II.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXII, Issue 52, 29 December 1904, Page 23

11.

I have described my old master as a hermit, bachelor, philosopher , ho was beloved by none of his Kind, hut was especially feaiod and hated by the schoolboys. On? student, .however, v horn his colleagues callod ' flf|nor,' rnfore sienaus-mindcd than the others, hut withal of a comely person, haid recently come to the aoh'Ool, and by Ins manly and respectful beiaring and kindly disposition hnd gradually succeeded in thawing Ijhe old man's frigidity artd ingratiating himself intio his good graces. lie a<nd ftoorates read and talkoid together almost oa cry evening, and I have seen them drawing s trail) ge? lines on scraps of paper, but to what purpose I know not.

Con 'also had become a favorite with Winnie ; he was less ' oheeky ' than the otiher boys, who conti<nualIv annoyed her by impertinently calling her the 'Beauty.' For some time I looked upon Con as an intruder, as I faircciad that Winnie had become less attentive to me on his account ; hut eventually I valued him as my best frierid outside Winnie and Kyrle. He sometimes Walked alongside us, ami said pleasant things to Winnie, for, although serioiis-minided, 'he had a» ready wit ?nd ojuaint fcancy, and seemejd. full of anecdotes with whidi he amused jus. We looked wit anxiously for him ayery evening, and were Vlisiapipointed if peirohance we (did not see

him. We walked together until we came itn view of the Pjroless'or's, w(here we left Con, and Winnie ajnd I drove for the rerrKaindor of tihe way.

Thus things want pleasjamt.y cm ftor a year or two, until one evenmg after we ha.d been home and haxl our meals Winnie caller! me wit,h her [or a walk, and we strolled along until we came to the banks of a lake m the northern part of Socrates' faTm. As we rounded some trees we saw Co.i, who was reading, and did not appear to see us at first, though 1 noticed he blushed as Winnie approached in a half artful, half artless manner. We sia^ntcretd along for aome time, and then Con a«d Wiinnie siat dowrn boneatih tihe Hank, with the wavelets kissing tihe sands at their feet. They talked earnestly together for a considerable time, ?,nd seemed excjqedingly >ha(iKpy. T ne s u n was now setting, lea\ing a gol'defn cajnopy behind, the air was charged with electric joy, aflid 1 be.-^ip'orted myself pleasantly amdngs't the rocka bopdeiing the lake. Eventually C'cn looked at me yug&esthely as he took Winnie by the hand, ami I, pretending t,o see a haie, cleared t<he bank at a spring. I struck against aometiiing on the other side witlh great force ; and, horror of horrors, on recovering I saw Socrates, who evidently had been wat«hing us through the long grtass, endeavoring to scramble to his feet, and swearing at me m a terrific manner. He clamibered on to tiho baiVk, and, facing the lovers, who were now standing with their hands still locked togetSier, he commanced a tirade, at first sarcastic, but becoming painfully 6olemtn as he proceeded : ' There ywi are, my fine dislciple ; siuch is yoiur philosophy, is ll ' And this is the result of my teacl in,gs Fool tihat I was to he deceived by a shallow fop like you. But you yhall rjic it, my fine fellow ; and yo,u, my damsel, }on are s'owiing bitter seeds, and you shall re^p an abumdant 'harvest.' AMkl then, leaning on his .stick, he hissed out, ' The best that I can wish you is that you both prove false ; that is the happiest cndilivg, for then tlhere is mo disappointment.' At these last terrible words Wilunie ruj-jlied away crying, ati'd Sot' rates disappeared behind tfne bank, but Con stood transfixed where he was, dumb and dazed, until we iliati gc*ie otut of sight.

For smme days after this Winnie was sad and listless Con M,avS novshere to be seen, and though we g,allqpdd past Uhc Castle, w'huh now seemed more forbiUdin«; than e,ver, there was no necessity for this precaution as Siocriates was not seen out for weeJks afterwards and then he ne\er again deified to even look at u,s. I belio^e it was on the fourth d,ay we again met Com. He assumed air of nonchalance, uirusiual afid unbecoming, •wiiich reminded me forcibly of a boy whistling past a chlurchyard, qndeavoring by this incvi'ns to persMWde himself that he was not aflraid, but the ccnversation was strained a(n(d sadder than usnal.

After a time, hiowever, they recovered their usual buoyant Spirits, and there was now no mistaking their lo'. e tor eatfh other which the warnings of Socrates seemed only to cememt— such is tho perversity vl hHiman natniTe. Joy bad again s-r.ieceoded to the thrjeme, aY id I s>hare)i in the Contagious happiness of the others. C\onfoiund t|he thponrios of Socrates ! I soliloquised ; tjiey are 'not applicable in this cast? : lo.ve is not contrary to pihiloflolilhy, Hut about it ; it is t|he cnly pleasure worth the attendant pain Lo\e is its own rev aril.

It cquW |npt be expected, however, that these pleasaint meajiideriyigs wc*iM last for e\er ; and one e\eni|i2, Con, wit/h an air in which pride nnd grief seemeU to s-|t|rive for predominance, told Wmme that he had \vof\ a scholarship whiich would necessitate hi-s goino- to a distant qollcigo f|)r a term or two, but he wotild slootn return with his degree and bflie the predictions of Socrates. Wifrnie, however, was ilnreasjonable, a,nkl refused to be cotisolel'l. Tho,usr,h she had implicit confidence in Can, and — what is r.o less important — i,n herself, tlie warnings of Socratos now recurred tio her with a*lded fr«rce. There was n-o help for it, however, and at last the day fixdi for Con's departure arnvrkl. The parting I nedd not attempt to describe ; many -of you have e\rerien"ed, and all of you 'have read of su(|\ scomes. Pcfhans tihe two kinds are difficult to reconcile, so I shall leave t[!ie picture fro be filled in according to .your fan^y.