
 Evelyn could not help wondering what the young 
 man thought of her, and if he took her for Ameri 
 can or English. Just then the dinner hour struck, 
 and presently she found herself opposite to him at 
 table. He paid not the slightest attention to any 
 body but the steward, to whom he gave the most 
 precise directions as to what to bring him to eat. 
 
 A spirit of deviltry was rapidly getting the better 
 of Evelyn. She had heard and. read much of the 
 original ways of American girls, and the idea oc 
 curred to her. of assuming the part of one by way
 
 FACE TO FACE. 31 
 
 of practice. Why should she not try her maiden 
 effort on her countryman, who would be disquali 
 fied to pick flaws in the conception ? 
 
 Acting on the impulse she leaned forward, and 
 vith expansive graciousness asked him for the but 
 ter. Before complying with her request, the stran 
 ger clapped a single glass, which dangled from his 
 neck, into his eye, and gazed at her frigidly. As 
 Evelyn took the dish from his hand she thanked 
 him with an effusion that caused him to shrink into 
 his skin like a sea-anemone, and almost immediately 
 he left the table. 
 
 It was twilight when Evelyn went on deck, and 
 as she sauntered along she caught sight of her vic 
 tim standing near the man at the wheel. With 
 an effontery that surprised herself she continued 
 her stroll until she reached the same locality of 
 comparative isolation. Her approach had failed to 
 disturb him. He had his back turned to her, and 
 was absorbed in the contemplation of the sunset, 
 which was unusually fine. Leaning against the 
 railing a few feet off, she followed his example. At 
 length he turned a little, and as their eyes met the 
 iciness of his stare was appalling. Again he put up 
 his glass and moved away, this time to the retire 
 ment of the smoking-room or his own quarters, for 
 though Evelyn stayed on deck watching the stars 
 for some hours, she did not get another glimpse of 
 him that evening. 
 
 The next day when she awoke the sea was still 
 calm as a mill-pond. They were off the Irish coast,
 
 32 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 just leaving Queenstown. As Evelyn lay in her berth 
 enjoying the fresh air that was not yet forbidden 
 her through the closing of the dead-eye, she heard 
 her table companion's voice in the passage asking 
 for a bath with praiseworthy iteration. To continue 
 the part she had undertaken, she hastened to dress 
 herself that she might breakfast in his society. But 
 when she entered the saloon he had apparently not 
 yet put in an appearance. She lingered at table 
 longer than was necessary to no avail ; but as she 
 rose to go she perceived him ensconced at the other 
 side of the room, with the wherewithal for a hearty 
 meal before him. She could scarcely restrain her 
 laughter as it dawned upon her that he had changed 
 his seat doubtless on her account 
 
 But mingled with her mirth was a tinge both of 
 pique and of irritation. She had scarcely bargained 
 for the uncomplimentary turn that matters were 
 taking. She wondered if she were bungling her at 
 tempt to change her nationality. For who erer 
 heard of an American girl, whose personal attrac 
 tions were so little open to criticism as hers failing 
 to fascinate ? Whatever else censors might say re 
 garding the originality that distinguished her sex 
 across the ocean, who could question its potency to 
 affect the masculine imagination ? And was she 
 deficient ? Had she striven in vain to imitate the 
 delightful ease of manner necessary to success ? 
 
 It was much more flattering to her self-esteem to 
 assume, as an alternative, that Englishmen of the 
 variety to which this young man belonged were
 
 33 
 
 even more provincial than she had supposed. He 
 had seen fit, forsooth, to take offence because she 
 had asked him to pass the butter with a little more 
 suavity than the misses to whose society he was ac 
 customed would have ventured to display, because 
 she had chanced to watch the sunset from the same 
 quarter of the ship, and because her clothes were 
 out of the common run of London patterns. He 
 was not willing to be civil to his fellow-passengers 
 for fear of committing himself. How narrowband 
 how in accord with the doctrine of forms and set 
 phrases and inherited opinions from which she was 
 every hour being borne further away ! Happily he 
 would be soon taught a lesson. As soon as his feet 
 touched the soil of freedom he would find that he 
 was no better than anybody else. 
 
 But she resolved thai, since he was so easily 
 shocked, she would continue the process, accepting 
 for the nonce the supposition that she was ignorant 
 of American usages. It might be she had been too 
 mild in her methods, and that something was neces 
 sary to arouse his languid interest. She would make 
 the attempt, and if, as she preferred to believe, his 
 national prejudice in favor of ceremony was the cause 
 of her ill success, how frantic a still further breach 
 \vould drive him ! She could have the satisfaction, 
 at least, of making his life miserable during the re 
 mainder of the voyage. 
 
 As a consequence of this resolve she awaited with 
 anticipation his reappearance. He came out at last, 
 fortified with a chair and rugs, and directed the 
 3
 
 34 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 steward who carried them to a. distant corner of the 
 deck, as far as possible apparently from the vicinity 
 of his enemy, whose whereabouts he had first ascer 
 tained by a cursory glance. He wrapped himself 
 up and began to examine some illustrated papers. 
 
 Although the sea was not rough, there were com 
 paratively few people above stairs, owing to the 
 chilliness of the atmosphere. Evelyn, being herself 
 well protected, was not displeased to see the other 
 ladies disappear one by one below, until she was at 
 last the only person of her sex remaining on deck. 
 A feeling of skittishnessas to what might take place 
 made her prefer that the coast should be clear. 
 What should she do ? How could she most effec 
 tively continue the experiment without doing any 
 thing incompatible with ladylike behavior ? She 
 desired to enter into conversation with her fellow- 
 countryman, but she felt that it must be done natu 
 rally and without apparent deliberation, or she would 
 be unjust to her models. 
 
 They were getting fairly out to sea now and the 
 freshening breeze acting on the furnace fires, caused 
 the smoke to pour in thick, black columns from the 
 funnels. Large soots and irritating cinders began 
 to fall about her and to render a change of position 
 necessary. She would be safe from this annoyance 
 only to the forward of the smoke-stacks. She felt 
 therefore no scruples in gathering up her belong 
 ings and moving to within a few yards of where her 
 ungracious foe was sitting. Fie looked up and 
 scowled appreciably. He even turned his head as
 
 FACE TO FACE. 35 
 
 /f to ascertain whether there were not some equally 
 sheltered spot to which to flee. But his present 
 location under the lee of a life-boat was a more 
 effectual protection from the wind than was obtain 
 able elsewhere. Besides, to move would involve a 
 disarrangement of his comfortable system of wraps. 
 At least Evelyn thus conjectured as to the thoughts 
 passing through his mind, and as she did not wish 
 to have him escape her, she deemed it more discreet 
 to close her eyes with an air of composing herself 
 for slumber. 
 
 The device was successful. When she took a 
 peep, five minutes later, he appeared engrossed in 
 his illustrated newspapers. Several which he had 
 already read lay on the deck, secured from blowing 
 away by the weight of the leg of his sea-chair. 
 
 Evelyn wondered how an American girl would 
 manage under similar circumstances. Clearly ac 
 cording to her preconceived ideas no representa 
 tive of her sex from across the water would let 
 slip an opportunity like this for beguiling the ted 
 ium of the voyage. She felt a little nonplussed, and 
 disposed to bewail her self-consciousness as the dis 
 couraging factor in the case. She reflected (as she 
 tried to screw up her courage to break the ice which 
 kept them apart) that it was not so easy after all to 
 acquire the art of fascination, and that to take a step 
 naturally and from instinct, differs widely from an 
 artificial accomplishment of the same. 
 
 At last, by a happy inspiration she chanced to 
 notice the pile of papers at his feet. She recog-
 
 36 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 nLzed the Illustrated London News and Graphic among 
 them, so that there could be no reason why she 
 should not ask to look at them. Accordingly, with 
 a repetition of her engaging manner of the day be 
 fore, she said : 
 
 " May I look at one of your newspapers, please ? " 
 The young man jumped as if he had been shot, 
 and scowled again stonily. But as there seemed no 
 help for it, he roused himself with a more than nec 
 essary upheaval of his comfort, and dragging the 
 whole collection of printed matter from under his 
 chair, held it out at arm's length for Evelyn's recep 
 tion, with an air that implied, "Take everything, 
 but leave me alone." Then he buried himself more 
 completely than ever in his ulster, pulling up his 
 collar as an additional safeguard from intrusion, and 
 appearing utterly callous to the enthusiastic "Thank 
 you very, very much ; I am afraid I have disturbed 
 you dreadfully," with which his tormentor rewarded 
 his bounty, save that a moment or two later, he gave 
 his chair a hitch with the effect of turning her a cold 
 shoulder. 
 
 Now that she had taken the first step, Evelyn felt 
 eager for a continuation of hostilities. She turned 
 over the pages of the newspapers, scarcely heeding 
 the illustrations, until her eye chanced to note the 
 name " Ernest Clay " written in pencil on the mar 
 gin of a copy of Punch. That was probably his 
 ame, she reflected. Clay ? She could not recall 
 ay family of that name among the gilded youth 
 f the United Kingdom. However, she was by no
 
 FACE TO FACE. 37 
 
 means well acquainted with that body, of which it 
 certainly required no oracle to inform her that he 
 was a member. 
 
 She felt ripe for mischief. She argued that she 
 might as well hang for a sheep as a lamb. There 
 was no longer a doubt in her mind that her only 
 chance of triumphing over her countryman was to 
 do or say something really determinative, so as to 
 convince him beyond question that she was an Amer 
 ican. For, despite the confidence she professed to 
 herself to entertain that her characterization was 
 without flaws, the agonizing suspicion that he saw 
 through her disguise, notwithstanding her costume 
 and forward ways, still haunted her. Language, 
 expression, intonation, were after all the most con 
 vincing proofs of nationality. She must say some 
 thing typical, something that smacked distinctively 
 of the new world. Why should he be expected 
 to suppose, from the few indications she had already 
 given him, that she was returning home rather than 
 leaving it ? Very possibly he was slow of under 
 standing, and needed to have things put in black and 
 white before he could grasp them. And then, to 
 her horror it occurred to her that the expression 
 " very, very," that she had just employed was a 
 typically English form of speech. How could she 
 have been so careless ? That alone was sufficient to 
 betray her. 
 
 She felt that the impression must be eradicated at 
 once by some unequivocal phrases that no English 
 -girl would use. She ransacked her memory, and
 
 38 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 fortunately was able to conjure up certain words 
 which were often on the lips of the party she had 
 met in Switzerland, and which she had encountered 
 again in the course of her extensive reading of 
 American fiction. She remembered also her father's 
 disgust, when he chanced one day to overhear the 
 conversation of those people, manifested by a scorn 
 ful repetition of certain obnoxious phrases in the 
 presence of the family circle. 
 
 Another opportunity to address her neighbor was 
 plainly afforded by the necessity to return the news 
 papers which she had borrowed. 
 
 'It was right kind of you to lend me these," she 
 said, and then, as he took them from her hand, "I guess 
 this voyage is going to be real elegant, don't you ? " 
 
 A sort of shiver ran through her victim and, mut 
 tering something that failed to reach her ears, he 
 twisted round his chair a little further. 
 
 " What say ? " she asked. 
 
 This was too much. He raised himself in his 
 chair and said, stiffly : 
 
 " I didn't speak." 
 
 Then, with a haughty disdain compressing his fea 
 tures, the young man got up and, gathering his ef 
 fects, started to change his seat. Just as he stooped 
 to fold his rhair, however, a violent gust blew over 
 the deck, and lifting his Tarn O'Shanter from his 
 head as if it had been a feather, transferred it to the 
 lap of Evelyn, who clutched at and held it. But as 
 if the very devil were in it, the same envious cyclone 
 carried off her billycock hat as well.
 
 FACE TO FACE. 39 
 
 Convulsed at the unexpected turn that fate had 
 given to the affair, Evelyn approached her adver 
 sary, who, red with confusion, was standing helpless 
 ly holding his rugs and newspapers, and restored 
 him his property. 
 
 " Thanks awfully," he murmured, and thawed 
 either by the extreme good humor of the laughing 
 girl who was striving valiantly to protect her ex 
 posed hair from the vagaries of the after-currents, 
 or by her beauty, which lie realized now perhaps for 
 the first time, a smile relaxed his features. 
 
 " Don't mention it," she replied, blithely, and turn 
 ing on her heel, she tripped along the deck in pur 
 suit of her own precious head covering, which, after 
 a brief respite, had just begun another expedition. 
 
 It would have interested a student of human nat 
 ure to watch on Ernest Clay's face the struggle 
 between pride and the instincts of gallantry that 
 were contesting for the mastery as he followed Eve 
 lyn with his eyes. But the sight was too much for 
 his gentlemanly feelings, and letting drop his shawls, 
 he joined in the chase of the offending hat, which, 
 buffeted by the breeze, was describing every sort of 
 manoeuvre in its efforts to elude capture. 
 
 Evelyn heard his steps behind her, and the con 
 sciousness of his approach added wings to her feet. 
 She flew along the deck, and he, with the determin 
 ation of a man who hates to be frustrated in what he 
 has undertaken, redoubled his speed. She reached 
 the spot where the hat had come to a standstill 
 and had stretched out her hand to pick it up, when
 
 4O FACE TO FACE. 
 
 another fluke of wind bore it beyond her grasp and 
 with some force against the bulwarks, from which 
 it bounded into her pursuer's hands. 
 
 "I guess we're quits," she said, with a merry 
 laugh. 
 
 Again a shade of annoyance crossed his face, as if 
 a pin had pricked him, and he held the hat with a 
 gingerly stiff pose, somewhat suggestive of one who 
 transfers a dead cat by the tail from the pavement 
 to an ash-barrel ; but he had evidently concluded 
 that, having committed himself so far, he had better 
 make the best of a distasteful situation, for, as they 
 returned to where their chairs were, he looked up 
 and said : 
 
 "I fancy you're from the West." 
 
 For an instant Evelyn felt her head swim, so great 
 vras her surprise ; then she replied, with pleased al 
 acrity : 
 
 " How did you find out ? "
 
 TIL 
 
 ALL is not gold that glitters. In spite of most 
 deceptive appearances, which fully justiied 
 Miss Pimlico in taking the young man on whom 
 she had tried her 'prentice hand to be a fellow-coun 
 tryman of her own, the fact remains that Ernest 
 Clay had been born and bred in New York City. 
 Indeed, his ancestry was most distinctly American. 
 On his paternal side, he could claim kinship with a 
 Clay who lived in Puritan times, and from whom 
 he was descended in a direct line through a farmer, 
 a schoolmaster, two clergymen, a country doctor, and 
 a banker. The last named was his grandfather, who 
 left the family homestead in Worcester County, Mas 
 sachusetts, with the hope of making his fortune in the 
 great money mart of the nation. This he succeeded 
 in doing before middle life, and after various ex 
 periences he founded the banking house which bore 
 his name for many years after his death, in 1850, and 
 was a synonym for commercial honor and sagacity. 
 He left one son, who had married before the old 
 man's decease Grace, the youngest daughter of 
 Peter Hackensack, the great-grandson of the famous 
 patroon of the same name. Though putatively an 
 alliance between blood and money, the banker's
 
 42 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 heir was dead in love with his Knickerbocker bride, 
 who reciprocated his passion with all her heart. 
 He succeeded to his father's positions as head of 
 the firm, director in numerous corporations, and 
 favorite trustee of charitable institutions ; and being 
 by temperament a restless, enterprising fellow as 
 well, his thousands soon became a cool million. 
 His wife, a beautiful, spirited woman, who had been 
 a belle before her marriage, became a society leader 
 after the maternal interests, which the birth of 
 Ernest inspired, became a trifle monotonous, and 
 for many seasons it was the fashion for men out of 
 conceit for their own wives to send her flowers. 
 Her ambition was to keep pace with, or rather a 
 little in advance of, the rapid change in social tastes 
 that was taking place in New York. Her father's 
 carriage had been one of the first private equipages 
 in the city, and she remembered to have often heard 
 him say that the maintenance of it was regarded 
 by many as ostentatious, and inconsistent with 
 proper self-respect. But now dozens of coupes vied 
 with each other on Fifth Avenue, which itself had 
 sprung into existence as if by magic, stretching, 
 ornate with splendid residences, further and further 
 up-town. Midday dinners were beginning to be 
 long to the past, and it was a proud moment for 
 her when she ceased, also, to dine early on Sundays 
 on roast beef, with a dish of baked beaus at the 
 other end of the table, and an Indian pudding to 
 follow, a custom dear to many generations of Clays. 
 What was the use, as she forcibly put it to her hus-
 
 FACE TO FACE. 43 
 
 band, of having a magnificent new house, and a 
 French cook, if they were to live primitively in 
 other respects ? Doubtless she was prescient enough 
 to foresee that the day would not be distant when 
 the food of families which aspired to fashion would 
 be phrased in a foreign lingo, and a footman in 
 livery be indispensable to the happiness of young 
 married couples. 
 
 The attack on Fort Sumter greatly excited the 
 prosperous banker. Though not an Abolitionist 
 properly speaking, he had voted for Abraham Lin 
 coln, and watched the ominous clouds of political 
 dissension with a growing sense of bitterness toward 
 the South. The press of private affairs and the ob 
 jections of his friends prevented him from volunteer 
 ing in response to the President's first call for 
 troops ; but when the news of the battle of Bull Run 
 arrived, he recruited a regiment at his own expense, 
 and hurried to the front. He was killed a year later 
 at Antietam. 
 
 His estate the portion of it at least which by the 
 terms of his will was put in trust for his only son 
 was so prudently managed by his executors, that 
 Ernest on his twenty-first birthday came into not 
 less than six millions of dollars, almost treble the 
 original amount of his inheritance. This did not 
 include the share bequeathed to the widow, who, 
 plunged into terrible sorrow, found at last a new 
 hold on vitality in the bringing up of her boy. 
 Although she never left off black to the end of her 
 days, her costumes, marvellous with passementerie,
 
 44 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 were in conformity with the sumptuousness of the 
 home where this last hope of the Clays grew from 
 childhood to adolescence, surrounded by every lux 
 ury that money could command. 
 
 With all her fondness for high-living and bric-a- 
 brac, and liveried servants, the Dowager Clay, .is 
 she was called by the obsequious, was by no means 
 a foolish woman. Provided that her Ernest was 
 fashionable, she had no objection to his being clever 
 also. He was sent to Harvard, where his father had 
 graduated thirty years before, and he rather distin 
 guished himself as a student. Among his classmates 
 he was considered more than ordinarily intelligent, 
 and consequently was kept at arm's length (in spite 
 of his wealth) by the crack set, who regarded this 
 attribute in his character as inconsistent with their 
 conception of a " true sport." Shy, quiet, and a 
 reader, he passed an uneventful four years and quitted 
 Cambridge with the commendations of his Alma Ma 
 ter, which, however, were unable wholly to reconcile 
 his own mother to his slight figure and lack of style. 
 
 She felt it therefore incumbent upon her, though 
 the sacrifice cost her many tears, to let him loose 
 among the capitals of Europe, under the ostensible 
 plea of learning the languages. She herself crossed 
 the ocean two successive summers to observe his 
 progress, and was agreeably surprised on the second 
 occasion to find that fluency in French and German 
 had spruced him up wonderfully, and made him 
 more like other people. He was become a bit of a 
 dandy, with a lurking distrust for the soundness of
 
 FACE TO FACE. 45 
 
 his country's institutions, which did not by any 
 means displease his fond parent, who was beginning 
 to fancy Paris as the Mecca of her declining years, 
 seeing that she had no daughter to bring into so 
 ciety. 
 
 However, she was anxious that Ernest should ap 
 pear in his new character upon his native heath, if 
 for no other reason, than that he might choose a wife 
 from among the young women with whose ante 
 cedents she was familiar. For, little as she would 
 have objected to his living abroad, Mrs. Clay had a 
 great belief in what she was pleased to call "blood." 
 
 Accordingly, mother and son made their reappear 
 ance on the social horizon of their native city early 
 the following autumn, presaging a series of splendid 
 entertainments at the family residence during the 
 winter. A murmur of anticipation pervaded society, 
 and match-making mammas took care to be over 
 heard by their daughters estimating the figures of 
 the Clay inheritance. For the first time in his life 
 Ernest began to realize what an important person 
 he was. His indifference hitherto to the circum 
 stance that he was enormously rich had always 
 seemed strange to his mother, and caused her to 
 shake her head at such philosophical observances 
 of his, as that he was almost sorry not to have been 
 born to face the necessity of earning his own living. 
 
 But, whether owing to the excessive court paid 
 him in social circles, or to the late dropping of the 
 scales from his eyes, he altered very rapidly bcth as 
 concerned his tastes and ideas. He became, almost
 
 46 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 with the despatch of the chrysalis, one of the im 
 maculate young exquisites who float from ball-room 
 to ball-room on the saccharine atmosphere of femi 
 nine flattery. No entertainment was complete 
 without his presence, and no maiden otherwise than 
 envied whom he honored with his attention. An 
 endless round of dances, and dinners, and other 
 festivities consumed his nights and revolutionized 
 his habits of early rising. Like his mother, he 
 proved ambitious to be a little in advance of his 
 generation. He went in for coaching among the 
 very first, and the yacht he built was long after 
 cited as a model of maritime luxury. He imported 
 hounds from England with the hope of organizing 
 a new national pastime in the teeth of a dearth of a 
 natural scent. Tailors and florists, bootmakers and 
 shirtmakers, glovers and hatters grew prosperous 
 on his patronage, and for every customer whom his 
 recommendations obtained them added an extra per 
 centage to his bills. 
 
 So matters went on for two or three years, to his 
 mother's infinite delight. Her only cause of griev 
 ance was that Ernest showed no signs of settling 
 down, or, in other words, his so-called love affairs 
 had all proved to be merely flirtations. She did 
 not fail to talk to him seriously on the subject, 
 holding up the many arguments in favor of matri 
 mony, and illustrating the misery of single life after 
 forty. But the only consolation she could get out 
 of him was that he still had fifteen years to spare. 
 
 Presently, however, he evinced symptoms that
 
 FACE TO FACE. 47 
 
 were far from comforting to her as regarded this 
 hobby. He pronounced parties to be a bore, and 
 began to seek in club life an antidote for a weari 
 ness of spirit which was partly affected, but partly 
 genuine. His horses and yacht palled upon him 
 When he was not playing cards he read French novels, 
 and regularly as clock work he spent his summer 
 across the water. One day he astounded his mother 
 by announcing that he was going to practice civil 
 engineering, a study that had always interested him. 
 It was not difficult for him to obtain admission as 
 assistant in a first-class office. For six months he 
 worked like a beaver, but with the thermometer at 
 ninety in the latter part of June the white cliffs of 
 Dover rose before him so eloquently, that, to use his 
 own language, "he cut the whole business." He 
 went abroad, and on his return in September, started 
 almost immediately on a trip around the world by 
 way of San Francisco. It was at the end of this trip 
 that he had fallen in with Miss Pimlico. 
 
 Without lacking patriotism at heart, perhaps, 
 Ernest Clay was certainly an Anglomaniac in his 
 appearance and general tone. He habitually bought 
 his entire wardrobe in London, and in conversation 
 was fond of contrasting the servile civility of English 
 tradespeople with the garrulity of barbers and the inv 
 pertinences of hotel clerks at home. Then, although 
 he had never lifted a finger to remedy democratic 
 abuses, excepting to attend a caucus or two, he was 
 never slow to quote the favorite aphorism of our 
 leisure class that politics in the United States is not
 
 48 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 a fit calling for gentlemen ; from which it was an 
 easy step to maintain the doctrine that all men are 
 born free and equal to be a fallacy for practical pur 
 poses. At times also he cast rather a longing eye 
 at the British system of class distinctions, taking it 
 as granted that if he had happened to be born on 
 the other side of the water, he would have been 
 a lord ; for, with some inconsistency, considering 
 his other views, he regarded his own family as in 
 ferior to few, if any, in the United Kingdom in point 
 of breeding and aristocratic pretensions. Then, too, 
 he thought of Englishmen as a fine-looking body 
 with a strong taste for physical sports, and he was 
 apt to maintain that it was everything to him to live 
 where there were hansom cabs. 
 
 But one of the strongest prejudices he entertained 
 regarding his native country was on the subject of 
 American girls, under which score of criticism he 
 never included the young ladies of education, re 
 finement, and high social standing, who seemed in 
 his eyes very much like girls everywhere, except, as 
 he was patriotic enough to claim, that they dressed 
 in better taste and were more agreeable compan 
 ions than those of societies where less freedom is 
 allowed before marriage. Indeed he was rather a 
 champion of the charms of a host of feminine friends 
 whom he could think of in New York as specimens 
 of one of the few national products that defied criti 
 cism. Those inveighed against by him were girls of 
 the Daisy Miller variety, whom foreigners delighted 
 to regard as the sole national type. He could dis-
 
 FACE TO FACE. 49 
 
 course eloquently on the subject. What a diatribe 
 that impersonation was on the manners of society ! 
 Such social eccentrics existed indeed, but who ever 
 met them in polite circles ? And let the old world 
 sneer as it might, polite circles no less elegant and 
 fastidious than those of Mayfair and the Boulevard 
 St. Germain held their courts in Fifth Avenue and 
 Beacon Street. Here again he was a trifle patriotic. 
 But he could not be too severe, it seemed to him, 
 against the daughters of the masses, who, on the plea 
 of emancipation, had played ducks and drakes with 
 the repute of American womanhood, not only at 
 home where such behavior, though reprobated, was 
 not misunderstood but in city and hamlet, through 
 valley and over mountain, from breadth to breadth 
 of the Eastern continent, to the amazement of its 
 peoples, who showed the palms of their hands and 
 shrugged their shoulders by way of comment. 
 
 How often he had lashed himself into a fury on the 
 subject, as some bedizened beauty from the West 
 sailed past him unattended in the streets of Paris, 
 or like a mountain shepherdess, with crook in hand, 
 looked archly at him at sunrise from the summit of 
 a minor Alp ! He knew each variety well that is 
 by sight and observation, for he had taken care to 
 avoid personal acquaintance. There was the young 
 heiress from the prairies, proud of her father's mil 
 lions, yet innocent as the wheat blades at their foun 
 dation, confiding, yearning for companionship, and 
 ready to ride rough-shod over the prejudices of em 
 pires in pursuit of it ; and again the seeker after 
 
 4
 
 $0 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 culture from the sea-board, resolute, in spite of pov 
 erty and by dint of purity, to penetrate alone, guide 
 book in hand, churches and galleries, booths and 
 catacombs ; or simply the lightning excursionist, 
 ambitious of compressing into a period rather less 
 than sixty days, including the ocean passage to and 
 fro, the sight-seeing of an ordinary lifetime. 
 
 Clay had come on board ship at Liverpool, after 
 having crossed the Channel at the same time with 
 a personally conducted party from the neighbor 
 hood of Detroit, Mich., who rubbed the wrong 
 way the sentiments of interest in his native country 
 which had been gathering head during his tour 
 around the world. He had been feeling pensive, 
 wondering what he was to do when he got back. For, 
 except in the first flush of his society career, he had 
 never been able to shake off entirely the feeling that, 
 if he had been born poor, he might have amounted 
 to more than he did. But what was a man with his 
 money to do except to amuse himself, unless he 
 went into politics ? And politics well, there was 
 no field for anyone there who was not willing to 
 truckle and trade. Why had he not stuck to his 
 civil engineering ? Now that the weather was cool, 
 he wished he had. His talents lay in that line, if in 
 any. Mechanics always ^interested him, and at col 
 lege he had invented a number of labor-saving ap 
 paratus in connection with his own rooms that were 
 the wonder of his chums. Seven years since he 
 graduated ! And what had he accomplished ? To 
 be sure, he had done better than some of the fel-
 
 FACE TO FACE. 51 
 
 lows. He had not drunk himself to death like 
 Tom Fisher, or run through his property on the 
 stock exchange like Bill Doty, or married a ballet 
 girl in imitation of Harrison Murray. He had his 
 health, a good six millions, and no family cares to 
 harass him. Then, too, he had pleased his mother, 
 excepting perhaps in the latter particular. But he 
 had tried his best to fall in love. Indeed he wished 
 he could. But, rather than marry anyone whom he 
 did not care for with all his heart and soul, he would 
 prefer to remain a bachelor to the end of his days. 
 Of this he felt sure in spite of the opinion he often 
 heard expressed (and he acknowledged as probably 
 sound), that in highly evolved beings the faculty of 
 criticism reduces the capacity for intense enthusiasm 
 almost to a minimum. He felt in his own case that 
 he would be likely to pick flaws in a goddess, should 
 she appear on earth as a candidate to become his 
 better half. 
 
 The serenity of these reflections, coupled with 
 which were the various questionings concerning di 
 vine laws and human civilizations likely to occupy 
 at times the mind of a young man who, in spite of 
 being a crack polo player and yachtsman, is an in 
 veterate reader, has travelled widely, and is familiar 
 with three languages besides his own, was still 
 clouded by the remembrance of his disagreeable 
 journey from Calais, when, as he emerged from the 
 deck stateroom secured for his occupation months 
 in advance, his eye fell on Miss Pimlico. He saw 
 nothing at first but the horror of a hat, the precise
 
 52 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 counterpart of one worn by the most exasperating 
 of the tourists in question, which, as well as the 
 tight-fitting garment swathing her figure, was totally 
 unlike Belgravian fashions. But one glance was suf 
 ficient to convince him that this young person was a 
 countrywoman of his own, and the sense of irritation, 
 of which her presence on board made him conscious, 
 congealed still further, as he paced the deck with 
 his habitual reserve of manner. He reasoned that 
 he might have expected to see some such extraordi 
 nary specimen on a steamship bound to the United 
 States. But we are apt to congratulate ourselves 
 that what is disagreeable will be averted, until it is 
 close upon us. He had, from a previous cursory 
 glance, got the impression that his fellow-passengers 
 were an uninteresting set, and it seemed to him that 
 this young woman capped the climax. 
 
 He contented himself with dismissing her from 
 his thoughts, and, had it not been for the articles of 
 dress referred to, he would not have known that it 
 was she who sat opposite to him at the dinner-table. 
 But there was no doubt about the fact, nor was 
 there any doubt in his mind as to her beauty, 
 though he preferred to disregard that conscious 
 ness. He put the question to himself while wait 
 ing for his soup and doing his best to ignore her 
 existence, why a girl not by any means ill look 
 ing, taking her apart from her wardrobe, wished to 
 disfigure herself by a rig such as that which she had 
 on ? He was well aware that persons like her, if 
 given an inch, will take an ell, and he had no inten-
 
 FACE TO FACE. 53 
 
 tion of letting her get up a flirtation with him. Con- 
 found her impudence ! If she must have the butter, 
 why make eyes at him in that fashion ? He had done 
 nothing to justify it. Next she would be asking 
 him about the weather or the ship's run. The best 
 thing for him to do was to get back to the deck as 
 soon as possible, and make the steward give him an 
 other seat for the rest of the voyage. Come to think 
 of it, her voice had less twang than one might have 
 expected. But there was no doubt as to her nation 
 ality, for to all appearances she was travelling alone. 
 The sea was too calm to admit the probability that 
 her mother was unable to be present at table. Be 
 sides, there was no vacant place beside her. He 
 would examine the passenger list to-morrow and 
 find out. Not that he cared, but to give her the 
 benefit of the doubt. 
 
 He wondered who she was. An artist, probably, 
 or, worse still, an artist with literary proclivities, who 
 would write up the voyage for the newspapers to 
 eke out the expenses of her year among the galleries 
 of Italy. She was something of the kind, he felt 
 sure. He could tell by her restless eye. A pretty 
 state of affairs, verily, to fancy one's self a genius and 
 yet be unable to speak the English language with 
 correctness, or to dress otherwise than like a guy ! 
 For there was no reason to suppose that her gram 
 mar would be more unimpeachable than her milli 
 nery. Well, all he wanted was to keep out of her 
 way. How fine the sky was ! Heigho ! he must 
 pull himself together when he got home and see
 
 54 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 what could be done. He was tired of this idling 
 existence. 
 
 Keep out of her way ? The question was rather 
 how to keep her out of his. What indelicacy to come 
 prowling out to within a few feet of him ! As if, 
 indeed, she cared a button for the sunset. Did she 
 suppose he would jump at the bait and strike up an 
 acquaintance ? A woman with any perception 
 would have known that it was the most unlikely 
 way possible to attract a man of his sort. What a 
 shame that a girl with such fine eyes for they cer 
 tainly were all that should be so lacking in mod 
 esty. Talk to her ? Catch him. Not if he had to 
 pretend he was deaf, which was the defence he had 
 made use of on a slightly similar occasion. 
 
 As he walked away, after she had disturbed his 
 view of the sunset, a suspicion crossed Clay's mind 
 which he instantly dismissed as out of the question, 
 but not without reflecting that a foreigner would 
 be justified in harboring it. She had begun opera 
 tions very soon, but there could be no doubt that 
 she was perfectly respectable, so far as her moral 
 character was concerned. He had seen dozens like 
 her, though fortunately he had never before figured 
 as the victim. He reflected that it was the way with 
 the girls of the class to which she evidently be 
 longed, to consider everything as fish that came to 
 their nets. He said to himself that some men would 
 have taken the hint and found such a flirtation amus 
 ing. He was a different kind of man. He was sorry 
 for her lack of perception. Not that he would be
 
 FACE TO FACE. 55 
 
 likely to speak to her in any event. But a voyage 
 often drags, and there is no telling what a man may 
 condescend to when bored. She had ruined her 
 chances of making his acquaintance, if there were 
 any, irreparably, however. 
 
 He sat in the smoking-room, working himself up 
 into a state of indignation. He reflected that mat 
 ters were getting to a pretty pass in his country, if 
 a man who had not moved a muscle of his face was 
 not secure from molestation by a young woman, 
 no matter how good-looking. Positively, he did not 
 dare to go on deck, for even if she were not brazen 
 enough to speak to him, she would be sure to keep 
 him constantly on tenter-hooks by her glances, drop 
 ping her handkerchief where he could not avoid 
 picking it up, or trying some such dodge to scrape 
 acquaintance. Taking one consideration with an 
 other, this seemed to him the most flagrant case he 
 had ever known. It was so deliberate, so palpably 
 cold-blooded. She would argue probably that she 
 was lonely. Serve her right for travelling alone. 
 Pshaw ! There could not be much satisfaction in 
 conversing with a girl who was ignorant of the very 
 first rules of propriety, even though she did know 
 all about Dante and the Niebelungen Lied. 
 
 He had the steward change his seat at table be 
 fore he went to bed, to one where he could see only 
 her back hair, which he contemplated at breakfast 
 with satisfaction. He felt that he had put a spoke 
 in her wheel. He argued if she were not thick- 
 skinned as a rattle-snake she would take the hint
 
 $6 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 and let him alone. But he was determined that, 
 come what might, he was not going to be deprived 
 of the fresh air any longer on her account. It seemed 
 to him that the probabilities were she would be more 
 discreet by broad daylight, when there were plent) 
 of her own sex about with nothing to do but watch 
 her. He perceived, as she passed out of the saloon, 
 that she had taken in the situation, and that it 
 seemed to amuse her. She did not blush, nor show 
 a sign of confusion. Very well, she would find him 
 indifferent and hopeless to manipulate as a graven 
 image. 
 
 For some while after establishing himself on deck 
 he felt elated at his cleverness in selecting a spot so 
 far distant from where his enemy was sitting, that 
 by approaching him she could not fail to attract 
 notice. The sky, moreover, gave every indication 
 of a blow before long, which he was malicious 
 enough to trust would upset her for the rest of the 
 voyage. He opened his newspapers. There were 
 some late American ones among them, and he had the 
 satisfaction of reading an item to the effect that a 
 manufacturing stock of which he had bought heavily 
 just before leaving home, because of the company's 
 plant being in the vicinity of a handsome estate on 
 the banks of the Hudson which was a part of his in 
 heritance, had risen largely in price. But he did not 
 feel much like reading, in spite of his apparent ab 
 sorption. He would have liked, were it consistent 
 with the total scorn he professed to entertain, to 
 look behind and see what had become of his tor-
 
 FACE TO FACE. 57 
 
 mentor. The silence was ominous. He could ex 
 pect no such good fortune as that she would throw 
 up the sponge so early in the contest. He hoped 
 that she was chagrined by his having changed his seat, 
 but he well knew that girls of her sort were fertile 
 in expedients. For he recalled that on the occasion 
 when he had pretended to be deaf, the young person 
 had got the better of him in the end. He was on 
 the way from Paris to Geneva, and was shut up, by 
 the maladroitness of the conductor, in a compart 
 ment alone with her instead of having it alone to 
 himself as had been the import of his tip. Not five 
 minutes had elapsed before she told him she was 
 from St. Louis, and had come abroad to learn the 
 languages in order to fit herself to conduct a school. 
 After the first few sentences he had signified his in 
 firmity. It sufficed to keep the peace for a while, 
 but at last, in despair, she had made a trumpet of 
 her hands and, in spite of his most earnest protesta 
 tions, shouted at him until he was able to release 
 himself from her society at the next stopping-place. 
 Engrossed in this reminiscence, Clay was not aware 
 of Evelyn's approach until he heard the sound made 
 by her chair in being set down within speaking dis 
 tance of his own. This act of hardihood was almost 
 amusing from its effrontery, but he believed himself 
 to be very indignant and cast about in the manner 
 already mentioned for some alternative of escape 
 other than beating a total retreat. Evelyn had been 
 correct in assuming that he was very comfortable, 
 and would shrink from disturbing himself as long as
 
 58 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 possible. Perhaps too, out of a sneaking curiosity 
 to see what she would do, he was not at heart dis 
 pleased to find there was no equally sheltered spot 
 at hand, though, after discovering this to be the case, 
 he satisfied his own dignity by deciding that it was 
 very foolish to pay any attention to her. He argued 
 to himself that she would only feel flattered if he 
 were to move. 
 
 His newspapers ? An entering wedge. Why 
 hadn't he had the sense to put them out of sight ? 
 He could see no help for it, he must let her have 
 them. But there he would draw the line. Ice it 
 self should not be more freezing than his demeanor. 
 He said to himself that she did not really wish to 
 look at the newspapers any more than she had really 
 cared for the sunset. There was, however, a per 
 tinacity about her that would have done credit to a 
 book agent, and her intonation was decidedly puz 
 zling. It was almost like an English girl's. In jus 
 tice he must own that, if he had heard her voice 
 without seeing her in the flesh before him, he might 
 have thought it pretty. But her abominable for 
 wardness was enough to counteract the few points 
 in her favor. Decidedly it was a most impertinent 
 performance, and, gruesome thought ! his name was 
 on one of the newspapers. Ten chances to one she 
 would address him by it, and ask if he were any re 
 lation to some Harry Clay or George Clay in the 
 retail dry goods line at Kalamazoo. Whew ! The 
 only safe way to cross the ocean was one's own 
 yacht.
 
 FACE TO FACE. 59 
 
 Ah She was thanking him now for his news 
 papers, as though he wouldn't have been more 
 than grateful to have her keep the whole lot of 
 them and leave him in peace. " Guess," that was 
 to be expected, and must be put up with like " fix ;" 
 but " real elegant " was enough to make the flesb 
 creep. Ugh ! The use of it ought to be made an 
 offence punishable with fine or imprisonment. And 
 she was waiting for an answer. Shades of Lindley 
 Murray! No, no, this was the limit. Not a sen 
 tence, not a syllable should she force from his lips. 
 The situation was humiliating enough as it was 
 without letting her have the satisfaction of a dia 
 logue. Good Heavens ! What did she mean ? He 
 had not spoken. Not a word. He was sure of 
 it. " What say ? " Quintessence of vulgar speech, 
 acme of plebeian interrogation ! He could not bear 
 this a moment longer. He would go below. Any 
 thing was better than that she should suppose he 
 had spoken of his free-will. He would make it 
 plain to her that he had not. There ! She must 
 comprehend that if she had a vestige of pride left, 
 and now she was welcome to the field. 
 
 Confound it ! There went his hat. The very 
 elements were on her side. And she had caught it, 
 and was laughing. The same wind, too, had carried 
 away hers, or like enough, she had let it go on pur 
 pose. Disgusting situation ! He would have to re 
 ceive his hat from her hands. If somebody would 
 only strip off that ulster into the bargain she 
 would not be a bad looking girl. Weil, this was
 
 00 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 the depth of humiliation. He must be tolerably 
 gracious. Excitement was becoming to her. There 
 she went after her own hat ! Would it do for him 
 to stand by and not lend a hand ? What a nuisance ! 
 But it wouldn't do. He must help her, come of it 
 what might. 
 
 Quits, eh ? Scarcely. There was a very large 
 balance on her side, and from the twinkle in her 
 eyes she must be well aware of it Well, now that 
 he had picked up her hat, why didn't he make his 
 bow and leave her ? 
 
 Without attempting to solve this question, Clay 
 glanced about the deck as though to ascertain if any 
 one was observing them. The coast was clear. He 
 reflected, besides, that there wasn't a soul on board 
 he had ever laid eyes on before. He thought it 
 might be rather amusing, just for variety, to talk to 
 her a little. She looked intelligent, as well as hand 
 some as a peach. Who would be the wiser if he 
 did ? It occurred to him that it might be well to 
 find out, once for all, what such a girl was like. It 
 might be a long time before he had such another 
 opportunity. She could not make him any more 
 uncomfortable than she had already. Of course she 
 was from the West. He would ask her if she were 
 not, to begin with, as being a question entirely in her 
 own style.
 
 IV. 
 
 " TTOW did you find out?" repeated Evelyn. 
 
 1 JL But Clay's delay in answering her question 
 was not because he needed further humoring. A 
 sudden idea had occurred to him which justified 
 completely, to his own thinking, the loss of dignity 
 involved in entering into conversation with this ex 
 traordinary young person. Why not give her a 
 lesson in manners, and point out to her, kindly but 
 unmistakably, how she had sinned against pro 
 priety and maidenly reserve in her endeavors to at 
 tract his attention ? For, now that he had cooled 
 down, pity was his uppermost feeling pity that a 
 girl with such marked natural advantages should 
 be so ignorant. He reflected that her shortcomings 
 were after all simply the result of knowing no 
 better. It was quite wonderful, on the contrary, 
 how much she had picked up in the way of etiquette. 
 Her figure was good. She had tripped after her 
 hat as gracefully as if she had been used to a 
 drawing-room all her life. Cavil as one would, 
 these daughters of the soil were certainly very 
 adaptive. He felt that it would take only a few 
 lessons to transform this hoyden into a charming 
 creation ; and that, whatever she might feel at that
 
 62 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 moment, she would unquestionably be grateful to 
 him hereafter for having opened her eyes to the 
 truth. 
 
 His aesthetic instincts thrilled at the thought, and 
 be turned toward Evelyn good-humoredly, waiting 
 for her to readjust her wraps and settle down be 
 fore he spoke. He would break it to her gently. 
 
 " It required neither magic nor genius, you know, 
 to tell that," he said. " I should say, from your 
 general air, that you were either from Kansas or In 
 diana. Possibly from Illinois. You are travelling 
 alone, aren't you ? " 
 
 " Yes." v 
 
 " I thought so. Been abroad studying ? " 
 
 " I have been studying in England." 
 
 " Humph ! Charming country, England." 
 
 " I don't like it as well as the United States 
 Were you ever there ? " 
 
 " In the States? Rather." 
 
 " This isn't your first visit, then ?" 
 
 Clay stared at her with surprise. " Scarcely." 
 
 " I was beginning to think so, for you seem to 
 have a little more knowledge about them than most 
 Englishmen." 
 
 " I ? " 
 
 "Yes. You said just now that it was easy to tell 
 I was from the West, but no one could doubt a 
 moment that you were born in London." 
 
 Clay was silent a moment, and his face flushed. 
 Then he gave a short laugh. " Oh ! " 
 
 " I can't make out whether you're a lord or not,"
 
 FACE TO FACE. 63 
 
 continued Evelyn. " I felt sure you were until you 
 spoke of Kansas, but there isn't one lord in twenty, 
 I guess, who knows where Kansas is." 
 
 " I see." 
 
 " But I'm inclined to think you are, you look so 
 conscious. Which are you, an earl or a baronet ? " 
 
 "Aw aw neither exactly," he stammered. 
 
 Confound this girl, was she guying him? No, 
 she looked too serious for that. She evidently 
 really took him for an. E-iglishman. What a joke ! 
 It was owing to the cut of his clothes, probablj. 
 Very likely she had never met an American of his 
 class. A lord, too ! Not altogether unnatural, poor 
 child. He would be one if he lived on the other side. 
 
 "Well, it doesn't matter," said Evelyn. "We 
 don't think much of titles in America." 
 
 " So I have heard. The Americans have a great 
 many strange ideas, you know, and especially 
 American girls." 
 
 " Do you know many American girls ? " she asked. 
 
 " I should say so." 
 
 " Have you ever met any jusl like me ? " 
 
 " I can't say that I have. That is, I have never 
 had the honor of an acquaintance with one. I've 
 seen them at a distance, though." 
 
 " And avoided them. That's what you wanted to 
 say, isn't it ? " 
 
 " Have I avoided you ? " 
 
 "Ah, but you couldn't help yourself. My hat 
 blew off." 
 
 " So it did. Humph ! And if you will allow me
 
 64 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 to say so, you look much better with it off than on," 
 Clay added. 
 
 "Why, what objections have you to my poor 
 hat?" 
 
 "To say the least it is very American, you know." 
 
 " I should hope so. You surely wouldn't have me 
 wear one that wasn't ? Aren't your clothes Eng 
 lish?" 
 
 Clay gave another confused laugh. "Yes, they 
 are. But don't you carry your patriotism rather 
 far ? " 
 
 "You wouldn't say so if you were I. I should 
 think anyone would be proud of being an American." 
 
 Clay felt one of his chopped whiskers thought 
 fully. The situation was a trifle embarrassing. He 
 felt that he couldn't very well undeceive her at this 
 point as to his nationality, without laying himself 
 open to ridicule. Nor did he find it so easy as he 
 had expected to begin to point out her shortcomings. 
 
 " Yes," he answered, " America is going to be a 
 fine country." 
 
 " Going to be ? Don't you think it is already ?" 
 
 " From an English point of view, I should say the 
 government of the United States was still an experi 
 ment." 
 
 " That is because you do not understand us," she 
 answered, with a flash in her eyes. " Englishmen 
 come to America on purpose to pick flaws in it 
 You have no sympathy with the purity and simplic 
 ity of its institutions, and with the ideas of the great- 
 souled men and noble women who compose its popu-
 
 FACE TO FACE. 6$ 
 
 lation. Over here everything tends to oppression 
 and self-aggrandizement, but under the banner of 
 freedom there is happiness for all. Even the 
 beasts are free to roam in peace over the boundless 
 prairies." 
 
 " You seem, you know, to have a good many buf 
 faloes left in Kansas," said Clay. 
 
 Was the girl crazy ? In the genuineness of his 
 astonishment he forgot to stick his glass in his eye 
 as he stared at her. Here was spread-eagleism with 
 a vengeance ! He had heard of these wild enthusi 
 asts, but this was a touch beyond his expectation. 
 And it was clear she really believed what she said. 
 
 " It is not a question of this thing or of that, but 
 of the spirit which animates the whole," said Evelyn. 
 " What the Old World chiefly cares for is money, 
 and fashion, and ceremony, and outward form. 
 Across the vvate r they are seeking trutn," she said. 
 
 In spite o\ the smile upon his lips, Clay could not 
 help admiring her enthusiasm, which lent an addi 
 tional charm of color to her cheeks and of light to 
 her eyes. " A strange association of talent and ig 
 norance ! " he thought to himself ; then he replied : 
 
 " If that is the case, all I can say is they have 
 curious ways of showing it. Why, my dear young 
 lady, are you aware that, next to London, New York 
 is the great money market of the world ? There is 
 probably no spot to-day on the civilized globe where 
 the race after wealth is more fierce and absorbing 
 than there. And as for fashion and outward show, 
 it is notorious that the private houses in course of 
 5
 
 "66 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 erection by those who have accumulated colossal 
 fortunes, surpass in point of luxury and extrava 
 gance the so-called palaces of kings." 
 
 " I have never stayed in New York," said Evelyn, 
 quietly. His words did not shake one jot her faith 
 in her own opinions, but she had no facts with which 
 to refute him. She felt sure that he was prejudiced 
 and would represent everything in the most unfav 
 orable light. 
 
 "And yet that is your most important city, you 
 know," he said. 
 
 " One of them, certainly," she answered. 
 
 " Humph ! Interested as you are in culture, per 
 haps you have visited in Boston, then ? " 
 
 Evelyn shook her head. This catechizing was 
 getting to be embarrassing to her in turn. 
 
 " Not even there ! Well, how about Washington 
 or Chicago ? " 
 
 " Before leaving home, I had travelled scarcely at 
 all outside my native place," she replied. 
 
 " I don't see, then, but that your personal knowl 
 edge of your own country is confined chiefly to the 
 prairies and a few fourth-rate towns," Clay ob 
 served. " It seems strange, doesn't it, that although 
 Englishmen are so very ignorant of the United 
 States, I should have been in all those cities? I am 
 thoroughly at home in them too, and, what's more, 
 can assure you that there is very little difference be 
 tween their manners and customs and those of Lon 
 don and Paris and Vienna. There used to be more 
 than there is now, and it is growing less every year.
 
 FACE TO FACE. 6jT 
 
 The people of Boston and New York are very nearly 
 as cultivated as those of London. I dare say this 
 surprises you very much, you know," he added, 
 glancing with a triumphant smile at Evelyn. "You 
 will have an opportunity when we arrive to judge of 
 the truth of my statements, if you don't pass through 
 the city in the night, as you appear to have done at 
 the time you sailed. And if you will allow me to 
 say so, I think you will find the women of your own 
 age somewhat unlike the conception you have evid 
 ently formed of them. Possibly the total dearth of 
 buffaloes in the vicinity of Manhattan explains why 
 it is no longer considered good form for a young 
 lady to speak to a man who has not been introduced 
 to her." 
 
 Clay flattered himself that he had conveyed this 
 reproof neatly. He paused a moment to see how 
 she would take it, and looked at her with a good- 
 naturedly patronizing expression. She sat reclining 
 in her chair with her arms folded, looking straight 
 before her over the sea, but Clay thought he could 
 detect a faint flush of shame on her cheek. He was 
 not half done yet, however. Now that he had made 
 a beginning he would hold up the mirror to her and 
 let her see herself as she really was. 
 
 He stroked his chin in a meditative fashion, and 
 clasping his hands behind his head with the manner 
 of one about to air a theory, said : " That sort of 
 thing, fortunately, is passing away in all the civilized 
 portions of the United States. There was some 
 thing a bit refreshing, you know, in the originality
 
 68 I- ACE TO h'ACE, 
 
 and independence of American girls as at first mani 
 fested, but it was speedily run into the ground. It 
 was all very well for them to insist on having the 
 privilege of choosing their own husbands, instead of 
 being knocked down to the highest bidder, as was 
 the custom in French domestic circles. No girl, of 
 course, should go straight from the nursery to the 
 altar. But there's a wide difference between such 
 a license and the lawless notions that have been de 
 duced from it. A little while ago it was quite the 
 custom, you know, for young girls in the United 
 States to take the bit between their teeth and go 
 roaming wherever fancy beckoned them. On the 
 plea of seeking for culture they penetrated into Eu 
 rope, and made the whole continent ring with their 
 peculiar theories of propriety. They trampled on 
 the precedents of ages with an indifference that 
 caused the eyes of the well-bred foreigner almost to 
 burst out of their sockets. It was their theory, I 
 believe, that ceremony, and courtliness, and maid 
 enly reserve were so many clogs upon the soaring 
 spirit, and might be dispensed with ; and yet, while 
 they sighed fervently for the unattainable, and prat 
 tled about simplicity, and freedom, and naturalness, 
 it was noticed by their critics that their voices were 
 pitched in a rasping key, and that their speech 
 fairly bristled with inelegant phrases. The cause of 
 all this was not far to seek. Their parents having 
 made money very rapidly, were totally unfamiliar 
 with the conditions of the walk of life into which 
 they found themselves suddenly raised, and became
 
 FACE TO FACE. 69 
 
 mere wax in the hands of their daughters. But 
 all lovers of good taste are rejoicing that this phase 
 of affairs is rapidly on the wane under the influence 
 of the increased luxury and conservatism of the 
 well-to-do classes in America, and only the lately 
 and less thickly settled portions of the country 
 longer produce such anomalous and misguided, 
 though often beautiful, specimens of the gentler 
 sex. Daisy Miller is becoming a type of the past, 
 except in a very secondary sense." 
 
 Evelyn had listened to his recital in perfect 
 silence, but as he paused, apparently in conclusion, 
 she turned to him and said, simply : 
 
 " Have you finished ?" 
 
 "Well aw yes. I don't think of anything else, 
 except I hope I haven't said anything out of the 
 way, you know." 
 
 She gave a little laugh. " If you mean whether 
 I am offended, I am not in the least. We expect to 
 be criticised by you English. You don't understand 
 us at all. I am doubly confident of it after having 
 heard what you have said. You want to try to per 
 suade me that we are getting to be just like all the 
 rest of the world. I dare say now, you would go so 
 far as to claim that some of the model young ladies 
 you have spoken of are in the habit of title-hunting 
 hunting after your title, for instance as they are 
 in London." 
 
 "You would not believe me if I did." 
 
 " Exactly as much as I believe the other things 
 you have said."
 
 7O FACE TO FACE. 
 
 " Including, I suppose, my remark regarding the 
 custom of young ladies speaking to persons who 
 have not been introduced to them ? " said Clay. 
 
 Evelyn gave another little laugh and was silent a 
 moment. " I understood you perfectly well the first 
 time you said that. I guess I was trying to shock 
 you a little." 
 
 "Well, to be perfectly frank, you succeeded." 
 
 '" You were sure to disapprove of me at any rate, 
 so I thought it was just as well you should have 
 some cause. I judged from your appearance that 
 you probably had never met an American girl," 
 she said. 
 
 "You admit, then 
 
 " I admit nothing." 
 
 " That was the reason, was it, why you followed 
 me out to the end of the ship, where I had gone to 
 look at the sunset ? " 
 
 "I wanted to look at the sunset too." 
 
 " Pshaw ! " 
 
 " I may have a rasping voice," exclaimed Evelyn, 
 " but please give me credit for appreciating the beau 
 ties of nature. Besides, she is always in good taste ; 
 I might be able to learn from her." 
 
 " There is something in that," he said, with a 
 laugh. " I fancy you think I have been rather im 
 pertinent. Perhaps I have. But then you would 
 give me no rest until you had scraped acquaintance 
 with me." 
 
 " Is this an acquaintance ? It seems to me, your 
 lordship, that it is all on one side, then. I know your
 
 FACE TO FACE. 7 1 
 
 name at least, but I assure you that you know noth 
 ing whatever about me, less even than you do about 
 most American girls." 
 
 " Are there sphinxes in Kansas as well as buf 
 faloes ? " asked Clay, derisively. 
 
 " So it seems. There is one thing on my con 
 science, however ; your lordship changed his seat at 
 table on my account." 
 
 "Is this a ruse to win me back ?" 
 
 " By no means, unless you promise not to stare at 
 me through that funny little glass," said Evelyn. 
 " Did you ever chance t J stare at yourself in the 
 mirror ? No ? Well, you certainly never should un 
 less you wish to be chilled to the bone. I assure 
 you, a polar bear would be nothing to it for frigidity. 
 But let that pass. It's a very poor return for all the 
 hints you have given me. I shall try to profit by 
 them. Only, as I said before, you must not be too 
 confident of having fathomed the character of the 
 American girl, or that she has become a mere ser 
 vile imitator of her sex elsewhere. That is what 
 you would like her to become, I know. Provided 
 she could be brought to regard petty convention 
 alities and forms as the guiding principle of her being, 
 you would condescend perhaps to admire her. You 
 would do her the favor to permit her to choose her 
 own husband, but you would sink her will and in 
 dependence of thought in his, giving her fashion as 
 a petty tinsel makeshift upon which to expend her 
 surplus energy. You would have her fall down and 
 worship the golden calf of Mammon, preferring
 
 72 FACE 7'O I'' ACE. 
 
 flattery and pride of place, and greed of great ao 
 cumulations, to hatred of falsehood and the unmask- 
 ing of error. The world has got beyond the stage 
 when hungry souls will be satisfied with such un 
 substantial fare as this, and it is in America that 
 the revolt has its leading supporters among women 
 as well as men. But adherents to the fusty de 
 lusions of a decaying past cry out because those 
 whose eyes are fixed on the mountain-tops disre 
 gard the decorum of the valley. You laugh at our 
 shrill voices, our startling costumes, our lack of 
 maidenly reserve. You are welcome to do that, 
 only, on the other hand, do not wrong such of us as 
 have ceased to excite your derision in this respect, 
 by supposing our souls to have lost the yearning 
 after truth which was the very fountain of our faith. 
 Is it possible," she added, raising herself in her chair 
 in the vehemence of her interest, " possible you be 
 lieve that the great Republic of free men and women 
 over there is to become nothing but a gorgeous re 
 flection of the virtues and vices of an outworn hem 
 isphere ? You seem to forget the world has opened 
 its eyes at last to the fact that the rights and suffer 
 ings of common humanity have a greater claim on 
 its consideration than the prerogatives of kings. 
 How shall I and my brother man live more happily, 
 more wisely, more truly, is the heart whisper of 
 millions to-day who never saw the 'peerage' and 
 have no ideas of precedence. To this end all ear 
 nest men and women are devoting the energies of 
 life. And yet you would persuade me that this is
 
 FACE TO FACE. 73 
 
 but a phase soon to be, if not already, lulled to sleep 
 by the twin narcotics, luxury and conservatism." 
 
 She paused, and for some moments neither spoke, 
 then Clay responded, "You don't know how hand 
 some you looked when you said that. Humph ! If 
 there were more American girls who thought as 
 you do, there is no telling what might happen." 
 
 "Ah, but you do not know them, you don't un 
 derstand them," said Evelyn. 
 
 He gazed in genuine admiration at her. Posi 
 tively, her enthusiasm was infectious. " Perhaps I 
 don't," he said, quietly. 
 
 The luncheon bell put an end to their conversa 
 tion, and in the afternoon Evelyn did not appear 
 on deck. Nor was she in her seat when the dinner 
 hour arrived, as Clay was quick to ascertain upon 
 entering the saloon. Now that the ice was broken, 
 he felt lonely for lack of her society, and he had 
 more keenly than ever realized, while pacing the 
 deck in anticipation of her return, what an uninter 
 esting set were the rest of his fellow voyagers. But 
 his eyes were not gladdened with a glimpse of her 
 even when the day had faded into evening and the 
 stars shone bright above the strong north wind, which 
 sweeping every cloud from the sky, was already a 
 gale. Clay drew up his ulster about his ears and 
 restlessly promenaded the deck for hours, varying 
 the monotony of his vigil with a pipe, every now 
 and then, under the lee of the smoke-stack. There 
 was something in the night that harmonized with 
 his own mood, and as the reeling masts described
 
 74 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 wider and wider courses with the increased tension 
 of each succeeding pitch of the huge vessel, he fol 
 lowed them with the straining eyes of one whose 
 soul frets in its prison house. Soon he was left 
 quite alone. The shrouds creaked and groaned. 
 Brighter shone the stars, and a late moon set its 
 waning imprint on the heavens. Big waves slapped 
 the bow or scattered above it in salt spray. At 
 last, as the bells struck midnight and the voice of 
 the watch answered that all was well, Clay sighed 
 once or twice, and knocking the ashes out of his 
 pipe, went below. 
 
 Far otherwise was it with Evelyn. The idea of 
 being a poor sailor had never occurred to her, which 
 made her misery all the greater as she began to real 
 ize, soon after lunch, that the motion of the ship 
 was making her feel very queer. By dinner time 
 she was completely wretched, and during the next 
 three or four days she could not lift her head from 
 her pillow without discomfort. Gale succeeded gale, 
 and though the stewardess assured her that there 
 was not the slightest danger, she felt sorry to hear 
 it. The prospect of going to the bottom seemed 
 blissful compared with that of further suffering. 
 
 Thought wearied her, and the voyage was nearly 
 at an end before she took sufficient interest in exist 
 ence to recall the episode of the first day out. But 
 one morning, as she lay in her berth a little less 
 wretched than hitherto, it all came back to her, and 
 she began wondering how Clay was getting on. 
 What he had said regarding the United States was
 
 FACE TO FACE. 75 
 
 Distinct in her mind, but so certain did she feel as to 
 the accuracy of her own conception, that she was 
 unwilling to countenance his statements for a mo 
 ment. Still, he had evidently been in the country, 
 and he seemed to have travelled widely. As she 
 thought their conversation over, she *vas conscious 
 of surprise that one of her countrymen should have 
 unbent himself sufficiently to take her to task for 
 her shortcomings. The idea amused her. It had 
 been a completely unexpected form of attack. She 
 had looked forward to a very up-hill dialogue, if in 
 deed her victim would condescend to talk at all. 
 But his fluency and audacity had disconcerted her 
 at first and then excited her interest. What a joke 
 it was to be really mistaken for an American girl ! 
 For there was no doubt that he believed she was 
 born in Kansas. She wondered that she had not 
 betrayed herself when, under the influence of her 
 excitement, she had forgotten during the latter por 
 tion of their interview to use typical expressions. But 
 she was confident that he had never suspected her. 
 
 As so often happens to all of us when we are 
 thinking of a person, she suddenly heard Clay's voice 
 in the passage outside. He was giving directions 
 to one of the stewards to have his breakfast ready 
 in half an hour. He was evidently on the way to 
 his bath. Her own stewardess happened to be pass 
 ing at the moment with some tea and toast, and 
 Evelyn heard her bid Clay an obsequious good 
 morning. 
 
 " It requires old mariners like you and me, Mrs.
 
 76 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 Johnson, to be able to keep our sea-legs this trip," 
 he said, as the ship gave a lurch which caused all 
 the crockery on board to rattle. 
 
 " Indeed it does, Mr. Clay, sir," she paused to an 
 swer. 
 
 A few minutes later Evelyn, feeling peaceful after 
 some hot tea, and rather inclined toward conversa 
 tion, said abruptly to Mrs. Johnson, who had re 
 mained to tidy the stateroom a little. 
 
 " Who was that y.ou were speaking to just now, 
 who was boasting about his sea-legs ? " 
 
 "That was Mr. Clay, miss. He's an American 
 gentleman who crosses every summer with us. He 
 says he wouldn't go by any other ship." 
 
 Feeble as she was, Evelyn sat bolt upright in bed. 
 " An American gentleman ? " 
 
 " Yes, miss, and the most perfect gentleman I 
 ever see. It's my husband who waits on him, and 
 from most passengers he gets ten shillings, but Mr. 
 Clay always makes it a sovereign." 
 
 " But you're sure he's an American ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes. He lives in New York, and I've heard 
 say he is very wealthy. Perhaps, now, you're an 
 American yourself, miss, if I'm not too bold ? " 
 
 " Yes that is no. I'm going there for a visit. My 
 home is in England." 
 
 "Thank you, miss. I couldn't quite make out, 
 seeing that you were travelling alone ; but I said to 
 myself, 'she's English spoken or I'm very much mis 
 taken.' Some of them American ladies think noth 
 ing of going about all by themselves, but though
 
 FACE TO FACE. 77 
 
 they do mostly talk through their noses, miss, 
 they're liberal with their money, and don't give 
 much trouble, whatever folks say about their strange 
 doings on deck, which ain't for the like of me to give 
 an opinion on, seeing that it's much as ever if I get 
 a chance to breathe the iresh air from one end of a 
 voyage to another. But I ain't complaining, miss. 
 Is there anything more I can do to make you com 
 fortable before I go ? " 
 
 " Nothing, thank you," said Evelyn. She had fallen 
 back on her pillow, bewildered and aghast at what 
 her garrulous attendant had told her. So there had 
 been deceit on both sides ! He had been cajoling 
 her as well as she him. He was an American, 
 after all. But to think of his having depreciated 
 his own country ! She felt sure that no English 
 man, however stiff and narrow-minded, could have 
 been capable of such a thing. There could be no 
 question that it was he to whom the stewardess re 
 ferred, for Mrs. Johnson had mentioned his name, and 
 she herself was sure of the voice. Could it be, then, 
 that the pictures he had drawn were true? If he 
 was a sample of the men of the new world, surely 
 her imagination had led her very far astray. Eng 
 lish clothes, too ! He had admitted it to her, she re 
 membered, and indeed his whole appearance, now 
 that she knew the truth, betrayed the desire to 
 mimic the dress and manners of London. What a 
 senseless, contemptibly ambition ! She felt as if she 
 could fairly cry. If this was the style in which her 
 long-cherished dreams were to be realized, would
 
 78 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 that she had stayed at home ! No, no, it was not 
 possible. This unpatriotic youth must be some 
 anomaly, some monstrosity whom she had come 
 across by chance. This seemed to her really more 
 likely than that the young men of what she had 
 fondly believed to be the greatest country on earth 
 should be anxious to conceal their nationality. 
 
 As she debated with herself the various aspects 
 of the question, she tried to find consolation in this 
 theory, but she burned with impatience to set foot 
 on shore and discover the real truth. Resolved as 
 she was, however, not to harbor a doubt to imperil 
 her confidence in her preconceived ideas, the remain 
 ing days of the voyage were tedious and irritating. 
 The sea continued rough and her wretched physical 
 sensations were rampant. In fact, it was not until 
 land was in sight that she was able to leave her berth. 
 
 The thought passed through her mind, as she was 
 dressing to go on shore, that it might be more pru 
 dent, in consideration of Mr. Clay's remarks, to 
 wear some other costume in which to appear for the 
 first time before her relatives ; but she dismissed it 
 with wrath. She said to herself that she would not 
 let the innuendoes of that foppish apostate, who was 
 willing to be mistaken for a lord, influence her in 
 the slightest degree. What a pity, though, he wa< 
 such a goose, for he had amused her before sha 
 knew of his affectations, and she had been disposed 
 to think him clever. Now she felt as if she never 
 wished to set eyes on him again. 
 
 Meanwhile the subject of these unflattering senti-
 
 FACE TO FACE. 7f 
 
 ments had found the remainder of the voyage dull 
 and uneventful. But although he was still con 
 scious of having recently passed through an unusual 
 experience, he had ceased to concern himself about 
 it. Such is the force of time and habit to reduce 
 to an everyday level an exalted state of mind when 
 the animating cause is no longer present. Little by 
 little, the somewhat earnest and speculative expres 
 sion that his face had worn for twenty-four hours after 
 Evelyn's disappearance, faded away and the previ 
 ous air of haughty reserve settled upon his features, 
 even as a mountain peak looks rosy and winning 
 while the light of the sun which has just sunk belovr 
 the horizon continues to rest upon it, and then grows 
 cold and distant. He still walked the deck, how 
 ever, far into the night, and he made no new ac 
 quaintances. 
 
 Although Evelyn, with some premeditation, re- 
 emerged from her stateroom several hours before 
 the time when they were expected to arrive, she 
 saw no trace of her former adversary either in the 
 saloon or up-stairs. As is the wont just previous to 
 the close of a voyage, almost all the passengers were 
 on deck, dressed with a view to being on shore 
 again, and were counting the minutes still to elapse 
 before they could hope to land. A change of garb 
 had on the whole rather improved the appearance 
 of the passengers, and as Evelyn glanced around 
 her, she could not help feeling sorry that she had not 
 been able to form the acquaintance of some of them. 
 She was sure that there must be many Americans
 
 8O FACE TO FACE. 
 
 among the number who would have confirmed her 
 own impressions regarding their native country, in 
 stead of harassing her with disagreeable doubts as to 
 whether the boasted superiority of democratic in 
 stitutions might not after all be a delusion. But it 
 was too late for anything of the sort now. Every 
 one was self-absorbed. Indeed, a constant witness 
 of the intercourse during the voyage of those on 
 board would have been struck by the suddenness 
 with which the most ardent intimacies had cooled 
 at sight of land. The seemingly bosom friends of 
 yesterday had become almost strangers again. 
 
 Little by little the coast took definite shape, and 
 before long Evelyn found herself gliding past large 
 settlements and protecting fortresses, and all man 
 ner of crafts. So swiftly were these left behind that 
 she felt dazed and preferred to make no effort to 
 adjust them to her theory, knowing that she must 
 soon learn the truth. She heard some one say that 
 the murky cloud still far away was New York, and 
 with feverish impatience she watched it give place 
 to a vast metropolis stretching beyond the sight, 
 while on her right hand rose the heights of another 
 city which the passengers near her spoke of as 
 Brooklyn. The spectacle was picturesque and ab 
 sorbing at least, and she reflected that, whatever 
 surprises might be in store for her, great progress 
 had been made, either for good or for evil, in this 
 new land of liberty. The huge warehouses, the army 
 of masts in the docks, the river bustling with tugs 
 and harbor steamers all shrieking at the same mo-
 
 FACE TO FACE. 8 1 
 
 ment, and the tops of imposing buildings towering 
 abore the common roofs, stirred her senses and ex 
 cited her. How slowly the vessel was moving now ! 
 Were they never to land ? 
 
 So absorbed was she in her surroundings outside 
 the ship, she had quite forgotten for the r'uie Mr. 
 Clay's existence, when, happening to glance to one 
 side, she became aware that he was standing some 
 fifty yards off with his profile turned in her direc 
 tion. He wore a tall hat, carried a silk-lined over 
 coat across his arm, and had in one hand a neatly- 
 itrapped bundle of umbrellas and canes, the heads 
 of which were of various quaint designs. He was 
 speaking to nobody, and seemed to take little inter 
 est in the outlook, shifting every now and then his 
 weight from one foot to the other as though it were 
 all a rery old story. While Evelyn was still looking 
 at him he altered his pose slightly, and their eyes 
 met She felt the blood mounting to her cheeks, 
 for though he bent his gaze on her for a moment, 
 he showed no sign of recognition. His stare was as 
 frostily scrutinizing as on the day when he had seen 
 her first. Her own expression, which had been con 
 ciliatory, perhaps, in spite of what she knew regard 
 ing him, might have betrayed her annoyance had he 
 not looked away almost immediately. She gave a 
 gulp and swallowed her resentment, but she was 
 conscious instinctively of being a little humiliated^ 
 for she understood that he was afraid of continuing 
 his acquaintance with her on shore. It was evident 
 he considered her as compromising.
 
 82 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 She felt angry at her weakness. Why should she 
 care what he thought of her, or concern herself 
 about the effect of her costume because he had seen 
 fit to criticise it ? Had she not independence 
 enough to be indifferent to the opinions of a man 
 who was evidently hostile to the very ideas and 
 principles she was eager to espouse ? And yet she 
 hated to believe that he was an American. Could 
 it really be true ? 
 
 It was late in the afternoon before the steamef 
 reached the pier. After some little suspense Eve 
 lyn caught a glimpse of her cousin among the 
 crowd, and fifteen minutes later she was being rat 
 tled over the city pavements. She had lost sight of 
 her disagreeable censor in the general commotioo 
 of landing.
 
 V. 
 
 ILLOUGHBY PIMLICO explained forthwith 
 VV to his cousin, that his town house was closed, 
 and that they were about to take the Fall River 
 boat to Newport, where he and his wife were pass 
 ing the summer. They had only to drive a short 
 distance. But the street was so crowded with bust 
 ling teams that there was only a minute to spare 
 when they reached the other steamer. He asked 
 Evelyn a few questions about her family, and then 
 began to point out to her the objects of interest in 
 the city, along the water front of which their course 
 lay until nearly dark. He told her the names of the 
 buildings, whose proportions had struck her eye 
 earlier in the day, distinguished the spires of the 
 churches and the groups of charitable institutions 
 past which they presently sailed, and described to 
 her the whereabouts and character of the various 
 popular resorts in the neighborhood, indicated by 
 the variety of densely packed harbor steamers and 
 barges on the river. He repeated to her statistics 
 of population, and dwelt on the number of emi 
 grants that were weekly arriving. After this he 
 tooK out an evening paper and began to read. 
 
 Evelyn had asked few questions. She had been
 
 84 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 content to listen. She was resolved to take things 
 as they were and suspend her judgment for the 
 present. But, different as her first impressions were 
 from what she had anticipated, she found that some 
 how this practical side of life appealed to her in a 
 way it had never done before, and seemed to blend 
 itself satisfactorily with her theories and visions. 
 The energy and enterprise observable in every di 
 rection, which were reflected in the faces of the peo 
 ple about her, stirred her as never elsewhere. She 
 could perceive that she had taken too little into 
 account in her preconceptions of the material aspect 
 of affairs, but she felt that there was nothing really 
 inconsistent with her imaginings in the restless 
 civilization of which she was now a witness. In 
 deed, her faith was reassured, and she was happier 
 than she had been since leaving England. 
 
 The coast grew dim again, and the twilight closed 
 in about them, and Willoughby Pimlico laid aside 
 his paper at the sound of a gong, which he informed 
 his charge was the signal for dinner. She was so 
 comfortable where she was, and the soft, half moist 
 atmosphere was so restful, that she would have pre 
 ferred not to eat ; but she gathered from the look 
 of her cousin's eye that he was hungry. Conse 
 quently she satisfied, instead, her curiosity regard 
 ing a point which had occurred to her as she sat 
 gazing over the calm surface, so different from the 
 cean as she had lately experienced it. 
 
 " Shall we see the prairies to-night ? " she inquired. 
 
 Willeughby laughed loud and long. " Why, my
 
 FACE TO FACE. 8 5 
 
 dear child, the nearest prairie is more than a thou 
 sand miles from here. Did you think I was a back 
 woodsman or the proprietor of a cattle ranch ?" 
 
 He seemed to think it an excellent joke, and 
 rallied her on it through dinner. He ordered a bot 
 tle of champagne, just as Mr. Brock had done, and 
 gave Evelyn a thrilling account of his experiences 
 with grizzly bears and other big game in the Far 
 West just after he first came to America. He went 
 on to tell her that he had established a farm about 
 twenty miles from New York, where he bred horses 
 and fox terriers, and that he had personally driven 
 a coach, " for the fun of the thing," to and from one 
 of the favorite suburbs during several seasons. 
 
 "And so Margaret is to be married? "he said, 
 after a pause, when he had come to the end of his 
 sporting record. " It is your turn next. We must 
 try and find some young fellow rich and charming 
 enough to induce you to remain here indefinitely. 
 Your cousin Clara is very impatient to see you. 
 She has an idea that you may find Newport dull, 
 and is planning all sorts of gaiety on your account, 
 ;ib though there wasn't enough as it is." 
 
 Evelyn felt her heart sink within her at this in 
 formation. One of her reasons for leaving home 
 was that she might avoid the frivolities of a London 
 season, and apparently she had not bettered her 
 condition. Still it was rather a relief to know that 
 she had the necessary dresses with her. Only at 
 the last moment her mother had insisted on her 
 bringing party gowns, observing that the chances
 
 86 FACji TO FACE. 
 
 were twenty to one she would never use them, but 
 it was more prudent to be on the safe side. 
 
 She went to her stateroom after dinner, at her 
 cousin's suggestion, and did not awake until their 
 arrival at Newport. It was a glorious night, and 
 the full moon made the harnesses of the handsome 
 equipage waiting for them at the wharf shine gor 
 geously. At first they ascended the steep, crooked 
 and narrow street of what seemed to her a fishing- 
 Tillage. Then the road became wider and straighter, 
 and she caught a glimpse in passing of one or two 
 hotels and of tasteful villas, many of the latter set 
 back from the street and peeping out from behind 
 the seclusion of foliage. The air was soft, and the 
 smell of the sea-breeze laden with the perfume of 
 flowers and shrubs came in at the carriage window. 
 
 At last the horses turned sharply, and after a short 
 course over a gravel driveway, stopped before the 
 door of a large, newly-built cottage, from which a 
 smooth, broad lawn ran down to high cliffs above 
 the ocean. 
 
 "Welcome to Littlecourt, Evelyn," said Wil- 
 loughby ; "and this is your cousin Clara," he con 
 tinued, as a tall, graceful woman in full ball dress 
 came out into the hall to meet them. 
 
 " I am so glad you have come," said Mrs. Pimlico 
 as she kissed her relative with cordiality. " Wasn't 
 it fortunate you were in time for the boat," she 
 added, turning to her husband ; " for otherwise 
 Evelyn would have missed the Deckers' ?" 
 
 They went immediately to the dining-room, where
 
 FACE TO FACE. 87 
 
 a choice hot supper was served under French des 
 ignations. 
 
 " I had hoped to have some Blue Points for you, 
 knowing that they would be a treat," said Mrs. 
 Willoughby, " but they are wholesome only during 
 the months which contain an r. And how are all 
 your sisters ? " 
 
 " Very well, cousin Clara. They sent you their 
 loves." 
 
 "You must return mine when you write. The 
 lady at whose house I have been this evening, Mrs. 
 Clay, who has lived very much abroad since her 
 husband's death a charming entertainment, by the 
 way, and one that I am sorry to have had you miss 
 tells me that she saw your sister, the Countess of 
 Harleth, at a drawing-room last year. You look 
 like the photograph I have of her. It must be de 
 lightful to attend the court balls. I am wild to 
 have Willoughby take me over and present me. 
 You have been presented, of course ? " 
 
 "No," said Evelyn. " I never have. I have only 
 just graduated from Girton." 
 
 "Oh," she said, a little doubtfully. 
 
 "That is a female college, dear, something like 
 our Vassar," said Willoughby, who had a sense of 
 humor. 
 
 "Really?" For an instant an alarmed expres 
 sion came over Mrs. Pimlico's face, and she stole 
 another glance at her guest, whose hat and ulster 
 had struck her eye at once. But it had never oc 
 curred to her to doubt their conformity to the
 
 88 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 reigning fashion of St. James's. Indeed, she had 
 made a mental resolve to send by the next mail for 
 their counterparts. But now a dreadful suspicion 
 haunted her. Yet only for a moment 5he had 
 such implicit faith in the Pimlicos as a race, that 
 she would have said it were easier for her to doubt 
 the authenticity of the Tower of London, than to 
 call in question the strict conventionality of any of 
 them. 
 
 " Is Vassar near here?" asked Evelyn. She had 
 come across it often in her reading, and heard it 
 spoken of at her own college. 
 
 " Only a few hundred miles off," laughed her 
 cousin Willoughby. "If you believe it, my dear, 
 Evelyn thought we lived on the prairies, and ex 
 pected to sup on real buffalo steak before she went 
 to bed." 
 
 " We are not quite so bad as that," said his wife, 
 with a deprecatory smile, " though I fear, Evelyn, 
 you will find things here different from what you 
 are accustomed to. We are still, of course, very 
 unformed and rough, and people are only just be 
 ginning to have an idea of what I call social per 
 spective. But I hope we may be able to make the 
 time pass pleasantly for you. There is really a 
 good deal going on just now. The Deckers' grand 
 ball to-morrow ought to be worth seeing, I think. 
 Then there is the Plimsoll reception on Wednesday, 
 the Arundel Murray dinner on Thursday, and Mrs 
 J. Astley Coale's musical party the same evening. 
 Mrs. Clay the lady who has seen your sister was
 
 FACE TO FACE. 89 
 
 kind enough to say she intends to issue invitations 
 to meet you at dinner on Friday of next week, and 
 really, Willoughby, her rooms are exquisite. That 
 new architect from Boston has certainly shown 
 great taste. I understand she gave him carte blanche. 
 By the way, Mrs. Clay expects Ernest home within 
 the next fortnight She thinks he may be here in 
 time for the dinner, but she made him promise not 
 to cable when he was to sail. Telegrams, you know, 
 always upset her. Poor thing, she has never quite 
 got over the shock of her husband's death. The 
 son is a charming fellow who's just returning from 
 a journey round the world," she added, turning to 
 Evelyn. 
 
 "If you find these ordinary amusements dull, 
 we'll do our best to get up a bison hunt or introduce 
 a few cow-boys for your benefit," said Mr. Pimlico. 
 
 "Don't be absurd, Willoughby. You mustn't 
 mind him, Evelyn. He's a great tease. But there 
 is always polo, you know, if you like sports, though 
 I dare say you have seen it much better played in 
 England ; and Pussy Bryson has promised to come 
 and take you to her tennis club to-morrow morning, 
 and introduce you to some of the girls. Then next 
 week we are promised a treat, for Mr. Bouton, the 
 master of the hounds, has obtained several real 
 foxes and he's certain they will be sufficiently wild 
 to hunt by that time. I fancy you will leave us ali 
 behind ; but Mr. Bouton, who has followed the 
 Belvoir pack in the old country, says that Marian 
 Bydoon and Isabel Slatterly would give the best
 
 9O FACE TO FACE. 
 
 horsewoman in Europe all she could do to keep up 
 with them. I dare say he exaggerates a little, but 
 they really do ride extremely well. Of course, you 
 brought your habit ? " 
 
 " I didn't, cousin Clara. I have never hunted at 
 home." 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby gave another stare. " How odd ! 
 I thought everybody hunted in England." 
 
 "Gwendolen and Emily went in for it a little be 
 fore they were married, but the rest of us never 
 have. We used to ride sometimes in Hyde Park, 
 though." 
 
 " Well, I'm sorry. But very likely you will take 
 to it. Willoughby has a nice, quiet hack that you 
 can practise on at first, and I dare say we can 
 manage about the habit." 
 
 "Do any of the girls row here ?" asked Evelyn. 
 " You know our house is directly on the Thames, 
 and I am constantly in my wherry." 
 
 " A wherry ? Do you mean one of those long, 
 thin things which look as if they would tip over if 
 you stirred your little finger ? I never heard of any 
 but men rowing in them did you, Willoughby ? 
 Occasionally one sees girls on tricycles, but no one 
 whom one knows. I like to go bluefishing about 
 once a summer, if somebody stays by me all the 
 time to pull in the fish after they are hooked." 
 
 " I think, Clara, that as Evelyn has had such a 
 long day of it, the sooner we send her off to bed the 
 better," said Mr. Pimlico. " Bless me, it's half-past 
 three."
 
 FACE TO FACE. 9 1 
 
 "Well, my dear, if you want anything, you must 
 ask for it," said Mrs. Willoughby. " To-morrow, as 
 I told you, Miss Bryson is coming, about half-past 
 ten, to take you to the tennis. After lunch we will go 
 to one of Mr. Warne's readings on the minor poets, 
 at Miss Flagg's. She has a lovely cottage. In the 
 evening there is the Deckers'. I should like to ar 
 range for you to be at home for an hour or two, as 
 a good many of the girls will be sure to call. How 
 ever, we can talk that over in the morning. Pleas 
 ant dreams." 
 
 " And if you hear any strange noises in the 
 night," cried the master of the house after her, " you 
 needn't feel frightened, for the Indians about here 
 arc all friendly." 
 
 " Thank you kindly, cousin Willoughby, I shall 
 bear it in mind," Evelyn answered. 
 v It passed through her thoughts, as she went up 
 stairs, that he was probably little aware of how closely 
 his banter hit the truth. She had not expected bison 
 hunts or wild Indians, indeed, but would they not 
 have been nearer to her anticipations than the real 
 ity ? She glanced around her bedroom. It was far 
 more sumptuous than the one she was accustomed 
 to at home. A vase of exquisite roses stood on her 
 dressing-table, and by them lay a pile of notes ad 
 dressed to her. She opened the upper one and read 
 that Mr. and Mrs. Arundel Murray requested the 
 pleasure of Miss Pimlico's company at dinner on 
 Thursday next. At the top of the paper was an 
 elaborate monogram in lavender and old gold, and
 
 92 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 she perceived a faint scent of violets. The rest were 
 to a similar effect, including balls, receptions, lunch 
 parties, and a coaching picnic. 
 
 She tossed them aside and began to make her pre 
 parations for the night. She wondered if she could 
 be dreaming, and whether this were really America. 
 How attractive her cousin Clara was ! So easy and 
 cordial and natural, but how wrapped up apparently 
 in social gaiety ! She was going to have an opportu 
 nity, it was very evident, of experiencing what society 
 was like in spite of herself. For, so far as she could 
 see, there was very little difference in the style of 
 living between the customs of home and those she 
 was about to find here ; and while she was to a cer 
 tain extent free to choose her occupations so long as 
 she was under her father's roof, there could be no 
 escape from graciously accepting the courtesies of 
 her cousins' friends. It was too early yet, perhaps, 
 to complain. Had she not made a resolution to sus 
 pend her judgment ? Nevertheless, she could not 
 help feeling disappointed. 
 
 As she extinguished the light, the moon came 
 pouring into the room. She went to the lattice and 
 looked out. There was not a cloud in the sky. A 
 perfect stillness reigned, save for the regular swash 
 of the tide against the rocks below. Her chamber 
 was in the back of the house and commanded a su 
 perb view of the ocean, which lay lapped in a calm 
 glory, seeming to be a brighter continuation of the 
 cropped, spacious lawn. To right and left there were 
 other cottages of elaborate architecture, in the midst
 
 FACE TO FACE. 93 
 
 of equally well cared for grounds, telling of fastidi 
 ous and exclusive ownership. Beds of flowers in 
 fantastic patterns, which appeared ashen under the 
 moonlight, were the favorite form of embellishmenL 
 There were occasional terraces, and at the foot of the 
 premises ran a continuous narrow path along the 
 cliffs. 
 
 Resting her arms on the window-sill, Evelyn sat 
 musing. It was all so beautiful, and yet she wished 
 it had been different, though she did not know :n 
 what respect. Surely she need not be dissatisfied at 
 finding a paradise instead of a wilderness There 
 was the same moon, and the same sea, and the 
 same finish of lawn and hedgerow as she had been 
 used to gaze upon at home. She asked herself if 
 the hearts and passions of men were likewise every 
 where the same. The thought came to her, that 
 perhaps she had expected too much, and had let her 
 imagination run away with her reason. Could she 
 be right, and two continents wrong ? She remem 
 bered how the roar of traffic had thrilled her, but a 
 few hours ago, as it had never done before. Yet, 
 was it unlike that to which she had listened all her 
 life ? Might she not, in like manner, sympathize 
 with human splendor and repose ? Why was it that 
 she wished to make herself different from the rest of 
 the world ? 
 
 But, on the other hand, progress was no vain word. 
 It could not be that this new world, with its vast ex 
 panse of territory and its millions of souls, was 
 merely a repetition of the old. Fancy had misled
 
 94 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 her perhaps, but should she therefore renounce het 
 faith ? She would be true to herself, and yet try to 
 accept life as it was, if, indeed, it were nowhere what 
 she had imagined it *:o be. At least there must be 
 some difference, unless the watchword freedom were 
 an empty sound. 
 
 Presently, as she thought further, she almost 
 laughed aloud. The coincidence of Mr. Clay's re 
 appearance on the scene had filled her with amuse 
 ment. For everything pointed to his being identi 
 cal with the son of the lady her cousin Clara had 
 spoken of. The prospect of taking him by surprise, 
 and opening his eye? to the egregiousness of his 
 blunder, made her feel some regret that she was so 
 scantily provided for in the way of dresses. Her 
 woman's eye, indifferent as she professed to be to 
 the vanities of the wardrobe, had taken note of the 
 elegance of Mrs. Willoughby's attire, and the con 
 sciousness that her own was commonplace in com 
 parison rather oppressed her. She would have 
 liked, since it was probable that the laws of soci 
 ety were to be the same as at home, to be able 
 to dazzle Mr. Clay with the brilliancy of her toilet, 
 and the rigorous propriety of her conduct, by way 
 of contrast to her former interview with him. So 
 strongly did this desire engross her thoughts, that 
 she fell asleep while endeavoring to plan how the 
 least objectionable of her dresses could be made to 
 look bewitching. The chance of causing Mr. Clay 
 to repent of his superciliousness had' already led her 
 to regard the balls and dinner parties which she
 
 FACE TO FACE. 95 
 
 would be obliged to attend as not altogether un 
 mitigated evils, especially since she had derived the 
 impression that there was a disposition to make a 
 good deal of her, on account of her nationality. 
 
 Meanwhile, her host and hostess had not unnatur 
 ally been exchanging opinions regarding their guest. 
 
 " Well, Willoughby, what do you think of her ? " 
 asked Mrs. Pimlico. She was brushing out her hair 
 as she spoke, and had been gazing intently in the 
 glass, as though in abstruse thought, before speaking. 
 
 "She seems a good-natured, unaffected sort of 
 girl, very much like her sisters," answered her hus 
 band. " She's handsomer than any of them, unless 
 possibly Gladys. She ought to make a sensation, 
 decidedly." 
 
 " She's lovely, of course," said Mrs. Pimlico. " I 
 don't think she was very much pleased at your 
 plaguing her about the prairies and all that." 
 
 " Pooh, dear ! She isn't so thin-skinned, you may 
 take my word for it." 
 
 "Willoughby?" 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 " You're sure she'll do, aren't you ? " 
 
 "Do?" 
 
 " Oh, you know what I mean. There's no doubt 
 that she'll be admired on account of her looks, but 
 looks are not everything, after all. I do hope she 
 isn't queer." 
 
 " Queer ? Nonsense ! Why should she be queer ? " 
 he asked. 
 
 " I say I hope she isn't."
 
 g6 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 " What are you driving at, Clara ? " 
 
 ;w Well, for one thing, I think it was strange her 
 going to that college." 
 
 "Girton?" 
 
 " That's what you called it, I believe," said Mrs. 
 Pimlico. " No girl one knows ever goes to college 
 here." 
 
 " I was rather surprised when she told me, I admit. 
 She is perfectly quiet and ladylike, however." 
 
 " She seems so. Did you happen to notice her 
 coat and hat ? " 
 
 "1 can't say I did," he answered. 
 
 " Then it was because you're a man, for anyone 
 else would have seen that they were intensely dif 
 ferent from anything any of us wear here. Now, I 
 dare say you'll laugh at me, but I would give a good 
 deal to know if they're really the new style in Lon 
 don or not. If they are, of course I want to order 
 some just like them as soon as possible ; but do you 
 know, Willoughby, the idea struck me while I was 
 looking at Evelyn at supper and I regret to say the 
 more I have thought it over, the more it has grown 
 on me that they're some dreadful invention of the 
 evil one. We women have a sort of instinct in these 
 matters, and I feel it in my bones, that this is so." 
 
 " Come now, Clara, that isn't quite fair on the 
 poor girl. Her mother would be likely to see that 
 she was suitably clad, at any rate." 
 
 " She didn't bring any riding habit," said his wife. 
 " Mrs. Clay will know at once if they're real or not," 
 she added, as though to herself. " The wisest course
 
 FACE 7'O FACE. 97 
 
 will be to see that she doesn't wear them, and so 
 avoid all risk." 
 
 " It's merely that English women don't under 
 stand the art of dressing themselves as well as you 
 Americans," he said. 
 
 "It isn't that, Willoughby. We expect that and 
 take it into account. Besides, it isn't entirely true 
 any longer, for women in London who care how 
 they look get their things in Paris now. No, that 
 hat and coat are either intensely fashionable or in 
 tensely vulgar, and I can't quite decide which." 
 
 " It's a small matter, it seems to me, to make such 
 a fuss about." 
 
 " Not if her other clothes are all in the same 
 style. I dare say you're entirely right about it, 
 dear. It's my anxiety that she should be a complete 
 success makes me nervous. Of course she is certain 
 to be, but if by any chance she should happen to be 
 eccentric, it would be very mortifying. One can 
 never be sure about things. I don't suppose the 
 idea would have entered my head if it hadn't been 
 for that dreadful account we heard yesterday in re 
 gard to the Honorable Clayton Beresford. Only 
 think of his turning out an impostor after all the 
 attention he received. Last summer he stayed six 
 weeks, if you remember, at the Arundel Murrays, 
 and nothing was thought too good for him. He had 
 letters Mrs. Clay told me she had read them from 
 some of the nicest people in England." 
 
 " That's a good one, Clara. You think she's an 
 impostor do you ? "
 
 9* FACE TO FACE. 
 
 " Don't be silly, Willoughby. You know I think 
 nothing of the sort. I don't believe there's anyone 
 who is prouder of your family, as a family, than I 
 am. But when English people are so much in de 
 mand, one naturally likes to feel that one's particu 
 lar attraction is the best ; and as in every large 
 household, like your cousin Mortimer's, there is al 
 most certain to be some one child who is not quite 
 so presentable as the others, I want to feel sure that 
 they haven't sent Evelyn over here to get rid of her. 
 For, although I know that the Prince of Wales is 
 fond of being very civil to American girls when he 
 takes a fancy to them, there is no doubt, Willoughby, 
 that most English. people still regard us as little bet 
 ter than barbarians. I shouldn't be in the least sur 
 prised if Evelyn really had an idea that we were all 
 cow-boys, and lived on buffalo and Boston baked 
 beans. Only think how ignorant you were when 
 you came over here." 
 
 "You are giving yourself a great deal of unneces 
 sary concern, my dear, you may rest assured," said 
 her husband. 
 
 " I've no doubt I am. But I'm disappointed she 
 doesn't hunt. I told Isabel Slatterly only to-night 
 that she was going to have a formidable competitor. 
 How odd, too, about her rowing ! " 
 
 " It has done her good, at any rate. She has a 
 superb physique. But I'm sleepy." 
 
 " Well, good-night. You ought to hear Mrs. 
 Clay talk about Ernest. She's just crazy to have 
 him married. I hope he'll get here in time for
 
 FACE TO I'ACE. 99 
 
 our dinner next week. I want him to sit by Eve 
 lyn." 
 
 For a few moments there was silence, and then 
 Mrs. Pirnlico said : " Did Evelyn say how she liked 
 Mr. Brock ? " 
 
 " Mr. Brock wasn't there." 
 
 " Wasn't there ? " 
 
 " On board, of course. Do let me go to sleep." 
 
 " Not on board ! Do you realize what you are 
 saying, Willoughby ? " 
 
 " What is the matter, Clara ? I asked her where 
 Mr. Brock was, and she said he had been detained 
 by business at the last moment. That's all I know 
 about it." 
 
 " Under whose charge was she, then ? " asked his 
 wife. 
 
 " I can't tell you. I did not see anyone with her." 
 
 "And she came without him ? " 
 
 " Isn't she here ? " 
 
 Mrs. Pimlico gave a gasp and sat up in bed. " Do 
 you mean to say that Evelyn had no chaperon ? 
 What a perfectly dreadful thing ! Who else were 
 on board ? " 
 
 " I didn't get there until most of the passengers 
 had gone." 
 
 " Tsch ! It will be all over town to-morrow." 
 
 " I don't see the use in becoming so excited, 
 Clara, and keeping everybody awake. I suppose it 
 would have been more prudent if she had waited 
 until she could get an escort, but the danger's over 
 now. She's safe in the house."
 
 IOO PACE TO FACE. 
 
 "Oh, you don't understand, Willoughby. She 
 might as well go home to-morrow, if anyone we 
 know was on board." 
 
 " What sheer nonsense ! " 
 
 Mrs. Pimlico made no reply, but for an hour after 
 she twisted and turned from side to side. At the 
 end of which time she murmured under her breath, 
 " I'm sure of it now. That hat and coat are ordi 
 nary as can be."
 
 VI. 
 
 WHEN Evelyn awoke the next morning she felt 
 decidedly that it would be wiser to discon 
 tinue her impersonation of an American girl, at 
 least for the time being, so far as her attire was 
 concerned. She was a little annoyed with herself 
 at the care with which she picked out a suitable 
 morning gown ; not because she was disinclined to 
 look as well as possible, but from a consciousness 
 that she ought to take to heart more sorely the ap 
 parent disappointment of all her ideas relating to 
 transatlantic usages. She realized that she was 
 about to participate, with a tolerable degree of 
 cheerfulness, in a mode of life against which her 
 instincts at home had seriously rebelled, and the 
 perception of this inconsistency was nettling. Yet 
 she was so far servile as to adorn her person with 
 one of the choicest of the roses on her dressing- 
 table before going down to breakfast. 
 
 As she entered the room, Evelyn perceived, by 
 the expression of Mrs. Willoughby's face, that her 
 cousin Clara was not otherwise than content with 
 her appearance. It was easy to ask herself why 
 she should care ; but the fact remained that she felt 
 gratified at escaping criticism. She found her host*
 
 IO2 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 ess very gracious and charming, though of course 
 she did not realize that the occasion of Mrs. Wil- 
 loughby's even more than customary urbanity was 
 relief that her guest did not look like a guy. A 
 glance about the rooms and a peep out doors, con 
 firmed her opinion of the night before, as to the lux 
 ury and elegance of her surroundings. However, 
 as she had reasoned then, there was no alternative 
 but to make the best of the situation. Yet she kept 
 wondering why she did not feel more unhappy. 
 
 Miss Bryson was punctual and carried her away 
 in a pretty phaeton, in the rumble of which was 
 perched a groom not a whit less small and no less 
 liveried than those of the Row. Her companion 
 was a vivacious girl of about her own age, who put 
 her quite at her ease by the easy style in which she 
 conversed, and who took her back to the crooked 
 little lower town to buy some tennis shoes. The 
 principal avenue was already alive with a variety of 
 equipages, alike of the picturesque and plutocratic 
 type, the occupants of which impressed her by their 
 stylish demeanor. Miss Bryson at length drove in 
 at the gateway of one of the most extensive of the 
 many beautiful estates on either side of the way, 
 where a party of about a dozen girls were engaged 
 in playing tennis. Evelyn was familiar with the 
 game, and she did not experience much difficulty in 
 beating the most expert of them, for which they evi 
 dently had been prepared. When they were tired 
 luncheon was announced, and they sat down to an 
 elaborate collation at which all sorts of delicacies
 
 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 were served, amid a babel of feminine voices. 
 Evelyn sat at the right of her hostess and was 
 treated with marked politeness by everyone. The 
 universal cordiality and friendliness attracted her, 
 and she was much entertained by the liveliness of 
 the talk. There was a tendency to chaff certain of 
 the company in regard to what she judged to be af 
 fairs of the heart, and two or three of the girls were 
 bubbling over with marvellous bits of gossip which 
 were received with shrieks of laughter. Those who 
 sat near her displayed in their questions a knowl 
 edge of the social life of England that made her 
 blush at her own ignorance. Apart from this topic, 
 they seemed interested in talking about the differ- 
 e.nt entertainments that were to be given, in com 
 paring notes as to those which had taken place, 
 describing the dresses of girls not present, discuss 
 ing the last new novel, guessing at an engagement, 
 and wondering whether so and so's attentions to so 
 and so were serious all the while eating heartily. 
 Toward the close of the repast, four or five of the 
 choicest spirits formed a group and picked to pieces 
 the young men of their acquaintance. Scraps of 
 the dialogue reached Evelyn's ears, and among 
 other names that of Mr. Clay was mentioned, but 
 she could not distinguish what was said regarding 
 him. 
 
 Miss Bryson drove her home. There she came 
 upon a number of callers whose places were contin 
 ually supplied by others for nearly an hour. Most 
 of these were fluent talkers and very well dressed.
 
 104 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 When at last there was a momentary lull, Mrs. Will- 
 oughby forbade the fleckless servant to let in any 
 one else, and hurried Evelyn up-stairs to get ready 
 for Mr. Warne's reading. The hall table was strewn 
 with cards. Evelyn sighed at the thought of being 
 obliged to repay all these visits. How deeply she 
 was plunging into the mire ! But there was no 
 time for consideration. Besides, she felt excited 
 and amused. 
 
 A few minutes later she was being whirled again 
 along Bellevue Avenue, and after a short drive she 
 followed her guide into another exquisite parlor, 
 where a young man was reading poetry to a bevy 
 of ladies, with here and there a listener of the sterner 
 sex. The elocutionist was neither shaggy, brawny, 
 nor grandiloquent. He was rather dapper and 
 strictly conventional, and he read his selections 
 with a dainty propriety that would have befitted 
 equally well a London drawing-room, it seemed to 
 Evelyn. The selections were largely from English 
 writers. Those by native authors were trifling hu 
 morous sketches, or fiddling society verses with one 
 exception, a melodramatic bit from mining life out 
 West, of which an abandoned woman was the hero 
 ine. Many of the company were so much affected 
 by the last-mentioned piece as to require salts at the 
 close, but a facetious dialogue introducing severally 
 an Irishman, Frenchman, and German battling with 
 the English language, quickly restored the general 
 serenity. 
 
 This was the final selection, and everybody then
 
 FACE TO FACE. 10$ 
 
 tore away to join the concourse of equipages on the 
 avenue, which to the wondering eyes of Evelyn 
 fairly rivalled Hyde Park. Mrs. Willoughby told 
 her who the people were in the intervals of bowing. 
 After completing the circuit they returned home, 
 just in time for dinner, at which asparagus soup ap' 
 peared as potage (Tasperge s on the little bills of fare 
 which circulated round the table. By the time the 
 coffee was served it was necessary to dress for the 
 Deckers'. 
 
 Evelyn's state of mind was further exhilarated by 
 finding, on coming down from her chamber in ball 
 costume, two superb bouquets, one from her cousin 
 Willoughby, the other from Mrs. Clay, who had 
 called during the morning. Mrs. Clay's attention 
 seemed to her ludicrous. She wondered what the 
 son would say if he knew. Of course, the flowers 
 had been sent out of friendship to the Pimlicos, but 
 the fact remained that she the unsophisticated 
 young woman from Kansas was the recipient. The 
 incident amused her greatly. She wondered if she 
 would see Mr. Clay at the party. Had he arrived ? 
 Mrs. Willoughby had said nothing further about 
 him, so she dared not ask. She knew that she 
 ought to wish never to set eyes on him again, but 
 she asked herself whether this curiosity on his ac 
 count was any more heinous than the rest of her 
 backslidings during the past twenty-four hours. 
 
 She had dressed herself with special care, spend 
 ing fifteen minutes in making up her mind which 
 gown to wear ; and when she had arrived at a deci-
 
 106 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 sion, the process of completing her toilette had been 
 lengthy and scrupulous. Again she was rewarded 
 with the complacent smile of her chaperone, and 
 this time the satisfaction found vent in words. " You 
 look charmingly, Evelyn." And her vanity was fur 
 ther flittered by her cousin Will,oughby's kneeling 
 down before her with his hands upon his heart, in 
 mock heroic fashion, when she appeared. Decidedly 
 it was pleasant to be approved of. 
 
 The Deekers* ball was a festal scene, and seemed 
 to Evelyn like fairy land. The entertainment was 
 both within and outside the house. The ample 
 moon and balmy weather allowed marquees, and a 
 band on the lawn ; while a network of illumination 
 enlivened the piazzas. There were hundreds of 
 guests, but the rooms were so numerous and large 
 that at no time did the crush impede the dancing or 
 render circulation difficult. Evelyn found that she 
 had fallen into good hands, for Mrs. Willoughby 
 seemed one of the most popular of the many beauti 
 ful and graceful women present. Very shortly, her 
 own lot might well have been envied by those of her 
 sex who regard attention in society as indispensable 
 to happiness. To Evelyn's mind it seemed highly 
 unimportant, but nevertheless her cheeks flushed 
 vith excitement and her eyes sparkled as the youths 
 who flocked about her chair became more numerous. 
 She had become the centre of attraction from the 
 moment she entered the room, though so little aware 
 of it. The heart of Mrs. Willoughby beat high with 
 satisfaction as one after another of the most fashion-
 
 FACE TO FACE. IO/ 
 
 able and fastidious beaus of the day whirled her 
 charge over the flawless floor in the delirium of the 
 waltz, or sought to monopolize her charms amid the 
 maze of Chinese lanterns out of doors. Her dancing 
 was a little halting at first, but improved as the even 
 ing advanced, and as for other points of criticism 
 there were none to be made regarding her person, 
 manners, or dress. The latter was plain compared 
 with the elegance of attire by which she was sur 
 rounded, but, as Mrs. Willoughby reflected, she was 
 all the more distinguished looking on that account. 
 Positively, she had the air of a princess, and, what 
 was more important to her chaperone, she was an 
 assured success. Mrs. Willoughby had even begun 
 to doubt her own instincts in the matter of that hat 
 and ulster. 
 
 Although Evelyn was too dazed and translated 
 by the admiration she received to make reflections, 
 she was conscious of the absence of stiffness and 
 of the abundant vivacity which carried the enter 
 tainment along. The young men, for the most part, 
 resembled exaggerated Englishmen in their style 
 of dress and mode of speaking, but they seemed 
 to her tolerably in earnest in their desire to ob 
 tain her for a partner. She found them easy to- 
 talk to and disposed toward humor. It was evident 
 to her that, as regards a greater spontaneity between 
 young people, her preconceptions of America had 
 not been entirely mistaken. An equality, a compan 
 ionship existed here not elsewhere conceded to her 
 sex. Form and ceremony were, perhaps, striving to
 
 1O8 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 choke the growth of the principle, but it was recog 
 nizable, not as prominently as she had expected, yet 
 unmistakably. The vague consciousness of this en 
 couraged her to be frank and spirited with her ad 
 mirers. She delighted in the waltzing. The music, 
 the crowd, the omnipresent scent of flowers, and 
 the glitter and glare stirred her pulses. She held 
 her head erect with the mettle of a race-horse, and 
 entertained five men at once. 
 
 What she said she scarcely knew, except that it 
 was mostly nonsense. But it seemed to please. 
 She was greatly in demand, and after supper, when 
 the cotillion began a novelty at last (although she 
 was assured by several that it was dying out), her 
 head grew giddy with the incessant waltzing to 
 which her popularity subjected her. So-called fa 
 vors, often bracelets and other trinkets of appreci 
 able value, were showered on her, and during the 
 flower figures her partner was obliged to get an 
 extra chair on which to pile the bouquets with 
 which she was presented. She kept no account of 
 time, and when Mrs. Willoughby deemed that it was 
 advisable to go home, the hour was half-past three. 
 Six young men attended them to the carriage 
 door. Breathless and bewildered, Evelyn lay back 
 against the cushions and shut her eyes. She felt 
 sure that Mrs. Willoughby was delighted, and what 
 was much less inspiriting she knew that she was 
 delighted herself. Ernest Clay had not been at 
 the ball, and she had almost forgotten his existence. 
 But she had met his mother, a very gracious and
 
 FACE TO FACE. IOg 
 
 somewhat elaborate lady, who told her she looked 
 very much like her sister, the Countess of Harleth, 
 and asked if it would be agreeable to her to dine at 
 her house on Friday of the next week. 
 
 " Do you think you would like to go to the meet 
 to-morrow ?. I have a habit that will fit you," said 
 Mrs. Willoughby, as they sat sipping beef-tea before 
 going to bed. 
 
 " I am in your hands, cousin Clara," she an 
 swered. 
 
 They slept far into the forenoon, and then, accom 
 panied by Willoughby, set off for the hunting-field 
 on two jaunty-looking horses. Evelyn declined the 
 hack ; she said she was not afraid to ride a hunter. 
 She was in capital spirits and radiant with excite 
 ment. 
 
 She found the hunting-field with T carts, til- 
 burys, stanhopes, dog-carts, tandems, drags, and 
 coaches, the occupants of which were interested in 
 the movements of a handful of pink-coated youths 
 and half a dozen well-poised young ladies, who, in 
 common with a sleek pack of beagles, were prepar 
 ing to follow an aniseed scent; the master of the 
 hounds being of opinion that the foxes in his pos 
 session were still too tame to be hunted. Several of 
 Evelyn's admirers of the previous evening were 
 among the riders. They urged her to join them ; 
 they assured her that she would find herself equal to 
 the fences, and said that, if not, she could cut round 
 by the road as some of the other ladies were going to 
 do. Her cousin Clara, who was herself an enthusias-
 
 HO FACE TO FACE. 
 
 tic horsewoman, interposed no objection, and whis 
 pered in Evelyn's ear that Mr. Bouton had just de 
 clared she had a capital seat. Willoughby declared 
 that the animal she was riding was perfectly gentle, 
 but Evelyn scarcely heeded his sanction ; so eager 
 had she become to join the hunt she would have 
 felt ready to mount a veritable brute rather than 
 stay behind. When the signal was given she fol 
 lowed the rest in a dash across the open fields, and 
 took her first leap a stiffish wall without a quiver. 
 Henceforward it was easy work, or rather, she was 
 in such high feather that nothing seemed alarm 
 ing. Her horse was fast, and after the first mile 
 she left Mrs. Willoughby in the rear and kept her 
 eyes fixed on the two champions of the hunt, Miss 
 Bydoon -and Miss Slatterly, dashing-looking girls 
 who rode close to the master, and ahead of most of 
 the sportsmen. Once in a while somebody's mount 
 would balk or lose footing, and gradually the num 
 ber of those who were able to maintain the rapid 
 pace grew small enough to be counted on one's 
 fingers. At the so-called death, Miss Slatterly was 
 the first lady in ; but Evelyn was at her very heels, 
 having ridden neck and neck with Miss Bydoon and 
 beaten her at the last fence. Her cousin Willough 
 by, who was one of the few pink coats ahead of her, 
 called her a trump, and the victor insisted on waiv 
 ing claim to the brush in her favor. 
 
 That evening the Plimsolls had a reception which 
 was a repetition of the Deckers', as regards the ad 
 miration lavished upon Evelyn. The morning
 
 FACE TO FACE. Ill 
 
 after was the occasion of a picnic to the suburbs, 
 which was very gay and fashionable, followed by a 
 dinner at the Arundel Murrays, where Evelyn sat 
 between two young men who conjointly repre 
 sented five million dollars, according to Mrs. Wil- 
 loughby. From there they adjourned to Mrs. J. 
 Astley Coale's musical party. Thus it was really the 
 fourth day before Evelyn found a breathing spell ; 
 and only then because a sailing party fell through 
 owing to the sudden decease of the chaperone's 
 uncle, too late to obtain anyone else to act as ma 
 tron. There was no escape from passing the morn 
 ing quietly on the piazza, whither after breakfast 
 Mrs. Willoughby led the way. This was practically 
 the first opportunity that she and Evelyn had had of 
 talking together. There had been so much going 
 on that their intercourse had been confined to bid 
 ding each other good-morning and good-night. 
 
 Evelyn stretched herself out in a comfortable 
 straw chair, glad of the respite, and feeling a little 
 ashamed of herself withal. But the murmurs of flat 
 tery still lingered in her ears, and, despite her qualms, 
 she was glad to be conscious that the lull was only 
 momentary. At certain ages one's perspective 
 changes with astonishing rapidity, and we find our 
 selves tolerating, and then delighting in, things that 
 struck us but yesterday as insipid and shallow. It 
 seemed to Evelyn months already since she had 
 landed, so varied and bewildering had been her ex 
 periences. To be aware in a general way that one 
 is a handsome girl, is far different from reading the
 
 112 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 confirmation of the fact in the admiring eyes of 
 others. 
 
 They sat reclining on either side of a little table 
 covered with magazines, the latest novels, and a box 
 of bonbons. A red and white awning sheltered them 
 from the glare of the sun. Mrs. Willoughby was 
 still lamenting that Mrs. Gerald Brown domestic 
 affliction should have occurred so inopportunely. 
 
 " If it were not my day to be at home," she said, 
 " I should have been glad to matronize you myself; 
 but I told several people last night that they would 
 be certain to find me. It is very difficult to get 
 anyone at the last moment so, and of course she 
 is right to give the party up. I am sorry, though, 
 on your account, as a pleasant set was going." 
 
 " I had an idea that chaperones were not consid 
 ered necessary over here," said Evelyn, presently. 
 
 " Where could you have got such a notion as that ? 
 A chaperone not necessary ! We are rough enough 
 in all conscience sake, but do give us credit for 
 seme slight conceptions of propriety. Fancy, Wil 
 loughby," she said to her husband, who was stand 
 ing on the sill of the door, " Mrs. Brown's uncle is 
 dead, so her party is given up, and Evelyn wants to 
 know why they can't go without a matron. Did you 
 ever hear of such a thing ? " 
 
 "What are you to look for, my dear, from a young 
 lady who thought the prairies within easy walking 
 distance from New York ?" 
 
 " Ol course we can't be expected to come up to 
 English standards yet," continued Mrs. Willoughby
 
 FACE TO FACE. 113 
 
 * though I do think we are improving every year ; 
 but it fairly takes one's breath away to feel that our 
 society is no better understood on the other side. 
 So many foreigners seem to assume that we are all 
 Daisy Millers which is the more odd, seeing that 
 the Prince of Wales is said to think everything of 
 American women. There was one girl, I believe, 
 who did go so far as to put ice down his back, 
 which was a pity, of course ; though his royal high 
 ness was amiable enough to pardon the impertinence 
 because of her good looks." 
 
 " Then do girls have no more freedom here than 
 abroad ?" asked Evelyn. 
 
 " Not the girls who have the same position in life as 
 those you have met. The trouble is we are a new 
 country, and fortunes are made so fast that there is 
 nothing to prevent a man from suddenly growing 
 enormously rich and going to Europe with his fam 
 ily. It's just exactly as if one of your tradespeople 
 were to cut a splurge on the Continent ; only he 
 would always be considered a tradesman on account 
 of your class distinctions, and nobody would dream 
 of citing his daughter's manners as typical of your 
 whole society. But with us everyone is just as good 
 theoretically as anyone else, and therefore we are 
 all set down as ignorant of the simplest laws of good 
 breeding and ladylike behavior." 
 
 " I see. I wish, cousin Clara," Evelyn continued, 
 presently, "you would tell me something about 
 America. I feel very ignorant on the subject. Is 
 most of it like Newport ? " 
 8
 
 114 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 " Oh, dear, no. There is no other place precisely 
 like Newport Lenox is the nearest approach to it, 
 but it isn't really fashionable there until after the 
 middle of August. Then there are the White Moun 
 tains and Bar Harbor, which have great natural 
 beauties. Nice people go to both of them, and the 
 life is rather more unconventional than it is here, es 
 pecially at Bar Harbor, where they go in for flannel 
 shirts and that sort of thing a good deal. I dare say 
 you would find Bar Harbor a little rowdy, and I must 
 say I shouldn't blame you if you did ; but some of our 
 best people return year after year, and think there 
 is nothing like it. Narragansett Pier is somewhat 
 in the same style, only the set who go there are not 
 so refined. The girls bathe with the young men in 
 very peculiar-looking costumes, and are too free and 
 easy for my taste. If one wants to be amused, and 
 is content to be a spectator merely, it is worth while 
 running down to Saratogaor Long Branch for a week. 
 The hotels are huge caravansaries and the dressing is 
 marvellous, though I believe it isn't so much the cus 
 tom as it used to be for women to come down to break 
 fast in ball costume. All the people who have no 
 position, and who have made money, flock there and 
 take their wives. I fancy that chaperones are con 
 sidered quite unnecessary at these latter places. The 
 distinction between them and Newport is as marked 
 as the distinction between bad and good taste." 
 
 " But those are only the summer places. I judge, 
 from what cousin Willoughby said, that there are a 
 great many cities," said Evelyn.
 
 FACE TO FACE. 115 
 
 "Oh, yes. There is New York to begin with, 
 where you landed from the steamer, and where we 
 pass our winters. That is the largest city in the 
 Union and the richest. Some persons think it will 
 soon rival London as the money metropolis of the 
 world. Its society is very shifting and mixed, be 
 cause of the rapid way in which fortunes are made, 
 but there is a number of old families left ; and, be 
 sides, it certainly is amazing how presentable the 
 children of people who started as shopkeepers, or 
 worse, often are. They are very quick to learn, 
 particularly the girls. I suppose our climate is the 
 explanation of it. You know the doctors refer al 
 most everything to climate now-a-days. I dare say 
 you would like Boston better, which is more like an 
 English city in the way it is built. Boston people 
 are very nice, too, and anyone who is properly in 
 troduced has a good time there. It is very near to 
 Harvard College, and for a great many years has been 
 regarded as the literary centre of the country. But 
 I heard some one saying the other day that it was 
 ceasing to be so, that most of the men who gave it 
 a reputation are dead, and, what with the big pub 
 lishers and magazines in New York, that all the 
 best literary talent is going there also. Still, I am 
 always afraid of Boston girls. They are supposed 
 to be very cultivated. That reminds me what was 
 the name of the college you said you went to ? " 
 
 "Girton." 
 
 " Is it a regular college ? " 
 
 "Yes."
 
 Il6 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 " Not mixed, surely ? " asked Mrs. Willoughby, 
 faintly. 
 
 " Only for women." 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby was silent a moment. " What 
 made your mother send you there ?" 
 
 " Neither she nor papa wished me to go. I 
 wanted to get a thorough education." 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby paused again. " Really ? How 
 odd! If you hadn't have gone, I suppose you 
 would have been in society during the last two 
 years." 
 
 " I suppose so. Don't girls over here go to col 
 lege?" 
 
 " No girls whom we know, dear. There is a place 
 called Vassar, which is rather dreadful, I believe, 
 where girls are treated just like men, and at Cor 
 nell the two sexes are taught together. Further 
 West there are other colleges of the same sort." 
 
 " I should like to see some of them," said Evelyn, 
 with animation. 
 
 Her cousin opened her eyes. " I don't think you 
 would. As I said just now, none of our acquain 
 tance ever go to them. You would be sure to find 
 the ways there very different from those of Girton ; 
 though I must say I am astonished to hear that 
 girls in your sphere of life in England attend col 
 lege. Have any of your sisters been to college ?" 
 
 "No. I am the only one." 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby felt fairly puzzled again. What 
 manner of person was this young relative ? Her 
 instincts told her that there was something amiss.
 
 FACE TO FACE. 117 
 
 but in point of outward behavior there was nothing 
 to complain of. Indeed, she must own that she had 
 every reason to congratulate herself. 
 
 Evelyn's voice aroused her from reverie. " Won't 
 you tell me something more ? I am interested in 
 hearing about the country." 
 
 " Let me see. We were speaking of Boston last. 
 Then there's Philadelphia and Baltimore, too, where 
 you get terrapin and canvas-back ducks. The ter 
 rapin is a sort of turtle. People let them run loose 
 in their cellars. That's before you get to Washing 
 ton. Washington is our capital, you know, where 
 the President lives and Congress meets. The soci 
 ety there is mixed, but quite delightful and more 
 cosmopolitan than in any other of our cities. You 
 see all the foreign ambassadors and attaches there." 
 
 "What sort of a man is the President ? " inquired 
 Evelyn. 
 
 " He is very respectable, I believe, but, as you 
 probably know, our President is quite a different 
 person from your Queen or the Prince of Wales. 
 For instance, he scarcely ever belongs to society. 
 Of course, it is the highest office in the gift of the 
 nation and every one takes pains to be pt>lite and 
 considerate to him ; but, apart from his position for 
 the time being, one wouldn't be apt to ask him to 
 the house. I dare say that sounds strange to you." 
 
 "Very strange, indeed." 
 
 "You see, even if he is an honest man himself," 
 continued Mrs. Willoughby, "he is almost certain 
 to be in the hands of the politicians, who use him
 
 Il8 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 for their purposes. We have two branches of Con 
 gress, the Senate and the House of Representatives, 
 which correspond to your House of Lords and 
 Commons ; but while your members are chiefly the 
 foremost men in the country, both as regards social 
 standing and ability, a great proportion of our Con 
 gressmen cannot even speak the English language 
 correctly. Everyone agrees that it's no use for a 
 gentleman to try to go into politics. He is sure to 
 get smirched or he isn't re-elected." 
 
 " What a dreadful state of affairs ! Is it just the 
 same in the West ? " 
 
 " It's a great deal worse. Here in the East, in 
 those places I spoke to vou about, New York, and 
 Boston, and Philadelphia, there isn't such a very 
 great difference after all between the style of living 
 and that of people in London and Paris. Besides, 
 we are constantly improving. But after you get 
 two hundred miles from the coast it's terribly un 
 civilized. I don't mean that there are not handsome 
 cities, for there are. I believe that San Francisco, 
 which is away out in California, where the gold 
 comes from, has the biggest hotel in the country. 
 The private residences of the bonanza kings are said 
 to be more splendid than anything we have in New 
 York. Then there is Chicago, which is a great deal 
 larger than it was before the fire, though a person, 
 to keep clean there, has to be continually washing, 
 on account of the soot, which is horrible much 
 worse than in London. Most of the pigs come from 
 Cincinnati, and the people are very rich in conse-
 
 FACE TO FACE. 119 
 
 quence. Of course, everyone has heard of the Rocky 
 Mountains, and the Mississippi River. The prairies 
 lie in that direction, and the Mormons, and the 
 ranches, and the Union Pacific Railway. It's quite 
 the fashion now for young men in New York to go 
 out to seek their fortunes on a ranch. They gener 
 ally come back for a month or so in the winter, and 
 their adventures are most thrilling. But, as I was 
 saying, the manners and customs throughout the 
 West are very astonishing. You ought to see the 
 wives of some of the Western Senators and Con 
 gressmen who come to Washington. Of course, as 
 I observed just now, our people are very quick to 
 learn, and it's marvellous what strides some of those 
 cities are making. Still it must take a great many 
 years before the West can catch up with the East." 
 
 Evelyn sat for some moments lost in reflection 
 after Mrs. Willoughby had finished. " It isn't at all 
 what I supposed," she said, rather mournfully. 
 
 " I was afraid you would be disappointed," an 
 swered Mrs. Willoughby. "And if you find us in 
 elegant here, I wonder what you would say to St. 
 Louis or Denver." 
 
 " It's the other way. The trouble is everything 
 is too elegant. I might just as well be at home." 
 
 "At home ?" 
 
 " Yes. Your houses and your carriages and your 
 parties are every bit as handsome as those in Lon 
 don, and you lead very much the same mode of life 
 as people do there." 
 
 " Really ? Do you think so ? "
 
 I2O FACE TO FACE. 
 
 " I am sure of it," said Evelyn. " Bellevue 
 Avenue is a second Hyde Park." 
 
 "We do our best, of course. But I can't help 
 feeling you exaggerate. I suppose there is no doubt 
 we that is the women dress better than you. We 
 always have. In general ways, though, we are still a 
 long way behind. I know Willoughby is of that 
 opinion. He says there is very little for a man of 
 leisure to do here compared with London. We are 
 provincial. We lack tone." 
 
 "Why is it that you are so anxious to be like 
 other nations ? " asked Evelyn. 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby stared curiously at her. "Nat 
 urally, we don't wish to be behind the rest of the 
 world." 
 
 " I thought this country was a new departure, and 
 that Americans were original and independent." 
 
 " So we are, I think, dear. We believe in liberty 
 and all that sort of thing, and that a man should be 
 permitted to marry his deceased wife's sister." 
 
 " But you seem to imitate us, nevertheless, in your 
 manners and customs." 
 
 " Surely you wouldn't have us eat with our fin 
 gers or live in log cabins in order to be different ? " 
 said Mrs. Willoughby. " I don't understand what you 
 mean, Evelyn. What did you expect to find us ? " 
 
 " I don't know exactly. Different was all I said. 
 I wasn't prepared for so many beautiful things for 
 so much luxury and wealth. I suppose in New 
 York they are more noticeable still, and that you 
 live in much the same way."
 
 FACE TO FACE. 121 
 
 u Oh yes. Everything is on a handsomer scale 
 there. It is a city life, you know. If you mean 
 books," continued Mrs. Willoughby, after a reflec 
 tive pause, "no one thinks of working in summer, 
 but when we go back to New York you will find 
 that our nicest girls are well up on most subjects. 
 There are classes in history, art, philosophy, and all 
 those things. I don't know what your studies at 
 Girton may have been, but the instructors who 
 make a specialty of young ladies' classes here are 
 careful to keep abreast of the times. Some people 
 think that education is overdone, and that we all 
 read and study too much. The daughters of the 
 masses are very often taught to play on the piano 
 and to talk French when they had much better, in 
 my opinion, be learning housework. Some of our 
 own girls carry it too far, and injure their health. 
 Isabel Slatterly's younger sister, Dora, won't be able 
 to go anywhere next winter because she studied too 
 hard at school. There's no lack of education, if 
 that's what you complain of." 
 
 " I am not complaining of anything, cousin 
 Clara." 
 
 " I suppose you mean to imply that we're frivo 
 lous and worldly," continued Mrs. Willoughby, as 
 though she felt it necessary to defend herself, and 
 not heeding her guest's remark. " But there is a 
 great deal of good done in New York in the way 
 of helping the poor and improving the condition of 
 tenement-houses, and of getting up excursions for 
 children in the hot weather. People are very lib-
 
 122 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 eral with their money, I'm sure. One can't be giv 
 ing all the time. Besides, the idea now is that it 
 does poor people more good not to give, but to 
 teach them to support themselves. It seems to me 
 I hear of nothing else during Lent but of girls who 
 visit a certain number of poor families a week to see 
 that their drains are kept in order, and that they get 
 proper ventilation. 'Slumming' it's called. I think 
 we borrowed the word from you. Really, Evelyn, 
 I don't know what you would have us do. There 
 are plenty of queer people, too, who go in for cre 
 mation and woman's rights, and things of that sort. 
 Perhaps you have them in mind. Nobody knows 
 them, but you can read about their meetings in the 
 newspapers. I am quite crazy to know a medium 
 and go to a seance, but Willoughby says they are 
 usually not respectable. What is it you mean 
 dear ? " 
 
 " I don't think I know. Very likely I am all 
 wrong and foolish," answered Evelyn. 
 " But you must have meant something." 
 " I only said that I was reminded of home." 
 " Yes. But that is the same as saying we are not 
 patriotic," said Mrs. Willoughby. "You wouldn't 
 think so if you had been here at the time of the 
 Civil War. I can remember it perfectly. The 
 streets were crowded with soldiers, and everybody 
 was eager to save the Union. I was only a little 
 girl at the time. There were a great many people 
 one knows killed. Mrs. Clay lost her husband, and 
 she has never left off black since."
 
 FACE TO FACE. 123 
 
 " What sort of a person was her husband ? " 
 
 " Of course I was too young to know him person 
 ally. But I've always heard that he behaved splen 
 didly in the war. He recruited a regiment at his 
 own expense. He was a banker, and he left his 
 widow and Ernest extremely well provided for 
 Ernest is to-day one of the richest young men in 
 society. Willoughby says his property is enormous, 
 and prudently invested. Besides, he is remarkably 
 clever and well informed, and has travelled every 
 where. I do hope he will arrive before rny dinner, 
 for I want him to sit next to you. I consider him 
 charming." 
 
 "What does he do ? " inquired Evelyn. 
 
 " Do ? He is very good to his mother for one 
 thing." 
 
 " 1 mean what is his occupation ?" 
 
 " If you mean business, he hasn't any. Of course 
 he has all the money he can possibly need." 
 
 " How does he spend his time, then ? " 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby stared again curiously. " He 
 travels a good deal ; he takes care of his property ; 
 he has a yacht and plenty of horses, and his clubs. 
 He is a great reader, too. You are a strange girl, 
 Evelyn." 
 
 "Why so, cousin Clara ?" 
 
 " You have such an odd way of looking at things." 
 
 " Have I ? " 
 
 " One would imagine from your manner of speak 
 ing that you thought Mr. Clay ought to go into 
 business and run the risk of losing everything he
 
 124 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 has, merely for the sake of being able to say he has 
 a visible means of occupation. I'm sure I think he 
 is very sensible to live as he does. Do young men 
 of his means and position in England live any dif 
 ferently ? " 
 
 " That's just the trouble," laughed Evelyn. 
 
 " The trouble ? " 
 
 "Yes. I didn't think I should find young men in 
 America the same." 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby shook her head despairingly. 
 "I don't understand what you mean. You certainly 
 have very strange ideas. In what way would you 
 have them different, pray?" 
 
 " I am not prepared to say yet," Evelyn said, with 
 another laugh. " Perhaps I may change my mind." 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby sat musing for some moments, 
 tapping her foot on the piazza. " I forgot to ask 
 you, my dear, what became of Mr. Brock." 
 
 Evelyn colored slightly. " Mr. Brock ? " she an 
 swered. 
 
 "Yes. Did you leave him in New York ? " 
 
 " He didn't come with me." 
 
 " Didn't come with you ? " 
 
 " No, business called him back to London just as 
 we were about to sail." 
 
 " Whose charge were you under, then ? " 
 
 "Nobody's. I came by myself." 
 
 "Alone?" 
 
 "Yes. I didn't think there was any harm in it" 
 
 " If you mean by ' harm ' anything happening to 
 you," said Mrs. Willoughby " I don't suppose there
 
 FACE TO FACE. 12$ 
 
 was. But you must surely realize what a very pecu 
 liar thing it was to do. Alone ! I am perfectly as 
 tonished." 
 
 "I shouldn't have done so if I had been going 
 anywhere except to this country. But I said to my 
 self, 'That's just what an American girl would do.' " 
 
 "Never, Evelyn. That is, none but very ordi 
 nary people. A girl from Vassar might." 
 
 " I'm beginning to appreciate I made a mistake." 
 
 " I should think so ! How could you do it ? I 
 wonder that Mr. Brock permitted it." 
 
 " Mr. Brock seemed rather pleased than other 
 wise at my decision," said Evelyn. 
 
 " I ought not to have trusted him. Mr. Brock is 
 a clever man, and a very rich man, but he is self- 
 made, and between you and me, a little vulgar. 
 Still, I am completely astonished. I trust sincerely 
 that no one we know was on board." 
 
 " I was sick in my state-room, after the first two 
 days." 
 
 "Thank heaven for that." 
 
 Evelyn gave a low laugh. 
 
 " It is no subject for mirth," continued Mrs. Wil- 
 loughby. 
 
 " I am dreadfully sorry, cousin Clara. I can see 
 I was quite in the wrong. I will never do it again." 
 
 " But how came you to do it at all ? I don't see 
 where you got such ideas from." 
 
 " I can't tell you. They are of a piece with the 
 rest. But I haven't done anything peculiar since 1 
 came to Newport, have I ?"
 
 126 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 " That's the odd part of it. But please don't try 
 any experiments here," said her cousin. " I am 
 very anxious to see the passenger-list of the Britan 
 nic," she added musingly. " I asked Willoughby to 
 buy me a copy of the New York paper in which it 
 would have been, and he forgot to." 
 
 "I will promise to be very good," answered 
 Evelyn. 
 
 " I do hope you are having a pleasant time, dear.'' 
 
 " Delightful." 
 
 " You have been very much admired, and I should 
 be extremely sorry to have the good impression you 
 have created altered in any respect. Do be care 
 ful." 
 
 "All the care in the world won't be of any use if 
 any of your friends were on board the steamer, 
 cousin Clara," said Evelyn, with another laugh. 
 
 " Ugh ! It makes me creep whenever I think of 
 it." 
 
 " Still, they couldn't dispute the fact that one of 
 my sisters is a countess, and another the wife of a 
 knight. That is one of my strongest recommenda 
 tions, and no misbehavior on my part could alter it. 
 Nearly everyone alludes to it." 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby looked at her doubtfully. " You 
 are a strange girl, as I said before," she said ; " I 
 can't quite make you out. Ah ! There comes your 
 cousin to take you to drive. I must tell him to be 
 sure to get me the Herald" t 
 
 As Evelyn went into the house for a sacque, she 
 happened to notice her billycock hat and ulster
 
 PACE TO F4CJB, 
 
 hanging in the hall, where she had left them on the 
 evening of her arrival. Such was her frame of 
 mind that she reached out her hand, took them 
 down from the peg, and put them on. Then she 
 presented herself before her cousins with an arch 
 smile. 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby gave a little cough. "It \ 
 warm to-day, Evelyn. You will scarcely need so 
 heavy a wrap. Let me send up to your room for 
 that thin jacket." 
 
 "Oh no, this will do very well, cousin Clara." 
 
 " You will roast. Besides you look a great deal 
 prettier in that hat with the feather." 
 
 " Beauty is skin deep." 
 
 " Yes, but why not look as well as you can ? 
 Come, do put on the others, as a favor to me. You 
 know you promised to be good," she said, and she 
 rang the bell. 
 
 " Why, is there anything out of the way about my 
 hat and ulster?" Evelyn asked, scarcely able to 
 control her features at Mrs. Willoughby's anxiety. 
 
 " I dont say that, dear ; but I might as well tell 
 you frankly, no one here ever wears anything of the 
 sort. Patterson," Mrs. Willoughby said to the ser 
 vant, "ask Dowler to go to Miss Pimlico's room 
 and bring down her hat with the gull's feather, and 
 her brown sacque." 
 
 " I thought," said Evelyn tantalizingly " that 
 everything English was admired here." 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby coughed again. Could they 
 really be English ? She said to herself that she
 
 128 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 would consult Mrs. Clay without delay. " I have 
 no doubt, of course, dear, that they are in every re 
 spect suitable, but the others happen to be more 
 becoming to you personally, that's all." 
 
 " A great fuss to make about a very little matter." 
 said Willoughby, who had silently enjoyed the 
 scene. " She was very well as she was." 
 
 "You men don't understand such things," an 
 swered his wife. " There, you can't tell how much 
 better you look, Evelyn, whatever he may say." 
 
 " Cousin Willoughby, what sort of a place is 
 Kansas ?" asked Evelyn, as she stood buttoning her 
 sacque. 
 
 " Kansas, child ? How came you to think of such 
 a place as that ? " exclaimed his wife. "Kansas is a 
 State one of those western settlements I have just 
 been telling you about or is it a territory, Wil 
 loughby ? I never am quite sure." 
 
 "A State, love. Are you thinking of settling 
 there, Evelyn ? " 
 
 " Not at present, cousin Willoughby." 
 
 " It would suit you exactly," he continued. 
 "There are prairies and buffaloes and Indians with 
 out limit, or there used to be the last time I was 
 out there. Come, jump in." 
 
 After they were gone Mrs. Willoughby composed 
 herself again in her chair ; but though a book lay 
 on her lap she did not read. She fell into a brown 
 study.
 
 vir. 
 
 A BOUT fifteen minutes later, a stylish dog-cart 
 11 entered the Pimlico grounds, and a young man 
 ran up the steps and shook hands cordially with 
 Mrs. Willoughby. 
 
 " Why, Mr. Clay ! This is a surprise. When did 
 you arrive ?" 
 
 " I got here last night." 
 
 " How well you are looking ! Do sit down. Let 
 me see it's fully a year since you went away." 
 
 'Just thirteen months." 
 
 "And you've really been round the world ?" 
 
 " I have." 
 
 " And how do you find Newport ? " 
 
 " It looks natural." 
 
 " You ought to say we have improved." 
 
 " I haven't had time to criticise yet," he answered. 
 "Time has been merciful to you, at least." 
 
 " Please don't remind me of my age. I am pain- 
 fully aware of the fact that I am growing old. I 
 have a young lady stopping with me, who ought to 
 satisfy you, however." 
 
 " Indeed ! " 
 
 " An English girl." 
 
 " So I have heard."
 
 I3O FACE TO FACE, 
 
 " Your mother has told you, then ? " 
 
 " She has, and also given me your kind invitation 
 to dinner for to-morrow, which I have the honor to 
 accept." 
 
 " I am so glad. I want you to sit next to her. 
 She is very handsome. She is a cousin of my hus 
 band's, and sister to the Countess of Harleth, whom 
 your mother met in London. Another sister mar 
 ried Caithness Corrie, who is in Parliament and 
 very highly thought of by Mr. Disraeli." 
 
 " Humph ! " 
 
 " She is a great success. Everybody is talking 
 about her." 
 
 "I congratulate you." 
 
 " Pshaw ! You are as bad as ever. One would 
 imagine I were speaking of a graven image instead 
 of a lovely young woman. Why don't you show a 
 little enthusiasm ? " 
 
 " I haven't seen her yet." 
 
 " Unhappily she is at the moment out driving 
 with Willoughby. But take my word for it, she 
 would look charmingly at the head of your table." 
 
 " Don't. My mother has been lecturing me on 
 the evils of bachelorhood all the morning." 
 
 " Your mother is miserably unhappy on the sub 
 ject. It is high time you were married." 
 
 " I agree with you. I should be only too glad to 
 marry, provided I could fall in love." 
 
 "You expect too much. Fix your choice on 
 some attractive girl, and what you desire will follow 
 after you are man and wife."
 
 FACE TO PACK. 131 
 
 " Thanks. With due respect, that argument is 
 threadbare." 
 
 " An old bachelor is one of the most unhappy of 
 God's creatures." 
 
 " A single man can get along swimmingly until 
 he is forty-five. After that suicide, at least, is al 
 ways open to him." 
 
 " How foolishly you talk ! " 
 
 " I don't know that there is much moral distinc 
 tion between cutting one's throat and marrying a 
 girl one doesn't care for. The latter is a lingering 
 death, to say nothing of the circumstance that two 
 people are made miserable." 
 
 " Travel has made you sophistical." 
 
 " I am merely defending myself from a conspir 
 acy. You and my mother are in league, I see. 
 Well, I defy you both." 
 
 "But you mustn't make up your mind in advance 
 to dislike her. Promise me that." 
 
 " I am not a misogynist on principle, only by force 
 of circumstances." Clay was silent a moment and 
 gave one of his short laughs. " It's strange," he 
 said, " how one's susceptibilities are not always in 
 accord with one's instincts. You know what a pre 
 judice I have against unconventional manners ? 
 Well, the nearest approach to a palpitation that I 
 have experienced for years was on the passage over, 
 at the hands of a young woman from Kansas." 
 
 " Kansas ? " echoed Mrs. Willoughby. 
 
 " So I understood. She had been studying abroad 
 and was on her way home. She was entirely alone,
 
 132 FACE TO PACE. 
 
 and finding time heavy on her hands, I suppose, she 
 scraped acquaintance with me." 
 
 " What do you mean ? Scraped acquaintance ? " 
 
 "Yes. That's nothing uncommon now-a-days 
 among our countrywomen of a certain class. I 
 mean she entered into conversation with me. She 
 was remarkably handsome, too. She made a dead 
 set at me, borrowed my newspapers the second day 
 out, and made herself generally obnoxious. But I 
 found myself thinking about her afterward, which 
 rarely happens with me, you know." 
 
 " What a very peculiar individual ! " 
 
 " She had ideas." 
 
 " I should say so. What became of her ? " 
 
 " I am sorry to say," answered Clay, " that she 
 vanished after our first interview, and I never saw 
 her again until just before we landed, and then I 
 judged it more prudent to part as strangers. I 
 couldn't help thinking, though, at the time, that the 
 method in which all the girls of our acquaintance 
 are brought up tends to squeeze the originality out 
 of them. It may be a question which is the lesser 
 evil, no manners or no independence." 
 
 " But I remember your saying to me once that 
 what you especially admired in our best American 
 girls, was their ability to unite intelligence and cul 
 tivation with perfect refinement." 
 
 " It is one thing to be cultivated, another to use 
 one's mind," answered Clay, sententiously. 
 
 "You are as bad as my cousin, who has been 
 hauling us all over the coals because we are too civil-
 
 PACK TO FACE. 133 
 
 ized. She expected to find us eating buffalo steak, 
 as Willoughby says, and is disappointed. She de 
 clares there is very little difference between Bellevue 
 Avenue and Hyde Park. I wonder what she will 
 say to you, for you are more English than even 
 You ought to consider that a great compliment," 
 added Mrs. Willoughby, "for Englishmen of a cer 
 tain class are the best looking and the best dressed 
 set of men in the world." 
 
 " The young person I was just speaking of took 
 me for an Englishman. If you will believe it, she 
 wished to know if I were an earl or a baronet. 
 Wasn't it a joke ? Probably she had never met a 
 well-dressed American before in her life." 
 
 " It was amusing. But it only shows how little 
 difference iherc is between our best and their best. 
 Did you tell her who you were ? " 
 
 ''No," answered Clay ; "what was the use ? Be 
 sides, my not doing so gave her an opportunity to 
 wrap herself in the American flag. You should have 
 heard her talk about this country. All the spread- 
 eagleism I have ever listened to before was nothing 
 to it. Everything was perfect, and the men and 
 women to a unit were great-souled. When I came 
 to question her, however, I found that, with the ex 
 ception of her trip abroad, she had never travelled, 
 never been to New York, or Boston, or Washington, 
 or even Chicago. Of course here was my opportu 
 nity, for she had extremely ideal views of all these 
 cities, notwithstanding. I fancy she won't forget in 
 a hurry the ideas I gave her, whatever she may have
 
 134 FACE TO FACE, 
 
 felt at the time. I told her that New York young 
 ladies were not in the habit of addressing men who 
 had not been introduced to them." 
 
 " How delightful ! What did she say to that ? " 
 
 " She declared that Englishmen were prejudiced 
 and unable to appreciate Americans. She said that 
 we that is the English wished to make them bow 
 down again to forms and ceremonies, and she rhap 
 sodized a good deal about hungry souls, and not 
 being satisfied with the golden calf of Mammon." 
 
 " I fail to see what you found so very attractive 
 about her." 
 
 " She was unusually good-looking, to begin with." 
 
 " You men always make so much of that. But 
 there are plenty of pretty girls at home." 
 
 " Her beauty was only one half, I admit. Her 
 enthusiasm fascinated me. She seemed so thor 
 oughly in earnest even when she talked the veriest 
 nonsense. And then, too, there is some truth in 
 what she said about foi^ms and ceremonies. I could 
 not help envying her her emancipation from the 
 petty and machine-like conventionalities to which 
 we are subjected. So few of us dare call our souls 
 our own, even if we are ready to admit that we have 
 any. We are slaves to the critical faculties of our 
 contemporaries. We are afraid to stray beyond 
 certain limits, lest we be thought peculiar." 
 
 " Positively, you are eloquent. We shall hear of 
 you next in Kansas," said Mrs. Willoughby. 
 
 "Ah, no. I am simply giving voice to my feeble 
 wail and protest before falling into line again,
 
 TO 
 
 Why is it that breeding and luxury, and generations 
 of ancestors tend to make us all mere machines 
 conservative is the euphemistic term and vice versa, 
 why should those whose fingers grip the window- 
 sills of heaven as it were, be so frightfully uncon 
 ventional ? If, as you insinuate, I were to marry 
 that young person, her ' what say ? ' and her 4 real 
 elegant ' would suffice to make me wretched for the 
 rest of my life ; and yet I know within my secret 
 soul that she is worth six of me in the genuine 
 nobility of her character. You needn't look so 
 alarmed, for there is no danger of my doing any 
 thing ridiculous. I haven't the moral courage, and 
 I don't feel at all sure that I wish I had. When I 
 think of the hat and ulster she was attired in, I see 
 nothing else, and if her own eyes were to be opened 
 to their significance, I suppose she would become 
 just like the rest of us. It is only a question of time 
 when they all do. Our great grandmothers were 
 practically what the people of the West are to-day. 
 The buffalo and Daisy Miller must both become ex 
 tinct, a reflection not altogether consoling to ideal 
 ists." 
 
 " I assure you, Mr. Clay, my great-grandmother 
 was nothing of the sort. You may say she was an 
 ape, or a Puritan, or any other of the disagreeable 
 creatures we are told we are descended from, but, 
 emphatically, she was not a Daisy Miller. How 
 queer you are this morning ! That young person 
 has given you a severe shock." 
 
 " No, she has merely set me wondering, a little
 
 136 FACE TO 
 
 more seriously than before, what I am going to do 
 with myself now that I have got home. The dis 
 ease is an old one, as you know." 
 
 "You live too much alone," said Mrs. Willoughby. 
 "Your mind needs diversion to prevent it from 
 preying on itself. I will provide you with an occu 
 pation. Make yourself agreeable to my cousin." 
 
 "It is well to be off with the old love you are 
 familiar with the adage." 
 
 "You admit then that you are touched?" she 
 asked. 
 
 "I admit nothing, as my fair adversary said when 
 1 taxed her with an avowal of unladylike behavior. 
 Seriously, though, I did pace the deck of the Brit 
 annic for hours after the single interview I had 
 with her, rr.y soul in the seventh heaven. Midnight 
 caught me peering at the stars with- but what is 
 the matter ? " 
 
 "Nothing. A pin must have pricked me. How 
 interesting ! But I didn't know you came by the 
 Britannic." 
 
 " I wouldn't come by any other steamer," said 
 Clay. 
 
 A deep flush had crimsoned Mrs. Willqughby's 
 cheek. "Did -she tell you her name?" she in 
 quired. 
 
 " The young person ? No, and 1 forgot to look 
 at the passenger list." 
 
 " And you say she spoke to you without your 
 being introduced to her ? " 
 
 " Yes, and followed me all over the ship like a
 
 FACE TO FACE. 1 37 
 
 tame dog before that I don't wonder you are 
 shocked. I was myself." 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby abruptly changed the subject 
 and began to rattle off a quantity of society gossip. 
 She declared that Newport was more than usually 
 gay, and she enumerated a list of the events for the 
 coming fortnight ; but though very voluble, she 
 talked nervously, and answered her visitor's ques 
 tions as if she were distrait. This was scarcely sur 
 prising under the circumstances, for of a sudden the 
 awful suspicion had occurred to her that this extra 
 ordinary individual whom her visitor had been de 
 scribing might be Evelyn. It seemed too dreadful 
 to believe, but the similarity between certain facts 
 relating to both was striking. Each had been with 
 out a chaperone, each had been taken sick after the 
 second day out, and most cruel testimony of all, 
 which, seemingly harmless when it was uttered, had 
 grown more portentous every moment since each 
 had worn a peculiar hat and ulster. But no, such 
 a theory was preposterous. She argued that Eve 
 lyn could not have been so misguided, so void of 
 all regard for propriety. Then, too, her cousin was 
 English, not an American, and was it within the 
 bounds of possibility that she could have been mis 
 taken for an American ? Nevertheless, Mrs. Wil 
 loughby could not help recalling Evelyn's strange 
 allusion to Kansas, and her own questionings. She 
 said to herself that it could not be true that Evelyn 
 was identical with Mr. Clay's fellow-passenger, and 
 yet she felt that she would sacrifice a great deal to
 
 138 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 be sure that the coincidence was false. They had 
 crossed the ocean on the same ship. Of this there 
 could be no doubt. She appreciated that, if her 
 suspicions were correct, she must renounce her 
 dreams of bringing them together, and renounce 
 the half-realized hopes which she had cherished of 
 making her cousin the sensation of the coming 
 winter. Or rather, her cousin would cause a sensa 
 tion, but of a very different character from what had 
 been anticipated. 
 
 While Mrs. Willoughby thus cast the probabili 
 ties as to the correctness of her unhappy conject 
 ure, prattling away meantime, a sudden inspiration 
 seized her. 
 
 "Excuse me one moment," she said to Mr. Clay, 
 who had just risen with the intention of taking his 
 leave. " I want to ask youropinion aboutsomething." 
 
 She went into the house, and instantly reappeared 
 in the garments which she had induced Evelyn to 
 discard. 
 
 " You are a man of taste, and fresh from London, 
 as well as an old friend," she said. " My dressmaker 
 eh that is, I have just received these from the 
 other side. Tell me, are they really the fashion ? 
 Are they much worn ? " 
 
 Clay gazed at her in manifest astonishment. 
 " From London," he faltered. 
 
 He was too politic a man, however, not to recover 
 instantly his self-possession. " I did not stop in 
 London on my return," he said ; " but why have you 
 any doubts ? "
 
 FACE TO FACE. 139 
 
 " Merely, I did not care for them much," she an 
 swered, with apparent indifference. 
 
 A moment later he was gone, and she was sitting 
 aghast, and with every disposition to burst into 
 tears. She felt that there was scarcely room for 
 question, now, that it was Evelyn of whom he had 
 been speaking. Evidently the hat and ulster were 
 a spurious fashion. What was she to do ? As soon 
 as Mr. Clay's eyes were opened to the truth, the 
 story would spread like wild fire. And if her cousin 
 had been capable of the mad conduct described, 
 how was it possible to feel any assurance as to vyhat 
 she might do in future. 
 
 However, Mrs. Willoughby was not a woman to 
 give way to despair. She had set her heart on 
 Evelyn being a success. She soon appreciated, 
 therefore, that she must make the best of the situa 
 tion, however distressing. She reflected that, after 
 all, a girl might be more or less peculiar with im 
 punity, provided she were fashionable ; and that, 
 though she had expected her cousin to be especially 
 elegant and conservative, there was undoubtedly a 
 certain novelty in the idea of the sister of an Eng 
 lish countess figuring as a hoyden, that might com 
 mend itself to many minds. But far more comfort 
 ing was the remembrance that Mr. Clay had spoken 
 of the fascination Evelyn had exerted over him. It 
 might be that this premature meeting had stirred 
 his imagination in a way that no formal introduc 
 tion would have done. It was evident Evelyn had 
 interested him, and the question was as to how this
 
 140 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 fancy would be affected by a disclosure of the truth 
 Well as she knew Ernest Clay, Mrs. Willoughby 
 had always been a little puzzled by him. At times 
 he was very odd, and talked to her in a strain not 
 unlike that which he had adopted the present morn 
 ing. She felt that there was no telling but that 
 these eccentricities of Evelyn's might be the very 
 traits to captivate him. He had complained that 
 the "young person " lacked the social graces. But 
 when he should learn that Evelyn could assume 
 them when she chose, and that she did not belong 
 in Kansas, was there not a reasonable probability of 
 his becoming still further attracted ? Clutched at 
 as a straw by a drowning man, this idea became, 
 the more she dwelt on it, an abiding hope. 
 
 The sight of Evelyn, however, was sufficient to 
 reanimate her indignation, and centre her thoughts 
 again on the cruel upheaval of all the plans which 
 she had carefully arranged for the entertainment of 
 her guest, and the satisfaction of her own pride. 
 If there was one thing Mrs. Willoughby plumed 
 herself on, it was avoidance in her manner of living 
 of all that could be considered sensational or ultra. 
 Her establishments were models of exquisite com 
 fort and good taste, and her intimate friends were 
 people one of whose chief objects in life was to 
 keep out of the newspapers. Hence, although able 
 to appreciate that her cousin's eccentricity might 
 be regarded in some households as desirable, it was 
 a bitter humiliation to Mrs. Willoughby to feel that 
 one whom she had introduced was likely to attract
 
 FACE TO FACE. 141 
 
 attention by other than very aristocratic and con 
 servative ways. It seemed almost wiser to send her 
 home than to let her succeed on such a basis. But 
 still there was Mr. Clay to be considered. 
 
 She followed Evelyn up-stairs, and tapped on the 
 door of her room. She meant to be composed, but 
 explicit. 
 
 " Why didn't you tell me that Mr. Clay was on 
 board the Britannic, my dear ? " she asked, after a 
 few moments. 
 
 " There was a Mr. Clay, but I did not know that he 
 was your Mr. Clay," Evelyn answered, with a flush. 
 
 " Then it is true ? " 
 
 " I am afraid so. Cousin Clara, though I'm not 
 quite sure what you refer to." 
 
 " Your behavior your asking for his newspapers, 
 and eh following him about like a tame dog." 
 
 " Was that what he said ? " exclaimed Evelyn, 
 with a laugh. " I cannot, unfortunately, contradict 
 him." 
 
 " Oh, Evelyn ! How could you have done such 
 a thing ? What was your motive, your purpose ? 
 Surely it is not your habit to address gentlemen who 
 are strangers to you ? " 
 
 " No, Cousin Clara, I never did such a thing be 
 fore. Let me relieve your mind at once on that 
 score I do know better." 
 
 " I should hope so. What was the matter ? Were 
 you out of your senses ?" asked Mrs. Willoughby. 
 
 " I don't wonder it seems so to you now. No, I 
 did it deliberately enough, and with ray eyes open,
 
 142 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 I took him for an Englishman, and was trying to 
 behave as I thought an American girl would behave 
 in the hope of shocking him. How much has he 
 told you ?" 
 
 "Very little, except in a general way. I cannot 
 see where you have got such ideas of this country. 
 An American girl ? As I have told you already, no 
 girl who wished to be thought a lady could possibly 
 act so. Come, tell me the whole story, and let me 
 hear the worst." 
 
 " Does he know that it was I ?" 
 
 " Not yet, though he may have been put on his 
 guard by seeing your hat and ulster, which I showed 
 him in order to make sure that it was you to whom 
 he referred. Where did you get those things, Eve 
 lyn ?" 
 
 " I bought them just before I sailed. The shop 
 man assured me they were the latest American 
 style." 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby groaned. 
 
 " I felt sure there was something wrong about 
 them the first moment I set eyes on you. Well, 
 how did it all begin ? " 
 
 Evelyn was silent a moment. "You see, Cousin 
 Clara, as I said to you this morning, I have always 
 had an idea that the customs in the United States 
 were very different from those at home. I had 
 formed my opinion of what an American girl would 
 be like, and as the dream of my life for years has 
 been to pay a visit to this country, I carried my en- 
 thusiasm so far as to try to illustrate my theory.
 
 FACE TO FACE. 143 
 
 That was why I didn't turn back when Mr. Brock 
 was delayed, and why I behaved as I did in regard to 
 Mr. Clay. I took him for a countryman of my own, 
 and thought it would be amusing to make him open 
 his eyes. I succeeded only too well, for he changed 
 his seat at table because I asked him to pass the 
 butter, and chose the same quarter of the ship from 
 which to watch the sunset. The next morning, 
 while we were sitting near each other on deck, I 
 borrowed his newspapers, which seemed to annoy 
 him so much that he was on the point of changing 
 his seat again, when a gust of wind blew both our 
 hats off. That broke the ice. We had a lengthy 
 discussion. He ran this country down and I praised 
 it. He took it for ranted that I came from Kan- 
 
 "That is just the way a Kansas girl would be 
 have," interjected Mrs. Wiiloughby. 
 
 " So Mr. Clay informed me. He gave me a great 
 deal of good advice as to mending my manners. 
 Unfortunately, I was taken sick, and never saw him 
 again until just before we landed, when he concluded 
 not to recognize me. But in the meanwhile the 
 stewardess had told me who he was. I have never 
 been more surprised at anything in my life than 
 when I heard he was an American." 
 
 " Is that the whole ? ' asked Mrs. Wiiloughby. 
 
 " All I can remember. Has he made any other 
 accusations ? " 
 
 " He didn't go into particulars. It's dreadful, 
 Evelyn, and I don't see how it could be much worse.
 
 144 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 What a blessing you were taken sick ! The curious 
 part of it is, that he was fascinated by you in spite 
 of himself," Mrs. Willoughby added reflectively. 
 "That was how I found out about the matter. He 
 happened to say that you "had haunted him ever since. 
 He isn t a man who is apt to think twice of any girl. 
 It's more than you deserve, but there is no doubt 
 you excited his curiosity. Of course, it was the 
 contrast between what you really are and what you 
 were pretending to be that interested him, and the 
 question is as to how he will feel when he discovers 
 that you are just like everybody else." 
 
 " Do you think I am like everybody else ? " 
 Mrs. Willoughby looked up anxiously. 
 " You can be if you choose. Didn't you promise 
 me this morning to be good ? Once for all, Evelyn, 
 do put an end to this nonsense. If you will only 
 behave here as your sisters would at home, you are 
 sure to be admired. Everybody does admire you 
 already ; which makes this performance with Mr. 
 Clay all the more unfortunate. If he chooses to talk 
 about it, we can't help ourselves, but I have hopes 
 he will hold his tongue. You see, after all, it would 
 seem ridiculous to most people that he could have 
 tal en you for an American, and our best course, in 
 case he does, is to pretend that the whole thing was 
 a joke and so turn the laugh on him. But I feel 
 confident, the more I think it over, that he won't say 
 anything about it, especially if, as he tells me, you 
 attracted him notwithstanding your strange con 
 duct"
 
 FACE TO FACE. 1 45 
 
 " He had a strange way of showing it," said Eve- 
 Jyn. " I must say frankly, Cousin Clara, I am not 
 prepossessed in Mr. Clay's favor." 
 
 " Why, my dear, you couldn't expect him to show 
 his best side under the circumstances. He was 
 completely shocked, and I think he acted extremely 
 well. He seems to have talked to you for some 
 time." 
 
 " Yes, and he cut me dead when he saw me next. 
 Do you call that good manners ? " 
 
 " You are hardly the one to criticise on the score 
 of manners, I think," said Mrs. Pimlico, a little 
 dryly. " Mr. Clay is considered one of our leading 
 young men. You would be very foolish to become 
 prejudiced against him on account of any such trifle. 
 Stranger things have happened than that he should 
 take a serious fancy to you." 
 
 " I trust he will not, for I am confident I shall not 
 like him," Evelyn answered, bluntly. 
 
 " Six million dollars are not to be despised." 
 
 "No, Cousin Clara, I am beginning to appreciate 
 that they are not in this country as well as at home. 
 People here marry for money, then ? " 
 
 " How abrupt you are ! Of course not But one 
 must have money in order to be married. There is 
 no sense in refusing a man simply because he is 
 well off. Love in a cottage is all very well, pro 
 vided the cottage is built in the Queen Anne style. 
 You should look at the world as it is, my dear, and 
 not as you imagine it to be. We are neither savages 
 nor are we swains and milkmaids. If you are wise, 
 10
 
 146 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 you will make the most of Mr. Clay's attentions, and 
 not trouble yourself about what answer you will 
 give him until he asks you." 
 
 Evelyn flushed and laughed. 
 
 " I wasn't thinking of myself when I spoke. 
 There is not the least danger of my being placed 
 in such a disagreeable position." 
 
 " One can never tell. He says, dear, you have 
 ideas. You certainly have, and a great many of 
 them are very queer. However, I wouldn't try to 
 be too proper all at once. Let him get accustomed 
 to the transformation by degrees. You will promise 
 me not to indulge in any more freaks on your own 
 responsibility ? I am sure you mean well, but 
 really you don't know anything about us yet." 
 
 " I will try. You mustn't be disappointed, though, 
 Cousin Clara, if Mr. Clay and I don't get on." 
 
 " I, child ? It makes no difference to me. If you 
 prefer to go home and marry some poor curate, it 
 is your own lookout," Mrs. Willoughby said, as she 
 passed out of the room. 
 
 After she was gone Evelyn sat for some while 
 pensive. Life had grown very complex to her.
 
 VIII. 
 
 CLAY got no inkling of the real truth from Mrs. 
 Willoughby's behavior, although he recognized 
 the hat and ulster as identical in pattern with those 
 worn by the peculiar young person he had encoun 
 tered on the voyage home. He was merely con 
 scious that he had done the latter wrong in presum 
 ing her garments to be of domestic manufacture, a 
 small enough matter when the rest of her conduct 
 was taken into account. He was rather surprised 
 at his mistake, being accustomed to consider his 
 judgment infallible as to questions of toilet, but he 
 made the reflection that the taste of the English 
 was apt to be erratic, and he had had no opportunity 
 to observe the current style in London. Then he 
 dismissed the matter from his thoughts. 
 
 He was much more interested in the confession 
 he had made to Mrs. Willoughby, not by reason of 
 any effect it might have on her, but as disclosing 
 his own state of mind. Whenever he was in doubt 
 as to what he did believe regarding any subject, 
 Clay had a way of finding someone who would lis 
 ten to him talk, with the result that at the close of 
 the interview he had generally cleared up his diffi 
 culty. In other words, he preferred to do his think-
 
 148 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 ing aloud, which is an unnatural process where 
 there is no audience. Mrs.Willoughby was one of the 
 women whom he was most apt to seek on such occa 
 sions, and consequently they were cordial friends. 
 Her elegance of manner and appearance were ex 
 actly in keeping with his standard. He found her, 
 as well, a charming companion, with an excellent 
 appreciation of how to seem to know all about a 
 given topic by dint of having read a paragraph re 
 lating to it in the newspaper. This semblance of 
 intellectuality ingratiated without deceiving him. 
 He knew she was shallow, but what he required 
 was sympathy, not depth. She read all the book re 
 views, even if she did not read the books, and could 
 talk ologies and osophies with him by the hour. 
 Moreover, her instinct in social matters was indis 
 putable. 
 
 Hence, he was always polite and attentive to her 
 in society, and punctilious about dropping in at her 
 five o'clock tea. In return for his psychological 
 confidences she invited him to her pleasantest din 
 ners, and manifested a sort of motherly interest in 
 getting him a wife ; for, although but just thirty- 
 three, she posed as a ruin. She was quite aware, 
 however, that there was no sentimentality between 
 them. Indeed, anything of the sort would have 
 been quite inconsistent with the thorough satisfac- 
 toriness of their relations. 
 
 Clay's delay in coming to Newport since his ar 
 rival had been occasioned by business affairs. It 
 was necessary to reinvest the surplus of his income
 
 FACE TO FACE. 149 
 
 which had been accumulating during his absence, 
 and it had chanced to come to his ears on the day 
 after landing that a controlling interest in the stock 
 of the manufacturing company whose works were 
 situated in the neighborhood of his father's old 
 country-seat on the Hudson was in the market. 
 The Mr. Brock to whom reference has been made 
 already had there established, some years before, 
 two companies side by side, the Clyme Valley Mills, 
 in which Clay was a holder, and the Wisabet. 
 Each had prospered exceedingly ; but Mr. Brock 
 being about to engage in new enterprises, was de 
 sirous to dispose of his own interest in the first- 
 named, retaining control of the Wisabet. At the 
 instigation of his financial advisers, Clay accordingly 
 had come to terms with Mr. Brock's brokers. 
 
 Although quite aware that he had but to show 
 himself in order to become a social lion by virtue 
 of his long absence, the thought of taking up again 
 the familiar round of fashionable Newport life had 
 rather bored Clay when he found himself, after hav 
 ing kissed his mother that morning, confronted 
 with the problem of what he should do. Mrs. Clay 
 had begun almost immediately to twit him on his 
 single condition, and to string off a list of the desir 
 able young women who had come to the front while 
 he had been away. It was the consciousness that 
 he was tired of being a bachelor which made her 
 solicitude all the more goading ; but somehow the 
 idea of choosing a wife of the type his mother had 
 in mind seemed less acceptable than ever.
 
 ISO FACE TO FACE. 
 
 Not even the glowing account she gave him of 
 Mrs. Willoughby's cousin was sufficient to rouse 
 his curiosity. He listened with an indifferent ear to 
 the description of the charming stranger's great 
 beauty, and of how she had ridden neck and neck 
 with Marian Bydoon and beaten her at the last 
 fence, although she had never before in her life fol 
 lowed the hounds. He guessed pretty well what 
 sort of a girl she would be. However, Mrs. Wil- 
 loughby would expect him to call on her guest, he 
 reflected, and as her dinner invitation had to be an 
 swered, he concluded that he would save himself the 
 trouble of writing a note and kill the forenoon at 
 the same time by going up to Little Court. He had 
 hardly decided when he set out from his own house 
 whether he would dine with her or betake himself 
 to New York again on the plea of business and im 
 mure himself in his club. 
 
 His acceptance was the natural result of his neu 
 tral frame of mind, flattered into complaisance by 
 Mrs. Willoughby's evident gratification at seeing 
 him. He had rather enjoyed airing his incubations, 
 and it had not disturbed him in the least that she 
 had seemed unable to understand his meaning and 
 somewhat inclined to be suspicious of it. There 
 fore, although he said to himself on the following 
 morning that it would be civil to try again to find 
 Miss Pimlico at home, inasmuch as he was to dine 
 there later in the day, he might not have regarded 
 this act of politeness as necessary had he not felt 
 the desire to sift his reflections a little further.
 
 FACE TO FACE. !$! 
 
 Being an intimate of the family, he felt quite at 
 liberty, while the servant had gone to announce his 
 visit, to stroll around the corner in '. search of the 
 fresh breeze which he knew he would find there. 
 Suddenly he stopped short, being brought face to 
 face with a young lady reclining in a hammock 
 reading, who started up at his intrusion and sprang 
 to her feet. 
 
 " I beg your pardon," Clay ejaculated. " Is Mrs. 
 Pimlico at home ? " 
 
 The young lady's face was familiar, but it took a 
 moment for him to realize the full significance of 
 the truth, which dawned on him at last in an awful 
 flash. His mental confusion was swift and over 
 whelming. But Evelyn had recognized him in 
 stantly, and after the first start, had schooled her 
 self so far as to assume an air of extreme dignity. 
 
 " I will tell Mrs. Pimlico," she said, and she turned 
 to pass in through the open window. 
 
 " Eh The servant has gone to announce me," 
 
 he replied, as if to detain her. 
 
 Evelyn looked back at him, and bending her head 
 without the slightest recognition, said : " If you will 
 take a seat, she will be down presently, I think." 
 Whereupon she stepped inside the house. 
 
 Clay stood for an instant irresolute, his cheeks 
 the color of scarlet. Then he followed her into the 
 room just in time to prevent her from going up-stairs. 
 
 ' Miss Pimlico," he said, abruptly, " I have made 
 
 a terrible mistake. I have been very rude I " 
 
 He stopped short, apparently feeling that au apology
 
 I $2 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 was likely only to make matters worse. " I am-^ 
 eh I am Mr. Clay. We made a passage together, 
 you remember." 
 
 "Oh, yes," she said. "Won't you sit down, Mr. 
 Clay ? " 
 
 He took a chair, still more abashed by the for 
 mality of her manner. She looked for all the world 
 like a duchess. Still, there was no use, he reflected, 
 in losing his head. What was done, was done, and 
 he must make the best of the situation. There was, 
 after all, a humorous side to the predicament, and 
 not much was to be gained by looking at the affair 
 too seriously. Since she preferred to ignore their 
 former acquaintance, he might as well be oblivious 
 also. He felt, however, as if he xvould be glad to know 
 whether she were really angry. She had seated her 
 self and having picked up some embroidery work 
 from the table was calmly plying her needle as 
 though she appreciated the superiority of her posi 
 tion and that she held him at her mercy. 
 
 " Beautiful weather we are having, Mr. Clay," she 
 observed, with an air of wishing to be polite. 
 
 He took his cue. 
 
 " Charming." 
 
 "And there seems to be a great deal going on this 
 summer." 
 
 "So I am given to understand." 
 
 "Newport is a lovely place." 
 
 "It is looking unusually well." 
 
 " There was plenty of rain early in the season, I 
 believe, so that the foliage is not wilted,"
 
 FACE TO FACE. 1 53 
 
 " Yes, I believe so." 
 
 There was a pause, and then Mrs. Willoughby 
 glided into the room. " Delighted to see you," she 
 said to Clay. She glanced quickly from the one to 
 the other. "You two have met before, I believe, 
 and need no introduction," she observed, with a 
 laugh. " If you will excuse me, Mr. Clay, for a few 
 moments, I should like to answer a note I have just 
 received." 
 
 She disappeared, and they were left facing each 
 other as before. The room was so still Clay could 
 hear the clock ticking. He would have liked to be 
 jocose and to treat the whole matter as a jest, al 
 though still in the dark as to its precise explanation ; 
 but Evelyn's dignity appalled him. Could this exces 
 sively proper young lady be identical with the hoy 
 den he had encountered on board ship ? There was 
 no room for doubt, for the features were the same. 
 Could he have dreamt that she tracked him about 
 the ship, and borrowed his newspapers, and said she 
 came from Kansas ? For here she was an inmate of 
 one of the most fashionable houses in Newport, and 
 as insipid in her style of conversation as a wall 
 flower. There was a mystery somewhere which he 
 was resolved to solve before Mrs. Willoughby's re 
 turn. There was no explaining away the fact of 
 her extraordinary conduct during the passage on any 
 other supposition than that he was out of his senses 
 at the time. Was it not rather for her to apolo 
 gize than for him ? The idea seemed plausible for 
 a moment ; but when he thought of the complacent
 
 154 fACB TO 
 
 advice he had given her as to her style of behavior 
 and how he had stared her in the face on the morn 
 ing the vessel reached port, he realized that he was 
 in a bad fix, and must eat crow, if he would hope 
 to be forgiven. The worst of it was, she was so beau 
 tiful that she could afford to insist on his deep 
 humiliation. 
 
 These thoughts passed rapidly through his mind 
 during the few moments that elapsed before he 
 found his tongue. Then he said : " I am com 
 pletely in the dark, Miss Pimlico, as to how I made 
 such a blunder as I appear to have done. An apol 
 ogy seems useless, out of the question, until I see 
 my way a little clearer. Tell me one thing : you 
 are the same young lady with whom I crossed on 
 the Britannic a fortnight ago ?" 
 
 "The very same," answered Evelyn, quietly. 
 
 "And also a cousin of Mrs. Pimlico's." 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Then your home is in England ?" 
 
 " It is. I have lived there all my life." 
 
 " Humph ! This beats the Dutch. I am com 
 pletely befogged. If only you didn't look so terri 
 bly austere, Miss Pimlico, I should burst out laugh 
 ing at myself, of course. But surely you gave me 
 to understand you were born in Kansas ? " 
 
 " Excuse me, I think you took it for granted that 
 I was. I have never been in Kansas." 
 
 " Oh no, I see it all now. I have behaved like an 
 idiot, and allowed myself to be thoroughly gulled/' 
 he exclaimed, " Well, I give you permission to
 
 FACE TO FACE. 155 
 
 laugh at me. It was capitally done. Then it was 
 all make-believe on your part ? " 
 
 " Mistaking you for a lord, do you mean ? " 
 
 " I suppose I have no right to complain ; you are 
 only having your revenge," he answered, somewhat 
 sheepishly. "A lord ! There is no use in denying 
 it, however. I did suppose you in earnest" 
 
 " So I was. I thought you were a baronet at the 
 very least." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " What I have said. I had no idea you were an 
 American." 
 
 "Really?" Clay looked at her doubtfully. He 
 could not determine if she were making sport of 
 him or not 
 
 " I had no idea you were am American, and what 
 is more, I imagined that all girls in the United States 
 were a good deal like what I appeared to be," she 
 replied ; " but I have found out my error, thanks 
 first to you, and then to my own observation. 
 Please accept my gratitude." 
 
 Clay felt decidedly confused. He would have 
 preferred almost to see her angry, than so quietly 
 sarcastic as she appeared. Besides she was as great 
 an enigma as ever. 
 
 " Then you have changed your views regarding 
 us over here ? " he asked, for the sake of saying 
 something. 
 
 "Completely. What I said on board ship must 
 have sounded to you like great nonsense. You 
 were quite right ; the people over here are very
 
 156 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 much the same as those of London, or Paris, or 
 Vienna, and are becoming more so every day. I 
 haven't been West yet, but I understand it is merely 
 a question of time when it becomes Europeanized 
 als >. At present, though, it is very primitive and 
 raw, is it not?" 
 
 "Well, more so than Newport, of course," he 
 said, with a nervous laugh. 
 
 " It was very natural that you should have been 
 shocked at my behavior," she continued, " and 
 wished to avoid me. As you well said, that sort of 
 thing, fortunately, is passing away in the civilized 
 port jons of the United States. After trying to at 
 tract your attention, and borrowing your newspapers 
 what reason had I to expect that you would recog 
 nize me when we next met, although we had spent 
 the greater part of one morning together ? I admit 
 that I was rather surprised at the time, but I can see 
 now that you were quite right ; for you would have 
 compromised yourself in the eyes of any of your 
 friends who happened to perceive you conversing 
 with me." 
 
 Clay bit his lip. Her calm, almost judicial man- 
 ner of rehearsing his opinions made him feel fool 
 ish. What was she driving at, any way ? 
 
 " I am very sorry to have hurt your feelings," he 
 said bluntly. 
 
 She looked up from her fancy work. " My feel- 
 ings ? You have done nothing of the sort, I assure 
 you, Mr. Clay. On the contrary, 1 fear that it was 
 I who wounded your sensibilities by behaving as I
 
 FACE, TO FAC&. 1 57 
 
 did. Only think, if you were to repeat here, in New 
 port, how I conducted myself, you could ruin my 
 reputation altogether. But you wouldn't, I'm sure, 
 be cruel enough to blast my chances of being a suc 
 cess. I suppose you've heard that one of my sisters 
 is a countess, and that another is married tc Sir 
 Edgar Bradish, C.B. ?" 
 
 " So Mrs. Pimlico informed me," he answered. 
 
 " I'm afraid, though, that even they wouldn't save 
 me if people were to learn the truth. Consider, 
 please, that I am your pupil and am doing my best to 
 bear in mind all you taught me. No one, I think, 
 would suspect me now of coming from Kansas." 
 
 Her tone was still perfectly serious ; but Clay, to 
 make a diversion, exclaimed jauntily, <ci Why, certain 
 ly not. It was all a joke, of course. My wonder is 
 that I didn't see through the disguise. I shall only 
 be too glad not to let the cat out of the bag. But 
 really, Miss Pimlico, you mustn't treat me so cruelly. 
 You forget that ridicule is much more humiliating 
 than rank abuse." 
 
 "Ridicule, Mr. Clay ! Is there no way in which 
 I can persuade you that I am quite in earnest ? It 
 was no joke at all. Before I left home, and met you, 
 I had all sorts of strange notions. But I am rapidly 
 coming to my senses, and shall be just like every 
 body else before long, if I am not already. I am 
 not laughing at you, I arn agreeing with you. If 
 you haven't confidence in me, ask Mrs. Pimlico. 
 Here she comes." 
 
 "Wh.it is it that I am to decide?" inquired that lady.
 
 156 RACE TO 
 
 " You have arrived just in time to save me from 
 being completely put out of countenance by Miss 
 Pimlico's satire." 
 
 " Well, if there ever was a man who deserved to 
 be made sport of, it's you. You have ruined your 
 repuxafion as a judge of character, mon ami" 
 
 " And made an enemy for life. She won't permit 
 me to apologize, and she has made me a target for 
 the most cruel raillery." 
 
 " What have you to say to this, Evelyn ? " said 
 Mrs. Willoughby. 
 
 " I have been endeavoring to explain to Mr. Clay 
 that I have turned over a new leaf since I arrived, 
 and he won't believe me." 
 
 " He is afraid, I suppose, that you are trying to 
 play another practical joke on him." 
 
 " Precisely," said Clay. 
 
 " But there hasn't been any joke. It was all 
 sheer earnest, and he persists in regarding it as 
 otherwise," exclaimed Evelyn. 
 
 "You see how obdurate she is, Mrs. Pimlico. 
 She has been bringing up rill the absurd speeches I 
 made during the voyage, and quoting them to me 
 as choice bits of wisdom. If there is anything that 
 will confuse a man, it is to hear his own words in 
 another person's mouth." 
 
 " You must give her time. You can't expect to 
 be forgiven all at once," said Mrs. Willoughby, who 
 could not quite make out the drift of the argument. 
 But she was anxious that Clay should regard the 
 episode as reflecting ludicrously on himself rather
 
 FACE TO FAC. I $9 
 
 than as a lack of dignity on her cousin's part. " I 
 will put you next to one another to-night," she said, 
 as he rose to go, "and you can fight it out." 
 
 Evelyn courtesied with profoundness but formal 
 ity, and after a word of badinage between the visitor 
 and his hostess in regard to an indifferent matter, 
 Clay took his leave. 
 
 When the noise of his dog-cart on the gravel path 
 had died away, Mrs. Willoughby glanced at Evelyn, 
 who was still tranquilly busy with her embroidery, 
 and said : 
 
 " Well, dear, what do you think of him ? Is he 
 so dreadful after all ? " 
 
 " He is very much as I thought he would be," she 
 answered. 
 
 " I call him extremely good-looking. He has im 
 proved in his appearance greatly during the last 
 few years." 
 
 "There is very little in common between us," 
 said Evelyn, after a pause. " We are very different." 
 
 " It isn't necessary for two people to be like as 
 peas in order to be friends. Don't scientists say 
 that it is better to marry one's opposite ? Take 
 Willoughby and me, for instance. We are very dis 
 similar in many ways. He likes cold weather, and 
 I'm never so comfortable as when I'm hot, and he 
 idolizes lobster, while I can't abide it." 
 
 " I'm sure I don't see why you are so anxious to 
 bring Mr. Clay and me together, Cousin Clara," 
 said Evelyn, with a laugli. 
 
 " In the first place, dear, he Is, as I have told you
 
 I6O FACE TO FACE. 
 
 before, one of our pleasantest young men, and then 
 your meeting on the steamer, and all were decided' 
 ly unusual a little romantic, in fact. You don't 
 deserve to have such a piece of good luck happen 
 to you, for in my opinion Mr. Clay is just the one 
 whose imagination is likely to be influenced by such 
 an adventure. A great many men would have been 
 disposed to fight shy of you ; but the more I think 
 of it, now that he has taken all the ridicule on him 
 self, the whole affair has become highly interesting. 
 It is always desirable to have something to start 
 from." 
 
 " Do you mean to say that you call Mr. Clay a 
 person of imagination ? " 
 
 "Most assuredly I do. Why, that is one* tremble 
 with him, to my mind," answered Mrs. Willoughby, 
 "He has too much imagination. Consequently he 
 is sometimes very queer. As you know, he and I 
 are quite intimate, and he is apt to talk to me about 
 what is uppermost in his thoughts. I make rather 
 a point to keep up with what people are interested 
 in, and to read all the new books ; but there are days 
 when his ideas are positively Utopian, and I can't 
 follow him in the least. If it hadri't been for his 
 theories he would have married and settled down 
 long before this. I'm sure he would be a great deal 
 happier if he were more like other people/' 
 
 Evelyn smiled as though she were amused. " I 
 don't see how he could be much more like other 
 people." 
 
 11 That's because you don't know him, then. Er-
 
 . 
 
 FACE TO FACE. l6l 
 
 nest Clay is an unusually clever fellow mentally. 
 He used to invent things when he was in college, 
 and was considered quite a mechanical genius. He 
 is up in all sorts of out-of-the-way subjects, and has 
 travelled everywhere. If you had heard him talk 
 yesterday in regard to your adventure, you couldn't 
 have accused him of lack of imagination. With a 
 little encouragement he would have set out that 
 afternoon for Kansas. He seemed to think that the 
 girls in this part of the country had been educated 
 on the wrong principle. I don't know what your 
 view of all this may be," added Mrs. Willoughby, 
 with a laugh, " but in my opinion it looks very sus 
 picious." 
 
 "Suspicious as to what?" asked Evelyn, dog 
 gedly. 
 
 " Oh, you are an innocent love," she said, pro 
 nouncing it wove. " Come, luncheon is ready. You 
 are merely prejudiced, and none are so blind as 
 those who will not see." 
 
 Meanwhile the subject of their conversation had 
 gone away in a decidedly puzzled condition. He 
 felt very much in the dark as to the character of 
 the hyper-dignified young woman whose society he 
 had just quitted. On the spur of the moment, when 
 the extent of his blunder first became apparent, he 
 had been disposed to regard her behavior on board 
 ship in the light of a lark. He had known, in the 
 course of his experience of the other sex, girls of 
 this sort, who, reserved and proper in general 
 society, were capable of acting like the Old Harry, 
 ii
 
 1 62 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 so to speak, when they found themselves alone with 
 a man under favorable circumstances. This was 
 the view of the affair he had taken to begin with, 
 although rather surprised at such a manifestation of 
 deviltry in an English girl of Evelyn's position. He 
 was not fond of hoydens, and notwithstanding her 
 superb beauty, which appeared to even more ad 
 vantage than on the occasion of their former inter 
 view, he had felt a pang of disappointment at this 
 reflection. But her resolute denial that she had in 
 tended to play any joke upon him, coupled with the 
 pertinacity of her reserve, which, had she been one 
 of the class he suspected, would, in his judgment, 
 have been more prompt to disappear, had shaken 
 his conviction. While accusing her of an intention 
 to satirize him by her repetition of his opinions, he 
 had been conscious that the tone in which she ac 
 knowledged him to be in the right, though sugges 
 tive of mockery from its very composure, had yet 
 an undercurrent of mournfulness inconsistent with 
 a flippant frame of mind, which now puzzled him 
 still further. He found himself, as he drove along, 
 recalling with a freshened interest the sentiments 
 she had expressed during their conversation on the 
 steamer, and before reaching home he had made up 
 his mind that what she had said to him this morn 
 ing was literally true, and that she had left Eng 
 land with the expectation of finding the United 
 States totally different from what it really was. As 
 soon as this idea occurred to him, he felt that it 
 must be the true explanation of the mystery, and he
 
 FA-CE TO /vrc& 163 
 
 was quick to appreciate that she had been equally 
 sincere, moreover, in her declaration of having mis 
 taken him for an Englishman. He realized, too, 
 that his own strictures must have been the first step 
 in opening her eyes to the truth, which was now, of 
 course, palpable to her. This was what she had 
 meant by describing herself as his pupil. 
 
 The more he thought over this view of the case 
 the more probable did it seem to Clay that he had 
 found the clew to Miss Pimlico's behavior. His 
 feeling of disappointment gave place to a sense of 
 deepened curiosity. He asked himself how she 
 could have come by such extravagant notions in 
 regard to America she, a girl brought up among 
 conservative influences, and closely allied to the 
 aristocracy of the United Kingdom. What was 
 the origin of the almost visionary enthusiasm that 
 still bewitched his recollection of her ? At least 
 here was somebody who was a little new and out 
 of the ordinary run, whatever she might declare 
 to the contrary. He reflected that behind her as 
 sumption of conformity to the requirements of her 
 present surroundings, there lurked undoubtedly a 
 spirit of revolt, which for a moment stunned and 
 discouraged was none the less real. Perhaps on 
 further investigation he might be disappointed ; but 
 at least she was not commonplace ; and, apart from 
 her opinions, why should he steel his fancy against 
 the majesty of her presence and the eloquence of 
 her eyes ? 
 
 While under the influence of this frame of mind
 
 1 64 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 he went up to get ready for dinner with a degree of 
 anticipation more nearly akin to excitement than he 
 had known for many a month ki regard to meeting 
 one of the opposite sex. 
 
 Evelyn spared no pains indeed she never did 
 now to make her toilette impervious to criticism, 
 and Clay was quick to perceive, on entering the 
 room, that he would have no opportunity to mo 
 nopolize her society in the gay world. She looked 
 even more lovely than when he had seen her ear 
 lier in the day, and she wore the dress in which 
 she had first appeared on the occasion of the 
 Deckers' ball. Her greeting to him was a trifle less 
 reserved than it had been in the morning, but 
 savored even more pronouncedly of the grand lady. 
 During the few moments previous to the announce 
 ment of dinner he had to be content to be one of 
 three dancing attendance on her, and xvas conscious 
 that she directed her vivacious sallies at the others, 
 rather than himself, giving him a sensation of being 
 left out in the cold. But at last he obtained posses 
 sion of her, and led her away captive, as it almost 
 seemed, for her fingers rested so lightly on the 
 very hem of his coat-sleeve, as to suggest that she 
 woul& have been better pleased not to have them 
 there at all. 
 
 He found himself a moment later spearing his 
 oysters with gravity, and reflecting how thoroughly 
 conventional and elegant she had appeared in the 
 drawing-room. Evidently she had the art of chit 
 chat and badinage and airy nothings at her tongue's
 
 /AC/-: TO FACE. 165 
 
 end. She seemed spirited but volatile. At least 
 this was the criticism prompted by the pique which 
 had suddenly taken possession of him. He was 
 not accustomed to wait in the background, which 
 was what he was doing now. as the young man ou 
 Miss Pimlico's other side was completely absorbing 
 her attention. But Clay was too well acquainted 
 with his own nature not to know at heart that h<* 
 was jealous, and that the few sentences he had ex 
 changed with her before dinner had only deepened 
 his predilection wellnigh into a passion. 
 
 The instant he appreciated this he felt the in> 
 pulse to dispute with Ins rival the mastery of the 
 situation. It happened that Mrs. Willoughby's per 
 ception divined his annoyarice from his solemnity. 
 Immediately she turned the current of conversation, 
 so that the offending admirer was obliged to quit 
 his attentions to Evelyn in order to save the lady at 
 his other side from being left to her own reflecr 
 tions. Otherwise Clay might have experienced 
 more difficulty in getting control of the field. But 
 now, as though she recognized there was no escape, 
 Miss Pimlico turned in his direction and began to 
 talk. Her opening remark was a question relating 
 to the social tittle-tattle of the hour which required 
 an answer, a style of conversation which she kept 
 up in a steady flow, without heeding the effort that 
 he made now and again to broach some less stereo 
 typed topic. Clay's answers grew palpably shorter 
 and his countenance more gloomy, as a result of 
 her babbling, and of the manifest interest which sh<e
 
 1 66 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 seemed to take in the petty small-talk that he had 
 listened to with a constantly increasing sense of 
 boredom for years. When a pause ensued, she intro 
 duced a number of anagrams and enigmas, some 
 French, and some English, no one of which he had 
 not seen at least a dozen times before. He had not 
 come this was his biting reflection to talk about 
 whether he was invited to this party, or who was 
 going to that, or to bandy conundrums like a youth 
 of twenty-one with a doll just out of the nursery. 
 She borrowed his pencil-case, and he was obliged 
 perforce to try to seem interested in the puzzles, old 
 as the hills, which she drew on her dinner-card for 
 his delectation, with a feeling all the while that he 
 was being kept out of Eden, as it were, from sheer 
 contrariety. What had he done that she should 
 put a seal on her real thoughts, and offer so stale a 
 substitute as these platitudes and wearisome jests? 
 Could it be that, despite all, he was deceived, and she 
 was merely the silly miss she appeared ? He chose 
 to believe that he really thought so, and when the 
 current of the table-talk again changed, he turned 
 himself with a show of devotion to the young lady 
 at his right hand, whom he had seen fit to neglect 
 hitherto, and made himself so voluble as to daze 
 her with the mental fireworks a strange medley 
 of philosophy and cynicism which he shot off un 
 interruptedly until the grapes were passed round. 
 
 After a moody cigar he returned to the drawing- 
 room to find any design he may have had of renew 
 ing his tde-a-tcte with Evelyn quite out of the ques-
 
 TQ FACE. l$7 
 
 tion, for she was easily the most courted girl in the 
 room, which meant a great deal, as Mrs. Willoughby 
 had made every effort to assemble the cream of the 
 fashionable young people of the place. It was evi 
 dent to him as he watched her that she was much 
 more original in the style of her conversation with 
 others than when talking to him, to judge from the 
 frequent laughter of her admirers and the anima 
 tion of her own face. He stood by the mantel 
 piece ostensibly carrying on a dialogue with an old 
 acquaintance, whose mental processes he was suffi 
 ciently familiar with to be able to make appropri 
 ate answers while his thoughts were elsewhere. 
 Once lie caught Evelyn's glance turned in his di 
 rection as if with deliberation. Their eyes met, 
 and hers were coldly withdrawn. 
 
 There was some circulation, and presently he was 
 free to wander about. Mrs. Willoughby smiled at 
 him across the room, and he went over and sat down 
 beside her. 
 
 " Well," she said, " how did you get on ? " 
 
 " We didn't," he answered. 
 
 " It was your own fault, then. She is a giri after 
 your own heart." 
 
 " Because she has a stock of French charades ? " 
 he asked, a little bitterly. 
 
 " She is fond of books, and has all sorts of theo 
 ries. She is awfully well educated." 
 
 " What do you call education." 
 
 " She passed several years at Girton, for one 
 thing." Mrs. Willoughby had made up her mind,
 
 J68 FAC1-: TO FACE. 
 
 after due reflection, that so long as Evelyn was in 
 no danger of playing any more antics, the most 
 likely way of making her acceptable to Mr. Clay 
 was to appeal to his quixotic side. She had a feel 
 ing, which she had already communicated to her 
 cousin, that too much propriety at first might be 
 disappointing. " Not a mixed college you know, 
 but a college," she added. 
 
 " Indeed." 
 
 " It isn't usual, of course, but it doesn't seem to 
 have dorie her any harm, and I presume that merely 
 in an intellectual way it is rather a good experience. 
 You were complaining, you know, yesterday, that 
 :tll our girls are brought up after the same pattern, 
 and don't dare call their souls their own." 
 
 "Why do you repeat to me my own observations ? 
 As I told you recently, I hate to be confronted with 
 opinions which were intended to be forgotten as 
 soon as uttered." 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby laughed. " You are as supremely 
 cautious as ever, I see. Now, that you have dis 
 covered that she did not originate in Kansas, you 
 are afraid of running any risk of putting your head 
 in a noose. ' Midnight caught me peering at the 
 stars ' have you ceased to remember so soon ? But 
 don't be too certain, my friend, that she would have 
 you, even if your Royal Highness were to go down 
 on your knees. I apprehend that, like yourself, she 
 has ideals, and loves to contemplate the mountain- 
 fops." 
 
 "Of what nature are her ideals ?" he asked.
 
 FACE TO FACE. 169 
 
 *' I am not her confidant. I am merely general 
 izing my estimate of her character. Of course the 
 things she said on board ship were largely nonsense, 
 as the whole thing was a joke ; but what I mean is, 
 I don't believe there is the man living who could 
 get her to say ' yes ' unless she loved him, vhich is 
 something not altogether common in this mercenary 
 age." 
 
 " Not altogether. I have no doubt that she will 
 have plenty of opportunities to scrutinize her own 
 feelings in that respect," he said, glancing at the 
 group before Miss Pimlico. 
 
 " She is very much admired, undoubtedly," an 
 swered Mrs. Willoughby, " but in a matter of that sort 
 she would be very fastidious. I speak of it merely as 
 an evidence of the kind of girl she is. She looks at 
 everything purely from her own standpoint, which 
 is, after all, rather refreshing, when it does not go 
 too far. Her behavior during the voyage alarmed 
 me at first, because I did not understand it. How 
 thoroughly you -were taken in ! It showed a great 
 deal of spirit and imagination on her part, I think, 
 to be able to carry out the impersonation so cleverly. 
 As to your not getting on, you can hardly expect a 
 young woman whom you have picked to pieces to 
 her face in cold blood to be ready to throw herself 
 on your neck the next time you meet." 
 
 Their conversation was interrupted at this point 
 by the rising of some of the guests, and the signal 
 for departure having thus been given, the party 
 broke up. Clay, as an intimate of the family, lin
 
 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 gered to the last, and was slow to take his leave. 
 After having sat next to Miss Pimlico at dinner, he 
 tnought it becoming to speak to her for a moment or 
 two before going home. He believed himself still 
 merely curious to discover her real character, and 
 that, on the whole, he would be better pleased to 
 find the game not worth the candle. He felt con 
 vinced that if he could get her alone by herself he 
 would be able to solve his doubts speedily ; there 
 fore he varied the current of platitudes that, owing 
 to the stiffness under which he was laboring, es 
 caped from his lips, by inquiring if she would walk 
 with him on the cliffs the following afternoon. 
 
 Evelyn looked at him a moment doubtfully. She 
 even flushed a little ; but then she smiled and said, 
 " Is it allowable for young ladies in this country to 
 go out walking with gentlemen ? " 
 
 Clay was in so touchy a frame of mind that he 
 would very possibly have accepted her response as 
 a refusal, had not Mrs. Willoughby, who overheard 
 the dialogue, exclaimed at once : 
 
 " Oh yes, my dear, it is quite allowable on Sun 
 days, I assure you. Everybody walks on the cliffs. 
 The shore is charming, and you have not yet seen it 
 to advantage." 
 
 This settled the question, and accordingly Clay 
 made his appearance at the appointed hour. Go 
 ing down from the house, they followed the continu 
 ous path which divides the domain of hushed ele 
 gance from the precipitous descent seawards. A 
 great many couples were sauntering along in the
 
 FAC TO FAC&. 171 
 
 same manner, stopping to exchange salutations at 
 the several turn-stiles designed to mark the bounda 
 ries of estates. Evelyn already knew almost every 
 body ; but Clay, who was even more familiar with 
 the social celebrities, satisfied by abundant anecdote 
 the interest she manifested to find out further details 
 regarding them. This girl, he said, had been engaged 
 four times, and that young man was a dripping-pan 
 for the money of four wealthy maiden aunts and a 
 bachelor uncle ; and the woman with the white, 
 proud face, exquisitely dressed and accompanied by 
 a pretty boy, with long, waving curls, was said to be 
 dying of a broken heart because of her husband's 
 attentions to some one else. Later they caught a 
 glimpse of the husband and the lady's rival, flirting 
 among the rocks. Clay recognized them by the 
 feather of her bonnet, which rose above the ledge 
 where they had ensconced themselves. It was not 
 far from this point that he led the way down the 
 bank, acd helped Evelyn to clamber over the stones 
 until they reached a spot just where the waves 
 could not wet them, and seemingly out of the world. 
 It was a beautiful prospect. The sea was begin 
 ning to be radiant with the glow of approaching 
 twilight, and a stillness was settling on the waters 
 that augured ill for the prospect of a couple of yachts 
 which were drifting, with all their wings spread, a 
 league from shore, getting to an anchorage before 
 dark. 
 
 "How beautiful!" exclaimed Evelyn, and for a 
 moment her eyes seemed as if straining to catch a
 
 1/2 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 glimpse of infinity through the glory of the sun- 
 clouds. " It is almost like being at sea again." 
 
 " Not quite, Miss Pimlico," Clay answered, tossing 
 a pebble into the water "at least for me. Then 
 you told me what you thought and believed, but 
 now, like an anemone, you shrink into your skin 
 and hide your real self from me."
 
 IX. 
 
 SHE paused an instant before replying. " My 
 real self ? What do you call my real self ? " she 
 said. 
 
 " J mean that you were very different on board ship 
 than you have been since." 
 
 " That is because I was different, Mr. Clay. As I 
 told you yesterday, I have changed, or rather my 
 ideas have." 
 
 "Yet you really believed what you said to me 
 then ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes, most thoroughly. But after discovering 
 one's self to be the victim of a delusion, it's sense 
 less not to alter one's opinions." 
 
 " Of course you are very much disappointed,' 1 he 
 said. 
 
 " I do not require sympathy, I assure you. I am 
 having an extremely pleasant visit." 
 
 " In spite of finding us so much like the rest of 
 the world." 
 
 " I am a\vare," she answered, " that I'm open to 
 the charge of taking my humiliation too little to 
 heart. But what, pray, could I do ? There would 
 be no use in refusing to be civil to you all because 
 you are not what I expected. Besides, I'm getting"
 
 174 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 resigned so rapidly, I am by no means sure I would 
 have you different if I could The air is infectious, 
 and I find myself almost wondering how I ever could 
 have held the views I did." 
 
 " Then you really think we are noticeably Euro- 
 peanized ? " 
 
 " Most certainly, Mr. Clay. Your mind may rest 
 quite easy on that score. In a few unimportant de 
 tails you are still not wholly perfect, but even the 
 counterfeit is admirable, and it can scarcely be long 
 before the best judges will be perplexed to catalogue 
 you." 
 
 " I was afraid so." 
 
 " Afraid, Mr. Clay ? I had supposed that you, of 
 all men, would be gratified at such a statement." 
 
 " Remember you've made one error in regard to 
 me already, Miss Pimlico. It may be that you've 
 mistaken my character as well as my nationality." 
 
 " Excuse me, I am judging simply by your own 
 words. It was you who first opened my eyes to the 
 truth of what I've just asserted." 
 
 "You took my words in a different sense from 
 what I intended by them. I didn't mean to imply 
 a desire on the part of our people to imitate anybody. 
 I merely wished to make it clear that we are not 
 so outlandish as some of the portrayers of American 
 manners would have the world believe. To tell the 
 truth, I had never considered the matter exactly in 
 the light in which you put it, and I may say I was 
 very much interested by your question, and have 
 thought about it ever since."
 
 FACE TO FACE. 175 
 
 " What question ?" 
 
 " You asked me if it were possible that this re 
 public of free men and women could be nothing but 
 a gorgeous reflection of the virtues and vices of 
 older countries." 
 
 " I remember." 
 
 " As I've said, it set me thinking, and though, 
 despite your presumable opinion to the contrary, 
 I'm patriotic enough to believe that we're not go 
 ing to lose our originality altogether, I must confess 
 the outlook is not especially encouraging. It is 
 undoubtedly true," he continued, " that the vigorous 
 but raw manifestations of independence which made 
 my forefathers world-famous, and were regarded as 
 most palpably and distinctively national, are being 
 relegated further and further west everyday, and in 
 a few years, as you justly observed yesterday, will 
 have disappeared before the march of so-called civ 
 ilization. I for one though very likely we shall 
 disagree on this point do not deplore the change 
 of temper that prefers the polished gentleman to the 
 rail-splitter ; but the consideration that your in 
 quiry makes pertinent is, whether, in the course of 
 becoming more complex in our notions as a people, 
 the peculiar spirit which animated the Puritan 
 fathers and their first descendants is not threatening 
 to languish and expire under our altered conditions. 
 What, in short, is taking the place of the prim New 
 England Sunday of the last century, and the too- 
 spontaneous, but, on the whole, equitable Derringer 
 that was the administrator of justice in some portions
 
 17$ FACE TO FACE. 
 
 of the Republic during the earlier decades of this ? 
 That, I presume, is the real enigma confronting us 
 to-day, Miss Pimlico, for there can be no question 
 as to the complete change in customs and opinions 
 which has been inaugurated during the twenty years 
 that have elapsed since you and I were born." 
 
 The conversation had taken so different a turn 
 from what Evelyn had expected that she recalled 
 Mrs. Willoughby's remarks in Mr. Clay's behalf 
 with a sense of feeling almost provoked that he was 
 appearing a little less worthy of disdain than her 
 first impressions had inclined her to believe. Could 
 it be that he was sincere in what he was saying ? At 
 least it was interesting, and decidedly a step in ad 
 vance of the reflections which had elicited her own 
 query. She had spoken under the firm but errone 
 ous conviction that the rail-splitter was still ubiqui 
 tous in the new world, arid here was her adversary 
 on that occasion not content with showing her how 
 greatly she was. mistaken, but suggesting, moreover, 
 the possibility of something better than primitive 
 heroics. She was so quick to catch his idea that she 
 j-eplied at once : 
 
 "You have improved upon my idea vastly, Mr. 
 Clay. Indeed I've no right to speak of it as mine. 
 But you mustn't think me so unintelligent as to pre 
 fer a rude society, however noble in purpose, to the 
 same society ameliorated by such beauty and luxury 
 as we are surrounded by, provided, as you say, the 
 Iqfty aspirations have not been smothered during 
 Vmi e}ain?ed just now that I had
 
 FACE TO FACE. I? 7 
 
 made another mistake in your own case. It wouldn't 
 be very strange, considering that I have been on 
 this side of the water barely a week, if I had formed 
 my conclusions too hastily. I shall be only too glad 
 to be re-enlightened, I assure you." 
 
 " The trouble is I don't quite know whether your 
 conclusions were unjust or not," he said. "We 
 certainly started with aspirations that is, by 'we ' I 
 mean the pioneers who explored the country and 
 laid the foundations of our existence as a people. 
 They were filled with a true manhood whose evident 
 ambition was to make a nation greater and better 
 than had ever existed before. That was the incen 
 tive of the spirit which successively subdued the 
 wilderness, threw off the shackles of despotism, and 
 made this confederation of States a home for all 
 who fancied themselves oppressed. In the course 
 of evolution from a mere band of settlers to the 
 stupendous factor we are in the world's affairs to 
 day, there has been the belief, deep-set in the minds 
 of all classes, that we were in advance of other na 
 tions, and were setting them an example of noble 
 living. When the 'effete dynasties of Europe' 
 sneered at the loose-jointedness of our institutions 
 and ridiculed our manners, our forefathers said, 
 'Wait a hundred years and see where we are then ; 
 give the experiment time ; ' and went on planting 
 and maufacturingand legislating, undaunted, in the 
 belief that both morally and politically they were 
 far in the van. They were hard-working, thrifty 
 men, but poor in this world's goods, and so intent 
 
 12
 
 178 FAt& TO 
 
 were they in cutting down the forests and laying 
 railroads and developing the resources of the 
 country, that they had no leisure to do more than 
 imagine, in a general way, what they expected of 
 their great-grandchildren. Yet so certain were they 
 of the sacredness of their mission, that their money- 
 getting was not like other money-getting. They 
 gathered in their harvests and sold their merchan 
 dise with a conviction that God was on their side 
 and that they were on God's side. That was in the 
 days, Miss Pimlico, when everybody in this country 
 had to do something in order to live. But those 
 days are over. We are beginning to have a leisure 
 class. The descendants of many of the men who 
 cut down the forests and built the railroads are roll 
 ing in wealth, and are free to do nothing from one 
 year's end to the other, if they choose. The ques 
 tion is whether that leisure class is seeking to make 
 good the expectations of those who sleep in the 
 churchyard, or is to be no better than the leisure 
 class of the older civilizations to which we Ameri 
 cans have been taught to regard ourselves as supe 
 rior." 
 
 " And you think it is seeking to make them 
 good?" said Evelyn, eagerly. 
 
 "It is almost too soon to tell. Do you know, it 
 sometimes seems to me as though there were a law 
 of nature, against which man struggles in vain, that 
 the soul should stagnate and die when the means of 
 existing without labor is supplied. Do you remem 
 ber the fable of Midas ? I have often thought of it
 
 FACE TO FACE. 179 
 
 in this connection. The hard, cold gold numbs our 
 senses until we starve with plenty. You are a 
 graduate of Girton College, so your cousin tells me," 
 he added. 
 
 " Yes. Does it shock you ? " she still could not 
 resist asking. 
 
 " Shock me ? Why should it ? I see you're de 
 termined to think the worst of me. No, my reason 
 for referring to it was because I thought that as a 
 student the idea might have occurred to you that 
 the so-called leisure class in the world really have 
 the power to affect civilization more significantly 
 than any other. The great masses of people have 
 to struggle for their daily bread, and the moments 
 which they are able to give to improving the con 
 dition of society without regard to pecuniary con 
 siderations are curtailed, even in the case of the rela 
 tively prosperous, by the extravagant demands of 
 our modern system of living. But there are some 
 indeed, they are getting to be numerous on this side 
 of the water as well as abroad who have such 
 ample means that if they were disposed to devote 
 themselves to improve the welfare of mankind, in 
 stead of spending their days in comfortable idleness 
 or in the pursuit of mere pleasure, might influence 
 incalculably the progress of humanity. It seems a 
 trifle pitiful in the face of all the noble aspirations 
 of the race sung by poets principally in needy cir 
 cumstances to be haunted by the suspicion that 
 moral enthusiasm diminishes when the craving for 
 the means of living luxuriously is satisfied. That
 
 180 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 is the scientific basis of the theory with which some 
 of us satisfy conscience that after a man has grown 
 rich his obligation to society ceases and he's at lib 
 erty to live as he pleases, provided he breaks no laws. 
 What have been the so-called nobilities of the most 
 civilized nations of the world but idlers in the main ? 
 How large a portion of their lives is to-day made 
 up of vapid ceremonies and frivolous pleasures ! " 
 
 " I know," said Evelyn. " One of my chief rea 
 sons for wishing to come to America was because I 
 believed I should escape all that. You have no 
 hereditary titles, at least no arbitrary distinctions 
 of rank." 
 
 " Not yet. But you were quick to perceive that 
 the circumstance of having a countess for a sister 
 gave you a heightened importance here in many 
 eyes. I am not prepared to maintain that it did 
 not in mine. And if you will allow me to be ego 
 tistical, Miss Pimlico, I may say that because I am 
 myself a fairly good illustration of the leisure class 
 of this country and am tolerably familiar with its 
 bent, I feel justified in being apprehensive as to the 
 future. I presume," he said, "you have not been 
 kept in ignorance that I am a very rich man." 
 
 " Even the stewardess on board ship was aware 
 of the fact, Mr. Clay. It was she also who informed 
 me that you were an American ; but that I did not 
 believe." 
 
 " Humph ! Yes, I am worth six millions of dol 
 lars in my own right. I have never known since I 
 was born what it was to want anything I couldn't
 
 FACE TO FACE. 15* 
 
 have. I was given the best education this country 
 can afford, and I've travelled abroad to my heart's 
 Content. I speak three languages besides my own. 
 I have perfect health, and more than the ordinary 
 run of intelligence. But what do I amount to ? 
 Nothing ; and no one is more conscious of it than I 
 myself. I don't even take care of my property, but 
 hire a beggar to do it for me. I go to the club and 
 into society ; I drive a coach, and I follow the 
 hounds ; I have a fast yacht ; I am a capital fencer 
 and whist-player, and I pass every summer in Eu 
 rope. I read all the new books, and hate read 
 most of the old ones, and know a" good dramatic 
 performance when I see it. That is my life." 
 
 He paused a moment, then as his companion 
 ifiade no comment, said, in continuation : 
 
 " I suppose there seems iri your tfiind a Very sim 
 ple answer to all this. Very likely you have it on 
 the tip of your tongue to ask, Why don't y'au do 
 Something ?" 
 
 " I should prefer to have 4 you tell rile without n>y 
 asking the question." 
 
 " I don't feel at all sure, Miss Pimlico," he said, 
 reflectively, "that I haven't led the conversation tin 
 to this point in order to defend myself in order to 
 show what almost insuperable obstacles beset the 
 individual in my position who would fain become 
 more than a flaneur. The problem is by no means 
 so easy of solution as you may imagine. Mert go 
 into business to make" money. I've; mdre 1 than I 
 can spend already. The professions are full to
 
 1 82 FACE TO PACK. 
 
 overflowing, and I'm not wanted there. I have no 
 talent for public life. As to considerations of be 
 nevolence, I give away a large slice of my income 
 as it is ; for I should have added to the description 
 of myself that, so far as externals go, I am eminently 
 respectable. I'm neither a rake nor a niggard. 
 And yet I am not content with myself, though I try 
 to take comfort from the reflection that my unrest 
 is merely the vestige of ihe too-sensitive conscience 
 of my Puritan ancestors. You know hens still con 
 tinue to run about the farm-yard after their heads 
 are cut off. I shall die and be gathered to my 
 fathers, and maybe my sons (if I have any) will be 
 able to live in idle comfort without being con 
 scious of the qualms that pester me ; unless they 
 chance to be taught by the rough hands of the 
 masses, who fancy, poor devils, that they would suc 
 ceed better were they in our shoes that no man 
 is free to be born rich and do nothing to benefit 
 his fellow-creatures. It's merely a question of time 
 when that doctrine is inculcated. But I am digress 
 ing. It is not a question of my sons. I was en 
 deavoring to explain to you, Miss Pimlicoj why / 
 am idle. Perhaps you have no clearer perception 
 yet ? " 
 
 " I am listening," she said. " Please go on.'' 
 "What the world should demand of men circum 
 stanced as I am is that they should take a new 
 departure attempt something which others cannot 
 do. But did you ever reflect how much moral cour 
 age that requires ? It is so much more easy to lie
 
 FACE TO FACE. 183 
 
 upon the lounge reading Turgenieff and Balzac, or 
 to thrill with the melody of Raff, and fancy the days 
 melting into one long bliss, than to make up one's 
 mind to be an eccentric, for, as I have said, what is 
 wanted are not lawyers and merchants, but souls 
 not afraid to run amuck with society as it exists, 
 with the hope of changing its current. I am the 
 representative of a long line of toiling ancestors, 
 who, with faith in God and untiring zeal, little by 
 little amassed the fortune which I have inherited. 
 But there was no choice given to them they had 
 to work their ambition to accumulate was not sat 
 isfied. Mine is, and with the gratification comes 
 the sense of realizing how money tends to make the 
 soul torpid, just as ceasing from physical labor re 
 laxes the muscles of the body. And what follows ? 
 If we do not devote ourselves to mere vanities, 
 we cultivate our minds until they're like razors 
 and can cleave hairs. We grow agnostic and self- 
 analytical, and suppress enthusiasm. Beauty and 
 luxury become indispensable to our surround 
 ings. We are serious and ardent one day even as 
 I may fancy myself now but next morning the 
 sloth that numbs those who have great possessions 
 makes us faint-hearted and cynical again. It is so 
 easy to argue to one's self, What is the use ? and so 
 much more comfortable to be like everybody else ; 
 and being too intelligent for superstitions, we are 
 ready to take our chances with the herd as to what 
 may come hereafter. It is now my turn to shock 
 you, I fear. Your life, I imagine, has been a differ-
 
 TO 
 
 qnt one from mine, although you come from a coun 
 try where the leisure class has been held up to the 
 minds of American youth, since our first Fourth of 
 July, as undesirable of imitation." 
 
 " I have had no life as yet," said Evelyn. " I am 
 only just beginning to live. Up to this time I have 
 been a rnere student and Jookcr-on." She sat lean 
 ing back against the wall of rock with folded arms. 
 " But I think I understand you. At least," she conr 
 tinued, " I appreciate much more accurately than 
 I used the seductions of wealth and social position. 
 As I told you, I think, yesterday, I am different 
 from what I was, and where I supposed that I was 
 sure of myself well," she said, with a smile, " I 
 an) no longer sure. It once seemed so easy and 
 natural to despise everything of the sort, but I am 
 beginning to realize that it's not so easy after all r 
 and perhaps not sensible. So you sec, Mr. Clay, 
 I'm hardly the person to criticise anyone else's views 
 when I am far from certain as to my own. YOU 
 were speaking just now of new ideas. What you said 
 as to the very rich being able to affect the world ?o 
 greatly was a new suggestion to me, and-r-and I think 
 I'm glad I'm not very rich, for one would havs to do 
 something uncommon, I can see, in order not to be 
 troubled by qualms; and yet one might not be strong 
 enough when the time came." She was silent a 
 moment, and then exclaimed : " How I have altered 
 in the last ten days ! You must possess some sort 
 of influence over me," she continued; " fqr here J 
 am. unburdening myself to you
 
 FACE TO PACE. 185 
 
 " It is very little that you have told me. I began 
 our conversation with the object of getting at your 
 ideas, and I have been prating all this time about 
 my own." 
 
 " You have been teaching me to look at the world 
 as it really is. You can hardly expect me," she said, 
 with a shake of her head, " to be very grateful, I 
 think, Mr. Clay. It is not altogether inspiriting to 
 watch one's most cherished illusions vanish into 
 smoke." 
 
 " But may be they are not illusions. Have I not 
 told you already that one of them has interested me 
 deeply ? " 
 
 " And for the last ten minutes you've been doing 
 your best to prove to me how untenable it is. No,. 
 Mr. Clay, I am merely passing through the experi 
 ence which most young people have to undergo in 
 discovering life to be quite different from what they 
 have imagined it. I was amply warned, too, but, as 
 is apt to be the case, I was confident that I knew 
 best." 
 
 "Then you went to Girton contrary to the pref 
 erences of your family, 1 presume ?" 
 
 " They felt dreadfully about it. It was totally at 
 variance with all their traditions and established 
 notions as to propriety. I have been a thorn in 
 their flesh ever since I was born. I've always 
 wanted to strike out for myself, and have never had 
 the same interests as they. My sisters accepted as 
 a matter of course what was set before them, made 
 brilliant matches, and satisfied the pride of papa and
 
 tS6 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 mamma. I'm considered queer and incomprehensl 
 ble, because I have thought and studied on my own 
 account and disdained what seems to them vital to 
 happiness." 
 
 "How did you come to be so different?" Clay asked. 
 
 " I was born so. It was natural to me to be in 
 dependent. And since I began to think for myself 
 I have supposed that in following out my own bent 
 I was imitating the example of girls over here. 
 But now that I've found out my mistake I shall go 
 back at the close of my visit, and doubtless marry 
 some noble lord, and settle down to be as conven 
 tional as the rest." 
 
 " Humph ! What did you have in mind to do, 
 before leaving home ? " 
 
 " I hadn't got so far as that, Mr. Clay. As I have 
 told you, I was a mere dreamer. I indulged in 
 theories and speculations that don't stand the tests 
 of the work-a-day world. My father sent me to the 
 United States to cure me, he said I'm cured, I 
 think ; but scarcely from the causes that he had in 
 mind. If you'll believe it, he regards you as a race 
 of Utopians, who defy law, and decorum, and every 
 thing that savors of established order, and his hope 
 was that I should get my fill of radicalism and be 
 come disgusted with it. But why am I talking to 
 you in this fashion? Though you must be- accus 
 tomed to such confidences, unless that is a fiction, 
 like everything else." 
 
 " I do not understand you exactly. Is what a 
 fiction ? "
 
 FACE TO FACE. 1 87 
 
 " Ah, it is, then. One hears so much of the inti 
 macies between men and women in this country. I 
 was reluctant to believe that they exist only in the 
 imagination." 
 
 " You need not come to that conclusion," he said, 
 with a smile. " I fancy your imagination may even 
 be short of the truth so far as they are concerned. 
 It is certainly the custom here for men and women 
 to interchange thoughts and opinions to a greater 
 extent than anywhere else in the world. They 
 make companions of each other. As you suggest, 
 I've been on terms of more or less intimacy with a 
 number of your sex, but I may say that I have 
 never listened to a confidence that interested me 
 more than the one you have just made." 
 
 " It will require a great many compliments to in 
 demnify my pride for the shock it suffered on board 
 ship," she said, laughingly. " However, it is pleas 
 ant to be regarded as an equal. You know, in Eng 
 land we are ordinarily considered by men as slightly 
 their inferiors." 
 
 " It isn't so on this side of the water. Men seek 
 women for advice as well as sympathy. An intelli 
 gent as well as good woman has immense possibili 
 ties for influence, if she only sees fit to exert it in 
 the right way." 
 
 "You speak as if you thought they were not apt 
 to, Mr. Clay." 
 
 " They are at least equally to blame with men, if 
 what we were saying just now as to the degeneracy 
 of the leisure class in America be true. If they
 
 1 88 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 would but set the standard of living high, there 
 might be more hope, but I often think that they are 
 worse than we in their devotion to mere vanities. 
 J can recall half a dozen girls quite as rich as I am 
 in their individual rights who are living equally in 
 sipid lives." 
 
 "There is some comfort for us English girls in 
 the reflection that we are not expected to set stan 
 dards, only to be thoroughly good, and if we are 
 just a little stupid, it is rather a point in our favor." 
 
 " It can scarcely be much comfort to you, Miss 
 Pimlico, for on your own showing anyone would 
 magine you'd been born here." 
 
 " Ah, but I'm quite cured, as I've told you already, 
 and am going home to cast off all responsibilities. 
 When I'm the duchess of something or other, and 
 mistress of a grand estate, I'll invite you to stay with 
 me, to see how completely I've reformed. But, per 
 haps you'll have become too much of a radical by 
 that time, and have fulfilled your theories about the 
 necessity of doing something uncommon." 
 
 "Not much danger, I fear," he answered. " Laugh 
 away I have laid myself open to ridicule, I admit. 
 I shall wake up to-morrow the same listless spirit as 
 ever. But at this moment it really does seem to me 
 mortifying," he said, wistfully, " to think that just 
 as the old world arc beginning to acknowledge us 
 to be right, we should be striving to imitate them." 
 
 " I have no wish to laugh," Evelyn said ; " I de 
 plore the situation thoroughly. But you have dem 
 onstrated to me very clearly how irrational it
 
 FACE TO FACE. 189 
 
 would be to look for anything different. We must 
 take the world as we find it, after all. It is getting 
 late, Mr. Clay," she said, rising to her feet. "We 
 should be going home, and by way of suiting our 
 conversation to the sensible deduction we have ar 
 rived at, do tell me someiKng about Lenox, for my 
 cousin means to take me there early in September."
 
 AS Clay puffed his cigar that evening he knew he 
 was in love. For the first time in his life he 
 felt that he had met a woman for whose sake he 
 would be ready to commit extravagances. He 
 had waited ten years in the hope that this hour 
 would arrive, and here it was. At last he had 
 found her her, the perfection of womanhood, beau 
 tiful of feature and limb and mind and soul. There 
 was nothing lacking. Even his hypercritical ken 
 could pick no flaw in her. He felt that with her by 
 his side he would be able to meet the glances of the 
 most fastidious, and never flinch. How often, after 
 passing newly wedded friends in the street, he had 
 asked himself, with wondering pity, what they had 
 seen to admire in their wives ? But no one would 
 be at a loss to understand his infatuation. Was it 
 not enough to look in her face, in order to perceive 
 that she was noble ? 
 
 But no matter what others might think, he was 
 sure himself. Hers was no petty, lukewarm nature, 
 circumscribed by the narrow limitations of a time 
 serving idea of living. Enthusiasm shone from her 
 eyes, and courage nerved her lips. She had charmed 
 him from the first, even in spite of atrocious incon*
 
 FACE TO FACE. IQI 
 
 gruities ; and now that these had been explained 
 away, what was there to prevent his failing down 
 and worshipping her ? He would marry her. Thank 
 heaven he was one of the first in the field, and was 
 master of his own time. If she would not have him, 
 he would follow her to the ends of the earth until 
 she did. She was prejudiced against him by the 
 unfortunate blunder he had committed during the 
 voyage, but unremitting devotion should testify to 
 the sincerity of his repentance. 
 
 As he thus gave the rein to his fancy he could not 
 help recalling how he had been wont to smile de 
 risively when he heard other rnen rave in the delirium 
 of love. It had been rather a theory of his that to 
 be desperately smitten, as they appeared to be, was 
 inconsistent with nice powers of discrimination and 
 a highly evolved nature ; in other words, that blind 
 love was a passion which yielded to the progress of 
 civilization. This was the explanation he had been 
 accustoming himself to give for his own inability to 
 lose his heart this and a certain hypercritical ten 
 dency of which he was conscious, and the responsi 
 bility for which he liked to throw on his Puritan 
 ancestors. But now he felt inclined to be almost 
 grateful to those worthies in that they had trans 
 mitted to him a nature such as only the most ex 
 alted type of woman could arouse to enthusiasm. 
 He had waited steadfastly, despite doubts and dis 
 couragement, to be rewarded at last. .His love was 
 blind and yet was not blind ; blind because so in 
 tense that nothing would be able to impair it, and,
 
 1 92 FACE 7O FACE. 
 
 on the other hand, intelligent, because he could un 
 derstand and account for it. Convert as he was in 
 this respect, he was, to his own thinking, distinct from 
 most lovers, who magnified the charms of their mis 
 tresses beyond recognition. He was quite prepared 
 to admit that his was merely human, and that she 
 doubtless had faults like all her sex. But whatever 
 they might be, she did at least possess an individu 
 ality of her own which distinguished her from the 
 mass of girls. It was this that had done his busi 
 ness. 
 
 To seek out the why and the wherefore was in keep 
 ing with his inclination toward analysis ; but when 
 in pursuance of the same line of reflection he remem 
 bered that she had let him do almost all the talk 
 ing that afternoon, his ardor suffered no abatement. 
 He felt that it had been her inspiration which caused 
 him to talk and expose the honest truth concerning 
 himself. Her power of attraction for him lay in the 
 superiority of her mental tone and the promise of 
 what she would become in the future, rather than 
 in anything she had already accomplished or opin 
 ions she was prepared to express. Indeed her opin 
 ions must change, were, in fact, changing already. 
 It was the earnestness of her soul that aroused the 
 best instincts of his own nature, and made it seem 
 possible for him to shake off the garment of sloth 
 which was threatening to settle down upon him ir 
 remediably. 
 
 Such were his reflections that evening, but with 
 the morning light the more practical question of
 
 FACE TO FACE. 193 
 
 how he was to win his ladylove became uppermost 
 in his thoughts. At least he need not be hampered, 
 like so many men, by pecuniary considerations. 
 He could afford to satisfy his wife's every wish , 
 and though he would not for an instant suppose 
 Evelyn capable of being influenced by his money, 
 it was something to be in a position to offer an am 
 bitious girl a splendid establishment. It was a 
 theory of his, which he had sought to express in 
 the course of his conversation with Evelyn the day 
 before, that the possession of wealth was a necessary 
 condition to the development of human society, and 
 he remembered that she had listened to his words 
 with attention. In any event he would be able to- 
 manifest his devotion by sending her the choicest 
 flowers in the market, and by making her the recipi 
 ent of the various courtesies which only a rich man 
 can be prodigal of. Acting on this impulse he de 
 spatched his servant to inquire if Miss Pimlico 
 would do him the honor of driving with him that 
 afternoon. $ 
 
 But Miss Pimlico proved to have an engagement, 
 and before another twenty-four hours had elapsed 
 Clay realized keenly that it was no pastime he 
 had cut out for himself. If lie expected to have a 
 shadow of a chance of success, there was not a mo 
 ment to be lost, for all the gilded youth of Newport 
 were at her feet. He who desired to see anything 
 of her must follow her from house to house and be 
 grateful . for tcte-d-tetes of five minutes' duration. 
 Accordingly he reappeared in the gay world and
 
 194 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 submitted to the lionizing wiles of wide-awake 
 mammas, in order that he might be near the woman 
 he adored, clasp her hand for a few seconds in the 
 whirl of the waltz, and exchange with her an idle 
 sentence or two ; for that was the limit of her in 
 tercourse with anybody, so great a favorite had she 
 become. It was something to stand in an angle of 
 the room and watch her beautiful face, radiant with 
 the enjoyment of unalloyed triumph ; but there 
 was suffering for him as well in this proceeding, 
 since he could not but reflect that he counted for 
 nothing in her happiness. 
 
 It did not take people long, however, to perceive 
 that he was very attentive to her, and he reaped 
 presently, as a fruit of this discovery, numerous 
 invitations to dinner-parties, and the smaller en 
 tertainments where there was more opportunity to 
 talk uninterruptedly. Being so great a catch in the 
 financial sense, his manifest prepossession in favor 
 of the attractive stranger caused a decided flutter 
 among his acquaintances, whorhad never seen him 
 take such an apparent interest in any young woman 
 before. lie seemed to have rejuvenated, so said the 
 younger men, who were, mayhap, jealous. On the 
 other hand, there was among the shrewder beaus an 
 impression that, having brought home as a result of 
 his foreign travels a more engaging manner, he was 
 merely amusing himself. 
 
 But it was immaterial to him what other people 
 thought. His concern was with Evelyn's own state 
 of mind ; and his impression of this caused him
 
 FACE TO FACE. 195 
 
 small comfort. During the three weeks that elapsed 
 before she went away to Lenox, there were only 
 two or three occasions when he had her to himself 
 unreservedly, as on that Saturday afternoon. Their 
 conversation on these occasions was not disappoint 
 ing to him, for though the theme discussed so ear 
 nestly at the prior meeting was not touched upon 
 directly, he found himself growing eloquent on the 
 various questions vitalized by the poets, philosophers, 
 and scientists of the day, apparently to her deep in 
 terest. Her literary tastes were not unlike his own, 
 and as she herself told him, the interchange of 
 thought and opinion at such times was the only 
 feature of American life which had not been 
 wholly different from her expectations. It was 
 something she had looked forward to as distinctive 
 of the relations of young people in this country. 
 But even when, a week later, he was riding with 
 her frequently through the beautiful Berkshire 
 woods, the thought was forced upon him with pain 
 ful distinctness that it was the study of herself that 
 absorbed her, not partiality for him, and that she en 
 joyed listening to his theories and formalizing her 
 own in the process of learning to know the world as 
 it really was. lie felt that she regarded him if she 
 ever took the trouble to analyze her sentiments in 
 respect to him as one whose opinions supplied 
 her with food for reflection, thereby satisfying her 
 conscience for the time being, and causing her to 
 imagine that in correlating ideas about social phil 
 osophy she was fulfilling her aspirations.
 
 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 How well Jie knew the difference between theo. 
 ries and action, and what a hollow substitute one 
 was for the other ! But in his present frame of 
 mind he felt that if she would but seem to care even 
 a little for him for himself, he would be content to 
 ride forever by her side without a thought as to 
 the world and its development. For, though cer 
 tain qualities had distinguished her in his mind 
 from other girls, but for the existence of which he 
 might never have fallen in love with her, now that 
 he did love her, what difference did it really make 
 to him whether they existed or not ? She herself 
 stood there before him in all the exquisiteness of 
 her reality that was sufficient. His soul was at 
 fever-heat with a passion which would recognize no 
 let or hindrance. 
 
 Such was the answer with which he met the 
 doubts that sometimes occurred to him when real 
 izing how completely futile all his efforts to excite 
 her fancy seemed to be, he tried to persuade him 
 self that he had been deceived, and that she was 
 inane and frivolous as the rest of the coterie in 
 whose amusements she was participating with such 
 gusto. It was a vain endeavor, which caused him 
 a touch of additional bitterness, moreover, from the 
 secret consciousness that were her smiles bent on 
 him he might be weak enough to be not altogethef 
 discontented at her social expansion. For how 
 superbly beautiful she looked as she walked across 
 the ball-room floor, faultless in pose and attire ' He 
 could not help thinking what an ornament she would
 
 FACE TO FACE. 197 
 
 be to his home. He pictured her at the head of 
 his table or on the box-seat of his coach, and with 
 the conception came the thought that, if she were 
 his, perhaps after all he should prefer to see her 
 thus conventionally elegant. Would he like to 
 have his wife peculiar and different from everyone 
 else ? 
 
 At any rate he pursued the conventional method 
 of wooing her. The flowers that he sent her were 
 the most exquisite the horticulturists could supply. 
 He gave a ball in her honor, in New York, shortly 
 after the season began, which was declared to have 
 outdone all former entertainments of bachelors. 
 He was continually getting up coaching parties and 
 theatre parties and various other small festivities 
 which he thought she might enjoy. He danced 
 the German far into the morning for her sake with 
 the regularity of a youth of twenty-one, and never 
 stayed away from any house where he would have 
 the opportunity of meeting her. But all in vain, it 
 seemed to him. She was sweet and gracious as 
 possible. She accepted his bouquets and perpetual 
 homage smilingly and without demur, just as she 
 did those of everybody else. So far, at least, there 
 was comfort, that she treated all alike. She made 
 no distinctions apparently in any one's favor. But 
 from day to day it was growing more and more evi 
 dent to him that it was herself alone who interested 
 her. As she had declared, her eyes had been opened 
 to the appreciation of much in life that hitherto 
 had seemed meaningless to her, and it was not dif-
 
 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 ficultto perceive that a realization of her own powers 
 and of the entrancement of personal triumph were 
 included in her discoveries. 
 
 He was conscious from the outset of the thorough 
 sympathy of two others at least his mother and 
 Mrs." Willoughby Pimlico. There was something 
 almost pathetic even to him in the elation which 
 his mother took no pains to conceal at his evident 
 infatuation. Mrs. Clay was discreet enough to ask 
 110 questions, but so far as lay in her power she aided 
 and abetted his endeavors to pass as much time as 
 was possible in the society of his Dulcinea. She felt 
 apparently that there was a probability of her hopes 
 being realized, and that whatever her original pre 
 disposition might have been in favor of a native 
 daughter-in-law, she was ready to welcome her son's 
 choice with open arms. It seemed never to enter 
 the good lady's head that Miss Pimlico would not 
 jump at the chance of changing her name to Mrs. 
 Ernest Clay, thereby securing a princely fortune 
 in addition to one of the best and cleverest hus 
 bands in the world. Her only anxiety was lest 
 some one else might be beforehand in proposing 
 to so charming a young person, and as time went 
 on and no further developments rewarded her dis 
 creet silence, she broke her resolution to the ex 
 tent of dropping a few hints as to the wisdom of 
 bringing matters to a crisis, and the ominous frown 
 with which these overtures were received were the 
 first intimations she obtained that the courtship 
 might not be running entirely smoothly. What
 
 FACE TO FACE. 199 
 
 could be the matter, she wondered. It would be too 
 disheartening if, after all, Ernest was going to with 
 draw at the eleventh hour. 
 
 In her perplexity she tried to get a little light on 
 the subject by making a few adroit insinuations in the 
 presence of Mrs. Willoughby, but with small success. 
 She found her i-eticent and rather grave, although ap 
 parently not altogether satisfied with the condition 
 of affairs, which indeed was the case. But it so hap 
 pened that the very next day it was early in Feb 
 ruary Clay resolved to make a clean breast of his 
 passion and his doubts 5n % this same quarter. Ever 
 since the evening he had dined at Mrs. Willoughby's 
 house at Newport, he had abstained from referring 
 to Evelyn in her presence. He had perceived al 
 most at once that she had guessed the truth, and he 
 was willing that she should know it. But desperate 
 as was his devotion perhaps because lie was so 
 completely in earnest he had shrunk from confi 
 ding his secret in words. And she had respected 
 his reserve, however much she longed to have him 
 entrust his hopes and fears to her keeping. He had 
 felt, however, sure that she was on his side. He 
 had read in her expression encouragement and sym 
 pathy. Moreover she had given him every facility 
 at her disposal for carrying on his suit. 
 
 At length in his despair for his despondency 
 was fast approaching that pitch it occurred to 
 him that two heads might be better than one. It 
 was possible that Mrs. Willoughby would be able 
 to relieve his embarrassment, if only by telling him
 
 2OO I-ACF. TO FACE. 
 
 that his passion was vain. She would at least know 
 whether his chances were hopeless, and give him 
 some idea of how he stood in the graces of her cou 
 sin. He had no doubt that she would be glad to 
 have him win her. Was it not she who had im 
 pressed upon him what a charming wife Miss Pim- 
 lico would make ? 
 
 Accordingly one afternoon when he happened to 
 find Mrs. Willoughby alone beside her tea-urn he 
 looked up at her suddenly and said : 
 
 " I want to ask your advice about something." 
 
 "Well," she answered presently, as he did not 
 go on, " what is it ? " 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby swung the tassel of the sofa 
 cushion at her elbow gently to and fro. She was 
 on pins and needles, trusting from the serious tone 
 of his voice that he meant to confide in her, and 
 feeling that if the matter proved to be other than 
 the one she had at heart, she would run the risk of 
 offending him and introduce the subject herself. 
 For it was terribly on her mind. 
 
 " I am in love," he said. " I don't suppose you 
 require to be told with whom," he continued after 
 a pause. 
 
 "With my cousin ?" she said gently. 
 
 "Yes, I adore her." 
 
 " I told you she was charming." 
 
 " She is the sweetest girl in the world. I took it 
 for granted that you understood I was serious." 
 
 "You were right. A man of your type is not apt 
 to sit up into the small hours dancing, and send a
 
 PACE TO FACE. 2OI 
 
 young lady flowers once or twice a week merely to 
 amuse himself." 
 
 " I expect to be laughed at. I have scoffed all 
 my life at the tender passion, or rather maintained 
 that the woman did not live who could make me 
 miserable." 
 
 " I have no intention of laughing, Mr. Clay. But 
 you'll bear witness that I've always declared your 
 hour would come. Believe me, I'm very much in 
 terested." 
 
 "Yes, my hour has come," he answered, quietly. 
 " Puritan ancestors to the contrary, notwithstanding, 
 I could rave with the most ardent, if that proof were 
 needed to show that I am in earnest. I think, how 
 ever, it is enough to tell you that I wish to marry 
 Miss Pimlico, and that my future happiness is de 
 pendent on it." 
 
 " With all my heart, so far as my consent goes. 
 But you can scarcely be in doubt as to that ?" 
 
 " No, you've been very kind. I have appreciated 
 that you were well disposed toward me. That's 
 one reason why I have ventured to speak of the 
 matter. Tell me this, have I a shadow of a chance, 
 is she still free ? " 
 
 "If you mean whether Evelyn is engaged or 
 likely to become engaged to anyone, Mr. Clay, I 
 think you need give yourself no anxiety." 
 
 " Thank heaven for that, at least." 
 
 "Answer me a question in turn, if you will? 
 have you made her an offer ? " 
 
 " Not yet"
 
 2O2 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 '' So I presumed." 
 
 " But she does not care a snap of her finger for 
 me," he said, as if to explain his delay. 
 
 " What makes you think so ? " 
 
 " Because she treats me just like everyone else." 
 
 " I see," said Mrs. Willoughby, and she frowned 
 slightly. 
 
 " She can have no question as to what my feel 
 ings toward her must be," continued Clay. " It 
 seems to me I must have made them tolerably 
 plain." 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby bent her brows reflectively. " I 
 can't see any reason why you should despair." 
 
 " But you don't deny that she doesn't care for me 
 at present." 
 
 "To tell the truth, Mr. Clay, I don't know how to 
 answer you. We are such old friends, and I should 
 be so pleased to see what you desire brought to pass, 
 that I will confess to you frankly I am fairly per 
 plexed in regard to my cousin. I don't know what 
 to think of her exactly. To begin with I am not 
 at all sure that she realizes anyone is in love with 
 her." 
 
 " What, then, does she suppose my attentions 
 mean ? " 
 
 " If my theory is correct, I presume she has never 
 stopped to inquire. She has gone on from day to 
 day enjoying herself, and accepting what was offered 
 her, without considering whether the flowers and the 
 invitations to dance the German, and the perpetual 
 homage lavished on her, had any special significa<
 
 FACE TO FACE. 2O3 
 
 tion or not. It seems incredible, I admit, seeing 
 that there are half a dozen other men quite as des 
 perate as yourself who would marry her to-morrow, 
 if they thought she would have them. But the only 
 other supposition is she's a tremendous flirt. Now 
 of course she has been an immense success, and the 
 way she carries on is, entre nous, simply amazing, when 
 one reflects how she appeared just after she arrived 
 here. Why, Mr. Clay, if anyone had prophesied 
 then that before six months had past Evelyn would 
 become what she is to-day, I should have ridiculed the 
 idea as preposterous. Really, sometimes she takes 
 my breath away, for she never seems to tire of amus 
 ing herself. As you know, she is always one of the 
 last to leave a party and wouldn't go then if I weren't 
 at hand to drag her off by main force. I have 
 rather prided myself on the liberality of my notions 
 on such matters, yet there is moderation in all 
 things. I've heard it said that English girls are 
 very hard to rouse, but that once started, it is next 
 to impossible to stop them, and I fancy it must be 
 so. Still, as I was saying, I have come to the con 
 clusion after watching her carefully, that she takes 
 all the attentions showered on her simply as a mat 
 ter of course, and that her heart is untouched." 
 
 " Humph ! Not a very encouraging outlook for 
 me." 
 
 " And yet I've a feeling, Mr. Clay, that when she 
 comes to scrutinize her sentiments, she'll find that 
 she likes you better than anyone else." 
 
 " What grounds have you for thinking so ?"
 
 2O4 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 "We women judge by little signs. In the first 
 place, whatever else may be said of your adventure 
 on board ship, it was decidedly romantic. Girls 
 don't forget that sort of thing at least a girl like 
 Evelyn. Then, too, you're the only one of her pres 
 ent admirers who has appealed to her intellectually, 
 so to speak, and although I admit that her recent 
 behavior has somewhat shaken my judgment in re 
 gard to her, I can't forget my first impressions. YOK 
 know first impressions are supposed to be the best ; 
 and I remember saying to myself how fortunate it 
 would be if you two should take a fancy to one an 
 other, inasmuch as you both had more or less the 
 same tastes. I took it for granted that, considering 
 she had been to college and seemed inclined to be 
 a little eccentric in her ideas, she wouldn't be con 
 tent unless her husband was the kind of man to en 
 joy keeping up with the new books, and the new 
 theories, and so forth. It struck me that you were 
 the very person of all others to suit her, for, if I 
 may say so, you're apt yourself to be a wee bit 
 visionary at times, you know, and I felt almost cer 
 tain that you would interest her. And I believe 
 you did interest her, and that this irrepressibility is 
 merely a passing phase which will wear off after a 
 while. For there must have been some foundation 
 for her previous behavior. It couldn't very well have 
 been entirely put on. Why, I had the greatest diffi 
 culty at first in convincing her that we shouldn't all be 
 a great deal better off out on the prairies. Still, if 
 it were necessary to choose between her being really
 
 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 peculiar and being merely a trifle fast, she would 
 be much preferable as she is ; but what I am look 
 ing forward to, is a happy mean. Some day she 
 will wake up and come to the conclusion that she 
 wants to settle down, and then will be your oppor 
 tunity, if you don't lose heart in the interim. I 
 won't conceal from you, Mr. Clay, that I have been 
 apprehensive lest you should be driven off by her 
 apparent lack of seriousness, which is why I want to 
 impress on you that in my opinion she has lost her 
 head merely for the moment, and that before long 
 you will see a decided change." 
 
 " I don't know that I care to see any change. I 
 adore her as she is." 
 
 " You are bound to say so, of course, and yet nat 
 urally you would prefer to have your wife not quite 
 so pronounced as Evelyn is disposed to be at pres 
 ent. She is so unusually handsome that she can 
 afford to be a little reserved, and while I wouldn't 
 limit her in her amusements, there is always a limit 
 which the most elegant and fastidious people avoid 
 overstepping. Don't misunderstand me, I beg. I 
 wouldn't say this to anyone else. But I am trying 
 to put myself in your place ; and I can appreciate 
 that you would be disappointed if she were to turn 
 out a flibbertigibbet instead of the charming imper 
 sonation of grace and cleverness you had imagined. 
 Wait, I say again. Bide your time. I can remem 
 ber the flush of her cheeks, and how her eyes used 
 to sparkle after the rides on horse-back you took 
 together at Lenox."
 
 2O6 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 " It was with herself she was engrossed, not with 
 me," he said, recalling his cogitations. 
 
 " Perhaps. But a girl does not remain interested 
 in herself forever." 
 
 "Yet you think she would refuse me if I were to 
 make her an offer to-morrow ? " 
 
 " There would be danger of it. I see no harm in 
 telling you that I've sounded her on the subject of 
 all her admirers, but either she's very deep or, as 
 you and I have agreed, she doesn't appreciate the 
 situation in the least. It is time she did, however." 
 
 " It may be that the first man who informs her of 
 his love in unmistakable terms will win her. You 
 forget that I ha\e rivals." 
 
 " No I don't." Mrs. Willoughby colored and hesi 
 tated a moment. " If I tell you something, you must 
 promise on your word of honor never to divulge it. 
 I suppose it's rather dreadful of rne, but, under the 
 circumstances, I feel that I'm almost justified. She 
 has had three offers already." 
 
 " Humph ! " 
 
 " You needn't be alarmed. So far as I could see, 
 not one of them produced the slightest impression 
 on her. She didn't appear to realize what an offer 
 meant, and they were by no means offers to be re 
 fused without reflection. Besides, no matter how 
 little a girl may care for a man, it is natural to show 
 some feeling ; but all she did was to laugh and seem 
 amused." 
 
 " I am willing to wait if you think it best : but 
 how Ions: is her visit to last ? "
 
 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 " Indefinitely, so far as Willoughby and I are con 
 cerned ; but of course there's a liability at any time 
 of her being ordered home ; though with such a large 
 family of girls I fancy her father and mother would 
 be only too thankful to let her remain, if there were 
 any chance of her being advantageously married. 
 Still it's high time I took some steps to make her 
 understand how foolishly she is behaving, and since 
 you have spoken, Mr. Clay (and I assure you I ap 
 preciate the friendliness of your confidence in me), 
 I will do so at once." 
 
 " Then I'm to go on as usual until I hear from 
 you again ? " 
 
 "Yes. Let me see I'm not sure but that you 
 would be wise to go away for a week or so. She 
 will miss you, and that may work in your favor." 
 
 " I've been wanting for some time to see how my 
 place on the Hudson is getting on," said Clay. " I'll 
 run up there for a few days. You know I'm reno 
 vating my father's old house ?" 
 
 " So I have heard. The view from it is charming, 
 I believe. Very well ; and if anything turns up, I 
 will send you word." 
 
 After he had gone, Mrs. Willoughby sat lost in re 
 flection until it was necessary to dress for dinner. 
 She felt delighted at having discovered Clay's real 
 sentiments, for though she had long appreciated 
 that he was in love with Evelyn, she had tortured 
 herself with frequent questionings as to what ef 
 fect her cousin's unexpected frivolity was having 
 upoc. his predisposition. But now she was confi-
 
 2O8 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 uent that his passion for the time being was far 
 too ardent to be influenced by any such considera 
 tions. It seemed to her, however, more than ever 
 desirable that Evelyn should be brought to realize 
 how matters stood. It was imperative to strike 
 while the iron was hot. She dreaded the delibera 
 tive tendency of Clay's mind, which delay, by les 
 sening the fervor of his infatuation, might bring 
 into play. For then he might begin to inquire why 
 his lady love was so unlike her former self. 
 
 As Evelyn went out to dinner that evening, Mrs. 
 Willoughby had abundant opportunity to decide 
 upon a course of action before her cousin's return, 
 which was about eleven o'clock, and just after Will 
 oughby Pimlico had been induced to go to bed, in 
 order that the coast might be clear for an explana 
 tion. 
 
 " Who do you suppose was there, Cousin Clara ? " 
 exclaimed the young beauty as she entered the 
 room, throwing aside her wraps and falling into an 
 easy chair. " Mr. Brock ! " 
 
 " You don't mean so. I saw he had returned." 
 
 " He knew me at once, and he talked to me for 
 some time after dinner. He wants me or rather 
 as to pay him a visit next week at his place on the 
 Hudson. He has promised to invite a party, and 
 that we shall have skating and tobogganing to our 
 hearts' content. Wouldn't it be fun ?" 
 
 "Whereabouts is it ? " 
 
 " Clyme Valley is the name of the village, I be 
 lieve. It's a manufacturing town which has been
 
 FACE TO PACK. 2OQ 
 
 in existence only a few years. But his place is more 
 than a mile away from the factories and very beau 
 tifully situated. Isabel Statterly says Mr. Clay owns 
 the adjoining estate." 
 
 " Oh." 
 
 " A letter for me ! " exclaimed Evelyn, as her eye 
 chanced to fall on the table. " From mamma." 
 
 " Willoughby forgot to give it to you. He had 
 it in his pocket all the evening. But it will keep 
 until you go up-stairs, dear. Who else was there ?" 
 
 Evelyn enumerated some of the company. " I 
 had a lovely time," she said. 
 
 " What a queer girl you are ! " said Mrs. Will 
 oughby, presently. 
 
 " You used to say that often, Cousin Clara, but I 
 flattered myself I had got over being so," she replied, 
 with a laugh. 
 
 "Well, I admit you're queer in a very different 
 sort of way. I was only thinking that you seemed 
 to act as if you expected to go on forever as you are 
 now." 
 
 "Do you mean that you're getting tired of me, 
 and want me to go home ? " 
 
 " No, dear. What I mean," continued Mrs. Will 
 oughby with an air of some asperity, "is that I think 
 you owe it to yourself to be a little more circum 
 spect. Why do you suppose girls go into society ?" 
 
 " I'm afraid I might find it difficult to think of 
 
 any good reason for my doing so. I had always 
 
 intended not to. But I went, and I must confess to 
 
 having enjoyed myself thoroughly," answered Eve* 
 
 14
 
 2IO FACE TO FACE. 
 
 tyn, who WAS sitting with her hands clasped before 
 her gazing wistfully into the fire. 
 
 41 You would have been an ingratc, indeed, if you 
 hadn't enjoyed yourself, for no girl of your age in 
 New York in my recollection has received more at 
 tention, both general and particular, in the same 
 space of time." 
 
 " I hope at any rate you will feel that I appre 
 ciate thoroughly that my lot would have been very 
 different if I had not had you to chhperone me, 
 Cousin Clara." 
 
 "To be sure you had relations here who were' able 
 to put you in the way of meeting the right sort of 
 people," said Mrs. Willoughby, "but we couid have 
 been of very little service to you, if you hadn't hap 
 pened to take. Unquestionably you have been im 
 mensely admired, and it seems to me natural that it 
 should sometimes occur to you to profit by the fact." 
 
 "What is it you want me to do that I'm not doing?" 
 
 44 What do you suppose was your father's idea in 
 letting you come over here ? " 
 
 44 To get rid of me," Evelyn answered, gleefully. 
 44 No, I won't say that. I fancy he thought the ex 
 perience would improve me. And it has. How 
 delighted he would be to see me as I am ! " 
 
 44 That was one reason, undoubtedly. There are 
 six girls, I believe, besides yourself ? " 
 
 44 Yes." 
 
 14 And three besides yourself unmarried ? " 
 
 " Frances is engaged, you know." 
 
 "Three, counting yourself, then. Did it never
 
 FACE TO FACE. 211 
 
 enter your head that one of your father's objects in 
 sending you to America might be that you would 
 succeed in making a desirable match ?" 
 
 "You ought to hear him talk about America and 
 you would quickly change your mind," said Evelyn, 
 " It would be the last straw, if I were to commit 
 such a misalliance as that. They would cast me oft 
 altogether." 
 
 "Nonsense." 
 
 " It's nonsense to suppose he had any such pur 
 pose in allowing me to come." 
 
 " It may not have been a deliberate purpose cut 
 and dried in his mind," answered Mrs. Willoughby ; 
 " but do you mean to tell me that he wouldn't be 
 gratified if you were to become engaged to some 
 young man of good family and handsome fortune ? 
 Of course he would be delighted. He might be 
 anxious at first until it was explained to him who 
 and what the young man was, since so many Eng 
 lishmen seem to think we are all savages, but when 
 he learned the truth he would be only too thankful 
 to feel that one of his daughters was so well pro 
 vided for. Your father is by no means rich, Evelyn, 
 and the expense of bringing forward all you girls 
 must be a serious tax on him." 
 
 " If that is the case I do not intend to be a tax on 
 him any longer." 
 
 "You must be, until you marry." 
 
 "Not necessarily." 
 
 " What do you propose to do ? Go into service ? " 
 
 ** I shall do something."
 
 212 FACE TO PACK. 
 
 11 Don't be absurd. A girl with your exceptional 
 attractions is sure to marry sooner or later." 
 
 " That does not follow." 
 
 " There is no law to compel you to marry, of 
 course. But what reason have you for wishing to 
 remain single ? " 
 
 " None. I would rather be married, I suppose, 
 some day." 
 
 " Well then ? " 
 
 "Well, what, Cousin Clara?" 
 
 "For one so intelligent in many ways you cer 
 tainly have very little knowledge of the world, 
 Evelyn. A woman doesn't remain young and 
 beautiful forever. It maybe highly entertaining to 
 refuse two or three good offers, but on that theory 
 the day is likely to come when you will realize that 
 you've made a mistake. Then it may be too late. 
 You are now looking as well, probably, as you ever 
 will look in your life. You have already had several 
 chances to marry, such as most girls would have 
 jumped at. I'm not blaming you for not taking 
 advantage of them, as you said the young men didn't 
 happen to please you. Well and good. But, my 
 dear, it is time you gave the question some little 
 thought. Eligible husbands are not to be had for 
 the asking, every day, even by young women so 
 prepossessing as yourself. Your whole future 
 happiness may be affected by ignoring at this 
 period the true perspective of things." 
 
 " But surely you don't want me to marry a man 
 I don't love ? "
 
 FACE TO PACK. 21$ 
 
 " Certainly not. But I will say at once, that I think 
 a great many girls in this age of the world blast their 
 prospects for life by refusing men in every way adapt 
 ed to make them excellent husbands, and whom they 
 have nothing to urge against, because they have hug 
 ged a delusive ideal as to the degree of infatuation it is 
 necessary to be conscious of, before they are entitled 
 to consider themselves in love. There are undoubt 
 edly now and then among people of our condition, 
 instances of couples completely carried away by the 
 intensity of their mutual feelings ; but they are 
 comparatively rare, and I am not at all sure but that 
 the happiest marriages are those, the contracting 
 parties to which are not blinded to each other's 
 limitations. You must bear in mind, Evelyn, that 
 as we grow in intelligence and cultivation, our criti 
 cal faculties are apt to become correspondently de 
 veloped, and we find it much less easy to go into 
 ecstasies over anybody. It is a pity, of course, and 
 it makes one inclined sometimes almost to envy the 
 more inflammable tendencies of the masses who are 
 able to clothe their Darbys and Joans with all the 
 qualities of perfection. The many considerations 
 which have to be taken into account before marry 
 ing in our sphere of life at the present day, make it 
 seern, however, on the whole, a wise dispensation of 
 Providence that our young people shouldn't lose their 
 heads too easily. The world is a practical one, after 
 all, and good common-sense considerations should 
 be allowed to have their influence in determining so 
 vital a step especially to a girl as matrimony."
 
 214 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 "Then it was only a dream, like the rest ? " Evelyn 
 said, soliloquizingly, and with her gaze bent on the 
 fire. "Though I might have known that it was 
 so." 
 
 " What was all a dream ? " 
 
 "Nothing. I was merely thinking aloud. I sup 
 pose I must have had too exaggerated notions as to 
 such things." 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby was silent a moment ; then she 
 said. 
 
 " I am the last person to make light of sentiment 
 or to applaud marriages induced by material mo 
 tives. Girls must marry, however, and men being 
 but human cannot come up to the ideal which every 
 woman is apt to form regarding the individual 
 she will choose for a husband. And in analogy to 
 what I was saying a few moments ago, the more cul 
 tivated we grow the more exalted is the conception 
 likely to be. It doesn't do, therefore, to forget that 
 a practical reason for a woman's marrying is to ob 
 tain a home. In other words, a good match signifies 
 plenty of coal and wood, and groceries, and car 
 riages, and dresses, and the ability to give one's chil 
 dren an education and the power of going abroad. 
 The larger the means of the person you marry, the 
 better able will you be to have and do all these things. 
 I grant you they count for very little compared with 
 having a husband who is worthy of esteem, but they 
 are undoubtedly among the chief blessings of life, 
 and when they are offered by a man whose character 
 is in every respect above reproach, a girl who lets
 
 FACE TO FACE. 215 
 
 them escape her wrongs herself seriously, it seems 
 to me. She gives up what the mass of humani 
 ty are struggling after because of a mere whim, 
 without bearing in mind that love is almost cer 
 tain to follow marriage, provided you respect the 
 person who asks you to become his wife. There 
 is more involved than a mere question of per 
 sonal preference. One is bound not to neglect 
 opportunities for happiness without an adequate 
 cause." 
 
 ''And you think I have been neglecting mine ?" 
 
 "You have had some very excellent offers." 
 
 " From men worthy of esteem ?" 
 
 "I should say so, decidedly. Every one of them 
 would have made you a good husband. What is 
 there to be said against them ? " 
 
 "Nothing that I know of. Merely I haven't felt 
 the slightest desire to marry anybody at present." 
 
 " Precisely. That's why I have ventured to call 
 your attention to the fact that it may be a duty you 
 owe your family to give the subject a little more 
 heed." 
 
 " I see." 
 
 " Mind you," continued her cousin, " I'm not re 
 gretting that you didn't see fit to take one of 
 those young men. In fact, I think that you may be 
 able to do even better. But I wished to open your 
 eyes, so to speak, to the practical side of the ques 
 tion. There is a man devoted to you at present 
 whom I think any girl should feel flattered to have 
 attentive to her."
 
 2l6 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 " To whom do you refer ? " 
 
 " Ernest Clay." 
 
 "Mr. Clay has been very kind," Evelyn answered, 
 after an instant. 
 
 " Kind ! What an extraordinary expression to 
 use in regard to a man who, if he could have his 
 own way, would never let you out of his sight ! 
 Kind ! Why, it's as plain as the nose on your face 
 that he's desperately in love with you ! " 
 
 " Is he ? " said Evelyn, plucking a leaf from one 
 of the roses in her bouquet. " What makes you 
 think so ? " 
 
 " Do you suppose a man of his years and tastes 
 would be likely to follow you about everywhere, 
 sending you flowers and sitting up into the small 
 hours dancing the german with you merely to amuse 
 himself ? " 
 
 " I'm sure I don't know. I have never considered 
 whether he would or not. I enjoy his attentions 
 and the roses he sends are exquisite. I haven't 
 thought beyond that." 
 
 " If you don't look out, Evelyn, you will get the 
 reputation of a flirt. Coquetry is all very well as a 
 means, but no girl ever gains anything by heartless- 
 ness." 
 
 " I heartless, Cousin Clara ? Perhaps I am. 
 That has never occurred to me." 
 
 " I have wondered occasionally if it might not be 
 so. But no, I hit it at first. The trouble is, you 
 have gone on enjoying yourself from day to day 
 without realizing that anything more was ex-
 
 SACE TO FACE. 2I/ 
 
 pccted of you than that you should have a good 
 time." 
 
 " I have had that certainly." 
 
 " And in return don't you think it might be 
 advisable for you to settle down and marry Mr. 
 Clay ? " 
 
 " As you once said in speaking of this subject 
 before, I had better wait until he asks me." 
 
 " Then he never has ? " inquired Mrs. Willoughby, 
 diplomatically. 
 
 " Never." 
 
 " But how can you expect a man to propose to 
 you, Evelyn, unless you give him some little en 
 couragement ?" 
 
 " I'm not expecting anything. It's you that are 
 expecting." 
 
 " Well, I can only say the woman whom he mar 
 ries will be extremely fortunate, and that you never 
 will be likely to get a better offer." 
 
 They were both silent for a little. 
 
 " And supposing that I did marry, what should I 
 do ?" asked Evelyn. 
 
 " Do ? I don't understand exactly. If you mar 
 ried Ernest Clay, you could do pretty much what 
 you chose, I imagine. He is enormously rich, as 
 you know, and so far as expense is concerned, 
 you could have half a dozen establishments, a 
 steam-yacht large enough to go round the world in 
 in fact, anything that happened to take your 
 fancy. I dare say you would divide your time be 
 tween the two countries, spending the season in
 
 2l8 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 London, and coming to us for the winter. Why, 
 what should you want to do ?" 
 
 " I can't tell. Then the effect of marrying would 
 be that I should go on as I am now ?" 
 
 "Yes, in a certain measure," answered Mrs. Wil- 
 loughby, with a puzzled air. " But I should sup 
 pose, Evelyn, that you would wish to be a little less 
 frivolous, if I may use the word ; dining out, of 
 course, and going to parties freely, but at the 
 same time holding yourself in reserve, so to speak, 
 rather more. That would naturally follow, how 
 ever. And there is no reason why two people with 
 refined tastes, such as you and Mr. Clay, shouldn't 
 have the most exclusive house in town. You would 
 harmonize so well, for you are both inclined to be 
 literary and clever. At least, you gave me the im 
 pression at first that you were alarmingly intellect 
 ual, but I must say I don't altogether know what to 
 make of your recent giddiness. No one would ever 
 imagine, to look at you now, that you were a gradu 
 ate of a college. Needless to say I'm rejoiced that 
 you don't appear strong-minded, only, if I were 
 you, I would take into consideration. the fact that a 
 man like Mr. Clay may very possibly have been 
 attracted by your more serious side. You had some 
 interesting discussions during the passage, you told 
 me, and afterward at Lenox you used to ride on 
 horseback together, and talk about books a good 
 deal, I fancy." 
 
 " And since then I have scarcely opened a book." 
 
 " I think it is a eood rule to trv and reserve a
 
 FACE TO FACE. 2 19 
 
 certain day in the week for serious reading. Other 
 wise one never keeps up with the times. I make it 
 a point to read the Nation every FYiday morning." 
 
 " And that enables you to keep up with the 
 times ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes, I think so. One finds out in that way 
 if anything dreadful has been done at Washington, 
 and then there is apt to be an English letter, and 
 reviews of the new books." 
 
 " I see." 
 
 " And now, perhaps, we had better go to bed. 
 When you think over what I have said, you may 
 begin to feel that I am right." 
 
 "I shall certainly think it over, Cousin Clara," 
 whereupon they kissed each other affectionately 
 and went up-stairs.
 
 XL 
 
 EVELYN, on reaching her room, sat pensive for 
 several minutes before opening her letter from 
 home. The letter proved to contain disagreeable 
 news. Some American securities held by her father 
 had gone down in price, in consequence of which 
 he had met with a heavy loss. Her mother wrote 
 that they probably would not be able to take a house 
 in town the coming season, and that Florence and 
 Muriel would have to be very quiet. She urged 
 Evelyn to be as economical as possible, and after 
 some other information of an unimportant charac 
 ter, this postscript followed : 
 
 " Both your father and I are of the opinion that 
 you would do well not to discourage any young 
 man who may happen to take a fancy to you merely 
 because he is an American." 
 
 The uppermost thought in Evelyn's mind upon 
 finishing the letter was what an annoyance and 
 mortification the loss must be to her parents. She. 
 knew that almost anything would have been more 
 easy for them to bear. It was impossible to tell, 
 from her mother's account, the extent of the mis 
 fortune, but it must necessarily be serious or she 
 would never have mentioned it.
 
 FACE TO FACE. 221 
 
 When she got so far as to think of the effect on 
 her personally, she re-read the postscript. How 
 strange that the letter should have come just in time 
 to corroborate her cousin's statement. Whether or 
 not her father had sent her to the United States 
 with the expectation that she would make a brill 
 iant match, it was now clear that the family would 
 be pleased to hear of her engagement. Was it, then, 
 her duty to sacrifice herself for their relief ? Either 
 that, she argued, or to cease to be a tax on them. 
 But how succeed in ceasing to be a tax on them ? 
 She reflected that it would be time enough to think 
 of ways when it became necessary to adopt that 
 alternative. She must try first to reconcile herself 
 to marrying somebody. 
 
 She felt that the scales had fallen from her eyes 
 in a single moment, as it were. It seemed to her as 
 though she had been living the past few months in 
 a delicious dream marred only by the half-dread of 
 waking. And now she had come to herself and was 
 face to face with the real world once more the 
 practical world, as her cousin Clara called it, which 
 was the same everywhere. 
 
 Is marriage, then, she asked of herself, a conven 
 tion, merely the means of supplying one's self with a 
 home, and the comforts of life ? Her cousin had 
 told her that love is likely to come after marriage, 
 provided one's husband is a man worthy of esteem, 
 and that in this civilized age it was very difficult to 
 become enthusiastic about anybody. How opposed 
 to this view was her own theory had not so many of
 
 222 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 her theories hitherto been refuted ? that a woman 
 should not marry without feeling herself in love! 
 But what was love ? She had dreamed of a happi 
 ness inspired by the nobility of her lover's soul, and 
 dreamed that she should find it here. But even 
 here she was told that men were but human, and to 
 beware of expecting too much, lest in seeking after 
 the ideal she miss substantial benefits. W?s her 
 theory, then, a Utopian delusion, to be dismissed like 
 the rest ? 
 
 Her cousin wished her to marry Mr. Clay, and had 
 declared that he was deeply in love with her. Yes 
 terday the wedding-symbol had seemed no nearer 
 to her finger than a ring round the moon. She had 
 never thought of marrying. She was on a visit, and 
 was enjoying herself, and if doubts had assailed her 
 at moments as to the wisdom or outcome of her 
 delightful experience, she had met them with the 
 reflection that it would soon come to an end, and 
 that she need not trouble herself about the future 
 until her passage was engaged. She had been flat 
 tered by the offers she received, but the idea of 
 accepting any one of them had not once entered 
 her mind. Mr. Clay in love with her ! She had 
 known this, perhaps at any rate, been vaguely con 
 scious of it. She had enjoyed his attentions. He 
 had been very kind ; and her cousin said he wished 
 to make her his wife, and was only waiting for a lit 
 tle encouragement to ask her. He was very rich, 
 and there was everything to be said in his favor. 
 If she let this chance go she might never hare so
 
 FACE TO FACE. 22$ 
 
 good a one again. Mr. Clay ! What a strange 
 freak it was that had first brought them together ! 
 More than six months had passed since they met on 
 the steamer. She had almost forgotten the epi 
 sode. At least, they never spoke of it now-a-days. 
 They had become friends oh, yes, excellent friends. 
 She always found it pleasant to talk with him. 
 They had many tastes in common. How agreeable 
 it had been to compare notes with him about Dar 
 win and Ruskin, and Browning and Huxley, during 
 the horseback rides at Lenox ! She had never been 
 so intimate with any man before. She had grown 
 accustomed to having him beside her, anticipating 
 her every wish. But she did not love him. Was 
 that being heartless ? She had not asked him to 
 devote himself to her. Yet again it might be that 
 she would never care for anyone else more than 
 she did for him, if it were indeed true that women 
 in her class were apt to create ideals which no man 
 could satisfy. Men were not archangels, and women 
 must be content with less than perfection. 
 
 And supposing she should marry Mr. Clay, what 
 would be her life ? She would have numerous estab 
 lishments, a steam-yacht in which to sail round the 
 world, and would be able to divide her time between 
 New York and London and Paris. She would be 
 more dignified than at present in her manner of 
 amusing herself, not quite so demonstrative and 
 headlong, giving an hour or two each week to the 
 reading of the Nation so as to keep up with the 
 times, cultivating her taste for what was literary
 
 224 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 and clever by belonging to a metaphysical club, per- 
 haps, and going down into the slums on philan 
 thropic errands in the intervals of calling and shop 
 ping and lunching. How well she knew the part 
 she would have to play ! That was her elegant and 
 fastidious cousin's life, and would it not be hers ? 
 A little less frivolous ! The thought made her laugh. 
 She had shocked her cousin by the intensity of her 
 enjoyment during the past months. She, who had 
 begun by disdaining all frivolities ! But that was 
 in keeping with her nature. Whatever she did she 
 must do with her whole soul. It would be impos 
 sible for her to submit to the fiddling usages of su 
 perfine society, tasting gingerly of this and that, 
 placid and self-contained. 
 
 She glanced at herself in the mirror. Men called 
 her beautiful. Even in her short experience she 
 had realized the bewildering intoxication of per 
 sonal success. She could almost sympathize with 
 those whom the same men would call heartless 
 coquettes. There must at least be excitement and 
 absorption in such an existence. To know half the 
 world to be sighing at one's feet, and yet be able to 
 sweep on with a proud smile, would be actual and real 
 while it lasted. To flit aimlessly from drawing-room 
 to drawing-room, simpering inanities, a slave to 
 conventionalities and forms, would be a mere pulse 
 less form of living. She must have air and space. 
 And if she were to rebel after marriage against the 
 narrow limitations which hemmed her in, what out 
 let would she find save some such mad career as she
 
 FACE TO FACE. 22$ 
 
 had just imagined ? What indeed, for had not the 
 man who wished her to become his wife shown her 
 how vain was the hope of trying to be other than 
 like everybody else ? Could she expect to be 
 stronger than the rest of her sex ? Once, perhaps, 
 she would not have feared to attempt to prove her 
 self so, but now, though wiser, was she still s cou 
 rageous ? 
 
 She remembered, too, that it was he who had 
 pointed out to her the power of wealth at the time 
 when he had spoken to her despairingly of its re 
 sponsibilities. She could appreciate now, even bet 
 ter than then, what he had meant by saying that te 
 obtain the means of living was the end and object 
 of all human striving. She realized that the posses 
 sion of wealth was necessary in order to be able to 
 have much that in a short space of time had seem 
 ingly become indispensable to her. Money insured 
 not only a comfortable home, and horses and car 
 riages, but leisure for cultivation, for reading and 
 reflection. The whole social fabric rested on the 
 hypothesis of an ample income. To be without it, 
 was to be relegated to the ranks of the strugglers, 
 which, whatever might be said as to the nobility of 
 labor, was a step retrograde. While battling for a 
 livelihood, one necessarily had but little time in 
 which to prune one's ragged edges. Refinement, 
 elegance, and grace went hand in hand with ex 
 emption from toil. The world became beautiful 
 through the making and transmitting of fortunes. 
 There could be no doubt that to acquire and lay 
 15
 
 226 FACI-, TO FACE. 
 
 up riches was one of the first of human duties, and 
 that on their accumulation the progress of civil iza? 
 tion was largely dependent. 
 
 Formerly she would have cared little to know 
 that she was poor, but now she was conscious that 
 it would make a great difference to her. She had 
 grown fond of comfort and luxury. To give them 
 up would be harassing to her. Why need she give 
 them up? Why not marry Mr. Clay and seek to 
 turn his millions to a noble use ? Ah ! but had she 
 riot already doubted her own strength ? If she 
 loved him, that might be. Could she hope to in 
 fluence, did she wish to influence, a man whom she 
 did not love ? The money was not hers, it was his. 
 She at least was free from responsibility in being- 
 poor. Humanity was striving and toiling for the 
 means of living : should she accept immunity from 
 the common lot as a gift from one who was merely 
 a friend ? She was a woman ; but could not a 
 woman provide fur herself? She was strong and 
 vigorous. She had received a good education. 
 Why should she not work instead of marry ? Her 
 father had lost his money. Was that any reason 
 why she should become the wife of Mr. Clay ? 
 
 True, she liked him better than anyone else. She 
 had in her bureau-drawer trifles which he had given 
 her, and she had thrown away other men's trifles. 
 What of that ? She did not love him. She was 
 sure she did not love him, and whatever the rest of 
 the world might say there was such a thing as love. 
 No, she would not marry to save herself from need
 
 FACE TO FACE. 22/ 
 
 How little she knew of Mr. Clay after all ! She had 
 even despised him at first. Would he ever be likely 
 to be different from what he was now, notwithstand 
 ing all his fondness for her, if indeed it were genu 
 ine ? Here at least she would draw the line in her 
 submission to taking a practical view of life. In 
 having to support herself, she would not be ham 
 pered by qualms that might disturb her if she were 
 rich. It would simply be her duty to try in some 
 honorable way to make enough to live on. Parhaps 
 was it out of the range of possibilities ? she 
 might make a fortune herself. That could be her 
 ambition. And if ever she should succeed in" doing 
 so and were able to command the luxuries which she 
 now enjoyed, what might she not do with her money ? 
 But it would be time enough to think of that when 
 the time came. 
 
 This idea of entering upon a career of her own 
 now took complete possession of her thoughts. But 
 the longer she reflected the more resolute she grew 
 in her determination. She did not wish to be under 
 obligation to anybody. She was resolved to leave 
 her cousin's house at once and to engage a lodging. 
 She had money enough to get along with for a few 
 weeks, if she were economical, and she felt that by 
 that time she would surely have found occupation 
 of some sort. At the worst she would be able to 
 get employment in a store, though she would prefer 
 to obtain pupils. She believed that after a little 
 brushing up of her knowledge she would be well 
 qualified to undertake the instruction of a class of
 
 228 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 young ladies. That would be a beginning, and she 
 would seek to add to this income by writing for the 
 magazines and newspapers. She had known at 
 home several women who made a considerable sum 
 every year in this way. How glad she was now that 
 she had insisted on going to college ! in what a 
 plight she Would have been had she been content 
 with the smattering of an education her sisters had 
 received ! 
 
 She went down to the breakfast-room the next 
 morning having her mind thoroughly made up. As 
 soon as they were alone she handed her cousin Clara 
 without comment her mother's letter. 
 
 "How very unfortunate!" murmured Mrs. Wil- 
 loughby when she had finished it. "American 
 securities,' too ! I believe our railroads are dread 
 fully watered, and that it's dangerous to have any 
 thing to do with them. It's a great pity." 
 
 " Papa and mamma will take it terribly to heart, 
 I'm sure." 
 
 " Yes, I fancy it will oblige them to alter their 
 style of living for the present. I notice your mother 
 speaks of not expecting to hire a house in London 
 for the season. That will be a deprivation to the 
 girls. But the loss may not prove to be so bad as she 
 thinks. Stocks often go up as fast as they go down." 
 
 " There can't be much doubt that it is serious, I'm 
 afraid. It's far from pleasant news." 
 
 " No, it's never pleasant to lose money. Still, it 
 is well that it didn't happen two or three years 
 earlier, before the others were married."
 
 FACE TO FACE. 22$ 
 
 They were silent for a few moments, and then 
 Mrs. Willoughby said: "You see, Evelyn, I was 
 not altogether wrong in regard to what we spoke 
 about last night. It's curious that your mother's 
 message should have been in your hands at the 
 very time \ve were discussing the question." 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " It's very evident what that postscript means. 
 No one wishes you to marry the first man with 
 money who presents himself. Your father and 
 mother merely express the opinion that if some 
 really desirable young fellow should take a fancy to 
 you, it would be for your interest to accept him. 
 Of course it would. Under these additional cir 
 cumstances, my dear, it would be rank folly for you 
 not to smile on Ernest Clay." 
 
 " I promised that I would think over what you 
 said, and I have," answered Evelyn, after a pause. 
 " I have tried to look at it as you do, but I can't. 
 As for my father and mother, you know I told you 
 before learning of their trouble that I had no inten 
 tion of being a burden to them for the future." 
 
 She spoke with a quiet decision that alarmed 
 Mrs. Willoughby, who looked up and said : " Burden 
 is too severe a word. You would never be that in 
 any event. Only you must see that if you were to 
 marry, there would be one less to provide for." 
 
 "Certainly I do ; and it is wholly reasonable that 
 if I see fit to refuse such good offers as have been 
 made me, I should provide for myself. I feel quite 
 capable of doing so."
 
 23O FACE TO FACE. 
 
 " In what way, dear ? " 
 
 "I haven't entirely decided. What I should like 
 to begin with would be to get a class of girls to in 
 struct, but it may be too late in the season." 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby gazed at her for a moment in 
 mute astonishment, then burst into a fit of laughter. 
 
 '' Are you crazy, Evelyn ? " 
 
 " No, Cousin Clara, in sober earnest." 
 
 " You wish to be a nursery governess ? " 
 
 " I should prefer a different position, but I would 
 rather be that than nothing." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " Merely what I've already told you. I have no 
 income of my own, and I'm going to support myself 
 in the best way I can." 
 
 " I've always had a feeling that you might end by 
 going on the stage." 
 
 " I hadn't thought of the stage, but if I discover 
 that I possess talent the stage might be better than 
 anything else." 
 
 " Are you serious ? " 
 
 " Perfectly, and you must not think me ungrateful 
 if I tell you that I can't stay at your house any lon 
 ger. I dare say you wouldn't want me to, but at 
 any rate it wouldn't be suitable. I shall engage 
 lodgings somewhere." 
 
 "This is preposterous. You must know that 
 your cousin and I are only too delighted to have 
 you with us whatever happens. I was thinking, a 
 few minutes ago, after reading your mother's letter, 
 that it would be an excellent plan to adopt you, so
 
 FACE TO FACE. 2$l 
 
 to speak, and keep you with us indefinitely. I was 
 only waiting to consult Willoughby before mention 
 ing it to you. Engage lodgings ! This is the wild 
 est idea I ever heard of." 
 
 " I was afraid you wouldn't like it." 
 
 " Like it ? What do you think your family would 
 say ? " 
 
 " I imagine they would be opposed to it, just as 
 you are ; but they might not be surprised, because I 
 have always been different from the rest. Besides, 
 it won't matter so much if I remain over here." 
 
 " Then you realize the madness of the scheme ? " 
 
 " I realize that some girls would in all probability 
 act differently." 
 
 " Differently ! " Mrs. Willoughby leaned back on 
 the sofa with a face of despair. "My head is all in 
 a buzz. It's the most peculiar notion I ever heard 
 of. People will say you've lost your mind. What 
 do you mean, Evelyn ? You can't surely wish to 
 make a laughing-stock of yourself and put us all to 
 shame. It will be said that we turned you out of 
 doors. No one will believe that you would act so 
 of your own accord." 
 
 " I will take care that you are not held respon 
 sible. I'm sorry to distress you, Cousin Clara, after 
 all your kindness to me, but I feel that I shall only 
 be doing right." 
 
 "Right? What is there that's right about it?" 
 Mrs Willoughby exclaimed passionately. "Do you 
 appreciate what earning your own living means ? 
 In six months you will be coming to us sick and
 
 232 I' ACE TO FACE. 
 
 discouraged, to tell us you have made a mistake. 
 Then it will be too late. Young men are not fond 
 of marrying women with bees in their bonnets. 
 Let alone the folly of the plan, you cannot associate 
 with and be brought in contact with the outside 
 world without running great risks. A girl of your 
 unusual personal appearance would at once chal 
 lenge the attention of designing persons. You have 
 not been brought up to take part in the rough-and- 
 tumble of life. There is a fitness in all things. You 
 have refined sensibilities and elegant tastes." 
 
 " I am quite aware," Evelyn answered, " that I am 
 in a certain sense taking a step backward in life. 
 I should much prefer, so far as mere choice goes, 
 to be able to continue to have the luxuries I have 
 enjoyed hitherto, or rather which I have learned to 
 enjoy since I came over here. But I am not in love 
 with any of the men who wish to marry me, and 
 until I fall in love I do not wish to marry, so what 
 am I to do ? You pointed out to me plainly enough 
 last night that it was my duty not to be an incum-i 
 brance to my family." 
 
 "You misunderstood me, Evelyn." 
 
 "Not at all. Your object in speaking as you did 
 was to lead me to see the practical reasons for mar 
 rying, but the logical outcome of your argument is 
 that if I prefer to remain single, I should do as I 
 am proposing to do. If my father were rich, it 
 would be a different matter. I am young and strong. 
 Why shouldn't I work ? Nine women in every ten 
 have to work. Naturally I shall endeavor to do
 
 FACE TO FACE. 233 
 
 something that will injure as little as possible my 
 social position. If I can make my living by literary 
 work, for instance, I shall keep to that. But sooner 
 than be dependent on other people any longer, I 
 would be content to be a shop-girl. I have learned 
 to recognize that money is one of the things which 
 we are bound to have in this world, and without it 
 one cannot expect to have social position." 
 
 " A shop-girl," groaned Mrs. Willoughby. " That 
 is the last straw." She took out her handkerchief 
 and wiped her eyes. 
 
 For some moments she cried steadily. She knew 
 enough of Evelyn to be certain that her cousin was 
 in earnest at the present moment, and that it would 
 be useless to argue with her further. She had not 
 said half what might be said against the folly of such 
 a step. To her perception it seemed incomprehensi 
 ble. She felt fairly dazed. She could scarcely have 
 been more astonished and horrified if Evelyn had 
 proposed wearing a bloomer costume. 
 
 But, as has previously been indicated, Mrs. Wil 
 loughby never renounced without a struggle any 
 project in the carrying out of which she was in 
 terested. She wept in a certain measure after the 
 first outburst of anger and despair in order to gain 
 time for reflection. It was evident to her that 
 Evelyn's eccentric decision was due principally to 
 the ill tidings from abroad, and she said to herself 
 that if subsequent particulars should show the loss 
 to be exaggerated, that decision might be altered. 
 She was resolved not to admit for an instant the
 
 234 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 possibility of such a humiliating and wild pro, 
 gramme being carried out. It seemed to her that 
 one would be almost justified in shutting up a girl 
 in an asylum to prevent it. She felt sure that when 
 Evelyn should think the matter over the child 
 could not fail to perceive the impracticability of 
 such a scheme. Her cousin was under the influ 
 ence of excitement now, and hardly responsible ; 
 was disturbed, naturally, at the loss of the money, 
 and shrank from being a burden to her parents' any 
 longer. But when it came to an actual choice be 
 tween the course proposed and marrying a man 
 like Ernest Clay, who could make her, and her 
 family as well, comfortable for the rest of their days, 
 and who would be in every other respect a thorough* 
 ly admirable husband, it could not be that Evelyn 
 would be so misguided as to persevere iti her ab 
 surdity. 
 
 Therefore, when Mrs. Willoughby found her voice 
 at last, she spoke with the design of temporizing. 
 "You will write, Evelyn (sob), to your family first 
 and tell them what you propose (sob) to do ? " 
 
 "It wouldn't be any use. I know in advance 
 what they would think of it. No, I had better look 
 about me at once and see what I can find in the 
 way of employment. I have a little monev which 
 will pay for my board during the first few weeks. 
 I'm sorry, Cousin Clara, but I've made up my 
 mind." 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby wrung her hands. 
 
 " You've promised Mr. Brock to stay with him.
 
 FACE TO FA a-:. 235 
 
 You can wait, at least, until you return from there 
 before you come to any conclusion." 
 
 " I have come to a conclusion already." 
 
 " But you have accepted his invitation." 
 
 " I have no intention of being unreasonable," said 
 Evelyn, after a pause. " A few days sooner or later 
 will make no difference, of course." 
 
 ' Then you will go to Mr. Brock's?" asked Mrs. 
 Willoughby, eagerly. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " And take no further steps toward what you have 
 mentioned while you are there ?" 
 
 "Very well." 
 
 Here was a respite at least, it. seemed to Mrs. 
 Willoughby, and the most must be made of it. 
 
 As has been indicated, Mr. Brock's estate was de 
 lightfully situated on the banks of the Hudson. 
 But he was comparatively a new-comer at Clyme 
 Valley, which, however, had been known as Clyme 
 Valley only since the establishment of his successful 
 manufacturing companies had transformed the 
 sprinkling of cottages at the base of the hills into a 
 busy town of several thousand inhabitants. His 
 fancy having been taken by the scenery of the 
 neighborhood during a chance pleasure-trip some 
 ten years before, he had bought a large tract of land 
 there and built a handsome house at which it was 
 one of his chief pleasures to entertain (with lavish 
 hospitality) parties of friends from the city during 
 the summer and early autumn. Mr. Brock was a 
 self-made man, so called, in that he had acquired his
 
 236 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 large fortune through his own personal astuteness 
 and industry, but although of obscure origin he had 
 married a New York lady of aristocratic associations, 
 and having been left a widower and childless not 
 long after, he had nevertheless, by dint of his unfail 
 ing good nature and a bluff force of character which 
 made him rather interesting because of its oddity to 
 people of fashion, ingratiated himself into very ex 
 clusive circles. 
 
 This is how he came to be on terms of easy friend 
 ship with the Pimlicos. Mrs. Willoughby had 
 always been a favorite of his. Pretty girls had an 
 especial attraction for him, and he was fond of send 
 ing them flowers and trinkets and giving little din 
 ners for them when they first went into society. 
 The loss of a niece to whom he was much attached, 
 his sole surviving relative, had saddened him greatly. 
 The establishment of the Clyme Valley and Wisabet 
 Companies had really been undertaken by him as a 
 means of diverting his mind from preying upon it 
 self, and as one step leads to another, he had be 
 come interested in a variety of new enterprises at 
 the time when he was petitioned to act as Evelyn's 
 escort across the ocean. Accordingly, " Highlands," 
 as he styled his place, had been shut up of late. 
 
 Side by side with his thirty acres lay " Seven 
 Oaks," the property of the Clays, which had been in 
 possession of their family for many years previous 
 to the date when Mr. Brock made his purchase. 
 Ernest's grandfather, and his father also, had been 
 fond of it as a cool retreat. There had been a period
 
 FACE TO FACE. 2,37 
 
 when the residence and grounds charmed the eyes 
 of visitors by their elegance and taste, but since the 
 death of her husband the Dowager Clay had ceased 
 to go there. The estate had been allowed to fall 
 more or less into decay. The old-fashioned house 
 was in need of repair, and the grass grew in the 
 paths faster than the aged gardener, who with his 
 wife alone held watch and ward, could keep it in 
 abeyance. But ever since he could remember, 
 Ernest had enjoyed passing an occasional week 
 there. At first attracted by the duck-shooting, 
 which was fairly good at times, he had come to feel 
 the place restful, and an admirable resort for study 
 and reflection. When he wished to be alone, he 
 went to " Seven Oaks." The long, silent avenues of 
 overgrown trees afforded him an ample pacing- 
 ground where he could rhapsodize with only the 
 spirits of his forefathers to bear him company. 
 Here he wrote poetry and indulged in aspiration, 
 and as years went on his liking became a sentiment. 
 During his various visits he had observed with inter 
 est the development of the town at his gates, and the 
 information that a controlling share in one of the 
 mills to the prosperity, of which the settlement owed 
 its existence, was for sale, found him a ready pur 
 chaser. It had likewise occurred to him to repair 
 and remodel the old homestead, and during the 
 autumn months a landscape gardener of celebrity 
 had visited " Seven Oaks " and set an army of men 
 at work upheaving everything. 
 
 Notwithstanding this work of demolition, Clay had
 
 238 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 preserved a wing of the house for his own occupancy. 
 He did not like to feel that he was entirely cut off 
 from passing a night under his ancestral roof if the 
 humor seized him to do so. Accordingly he had 
 given the workmen orders to delay as long as was 
 possible their invasion of his especial quarters. But 
 up to the time of his confession to Mrs. Pimlico he 
 had not made use of them since the early autumn. 
 Now, although the snow was on the ground and it 
 was bitterly cold, he managed, with the help of the 
 aged gardener, to instal himself with some degree 
 of comfort, so far as concerned his physical welfare. 
 His state of mind, however, was restless in the ex 
 treme, and it seemed to him as if he must return to 
 New York by the next train, so desolately did the 
 first twenty-four hours of his exile pass. He sought 
 relief in exercise, taking long rides in the saddle, that 
 he might fall asleep with weariness after dinner. 
 Every morning he went to the post-office in the 
 hope of finding a letter. 
 
 On the fourth day after his arrival, as he was wan 
 dering through his neighbor's domain, supposing his 
 neighbor to be in town, he was surprised to see signs 
 of life. The shutters of " Highlands " had been 
 taken down and the windows were open, many of 
 the sills being ornamented with blankets, that sure 
 sign of approaching occupancy. While lie was on 
 the point of going up to the house to inquire if 
 Mr. Brock were expected, a sleigh came tearing 
 up the avenue, from which that gentleman leaped 
 out.
 
 FACE TO FACE. 239 
 
 " Holloa, Clay, what the dickens are you doing 
 here at this season of the year ? " 
 
 " I was just going to ask you the same ques 
 tion." 
 
 "Well, you're the very man I want. I've some 
 people coming up to stay with me. Friends of yours, 
 too. Mrs. Willoughby Pimlico and her English 
 cousin, Miss Marian Bydoon, Miss Isabel Slatterly 
 and half a dozen others. What more could a young 
 fellow wish ? Dine with me to-morrow at seven. 
 Or for the matter of that move your traps over to my 
 house and stay altogether. It can't be very com 
 fortable where you are, with the bricks and mortar 
 falling about your ears. Is it a bargain ? " 
 
 Clay stared stupidly a moment, then said he 
 would be glad to dine with him, but declined the 
 rest of the invitation on the plea of being obliged 
 constantly to give directions to the workmen. He 
 felt puzzled and bewildered. What did it all mean, 
 he wondered. 
 
 At this moment a messenger approached and 
 handed Mr. Brock a letter, who exclaimed, after 
 reading it : 
 
 " Here's a pretty mess. The superintendent of 
 my mill writes that the operatives have refused to 
 work until their wages are raised." 
 
 " They quit work tins morning at the Wisabet, and 
 the Clyme Valley won't be running at noontime," 
 said the messenger excitedly. 
 
 " That's the first I've heard of it," said Clay. 
 " But I haven't had a chance to look into matters
 
 24O FACE TO FACE. 
 
 since I bought my stock. I have left everything to 
 the manager." 
 
 " There's been some grumbling of late," said Mr. 
 Brock. " There's an idea in the town that our 
 profits have been enormous. But they'll find that 
 striking is the wrong way to deal with me," he 
 added. " I don't believe in knocking under to such 
 fellows. It's a wrong principle. I propose to back 
 up Storrs, if we have to shut the mill down for six 
 months." 
 
 " I shall do whatever you do," answered Clay, a 
 little helplessly. " I know nothing of the merits 
 of the case. We can stand out longer than they 
 can." 
 
 " Come, jump in," said Mr. Brock, pointing to his 
 sleigh. " We'll go down and see what the trouble 
 is. I suppose they've seized the opportunity when 
 you and I were here to make a fuss." 
 
 They found the malcontents grouped about the 
 town and at the entrance to the factories of the 
 Clyme Valley Manufacturing Company, the em 
 ployees of which had just joined the strike. There 
 was no disorder, but a low murmur arose as the 
 sleigh containing the two capitalists drew up before 
 the Wisabet mill. 
 
 A lengthy conference followed. Clay found both 
 the superintendents to be shrewd, vigorous business 
 men, who declared that there was no ground for the 
 disaffection, and urged resistance to the demands of 
 the operatives. A deputation of the strikers was in 
 vited to present their grievances Its representa-
 
 FACE TO FACE. 241 
 
 live, a handsome, powerful-looking man with dark 
 eyes and hair, was the ringleader, Storrs whispered, 
 and but for him there would never have been a 
 strike. 
 
 "The fellow has a mind of his own. He speaks 
 well," said Mr. Brock, in a tone of admiration. 
 
 ' One of our very best hands until he got this 
 kink," continued Storrs. " Quite a knack as an 
 inventor, too. His mother lives here in the town 
 with him. Her name's De Vito. He calls himself 
 Andrew De Vito. I guess his father was an Amer 
 ican." 
 
 Clay looked at the orator more closely. It was a 
 strong face, full of fire and intelligence, but disdain 
 ful and embittered, His features were large and 
 prominent. His thick, matted hair drooped in a wave 
 low on his forehead. His manner was impassioned 
 as he proceeded in his harangue, but he spoke with 
 force and logic, and evidently had well thought out 
 his theme. He alluded with bitterness to the vast 
 profits of the two corporations, and claimed that the 
 working men were entitled to participate in them. 
 This was the burden of his argument, though he 
 drew a graphic picture of the contrast between the 
 condition of the proprietors and of the employed. 
 Ciay listened with a sense of realization as to its 
 truth. How often he had himself made similar re 
 flections ! But, as he had told Mr. Brock, he had 
 left to his superintendent the practical management 
 f his mill, and he felc unfitted to face this emer 
 gency. To accede to the demands of the strikers 
 16
 
 242 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 might mean financial ruin to the corporations 
 and he well knew that there was no more danger 
 ous foe to the progress of civilization than unprac 
 tical philanthropy. But was it true, as the super 
 intendent declared, that to continue the course they 
 were pursuing was the only alternative between 
 prosperity and disaster ? The whole great question 
 of the relations between labor and capital rose be 
 fore him, as it frequently was wont to do, but seemed 
 nearer and more exacting. At least the obligation 
 to share in somewise in its solution presented itself 
 to hinvwith a distinctness that resisted his inclina 
 tion to brush it away like a cobweb. He would fain 
 have done so, for in truth he was scarcely in the 
 frame of mind to contemplate such a matter. Was 
 not his heart tremulous as to the result of the court 
 ship of her whose refusal to become his wife would 
 decide the question of his future happiness ? But 
 as he sat and listened he was conscious that if all 
 went well with him in that affair he would perhaps 
 be brave enough to free himself from his old asso 
 ciations and strike out in this direction. 
 
 When De Vito had finished, the deputation was 
 dismissed with instructions to return in the morn 
 ing for an answer to its demands. Although Mr. 
 Brock had been fascinated by the picturesqueness 
 and force of its champion lie joined the two super 
 intendents in maintaining that the idea of allowing 
 the men an interest in the business was wildly 
 Utopian, and not to be considered for a moment. 
 They held that the only question to be decided was
 
 FACE TO FACE. 243 
 
 whether it would be for the present and future ad 
 vantage of the property to raise the scale of wages 
 slightly, or to fight the matter out, shutting down the 
 mills for the time being in case the Labor Unions of 
 other places were to aid and abet the malcontents. 
 It was argued that so far as concerned the condition 
 of the hands, there was but slender cause for com 
 plaint apart from the circumstances in which they 
 had been born. They were poor, and comparatively 
 ignorant, and must expect to work for small returns 
 while human beings of greater abilities and abun 
 dant means lived in luxury. But much had been 
 done for their comfort and improvement. There 
 were free schools for their children, and a public 
 library which Mr. Brock had presented to the town, 
 and other facilities in the line of hygiene and recre 
 ation, which had done much to keep them cheerful 
 and contented. Had it not been for De Vito there 
 would never have been trouble. He was the supe 
 rior in talent of his mates, and had become envious 
 of the condition of the wealthy, feeling that he was 
 doomed to grovel while they were in clover. He 
 had made a great mistake, for his superiority had 
 been appreciated. He had been advanced several 
 times already ; and if only he had been content to 
 wait, he might have made himself of the greatest 
 service to his employers and risen to a position of 
 independence, and possibly of wealth ; for he had 
 marked deftness in the way of adapting machinery 
 and devising new processes for the shortening of 
 labor. But he had seen fit to let ill-will get the
 
 244 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 better of his common sense, and had conspired with a 
 handful of lazy, shiftless fellows, such as haunt every 
 manufacturing town, to create disorder. Would 
 it be wise to yield in any degree to his exactions ? 
 A counter-offer of an increase in wages, while ap 
 peasing him perhaps for the moment, would only be 
 to put off the evil day. He had theories, and was 
 certain to advocate them. Was not the best way to 
 dismiss him and stand out against the rest, who 
 without a leader would be likely presently to come 
 to terms ? 
 
 So reasoned the business men, and Clay, who re 
 alized his helplessness more and more, said nothing. 
 He was prepared to do whatever the others advised. 
 Mr. Brock sat stroking his chin. He wished to be 
 just, but he was not a character to be bullied, and 
 he felt that he had done a great deal for the opera 
 tives already. He accused them of ingratitude. 
 Business was business, he said, and one could not 
 afford to run factories on a charitable basis merely. 
 He added that he was inclined to agree with his 
 advisers, but would send word before morning, as 
 he wished to think the matter over still further, and 
 was obliged to hurry home to welcome his guests, 
 who were nearly due. 
 
 Clay presented himself at " Highlands " at the 
 stipulated hour, and found a company of ten merry 
 over the prospect of abundant winter sports on the 
 morrow. He had no opportunity to speak apart 
 with Mrs. Willoughby before dinner, but her glance 
 seemed to indicate to him that his affair had taken
 
 FACE TO FACE. 24$ 
 
 a new aspect. Just after they sat down to table the 
 host exclaimed : 
 
 " Well, ladies, you have come in time to be pres 
 ent at a strike." 
 
 <; A strike! How dreadful!" cried several voices. 
 
 " Yes, the operatives down at the mills have struck 
 for higher pay. Mr. Clay and I have been spend 
 ing the morning in listening to a statement of their 
 grievances," continued Mr. Brock. 
 
 " Are they violent ? " asked one of the young men. 
 
 " No, but they have ceased work in a body, and 
 if we decide not to grant their demands and I have 
 pretty well made up my mind not to yield a point 
 we may have to stop manufacturing for the present. 
 It's a bad business," he said, shaking his head. 
 
 Evelyn, who was on his left, looked at him ear 
 nestly. A few months ago she would have been 
 likely to observe, " I thought you never had strikes 
 on this side of the water." But she no longer made 
 remarks of that sort. 
 
 " There ought to be laws against such things," 
 said Mrs. Willoughby. 
 
 " The laws are made by the working men now-a- 
 days," observed sententiously the young man who 
 had spoken before. 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby shrugged her shoulders. " Heav 
 en knows what we are coming to in this country," 
 she said. " One would suppose, now that everybody 
 can vote, that the working man had been considered 
 enough. Positively, when I read in the newspapers 
 the doings and threats of the Socialists and other
 
 246 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 people of that sort, I feel as if our throats might be 
 cut any night while we are asleep, merely because 
 we happen to have been born a little bit better off 
 than the majority of mankind." 
 
 There was a general shudder and murmur of 
 sympathy. 
 
 " I never read the newspapers," said one young lady, 
 decidedly. " I hate to hear about disagreeable things." 
 
 " All the strikes in the world, though, needn't 
 affect us up here," broke in Mr. Brock, presently. 
 " The coasting and skating will be just as good 
 ha! ha!" 
 
 Clay was rather silent during dinner. His seat 
 was not near either Mrs. Pimlico or Evelyn. 
 Later there were games, and it was not until the 
 company were about to separate for the night that 
 he had an opportunity to converse alone with his 
 mentor. The weather had moderated, and some 
 one suggested, as it was clear and still, that it would 
 be fun to take a peep out-doors. Accordingly, wraps 
 were sent for, and they went out on the piazza. 
 The prospect was beautiful. The lawn lay spark 
 ling beneath the moon like a, sea of crystal. All 
 was quiet in the town, and there was every promise 
 of a glorious winter day. Plans were earnestly dis 
 cussed. Some were eager to coast, and others to 
 skate, while Marian Bydoon, as usual, was bent on 
 riding across country, having induced one of her 
 admirers to be her escort. It would have suited 
 Clay admirably if Evelyn would have consented to 
 ride also ; but he realized that the sight of so mucn
 
 FACE TO FACE. 247 
 
 snoMr was a novelty to her, and that she was bent 
 on being taken down the steepest hill in the neigh 
 borhood on a double-runner, which Mr. Brock had 
 already christened after her. 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby strolled with Clay to the other 
 end of the piazza from that where the others were 
 gathered. 
 
 ''Were you surprised at our coming?" she in 
 quired. 
 
 "Completely. Do you wish me to run away?* 
 
 " By no means, nion ami. The time has come.' 1 
 
 " To ask her ?" 
 
 ' I think so. It is now or never." 
 
 "What do you mean? Will she have me ?" he 
 inquired eagerly. 
 
 ' I don't know. Ask her." 
 
 " Why have you changed your rnind ? " 
 
 " Don't catechise me." Mrs. Willoughby was 
 silent a moment. ''You mustn't build your hopes 
 too high ; but ask her." 
 
 "I will to-morrow," he said bluntly. 
 
 They were called back at this moment to com 
 plete the details for the morning. 
 
 Before Clay left the house Mr. Brock took him 
 by the button and led him aside. 
 
 "I don't believe in knocking under to those fel 
 lows. What do you say ? " 
 
 "I shall adopt whatever course you think best" 
 Clay answered. 
 
 " Very well, I'll write Storrs to-night, and tell him 
 not to budge an inch."
 
 XII. 
 
 NEXT morning it was agreed to defer the coast 
 ing party until after luncheon. Mr. Brock and 
 Clay were obliged to go to the mill to observe the 
 demeanor of the strikers, who had been informed of 
 the determination of the proprietors to resist their 
 demands. Accordingly the guests each followed 
 his or her own bent. Miss Bydoon started off ia 
 the saddle with her escort. There were two or 
 three who seemed content to loll over the roaring 
 wood-fire in the attractive library. The larger por 
 tion went to skate, under the inspection of Mrs. 
 Willoughby. 
 
 With this last detachment Evelyn allied herself. 
 She had never seen any good skating. All the 
 others were experts at the sport, including her 
 cousin Clara. She had no skates of her own, and 
 after the enthusiasm with which she watched from 
 the bank the graceful curves cut by her friends had 
 been a little chilled by the atmosphere, the fancy 
 seized her to explore the surrounding country. 
 
 The pond was fringed about by a thin wood 
 through which a path wound. Following this 
 the same by which they had come until she drew 
 within sight of the house, Evelyn pursued it again.
 
 FACE TO FACE. 24f 
 
 parallel to the highway, for a considerable distance. 
 The land sloped gradually upward until the road 
 lay some sixty feet beneath. The trees grew more 
 sparse in number as she ascended. They had been 
 thinned out by fires, and here and there gaunt 
 gnarled pines shot up into the air, with no vestige 
 of branches save occasional jagged spurs. But 
 the air was clear and invigorating, and there was no 
 cloud in the sky to mar the beauty of the winter 
 day. The path was distinctly enough defined, and 
 the frost had hardened the snow into crusted ice, so 
 that the walking was not difficult. 
 
 Evelyn was not sorry to be alone. The novelty 
 f the promised out-door sports had exhilarated her 
 and caused her to forget momentarily, in her capac 
 ity for enjoyment, the step she was about to take. 
 But it was uppermost in her thoughts. She had 
 seen no cause to change her mind, and was bent on 
 fulfilling the plan which she had laid before her 
 cousin. Nothing further had passed between them 
 on the subject. She had consented to this truce, 
 but on her return to New York it was her intention 
 to leave the Pimlicos' house. 
 
 She was conscious of being about to give up a 
 great deal that she would gladly have retained, and 
 athwart the current of her resolution the thought of 
 Ernest Clay rose to her mind with a frequency not 
 quite intelligible to her. Now that the change in 
 her circumstances had relaxed the tension of her 
 triumphant career, she realized that his was one of 
 the few figures which stood out distinctly to recall
 
 2 SO FACE TO FACE. 
 
 her experiences. Their chance meeting on ship, 
 board and subsequent relations had not faded away 
 like other influences that for the moment had 
 seemed almost as potent to arouse her interest. 
 There had been, indeed, as her cousin said, some 
 thing romantic in her first encounter with Clay. 
 Besides, she liked him on the whole. There was no 
 denying that she found his society agreeable. And 
 she supposed that it was true that he loved her. 
 Why was it she did not love him ? That was all 
 which stood in the way of her satisfying her family 
 and continuing to occupy the position she now held. 
 Did she not love him ? Slowly she shook her head. 
 Not unless dreams were a delusion and poetry a 
 sham. What did he stand for, what did he repre 
 sent ? He had revealed to her the fascination of 
 the doctrine of slothful elegance, against which even 
 now her soul was battling. And yet she could not 
 wholly drive him from her thoughts. 
 
 She reached at last the summit of the slope where 
 the ground for a short space was level and then de 
 clined gradually in the direction of the town. It 
 occurred to her to vary her walk by a glimpse of the 
 settlement, returning home by the road instead of 
 retracing her steps. As she descended, the wood 
 grew somewhat thicker a:id there was a profusion of 
 evergreen and underbrush which tended to shut out 
 the sunlight. A curious noise, repeated at regular 
 intervals, struck her ear, which she soon correctly 
 judged to proceed from the blows of an axe. In 
 another moment she caught sieht of a man in the
 
 FACE TO FACE. 2$ I 
 
 act of felling a tall pine. Then followed a whirring 
 sound, and the tree came crashing down across the 
 path, some fifty feet in front of her. 
 
 Evelyn stopped short. The trunk lay directly in 
 her way and opposed a formidable barrier to further 
 progress. She glanced at the chopper, a tall, impe 
 rious-looking fellow with dark hair falling over his 
 forehead. He was in his shirt sleeves and had flung 
 his cap aside, but his work of demolition had no ap 
 parent purpose unless it were mere wantonness, for 
 the locality was not convenient for one in search of 
 fire-wood. He stood leaning on his axe, returning 
 the young girl's gaze with a glance of morose pride 
 as though he enjoyed her dp:omfiture. His impres 
 sive but startling appearance prompted her to turn 
 to go back, seeing that the underbrush rendered a 
 passage other than by the path extremely difficult. 
 She was arrested by his voice. 
 
 "Stop a minute, lady." 
 
 Evelyn looked around, and saw him step toward 
 the prostrate tree and ply his aXe vigorously, so that 
 the chips flew high and wide. Recognizing his de 
 sign to clear a way for her she waited tranquilly, 
 watching his handsome, almost foreign profile, and 
 wondering who he might be. It did not occur to 
 her to be afraid. 
 
 When at last the path was sufficiently unobstructed 
 to permit her to go by, the man looked up half 
 sheepishly, half sullenly. As he beheld Evelyn's 
 features, where the bloom of youth and splendid 
 beauty were heightened by the glow of exercise, he
 
 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 seemed spell-bound for an instant. Then a mali 
 cious sparkle shone from his eyes. 
 
 Evelyn did not heed this. She was wondering 
 whether she ought not to offer to remunerate him. 
 She would not have hesitated to do so had she been 
 in her own country, but she suspected that Ameri 
 can labor might be more sensitive. Nevertheless, 
 as he stood, without moving, directly in front of her, 
 she said : 
 
 " Thank you kindly. May I not pay you for your 
 trouble ? " 
 
 It seemed as if the question must have harmonized 
 with the man's thoughts, for again his eyes gleamed 
 and he answered, 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 Evelyn started to put her hand into her pocket 
 for her purse. 
 
 " I don't want any of your money," he continued. 
 
 She glanced at him again, and an instinctive dread 
 seized her for the first time ; for his gaze was bent 
 on her mockingly, and yet with an evident admira 
 tion against which he seemed to be struggling as 
 though its entertainment might interfere with what 
 he had in mind to say or do. 
 
 " I want a kiss," he exclaimed boldly. 
 
 Evelyn shrank back thoroughly alarmed. For 
 an instant she was possessed with the idea of flight. 
 Then it came over her how futile that would be if 
 he chose to pursue her. 
 
 " A kiss ? " she faltered. 
 
 "Yes, my beauty, that's my price."
 
 FACE TO RACE. 253 
 
 They stood scanning one another from either side 
 of the fallen tree. Evelyn realized that she was in 
 his power, and that to scream might provoke him to 
 violence. She felt in looking at his face that self- 
 possession was her only hope. 
 
 "You are one of the dainty dames from "High 
 lands, I take it ; " he said bitterly ; " one of the rich 
 folks whom Henry Brock has invited up here to 
 teach his mill hands to know their proper places." 
 
 " I am one of Mr. Brock's guests," she answered, 
 scarcely knowing why. " And you, I take it, are 
 one of the men who have struck for higher wages 
 down at the factory ? " 
 
 He stared with some astonishment at her cool 
 ness. " Yes, my lady, I'm one of the strikers, at 
 your service ; I bow to you, my lady. You belong 
 to the quality. But before you leave this wood I 
 mean to have a kiss from those red lips of yours." 
 
 She could feel herself trembling, but she folded 
 her arms. 
 
 " Very well, you may kiss me if you wish to," she 
 answered. 
 
 He chuckled softly, with his eyes fixed on her 
 face. "You are a bold one," he said. " But it's no 
 use. Think how pleased my mates will be to hear 
 of my luck. It doesn't happen every day that a fine 
 lady of your sort is so generous to a chap like me. 
 You're free enough, may be, with your subscription- 
 lists, and your broken victuals, and your patronizing 
 airs, but when it comes to associating with us and 
 letting us imagine that we are anything better than
 
 254 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 the dirt beneath your feet, our chance is mighty 
 poor." 
 
 He spoke with an intense bitterness. For a mo 
 ment there was silence between them. He seemed 
 nervous under the steady gaze of his victim, and 
 trifled with the handle of his axe, on which he still 
 was leaning. 
 
 " Why don't you kiss me ? " said Evelyn. 
 
 She could perceive in his countenance the strug 
 gle of conflicting passions. 
 
 "And what if I should ?" he said shortly. 
 
 " I should think you a coward," she replied, with 
 courage. 
 
 "Why should I care what you think ?" he said. 
 
 She trembled again, and their eyes met. 
 
 "You will let me pass ?" she asked, with a touch 
 of plaintiveness. 
 
 He hesitated. He made a step forward as though 
 to execute his threat, then paused. 
 
 " Curse you ! " he said, in a tone of baffled anger, 
 and he stood aside. " Pass, then." 
 
 Evelyn did so. Insolent as were the man's words 
 there was a ring of despair in his voice that bade 
 her pause. She turned and looked at him, and an 
 impulse seized her. 
 
 "I arn perfectly willing that you should kiss me 
 now," she said. 
 
 A bewildered expression replaced the fellow's 
 frown, and a flush rose to his cheek. 
 
 Just then some rays of sunlight piercing through 
 the shade caused perhaps the gems in one of he*
 
 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 rings to sparkle, for with a sudden movement he 
 grasped her hand, and falling on one knee kissed it 
 eagerly. Then he sprang to his feet and plunged 
 into the thicket. 
 
 When Evelyn found herself alone and that all 
 danger was past, her fortitude so far relaxed thai 
 she ran at full speed along the path, which sloped 
 toward the town, impatient to gain the main road. 
 But almost immediately she came upon Mr. Brock 
 and Ernest Clay, who had chosen this way of return 
 ing home, and into whose arms she all but precip 
 itated herself. 
 
 Her flushed cheeks and excited manner betrayed 
 that something unusual had taken place. In response 
 to their inquiries she told them the truth. Half 
 laughing, half crying she described the close of her 
 encounter. The gentlemen listened with breath 
 less interest and concern. 
 
 " Bravo ! " exclaimed Mr. Brock, as she finished ; 
 "the rascal had a touch of gallantry about him after 
 all. I'll bet my life " he stopped short "you say 
 he was tall and foreign-looking ? " 
 
 "Yes," answered Evelyn, "and had wavy black 
 hair that hung down over his forehead." 
 
 " De Vito," cried the men together. 
 
 " We'll have him in jail before night," said Mr. 
 Brock. " It's bad enough to set the village by the 
 ears, without insulting defenceless women. Clay," 
 he added, looking at his watch, "you keep on with 
 Miss Pimlico, and I'll go back to town and put a 
 couple of officers on his track."
 
 2 56 FA CE TO FA CE. 
 
 " A good thrashing would be the best punishmeni 
 for the fellow," answered Ernest. " He must be in 
 the wood somewhere near here. I'd like to try my 
 hand on him," he said, with a burst of indignation. 
 " Hallo-o-a," he cried aloud. 
 
 " Pshaw ! He'll take precious good care to keep 
 out of the way," exclaimed Mr. Brock. 
 
 " I'd much rather you didn't do anything," said 
 Evelyn, turning to the young man. " I don't think 
 he meant to harm me. He looked miserable and 
 unhappy. Probably he felt sore about the strike, 
 and thought he would frighten me for revenge." 
 
 " The brute ! " interjected Mr. Brock. " He'll 
 find that sort of business will not benefit his cause. 
 But how was it, Miss Pimlico, you offered to let him 
 kiss you after he had allowed you to pass ? " he 
 asked. 
 
 " I don't know exactly," she said softly. " He had 
 said something a few moments before as to there 
 being such a gulf between people like us and him. 
 I suppose I pitied him. If he felt he would rather 
 have a kiss than a dollar, it wasn't so very much to 
 give after all." 
 
 "And the gulf would be narrowed between 
 you, eh ? " 
 
 " Perhaps so, Mr. Brock." 
 
 He glanced curiously and kindly at her. "You 
 are a brave girl. I fancy," he added after a mo 
 ment, " that you young folks who are growing up 
 have work cut out for you in that direction. There's 
 trouble ahead, for neither side is altogether right
 
 FACE TO FACE. 2$? 
 
 But it isn't likely to come in my time. I'm an old 
 man and must stick to the old methods." 
 
 Clay and Evelyn instinctively looked at one 
 another. The lover's gaze was so ardent and so full 
 of admiration that she let fall her eyes in some con 
 fusion. She had felt grateful to him for his evident 
 eagerness to administer punishment to her adversary, 
 and in view of their former discussion Mr. Brock's 
 words seemed to her to have a strange pertinency. 
 
 During their conversation they had been walk 
 ing along, and they now came to the scene of the 
 adventure. The two gentlemen beat the bushes on 
 either side of the path, but failed to discover any 
 signs of the presence of the marauder. The tree 
 which he had cut down was one of the finest in the 
 neighborhood, and apparently he had felled it out 
 of spite, or as a vent for his pent-up feelings. 
 
 The account of Evelyn's experience naturally 
 caused a commotion at the luncheon-table. The 
 ladies shivered in their shoes, and there was a gen 
 eral disposition on the part of the masculine portion 
 of the company to organize a pursuit, with the idea 
 of taking the law into their own hands. But on 
 Mr. Brock's representation that Evelyn was op 
 posed to anything of the sort, the excitement took 
 the form of catechism. Evelyn was asked every 
 variety of question, both regarding her own feelings 
 and the appearance and demeanor of her assailant. 
 The fact that she had neither screamed nor fainted 
 seemed incredible to several, and after the first in 
 tensity of the horror subsided every one agreed that
 
 2$8 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 her acquiescence in De Vito's for from the descrip 
 tion there was no longer a doubt that the marauder 
 had been he demand had saved her from all sorts 
 of horrors. No one of her own sex, however, could 
 understand her having had the courage or felt the 
 impulse to proffer De Vito a kiss after he permitted 
 her to pass, despite the romantic conclusion of the 
 episode. They argued that her natural inclination 
 must surely have been to run at the top of her 
 speed the moment she was safe from the miscreant's 
 clutches. Of course the sequel had been almost 
 pathetic. She had made, unwittingly, a conquest, 
 which, manifested by the poor wretch's clumsy 
 obeisance, might be, for all anyone could tell, an 
 awakening influence that would result in regenera 
 tion. 
 
 " The scoundrel ought to feel flattered during the 
 rest of his life," exclaimed Mr. Brock. " To obtain 
 permission to kiss those lovely lips is the ambition 
 of many a young fellow who is wearing his heart out 
 in sighing, I'll be bound." He smiled at Evelyn 
 over the wine-glass, which he raised to his lips in 
 her honor. 
 
 As is often the case where the news of a horrifying 
 incident has momentarily checked the current of 
 gayety, and it has been duly demonstrated that the 
 victim has escaped injury after all, the spirits of the 
 company soon rose. Everyone was in the mood 
 to try the new coast, and the double-runner, " Miss 
 Pimlico," seemed named most appropriately. The 
 tidings from the town were not disturbing. The op-
 
 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 eratives had received their rebuff without noisy dem 
 onstrations, and though refusing to return to work 
 had showed no tendency to resist the action of the 
 corporations by other than lawful means. Mr. 
 Brock's wrath against De Vito, already mollified by 
 Evelyn's desire that no notice should be taken of 
 her assailant's conduct, evaporated rapidly under the 
 influence of the invigorating sport. The whole 
 party returned to the house at dinner-time in a most 
 merry frame of mind. The host gave orders to have 
 the choicest wine in his cellar unbottled without 
 stint. The huge wood-fires roared up the chimneys 
 as though in sympathy with the general light-heart- 
 edness. The conversation flowed vivaciously, and 
 Evelyn's health was drunk amid loud acclamations 
 in testimony to her fearlessness. 
 
 After the dessert was served Mr. Brock got up 
 from his seat, and going to a safe fitted into the side 
 board, where he kept his valuables, produced a russia- 
 leather case, which proved to contain a magnificent 
 necklace of pearls. He approached Evelyn and 
 fastened it about her neck. 
 
 "This belonged to my niece; her I told you 
 about," he said. " I should like you to have 
 it." 
 
 A murmur of mingled applause and envious ex 
 clamation for the gift was of exceptional value 
 ran round the table. Evelyn, too surprised and 
 moved to speak, put out her hand to her donor, nrho 
 took it in both of his own, and, dropping on one 
 knee, touched his lips to it.
 
 26O FACE TO FACE. 
 
 " It is my price," he said, with a merry laugh that 
 -was echoed on all sides. 
 
 Evelyn smiled sweetly, but as she raised her eyes 
 she gave a start and pointed toward the window 
 which she was facing. 
 
 " Look ! " she cried. 
 
 " What is it ? " exclaimed half a dozen voices. 
 
 " It was he the same one," she ejaculated. 
 
 Two or three of the young men, with a quick ap 
 preciation of her meaning, rushed into the hall and 
 out of doors, while others threw up the window. But 
 no one was visible. Not a sound was to be heard. 
 The pursuers plunged in among the fir-trees, which 
 at this point were only a few rods distant from the 
 house, but failed to find traces of anybody. Mr. 
 Brock gave orders that lanterns should be brought 
 and the dogs in the stable let loose. 
 
 Meanwhile, in response to numerous questions, 
 Evelyn declared that she was certain she had seen 
 the face of Andrew De Vito pressed against the win 
 dow-pane, and that his eyes were fixed upon her. 
 His look was wild and strange she said, and the mo 
 ment after she perceived him he had vanished. 
 
 The ladies shivered again, and someone suggested 
 that he had probably caught sight of the necklace 
 of pearls. 
 
 "We might have been murdered in our beds," 
 murmured Mrs. Willoughby. 
 
 Mr. Brock was in a state of the utmost indignation. 
 He and the young men, with the aid of lights and 
 the dogs, ransacked the grounds for nearly an hour,
 
 FACE TO FACE. 26 1 
 
 but to no avail. Then he ordered a vehicle, and 
 driving down to the police station in the town, had 
 a warrant issued against De Vito. On his return, 
 he found his guests seated about the fire in a more 
 or less tremulous condition. Some youth had taken 
 advantage of the scare to tell a series of ghastly 
 ghost stories, which had begotten a variety of specu 
 lations and anecdotes as to the credibility of so- 
 called supernatural incidents. 
 
 The reappearance of the host was a relief, and 
 gave a greater sense of security. Indeed, Mrs. Wil- 
 loughby presently suggested that it was possible that 
 Evelyn had been misled by an hallucination. The 
 idea was eagerly welcomed, and the terrible strain 
 she had undergone that morning adduced in sup 
 port of it. But Evelyn shook her head. She felt 
 certain that she had not been deceived.
 
 XIII. 
 
 CLAY lay awake long that night. When he arose 
 the sun was streaming into his room. He 
 found that he had overslept himself. On the break 
 fast-table was a letter from the manager of his mill, 
 which informed him that De Vito could not be found, 
 but that he was reported to have been seen getting 
 on the early morning train from Clyme Valley, a 
 short distance from the town. All was quiet at the 
 factories, and there was every reason to hope that the 
 strikers would soon give in, especially if it should 
 prove true that their leader had deserted them. 
 
 It was eleven o'clock before Clay went over to 
 Highlands. He feared that everyone had gone out, 
 but to his surprise and delight he discovered Evelyn 
 alone in the library, for which he shrewdly suspected 
 that he was indebted to Mrs. Willoughby's clever 
 management. At all events, the rest of the company 
 had scattered in pursuit of amusement. 
 
 " And how are you feeling this morning ? " he in 
 quired, taking a seat beside her. 
 
 " I am none the worse for my fright, I think," 
 she answered. 
 
 " The fellow seems to have got off," said Clay
 
 FACE TO FACE. 263 
 
 " At least he is said to have been seen boarding the 
 train just after daylight." 
 
 " I hope he won't be caught," she exclaimed. 
 
 " I don't care what becomes of him, provided he 
 leaves Clyme Valley. He is a dangerous character. 
 What right had he to be mousing round the house 
 after dark ? " 
 
 " It is not easy to see what he wanted, I admit." 
 
 " He wanted to steal." 
 
 Evelyn shook her head. " I can't believe that, 
 Mr. Clay. There was too much that was fine and 
 manly in his expression, in spite of his impertinent 
 behavior." 
 
 " It was a mercy he did not kill you. Put an axe 
 into the hands of one of those devils, and there is 
 no telling what he will take it into his head to do. 
 I saw the fellow at the factory, as I told you yester 
 day. He is handsome and striking-looking, but I 
 shouldn't care to meet him face to face in a dark 
 wood," answered Clay. 
 
 " He looked wretchedly unhappy," said Evelyn. 
 
 " It's his own fault, if he is unhappy. He has 
 been considered in every way. If he hadn't been 
 restless and insubordinate, he would have held a 
 first-rate position long before this." 
 
 " I know Mr. Brock told me the same thing," an 
 swered Evelyn. " Of course, I don't pretend to be 
 any judge of such characters. But I pitied him. 
 It seemed to me, in thinking of his lace afterward, 
 as though he must have been kept down and 
 crushed."
 
 264 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 " He has to work for his living like every other 
 laboring man," answered Clay. " As to being 
 crushed, Mr. Brock has done his best to make the 
 operatives in the town comfortable and happy." 
 
 "Mr. Brock is as kind as can be to everyone," 
 said Evelyn. " Tell me what he has done." 
 
 " He has endowed them with a public library for 
 one thing, containing several thousand volumes, 
 and on each Saturday evening, during the winter, 
 some lecturer, magician, or concert-troupe is en 
 gaged by him to provide them with a free enter 
 tainment." 
 
 Evelyn was silent a moment. " Their pay is very 
 small, I suppose," said she. 
 
 " Yes, I suppose it is." 
 
 " And the profits of the mills have been enor 
 mous, haven't they ? " 
 
 " The companies are doing very well." 
 
 " It must be terribly hard," continued Evelyn, " ta 
 work day in and day out for a mere pittance, and 
 to see others grow rich on the fruit of one's labor. 
 Just think of the difference between the lives of 
 people of that sort and yours and mine. As I said 
 to you yesterday, there was something in that 
 wretched creature's look which made me feel that 
 his insolence sprang from despair. It was the im 
 pulse to let him realize that, despite the disparity of 
 our circumstances, I recognized his brotherhood as 
 a human being, which prompted me, against all the 
 other instincts of my nature, to offer to permit him 
 to kiss me,"
 
 FACE TO FACE. 26$ 
 
 " Men cannot be equal, even in the United States, 
 Miss Pimlico, however much we may theorize on 
 the subject," said Clay. " One man is born rich and 
 another poor, just as one is born strong and another 
 crippled, or one able and another shiftless. There 
 must always be poor and rich." 
 
 " But need the difference be so great ? " she asked 
 with earnestness. 
 
 "I do not know," he answered bluntly. "And 
 yet I am a mill-owner." 
 
 Evelyn flushed a little. " I don't, of course, un 
 derstand such matters," she said. " It is imperti 
 nent perhaps of me to speak about them." 
 
 Clay had risen and was pacing the room. " You 
 need not apologize on my account," he said " It 
 is to my shame and discredit that I cannot answer 
 your question. I draw my dividends, too, regularly 
 enough, and have plenty of leisure time." 
 
 " It seems to me," said Evelyn reflectively, after a 
 pause, " that if I were one of the working masses I 
 should very likely be a striker too. Think what a 
 bitter sight the luxury and extravagance of the rich 
 must be to a man with barely means enough to save 
 his children from hunger. How our splendid houses 
 and brilliant equipages and beautiful dresses must 
 confuse his sense of justice ! We spend a thousand 
 dollars in giving a ball, and may be within a stone's 
 throw of where it is held a dozen families, shivering 
 from cold, are huddled in some fetid tenement. And 
 yet we go to church and kneel on- soft cushions to 
 pray for the needy and suffering. What right has
 
 266 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 one-half of the world to be so wasteful when the 
 other half is starving ? " 
 
 " Their ignorance is our salvation," said Clay sen- 
 tentiously. " Like the brute beasts, the masses are 
 ignorant of their own strength." 
 
 " That man, De Vito, said we were free enough 
 with our subscription lists and broken victuals," 
 Evelyn continued. "I saw what he meant. We give 
 money liberally. We subscribe large sums to hos 
 pitals and other charitable institutions. But the 
 gulf still remains. On the one hand is the courtly, 
 luxurious millionaire, with his palace of a home, on 
 the other the ignorant, rough laborer, with his quar 
 tern loaf. There must be some way of lessening 
 this discrepancy." 
 
 "You would make a capital socialist," Clay said 
 admiringly. Her eyes were bright with an intens 
 ity which recalled to him their first meeting on 
 ship. 
 
 " No," she answered, " I am no better than the 
 rest. I live on from day to day without thinking of 
 such matters. It is only because the truth was 
 forced upon me yesterday that I have said so much. 
 How terrible one realizes one's helplessness to bring 
 about a change ! What a tremendous power money 
 is ! " she added. " It was you who first pointed that 
 out to me, I remember, Mr. Clay. I didn't under 
 stand you then as I do now. I can see that it is the 
 great force of the world. The possession of it in 
 sures comfort and leisure and refinement. The lack 
 of it makes men miserable and ignorant and brutish.
 
 FACE TO FACE.] ** J 
 
 No wonder we all strive so hard to accuommve it. 
 But God help those who are without it." 
 
 " There is no other power but one in th^ world to 
 be compared with it," said Clay in a low voice. He 
 had seated himself again beside her. 
 
 "And that?" asked Evelyn, earnestly. 
 
 " And that is love," he said. 
 
 She looked up quickly, then let falk her eyes, fa* 
 he was gazing at her with ardor. Hor own affairs 
 had been out of her thoughts, but now she under 
 stood that the moment was at hand which was to 
 affect momentously her future. 
 
 " Love is the only medium which makes a man 
 forget himself," Clay continued, " and which teaches 
 him his own littleness. You told me once, I re 
 member, that we on this side of the ocean are dif 
 ferent from what you expected to find us. You said 
 that we seemed too much like people everywhere. 
 You were right. We are in danger of imitating 
 others. That is our chief peril to-day. And by ' our' 
 I mean the class to which I belong, the rich, so- 
 called leisure class. Our forefathers did their work 
 and we are haggling over ours, erecting flimsy bar 
 riers of doubt and speculation between us and duty. 
 But you, Miss Pimlico, by your nobility of soul, 
 which is reflected in every line of your beautiful 
 face, have inspired one man, at least, with a sense of 
 his responsibility. It is you who are the American. 
 The seed sown by my ancestors has been blown 
 across the ocean and has taken root on foreign soil ; 
 and now you appear as its representative to teach
 
 268 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 me what I ought to be. I have come this morning 
 to ask you to be my wife. Dearest Evelyn," he ex 
 claimed, bending toward her, "say that you wili 
 make me happy forever. Say that you will teach 
 me to share your enthusiasm. What might we not 
 accomplish together ? I am rich, as you know. 
 Help me to use my money wisely. I am not equal 
 to the responsibility alone." 
 
 Evelyn sat listening to his recital with bowed 
 head and her hands clasped on her lap. 
 
 "When I have heard other men talk and rave 
 about love," he went on, " I have laughed to myself 
 and almost doubted if there were such a passion 
 as I had dreamed of, so hopeless had I become of its 
 being revealed to me. But after I learned to know 
 you, I understood the reason for my want of sus 
 ceptibility. I had formed an ideal. Most men do, 
 and satisfy themselves with less. But I have 
 waited thank Heaven, I have waited. You are the 
 only woman I have ever seen who fulfils my ideal 
 of what a woman ought to be. Unworthy as I am 
 of your love, I cannot live without it. Dearest, tell 
 me that I need not ask in vain." 
 
 He sought to take her hand, but Evelyn, who had 
 been in a daze, as it were, drew it away and mur 
 mured, while the tears filled her eyes in response to 
 his impetuous words: 
 
 "No, Mr. Clay, it cannot be. I am not what you 
 believe. I am not, indeed. You have deceived 
 yourself." 
 
 '' Am not what I believe ? You are everything
 
 FACE TO FACE. 269 
 
 that is pure and true and inspiring. Do I not know 
 that your life is wholly earnest, that your soul is 
 filled with a high purpose which makes a mockery 
 of the paltry trivial interests which absorb mine ?" 
 
 " You must not talk like that," she cried. " Would 
 to heaven that one-half what you say of me were 
 true. But you are mistaken, Mr. Clay. I am not 
 fitted to teach or help anyone." 
 
 " Let me be the judge of that," he exclaimed, pas 
 sionately. " You have taught and helped me already. 
 Since I met you first I have been a changed being. 
 Your influence has been an inspiration to me." 
 
 " It is not right of me to allow you to go on," she 
 said with decision, lifting her eyes to his, " for I can 
 not consent to become your wife. I have been 
 taught to believe that a woman should love with her 
 whole heart the man she consents to marry. I like 
 you, Mr. Clay I have learned to respect you ; but 
 you must not ask me to be more than your friend." 
 
 " I shall die, then," he exclaimed, with an out 
 burst of despair. " You do not realize what I mean 
 when I say that I love you. This is no boyish in 
 fatuation of mine. Do you not see, do you not un 
 derstand, that my whole future is dependent on your 
 answer ? Before I knew you, I was cold and cyni 
 cal and doubting. Without you I shall be un 
 happy forever." 
 
 Evelyn felt herself trembling at his intensity. She 
 knew that she had made up her mind, but yet she 
 was conscious that these burning words were sweet 
 to her to hear. She had listened to other avowals
 
 2fO FACE TO FACE. 
 
 of love almost with unconcern. But she was very 
 sorry for Mr. Clay, and her sense of pride was eve 
 stronger than her pity. She wondered if it were 
 wrong to feel so elated when she was resolved to dis 
 miss him. 
 
 " Let us look at this matter sensibly and calmly, 
 Mr. Clay," she said, gently. " Surely you would 
 not wish me to marry you unless I loved you. A 
 love such as yours would not be content with mere 
 respect and esteem." 
 
 "Calmly?" he exclaimed. "I have looked at 
 things calmly all my life. I have starved from lack 
 of enthusiasm. Sensibly ? I am looking at the 
 matter sensibly, for, without you, life will be worth 
 nothing to me. I have waited for years to meet 
 you, and now that I have found you, you ask me t 
 be calm and sensible." 
 
 Evelyn was silent a moment. 
 
 " Mr. Clay," she said, " if I were to accept your 
 offer, it would be simply because of your money." 
 
 He flushed slightly. 
 
 " Very well," he cried, " marry me for my money. 
 Anything would be better than losing you alto 
 gether." 
 
 " Because I want you to disabuse yourself of the 
 extravagant conception you have formed of my 
 character," she continued, " I will tell you that I ana. 
 tempted by your proposal. You have spoken of my 
 nobility of soul and lofty purpose : these are scarcely 
 consistent with the thoughts that have been passing 
 through my mind during the last fifteen minute*.
 
 FACE TO FACE. 2f I 
 
 Six months ago I was, it may be, innocent and un 
 sophisticated and enthusiastic. Since then I hare 
 learned many things, and chief among them, as I 
 have already said to you, is an appreciation of the 
 power of wealth. I know what it means to be rich, 
 and how eagerly everyone strives to become rich. 
 I know the delights of luxury and that the posses 
 sion of plenty of money affords leisure for culture 
 and refinement. If I were to marry you it would 
 be in order to be able to enjoy all the gratifications 
 which wealth affords. I should be marrying not 
 you, but your money. You have to congratulate 
 yourself that I am still sufficiently courageous to 
 refrain from doing you such a wrong as you would 
 have me commit." 
 
 " It was through you," said Clay, " that I have 
 learned to wish to use my wealth worthily. If yow 
 were my wife, think what we might accomplish to 
 gether." 
 
 Evelyn shook her head. " Ah, yes, if I loved you, 
 Mr. Clay. It might be very different then. As you 
 said just now, love is the only power that can com 
 pete with money. It was also you who told me 
 once that the progress of humanity must depend 
 largely on the efforts of people free from the stress 
 of money-getting. But I can appreciate now how 
 difficult it is for the rich to make those efforts. 
 Wealth soothes and deadens and lulls to sleep." 
 
 " Yes, but it should not lull us to sleep, Evelyn. 
 Side by side we should be able to throw off. sloth 
 forerer."
 
 272 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 " I can readily understand," answered Evelyn, 
 " that to you, feeling as you do, it might seem easy 
 and simple to brave the world and escape from the 
 common rut, and were I able to return your affec 
 tion I believe that love would give me strength to 
 do the same. But if without loving you I should 
 become your wife, I feel that I could not count 
 upon myself. You said just now that you have 
 waited for love. Perhaps I also am waiting in the 
 hope that it may some day be kindled in my heart. 
 For without it I am sure no woman is safe from the 
 weaknesses of her own nature. I should not dare 
 to marry you, Mr. Clay. I care too much for the 
 things that I ought to despise. They interest and 
 absorb me. I am vain and frivolous. Forget me, 
 Mr. Clay. There are other women who will make 
 you far happier than I could ever do." 
 
 " There is no one like you in the world," he ex 
 claimed. " I will never give you up." 
 
 " It is useless to talk so," she murmured. " I hate 
 to cause you pain, but I cannot make a different an 
 swer. Do you not remember telling me," she con 
 tinued, " that only the few can hope to be rich, and 
 that to labor and struggle must be the lot of all but 
 a small proportion of mankind ? Riches are a re 
 ward, a prize representing industry or talent on 
 the part of the possessor or of his or her ancestors. 
 What right have I to reap the highest reward of 
 life when I have never taken part in the struggle ? 
 Would it be consistent with pride to accept from a 
 man I do not love the means of exemption from
 
 FACE TO FACE. 2f3 
 
 self-support ? I put the -question to you because I 
 have already put it to myself. There is but one an 
 swer to it." 
 
 "I do not understand you," he said. 
 
 " You will when I tell you that during the past 
 week I have received the distressing news from home 
 that my father has lost money. In consequence of 
 this I shall be obliged to leave my cousin's house 
 and earn my own living." 
 
 Clay started and gazed at her with astonishment 
 scarcely less than Mrs. Willoughby had displayed. 
 
 " What do you mean ? " he asked. 
 
 " Precisely what I have said," Evelyn answered. 
 " I feel that I've no right to be a burden on my 
 family. I have received a good education. Why 
 should I not make some practical use of it ?" 
 
 " What is it you propose to do ? " 
 
 " I hope to teach eventually. But to begin with, 
 I shall do anything that seems to offer me a chance 
 for a livelihood." 
 
 " This is sheer madness. You cannot be in ear 
 nest," he exclaimed. " Reflect " 
 
 " I have reflected," she interposed. " I have con 
 sidered the matter most carefully." 
 
 "Does Mrs. Pimlico know of your determina 
 tion?" Clay inquired. 
 
 " She does, and disapproves." 
 
 " Humph ! " He resumed pacing the room. " Yor 
 father in trouble and you obliged to support your 
 self ? Surely his losses cannot be so severe as to 
 necessitate that ? " 
 18
 
 274 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 " I do not know exactly. I only know that he has 
 lost a great deal of money. He has several unmar 
 ried daughters, and the expenses of the household 
 are large. I wish to save him from any further re 
 sponsibility on my account." 
 
 " Oh, Evelyn, why won't you let me help you ? " 
 exclaimed the young man. " I have money enough 
 for you all." 
 
 " It is a temptation, as I told you," she answered. 
 "You can see that now. But I am too much your 
 friend, Mr. Clay, to do you so great an injury." 
 
 " My friend ! " he ejaculated. " You little realize 
 how cruelly that word sounds. It is hard to have to 
 feel that you prefer such a step to becoming my wife." 
 
 Evelyn was silent a moment. " There is no alter 
 native open to me," she said. "A woman is ex 
 pected to marry. It is natural for her to do so. I 
 have had other offers, which, as well as yours, would 
 have supplied me with a home. Since I have pre 
 ferred to remain single, I feel that I ought to pro 
 vide for myself," she said with simplicity. 
 
 " Why do you wish to remain single ? " he asked. 
 
 " I have no such wish. I trust that I may marry 
 some day." 
 
 " Is there anyone else ? " he asked, stopping in 
 front of her, "You say you have had other offers." 
 
 " There is no one," she answered. 
 
 He walked impatiently up and down the room 
 with his hands clasped behind his back. 
 
 " I will not give you up," he blurted out. " Shall 
 you remain over here ? " he inquired presently.
 
 FACE TO FACE, 275 
 
 " Yes, I have fewer acquaintances on this side of 
 the water, and I suppose my friends at home would 
 be shocked even more than those here.' 
 
 "Evelyn, Evelyn," cried Clay, with a new access 
 of pain. " All this makes it so much the harder for 
 me to lose you." 
 
 He sat down again beside her. "You are noble 
 and brave and pure and good," he continued. " What 
 right have I to aspire to you ? What right have I 
 to dream that you could love me. My nature is 
 small and narrow and petty. There is good reason 
 for'your decision. But I find it very hard to bear." 
 
 He covered his face with his hands. 
 
 Evelyn made no response for a little while. "In 
 deed you wrong yourself, Mr. Clay," she said. "Any 
 woman should be proud of a love so genuine and 
 disinterested as yours. Besides, I value dearly your 
 friendship if you will not forbid the word. I have 
 learned a great deal from you. Before I met you I 
 was ignorant and foolish. You have helped me to 
 correct many erroneous ideas and to see life as it is 
 It is true I do not love you," she added, gently. " I 
 cannot say why. Perhaps it is my own fault, my 
 lack of the capacity to feel deeply. It is said, you 
 know, that in this critical age of ours, the power to 
 fall in love is frozen out of many. That may be the 
 case with me. I am not sure that it is not." 
 
 "No, no," he cried, "the fault is in my ttnworthi- 
 ness. A nature as enthusiastic and earnest as yours 
 is adapted to love. You are courageous and strong, 
 and not afraid to act. I am a mere dreamer. N
 
 276 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 wonder you do not care for me. What have I eve? 
 done to prove my manhood J" 
 
 " We have both been dreamers," she answered. 
 " Our work lies before us. Our paths must divide 
 for the present," she added. 
 
 "Yes, for the present," he responded eagerly. 
 '' But let me carry away with me the hope that if I 
 prove faithful to my trust our paths may reunite." 
 
 " Hope ? " she echoed. 
 
 " It was you who inspired me, and you leave ma 
 to fight the battle alone." 
 
 " You will win without me," she said. 
 
 " And if I do, tell me that you will love me." 
 
 Evelyn looked at him with troubled eyes. "I can 
 not tell, Mr. Clay. I do not know what love is, ex 
 cept from dreams. Hark ! the others are coming," 
 she cried, as the jingle of sleigh-bells resounded 
 from the avenue. 
 
 " I shall take those words with me as a token of 
 encouragement," he said, rising. "Good-by. Heaven 
 bless and keep you," he exclaimed, and bending low 
 he seized and kissed her hand. A moment later he 
 was gone, and Evelyn, with her eyes full of tears, 
 was standing motionless, staring after him. The 
 laughter of her friends in the hall brought her to 
 herself. They came in bubbling over with gayety. 
 They had met Clay at the door, and they hastened 
 to surround Evelyn to twit her jocosely on the time 
 liness of her headache. 
 
 One by one they left the room to take off theix 
 furs, until only Mrs. Willoughby, who had bee
 
 PACK TO FACE. 2ff 
 
 musing over the fire, remained. When all had gone 
 she turned to Evelyn with a tentative 
 
 " Well, dear ? " 
 
 " Cousin Clara," was the response, " Mr. Clay 
 has just asked me to become his wife, and I have 
 refused him." 
 
 There was a death-like silence. 
 
 "I am bound to tell you, of course," continued 
 Evelyn, " and I heartily wish, for your sake, I could 
 have given him a different answer." 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby sat speechless, twirling her 
 muff. Her vocabulary seemed to her perhaps un 
 equal to the occasion. At length she rose and 
 gathered up her wraps. Just before she opened the 
 door she turned her head and remarked : 
 
 " All I can say is, that you have committed social 
 suicide, Evelyn. You will look at it some day as I 
 do." 
 
 Then Mrs. Willoughby left the room. 
 
 Evelyn endeavored to be natural and sprightly at 
 dinner, but she found it difficult, and very early in 
 the evening she pleaded fatigue and went to her 
 chamber. She desired to be alone, that she might 
 collect her thoughts. Her nerves felt strained and 
 excited. She knew that in refusing Mr. Clay she 
 had taken a decisive step. But she was not con 
 scious ot regrets. She said to herself, that if the 
 decision were to be made again she would act m 
 no respect differently. 
 
 For the first time in her life, however, the thought 
 that she was loved ardently for herself alone was
 
 278 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 pleasant to her. She felt grateful to Mr. Clay, and 
 it grieved her to have occasioned him suffering. 
 When former suitors had woed, she had been prone 
 to laugh at their expressions of devotion, but she 
 had listened to him in a different spirit. She won 
 dered if the reason were not that she was lonely 
 and in need of friends. As she had told Mr. Clay, 
 her acquaintance with him had influenced her 
 greatly and opened her eyes to the inaccuracy of 
 her own theories. She thought of his words, " It 
 was you who inspired me," and their remembrance 
 caused her a thrill of satisfaction, for she could not 
 kelp recalling at the same time the details of their 
 first meeting. She had then offended his fine sense 
 of propriety and shocked his dearest prejudices. 
 How contemptible, too, he had appeared to her \ 
 Their natures had seemed as irreconcilable as the 
 antipodes. That was six months ago, and now he 
 vras eager to make her his wife, and miserable at 
 her inability to return his love. There was no 
 doubt that each had worked a change in the other. 
 Was it not largely owing to Mr. Clay that she was 
 no longer an unpractical enthusiast ? Ah ! if only 
 it were true that she were what he thought her ! 
 He believed her strong in purpose, and had said 
 that her nobility of character had spurred him to 
 overcome the morbid tendencies of his disposition. 
 How delightful it must be to be filled with a pas 
 sion so strong and disinterested as his ! She would 
 hare declared, a few months ago, that he was in 
 capable of so absorbing a feeling. She wondered,,
 
 FACE TO FACE. 2f9 
 
 again, if she might not be without a heart, as her 
 cousin Clara had insinuated. And yet Mr. Clay 
 had assured her of the contrary. He had said that 
 her earnestness and enthusiasm fitted her for loving. 
 Yet she did not love him, if indeed true love were 
 akin to what she had believed it to be. But so it 
 must be, for had not he waited also, and when at 
 last the fire had entered his soul, found therein a 
 happiness which made him impatient with unworthy 
 living ? She thought of the lines of Wordsworth : 
 
 " Learned by a mortal yearning to ascend 
 Seeking a higher object. Love was given, 
 
 Encouraged, sanctioned chiefly for that end ; 
 For this the passion to excess was driven 
 
 That self might be annulled." 
 
 Self ! The secret of life was to forget one's self ; to 
 lose in engrossment in another's welfare solicitude 
 for one's own. This was the lesson of spirit to 
 matter, and through this unity of wedded souls a 
 love was born warm enough to include humanity in 
 its compass. 
 
 Self ! Would that she could escape from her own 
 self ! But there it was, staring her in the face, a po 
 tential reality, a despotism ever craving recognition. 
 Whatever her heart might despise, was not her nat 
 ure perpetually at hand her nature frivolous and 
 volatile, shrinking from duty and susceptible to 
 vanity ? 
 
 And the god of self was wealth money the stand 
 ard of success, the glittering prize for which men
 
 280 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 fought and struggled as for nothing else. Money 
 was indeed the power of the material world. 
 Through its possession mankind lived and pros 
 pered, and through the lack of it suffered and died 
 in misery. To accumulate it was one of the chief of 
 human duties. 
 
 Money was the most precious gift of matter, and 
 love the noblest representative of spirit. In the 
 union of these two mighty forces was the hope of 
 civilization, the promise of the progress of the race. 
 
 She recalled her experiences of the past twenty- 
 four hours ; the luxury of Mr. Brock's home, the 
 picturesqueness of the winter scene, the strike of 
 the operatives, her strange encounter in the wood 
 with their ringleader, the episode of the necklace, 
 and lastly the ardent proposal of Ernest Clay. What 
 a variety of circumstances, and what an illustration 
 of the contrasts between the lives of the affluent and 
 the destitute ! She thought of De Vito's handsome, 
 sullen face, as she had seen it when he bent to kiss 
 her hand, and as she had again beheld it when her 
 eyes met his fixed on her from behind the dining- 
 room window. She could not believe that he had 
 come to the house the evening before merely to 
 steal, as Mr. Clay declared. But for what purpose 
 had he come if not for that ? 
 
 Her glance happened to fall on the mirror, in 
 which she could perceive her countenance reflected. 
 Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were glistening. 
 She was in evening dress, and around her neck lay 
 the gift of pearls which her host had given her
 
 FACE TO FACE. 28 1 
 
 She realized that she was very beautiful. Shq gazed 
 and smiled, and as she gazed the social triumphs of 
 the past months came into her mind. 
 
 She brushed her hand across her eyes. Life 
 seemed to her a strange mystery. Thank heaven ! 
 her duty lay before her, simple and distinct. She 
 had to earn her own living. All her energies must 
 be devoted to that end. This was her sole respon 
 sibility for the present, and in fulfilling it she would 
 be free from the temptations and questionings which 
 had assailed her hitherto. She was to return to 
 New York in a day or two, and she would then be 
 stir herself to find occupation. 
 
 She looked at her watch. It was after midnight. 
 She felt thirsty and exhausted. Opening her door 
 she peered over the banisters. The hall below was 
 dark. It was evident that everyone had gone to 
 bed. Evelyn knew that she would find water and 
 cake in the dining-room. Accordingly she lighted 
 a candle and crept down the stairs, stepping softly 
 as possible lest she should arouse any of the house 
 hold, for she reflected that it would be embarrassing 
 to be caught prowling about at that hour of the 
 night. Fortunately, owing to the out-door exercise, 
 it seemed probable that all would sleep soundly. 
 
 She opened the dining-room door, and was step 
 ping forward when a noise arrested her attention. 
 In front of the safe from which Mr. Brock had 
 taken the necklace was the crouching figure of a 
 man, who was fumbling with the lock. He turned 
 round at her entrance, and perceiving that he was
 
 282 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 detected sprang to his feet. Evelyn started back. 
 Shaken as were her nerves she was able to scream, 
 " Robbers robbers help help." 
 
 She ran toward the staircase. Just then a gust 
 of air from a window in the library, which the in 
 vader had evidently left open, blew out her candle. 
 
 Alarmed by her outcry the fellow started to es 
 cape by way of the library, being obliged to cross 
 the hall in order to do so. With an oath he rushed 
 at Evelyn. Terrified as she was an instinct to pre 
 vent his flight took possession of her, and renewing 
 her screams she attempted to throw her arms about 
 the man's neck. It was too dark to distinguish a 
 feature of his face. 
 
 For a moment she stopped his headway by bear 
 ing heavily upon him. He grasped at her throat, 
 and catching his fingers in her necklace ripped it 
 so that the pearls flew in all directions. Then she 
 felt herself whirled about with a frightful violence 
 and hurled aside. She knew no more until she 
 found herself on the library sofa surrounded bj her 
 anxious friends.
 
 XIV. 
 
 TX) think, Willoughby," exclaimed Mrs. Pim- 
 
 1 lico, one morning just after breakfast, some 
 two months later, " to think that the grand jury- 
 should refuse to bring in a true bill, as you call it, 
 against De Vito ! I can't understand it" 
 
 " The evidence against him was very slight," an 
 swered her husband, from behind his newspaper. 
 
 " Slight ? It seems to me it was overwhelming. 
 Didn't he attack Evelyn in the wood, and wasn't he 
 detected peering in through the window on the 
 night before the house was broken into ? I don't 
 see what better evidence one could want." 
 
 " I have an idea that legally it wouldn't have 
 much weight. At any rate, dear, he has been dis 
 charged." 
 
 " I presume because Evelyn wasn't killed the 
 jury didn't think the matter worth troubling their 
 heads about," continued Mrs. Pimlico. " It was a 
 mere accident she wasn't killed. We might per 
 fectly well have all been murdered. In that case 
 they wouldn't have dared to let him off." 
 
 " I fancy it wouldn't have made any difference," 
 said Willoughby. "The law is the law, you know." 
 
 After this oracular utterance they were both si-
 
 284 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 lent until Willoughby made an ejaculation and let 
 the paper drop on his lap. 
 
 " Why, Clara, this is very sudden. Mr. Brock is 
 dead." 
 
 " Dead ? Mr. Brock ? " 
 
 " That's what is printed here. ' At his residence, 
 on Tuesday the i4th inst., Wilbur Pierce Brock, aged 
 sixty-nine years.' " 
 
 41 How shocking ! It must have been terribly sud 
 den. Had you heard that he was ill ? " 
 
 " Not a word. I saw him at the club a few days ago. " 
 
 " Evelyn will feel dreadfully," said Mrs. Pimlico. 
 "She was very fond of Mr. Brock. Sixty-nine. I 
 didn't think he was so old." 
 
 " He will be a great loss. He was an able and a 
 kind-hearted man," said her husband. 
 
 After they had discussed the sad news a little fur 
 ther Mrs. Pimlico said: 
 
 " I suppose Mr. Brock must leave a great deal of 
 money, Willoughby ? " 
 
 " Undoubtedly. He was reputed very rich." 
 
 41 I wonder whom it will go to. He has no near 
 relatives. You remember his niece died only a year 
 or two ago. She was the last of his family, he has 
 told me." 
 
 " Probably he has distant cousins. I fancy, if 
 what you say is correct, he is likely to have made 
 some large charitable bequests." 
 
 "Yes." Mrs. Willoughby was silent a moment. 
 " I shouldn't be very much surprised," she con 
 tinued, " if he had left Evelyn something."
 
 FACE TO FACE. 285 
 
 Her husband laughed. " What a curious woman 
 you are, Clara. Perhaps he has left us all some 
 thing." 
 
 " He had a strong liking for Evelyn," Mrs. Wil- 
 loughby answered, reflectively. " He gave her that 
 beautiful necklace, which was worth a mint of money, 
 and he was forever talking about her before that. 
 Only think how devoted he has been to her since 
 her accident. Hardly a day has passed without his 
 coming to see her, or sending her flowers and every 
 sort of delicacy. Of course," she added, " it isn't 
 very nice to speculate so soon after his death as to 
 what the poor man has done with his money, but 
 the more I think of it, the more probable it seems 
 to me that he has left her something. I trust fer 
 vently that he has, for then she would have no ex 
 cuse for persevering in her mad scheme of support 
 ing herself." 
 
 " She still insists on that, does she ? " asked Wil- 
 loughby. 
 
 " Oh yes," answered his wife, with a sigh. " Only 
 yesterday she told me that as soon as the doctor 
 would say she was strong enough she intended to 
 look out for lodgings. I do wish she would let us 
 adopt her. I've done my best to persuade her to 
 consent to be reasonable, but it's no use. Ever 
 since she learned that her father's failure was worse 
 even than she at first supposed, she has absolutely 
 declined to listen to argument." 
 
 "She is a very peculiar girl," said Willoughby. 
 " The only way is to give her her head, I fancy.
 
 2$6 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 From remarks she has let drop from time to time 1 
 rather think she was a handful at home." 
 
 " They sent her over here to get rid of her, that's 
 the long and short of it," said Mrs. Willoughby, in 
 dignantly. "However, I've become exceedingly at 
 tached to Evelyn," she continued, " and I should like 
 to have her stay with us indefinitely, if only we could 
 be sure she wouldn't commit some dreadful impro- 
 priety that would drag us into the newspapers. As 
 it is, if she leaves us, people will say we have turned 
 her out of house and home. Not that I care what 
 people say, but after taking so much pains as I have 
 taken about Evelyn, it does seem rather hard to have 
 her threatening to give music lessons. It is natural, 
 of course, to wish not to be burdensome to her family 
 at this time, and it was creditable to her good feel 
 ings that the idea of contributing to her own sup 
 port should have come into her mind. But that she 
 should think of it seriously, after our invitation to 
 make her home with us, is utterly incomprehensible 
 to me. I can't believe now that she is really in 
 earnest There's no use in talking about it. It 
 drives me frantic. \ won't believe it until she leaves 
 the house." 
 
 "There's no accounting for girls any more than 
 there is for horses, I suppose," observed Willoughby. 
 " But it's surprising, to say the least, that Evelyn 
 should have such notions. If it were one of your 
 own country women now ! " 
 
 "Not a bit of it," interrupted his wife,. "You 
 wouldn't find a girl of our acquaintance who would
 
 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 act so. We may be unformed and lacking in socia' 
 perspective, but we know how to educate our 
 daughters better than that. Of course I'm speak 
 ing of nice people. As for the creatures one reads 
 of in American novels, they exist, I believe, but who 
 ever meets them ? My own belief is that Evelyn 
 has got into her head that, in order to be like an 
 American, it is necessary to be peculiar. Don't you 
 remember what strange ideas she had regarding us 
 all when she first arrived ? She really expected 
 that the prairies were within a stone's throw of 
 New York. And then, too, there is no question that 
 she behaved very singularly during the voyage out, 
 though I have never quite got to the bottom of that 
 performance. Her conduct is one of the conse 
 quences of our writers of fiction giving foreigners 
 to understand that all our girls are like the heroines 
 of their stories." 
 
 " I sympathize with you, Clara, entirely," said 
 Willoughby. " It's highly annoying. But what 
 can we do about it, if she chooses to be so mis 
 guided ? We have no authority over her. We can 
 only reason with her, and, if argument fails, leave 
 her to her own devices and trust for the best. At 
 any rate it is preferable that she should sow her 
 wild oats here rather than at home." 
 
 "Why so, pray ? " demanded his wife fiercely. 
 
 Willoughby hemmed and hawed a little. "With 
 out wishing to be disrespectful to your native land, 
 my love, I should scarcely put the two countries on 
 a Dar yet," he said. " One still meets very odd peo-
 
 288 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 pie, both male and female, on this side of th 
 water." 
 
 " Not in society, Willoughby ; and Evelyn has 
 not met a soul outside of society. She brought 
 with her whatever peculiarities she has." 
 
 "We might send her home," he said. 
 
 "She won't go home. I have suggested that. 
 But she thinks the 'field for employment,' as she 
 calls it, is larger over here. Oh, Willoughby, isn't 
 it excruciating ? " she cried, in a tone of despair. 
 "Only think how differently we should feel if Eve 
 lyn had accepted Ernest Clay. She would have 
 everything that money can command. Well, I did 
 all ,1 could. I have nothing to reproach myself 
 for." 
 
 " Yes, it was a great pity. Clay was a good fellow. 
 Where is he now ? " 
 
 " I don't know. In Paris, I presume." Mrs. Wil 
 loughby gave a squirm expressive of further dissat 
 isfaction. "Why did he want to go abroad? His 
 only chance was to remain at home. But no, he 
 would have it he was going abroad to study. When 
 I asked him how long a stay he expected to make, 
 he put on a tragedy face and said, ' It may be for 
 years, and it may be forever.' His mother is really 
 broken-hearted. She was bent on the match. Oh, 
 Willoughby," she added after a pause, " do say you 
 think there is a chance." 
 
 "A chance of what ?" 
 
 "That Mr. Brock has left Evelyn something. 
 Now don't look so severe," she said, putting her
 
 FACF TO FACE. 289 
 
 arms around his neck. " I don't mean any disre 
 spect. I am dreadfully sorry that he has died. 
 But since he is dead I don't see any harm in won 
 dering what is to become of his property. Some 
 body must get it." 
 
 " I am no wiser than you, Clara. But I should 
 say that my cousin's chance is exceedingly small." 
 
 Mrs. Pimlico shook her head with an air of wis 
 dom. " How long will it be before we know ? " she 
 inquired presently. 
 
 " It is not usual to open the will until after the 
 funeral." 
 
 She looked a little grave, as though this allusion 
 to the last rites of the dead had made her feel guilty. 
 
 " Of course we shall go to the funeral," she said, 
 quietly. 
 
 The conversation was interrupted at this point by 
 the entrance of Evelyn, which caused surprise, inas 
 much as by the doctor's order the invalid was not 
 accustomed to get up before noon. But she had 
 been convalescing rapidly during the last few days. 
 Although she had received no bodily harm except 
 a slight contusion on the head from her midnight 
 encounter, her nervous system had suffered so 
 severe a shock that she had been greatly debili 
 tated. 
 
 Evelyn was still completely in the dark as to the 
 identity of her assailant. She had been unable to 
 distinguish the man's face at the time. Although 
 the rest of the party had been strongly of the opin 
 ion that De Vito was concerned in the affair, if not 
 '9
 
 29O FACE TO FACE. 
 
 the actual miscreant with whom she had grappled, 
 she refused to believe him guilty ; though when 
 asked her reasons for presuming him innocent she 
 was forced to admit that they were not substantial. 
 De Vito had been captured the next day on the 
 outskirts of the town. On being charged with the 
 crime he suffered himself in sullen silence to be 
 carried off to prison. Subsequently hp refused to 
 account for himself on the night of the attempted 
 robbery or to make any statement beyond disclaim 
 ing all knowledge of the affair. It appeared by in 
 vestigation that he had, as reported, taken the train 
 from Clyme Valley on the morning after he was de 
 tected looking through the window at Highlands, 
 but was seen to get off a few miles further along. 
 There was no other evidence against him, and 
 though at the instance of Mr. Brock the accusation 
 had been pressed, he was not indicted by the grand 
 
 jury- 
 
 The intelligence of Mr. Brock's death caused 
 Evelyn great pain. His attentions since her unfor 
 tunate experience at his house had been unremit 
 ting. He had called to see her as often as her doc 
 tor would permit, and had kept her supplied with 
 books and flowers and fruit. She had become ex 
 tremely fond of him ; so much so that knowing his 
 practical qualities she had been several times on the 
 point of informing him of her determination to sup 
 port herself. But the consciousness of his wealth 
 had deterred her. She feared lest he might regard 
 her confidence as a covert appeal for pecuniary aid
 
 FACE TO FACE. 2<)I 
 
 In tfce course of one of these interviews with Mr. 
 Brock during her convalescence she had asked him 
 some questions regarding the relations between 
 capital and labor. She had found him greatly in 
 terested in the subject, but, rather to her surprise, 
 without clearly defined views as to how the working 
 classes should be treated. He seemed almost bitter 
 at the behavior of his own operatives, instancing 
 what he had done to render them comfortable and 
 happy. At the close of the conversation, however, 
 he had said slowly, as though he were making an 
 admission which went against his grain : 
 
 " If I had my life to live over again, I suppose I 
 should act differently. I ought to have done more 
 than I did. But you must remember," he added 
 after a moment, " that I had my own way in the 
 world to make. I had very little education, and I 
 was over fifty years old before I had the leisure to 
 consider such questions. Besides, at that age it is 
 hard to adopt new ideas. But with you, my dear, 
 it is different." 
 
 He had spoken these last words with a kindly 
 look at Evelyn. They recalled the remark which 
 he had made in the wood to her and Clay. Some 
 thing had turned the conversation at the time, but 
 they had remained in her mind. 
 
 Only a day or two after this talk with Mr. Brock 
 Ernest Clay had sent her a note to announce that 
 he was going to Europe. He had called frequently 
 at the door to inquire if she were better, but he had 
 never asked to sec her. The note contained noth-
 
 292 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 ing more than a bare statement of the fact that he 
 was to sail in a few hours, and the hope that she 
 might be very happy. Evelyn had been found by 
 Mrs. Willoughby, half an hour later, with tears in 
 her eyes. The note was lying in her lap. She 
 handed it to her Cousin Clara without a word. The 
 latter read it, and after a scrutinizing glance at 
 Evelyn's face, had exclaimed suddenly : 
 
 " I believe you love that man. Let me send him 
 a line and tell him not to go." 
 
 "I do not love him," Evelyn had answered 
 steadily. 
 
 "Then why are you crying?" Mrs. Willoughbr 
 inquired, with a cruel persistence. 
 
 " I am crying because life is so perplexing. You 
 know, Cousin Clara, the doctor says my nerves are 
 not strong." 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby had made another insinuation 
 to the same effect about an hour later, but Evelyn 
 checked her in so stern a, fashion as almost to 
 frighten her fair cousin, who retaliated by observ 
 ing, "Well, Evelyn, you grow more and more un 
 intelligible to me every day." 
 
 This dialogue had taken place about three weeks 
 before Mr. Brock's death. On the afternoon fol 
 lowing the day of the funeral Willoughby Pimlico 
 entered his wife's drawing-room, and dropping into 
 a chair said : 
 
 "Well, Clara, I shall never doubt you again." 
 
 " Then it is true that he has left her something ? ' 
 Mrs. Wilioughby exclaimed, excitedly.
 
 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 "I have several interesting pieces of news," was 
 the answer. 
 
 " Do be quick, Willoughby." 
 
 "In the first place, it seems, after all, that it was 
 not De Vito who broke into the house that night. 
 A fellow who was shot a few days ago, while at 
 tempting to rob a bank, has confessed to having been 
 the man." 
 
 " Really ? But no matter as to that now, dear. 
 I want to hear about the will." 
 
 "Presumably," continued Willoughby, "the ras 
 cal took advantage of the fact that there was a strike 
 in order to divert suspicion from himself." 
 
 " Yes yes." 
 
 " Mr. Brock's property is estimated to be even 
 larger than was supposed. The story is that he has 
 left fifteen millions." 
 
 " How provoking you are ! " she cried, wringing 
 her hands in her impatience. " Why don't you tell 
 me ? There must be something very extraordinary 
 to tell, or you wouldn't act so." 
 
 " Clara, prepare yourself for a surprise," he said, 
 rising and standing before her. " With the excep 
 tion of a few bequests to charity, Mr. Brock has 
 left his entire fortune to Evelyn." 
 
 "Willoughby, you are joking." 
 
 " It is true as the gospel." 
 
 " What ! his entire fortune ? " 
 
 " Every cent, apart from about half a million 
 which goes to various benevolent institutions. What 
 do you think of that ? "
 
 294 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 "I'm dazed," she said. "What did I tell you, 
 Willoughby ? I knew he would leave her some* 
 thing. An old bachelor for his wife has beeu 
 dead so long he was practically that isn't apt to 
 take such a fancy to a young girl as Mr. Brock took 
 to Evelyn without remembering her in his will. 
 My only fear was that his death was so sudden that 
 he mightn't have had time to make the necessary 
 alteration. But it never entered my head that it 
 would be anything like this." 
 
 " The will is dated a little more than a fortnight 
 ago," said Willoughby. 
 
 "Only think! Wasn't it providential?" she ex 
 claimed, with a gasp of satisfaction. " Fifteen mill 
 ions! It sounds like a novel. Why, Willoughby, 
 she'll be a great deal richer than we are." 
 
 " Precisely." 
 
 " It's simply amazing. Evelyn doesn't deserve 
 such a piece of good luck after refusing Ernest 
 Clay. But, thank goodness, she won't be able now 
 to make a goose of herself in the manner she pro 
 posed. She has money enough and to spare. She 
 can set up her father and the whole family. I'm 
 just crazy to tell her. And you say De Vito turns 
 out not to have been guilty ? Evelyn will be 
 pleased at that too. She always insisted that he 
 was innocent, though I could never see why." 
 
 "I wonder what she will do with her money," 
 observed Willoughby presently, as he stood strok 
 ing his beard with his back to the fire. 
 
 " Do with it ? "
 
 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 " Yes, it isn't reasonable to suppose that she will 
 be content to live quietly as we do. I'm very curi 
 ous to see what effect it will have upon her." 
 
 His wife looked at him uneasily. 
 
 " She interests me," he continued, reflectively. 
 " Of course I didn't approve of her scheme of self- 
 support any more than you did ; but I like her in 
 dependence. To borrow a bit of your native slang, 
 my love, ' She doesn't care whether school keeps or 
 not.' The mystery is how my Cousin Mortimer 
 came to have such a daughter. He is a pattern of 
 conventionality, you know." 
 
 " Now, Willoughby, don't put any outlandish 
 notions into Evelyn's head, I beg. She is queer 
 enough already, in all conscience' sake, without your 
 aiding and abetting her." 
 
 " You needn't be anxious, Clara," he answered.. 
 " I'm much too lazy to impart notions to anyone, 
 even if I had any. Ha ! ha ! " The good-natured 
 Englishman laughed gleefully over this jest at his 
 own expense. 
 
 When Evelyn learned the news that she had be 
 come one of the richest women in the world, she 
 was speechless with amazement. But Mrs. Wil 
 loughby, who was radiant, prattled enough for two. 
 The excitement which the sudden windfall caused 
 in the household was so intense that neither of Eve 
 lyn's cousins remembered to mention to her the fact 
 of De Vito's innocence until late in the evening. 
 Evelyn seemed more aroused by that intelligence 
 than by her good luck, recurring to it again and.
 
 296 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 again, rather to Mrs. WiWoughby's perplexity, who 
 -had already begun to build all sorts of castles in the 
 air for the benefit of the fortune legatee. The two 
 women sat by the hearth until long after midnight, 
 the one pensive and silent, the other bubbling over 
 with insinuating little speeches. For unswerving 
 as Mrs. Willoughby ordinarily was in coming to the 
 point where she was interested, she felt so far awed 
 by Evelyn's reticence as to refrain from attempting 
 to satisfy her curiosity regarding the future by di 
 rect interrogation. 
 
 " It must be a satisfaction to you, Evelyn, that 
 you put on mourning of your own accord, before 
 you heard what he had done for you," she mur 
 mured, as they rose to separate for the night. " I 
 presume, dear," Mrs. Willoughby added, "you can 
 scarcely be sorry that it will be impossible now for 
 you to carry out your idea of leaving us." 
 
 Evelyn looked grave. " Of course I ought to be 
 very grateful," she said, " and I am. But so much 
 money is a fearful responsibility, Cousin Clara. 
 What can I do with it ? " 
 
 There was something almost beseeching in the 
 girl's expression, but this escaped Mrs. Willoughby, 
 who answered cheerily : 
 
 "You will find it goes a great deal faster than 
 you imagine. There's no such thing in this world 
 as having too large an income. Good-night dqar." 
 
 Evelyn's time was largely occupied during the 
 next few weeks with the business necessary to the 
 settlement of the estate. Mr. Brock's property had
 
 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 consisted, however, largely of stocks and bonds, 
 which were easily reduced into possession. Law 
 yers were called in, of course, but Evelyn insisted 
 on understanding every step which was taken. In 
 terpreters were not necessary to acquaint her with 
 the extent of her good fortune. She realized well 
 from the first that she had become one of the fa 
 vored few of the earth. But the congratulations of 
 her friends and the personal contact with the world 
 of affairs which she was obliged to undergo stirred 
 and elated her. She felt the joy of almost unlimited 
 power. Under its influence she grew stronger 
 daily, and before long she had recovered all her 
 former vivacity and vigor. 
 
 Her first act naturally was to relieve the embar 
 rassments of her father, and in so doing she was 
 scarcely to blame for feeling a v trifle triumphant 
 that she the only one of his daughters with whose 
 conduct hitherto he had shown dissatisfaction 
 should be the medium of restoring him to prosper 
 ity. She had a liberal sum transferred to his ac 
 count the day after she gained complete control of 
 the property. 
 
 She was equally decided, after consulting with her 
 Cousin Willoughby, whose slow and perhaps slug 
 gish judgment she found serviceable at this time, 
 that it would be absurd for her to assume the per 
 sonal management of her estate. That was what 
 she proposed to do at first, but reflection had showed 
 her that in such an event she would have leisure for 
 nothing else, and would become practically a slave
 
 298 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 to her investment account. Accordingly she told her 
 Cousin Willoughby one morning that she wished 
 him to find some trustworthy person to take this 
 responsibility off her hands. 
 
 "That will be very easily arranged," he answered. 
 " I can think of half a dozen good lawyers, any one 
 of whom could be entirely relied upon for the pur 
 pose." 
 
 " How long before this could be settled ? " asked 
 Evelyn. 
 
 "Within a week or two I should suppose." 
 
 Evelyn was silent a moment. " I have been 
 thinking matters over during the last few days," 
 she said, " and I have concluded to retain myself 
 the entire control of the property at Clyme Valley 
 the Wisabet Mills you know. I suppose there would 
 be no objection to that ? " 
 
 " Certainly not You are your own mistress." 
 Willoughby wondered why she wished to make this 
 reservation, but he made no comment and asked no 
 questions. Experience had taught him that his 
 young relative had her own convictions and was not 
 to be gainsaid. 
 
 " There are a few shares of the Wisabet Company 
 that I do not own," Evelyn continued. "I should 
 like to have them bought for me. I understand, of 
 course, that I shall have to pay more than the mar 
 ket price, but I am ready to do that." 
 
 "Very well," answered Willoughby stoically. 
 
 " I received this morning," she said, " a letter 
 from the superintendent, telling me that everything
 
 FACE TO FACE. 299 
 
 is quiet and running smoothly at the mill. Most of 
 the strikers have returned to work at the old wages, 
 and the places of the others have been filled." 
 
 " How came the superintendent to write to you ? " 
 Willoughby ventured to inquire. 
 
 " I wrote to him first." 
 
 " I see." 
 
 Willoughby filled and lit his pipe, humming softly. 
 Decidedly this cousin was amusing. She seemed to 
 him to bid fair to out-American the Americans. 
 
 " Cousin Willoughby," she asked presently, 
 "how should I be most likely to find Andrew De 
 Vito ? By advertising ? " 
 
 " Whom ? " 
 
 " De Vito, the striker, who has just been dis 
 charged from prison you know." 
 
 Willoughby felt an almost irresistible impulse to 
 ask what possible desire she could have to meet 
 such a character, but he swallowed down his curi 
 osity and answered. 
 
 " The authorities at the prison might know." 
 
 " I've already consulted them, but they have lost 
 sight of him. I've written to his mother also," 
 Evelyn continued, "but she evidently regards my 
 letter as a trap, for she disclaims all knowledge of 
 his whereabouts." 
 
 "Are you thinking of making him an offer of 
 marriage, my dear ? " he asked, with a humorous 
 smile. 
 
 " Now don't spoil the good impression you have 
 produced on me, Cousin Willoughby," she answered.
 
 300 FACE TO FACE, 
 
 " You've let me have tn y own way so far and haven't 
 bothered me in the least." 
 
 "I beg your pardon," he said; taking a puff at 
 his pipe. " Marry him by all means if you wish. I 
 wouldn't forfeit your favorable opinion for the 
 world." 
 
 They both laughed gleefully. 
 
 "I know I'm dreadfully trying," Evelyn said, 
 "but I can't help it. It seems to be my nature to 
 be so, Cousin Willoughby. You don't know what 
 to make of me," she added, "but you put up with 
 me. On the other hand, I'm a thorn in the flesh to 
 Cousin Clara." 
 
 "Your Cousin Clara is a very sensible woman," 
 answered Willoughby, recalling perhaps his wife's 
 injunctions as to aiding and abetting. 
 
 " Of course she is, and that makes it all the harder 
 for her to understand why I'm not impatient to set 
 up a gorgeous establishment and all that sort of 
 thing. She spent last evening in explaining to me 
 the possibilities open to a person with my advan 
 tages. But I mustn't tell tales out of school. Be 
 sides there's a great deal to be said on her side of 
 the question." 
 
 " Here comes the lady in person," exclaimed Wil 
 loughby, hearing his wife's voice in the hall. 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby entered with wide-open eyes. 
 "Evelyn," she said, "who do you suppose wants to 
 see you ? You would never guess. It's that dread 
 ful creature De Vito. I was just coming down the 
 stairs as he was let in. Patterson said to me that a
 
 FACE TO FACE. 3OI 
 
 man who calls himself De Vito wished to see Miss 
 Pimlico. What do you imagine he has corns for ? 
 I made a sign to Patterson to shut the inside door 
 and told him not to leave the hall until I returned. 
 I'm trembling all over. The idea of such a creature 
 being in the house !" 
 
 " He has come for no harm, Cousin Clara. I wrote" 
 to him that I should like to see him," said Evelyn. 
 
 " You wrote to him ?" gasped Mrs. Willoughby. 
 
 " Yes, or rather I wrote to his mother to ask him 
 to come." 
 
 " It's all right, my dear," said Willoughby to his 
 wife. Then he opened the door and addressed the 
 servant : 
 
 " Patterson, show Mr. De Vito into the library 
 and say that Miss Pimlico will see him presently." 
 
 " Into the library ? That man in the library ! " 
 cried Mrs. Willoughby. 
 
 " Evelyn will keep an eye on him," Willoughby 
 answered, with a smile. 
 
 " This is the most extraordinary thing I ever 
 heard of. Do you mean to tell me that you are 
 going to trust this child in the library alone with 
 that wretch ? " 
 
 " I think she can take care of herself," he said. 
 " Ring the bell in case you should happen to need 
 anyone," he added, turning to Evelyn. " I shall be 
 close at hand." 
 
 " This caps the climax," groaned Mrs. Willoughby. 
 "Ask the gentleman to stay to luncheon by all 
 means."
 
 3O2 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 This parting shot followed Evelyn as she shut the 
 breakfast-room door. Her heart beat a little quicker 
 as she crossed the hall, and she paused an instant 
 before pushing aside the curtains that screened the 
 entrance to the library. Then she walked resolutely 
 in. 
 
 De Vito was standing in the middle of the apart 
 ment leaning against a table. His appearance was 
 tidier than when she had seen him in the wood, but 
 there was much of the same sullen, disdainful look 
 in his expression. His eyes fell as they met 
 Evelyn's. He shifted his hat uneasily from one 
 hand to the other and said gruffly, but without dis 
 respect, 
 
 " You wrote mother a letter that you wanted to 
 see me." 
 
 " Yes. Won't you take a seat ? " 
 
 He hesitated and sat down on the edge of a chair 
 which stood beside the table. 
 
 " I wished to tell you," said Evelyn, " how sorry I 
 am that you were arrested on a false suspicion of 
 being concerned in the affair at Highlands." 
 
 " Men are jugged for less every day," he answered 
 sententiously. " It might just as well have been I 
 who did it." he added. 
 
 " I don't believe you could ever have done such a 
 thing," she said, quietly. 
 
 He looked up at her and then down again, scowled, 
 and shuffled his feet in a nervous fashion. 
 
 Evelyn said, after a moment, " I suppose you know 
 that Mr. Brock is dead ? "
 
 FACE TO FACE. 303 
 
 De Vito nodded. 
 
 " And that I am now the principal owner of the 
 Wisabet ? " 
 
 "Yes, lady." 
 
 " What are you doing at present ? " she asked ab 
 ruptly. 
 
 He scowled again restlessly. " I'm out of work. 
 I'm doing nothing," he said. 
 
 "What do you wish to do ? " 
 
 He raised his eyes and answered with a bitter 
 laugh, " It's only the like of you, lady, in this 
 world who can do what they wish." 
 
 " I have understood that you were interested in 
 machinery and were clever at it," Evelyn said pres 
 ently. 
 
 He looked at her from under his brows in a puz 
 zled way. " I ought to know something about it ; 
 I've had to do with it all my life," he answered. 
 
 " You've made some useful inventions, too, I be 
 lieve ?" 
 
 "The mill choused me out of them." 
 
 " And never paid you for them ? " 
 
 " They paid me something, but not nearly so 
 much as they were worth. I was young then and 
 didn't appreciate their real value, and I needed the 
 money." 
 
 He brushed his hand through his hair impatiently, 
 as though irritated with himself for having deigned 
 to make this explanation. But Evelyn was too busy 
 with her own thoughts to give this gesture much 
 keed.
 
 - 34 FACE TO FACE, 
 
 " What is your age now ? " she asked. 
 
 " I'm thirty." 
 
 " Were you born in this country ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " You have some foreign blood, have you not ?" 
 
 "My mother's family were Italians," he answered. 
 
 Evelyn asked these questions with calm directness, 
 undismayed by the fact that De Vito's responses 
 seemed wrenched from him as it were. But he 
 spoke gently, if not graciously, though avoiding 
 her gaze. 
 
 " And your father ? " she asked. " Was he an 
 American ? " 
 
 He darted a quick angry glance at her. She saw 
 him clinch his fingers. Then his features broke 
 into another bitter smile. 
 
 "Yes, my father was an American," he said. 
 
 " Is he dead ? " 
 
 " I never saw my father," he answered slowly. He 
 looked straight at Evelyn and said, " I don't know 
 whether he's alive or dead. He was one of your 
 kind, lady, and my mother wasn't his wife. She was 
 a factory girl when he met her, and I'm their son." 
 
 " How dreadful ! " she said, with a startled ex 
 pression of pain. 
 
 "Yes, it's dreadful, but there's a deal more dread 
 ful things than that in the world. It's no uncommon 
 thing for a man not to know his own father. What 
 do you want with me ? Why are you asking me 
 these questions ? " he exclaimed, with sudden fierce 
 ness.
 
 FACE TO FACE. 3O5 
 
 But the next moment he seemed to recollect him 
 self, for he muttered, " I beg your pardon, lady ; I 
 suppose you mean well." 
 
 There was a short silence before Evelyn replied. 
 ' I had a reason for asking you the questions. You 
 remember, perhaps, saying to me the first time we 
 met that rich people were ready to sign subscription 
 lists and to bestow broken victuals, but that in other 
 respects they were apt to treat the so-called lower 
 classes like the dirt beneath their feet." 
 
 "Yes, I said so," he answered, in response to the 
 pause she made. 
 
 " I have thought frequently since then of your re 
 mark," she continued, "and I believe there is some 
 truth in it. There is too wide a difference between 
 the circumstances of the rich and the poor. On 
 that day when I met you in the wood, I was poor 
 myself. Not poor as you would understand the 
 word, but dependent on my own support, neverthe 
 less. Since then, as you know, I have come into 
 possession of a large fortune. Accordingly my time 
 is my own to employ as I choose, and I am anxious 
 to try the experiment of drawing rich and poor 
 nearer together. But I cannot accomplish this 
 alone. I need help ; and I sent to you because I 
 thought you might be able to help me." 
 
 De Vito looked up at her in a dazed fashion. " I 
 don't know what you mean," he said. 
 
 " I will tell you," answered Evelyn. " I intend to 
 make my home at Highlands and to oversee, so far 
 as is possible for a woman, the management of the 
 
 20
 
 3O6 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 Wisabet Manufacturing Company. I own already 
 a controlling interest in the stock and I've given 
 orders to have every outstanding share bought and 
 registered in my name. Then I want you to come 
 and show me how the mill should be conducted so 
 as to do justice to all. Will you do this ? " 
 
 A flush had risen to De Vito's handsome face. 
 His large dark eyes sparkled. 
 
 " Me ? You want me ? " he faltered. 
 
 " Yes, I want you to be my foreman, my superin 
 tendent," she said. "You have ideas about these 
 things. You will be able to point out to me the 
 abuses that need redressing. I have no practical 
 knowledge of the working classes, and were I to at 
 tempt to carry out the scheme unaided, I should 
 certainly commit blunders. 
 
 " This is no sudden impulse of mine," she con 
 tinued, for though his face was eloquent with inter 
 est he did not speak. . " I have been thinking about 
 it ever since Mr. Brock's death. It may sound vis 
 ionary and impracticable, perhaps," she added, as if 
 combating some foresight of the criticism to which 
 she would be subjected, " but I am determined to 
 make the attempt. I have as yet, however, ar 
 ranged merely the general outline of the plan. In 
 selecting you as my assistant I will say frankly that 
 I am acting on my own instincts. Whatever else 
 you may be, I feel sure you are in earnest, and that 
 you have force and will. Your employers had no 
 complaint to make against you except that you were 
 discontented. I am willing to assume that you had
 
 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 cause for discontent. But there is one question I 
 should like to ask you before we proceed further. 
 It was you, was it not, whose face I saw at the win 
 dow of the library at Highlands on the evening be 
 fore the house was broken into ? " 
 
 "Yes," he answered, while the blood rose to his 
 cheeks, "it was I." 
 
 " And why were you there ? I wish to know the 
 truth." 
 
 " You think I came to steal," he said. 
 
 " Heaven forbid. Do you suppose I would have 
 made you the proposition I have if I thought that ? " 
 she asked with energy. 
 
 He seemed to hesitate. Then he replied. " It 
 was you I came to see, lady. I could not forget 
 your face. I had never seen any one so beauti 
 ful." 
 
 Evelyn's surprise was so great that she blushed 
 vividly. His voice and manner told her that he had 
 spoken the truth. " Thank you," she said simply. 
 
 Somehow during the conversation between them 
 De Vito's appearance and demeanor had changed. 
 At first shabby, sullen, and ungainly he had become 
 dignified and animated. His very apparel seemed 
 to have acquired some degree of spruceness from 
 his awakened self-respect. 
 
 " You have not answered my first question yet ? 
 Are you ready to help me ? " Evelyn asked after a 
 moment's silence. 
 
 " Yes," he said, " I am ready to help you. But " 
 
 "But what?"
 
 3O8 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 "You said just now that you felt sure I was in 
 earnest. I am in earnest. You said that I had ideas 
 about these matters of which we are speaking. You 
 were right. I have thought about them for years. 
 They have been in my mind night and day. Every 
 hour of my life I curse the bitter injustice which 
 makes slaves of two-thirds of mankind." 
 
 "Well ? " she said earnestly. 
 
 " I am a radical, you see a socialist anything 
 which will bring about a change. For such as you 
 it is well enough to live, but for those who live as I 
 live it is preferable to die. And sooner or later a 
 change has got to come," he cried, with a fierce joy. 
 " / may be dead as a dog before it comes, but it is 
 only a question of time. Two-thirds against one- 
 third. Nine-tenths rather against one-tenth. The 
 avalanche is on the move. I can hear its approach 
 already. My only prayer to God if there is a God 
 is that it may move faster. Help you ? " he ex 
 claimed. " I will help you if you want me. But 
 now you know what I am. You know what you 
 have to expect. I have warned you." 
 
 His eyes shone with zeal and passion. Evelyn 
 had turned pale. Her lips were compressed. She 
 sat with her hands tightly clasped in her lap. 
 
 " Perhaps I also am a radical, a socialist," she 
 said. " I do not know what I am. These thoughts 
 and ideas are new to me. I am seeking to under 
 stand what is just and right. I cannot judge yet as 
 to how far I shall agree with you. But I am not 
 afraid," she added, looking steadily at him.
 
 FACE TO FACE. 309 
 
 He had risen under the influence of his excite 
 ment, and stood with folded arms. 
 
 "Just and right," he murmured. He made some 
 paces up and down the room, then halted in front of 
 her. " You say, lady, you want to try to bring rich 
 and poor together. It's like mixing oil and water. 
 But it mightn't be if there were more like you. I'm 
 bitter may be, and soured. I haven't much to be 
 grateful to the world for. But I'm grateful to you. 
 And I'll work for you, too. You've offered me a 
 trial ; why shouldn't I believe in you ? You're ready 
 to meet us half way. That's fair. We're not un 
 reasonable. Give us a chance is all we ask. When 
 do you want me to begin ? " he added. 
 
 " I will send you word in a few days," she an 
 swered. 
 
 " Very well," he said, decidedly. 
 
 A moment later De Vito took his departure.
 
 XV. 
 
 r T v WO years later Mrs. Willoughby Pimlico wrote 
 1 the following letter to Ernest Clay at Paris. 
 
 MY DEAR MR. CLAY : 
 
 I received a visit from your mother yesterday. 
 She spoke of you and said, "Write to Ernest and 
 find out what he is doing. His letters are so vague." 
 She tells me you are at Paris and studying, but that 
 is all she knows apparently. All anybody knows, 
 for I have questioned right and left among those 
 freshly returned from the other side, only to meet 
 with one. response, " Ernest Clay ? Is At in Paris ? 
 No one, then, ever sees him." Voila, my mission. 
 Time was when I had not needed to apologize to 
 you for writing, or rather you would have written 
 to me of your own accord, and disclosed so much 
 that I could have guessed the rest. But that was 
 long ago. I am not complaining, merely reminis 
 cencing, if there is such a word. Besides, I am too 
 proud to admit that I feel neglected. It is in your 
 mother's name I ask, what are you doing ? Why 
 are you staying away so long ? Why did you go 
 away at all ? When do you mean to return home ? 
 Explain how you pass your time ; send me a list of 
 your friends and books ; in short, account for your 
 self. 
 
 Do you realize that two years have slipped away 
 since you left home ? How time flies ! Frankly 
 though, I have missed you. Am I not magnani-
 
 FACE TO FACE. 311 
 
 wous ? Perhaps I am growing old, and am bored 
 more easily than formerly, but somehow, the men 
 who are springing up nowadays have very little to 
 say for themselves. After all, argue as one will, 
 one demands ideas. And you used to have ideas. 
 Vou were odd and visionary sometimes ; you had a 
 way of going off at a tangent on a transcendental 
 hobby : but, on the whole, your place has not been 
 easy to supply. I get along, of course. One has to 
 get along. But I find myself occasionally behind 
 the times. I am obliged to pretend to have read 
 books, and to sham enlightenment on the silver 
 question, and the tariff, etc., which was never the 
 case when you were here to drop in at five o'clock 
 tea and post me. I can imagine you, as you read 
 this, reflecting once more that I am superficial. 
 You have never told me so in precise terms, but I 
 have seen what you thought time and again in your 
 eyes. I suppose I am superficial, but how is one to 
 avoid being superficial in these busy times? There 
 is so much to do, and if one gets a chance to read 
 there are so many books to choose from. If only 
 the world would stand still a moment and let people 
 catch up with it ! But alas ! it goes on, day after 
 day, faster than ever, so that sometimes I think I 
 will give up in despair, and not try to know any 
 thing. 
 
 It is not about me, however, that you wish infor 
 mation. I am all very well ; but there is another 
 who, I am aware, in your estimation will never be 
 superficial. Seriously, to this day, I feel a pang 
 whenever I think of what might have been. You 
 seemed so completely fitted to one another, that I 
 have been unable to reconcile myself to your failing 
 to come together. Why did you go abroad ? And 
 yet, I do not know what reason I have for asking 
 that question, that is, any reason I can define. Once
 
 312 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 or twice I have thought I would write and say 
 "Come;" and then I have been deterred from doing 
 so, by the consciousness that I know nothing of 
 Evelyn's real feelings. For the matter of that, I 
 don't know yours. It may be, she has long ceased 
 to affect your peace of mind. But no, I will not 
 wrong you by the suspicion. You are one of the 
 few men who never forget at least, that is my idea 
 of you. Am I mistaken ? As for her, she grows a 
 greater enigma and mystery to me every day. I 
 wonder what you would think of her if you were to 
 see her now. Of course you have heard of what 
 she has done. This you may feel sure of, if it will 
 be any comfort to you, she is in love with no one 
 else ; unless, indeed, but no, such a supposition is 
 too utterly absurd to be entertained for an instant. 
 That would be the coup de grace. I only mention it 
 or rather, hint at it to show how helpless I feel 
 when I attempt to predict what she will or will not do 
 next. If anyone, three years ago, had prophesied 
 that Evelyn would to-day be what she is I should 
 have set the person down as crazy. 
 
 And yet if it were not for the dreadful outlandish- 
 ness of the whole business, and the fact that she is 
 thereby isolated from everything and everybody 
 with which she has hitherto been associated, I could 
 readily understand that there might be a certain 
 fascination in what she has undertaken. I think it 
 highly probable, that you admire her for it all the 
 more. Well, so in a certain sense do I, of course. 
 Or rather, I should say, I respect her ; for, reasoning 
 from a practical standpoint, I don't exactly see what 
 it can all lead to. In one sense it's undoubtedly 
 very noble for her to try to bridge over the gulf 
 between the rich and poor, and when one thinks of 
 all the suffering that goes on, and of the terrible 
 discrepancy between the circumstances of people
 
 FACE TO FACE. 313 
 
 in our class, and of those who work in factories and 
 live in the slums, one cannot help feeling almost 
 guilty. But there have been rich and poor since 
 time began and must be, it seems to me, so long as 
 the world lasts. Of course New York is all agog 
 about her, and I am pestered to death with ques 
 tions. A great many people are inclined to laugh, 
 and the business men say " it will be very well so 
 long as the money lasts." The trouble is the whole 
 scheme is too Utopian, too widely unpractical, to ap 
 peal to common sense. One cannot alter the ways 
 of the world. You can't make a silk purse out of a 
 sow's ear, as the saying is ; and there's no use in 
 trying to maintain that a street laborer is the social 
 equal of you or me, for he isn't and never can be. 
 That, at least, is my view. I believe in being con 
 siderate and generous toward the poor, and I make 
 a point of subscribing to all deserving charities, but 
 I fail to see why I am called upon to make myself 
 miserable merely because others are miserable. 
 What these socialists want, so far as I can discover, 
 is that we should give up everything that is beau 
 tiful and delightful in existence, and live pell-mell 
 together, sharing everything in common. I don't 
 mean that Evelyn is a socialist yet. I will do her 
 the justice to say that her house is charming, and I 
 can vouch for her cook. But what she may de 
 velop into under the influence of the egregious, 
 bizarre individual who is her chief counsellor at 
 present I should not dare to prognosticate. 
 
 Only to think of her picking out that man De 
 Vito of all others ! You remember him, of course 
 the striker who was so impertinent to her in the 
 wood, and who was seen peering into the dining- 
 room window at Highlands. To be sure, it has 
 turned out that he was not the robber who broke 
 into the house, but that is scarcely a reason for
 
 314 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 makmg him a superintendent. The first I knew oi 
 what she proposed to do was his appearance at the 
 front door, by express invitation of Evelyn. I sup 
 posed he had come to murder us all, and if I could 
 have had my way, I would have rung for a police 
 man ; but Willotighby, who, you will be surprised 
 to hear, has developed an intense admiration for 
 Evelyn's independence, as he calls it, insisted on 
 the ex-striker being shown into the library, and 
 treated with distinguished consideration. 
 
 However, unpromising as the outlook was (and I 
 am by no means yet free from the dread of reading 
 in the newspaper any morning that De Vito has 
 chopped off her head with an axe), he has certainly 
 undergone a remarkable transformation since I saw 
 him first, for I couldn't help peeping out at him 
 from behind the curtains, when he left the house 
 on the day which I have alluded to. I had never 
 seen a striker, and since I had heard so much about 
 De Vito, I was curious as to what he looked like. 
 I was scarcely prepared though for such a bandit- 
 like appearance. He is decidedly handsome and 
 striking, but he had a w\\di farouche air, which to say 
 the least was not reassuring. Then, too, he was 
 unkempt and what I should call seedy. " Mercy," 
 I said to myself, when Evelyn informed me of her 
 determination, "what a simply inexplicable selec 
 tion ! " 
 
 Accordingly I xvas very much surprised last week, 
 when I went to pass a day or two with Evelyn, to 
 find what a really presentable personage he has 
 grown to be. He is good-looking as ever, but has 
 quite lost that dogged, sullen expression which was 
 formerly so noticeable. He has cut his hair and 
 trimmed his eyebrows and spruced himself gener 
 ally. His manner, too, has become dignified and al 
 most deliberate. He is evidently a thinker and ab-
 
 FACE TO FACE. 315 
 
 sorbed heart and soul in the undertaking. Perhaps 
 [ should cease to feel apprehensive regarding him 
 if it were not for his eyes. They are like flames 
 whenever he is interested in anything. I presume 
 he gets them from his Italian mother. I dare say 
 you are not aware that there is a nuance enveloping 
 his early history. On dit that his father was a gen 
 tleman. But nothing more than the bare fact is 
 hinted at. He has a wicked way of looking at people 
 he does not like, and I am one of them. He disap 
 proves of rue entirely. He considers me the arch 
 enemy of his cause. While at Highlands I took es 
 pecial care to lock and bolt my door at night and to 
 shove the sofa against it as an extra precaution, 
 for fear the whim might come into his head to 
 rid the world of such a good-for-nothing. You 
 should see, on the other hand, how he dotes on 
 Evelyn. He cannot do enough for her and he 
 follows her about like a tame bear ; but he has 
 opinions of his own, and every now and then they 
 have long discussions together in regard to the de 
 velopment of their project. But although Evelyn 
 listens attentively to every word he says and con 
 sults him on all occasions, she is still her own mis 
 tress. She is the leading spirit, and so far he is only 
 secondary. But I ask myself when I think of his 
 eyes how long that condition of affairs is likely to 
 last. He will not be content with any such pro 
 gramme as Evelyn has in mind. That is a mere 
 sop. He is biding his time. And yet, as I have 
 just stated, Evelyn has an immense influence over 
 him. She seems to affect him just as a magnet does 
 a bit of iron. You must not, however, get an erro 
 neous impression of De Vito. My description of him 
 was based purely on the contrast between what he 
 is now, and what he was two years ago. You need 
 not picture him as a pattern of gentlemanly depart-
 
 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 ment and elegant manners. Indeed, he would doubt 
 less be deeply offended by any such delineation. 
 He is rough and unpolished in spite of his pictu- 
 resqueness. If the story concerning his parentage 
 be true, one would never suspect it from his appear 
 ance or behavior. In dress, language, and bearing 
 he still suggests merely the ouvrier. 
 
 Evelyn, looking the picture of health, met us at the 
 station. Her life agrees with her, at any rate. She 
 is handsomer than ever. She was becomingly 
 dressed, also, to my great relief, for I had not felt 
 sure what innovations in the way of costume she 
 might have been led to adopt. But, as I have al 
 ready given you to understand, her new surround 
 ings seem to have affected her personal habits very 
 little, if at all. The house and grounds look more 
 attractive even than in poor Mr. Brock's time, 
 though I can't help feeling that De Vito would be 
 better pleased if they were given up to the rabble 
 from the town. I wandered over to " Seven Oaks." 
 Your aged servitor has lost his wife and is so feeble 
 that he must soon follow her. He asked after you 
 and said he prayed every night that you might come 
 home before he died. How faithful such creatures 
 often are ! 
 
 The greatest change is in the town itself. Liter 
 ally there are now two towns, which I amused my 
 self by calling your town and Evelyn's town. The 
 operatives in the Clyme Valley mill, in which you 
 I believe are largely interested, live just as they did 
 formerly. The manager the same Mr. Storrs who 
 was Mr. Brock's right-hand man and whom your 
 board of directors, as of course you know, engaged 
 after he was dismissed by Evelyn makes fun of 
 the " new-fangled notions " and predicts openly that 
 the failure of the VVisabet Company is merely a 
 question of time. The two mills are pitted against
 
 FACE TO FACE. 3 1/ 
 
 each other and even De Vito admits that the Clyme 
 Valley is doing an enormous business. I asked Eve 
 lyn (by way of sounding her feelings in regard to 
 you) why she didn't write and obtain your co-opera 
 tion ; but she tells me that before you left home, you 
 resigned as director of the Clyme Valley and that 
 the rest of the board strongly support Mr. Storrs 
 Willoughby says that as you own a controlling iu- 
 terest in the stock you could choose your own di 
 rectors another year. But, needless to observe, you 
 know best what you wish to do. I dare say you 
 may consider Evelyn's ideas all moonshine and pre 
 fer to let things remain as they are. I certainly do. 
 But knowing your interest in her, and that you were 
 somewhat inclined yourself to be a trifle Quixotic at 
 times, it occurred to me that you might not realize 
 exactly the position of things. 
 
 The part of the town where Evelyn's operatives 
 live has undergone on the other hand a most, aston 
 ishing change. Rows of pretty, charming little 
 cottages, each with a patch of land in front and sup 
 plied with every facility, as regards light and air, 
 have taken the place of blocks of dingy tenements. 
 I went over some of them, and they are really sweet. 
 Quite too good, in fact, for the class of people who 
 occupy them. I must say, however, that I was grat 
 ified to see that a good many of the tenants appeared 
 to be desirous of keeping everything neat and clean ; 
 some of them seemed also to enjoy making their 
 little gardens look attractive. But Evelyn admitted 
 to me that there were many who were completely 
 slatternly and tasteless. As I said to her, what can 
 one expect of people who have been accustomed to 
 live very little better than the pigs themselves ? 
 A new system of drainage has been introduced 
 though the hostility of the other company is an ob 
 stacle to sanitary progress and Evelyn is racking
 
 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 her brain over rival methods of "assimilating sew 
 age " and other " hygienic " processes. You ought 
 to see her library-table. It is covered with pam 
 phlets and ponderous tomes relating to political 
 economy, labor questions, and so forth. 
 
 The Company built these cottages, and has, I be 
 lieve, allowed the operatives to buy them and mort 
 gage them back on easy terms. The operatives 
 have an interest also in the business proportionate 
 to the amount of their wages. Everything is being 
 done to raise the tone of the place intellectually and 
 morally, and physically, and Evelyn makes a point 
 of having the library and reading-rooms and concert- 
 room free of access to the people out of her employ 
 on the same terms as to those in it. The intention is 
 to conduct the whole scheme on a strictly business 
 basis, butgood judges open their eyes when they hear 
 of the outlay that is being made. You know that al 
 though Evelyn has relinquished the management of 
 the bulk of her fortune to competent lawyers in New 
 York, she has complete control over it and can 
 spend it as rapidly as she sees fit. All these im 
 provements must involve a frightful expense, and I 
 don't see how she can expect to compete with the 
 other company, which is conducted by experienced 
 manufacturers. De Vito is indefatigable and is said 
 to be an excellent superintendent ; but one would 
 never know that anything was wrong until the crash 
 came. I expect that Evelyn has already made a con 
 siderable drain on her capital, although, to be sure, 
 fifteen millions are not easily exhausted. But I 
 can't help feeling that sooner or later she will have 
 the experience and somebody else the money, as the 
 saying is. There is nothing, for instance, to pre 
 vent this man De Vito from playing false and run 
 ning off at any time with a million or two. I don't 
 say he will ; but what is to prevent him ?
 
 TO FAC. 310 
 
 How it is all going to end is quite incomprehen 
 sible to me. There can be no doubt that Evelyn 
 is very much in earnest. I should think she would 
 be worn out by her interviews with Knights of 
 Labor, and radicals and socialists and every sort of 
 person with queer fish to fry, who call to see her. 
 She has a private secretary a Vassar graduate with 
 oleaginous curls which make one crawl to answer 
 the array of communications she receives. As I 
 have already stated, I can understand that there 
 must be more or less satisfaction in being at the 
 head of a large enterprise, if one had the taste for 
 it, and sufficient health ; but the more I regard this 
 whole matter of Evelyn's the more fatally foolish 
 does it seem to me, for the reason that it can lead 
 to nothing. What can one girl do against the 
 world ? Some day her money will be spent, and 
 then where will she be ? In the meantime, she 
 is passing the best years of her life among ignorant 
 and squalid people who are trying to get all they 
 can out of her. She may cause a stir for a little 
 while, and a certain number of enthusiasts may clap 
 their hands ; but not many years will elapse before 
 she realizes that she is pursuing a phantom. Then 
 everybody will laugh, and she will find herself on 
 the verge of middle life, separated from her natural 
 associates aud regarded as peculiar. 
 
 This may sound a little severe, but I have said 
 practically the same thing to Evelyn. Oh, Mr. 
 Clay, isn't there any way to wean her from this non 
 sense ? You must see with me that it can lead to 
 nothing. The business men are all against her at 
 least those whose opinions carry most weight. In 
 dependence and originality are one thing, but I call 
 this overstepping the bounds of common sense. I 
 could write in a similar strain for hours, and I dare 
 say that so long as I wrote about Evelyn you would
 
 320 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 be content to read. My only hope is in you. That 
 is to say, I can't wholly persuade myself that she 
 doesn't in her heart of hearts care for you. I'm 
 very much attached to Evelyn, and I hate to see her 
 throw herself away. Her family are simply frantic 
 on the subject, though of course the handsome re 
 mittance she sent home prevents their interfering 
 actively. Some malicious person saw fit to mail to 
 her father a newspaper containing an account of 
 the " new departure nt Clyme Valley," with a "pen- 
 picture" of the " fascinating young philanthropist." 
 I can imagine his blood running cold as he read the 
 description. Even Willoughby, who has been dis 
 posed to let her have her head, as he calls it, is be 
 ginning to shake his own ; though to be sure, he 
 thinks there is nobody like Evelyn in the world. 
 And of course I think the same thing. She is a 
 noble girl. That's why I feel so badly nt her be 
 havior. If she wants to do good, there are plenty 
 of other ways besides the one she has chosen. 
 
 But I must stop here. I have laid the case before 
 you, and you know now all there is to know. Of 
 course, if she were to marry, she would have to come 
 to her senses. At least her husband would not 
 allow her to make ducks and drakes of her fortune. 
 Have you heard of the dreadful accident to Marian 
 Bydoon ? Her horse fell with her during a very ex^ 
 citing brush with Isabel Slatterly, and she broke 
 her nose. It (I mean the nose) has been set, but it 
 looks askew, and you remember Marian's nose was 
 her best feature. I must dress for dinner, so no 
 more, from 
 
 Yours always sincerely, 
 
 CLARA PIMLICO.
 
 XVI. 
 
 ONE morning, about a year subsequent to the date 
 of Mrs. Willoughby's letter, Evelyn was sitting 
 at her desk in the library at Highlands with a pile 
 of letters and papers before her. She had been ex 
 amining them, but at the moment her cheek rested 
 upon her hand, and she was thinking. At the other 
 side of the room, warming himself at the fire, stood 
 De Vito, who had just come in, as was his daily habit 
 at this hour, to consult with his mistress. He was 
 gazing at her with a troubled air, for her expres 
 sion was worried and despondent. 
 
 " I feel discouraged," said Evelyn presently. 
 " We are losing money more rapidly every day. 
 My lawyers write that at this rate my property will 
 be exhausted in five years." 
 
 " Yes, we are losing money. There is no ques 
 tion as to that," he answered. 
 
 " It is not on account of the loss of the money 
 that I care," she continued. " But I cannot bear 
 the idea of our scheme failing. When the money 
 was gone, we should have to shut down the works 
 and dismiss the hands. You and I would each have 
 to begin life over again. Some capitalist would buy 
 the mill at a discount, and conduct it on the same 
 21
 
 322 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 principle as the Clyme Valley Company is conduct 
 ed, to enrich the rich at the expense of the poor." 
 
 " I have done all that mortal man could do to 
 make the business pay, Miss Pimlico. But two and 
 two won't make five. There's no use in competing 
 against starvation prices of labor at least, not in 
 competing after our fashion." 
 
 "You have indeed done everything, De Vito, that 
 could be done. You have worked night and day. 
 The trouble," she said, sadly, "is that everyone is 
 against us. It seems as if it were not possible to be 
 both just and prosperous. It's madness, however, 
 to go on as we have been going. We cannot possi 
 bly manufacture as low as the Clyme Valley and 
 give the wages we do. Our people moreover are 
 discontented. I had promised them a share of the 
 profits. But there are no profits. They would 
 scarcely expect me to deduct their proportion of 
 the losses from their pay." 
 
 " That would be logical enough, but they would 
 be ruined if you did," he answered, grimly. 
 
 "But my ruin must be their ruin in the end. 
 They will have to vacate their pretty cottages and 
 seek work elsewhere. They will go back to poison 
 ous drainage, fetid atmosphere, and pleasureless ex 
 istences. I am not content merely to be charitable. 
 I hoped to be able to conduct the mill on a paying 
 basis at the same time that I made the circum 
 stances of the operatives a little more tolerable. I 
 was willing that my profits should be less in order 
 that those unhappy creatures might be elevated."
 
 PACE TO FACE. 
 
 " I promised to help you and I have," said De 
 Vito. " But what chance of success had we against 
 those blood-sucking cormorants yonder ? It was 
 their policy to beat us if they could and they're 
 bound to do it, if they have to cut down wages 
 lower than they are to-day." 
 
 "Our most serious outlays for the present are 
 over," continued Evelyn, "but at present prices we 
 can't help falling steadily behind. Something must 
 be done. It breaks my heart to think of turning 
 back, but I've no right to fritter away my property. 
 If the world is against me I had better stop before 
 the means of even being charitable is taken away 
 from me. Fifteen millions is a large sum, but one 
 might stand and cast it into the sea, and after a few 
 ripples the sea would look unsatisfied and relentless 
 as ever. That is all the effect our endeavor seems 
 to be having on the sea of trade. It absorbs what 
 we are willing to cast into it, and is greedy for 
 more. But this must not continue. I believe that 
 one of the first of human duties is to keep what one 
 has. If I did not believe so, I should be tempted 
 to revenge myself upon the Clyme Valley by under 
 selling its prices at no matter what loss. My capi 
 tal is larger than its capital three times as large in 
 fact. We could drive its goods out of the market 
 and force the directors to come to equitable terms." 
 
 "Yes, at the cost of a few millions more. But 
 the Clyme Valley is only one of a thousand mills." 
 
 "Very true. Before another six months were 
 passed we should be face to face with the wolves
 
 $24 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 again. I have thought it all over time and again," 
 she said with a sigh. 
 
 " There is only one way out of this," exclaimed 
 De Vito. 
 
 Evelyn looked at him interrogatively. 
 
 "The way to rid the world of wolves is to throttle 
 them, not to parley with them," he said with quick 
 decision. 
 
 He was standing with his back to the hearth. In 
 appearance he had grown maturer and he was more 
 deliberate in manner, but his face still suggested a 
 nature prone to kindle under the influence of un 
 usual circumstances. 
 
 " What do you mean by that ? " she asked. 
 
 " I mean " he paused and gave a gulp as though 
 to exercise control over himself " I mean that if I 
 say the word, the Clyme Valley stops to-morrow." 
 
 Evelyn faintly shook her head. 
 
 " It ought to have stopped a year ago," he con 
 tinued. " It would have stopped, had I not felt 
 bound to you to try every other measure first. Now 
 there is nothing else left to try." 
 
 " What use would a strike be ? " she asked. " Just 
 as in the case I proposed, you would be biting off 
 your own noses in the end. It would cripple the 
 Clyme Valley for the moment, but in a few weeks, 
 or months at furthest, workmen would be found to 
 take the places of those whom you had tolled away. 
 Then the Brotherhood would have had its expense 
 for nothing." Evelyn spoke the words glibly but 
 listlessly. She rested her elbows on the desk and
 
 FACE TO FACE. 325 
 
 held her face between her hands, so that the skin 
 was drawn back from her eyes, giving them an 
 almost hollow look. 
 
 "No, not for nothing," answered De Vito, with 
 his teeth set. " We should have stood out for right 
 and justice. We should have gained a few recruits 
 more and be a step or two nearer to the goal." 
 
 " For right and justice ? " echoed Evelyn. 
 
 " Yes, lady, for right and justice. I have followed 
 your programme faithfully for three years. Now I 
 ask you to follow mine." 
 
 She looked at him uneasily. 
 
 "What is your programme ?" she inquired. 
 
 " Equal rights for all men," he said, slowly. " So- 
 called civilization is a . lie, a sham ; a subterfuge 
 under protection of which the rich and powerful 
 grind the wretched and ignorant. Away with it ! " 
 he exclaimed with a sweep of his hand. 
 
 "That would mean a thousandfold worse," she 
 murmured. 
 
 " Worse ? Could there be worse than there is ? 
 Cast your eyes over the globe and what do you see ? 
 A mere handful prosperous and happy, the major 
 ity needy and degraded. That is the way it has al 
 ways been. A few have lived at the expense of the 
 many. The old world had its kings and priests, the 
 new world has its capitalists and corporations. One 
 hears a great deal of talk about this being a free 
 Country. We working men have been taught to 
 believe that the United States is a shelter and asy 
 lum for the oppressed, that there are no class dis*
 
 326 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 tinctions here, that all are free and equal. Pshaw! 
 That is a fiction, a cruel deception, and is becoming 
 more so every day. There are no hereditary rulers 
 here, no titled aristocracy ; but the same old game is 
 going on under different names. An aristocracy of 
 wealth and luxury is squeezing the life-blood out of 
 the working man. Look at the splendid establish 
 ments of the rich. Think of their extravagant lives. 
 Then think of the lives of the so-called masses." 
 
 " Yes, I know," said Evelyn. 
 
 " I am a radical, a Socialist. I told you that three 
 years ago," he said. " And I am one because I am 
 able to feel and realize, in some degree, the wrongs 
 that my sort are called on to suffer. You know my 
 parentage. In the language of the world my father 
 was a gentleman, my mother was a common 
 laboring girl. From her I have inherited my 
 strong coarse-grained body, these brawny arms (he 
 stretched them out toward Evelyn and shook the 
 clenched hands) all these outward indications of 
 the rough working man. Don't you suppose I ap 
 preciate what a boor I am, and what a difference 
 there is between my appearance and that of the men 
 with whom you have been used to associate ? I 
 have my father's soul in my mother's body. I have 
 the mind, the thoughts, the aspirations of one class, 
 and I belong to the other. I could have risen, you 
 will say. Yes, I could have risen, perhaps, but the 
 taint of my low origin would have followed me. I 
 cannot rid myself of that. My coarse nature is a 
 part of me., and when I stop to think of it, I curse
 
 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 the civilization that has made it possible for there 
 to be such differences between one human being 
 and another." 
 
 4< You must blame God for that," Evelyn mur 
 mured. 
 
 " No ! " he thundered. " Let the cripple, or the 
 blind, console himself, if he choose, with the thought 
 that he was born so, and that his calamity is God's 
 will. But man is responsible for such differences 
 as exist between you and me. They represent the 
 long-continued triumph of the strong over the weak, 
 the great over the low the survival of the fittest, 
 as your scientists call it. Civilization as it exists to 
 day is based upon those differences, and its security 
 lies in the ignorance of the victims. Only men like 
 me, who have sufficient understanding to realize the 
 truth, can feel the full force of its injustice. Mark 
 you," he continued, with a flash of his eyes, " I was 
 born in a garret. My baby-clothes were rags. I 
 lived on black bread. The gutter was my play 
 ground. I know all the miseries of the poor. There 
 was a time when I bore them without murmur, when 
 I suffered dumbly as the beasts suffer, and strug 
 gled. I felt zeal and ambition. I studied by a 
 wretched candle at hours when most men are asleep. 
 I proved clever, and made inventions. I easily out 
 stripped my mates. Then the truth began to dawn 
 on me little by little, and I asked myself what right 
 have these men and women to their palaces and 
 yachts, their silks and satins, and balls and thou 
 sand fripperies, while other men and women fof
 
 PACE TO PACK. 
 
 we others are men and women are pressed down. 
 down, down, in order that their betters may con 
 tinue rich. The masses have been dull and long- 
 suffering, but they are learning their power the 
 power of numbers faster and faster every day. 
 The great injustice is nearly at an end. Christian- 
 civilization ? A pretty Christian civilization is that 
 which concerns itself about the proper rendering of a 
 Biole text and lets thousands of human beings freeze 
 and starve. Worse ? Can there be worse ? " 
 
 He paused a moment and looked at Evelyn. 
 She made no reply, but still sat with her elbows on 
 the desk and her face clasped in her hands. 
 
 "Three years ago, lady," he said, more quietly 
 ("lady " was the only form of address he ever used 
 toward her), " you sent for me when I was embit 
 tered and desperate. I came I don't know why I 
 came, except that I had seen you that day in the 
 wood. I didn't look for kindness. I didn't want 
 kindness. I was ripe for revolt. Not to steal or 
 commit crimes, but to promote, so far as lay in my 
 power, the cause of down^trod men and women. 
 There seemed to me but one way. But when I 
 listened to you you who spoke to me as no one had 
 ever spoken before I said that I would help you, 
 I said that I would try to believe that oil and water 
 would mix. But they wont mix. Are there others 
 like you ? Where are they ? You and I have done 
 our utmost, haven't we ? During these three years 
 I have kept my word. Whatever I may have felt 
 at heart, I have stifled it down. You see the result
 
 PACE TO FACE. 
 
 Failure. Failure and waste of time for me. Fail 
 ure and ridicule for you. For they will laugh 
 how they will laugh, at what they consider your 
 folly. They will call you enthusiast and visionary 
 reformer, and chuckle at the downfall of your im 
 practical schemes. I know them, and the tune 
 they will sing. You are one and they are a host. 
 They are banded against you. You have tried 
 your way ; now let me try mine. I warned you 
 what I was when you sent for me three years ago, 
 and I remember you said to me then that you 
 were not afraid. I told you I was a radical and 
 Socialist. Your answer was, ' Perhaps I also am a 
 radical and Socialist.' The time has come for you 
 to decide." 
 
 " What is it you wish to do ? " she asked. Her 
 face was very pale. " I am afraid of nothing that 
 will help us to succeed." 
 
 " As I said to you just now," he answered, eagerly, 
 " I have only to exert rny influence and the Clyme 
 Valley will be ruined. Before I met you I was an 
 officer and leading spirit in one of the most radical 
 Labor Unions in the country. My heart and soul 
 were in its cause. When I accepted your offer, 
 lady, and agreed to work for you, I cut adrift from 
 the Union. I kept my membership, but I resigned 
 my office. A man can't serve two masters, and I 
 was bound to be square with you. You see, I was 
 ready to listen to reason ready to give you other 
 men and women a chance to prove us mistaken, and 
 to say afterward to those of my sort, in case you
 
 33O FACE TO FACE. 
 
 had, ' Look here, let's move slow, the bosses are 
 ready to meet us half-way.' But it's you who are 
 proved to be mistaken mistaken as to your own 
 class mistaken because there are no more like you. 
 What use has our work been ? We have corrected 
 a few abuses for the moment, but a month after our 
 hands are tied everything will be as it was before. 
 I tell you, lady, it's like building on the sands. The 
 sea is against you. I can show you how to build 
 upon the rocks. I am going back to my old friends. 
 I am going back, determined never again to hesi 
 tate so long as I live in my resistance to the brutal 
 monopoly of the rich," he continued, pounding his 
 hand against his palm. " And, lady, I want you to 
 join me. In that cause your enthusiasm and money 
 will not be wasted, though the blood in your veins 
 dry up with cold and hunger, and every dollar of 
 your millions be spent. I helped you. Now it is 
 your turn to help me. You will not live to see the 
 day of victory, but it will come and when it comes 
 you will he numbered among those who were not 
 afraid to stand out for what is just and right. Just 
 and right ! Those were your words, lady. Now 
 they are mine." 
 
 " You wish me to join you in stirring up strikes, 
 in encouraging the working classes to rebel against 
 their employers ? " 
 
 "Yes, lady." 
 
 "But that means disorder, bloodshed, anarchy," 
 said Evelyn. 
 
 " Are we to blame if it does ? I want no blood*
 
 FACE TO FACE. 331 
 
 shed," De Vito slowly continued. " I want to see 
 the laboring classes the world over prepared to fold 
 their arms and say : ' We will starve, but we will not 
 work until our wrongs are redressed. Build your 
 own railroads, dig your own mines, run your own 
 machinery, you other men and women. We would 
 rather die and have our children die than live as we 
 do.' Rebel ! " he exclaimed, with an impulsive start, 
 "why should we not rebel ? Is there any obligation 
 on us to refuse to be more miserable than the very 
 beasts ? " 
 
 " No, no," said Evelyn, covering- her face with her 
 hands. " Your lives must be terrible terrible. 
 There is no doubt of that. But I cannot bear to 
 believe that there are no better remedies than resist 
 ance and retaliation." 
 
 " We have tried everything else. We have been 
 more than long-suffering in waiting for others to 
 help us. Now we are going to help ourselves." 
 
 " All the reading and study in the world doesn't 
 seem to enable one to arrive at any satisfactory con 
 clusion," murmured Evelyn, soliloquizingly, " though 
 these questions have scarcely been out of my 
 thoughts during the last three years. Is it not 
 almost a law of life," she asked, looking up at De Vito, 
 " that men should make money at the expense of 
 others ? But that is no answer to what you have 
 said," she added. " Indeed, if there were always to 
 be the differences of condition that exist between 
 men to-day, it would seem as if the world had better 
 not be. Were I to become a member of your Union
 
 33 2 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 and give my money and support to your radical 
 schemes I should be putting myself in opposition to 
 the common sense and sober judgment of civiliza 
 tion. But you would say, I suppose, that I was 
 taking side with ignorance and weakness and dis 
 tress against tyranny and pride and selfishness? " 
 
 " Yes. And one convert like you is worth a mil 
 lion ordinary converts," he answered. 
 
 " I see I see. I should not care for the fact that 
 I was setting my face against everything that I had 
 been taught to reverence if I were only sure that 
 you were right I have gone too far already to be 
 disturbed by that. You do not know, perhaps," she 
 asked, " that I am an Englishwoman by birth ? My 
 family is closely connected with the nobility. I am 
 supposed to be merely on a visit to this country." 
 
 "Yes," said he, "I have heard. I know all about 
 you. Do you imagine there is a man, woman, or 
 child in the mill who isn't acquainted with your 
 story ? Such cases as yours don't occur every day, 
 lady." 
 
 He spoke so ardently that Evelyn let fall her eyes 
 in confusion. 
 
 "Only one more step remains," he continued. 
 "You have taken the others. Do you hesitate to 
 take that ? Don't think," he exclaimed, "that I am 
 incapable of realizing what I ask of you. Although 
 I belong to the working class, I can appreciate how 
 difficult it must be for one surrounded by luxury 
 and the soft refinements of life to do even what you 
 have done already, much less to agree to join the
 
 fAC TO FACE. 333 
 
 ranks of those xvho have declared war against idle 
 elegance. I can even imagine, lady to show you 
 that I do not underestimate your sacrifice the se 
 duction of that sweeter intellectual delight of leisure 
 and wealth-culture, that inexpressible refining of 
 the soul, which bids one shrink from everything 
 that is ugly, and foul and degraded. You see, I un 
 derstand, in some measure," he said, perceiving a 
 flush rise to Evelyn's cheeks and her eyes fixed 
 earnestly on him. "You see, I am not without com 
 prehension of the raptures to be derived from pol 
 ished sonnets and vellum bindings and dreamy 
 music, or of the bliss, even, which might flow from 
 that exaltation of the individual nature which some 
 call religion." 
 
 " You are right," she answered, firmly, as she won 
 dered at his insight. " Culture means death if it be 
 simply selfish. That is what you would imply." 
 
 " I would imply nothing," he answered. " My con 
 cern is merely this we are miserable, ignorant, and 
 starving, you others have everything. We mean to 
 put an end to that difference at any cost. Will you 
 help us ?" 
 
 Mis words were vigorous, but there was a touch 
 of supplication in his tone which comported well 
 with the mingled ardor and entreaty of his look. 
 He stood in his rough working clothes, the pattern 
 of a stalwart laboring man, a curious contrast to the 
 finished, high-bred-looking woman who sat listening 
 to him. 
 
 " I cannot tell. Perhaps," she said, at length. " I
 
 334 FACE TO FACE, 
 
 must have time to think. It is a decision that will 
 mean everything to me," she added. 
 
 He gazed at her eagerly a moment in silence. 
 
 " It will mean everything to me also, lady," he 
 said, in a low voice. 
 
 At this moment the door opened and Evelyn's 
 secretary, the young graduate of Vassar alluded to 
 by Mrs. Willoughby, entered with a long package- 
 like envelope which had just come from the post- 
 office. Evelyn took it from the girl's hand and me 
 chanically broke the seals and undid the contents. 
 De Vito had seated himself beside the hearth, and 
 leaning his brow upon his hand, was staring fixedly 
 into the fire. Presently he looked over his shoulder. 
 The girl had gone. Evelyn was reading attentively 
 the communication she had just received. 
 
 " I hate delays," he said, almost with authority. 
 " Let me propose you at once as a member of the 
 Union. There is to be a meeting in New York to 
 morrow." 
 
 Evelyn put up her hand eagerly to indicate that 
 she did not wish to be interrupted. 
 
 " Don't speak to me now," she said. 
 
 A few moments later she held out to him a letter, 
 and exclaimed, with excitement of manner : " Read 
 that." 
 
 "You see, I am not entirely deserted," she contin 
 ued, when De Vito had finished it. " Do you notice 
 that he writes that he has watched my endeavors 
 with the deepest interest from the first ? Here are 
 the plans of the electrical invention. You will be
 
 FACE TO FACE. 335 
 
 able to judge of their value," she said, pointing to 
 the other contents of the envelope, which she pro 
 ceeded to spread out on the desk. 
 
 " Some crank, probably," said De Vito. 
 
 "It is the letter of a man who seems to under 
 stand what he is talking about," she answered. 
 " Besides, he isn't trying to sell his patent to us. 
 As I interpret what he writes," she added, re-examin 
 ing the letter, " the patent belongs to me has been 
 taken out in my name. Who can he be ? "j 
 
 The attention of De Vito, who had begun to ex 
 amine the papers with an indifferent air, had sud 
 denly become arrested. He drew a chair between 
 his legs and knitted his brows absorbedly over the 
 specifications. Evelyn sat with the letter in her 
 hand, looking into space, with d happier expression 
 than her face had worn for many months. What 
 ever the merit of the invention might turn out to be, 
 it was something to know that her efforts had not 
 been entirely fruitless. She felt that she was no 
 longer alone, no longer without sympathy from 
 those of her own class. For it was clear, from the 
 language of the letter, and from the penmanship, 
 that the writer was an educated man. Strange that 
 he should have given no indication as to who he 
 was ! Could it be that he was afraid to encourage 
 her openly ? 
 
 As De Vito, still poring over the plans, had taken 
 possession of her desk, Evelyn sauntered to the win 
 dow and gazed out at the frozen landscape. An 
 element of mystery was always attractive to her.
 
 336 FACE TO FAC. 
 
 She asked herself again and again who her benefac 
 tor could be. Her vision, collaborating, perhaps, 
 with a consciousness which she had chosen to ignore, 
 stole through the bare boughs to where a glimpse 
 could be caught of the show-shrouded, solitary 
 " Seven Oaks." A feeble curl of blue smoke as 
 cending into the rare air told of the old gardener 
 who sat beside the hearth waiting for his master's 
 return. Evelyn sighed gently, and for a moment a 
 glad light sparkled in her eyes. 
 
 She turned at the sound of De Vito's tread. He 
 had finished his inspection, and was pacing the room. 
 He looked interested and earnest. 
 
 "There is a fortune in that machine," he said, 
 nodding toward the. papers. " The man is right. 
 By means of it, the cost of producion of the Wisabet 
 can be reduced fifty per cent, at least. It's a mar 
 vellous affair, and easily manufactured." 
 
 Evelyn's face grew all aglow at his words. 
 
 " Hurrah," she cried, waving the letter above her 
 head, "then we need not fail after all." 
 
 " In three months we could have the Wisabet fit 
 ted out with the appliance, and in less than a year 
 we could crowd the Clyme Valley to the wall," he 
 answered, eagerly. " Let me see that letter again. 
 It reads all straight, but the luck's too good to be 
 real." 
 
 He scratched his head reflectively as he re-exam 
 ined the letter. 
 
 " It's a gift a clean gift. That's plain as the nose 
 on my face. He could have sold the patent for a
 
 FACE TO FACE. 337 
 
 mint of money. You say you don't know who he 
 is?" he inquired, a with sudden glance at Evelyn. 
 
 " I have no more idea than you have," she an 
 swered, gayly. " The handwriting is unfamiliar ; 
 there is no signature, as you see, and nothing in any 
 way to indicate the sender. I don't even know that 
 my correspondent is a man," she added, with a smile. 
 
 De Vito picked up the envelope and scrutinized 
 it. 
 
 " The postmark is New York," he said. 
 
 " New York is a large place." 
 
 "Well, no matter who he is, everything helps." 
 
 " You feel confident that the invention is valu 
 able ? " Evelyn asked. 
 
 " I have not a doubt of it. I repeat with proper 
 management, we could manufacture at half the pres 
 ent figures." 
 
 " It comes as a Godsend," Evelyn murmured. 
 There were tears in her eyes. " Here we were at 
 our wit's ends, fancying ourselves deserted, and talk 
 ing of giving up the fight, when just in the nick of 
 time this reinforcement has arrived to renew our 
 courage. We need despair no longer." 
 
 De Vito made a gesture of annoyance. 
 
 " The evil day will simply be put off," he said. 
 " It can only be a question of time when you do fail. 
 This patent might set us on our feet again tempo 
 rarily, but " He paused and scowled. " I 
 
 thought we'd agreed, lady, to try another way." 
 
 It seemed only just to have become plain to him 
 that Evelyn was drawing back. His interest as a 
 
 22
 
 TO 
 
 mechanic in the invention had absorbed him so faf 
 that he had for the moment neglected to consider 
 the probable effect of this new factor on his pro 
 jects. 
 
 "That was when there appeared to be no alterna 
 tive," she answered, gently. " Besides, I agreed to 
 nothing. I had not made up my mind." 
 
 " The same arguments hold good now as before," 
 De Vito said. He held a strip of paper in his fin 
 gers and was tearing it into small bits. " You will 
 waste your money and your time. What can you 
 accomplish ? " 
 
 " Perhaps nothing," she replied. " But I mean 
 to fight to the end, even if it costs me my entire 
 fortune. That may not be wise, but if I fail it will 
 be in having tried to do my best. And I shall 
 count on your help, De Vito, still." 
 
 She spoke with radiant animation. De Vito sur 
 veyed her for a moment in silence. 
 
 " Why should the gift of this patent change your 
 entire resolution ?" he asked. " Half an hour ago, 
 you had all but promised to join us. If this letter 
 had not come, you would have joined us." 
 
 " I do not know whether I should or not," Evelyn 
 interjected. 
 
 " I am sure you would. You were wavering. 
 You felt the horror of the injustice which had been 
 done us for centuries, and were beginning to see 
 that the only hope of redress lay in resistance." 
 
 " Yes, I felt the horror of that injustice. I feel it 
 still. God knows, De Vito, that if I believed that
 
 FACE TO FACE. 339 
 
 your way was the right way I would not hesitate a 
 moment. But as it is " 
 
 " As it is, you let your courage be balked by a 
 mere chance circumstance. How does the gift of 
 this patent affect the true merits of the case ? " 
 
 " It shows me that there are others in my class 
 who feel as I do others who are working for the 
 same ends and believe in the same methods," she 
 answered, eagerly. " A mere chance circumstance ? 
 No, not as I look at it. There was chance, if you 
 will, in the letter arriving when it did arrive, but it 
 was sent to me, meant for me. I was wavering, I 
 admit. I did not know what to decide. But now I 
 am sure that my way is the right way, and that 
 yours is the wrong way. Everything must have a 
 beginning. Someone must fail in order finally to 
 bring about success." 
 
 " Meanwhile, we should be wretched. No, no, lady, 
 we have waited long enough. We are tired of waiting. 
 We are resolved to help ourselves. I tell you, you do 
 not understand your own class. There may be one 
 or two men and women who, like yourself, are striv 
 ing to give us our rights, but capital as capital will 
 never yield until labor has it by the throat. The 
 sooner that day comes the better for us all, say I." 
 
 Evelyn looked at him a moment in silence. She 
 shook her head. 
 
 " The help must come from us," she said, " or you 
 will only succeed in destroying the world." 
 
 "Well, then, we will destroy the world. Better 
 that there should be no world, I tell you again, than
 
 34O FACE TO FACE. 
 
 that it should be the terrible dungeon it is for one- 
 half its inhabitants." 
 
 " But the world is a very beautiful place. Think 
 of the many noble features in our civilization. Con 
 sider how human nature has advanced from genera 
 tion to generation is advancing every day, I be 
 lieve. And what have you other men and women, 
 as you call the laboring classes," Evelyn exclaimed, 
 impulsively, " ever done to promote that progress ? 
 Haven't you, rather, ever since the world began been 
 a clog to us by your ignorance and brutality and in 
 dolence ? What is money, after all, but the reward 
 which the world grants for virtue and industry ; and 
 do not crime and idleness explain why there is so 
 much suffering in the world to-day ? Heaven knows 
 we are to blame ; but so are you to blame. A part 
 of the responsibility is yours. Civilization has ad 
 vanced because there have been in the past millions 
 of earnest men who have made the most of them 
 selves. On the other hand, the masses are daily 
 paying the penalty of being the descendants of 
 shiftless, sinful people. Are you fit to choose for 
 yourselves ? Are you fit to know what you want, 
 or to guide or direct ? Everything noble and grand 
 that humanity has done hitherto has been done by 
 the educated and rich and powerful." 
 
 " That is the justice of the aristocrats. You pin 
 us down and then throw our poverty in our teeth." 
 
 " I am merely defending myself," she answered, 
 her beautiful face suffused by the ardor of her ad 
 vocacy. " You know well that if I had ray will,
 
 FACE TO FACE. 341 
 
 you should be pinned down no longer. But what I 
 have just said is true I feel that it is true. Men 
 are what their fathers were before them." 
 
 " Is that any consolation to us ? " De Vito ex 
 claimed, fiercely. " Because our fathers starved, is 
 it any easier for us to starve ?" 
 
 He stood gnawing his lip angrily, as though the 
 soundness of her words baffled him. 
 
 " I suppose not," she answered- " But the thought 
 makes the injustice seem less one-sided, and makes 
 me realize more plainly than ever that the help 
 must come from us if it is to come at all. Most of 
 the unhappy creatures who need that help would 
 not be able to understand my argument ; but men 
 with clear heads like you, who have aroused the 
 masses to a sense of their wrongs, should also make 
 known to them our rights. Come, De Vito," 
 Evelyn continued, " abandon your scheme of retal 
 iation. Do not desert me now, you who have been my 
 right-hand man for so long you who have pointed 
 out to me so many evils that need correcting." 
 
 " It is too late," he answered. " The masses know 
 their power too well to halt now. If you do not 
 give, they will take. I am sorry to desert you, lady, 
 but I warned you." 
 
 "Yes, you warned me." 
 
 A silence followed. Presently De Vito arose and 
 buttoned his coat. / 
 
 " You must find someone to take my place, lady," 
 he said. 
 
 Then he left the room.
 
 XVII. 
 
 A NOTHER twelve months had elapsed, or indeed 
 li more than that, for the buds were bursting, 
 and there was a balminess suggestive of approach 
 ing summer in the air on a certain afternoon when 
 Willoughby Pimlico, with a rather less stolid ex 
 pression than usual, entered his house. 
 
 " Well, my dear, what is the news ? " asked his 
 wife, who judged from his cheerful manner that he 
 had something of interest to impart. 
 
 " The Clyme Valley Manufacturing Company has 
 suspended payments," he answered, gleefully. 
 
 "What! The company that has been such a 
 rival of Evelyn's ? " 
 
 " The very same. That new electrical appliance 
 has done the business. The Clyme Valley, it seems, 
 had a huge stock on hand which Evelyn was able to 
 undersell completely. I understand that the inven 
 tion is likely to cause a revolution in mill machin 
 ery. Hooray," he exclaimed, throwing up his hands ; 
 " I'm pleased as Punch." 
 
 " What a lucky girl she is ! " exclaimed Mrs. Wil 
 loughby, after a moment " It wasn't much more 
 than a year ago that everybody was prophesying 
 she would run through her property."
 
 FACE TO FACE. 343 
 
 " Lucky ? I don't call it luck. I call it. grit. Be 
 sides, she deserves every bit of good fortune that 
 can come to her." 
 
 " I quite agree with you as to her deserts," an 
 swered his wife, with a slightly-amused smile, "but 
 you must admit, Willoughby, that the gift of that 
 patent was a very uncommon piece of good for 
 tune." 
 
 " Not so very," he answered, resolutely. 
 
 " Shouldn't you consider it highly extraordinary 
 if some person who was a perfect stranger should 
 send me a present of half a dozen enormous soli 
 taires ? " 
 
 "Not if he admired you as much as I do." 
 
 " How silly you are, Willoughby ! If you aren't 
 Careful, I'll take you at your word and order them 
 at Tiffany's to-morrow." 
 
 " I feel in such good spirits, I could almost give 
 you permission," answered her husband. 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby mused a moment. 
 
 " Doesn't Ernest Clay own a great deal of stock in 
 the Clyme Valley Company ? " she asked. 
 
 " No ; he sold out his entire interest about two 
 years ago." 
 
 " Really ? how do you know ?" 
 
 " Because I negotiated the sale," Willoughby said, 
 after a moment. " Clay wrote to me on the subject." 
 
 " Why didn't you tell me ? " 
 
 " I didn't suppose it would interest you. Besides, 
 it was private business." 
 
 " Not interest ra ? Why, if I hadn't happened to
 
 344 FACE TO PACE. 
 
 speak just now, I might have gone on supposing 
 that he and Evelyn were each trying to ruin the 
 other. That was the way it looked. I Wrote to 
 Ernest once on the subject. Perhaps my letter 
 caused him to sell. Though I must say he sent me 
 a mere scrap of a reply which contained absolutely 
 nothing relating to his own affairs. Does Evelyn 
 know ? " 
 
 " I doubt if she does. The transaction was pur 
 posely kept secret." 
 
 " Well, his selling out can scarcely help him," said 
 Mrs. Willoughby, mournfully. "After this triumph 
 over the other mill Evelyn will be certain to follow 
 her own bent more absolutely than ever." 
 
 "Without question," answered Willoughby. " She 
 has every reason to feel encouraged." 
 
 The big Englishman began to hum a merry air. 
 
 "The proper thing now would be for Evelyn to 
 discover her unknown benefactor and marry him," 
 said his wife, with a scornful smile. 
 
 " An excellent idea. I will suggest it to her." 
 
 " I believe you would be just crazy enough. So 
 unlimited has your admiration become for every 
 thing the child says and does, I'm not at all sure 
 that if she had wished to wed De Vito himself, you 
 would not have said, ' bless you, my children.' Thank 
 goodness, she has got rid of that wretch." 
 
 " De Vito is a great loss to her in many respects. 
 She will find it very difficult to supply his place 
 that is, to obtain anyone so thoroughly devoted to 
 her interests," observed Willoughby. " However,
 
 FACE TO FACE. 345 
 
 since he is determined to resort to radicalism, it is 
 just as well that he has left her, especially if she 
 can, as you suggest, ferret out the inventor of her 
 patent." After which remark Willoughby grinned 
 good-humoredly. 
 
 His wife eyed him with suspicion, as though a 
 sudden idea had seized her. 
 
 " Willoughby, I believe you know who the man 
 is," she exclaimed. 
 
 " I, dear ? " 
 
 " Yes, you dear. You can't deny it," she cried, 
 exultantly. " I'm sure you do, now. Is he oh, of 
 course it must be Ernest Clay." 
 
 "And what if it should be ? " 
 
 " No matter. Only tell me if I am right." 
 
 " Well, yes, then. What is more, he is in town and 
 is coming to dine with us to-night." 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby stared with open eyes. 
 
 "Why, Willoughby, this is a new role for you to 
 figure in. An arch conspirator, eh ? Tell me one 
 thing, are they engaged ? " 
 
 " Evelyn and Clay ? " 
 
 "Whom else could I mean ?" 
 
 " He hasn't seen her, to my knowledge." 
 
 " But he might have written, goose." 
 
 " I am confident that Evelyn has no idea he is in 
 this country." 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby was silent a moment. "To 
 think of my not having guessed before!" she ex 
 claimed. 
 
 "What was there to guess ? "
 
 346 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 " That Ernest Clay invented that machine. It 
 seems the most natural thing possible, now that one 
 knows. And yet I must confess the idea never en 
 tered my head. I see it all now. That is what he 
 has been working at during these years abroad. The 
 mystery is explained. I wonder very much," she 
 added, musingly, " whether Evelyn suspects the 
 truth. I think she would have told me if she 
 really knew. And how was it, Willoughby, you 
 came to be taken into the secret ? " 
 
 " Clay wrote to me, and put the whole matter into 
 my hands. That is, I was to have the patent taken 
 out in Evelyn's name, and to conceal his identity 
 completely. He charged me to tell no one, and 
 underlined the no one. So you see, Clara, I was 
 powerless to say anything to you." 
 
 " Yes, I see. The monster ! As if I hadn't lain 
 awake nights, racking my brain ao discover a way 
 to bring Evelyn and him together ! Well, what does 
 he propose to do next ? Why has he made such a 
 mystery of the matter ? " 
 
 " Doubtless he will be ready to-night to answer 
 both those questions himself. I have told you all I 
 know." 
 
 " How unenterprising you are, Willoughby ! " 
 
 " Do you think so ?" he said. " Now, I was flat 
 tering myself that I had shown a commendable de 
 gree of enterprise to-day. In the first place I sent 
 a telegram to Evelyn, congratulating her on her 
 victory, and announcing that, if agreeable to her, we 
 would run down to-morrow to 'Highlands' with a
 
 FACE TO FACE. 347 
 
 few friends to celebrate the event. I received a cor 
 dial reply bidding us welcome. Accordingly I set 
 to work to engage my party." 
 
 "Are you in earnest, Willoughby ? " 
 
 "Never more so, Clara." 
 
 " Well, go on. Whom did you ask ? " 
 
 " The same set that was at Mr. Brock's four years 
 ago. Marian Bydoon, Isabel Slatterly, and so forth." 
 
 "What in the world put it into your head to in 
 vite those girls ? " 
 
 " I'll tell you presently. Suffice to say for the 
 moment that they are all going." 
 
 " Really ? I presume you explained to them 
 what sort of a place they were going to ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes, and every one seemed most eager to ac 
 cept. Then I ordered all the delicacies of the sea 
 son and some baskets of champagne to be sent down 
 to ' Highlands.' " 
 
 " Willoughby, you are killing," said his wife, who 
 seemed immensely amused. " This affair of Evelyn's 
 has turned your brain. However, we ought to have 
 a good time, I think. The people ) r ou have asked 
 will enjoy the thing for a change. But I fancy 
 Evelyn will scarcely thank you. The responsibility 
 is yours, remember. I wash my hands of it. If 
 Evelyn is vexed, I shall put the entire blame on you. 
 But what about Ernest Clay ?" she asked, suddenly. 
 
 " He is going too. I made sure of him first of 
 all." 
 
 " And does he mean to tell her ? " 
 
 " I see no reason why he shouldn't. But, as I
 
 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 have already informed you, you kno\v all that 1 
 know." 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby sat for some moments wrapped 
 in her own reflections. Then she said, complacently : 
 " It really looks as if there were a chance that they 
 would marry one another, after all. As for you, my 
 dear," she added, " I am positively electrified at your 
 complicity in the affair, to say nothing of this im 
 promptu jollification you have spoken of. You 
 haven't explained to me yet, by the way, what pos 
 sessed you to invite those people." 
 
 Willoughby stroked his beard meditatively. " I 
 invited them because I wanted them to see what 
 could be accomplished, even in so short a period as 
 four years, by one who was in earnest. Four years 
 ago Evelyn seemed, to all intents and purposes, like 
 one of us. Now, while we have been standing still 
 or going down hill, she has made a noble woman of 
 herself." 
 
 " Poor Marian Bydoon went down hill with a 
 vengeance when her horse stumbled with her," said 
 Mrs. Willoughby, with a laugh. " Othenvise I fail 
 to appreciate the force of your remark. For you to 
 moralize if it is a moral that you are seeking to 
 convey, my dear is something more remarkable 
 even than the rest of your behavior. As I said to 
 you a monfent ago, your brain has been affected." 
 
 " The moral applies to us all equally, Clara, and 
 I dare say we shall continue to live on just as we do 
 at present in spite of Evelyn's example ; but we can 
 at least go down to ' Highlands ' and express our
 
 FACE TO PA CM. 349 
 
 admiration for her pluck and steadfastness. There? 
 isn't one girl in a thousand, or rather in a million, in 
 her position who would have done the same." 
 
 " No, thank goodness," murmured Mrs. Wil- 
 lougbby, in rather a nettled tone, " Talk as you 
 may, I am not yet able to see that Evelyn has ac 
 complished anything, or is likely to accomplish any 
 thing, which should encourage imitation. She is un-- 
 doubtedly a very peculiar girl, and now that I know 
 her so well I am not prepared to say that she isn't 
 happier where she is than she would be living like 
 the rest of us. But looked at purely from the stand 
 point of common sense, I regard her conduct ns 
 crazy. She seems for the moment, I admit, to have 
 been very successful, but only because Ernest Clay, 
 who has been in love with Evelyn from the first day 
 he saw her, came to her rescue. Now very likely 
 she will marry him. He would have made her just 
 as good a husband four years ago." 
 
 " You know you don't believe that, Clara. You 
 like to persuade yourself that you do, but you don't. 
 It would be much honester to follow my example 
 and say, ' Evelyn is worth six of me, but God has 
 made me as I am and I can't change.' There's no 
 more doubt that she is right and that we are wrong 
 than that you are sitting there and that I am sitting 
 here. We shall, as I said before, go on probably to 
 the end of the chapter, living the same comfortable 
 existences as at present I busy with my horses and 
 dogs and club, and you with your dinner parties and 
 brie a brae. We don't do much harm, I dare say,
 
 350 FACE TO PACE. 
 
 but when it comes to declaring that it would have 
 been just as well if my cousin and her lover had 
 been made man and wife at the time we were anx 
 ious to bring about the match well, I beg to be 
 excused from subscribing to any such sentiment. 
 We have ceased to believe in hell, and it may be 
 that Dick, my setter pup, has a soul no less immortal 
 than either yours or mine ; but, after all, there is 
 something rather fine, mia cara, in a pair of lovers 
 who do believe in something," said Willoughby, giv 
 ing his long legs an extra stretch, as though to re 
 assure his wife that he had no intention personally 
 of doing anything desperate. 
 
 " Don't be blasphemous, Willoughby," she said, 
 but she looked a little grave. 
 
 "There's no question," he continued, after a 
 moment's cogitation, " that this is a great country. 
 Even a do-nothing like me realizes that more and 
 more every day." 
 
 " Apropos of Evelyn ? " 
 
 " Yes, for the time being." 
 
 "You may say whatever else you choose, Wil 
 loughby, but this country has enough peculiar peo 
 ple of its own without being held responsible for 
 Evelyn. As I have several times said to you before, 
 she brought all her eccentricities with her," said his 
 wife, firmly. 
 
 "Ah, but you forget that if the United States had 
 not existed, she would never have got her ideas. 
 Hasn't she told us that her one ambition, since she 
 was first able to think on her own account, was to
 
 FACE TO FACE. 351 
 
 become like an American girl ? She has succeeded, 
 and what is more, she has taught this young Clay to 
 act like an American man. There was always some 
 thing aspiring in his nature one could see that 
 from his face ; but the pressure of his surroundings 
 kept it under. I have a notion that the court of 
 some effete monarchy is the place for such people 
 as you and me, Clara." 
 
 " I don't know what you mean, Willoughby." 
 
 " Well, we won't quarrel, my love. That would be 
 worse than anything. Besides, you are a great deal 
 cleverer than I, and if we got to arguing I should be 
 sure to be worsted and to become convinced against 
 my will," he said, laughing and looking at his watch. 
 " Bless me, you will not be ready for dinner if you 
 don't begin to dress at once. Even socialists must 
 prefer to have their soup hot." 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby returned her husband's smile 
 and stood a moment looking at him, half wonder- 
 ingly and half amused, before she left the room. 
 She knew that when he made up his mind on any 
 subject he was disposed to be what often seemed to 
 her preternaturally firm. BjU he was not in the 
 habit of making up his mind on ethical subjects. 
 
 " I shouldn't be surprised," she said as a parting 
 shot, "to hear that you had offered yourself to 
 Evelyn as a candidate for De Vito's place." 
 
 "You needn't be anxious, Clara," he answered. 
 "My bark is worse than my bite. I promise that I 
 will never compromise you otherwise than by words. 
 You ought by this time to have implicit trust in mV
 
 35 2 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 constitutional laziness." Whereupon Willoughbj 
 settled himself comfortably in his chair and opened 
 the evening paper. 
 
 Three quarters of an hour later Mrs. Willoughby 
 had the satisfaction of greeting Ernest Clay in 
 person. She found him but little changed in appear 
 ance, as was not unnatural considering his period of 
 life. He told her briefly at the dinner-table, on learn 
 ing from Willoughby that she knew his secret, that 
 his time abroad had been spent entirely in study in 
 one or another of the great cities on the Continent. 
 The results of his industry had been the patent with 
 which she was familiar, and one or two additional 
 inventions of the same class which were not yet 
 perfected. Clay, in turn, asked a few questions con 
 cerning their mutual acquaintances, but no direct 
 reference was made to Evelyn until later in the 
 evening, when the host, divining, perhaps, that his 
 absence would be appreciated, left his wife alone in 
 the parlor with her new-found friend. Then Mrs. 
 Willoughby, encouraged by the cordiality of Clay's 
 manner, turned to him presently with her interroga 
 tive smile and enigmatic "Well ?" 
 
 Clay nodded and said, quietly, " My feelings have 
 not changed. I love her as much as ever." 
 
 " Of course, fa va sans dire. The patent proved 
 that. I mean, does she know ? " 
 
 " That I invented the patent ? Not unless some 
 one else has informed her. I have done my best to 
 keep her in ignorance of the fact. Tell me about 
 her," he added, eagerly.
 
 FACE TO FACE. 353 
 
 " You don't deserve that I should tell you any 
 thing, mon ami. Why did you take such pains to 
 keep me in the dark concerning this very romantic 
 episode ? Me, who have left no stone unturned to 
 aid your cause ? " 
 
 " I told Willoughby yesterday that I wished you 
 to know." 
 
 " Really. How exceedingly kind." 
 
 " You and he are the only two persons in the 
 world who do know." 
 
 " Yes, the only two. I don't fancy playing second 
 fiddle." 
 
 ''You would have told her," Clay answered. 
 " You couldn't have resisted the temptation. You 
 would have given her an inkling of the truth, at any 
 rate. I was afraid to run any risk. I wanted her 
 to be entirely free to use the invention. If she had 
 known I had anything to do with it, she would have 
 been certain to refuse to profit by it." 
 
 " Passing over for a moment your impertinence 
 as to my ability to keep a secret, don't you suppose 
 she believes in her heart that it was you ? " asked 
 Mrs. Willoughby. 
 
 " I hope to heaven she does. If she thought that, 
 there might be some chance for me," he exclaimed. 
 
 " I wish I could give you any definite consola 
 tion ; but you should have made me a confidant, if 
 you wished me to observe Evelyn's symptoms. For 
 all I knew, you had ceased to think of her." 
 
 " But you have seen her," said Clay. " Is she 
 
 well?" 
 
 23
 
 354 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 " Oh, yes, she is well and as handsome as ever. 
 She looked thin and worried a year ago, but since 
 the tide turned in her favor she has regained her 
 comeliness. You came to her rescue in the nick of 
 time, as Willoughby doubtless has told you. Her 
 affairs were getting frightfully involved." 
 
 "Yes, I know." 
 
 "And what do you propose to do next? "asked 
 Mrs. Willoughby, insinuatingly. 
 
 Clay shook his head. " That remains to be seen," 
 he said. 
 
 " You are cautious still, I perceive." 
 
 "No, really I don't know," he answered, earnestly. 
 "You know what I wish what I pray for. If I am 
 not to work with her, at least my own work has be 
 come an absorbing interest to me. I can thank her 
 for that." 
 
 " She has no one now on whom to rely for advice 
 since her extraordinary ally De Vito went away." 
 
 "What has become of De Vito ? " asked Clay. 
 
 "Become of him ? You know, of course, why he 
 left here ? " 
 
 "Only vaguely." 
 
 " He wanted her to become a radical. I don't 
 know many of the particulars, but I know they had 
 a long interview which ended in De Vito's quitting 
 her employment. That was a year ago, and he has 
 never been near her since, I believe. Willoughby 
 read from the newspaper, only last week, that some 
 prominent labor organization had chosen Andrew 
 De Vito Grand Master. That must be he, of course.
 
 FACE TO FACE. 355 
 
 I have breathed more freely ever since he left High 
 lands, though I will admit that so long as he re 
 mained there he behaved himself." 
 
 " I am glad she did not marry him," said Clay, 
 after a pause. 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby gave a gasp. "Marry De Vito?" 
 she cried. " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " I only mean that I had a feeling that his fire 
 and energy might induce Miss Pimlico to overlook 
 his deficiencies. If he had loved her, it would have 
 been with his whole heart. She would have mar 
 ried a man" 
 
 "Well," said Mrs. Willoughby, "that is the most 
 remarkable utterance I have listened to yet, from 
 either of you. I have heard a great many strange 
 observations in the course of the last few years, but 
 this beats them all. You you of all men who used 
 to be almost ludicrously fastidious in regard to what 
 is what, talking calmly and judicially as to the ad 
 visability of such a beautiful creature for whatever 
 may be thought of her theories, no one can deny 
 Evelyn's personal attractions marrying a wretch 
 like De Vito ! ' I am glad she did not marry him ;' 
 as though it were the merest chance she did not. 
 You don't deserve to win her after such a speech." 
 
 " It was your letter which put into my head the 
 idea that it might be possible for her to marry him, 
 and I said to myself, ' She might do worse. Here is 
 a man devoted to her service, deeply interested in 
 her schemes, endowed with earnestness and pur 
 pose, rough, it is true, coarse-natured even ; but in-
 
 356 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 domitable, unhampered by petty considerations oi 
 a faint heart' " 
 
 " And you mean to tell me you regarded this demi 
 god as a rival ? " asked Mrs. Willoughby in amaze 
 ment. 
 
 " In a measure, yes. You forget that Evelyn is 
 not like most girls." 
 
 " Pardon me, I am never allowed to forget it for 
 a moment. But there must be a limit, I judge, even 
 to her eccentricity, unless the world is to be turned 
 topsy-turvy at once. If I hinted at the possibility 
 of such an abomination in my letter, it was merely 
 to bring you home. I admit that on the occasions 
 when I visited Highlands, it seemed to me as though 
 De Vito couldn't keep his eyes off Evelyn. He may 
 very likely have aspired to her, as he looked auda 
 cious enough for anything. But the idea of your 
 seriously supposing that she could fancy him, and 
 then 'talk ing as though it would have been the most 
 natural infatuation in the world ! I thought you 
 knew women, mon ami." 
 
 " Well, he has left her, so we will not quarrel 
 over the point. I shall go to Clyme Valley by the 
 early train to-morrow." 
 
 " Not with the rest of us, then ?" 
 
 " No. I have opened my own house, and I wish 
 to put things to rights a little before you arrive, so 
 that if you honor me with a visit, you may not find 
 a totally ungarnished hearth." 
 
 " I'm not at all sure," answered Mrs. Willoughby, 
 thoughtfully, " that my lord and master did wisely
 
 FACE TO FACE. 357 
 
 to invite all those people, not only on Evelyn's ac 
 count, but yours. However, you may get a quiet 
 hour before we arrive. Perhaps that is what Wil- 
 loughby is counting on. It may be he expects to 
 celebrate your engagement. I assure you he is 
 very deep. Yesterday I should never have suspected 
 him of such a thing, but now I find I am a mere 
 novice in the art of strategy compared with my hus 
 band. What is that, Patterson ? " she asked, as the 
 servant entered and laid a note on the writing-table. 
 
 " A telegram for Mr. Pimlico." 
 
 " Bring it to me." 
 
 Mrs. Willoughby opened the envelope and drew out 
 the snake-like contents. " Mercy !" she exclaimed 
 as she read. " It's from Evelyn. Listen. ' There 
 is so nmch disorder among the operatives of the 
 Clyme Valley Company that it will be more pru 
 dent to postpone your visit until everything is quiet 
 again. EVELYN PIMLICO.' " 
 
 "Humph !" 
 
 " But I thought the Clyme Valley Company had 
 failed," said Mrs. Willoughby. 
 
 " There has been discontent among the operatives 
 for several months. The news of the failure has 
 probably caused some excitement," answered Clay. 
 He glanced at the clock. " I think, if you will ex 
 cuse me," he said rising, "I will try to catch the ten 
 o'clock train to-night. I should like to be on hand 
 in case of any trouble." 
 
 A moment later he had left the house, and hail 
 ing a cab was on the way to his rooms. His valise
 
 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 happened to be nearly packed, in anticipation ol 
 the morning. He was just in time to take the train, 
 and he reached his destination not long after mid 
 night. 
 
 As he drove through the town he heard the noise 
 of tipsy revelling proceeding from a nest of grog 
 shops. Notwithstanding the lateness of the hour 
 there were knots of men talking at the street cor 
 ners, some of whom " guyed "at him as he was driven 
 by, though it was too dark to distinguish who he 
 was. His driver was somewhat the worse for liquor, 
 so Clay forebore from asking any questions. 
 
 His servant, to whom he had sent a telegram, 
 awaited him at the door with a candle. The poor 
 old man trembled with delight as he shook his mas 
 ter's hand, and hastened to show Clay into the din 
 ing-room, where a fire was burning, and some food 
 was on the table, apologizing for not having lighted 
 up the house generally on the ground that there 
 was great excitement in the town, and talk of vio 
 lence. 
 
 'And is it true, Master Ernest," he asked, as he 
 took Clay's overcoat, " that your mill has failed ? " 
 
 " Yes, Gregory. But I have not owned any of 
 the stock in it for nearly two years." 
 
 " Heaven be praised for that. I dreamt last night 
 that you were ruined." 
 
 " Not yet, Gregory. But you were right to keep 
 the house dark. What is the cause of the disturb 
 ance ? " 
 
 " Lord only knows, sir. They never seem to un
 
 FACE TO FACE. 359 
 
 derstand when they're well off. These new ideas 
 about the rights of the laboring man puzzle me, Mas 
 ter Ernest. This lady over at 'Highlands' Miss 
 Pimlico she's good and kind may be (I've heard 
 tell she were), but it's along of her, to my thinking, 
 that the mill's failed. Before she come here a poor 
 man was content with the pay of an honest day's 
 work, let alone what his betters might make. Now 
 he wants his meals three times a day, pipin' hot, and 
 his own carriage and horses. And, saving your pres 
 ence, she a lady born and bred ! " 
 
 " I suppose the hands are angry at being thrown 
 out of employment by the suspension of the mill ? " 
 
 "Yes, they're angry," said the old man slowly; 
 "but I'm thinking they've been stirred up on pur 
 pose to make them angry. There've been grum 
 blings going on long before there was any talk of 
 the mill failing, and there've been parties strangers 
 in the town with nothing better to do than whis 
 pering round among the men, telling them how 
 much better off the help in the Wisabet were, and 
 how, if they made fuss enough, they'd be treated the 
 same. I guess I ain't far wrong in holding the 
 opinion that the lady I just spoke of is at the bot 
 tom of the whole business. She'll lay the blame on 
 De Vito, I dare say ; but though he has left her ser 
 vice there's those will tell you it is only make-be 
 lieve, and that they're working together in secret." 
 
 " Why, is De Vito in town ? " inquired Clay, look 
 ing up from his supper. 
 
 " May be he is, and may be not," said Gregory,
 
 360 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 wagging his head. " It isn't likely if he were he'd 
 give out that he was." 
 
 Clay smiled. " You're something of a philoso 
 pher I see," he said. " And so poor old Mary Ann 
 is dead," he added. " You must be very lonely with 
 out her." 
 
 "Yes, Master Ernest, and I shan't be long in fol 
 lowing her, now that I've lived to see you again. 
 Almost the last words my old woman spoke was, 
 ' Take good care of Master Ernest when I'm gone.' " 
 
 " She was a dear old soul. You have both of you 
 been true friends to me," answered Clay, tenderly. 
 
 " I have tried to do my duty. But I'm getting 
 old, and I'm not so steady on my legs as I used to 
 be. It's time for me to be under the sod, Master 
 Ernest. If I may make so bold, I wish you luck of 
 a good wife. Your father was married, and Mary 
 Ann and I have often said that some day you'd be 
 bringing home your bride." 
 
 " Yes, Gregory, it's high time I was married. 
 You're quite right," said Clay with a sigh. He 
 pushed away his plate. " I'm not very hungry, 
 Gregory ; I dined late. Fetch me my valise. Stop. 
 Open it and bring me my writing materials. I have 
 some letters to write before I go to bed. I will 
 leave one on the table, which I want you to take 
 over to 'Highlands' the very first thing in the morn 
 ing." 
 
 Gregory's face lighted up, and he said, "You're 
 going to bring the lady to her senses, I'll be bound 
 I always knew you would when you got back."
 
 FACE TO FACE. 361 
 
 " Her senses ? " Clay gave a short laugh. " Miss 
 Pimlico," he said, " has more sense in one of her lit 
 tle fingers than you and I have in our whole bodies, 
 Gregory. So don't forget to deliver the letter," he 
 added, as he noticed the old servant's bewildered ex 
 pression. 
 
 Left alone by himself Clay lit a cigar, and open 
 ing his portfolio sat for a long time staring at the 
 blotter. Then he took a pen and wrote.
 
 XVIII. 
 
 ON tne following morning, shortly after nine 
 o'clock, Andrew De Vito rang at the entrance 
 to "Highlands." The servant who let him in threw 
 open the door of the library, saying, 
 
 " Walk in, sir. Miss Pimlico is expecting you." 
 
 De Vito stared at the girl. " Expecting me ? " he 
 said. Then without waiting for an answer he ad 
 vanced to greet Evelyn, who, as the door opened, 
 had arisen from her seat and taken several steps 
 toward him. 
 
 "Why, De Vito!" she exclaimed in surprise. 
 " Is it you ? I am very glad to see you. I have 
 missed you more than I can describe," she added. 
 " Sit down and tell me about yourself." 
 
 " I am disturbing you," he said, a little formally, 
 noticing that she seemed somewhat confused. " The 
 servant said you were expecting some one." 
 
 " I will admit I thought you were Mr. Clay, when 
 you opened the door. I am expecting a visit from 
 him my next-door neighbor, you know, the owner 
 of 'Seven Oaks.' He arrived last night," she an 
 swered. " But I'm delighted to see you. Do tell 
 me you have come to say that you wish to take
 
 FACE TO FACE. 363 
 
 your old place again. Then I should be happy 
 indeed." 
 
 Evelyn spoke with enthusiasm. Her eyes were 
 radiant, and she awaited his response with evident 
 eagerness. 
 
 " No," De Vito said, " I've not come for that. It's 
 not easy to say exactly why I have come." 
 
 He sat leaning forward from the edge of his chair, 
 with his cap in his hands. 
 
 " To congratulate me, perhaps. To admit that 
 my way is a better one than you thought it was," 
 she said with a happy sm\le. 
 
 " You've done well," he answered laconically. 
 " I told you the machine would work. But the 
 principle remains the same. There's other mills 
 besides the Clyme Valley." 
 
 " Hark ! what was that noise ? " exclaimed Evelyn. 
 
 They both listened a moment, and a troubled ex 
 pression came over her face. 
 
 " It's the men who've been discharged by Storrs. 
 They've been drinking hard all night," said De Vito. 
 
 " Is there likely to be trouble ? How negligent 
 of me ! " she exclaimed. " I had intended to go to 
 town early to see what could be done, but but 
 other matters interfered. I heard from my man 
 ager last night that there were threats of violence. 
 I told him to engage all the men from the Clyme 
 Valley we had places for. I only wish I could en 
 gage the whole of them, poor creatures. But what 
 is to be gained by making trouble now ? The 
 company has failed."
 
 364 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 " Can you expect that men and women who've 
 been ground down into the mud, to be tossed aside 
 like sucked oranges, when there's no further use 
 for them will be very grateful ? Can you expect 
 them, lady, not to complain a little ? Would it be 
 altogether surprising if they were to say to one an 
 other, ' Since the old mill has no further use for us, 
 we've no further use for her. Let's pull her down, 
 boys.' I've said nothing of the sort to them. I'm only 
 saying to you what they might say to one another." 
 
 " Is that what they propose to do ? " she asked, 
 with dismay. 
 
 " I can't tell you, lady. It's no affair of mine. 
 My part was over when the mill failed." 
 
 "Your part ?" 
 
 "Yes. My men the agents of the union have 
 been here working for a strike during the last 
 three months. There would have been one, only 
 the mill failed. If you hadn't succeeded, I should 
 have. You see I'm frank. You and I have been 
 working together after all." 
 
 " Then you will help me to preserve order ?" she 
 asked eagerly. 
 
 "What could we do ? There's no use in reason 
 ing with men who are crazy drunk. When they 
 come to their senses the danger will be over. In the 
 meanwhile one must trust for the best or the worst 
 according to one's personal inclinations." 
 
 Evelyn gazed at him with a disturbed air. "To 
 think that this should be happening to-day ! " she 
 murmured.
 
 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 " It is happening every day. But why not to-day, 
 lady?" 
 
 "I will tell you, De Vito" she said, looking at him 
 with lustrous eyes. " This morning I learned for 
 the first time who was the inventor of the machine 
 which has enabled me to succeed." 
 
 " Well, who was it ? " he asked with some gruff- 
 ness. 
 
 " It was Mr. Clay, my neighbor, whom I told you 
 a moment ago I was expecting a visit from." 
 
 "Ah!" De Vito exclaimed, and he frowned 
 slightly. " He is the principle owner of the Clyme 
 Valley Company, as I remember ? " 
 
 " Yes, I believe so." 
 
 "And he sent you the patent instead of letting his 
 own mill have it ? " 
 
 " Yes," she answered, while a deep flush rose to 
 her cheek. " I knew nothing of it until this morn 
 ing. I have just received a letter from him an 
 nouncing the fact. I mention it," she exclaimed 
 earnestly, "to prove what I said a year ago, that there 
 are others in my class who feel as I do. I can ex 
 plain nothing until I see Mr. Clay. I have told you 
 all I know. He has been abroad for several years." 
 
 "Do you know him well ?" he inquired, after a 
 moment. 
 
 "Yes. He was one of the party at Mr. Brock's." 
 
 " I remember," De Vito answered. " He will tell 
 you, as I have told you," he continued presently, 
 "that what you are attempting is perfectly vain and 
 futile. What has his invention of a new machine
 
 366 . FACE TO FACE. 
 
 to do with the question ? It has saved you from faiU 
 ing for a moment, but that proves nothing. It is a 
 mere fluke an accident. The moment that machine 
 becomes common property, so that your margin of 
 profit is not large enough to allow you to carry on 
 your philanthropic schemes where will you be ? 
 He will tell you that the pay of labor must be gov 
 erned by the law of supply and demand, and that if 
 a man will work for five dollars a week no one will 
 be fool enough to give him ten. That's common- 
 sense the common-sense of the world, and the 
 world will never cease to be satisfied with the argu 
 ment until it's compelled to. Your theories are 
 mere moonshine. You can accomplish nothing." 
 
 "And yet, De Vito, you believed in them once," 
 she said. 
 
 " No, it was you I believed in," he answered. " I 
 was in your service ; I carried out your plans but 
 what was the reason ? Because it was you who em 
 ployed me." He stopped short and stood gazing at 
 her with flashing eyes. " For the same reason," he 
 said, "that I have come back here to-day; because 
 I like to look into your face ; because I cannot bear 
 to live without you ; because great God, yes, why 
 shouldn't I say it ? because I love you." 
 
 Evelyn gave a gasp of astonishment. " You, De 
 Vito ! " 
 
 "Yes, I, lady. I love you I adore you. You 
 know it all now, I have loved you from the very 
 first moment that we met, from that day in the wood, 
 more than four years ago, when I spoke to you like
 
 FACE TO FACE. 367 
 
 a brute. It was because I loved you that I peered 
 into the window on the night when you were as 
 saulted. I didn't know then how to name what I 
 felt, but I am no longer in doubt. I would give up 
 everything else in the world to have you for my wife 
 yes, my wife. You shall listen to me. Has not a 
 working-man a soul is he not capable of loving ? " 
 
 " De Vito, you must not go on you must not." 
 
 " Must not ! What's to prevent ? Is there any 
 thing wrong in telling you that I am burning 
 through and through with a passion that is eating 
 into my soul as fire eats into iron ? You shrink 
 from me. Is it so horrible to be loved by a work 
 ing-man ? " 
 
 Evelyn looked up at him. Her face was very 
 pale. " I do not mean to shrink from you," she 
 said, gently. " But but you do not understand 
 what you ask, De Vito." 
 
 " Do not understand what I ask ? " he cried fever 
 ishly. " Yes, I do understand. You are a lady, so 
 called, I, one of the common people. Is that a 
 reason why I should not love you, or you should not 
 return my love ? Could I not work for you, fight 
 for you, die for you as well as another ? Is my 
 heart any less big than another's ? " 
 
 " It would be difficult to enter into explanations, 
 De Vito," she replied, in a still more gentle tone. 
 " You must see, though, that what you ask of me is 
 utterly impossible." 
 
 " See ! " he ejaculated. " Yes, I see that it is im 
 possible according to the shallow code to which your
 
 368 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 class owes allegiance ; but I have dreamed, lady, that 
 you were different from the rest of your class, that 
 your soul was noble enough and independent 
 enough to burst the fetters of conventionality and 
 prejudice. But I am mistaken. I see that, at least 
 you have not the strength to throw them off. just 
 as you had not the courage to follow me when I 
 pointed out to you the true way to help the world. 
 Enter into explanations ? It is not necessary. I 
 understand why you disdain me." He spoke more 
 slowly, and with deep bitterness. 
 
 " I do not disdain you, De Vito. Far from it. I 
 respect and love you only not in such a way that I 
 could consent to become your wife," she answered. 
 " You have been everything to me, friend, adviser, 
 protector but " 
 
 " But," he interposed, fiercely, " all this counts for 
 nothing when weighed in the balance with what I 
 am not. I know what I lack, as I told you once 
 before. You shrink from me you did shrink from 
 me, for I saw repulsion in your face because my 
 body is coarse, because I am rough and unpolished. 
 You could not bear the thought of being fondled by 
 these callous hands, of being kissed by these lips 
 I could have kissed you once, why did I spare 
 you ? I have strength, will, energy. I am in earn 
 est and believe in something. But yet you would 
 rather die than lay your aristocratic head on the 
 pillow beside mine. You cannot deny it," he cried, 
 sweeping back his hair from his brow with an in 
 dignant gesture. " It only proves once more
 
 FACE TO FACE. 369 
 
 there can be no hope of compromise or compact 
 between such as you, and such as I. Only when we 
 take, will you give. Your gods are form and cere 
 mony, and to them you are ready to sacrifice every 
 thing else. Tell me," he asked, setting his teeth, 
 " Is there a father among you who would not con 
 sider it a greater misfortune to have his daughter 
 marry a respectable mechanic than a fashionable 
 rake ? Go, then, and marry some lily-fingered, cold 
 blooded dandy, whose ability to bow and scrape 
 makes him my superior. Perhaps," he added, with 
 an ugly sneer as a sudden thought seemed to strike 
 him, " you've fallen in love with the inventor of 
 your patent the fine gentleman yonder, who owns 
 the mill that has been squeezing the life-blood out 
 of the wretched. Fool that I was," he muttered, 
 noticing the confusion evident in Evelyn's face. " I 
 might have known it ! " 
 
 For an instant she did not reply. A crimson flush 
 mounted to her cheeks, and her eyes were full of 
 indignation. She sprang from her seat and stood 
 with her hand resting on the back of the chair. 
 
 " How dare you speak so, De Vito ? " she said. 
 
 He gave a disagreeable, bitter laugh. 
 
 "Well, then," she continued, in a measured tone, 
 " I am in love with Mr. Clay. I am going to 
 marry him. When you abuse him, you abuse the 
 man whom I have chosen as a husband." 
 
 " Ah ! " he muttered, clinching his fingers. " Curse 
 him." 
 
 They stood looking at one another angrily. 
 24
 
 370 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 At this moment the door was thrown open, and 
 Clay appeared on the threshold. He stared in sur 
 prise, and was about to withdraw, when the voice of 
 De Vito crying " Stop ! " detained him. 
 
 Clay turned, and, advancing toward them, clasped 
 Evelyn's hand, then looked interrogatively from her 
 to De Vito. 
 
 " What is the matter ? " he asked. 
 
 De Vito was gazing at him with rage and hate. 
 " I have just heard the news. I want to congratu 
 late you," he said. 
 
 "What news, sir?" 
 
 " Mr. Clay," said Evelyn, " listen to me a mo 
 ment. I will inform you. This man is Andrew 
 De Vito. You know about him, I think. He has 
 been my friend and faithful co-operator in my work 
 here. He has just made me an offer of marriage. 
 I have told him that I was engaged to you that 
 you were to be my husband." 
 
 As she spoke, she smiled sweetly and trustingly at 
 him. Their eyes met for one moment, as Clay 
 stared in bewildered astonishment. He strode for 
 ward and put his arm about her, and then turned 
 toward De Vito. 
 
 "Well, sir," he cried. " What is it that you want 
 of me ? " 
 
 " I wanted to see the man who has stolen her from 
 me the man who has come between me and her." 
 
 " Come between you and her ? You seem not to 
 know that Miss Pimlico and I were friends before 
 you ever saw her. At any rate, do you conside/
 
 FACE TO FACE, 371 
 
 that your present tone and attitude are consistent 
 with the feeling which you profess to entertain to 
 ward her ? " said Clay. 
 
 " My manners are not good enough for you, eh ? 
 I suppose not," he answered, with a sneer. " Per 
 haps you will teach me. Yours ought to be perfect, 
 since your life has been spent in acquiring them." 
 
 " I should begin by showing you the door." 
 
 A dangerous light gleamed in De Vito's eyes. 
 
 "Be moderate, Ernest, be moderate," murmured 
 Evelyn, laying her hand on Clay's shoulder. " You 
 forget that he is very unhappy." 
 
 "You need not fear, lady. I shall not injure 
 him," said De Vito, with a scornful laugh; "though 
 I could strangle him where he stands, if I saw fit." 
 
 "Yes, you could strangle me, and you would be 
 hung for doing so," answered Clay, after a moment. 
 " But what use would that be to either of us ? My 
 physical strength, of course, is less than yours. Any 
 one would perceive at a glance that you were a 
 more than ordinarily powerful man, I rather below 
 the average than otherwise. Your argument is that 
 of a bully. You see I am not afraid of you," he 
 continued, quietly. " But Miss Pimlico is right. 
 She has reminded me that you are under the influ 
 ence of unusual excitement. I have no wish to be 
 disagreeable or to add to your distress. I know 
 how devoted your services have been to Miss Pim 
 lico, and with what untiring energy you managed 
 her affairs so long as you remained her superin 
 tendent. She feels deeply indebted to you, and so
 
 372 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 do I. We ought to be friends instead of quarrel 
 ling. Why should you bear me malice ? " Clay 
 added, as De Vito stood sullenly gnawing his lip. 
 "If you have loved Miss Pimlico, so have I. I have 
 loved her for years. I happen to have won, that's 
 all. I ask your pardon for my rudeness. Here is 
 my hand, if you will take it. Come, can we not be 
 friends ? " 
 
 " Yes, De Vito," cried Evelyn, eagerly, " be friends 
 for my sake. You don't know how unhappy I should 
 feel at the thought of any ill-will between you and 
 Mr. Clay. I never can be grateful enough to you 
 for all your attachment to me." 
 
 De Vito regarded Clay's outstretched hand, and 
 shook his head. 
 
 " It would be no use, lady," he said, addressing 
 Evelyn. "This gentleman and I could never be 
 friends. You have made your choice between us. 
 He has won, as he has said. Let me go." 
 
 He stooped to pick up his cap, which had fallen 
 to the floor. Then, turning to Clay, whose face be 
 trayed a shadow of irritation, in consequence of this 
 rebuff, he added, in a tone of dignity from which 
 some of the bitterness seemed to have subsided. 
 
 " I have no right to bear you malice. You love 
 her. Well and good. I am in the way here." He 
 made a step or two toward the door, then halted and 
 looked round. " Friends ? " he echoed. " Were 
 we friends the first time we met, four years ago ? I 
 was a striker then and you a mill owner. The same 
 difference exists between us to-day as did then."
 
 FACE TO FACE. 373 
 
 " How so ? " asked Clay. 
 
 " I am a striker still. As I told Miss Pimlico be 
 fore you came in, men whom I control have been 
 working day and night to cause trouble in your mill. 
 There would have been trouble, too, had the com 
 pany not failed. There may be trouble yet, of an 
 other sort, for all you or I can do to prevent it." 
 
 " I sold my entire interest in the Clyme Valley 
 Company more than two years ago," answered Clay. 
 " You did not know that, perhaps ? " he asked of 
 Evelyn, with a smile. 
 
 " No, I did riot know it," she said, softly. 
 
 There was a short silence. De Vito had folded 
 his arms and stood with his chin resting on one 
 hand. 
 
 "Look here, sir," he said. "This is the long and 
 short of this matter. It isn't any question of shak 
 ing hands or of owning stock in this or that mill. 
 We can't be friends, because we could never agree. 
 You're a gentleman and I'm a workingman. You 
 represent power and luxury, I suffering and degra 
 dation. Miss Pimlico knows my views. There's 
 no use in repeating them here to you." 
 
 " Pardon me, there is every reason in repeating 
 them to me. I am intensely interested in the sub 
 ject," said Clay, with earnestness. 
 
 " And why are you interested ? Because she is in 
 terested," said De Vito, almost savagely, and he nod 
 ded toward Evelyn. " Did the relations between the 
 poor and the rich ever concern you before you met 
 her ? Answer me that"
 
 374 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 " Indeed they did, De Vito," exclaimed Evelyn. 
 " You wrong him terribly in saying that. On the 
 contrary, it is I who was spurred on by him." 
 
 Clay put out his arm to check her as she sought 
 to step forward in the heat of her advocacy. 
 
 "You are right," he replied to De Vito, flushing. 
 " I thought of them often enough, but until I met 
 Miss Pimlico I never busied myself in regard to 
 them." 
 
 "You fell in love with her, and in order to please 
 her you set to work and invented a machine. You 
 were lucky. It was a good machine. It has helped 
 her for the moment. But it is her you love. It is 
 her influence that is working in you. You are an 
 aristocrat at heart." 
 
 "No more than /am an aristocrat," said Evelyn. 
 
 "No," De Vito cried, turning toward her with 
 flashing eyes. " That is why I hate him why I can 
 almost hate you. There was hope for you. You had 
 of your own accord, of your own instinct, thrown off 
 the shackles and dared to be free. I had faith in 
 you I believed did I not have it from your own 
 lips ? that you were afraid of nothing. I let you 
 have your own way, trusting that when your eyes 
 were opened to the futility of your schemes, you 
 would have the courage to persevere and take the 
 other step that lay between you and perfect liberty. 
 The time came, as I had known it would, when you 
 realized the uselessness of spending your time and 
 money in the pursuit of phantoms. For a moment 
 you did realize this, and you hesitated. It was the
 
 FACE TO FACE. 375 
 
 hesitation which precedes the act. Your mind was 
 all but made up to ally yourself with me, when this 
 man came between us with his gift and his love let 
 ter." 
 
 " But I did not then know that it was Mr. Clay 
 who sent them," interrupted Evelyn. 
 
 " You did not know, but did you not guess? Can 
 you tell me that you did not feel sure that it was 
 he ? I remember your face at the time," De Vito 
 cried. 
 
 " I hoped it was he," she answered, and she 
 glanced shyly at Clay. " But I did not love him 
 then." 
 
 " And why do you love him now ? Compare us 
 together, him and me. Look at us as we stand 
 here before you. He has already admitted that I'm 
 stronger in body than he, and that I could cripple 
 him with a blow from my fist. In what ways is he 
 my superior? I know what his life has been. Has 
 he energy, has he enthusiasm, has he a warm heart ? 
 His blood runs cold and sluggishly. He is the slave 
 of narrow prejudices and conventionalities which 
 sap true manhood. Love you ? Can the feeble, 
 starvelling sentiment which men of his class enter 
 tain toward the women they would marry be digni 
 fied with the name of love ? Heaven forbid. 1 
 could teach him how to love, in exchange for those 
 manners which he was kind enough to insinuate he 
 would give me lessons in." De Vito paused and 
 looked defiantly from one to the other. " He will 
 make you a slave again, lady, like himself. He will
 
 376 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 make a toy a plaything of you. You will sit at 
 gorgeous feasts, and ride grandly and haughtily in 
 your own carriage, as the rich and powerful have 
 always done. You've made your choice. He has 
 won you by a trick. Ask him. He'll acknowledge 
 it. He will tell you that your schemes for reform 
 are mere air-bubbles, that will not bear the test of 
 common sense ; that if you keep on in the path you 
 are pursuing you'll come to grief ; that you owe 
 your present seeming triumph to what ? to the 
 fact that you are a monopolist yourself for the 
 time being, to the fact that you have prospered at 
 the expense of others. There is only one way, 
 lady as he knows of accomplishing what you 
 would like to see accomplished. I showed it to you 
 and he is responsible that you shrink from it 
 and from me. No, we cannot be friends." 
 
 As he paused anew, Evelyn, who had listened to 
 his invectives with increasing excitement and indig 
 nation, was on the point of making reply, but Clay, 
 foreseeing her intention, exclaimed, in a tone of de 
 cision 
 
 " Leave this man to me." 
 
 Then he faced upon De Vito and, after surveying 
 him a moment, said, collectedly : 
 
 " You have too unflattering an opinion of me 
 already for me to care what you may think of my 
 unwillingness to expose myself to personal injury 
 by resenting your insolence in the manner that 
 many might think necessary." Clay paused a mo 
 ment, as though to gain composure. " Besides," he
 
 FACE TO FACE. 377 
 
 said, " there is a certain amount of truth in what you 
 have stated. Compared with this lady, I am indeed 
 small and puny in every way. I did not require you 
 to inform me of that. I have told her so myself be 
 fore this. I am unworthy of her utterly unworthy 
 of her. , Her soul so far transcends mine in beauty, 
 and vigor, and courage, that I can scarcely believe 
 that she has consented to become my wife. Yes, my 
 blood runs cold and sluggishly. You are right. I 
 understand you. I represent luxury and ease, and 
 an idle existence. I have a plethora of money. I 
 am the supersubtle, cynical, exquisite outcome of 
 advanced civilization. You are right again ; she has 
 emancipated herself from this, she has soared above 
 this. And you say that, but for me, she would soar 
 higher still. What is it that you offer her ? What 
 is it you would have her do ?" 
 
 Clay stopped as though waiting for an answer, 
 but De Vito did not speak. 
 
 " I've heard what you think of me," Clay con 
 tinued. " I'm a gentleman, capitalist, monopolist, 
 idler, oppressor, autocrat what you will. I repre 
 sent the faults and limitations of civilization. Very 
 good. Now, what do you stand for ? You're An 
 drew De Vito, laboring man, radical, striker, mal 
 content, sufferer, socialist. You impersonate the 
 deadly foes of civilization, sworn to destroy it. You 
 stand for misery, laziness, crime, degradation, ig 
 norance, filth. Are we agreed ?" 
 
 " Well ? " replied De Vito, gruffly. 
 
 "In short, I'm capital and you're labor. Here
 
 3/8 PACE TO PACE. 
 
 we are face to face, with this woman between u& 
 ' Hold ! ' she says, ' you are both wrong.' I, for one, 
 am ready to listen." 
 
 De Vito shook his head. " This ground has been 
 gone over already. It is too late. There are too 
 few of you," he answered. 
 
 " Grant that her experiment is a failure a mere 
 bubble that will not bear the test of common sense. 
 It is a beginning. Hers is the only way. Other 
 wise " 
 
 Clay paused, interrupted by the loud, deep mur 
 mur from the town, this time unmistakable in its 
 character, which again made itself heard. 
 
 "D'ye hear that? Do you know what that means ?" 
 cried De Vito, a joyful light sparkling in his eyes. 
 
 "Yes, I know." 
 
 " It is the voice of misery, laziness, crime, degra 
 dation, ignorance, filth. Otherwise ? There is your 
 answer. We understand each other, I see." 
 
 " Scoundrel, do you dare to threaten ? " Clay 
 exclaimed. " Yes, I will, Evelyn," he said, as the 
 young woman sprang forward to restrain him. " We 
 have borne this fellow's insolence long enough. 
 Leave this house," he cried to De Vito. " Leave it, 
 or I will have the servants put you out. Hercules 
 as you are, there are men enough below to do that, 
 even if I cannot." 
 
 Clay turned to the bell-rope and rang, then turned 
 and confronted his adversary, whose face was even 
 more distorted with anger than his own. 
 
 With a cry Evelyn threw herself between them.
 
 FACE TO FACE. 379 
 
 " Stop stop for my sake. You are both wrong. 
 You say you love me." 
 
 The two men were so close to each other that she 
 was all that kept them apart. 
 
 " I will get down on my knees and beg, if it is 
 necessary, but you shall not fight," she cried, clasp 
 ing her hands. 
 
 A servant appeared in answer to the bell, and 
 through the doorway a new and more vociferous 
 swell of tumult was borne in. 
 
 " Ah ! " exclaimed De Vito. " Do you hear that ? " 
 
 " Go," shouted Clay, pointing with his finger, 
 though Evelyn had put her arms about his neck 
 and was holding him back. 
 
 "Yes, I will go," said De Vito. He jammed his 
 cap imperiously on his head and strode from the 
 room. 
 
 Evelyn, loosening her hold upon her lover, sank 
 into a chair, and burst into violent sobbing. 
 
 Clay knelt beside her. "Forgive me, darling," 
 he cried. " I was wrong, but I could not help it. 
 I arn only human, and his insults were so galling." 
 
 " And is what you said true really true ? " he 
 asked, as she raised her head at last, and looked at 
 him through her tears. " Do you really love me ? " 
 
 " Yes, Ernest, I love you. I think I have loved 
 you always." 
 
 " Thank God for that. But I am not worthy of 
 you. What De Vito said was true also. I am nar- 
 row-souled, and small-natured, and petty." 
 
 " Hush ! " she murmured.
 
 380 PACE TO FACE. 
 
 11 It is true, though. It is you, dearest, who are 
 strong, and broad, and brave." 
 
 " But my experiment here, do you too think it only 
 a bubble ? " she asked, looking up into his face. 
 
 Clay caught her to his breast, and gazed down 
 into her eyes. " Leave the practical solution of the 
 question to the rest of us," he said. " Is it not 
 enough that you have set us the example, given us 
 the key-note ? " 
 
 " Hark, Ernest," she said, listening ; " there is that 
 dreadful noise again. Yesterday all the danger in 
 the world would not have terrified me, but to-day I 
 have to think of you. Why, their voices sound 
 nearer,'' she added. " They are coming up the road." 
 
 They rushed to the window, and Clay threw open 
 the sash. 
 
 " Good Heavens ! The villains must have set the 
 mill on fire. See ! " he exclaimed, pointing to the 
 sky. " And you are right, Evelyn, some of them 
 are coming this way. They mean mischief, too. 
 Listen ! What is it they are crying ? " 
 
 A dense black cloud of smoke was soaring over 
 the 'tree-tops in the direction of the town. The 
 bells were ringing fiercely, and a clamor of shouts 
 proceeded from the distance. But close at hand, 
 as it seemed, a separate crew of rioters was advanc 
 ing up the main road with turbulent outcries. 
 
 " Down with monopoly ! To hell with the mill- 
 owner ! " 
 
 " Do you hear that, Evelyn ?" said Clay. " They 
 are on the way to ' Seven Oaks.' "
 
 FACE TO FACE. 381 
 
 " How terrible ! " she whispered. They are after 
 you. Ernest. Listen to them, ' Death to the mill- 
 owner!' Hide You must hide " 
 
 Footsteps were heard on the avenue, and one of 
 Evelyn's foremen appeared, almost breathless with 
 running. 
 
 " The strikers have set fire to the Clyme Valley," 
 he ejaculated "The boss sent me to let you know, 
 ma'am. The Wisabet is in no danger. There's no 
 grudge against you, ma'am." 
 
 " But who are these men coming up the road ? " 
 asked Evelyn, excitedly. 
 
 " More of 'em. They're bound for ' Seven Oaks.' 
 There's a story that Mr. Clay, the chief owner of 
 the Clyme Valley, arrived last night, but I ain't seen 
 him." 
 
 " I am Mr. Clay," said Ernest. " How near are 
 these fellows ? " 
 
 The man stared at him with open mouth. "They 
 won't get here for five minutes, sir. There's most 
 of them drunk. You've plenty of time to give 'em 
 the slip." 
 
 " I shall be able to reach the house, then, before 
 they come in sight," said Clay, turning to Evelyn. 
 
 " Where are you going ? What is it you propose 
 to do ? " she asked. 
 
 " I am going to ' Seven Oaks.' Goodby. You are 
 safe here. Give me one kiss, Evelyn, before I go." 
 
 Clay clasped her in his arms. 
 
 " But, Ernest, you are mad. What can you do 
 against them ? They will tear you to pieces."
 
 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 "Nonsense. Even if they should, I cannot let 
 them burn my house down without an effort to save 
 it. Besides, there is Gregory." 
 
 " I will go too." 
 
 " No, you will stay here."* 
 
 " Ernest Ernest ! " 
 
 Clay had wrenched himself away and was running 
 rapidly across the lawn in the direction of his estate. 
 He vaulted an intervening fence and disappeared. 
 
 Evelyn stood irresolute and dazed with alarm. 
 "He will be killed," she murmured. 
 
 The voice of the messenger who had been a wit 
 ness of the scene aroused her. " If you like, ma'am, 
 I'll go after him," he said. " One against a hundred 
 of them sort is poor odds." 
 
 "Yes yes," Evelyn cried. "You go after him. 
 And tell him tell him that I have gone for help." 
 She beckoned to one of the servants who was stand 
 ing near. " Have my horse saddled at once. Hurry ! 
 Every moment is of importance," she said. 
 
 She watched the men start on their respective 
 errands before she rushed into the house. A mo 
 ment later the band of rioters became visible 
 through the trees, marching along the road. When 
 they reached the entrance to " Highlands," they 
 halted for a moment and cheered enthusiastically, 
 Then with renewed execrations, in which the name 
 of Clay was distinctly audible, they started forward.
 
 XIX. 
 
 THE first sight that greeted Andrew De Vito as, 
 with rage in his heart and an oath on his lips, 
 he came out from " Highlands," was the cloud of 
 smoke, which plainly suggested to him what had 
 taken place. The tumult and the clanging of the 
 bells left not the slightest reason to question that 
 the rioting operatives had become incendiaries. 
 
 For an instant he scanned the sky and listened 
 with eager alertness, then started on the full run 
 toward the town. But, when about half way there, 
 he came upon a band of some fifty men and women 
 of various nationalities advancing toward him with 
 noisy demonstrations. 
 
 De Vito recognized many of them as fellow-work 
 men of former days, and as he halted a number 
 pressed forward to acquaint him with the news of 
 what had already taken place, with the confidence 
 of men not expecting a reproof, for although he had 
 not been present in the town since he quitted Eve 
 lyn's service, his connection with the agents whose 
 recent efforts to arouse discontent had been so as 
 siduous was well known. In a moment he was in 
 formed that the obnoxious mill was in flames, and
 
 384 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 that the victors were on the way to complete their 
 work by the destruction of " Seven Oaks." 
 
 " Tim Sykes says that Clay's there himself. He 
 swears he drove him there last night," said one of 
 the ring-leaders, emphasizing his words by beating 
 on the ground his heavy stick. " But Tim Sykes is 
 drunk." 
 
 The fellow indicated with a backward motion of 
 his thumb the still inebriated driver, who was stum 
 bling along in the van of the mob under the halluci 
 nation that his information would be incomplete 
 until he had guided the party to the spot, which was 
 perfectly familiar to all. 
 
 De Vito's eye brightened at the words. " Clay is 
 there. I've seen him this morning," he said. 
 
 " Do you hear that, boys ? He's there," said the 
 former speaker. 
 
 A loud yell greeted the announcement, followed 
 by the cries " We'll smoke him out ! Hurrah ! On 
 to ' Seven Oaks ! ' " 
 
 " If you don't find him at home " De Vito said. 
 H hesitated. " But you will find him. He's there. 
 I tell you I've seen him myself," he added with a 
 fierce insistance, as though he wished to draw atten 
 tion away from the first part of the sentence. "And 
 I'll tell you another thing. Clay didn't own a share 
 f stock in the mill when it failed. He sold every 
 dollar's worth at a big profit What do you think 
 of that ? " 
 
 Ho spoke *vith his clear, impassioned utterance, 
 that easily inflamed listeners.
 
 FACE TO FACE. 385 
 
 4< Ah ! Did he ! " exclaimed several, and with 
 another more infuriated yell the troop rushed for 
 ward, waving the axes, clubs, and other implements 
 more or less formidable with which they were 
 armed. 
 
 " Down with monopoly ! Death to the mill 
 owner 1 " 
 
 The threats sounded sweetly in De Vito's ear, as 
 he watched the wretched crew stream past him. 
 Those in the rear waved to him to follow, but he 
 shook his head. He leaned back against a wall with 
 his hands in his pockets and his feet thrust out be 
 fore him. He remained in this posture, moodily lost 
 iu thought. As the now distant uproar was re 
 peated from time to time he smiled maliciously. 
 A.t the sound of the cheers he started and listened. 
 Suddenly, he looked up at the sheer wall of rock 
 above his head. He stared at it blankly for some 
 moments, then shuffled his feet and frowned as he 
 relapsed into his former attitude. It was in the 
 path at the top of this abrupt declivity, and almost 
 in a direct line to the rear, that his experience with 
 Evelyn in the wood had occurred. 
 
 A moment later the sound of a galloping horse 
 became audible, and leaning forward, De Vito de 
 scried her who was in his thoughts speeding to 
 ward Mm. Evelyn rode past him at a headlong gait, 
 looking neither to the right nor left He ran for 
 ward into the middle of the road, and stood gazing 
 after her with his hand shading his eyes, until she 
 was out of sight. As he turned, he perceived for
 
 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 the first time a column of smoke rising from the di 
 rection of " Seven Oaks." 
 
 " Ah ! " he ejaculated. 
 
 He watched this eagerly for a moment, then 
 started to retrace his steps with some rapidity. Pre 
 sently he fell into a quick dog-trot, which increased 
 in rapidity as he went on. The terrible din oi 
 drunken voices, every moment more apparent, 
 seemed to accelerate his pace. 
 
 At last, as he reached the lawn, De Vito came 
 within full view of the burning house. A terrible 
 sight met his eyes. The old homestead was com 
 pletely wrapped in flames, and around the roaring 
 conflagration a mass of excited men and women 
 were dancing like savages. A half-dozen men, nearer 
 to the building than the rest, stood gesticulating 
 violently with their faces turned upward, and every 
 few moments, stimulated by the dialogue which this 
 group was apparently carrying on with some one in 
 the house, a roar that was half derisive and half piti 
 ful arose from the crowd. 
 
 De Vito ran through the line of women on the 
 outskirts of the throng, some of whom were crying 
 and wringing their hands under the influence oi 
 maudlin excitement and horror. The blinding smoke 
 shut out the truth from him until he was under the 
 shadow of the walls. Then he perceived the figure 
 of Clay, standing on a small balcony abutting one oi 
 the topmost rooms. The lower portion of the 
 house was completely in flames, there were gleam 
 ing lines of fire peeping out from under the roo
 
 FACE TO FACE. 387 
 
 and vast columns of smoke were pouring out of the 
 windows, veiling at moments the entire structure 
 from view. 
 
 Clay stood leaning over the iron railing of the lit 
 tle balcony, looking down at the crowd. Close be 
 side him his old servant Gregory lay in a heap, ap 
 parently in great pain, but stretching out his hands 
 to his master as though imploring Clay to leave him 
 to his fate. De Vito realized that they had been 
 driven by the heat and smoke to this last place of 
 refuge. Exit by the stairways was no longer pos 
 sible. The balcony, which was fifty feet from the 
 ground, overlooked a wide stone flagging a for 
 bidding surface upon which to precipitate one's self. 
 
 But the foremost spirits of the mob were urging 
 Clay to try that mode of escape as a last resort, mak 
 ing trumpets of their hands to enforce their advice. 
 
 "Jump ! jump ! It's your only chance." 
 
 " Jump, you fool. You can't save the old man. 
 The house will be about your ears in another min 
 ute." 
 
 The flames, shooting out in long tongues from un 
 der the now freely crackling roof, brought dreadful 
 corroboration to these statements. 
 
 " Is there no ladder anywhere about ?" cried De 
 Vito. 
 
 "We don't know of none," answered the man ad 
 dressed, who was one of the ring-leaders. " We've 
 asked him once. Say, is there a ladder handy ? " he 
 bawled up to Clay. 
 
 Clay shook his head.
 
 388 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 " It's no use, he can't hear," said another. "Why 
 don't the fool jump ? He'll only break his legs, may 
 be. There he'll roast to death." 
 
 " See here," said De Vito, excitedly, seizing the 
 first speaker by the shoulder ; " this is a hanging job. 
 You'd better get him out of this." 
 
 The man, who was one of the few who were sober, 
 and who evidently possessed intelligence, looked 
 round with surly anxiety. " It's none of my doing," 
 he said. " I tried my best to keep "em down. But 
 what ye're going to do with chaps like those ? " 
 
 He indicated with a wave of his hand the back 
 ground, over which were scattered, in various stages 
 of debauch, some twenty or thirty of the lawless 
 wretches. Clay's wine cellar, reinforced by the 
 stores which Willoughby Pimlico had sent for the 
 entertainment of his projected party, had been 
 rifled early in the onset, as was evidenced by the 
 array of bottles which those of the drivelling anarch 
 ists still able to stagger effectually were shaking in 
 tipsy glory at the conflagration. 
 
 " Hasn't anyone a rope ? " cried De Vito. " There 
 must be a rope somewhere," he said, glancing about 
 him. 
 
 "We didn't mean him any harm," said another 
 who, having heard De Vito's hint as to the possible 
 consequences of what was taking place, was not too 
 inebriated to disdain an attempt at exculpation. 
 "We were only for scaring him a bit, but the old 
 man shot and that roused the boys. D'yer see ? 
 It wern't no fault of ours."
 
 FACE TO FACE. 3*9 
 
 " What old man ? Shot whom ? " asked De Vita 
 
 " Old Gregory, up there in the balcony. He 
 killed Tim Sykes with a pistol. Then somebody 
 broke his legs with a brickbat, and after that we 
 drove 'em up-stairs, and they ain't come down since, 
 and I guess they won't in a hurry. Why don't the 
 blamed fool jump ? " he continued, by way of an 
 tithesis to the preceding remark. 
 
 "Come down out of that," yelled a still more in 
 toxicated individual. " Gentl'man in the fust row 
 of the balcony ! Hoorah ! Down with monopoly ! " 
 The miscreant waved a champagne bottle in De 
 Vito's face. 
 
 "Get away from me," cried De Vito. "Some 
 thing must be done here," he exclaimed excitedly, 
 appealing to the throng. 
 
 But the leaders were now standing with their 
 hands in their pockets, convinced apparently of the 
 uselessness of further efforts. It was plain that all 
 would be over in a very few moments, unless succor 
 of some sort arrived. They had weaned of urging 
 Clay to jump. Clearly, , he was determined not to 
 desert his old servant. He looked so composed as 
 he stood there bareheaded, gazing down at the mob, 
 that it seemed as though it were impossible he could 
 realize the terrible danger which threatened him. 
 It was, however, doubtless the composure of one 
 who feels that he has nothing to hope from those 
 into whose power he has fallen. From time to time 
 he glanced in the direction of Highlands, as if he felt 
 that his only chance of succor lay in that quarter.
 
 390 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 The house was a fine old mansion, built according 
 to the Colonial type. The lofty balcony where Clay 
 and Gregory had sought shelter, was directly over 
 the front entrance, which was situated midway be 
 tween the wings. The fire, which had been started 
 in the cellar, had enveloped the entire lower stories 
 and then, spreading sideways, had crept up the out 
 side walls, making as it were a ring of flame around 
 the threatened victims. 
 
 De Vito ran up the stone steps with the apparent 
 design of attempting to force a passage through 
 the hall, but the heat and smoke instantly drove him 
 back. As he stood baffled and dismayed, he sud 
 denly perceived two of the rioters come reeling 
 round a corner of the house, dragging some object 
 behind them. It was no other than the operative 
 who had volunteered to go to Clay's assistance, 
 who, severely cut about the head and covered with 
 dirt, was being trotted about as a tame bear by the 
 drunken scapegraces who had appropriated him. 
 A glance revealed to De Vito that he had found 
 a possible means of deliverance for Clay in the 
 rope with which the man was bound and being 
 led. 
 
 " Lend a hand here," he cried, and springing 
 forward, he proceeded without ceremony to undo 
 the fastenings. With a blow of his elbow he 
 doubled up one of the proprietors of the simulated 
 animal, who was disposed to resent this interference 
 with his right of property. 
 
 Fortunately the rope was long and light. Ea-
 
 FACE TO FACE. 391 
 
 gerly scanning the ground, DC Vito picked up a 
 scrap of iron which he tied securely to the end of 
 the coil. 
 
 " Now if you want to save your necks," he ex 
 claimed, "lend a hand." 
 
 So saying, he hurled the projectile toward the 
 balcony. The first attempt failed of success, but at 
 the next Clay, leaning over, caught a bit of the rope, 
 a result which was greeted with the cordial shouts 
 of the spectators. 
 
 " Fasten it to the railing," bellowed De Vito, 
 through his palms. 
 
 A score of men were now in full sympathy with 
 the scheme of rescue and ready with advice. 
 
 " Let yourself down ! " roared several. 
 
 " Never mind the old man. You can't save him" 
 cried others. 
 
 " Hold on," said De Vito, savagely, to them. 
 " This is my affair. He can't lower the old man 
 without help." 
 
 Tossing aside his hat and stripping off his coat, he 
 seized the rope with both hands and, bearing for a 
 moment his full weight upon it to make sure that 
 it was safe, he began to ascend hand over hand, 
 before the others realized his purpose. Swung 
 close to the wall of the house, as was inevitable, he 
 was almost shrouded in the thick black smoke pour 
 ing from the windows. His head was craned as far 
 away from the peril as was possible, but he seemed 
 to climb with exceeding despatch. Breathless, the 
 mob looked on and wondered. Up up he went,
 
 39 2 PACE TO FACE. 
 
 until at last his fingers grasped the iron railing ami 
 he lifted himself inside. 
 
 As Clay described in narrating the affair after 
 ward, De Vito's naturally dark complexion looked 
 swarthy as an Indian's, and his wonderful eyes 
 blazed like meteors under his mane of tangled 
 hair. 
 
 " The old man first," De Vito cried, and he began 
 to haul up the rope. 
 
 Clay turned to Gregory and said, " He is going to 
 save you. Come, let me raise you." 
 
 " Leave me, leave me, Master Ernest. Save your 
 self while there is time." 
 
 Clay made a sign to De Vito, and stooping down, 
 lifted up the helpless servant. De Vito twisted and 
 bound the rope around Gregory's body. Between 
 them they carried the old man to the edge of the 
 balcony and, despite his remonstrances, began slowly 
 to lower him. He reached the ground in safety, a 
 fact announced to the two men above by the cessa 
 tion of their burden and the burst of applause which 
 occurred at the same moment. 
 
 But warning cries followed, which were not neces 
 sary to acquaint those still unrescued that not a mo 
 ment was to be lost. The roar of the flames was 
 horrible and the heat so great that Clay was forced 
 to lean out over the balcony to avoid exhaustion. 
 Meantime De Vito had hauled up the rope again. 
 
 "Quick," De Vito cried. "You next." 
 
 Clay shook his head. 
 
 With an impetuous gesture De Vito forced a noose
 
 FACE TO FACE. 393 
 
 over Clay's shoulders. " You must," he said, im 
 periously. "There is time enough if you obey me. 
 Go, for her sake," he murmured. 
 
 The eyes of the two men met. 
 
 Clay, without a word, climbed over the railing and 
 clasping the rope, was let down inch by inch. A 
 dozen hands received him at the bottom. Just as he 
 alighted a crowd of men, with Evelyn on horseback 
 at their head, came rushing across the lawn. They 
 were the operatives from her mill who, at her solici 
 tation, had come to see fair play. 
 
 But all eyes were strained on De Vito, who was 
 fastening the rope for a second time. Just as he 
 had completed the knot and was on the point of 
 preparing to let himself down, a cry of horror arose 
 from the multitude which was mingled with a mighty 
 crash and roar. For, almost in a breath, the charred 
 roof had fallen in, bearing with it into a glowing 
 gulf of fire that portion of the front of the house to 
 which the balcony was joined. By a desperate leap 
 De Vito was able to save himself from being swept 
 backward into the molten furnace ; but to little 
 purpose, for he descended with terrible force, describ 
 ing a somersault in his course, and struck on the 
 stone pavement below. 
 
 " He is killed," was the agonized cry. 
 
 He was picked up senseless. It was evident that 
 he was seriously injured, but he still breathed. 
 
 Evelyn, to whom the explanation of the whole 
 affair had been given in a few hasty words, knelt 
 down beside his prostrate body, and finding that life
 
 394 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 was not yet extinct, ordered him to be carried at 
 once to " Highlands." Exhausted as he was, Clay 
 had already flung himself on Evelyn's horse and was 
 riding with might and main to the village for a doc 
 tor. It was a sad procession that turned its back 
 on the smouldering ruins, and slunk back to the vil 
 lage. 
 
 Evelyn and Clay watched through the night by 
 De Vito's bedside. The doctor had informed them 
 that his injuries were fatal. De Vito lay breath 
 ing stertorously. He had not recovered conscious 
 ness. 
 
 They sat hand in hand, too full of feeling to talk 
 much. Clay told her the details of the attack 
 on " Seven Oaks ; " how he had remonstrated with 
 the turbulent crowd and endeavored to dissuade 
 them from violence ; how they had insulted him and 
 twitted him with selling his stock, and had finally 
 burst into the house from various directions and be 
 gun to pillage. It appeared that Gregory, in an ex 
 cess of zeal, had then fired a pistol and killed one ot 
 the invaders, only to be felled to the ground the next 
 moment. The poor old man had managed to crawl 
 up-stairs while Clay and the mill hand had guarded 
 the landing ; whereupon the miscreants had set fire 
 to the house, and effectually cut off all egress ex 
 cept at the alternative of leaving Gregory to his 
 fate. The mill hand had escaped from one of the 
 windows. 
 
 " And was De Vito with them from the first ? * 
 asked Evelyn.
 
 FAC TO FACE. 395 
 
 " No. He arrived when the house was in flames. 
 It was he who told them about the stock," answered 
 Clay. 
 
 Shortly after midnight De Vito began to stir in 
 his bed and utter guttural sounds, which became al 
 most articulate. Presently he sat up and opened 
 his eyes. His expression was that of a person labor 
 ing under excitement. At last the words followed, 
 spoken in a hoarse whisper, in short jerky sen 
 tences. 
 
 " Culture ha[! culture ! To be warm and re 
 fined and luxurious, that's the end of it all. That's 
 what they are content with. You must help your 
 selves. D'y you hear ? " He paused, and glared 
 about him fiercely. " On, I tell you. What's the 
 good of waiting? It's no use, lady. There's too 
 few of you. Ah ! it's she Evelyn ! Evelyn ! I 
 have her at last. She's mine, she's mine. What is 
 that you say ? Who was it sent her the patent ? 
 I'll kill him and hang for it. Ah ! she despises me. 
 I'm not good enough for her." 
 
 "Poor fellow," murmured Evelyn. 
 
 "See," De Vito suddenly continued, "they've 
 done it. How it blazes ! It's none of my work. I 
 didn't tell 'em to." He rubbed his hands gleefully. 
 " Ha ! Where's she riding ? She'll be too late. A 
 rope give me that rope. The old man's too heavy. 
 Quick quick ! My hands are callous. I'm big 
 and strong. Now. For her sake for her 
 sake." 
 
 De Vito gasped for breath, stretching out his
 
 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 fingers wildly, then sank back on the pillow. He 
 was dead. 
 
 Evelyn and Clay knelt together at the bedside. 
 " Dearest," she said with her face turned to hor 
 *o*er, " we have our lives before us," 
 
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