have been forgotten overnight. Last night! He had never thought he would
feel like this when she came--so bewildered, and confused; drawn towards
her, but by something held back. And he felt impatient, angry with
himself, almost with her. Why could he not be just simply happy, as this
morning was happy? He got his field-glasses and searched the meadow that
led down to the river. Yes, there were several rabbits out. With the
white marguerites and the dew cobwebs, it was all moon-flowery and
white; and the rabbits being there made it perfect. He wanted one badly
to model from, and for a moment was tempted to get his rook rifle--but
what was the good of a dead rabbit--besides, they looked so happy! He
put the glasses down and went towards his greenhouse to get a drawing
block, thinking to sit on the wall and make a sort of Midsummer Night's
Dream sketch of flowers and rabbits. Someone was there, bending down
and doing something to his creatures. Who had the cheek? Why, it was
Sylvia--in her dressing-gown! He grew hot, then cold, with anger. He
could not bear anyone in that holy place! It was hateful to have his
things even looked at; and she--she seemed to be fingering them. He
pulled the door open with a jerk, and said: "What are you doing?" He was
indeed so stirred by righteous wrath that he hardly noticed the gasp she
gave, and the collapse of her figure against the wall. She ran past him,
and vanished without a word. He went up to his creatures and saw
that she had placed on the head of each one of them a little sprig of
jessamine flower. Why! It was idiotic! He could see nothing at first
but the ludicrousness of flowers on the heads of his beasts! Then the
desperation of this attempt to imagine something graceful, something
that would give him pleasure touched him; for he saw now that this was
a birthday decoration. From that it was only a second before he was
horrified with himself. Poor little Sylvia! What a brute he was! She had
plucked all that jessamine, hung out of her window and risked falling
to get hold of it; and she had woken up early and come down in her