tain portions of england yet remain undiscovered by americans and uncivilised by railways.

colester village above king's-meadows, in a county which need not be named, is one of these

unknown spots. no doubt before long the bicycle and the motor-car will enliven its

somnolent neighbourhood, but at present it is free from the summer jaunts of tourists. with

this neglect the colester folk profess themselves satisfied. they have no wish to come into

contact with the busy world. this prejudice against intrusion dates from mediæval times,

when strangers rarely came to the village with peaceful intentions. even now a chance comer

is looked upon with suspicion.

mr richard pratt said something of this sort to the vicar during a morning ramble, some six

weeks after he had taken up his residence in the nun's house. with the parson and the

gentry of the parish mr pratt agreed very well, his respectability having been vouched for

by mrs gabriel, the lady of the manor. but the villagers still held aloof, although the

newcomer did his best to overcome their churlish doubts. they did not credit his story

that he had settled in colester to pass his remaining years in peace, and even the money he

scattered so freely could not buy their loyalty. pratt had never met with such people

before. in most countries an open purse invites an open heart; but the colester villagers

were above mammon worship. such an experience was refreshing to pratt, and introduced him

to a new type of humanity.

"the first place i ever struck in which the dollar is not all-powerful," he said, with his

yankee twang and pleasant laugh.

"we are not sufficiently educated in that respect," replied mr tempest in his simple way.

"for my part, i am not ill pleased that my parishioners should refuse to worship the golden

calf."

"there is no calf about me, i guess," said pratt, grimly, "and very little gold. i don't

say i haven't a decent income, but as to being a millionaire—no, sir."

"in the kingdom of the blind the one-eyed is king, mr pratt. you are a millionaire in this

poor place. but i fear you find it dull."

"why, no, vicar. i'm glad to be out of the buzz. the world's made up of nerves and

machinery nowadays. at fifty-two years of age i can't stand the racket. this sleepy

hollow's good enough for me to stay in until i peg out. guess i'll buy an allotment in that

graveyard of yours."

"hollow!" said the vicar, smiling, "and our earthly dwelling-place is set upon a hill! mr

pratt, i suspect you have irish blood in your veins."

pratt laughed, and being to a large extent devoid of humour, explained earnestly that he

had used the word figuratively. "washington irving, rip van winkle," he explained, nodding,

whereat the vicar smiled again.

the situation of colester was striking and strange. a green-clothed promontory extended

abruptly from the high table-land into king's-meadow. to right and left chalky cliffs of

considerable height flared away for miles, forming a buttress to the moors above and walls

to the plains below. in pre-historic ages the ocean waves had beaten against these cliffs,

but, gradually receding, had left dry the miles upon miles of fertile lands now called

king's-meadows. an appanage of the crown, they had been called so from the days of william

the conqueror.

from where they stood, the vicar and his friend had a bird's-eye view of this desirable

land, unrolled like a map under the bright june sky. league after league of corn-fields

stretched away to the clear, shining line of ocean; and amidst the ripening grain appeared

red-roofed villages, clumps of trees, the straight lines of dusty white roads and the

winding, glittering serpent of the river. and as a background to this smiling plenty—if so

irish an expression be permitted—was the blue expanse of the channel dotted with the white

sails of merchantmen.

a small wood of ancient oaks shut off the purple-clad moor from the spur upon which

colester was built. on the verge of this, yet encircled by trees, stood the village church

—a crusading chapel, dedicated[4] to st gabriel the messenger. thence the ground fell away

gradually, and spread out into a broad neck of land, down the centre of which ran a road

leading from chapel to village. on either side of this, amidst oaks and elms and sycamores,

were the houses of the gentry. from where they ended the promontory rose into two rounded

hills, with a slight depression between. on the one to the left the village was built, its

houses cramped within a tumble-down wall, dating from the days when it was needed as a

defence. the other hill was surmounted by a well-preserved castle, the keep of which with

its flag could be seen above the oak woods. this was inhabited by mrs gabriel, the sole

representative of the feudal lords of colester. yet she was only the childless widow of the

last baron, and had none of the fierce gabriel blood in her veins. the once powerful and

prolific family was extinct.

from castle and village steps led down into the depression between the two hills. down this

continued the chapel road, sloping gradually with many windings to the plains below. the

whole place had the look of some rhenish robber-hold. and if tradition was to be trusted,

the gabriel lords had dwelt like eagles in their eyrie, swooping down at intervals to harry

and plunder, burn and slay the peaceful folk of the plains. a turbulent and aggressive race

the gabriels. it had defied king and priest, and parliament and people. time alone had ever

conquered it.

"a survival of the middle ages," said mr tempest, pointing out these things to his

companion. "it was needful that the gabriel barons should build strong defences. they

were fierce and blood-thirsty, defiant of law and order. for many centuries they were a

scourge to the inhabitants of the plains. these often complained to the king, and several

times the place was besieged, but without result. the gabriels kept their hold of it. the

only thing they ever lost was their title. a bill of attainder was passed against them in

the time of the second george. after that they became less lions than foxes."

"just so," said mr pratt. "this place couldn't do much against artillery, i guess. and even

in the bow and arrow days, a strong force coming over the moor and down the spur—"

"that was often tried," interrupted tempest, quickly, "but the attempt always failed. in

the days of henry ii. aylmer gabriel beat back an overwhelming force, and then erected the

chapel as a thanksgiving. the archangel gabriel was the patron saint of the family, and the

chapel is dedicated to him."

"he couldn't keep the family from dying out, however," said pratt, as they moved towards

the village.

"no. with the late john gabriel the family became extinct. but i daresay mrs gabriel will

arrange that her adopted son succeeds. he can take the name and the coat of arms. i should

be very pleased to see that," added the vicar, half to himself. "leo is a good fellow, and

would make an excellent landlord."

the eyes of the american flashed when the name was mentioned, but he made only a careless

comment. "leo haverleigh," he said, after a pause, "he's a right smart young chap, sure.

who is he?"

"the son of mrs gabriel's brother. she was a miss haverleigh, you know. i believe her

brother was somewhat dissipated, and died abroad. the boy arrived here when he was three

years of age, and mrs gabriel adopted him. he will be her heir."

"is there anyone to object?" asked pratt, eagerly.

the vicar shook his head. "the gabriels are absolutely extinct. failing leo, the estates

would lapse to the crown. in the old days they would have been seized by the king in any

case, as the sovereigns were always anxious to hold this point of vantage which dominated

their lands below. but we live in such law-abiding times, that mrs gabriel, although not of

the blood of the family, can leave the estates to whomsoever she will. i understand that

she has quite decided leo shall inherit and take the name; also the coat of arms."

"she doesn't strike me as over-fond of the boy," said pratt, as they climbed the crooked

street; "rather a hard woman i should say."

"mrs gabriel has a particularly high moral standard," replied the vicar, evasively, "and

she wishes all to attain to it. leo—" he hesitated.

"he's no worse than a boy ought to be," said the american, cheerily. "your young saint

makes an old sinner. that's so, vicar!"

mr tempest laughed outright. "i fear there is small chance of leo becoming a saint either

young or old," he said, "though he is a good lad in many ways. wild, i admit, but his

heart is in the right place."

pratt smiled to himself. he knew that leo was in love with sybil, the daughter of this

prosy old archæologist. simple as mr tempest was, he could not be blind to the possibility

of his daughter making such an excellent match. "oh, yes," laughed pratt, knowingly, "i'm

sure his heart is in the right place."

but by this time the vicar was on his hobby horse, and did not gauge the significance of

the speech. "here," he said, waving his hand towards the four sides of the square in which

they stood, "the romans built a camp. it crowned this hill, and was garrisoned by the tenth

legion to overawe the turbulent tribes swarming on the plains below. in fact, this town is

built within the camp, as the name shows."

"how does it show that?" asked pratt, more to keep the vicar talking than because he cared.

"the name, man, the name. it is properly colncester, but by usage has been shortened to

colester. coln comes from the latin colonia, a colony, and caster, or cester, is derived

from castra, a camp. colncester therefore means the camp colony, which proves that the

original builders of this town erected their dwellings within the circumvallation of the

original castra of claudian. if you will come with me, mr pratt, i will show you the

remains of this great work."

"i have seen it several times before," replied pratt, rather bored by this archæological

disquisition. "i know every inch of this place. it doesn't take an american centuries to

get round, and six weeks of walking have fixed me up in your local geography. but

there's the chapel, vicar. we might walk up there. i'd like to hear a few remarks on the

subject of the chapel. interesting. oh, i guess so!"

"certainly! certainly!" said tempest, absently, "let us walk, walk," and he strolled away

with his hands in his tail-coat pockets, looking something like an elderly jackdaw. indeed

the churchman, with his lean, oval face, his large spectacles and the fluttering black

garments on his thin figure, very much resembled a bird. he was scholarly, well-bred and

gentle, but wholly unworldly. since his wife had died seven years before, sybil had taken

charge of the house. harold raston, the energetic curate, looked after the parish. but for

these two, both clerical and domestic affairs would have been neglected, so immersed was mr

tempest in his dry-as-dust explorations. many people said openly that the vicar was past

his work and should be pensioned off. mrs gabriel, a capable and managing woman, had once

hinted as much to him. but the usually placid parson had flown into such a rage, that she

had hastily withdrawn herself and her suggestion. "there is nothing more terrible than the

rebellion of a sheep." mrs gabriel recalled this remark of balzac's when tempest, proving

himself worthy of his name, swept her in wrath from his study.

pratt was quite another specimen of humanity. a neat, dapper, suave little man, undersized

yet perfectly proportioned. he had black hair, black eyes, and a clean-shaven face, which

constantly wore an expression of imperturbable good-humour. his dress was too neat for

the country. a blue serge suit, white spats on brown boots, a panama hat, gloves and—what

he was never without—a smoothly-rolled umbrella. spick-and-span, he might have stepped out

of a glass case, and this was his invariable appearance. no one ever saw pratt unshaven or

untidy. he had been everywhere, had seen everything, and was a most engaging companion,

never out of temper and never bored. but for all his smiling ways the villagers held aloof

from him. wishing to break down their barrier of prejudice, the sharp little american had

attached himself to the vicar during the good man's usual morning walk. he thought that

such a sight might dispose the villagers to relent.

"i shall not vary my usual walk," remarked mr tempest, positively. "we will stroll through

the village, return to the chapel, and then, mr pratt, i hope you will lunch with me."

"delighted, if it will not put miss sybil out."

"no, no. my wife is always prepared for chance visitors," answered the vicar, quite

oblivious to the fact that the late mrs tempest was resting in the churchyard. "ha, this is

mrs jeal. how do you do, mrs jeal?"

mrs jeal was in excellent health, and said so with a curtsey. a dumpy, rosy-faced woman was

mrs jeal, with a pair of extremely wicked black eyes which snapped fire when she was

angered. she had a temper, but rarely displayed it, for it suited her better to gain her

ends by craft rather than force. fifteen years ago she had appeared from nowhere, to

settle as a midwife in colester. contrary to their usual fashion, the villagers had taken

her to their bosoms. this was owing to the clever way mrs jeal had of managing them, and to

her knowledge of herbs. she had cured many sick people whom the doctor had given up, and

consequently was not looked upon with favour by dr james, who had succeeded to the family

practice. but even he could not be angry at rosy, laughing mrs jeal. "though i don't like

her," confessed dr james; "the devil looks out of her eyes. dangerous woman, very

dangerous."

pratt had no chance of proving this remark of the doctor's to be true, for mrs jeal never

looked at him. she kept her wicked eyes on the kindly vicar and smiled constantly,

punctuating such smiles with an occasional curtsey. "pearl is not with you?" said mr

tempest.

"no, bless her poor heart!" cried mrs jeal, "she is up at the chapel. her favourite place

is the chapel, as your reverence knows."

"she might have a worse place to haunt, mrs jeal. poor soul—poor, mad, innocent child!"

"do you call eighteen years of age childish, mr tempest?" asked the woman.

"no, no! i speak of her mind, her poor, weak mind. she is still a child. i beg of you to

look after her, mrs jeal. we must make her path as pleasant as we may."

"then i beg your reverence will tell that barker to leave her alone."

"barker, barker? ah, yes, the sexton—of course. worthy man."

mrs jeal sniffed. "he won't let her stay in the chapel," she said.

"tut! tut! this must be seen to. poor pearl is god's child, mrs jeal, so she has a right to

rest in his house. yes, yes, i'll see to it. good-day, mrs jeal."

the woman dropped a curtsey, and for the first time shot a glance at pratt, who was smiling

blandly. a nervous expression crossed her face as she caught his eye. the next moment she

drew herself up and passed on, crossing herself. pratt looked after her, still smiling,

then hurried to rejoin the vicar, who began to explain in his usual wandering way.

"a good woman, mrs jeal, a good woman," he said. "for some years she has had charge of

pearl darry, whom she rescued from her cruel father."

"is that the insane girl?" said pratt, idly.

"do not talk of one so afflicted in that way, mr pratt. pearl may not be quite right in her

head, but she is sane enough to conduct herself properly. if the fact that she is not all

herself reached portfront"—the principal town of the county—"it is possible that the

authorities might wish to shut her up, and that would be the death of pearl. no, no!" said

the good vicar, "let her have a fair share of god's beautiful earth, and live to a happy

old age. in this quiet place we can afford one natural."

"like the village idiot we read about in scotch tales," said pratt.[12]

"just so, mr pratt. in waverley there is such a one. pearl darry is quite harmless, and

really has a very beautiful nature. mrs jeal is much to be commended for her charity."

"she looks a charitable woman," said the american, but whether he meant this ironically or

not it is hard to say.

the women of colester were mostly lace-workers, and toiled at this fairylike craft while

their husbands worked in the fields below. during three seasons the mountain men, as they

might be called, ploughed the meadow-land, sowed the corn and helped to reap and harvest

it. in the winter they returned to live on their earnings and take a holiday. but the women

worked all the year through, and colester lace was famous. as the vicar and pratt walked

down the street, at the door of every house sat a woman with her pillow and pins

dexterously making the filmy fabric which was destined to adorn the dress of many a london

beauty. they were mostly serious-looking, and some even grim. but all had a smile for the

vicar, although they pursed up their lips when they saw the good-natured face of pratt.

most unaccountable this dislike they had for the american. he was rather annoyed by his

pronounced unpopularity.

"i must really do something to make them like me," he said, much vexed.

"tut, tut!" replied the vicar, "liking will come in good time, mr pratt. it takes some

years for them to fancy a stranger. i was an object of distrust to[13] them for quite

three. now they are devoted to me."

"and have you been here long?"

"about forty years," said tempest. "i have buried many and christened most. we have no

methodists in colester, mr pratt. everyone comes to church and worships according to the

rites of the anglican communion, as is fit and proper."

"i suppose you are a prosperous community on the whole?"

"so, so! nothing to complain of. the lace made here by those clever fingers sells well in

london and even abroad. then the men earn a fair wage in king's-meadows. mrs gabriel looks

after the few poor we have amongst us. on the whole, we have much to be thankful for, mr

pratt."

thus talking the good vicar led his companion round by the mouldering walls, where they

could look down on to the plains. after a glance they re-entered the town and walked

through the cobbled-stoned streets, between the quaint, high-roofed houses. everywhere the

vicar was greeted and pratt frowned upon. he was quite glad when they descended from the

village through the old gate, and after walking along the neck, which was the fashionable

part of colester, began to climb up towards the chapel.

"a most delightful spot," said pratt, politely; "but i guess the folk don't cotton to me. i

must make them freeze on somehow."