The tempered sunlight fell full upon the delicate hyacinth clusters—­coral, snow-white, and faintest lilac—­exhaling their exquisite odour, and the warm sweet air seemed to enwrap us tenderly.  My spirits, heavy as lead, began to rise—­strangely, irrationally.  Sunlight has always for me a supersensuous beauty, while the colour and perfume of flowers move me as sound vibrations move the musician.  Just then it was to me as if through Nature, from that which is behind Nature, there reached me a pitying, a comforting caress.

And in the same key were Mrs. Mostyn’s words when she next spoke.

“Mr. Lyndsay, I am an old woman and you are very young, and my heart goes out to all young creatures in sorrow, especially to one who has no mother of his own, no, nor father even, to comfort him.  I know what trouble you have had.  Would you be offended if I said how deeply I felt for you?”

“Offended, Mrs. Mostyn!”

“No.  I see you understand me; you will not think me obtrusive when I say that I pray this great trial may be for your lasting good; may lead you to seek and to find salvation.  The truth is brought home to us in many different ways, by many different instruments.  My own eyes were opened by very extraordinary means.”

She was silent for a few instants, and then went on—­

“When I was young, Mr. Lyndsay, I lived for the world only.  I went to church, of course, like other people, and said my prayers and called myself a Christian, but I did not know what the word meant.  My sister Henrietta would often talk seriously to me, but it had no effect, and she was quite grieved over my hardened state; but my dear mother, a true saint, used to tell her to have no fear, that some day I should be sharply awakened to my soul’s danger.  But it was not till years after she was in heaven that her words came true.”

I looked at her and waited.

“We were still living at Weald Manor with my brother Marmaduke, and we had young people staying with us.  They were all going—­all but myself—­to a ball at Carchester.  I stayed at home because I had a slight cold, which made me feel tired and feverish, and disinclined to be dancing till early next morning.  I went to bed early, and when I had sent away my maid I sat beside the fire for a little, thinking.  You know the long gallery?”

“Yes.”

“My room was there; so I was quite alone, for the servants slept, just as they do now, in the opposite end of the house.  But I had my dog with me, such a dear little thing, a black-and-tan terrier.  He was lying asleep on the rug beside me.  Well, all at once he got up and put his head on one side as if he heard something, and he began barking.  I only said ‘Nonsense, Totty, lie down,’ and paid no more attention to him, till some moments afterwards he made a strange kind of noise as if he were trying to bark and was choked in some way.  This made me look at him, and then I observed that he was trembling from head to foot, and staring in the strangest way at something behind me.  I will honestly tell you he made me feel so uncomfortable I was afraid to look round; and still it was almost as bad to sit there and not look round, so at last I summoned up courage and turned my head.  Then I saw it.”