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Therewith the discourse died; and the miles that remained were made in unsocial silence. Dolly feared she had given some pain, but doubted it could not be very great; and she was glad to have the explanation over.

Perhaps the pain was more than she knew, although Lawrence certainly was not a desperate wooer; nevertheless, he was disappointed, and he was mortified, and mortification is hard to a man. For the matter of that, it is hard to anybody. It was not till the villa occupied by the Thayers was close before them that he spoke again.

"Do you expect to stay much longer in Italy?"

"I am afraid not," Dolly answered.

"I have reason to think Mr. Copley will not. Indeed, I know as much. I thought you might like to be informed."

Dolly said nothing. Her eyes roved over the beautiful bay, almost with an echo of Eve's "Must I then leave thee, Paradise?" in her heart. The smoke curling up from Vesuvius caught the light; little sails skimming over the sea reflected it; the sweetness of thousands of roses and orange blossoms, and countless other flowers, filled all the air; it was a time and a scene of nature's most abundant and beautiful bounty.

Dolly checked her donkey, and for a few minutes stood looking; then with a brave determination that she would enjoy it all as much as she could while she had it, she went into the house.

CHAPTER XXIX.

WHITHER NOW?

The days that followed were full of pleasure; and Dolly kept to her resolution, not to spoil the present by care about the future. Indeed, the balmy air and the genial light and all the wealth that nature has bestowed upon southern Italy, were a help to such a resolution. The infinite lavish fulness of the present quite laughed at the idea of barrenness or want anywhere in time to come. Dolly knew that was nature's subtle flattery, not to be trusted, and yet she willingly admitted the flattery. Nothing should spoil these days.

One evening she and Christina were sitting again on the bank, wondering at the marvellous sunset panorama.

"How difficult it is, looking at this," said Dolly, "to believe that there is want and misery in the world."

"Why should you believe it?" said Christina. "I don't think there is, except where people have brought it upon themselves."

"People bring it upon other people. But to look at this, one would say it was impossible. And this is how the world was meant to be, I suppose."

"What do you mean? how?" said Christina. "It is rich to hear you talk."

"Oh, look at it, Christina! Look at the colours and the lights and the sparkle everywhere, the perfect wealth of loveliness in form as well as colour; and if you think a minute you will know that He who made it all meant people to be happy, and meant them to be as full of happiness as the earth is full of beauty."

"I don't see 'lights' and 'colours' so much as you do, Dolly; I am not an artist; but if God meant them to be happy, why aren't they happy?"

"Sin," said Dolly.

"What's the use of thinking about it? You and I cannot help it."

"Christina, that is not true. We can help some of it."

"By giving money, you mean? Well, we do, whenever we see occasion; but there is no end of the cheatery."

"Giving money will not take away the world's misery, Christina."

"What will, then? It will do a good deal."

"It will do a good deal, but it does not touch the root of the trouble."

"What does, Dolly?--you dreamer."

"The knowledge of Christ."

"Well, it is the business of clergymen and missionaries to give them that."

"Prove it."

"Why, that's what they are for."

"Do you think there are enough of them to preach the good news to every creature?"

"Well, then, there ought to be more."

"And in the meantime?--Tell me, Christina, to whom was that command given, to preach the gospel to every creature?"

"To the apostles, of course!"

"Twelve men? Or eleven men, rather. They could not. No, it was given to all the disciples; and so, Christina, it was given to you, and to me."

"To preach the gospel!" said Christina.

"That is, just to tell the good news."

"And to whom do you propose we should tell it?"

"The command says, everybody."

"How can you and I do that, Dolly?"

"That is just what I am studying, Christina. I do not quite know. But when I look out on all this wonderful beauty, and see what it means, and think how miserable the world is,--just the very opposite,--I feel that I must do it, somehow or other."

Christina lifted her arms above her head and clapped her hands together. "Mad, mad!" she exclaimed--"you are just gone mad, Dolly. Oh, I wish you'd get married, and forget all your whimsies. The right sort of man would make you forget them. Haven't you found the right sort of man yet?"

"The right sort of man would help me carry them out."

"It must be my Sandie, then; there isn't another match for you in extravagant ideas in all this world. What does Mr. St. Leger think of them?"

"I never asked him. I suppose he would take very much your view."

"And you don't care what view he takes?" said Christina, looking sharply at her.

"Not in the least. Except for his own sake."

The one drawback upon the perfect felicity of this visit was, that the said Sandie did not appear. They could not wait for him; they went on the most charming of excursions, by sea and land, wishing for him; in which wish Dolly heartily shared. It had been one of the pleasures she had promised herself in coming to the Thayers' that she should see Mr.

Shubrick again. He had interested her singularly, and even taken not a little hold of her fancy. So she was honestly disappointed when at last a note came from him, saying that he found it impossible to join the party.

"That means just that he has something on hand that he calls 'duty'--which anybody else would put off or hand over," said Christina, pouting.

"Duty is a very good reason," said Dolly. "Don't you see, you are sure of Mr. Shubrick, that in any case he will not do what he thinks wrong?

I think you ought to be a very happy woman, Christina."

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