Butherememberedagreeablyherwhiteshouldersandthatturnofherneckwhenshelookedatyouwiththosebiggreyeyesofhers。Onlyafive—dayacquaintanceship，buttheyhadcrowdedmuchintoitasonedidinastrangeland。Theepisodehadbeenagreenanddangerousspot，likeoneofthosebrightmossybitsofbogwhenyouweresnipe—
shooting，tosetfootonwhichwastoletyoudownuptotheneck，atleast。Well，therewasnoneofthatdangernow，forherhusbandwasdead—poorchap！Itwouldbenice，inthesedismaldays，whennobodyspentanytimewhateverexceptintheserviceofthecountry，toimprovehispowersofservicebyafewhours’recreationinhersociety。’Whathumbugsweare！’hethought:’Toreadthenewspapersandthespeechesyou’dbelieveeverybodythoughtofnothingbuthowtogetkilledforthesakeofthefuture。Drunkonverbiage！WhatheadsandmouthsweshallallhavewhenwewakeupsomefinemorningwithPeaceshininginatthewindow！Ah！Ifonlywecould;andenjoyourselvesagain！’Andhegazedatthemoon。Shewasdippingalready，reelingawayintothedawn。Watercartsandstreetsweepershadcomeoutintotheglimmer;sparrowstwitteredintheeaves。Thecitywasraisingastrangeunknownfacetothegreylight，shutteredanddesertedasBabylon。JimmyForttappedouthispipe，sighed，andgotintobed。
2
Comingoffdutyatthatverymoment，LeilaLynchdecidedtohaveherhour’swalkbeforeshewenthome。Shewasinchargeoftwowards，andasaruletookthedaywatches;butsomeslightupsethadgivenherthisextraspell。Shewas，therefore，atherworst，orperhapsatherbest，aftereighteenhoursinhospital。Hercheekswerepale，andabouthereyeswerelittlelines，normallyinhiding。Therewasinthisfaceapuzzlingblendofthesoftandhard，fortheeyes，theratherfulllips，andpalecheeks，werenaturallysoft;buttheywerehardenedbytheself—containmentwhichgrowsonwomenwhohavetofacelifeforthemselves，and，consciousofbeauty，intendtokeepit，inspiteofage。Herfigurewascontradictory，also;itssoftmodellingalittletoorigidifiedbystays。Inthisdesertofthedawnsheletherlongblueovercoatflaploose，andswungherhatonafinger，sothatherlight—brown，touched—uphairtookthemorningbreezewithfluffyfreedom。Thoughshecouldnotseeherself，sheappreciatedherappearance，swayingalonglikethat，pastlonelytreesandhouses。ApitytherewasnoonetoseeherinthatroundofRegent’sPark，whichtookherthebestpartofanhour，walkinginmeditation，enjoyingthecolourcomingbackintotheworld，asifespeciallyforher。
TherewascharacterinLeilaLynch，andshehadlivedaninterestinglifefromacertainpointofview。InhergirlhoodshehadflutteredtheheartsofmanybesidesCousinEdwardPierson，andateighteenhadmadeapassionatelovematchwithagood—lookingyoungIndiancivilian，namedFane。Theyhadlovedeachothertoastandstillintwelvemonths。Thenhadbegunfiveyearsofpetulance，boredom，andgrowingcynicism，withincreasingspellsofSimla，andvoyageshomeforherhealthwhichwasreallyharmedbytheheat。Allhadculminated，ofcourse，inanotherpassionforariflemancalledLynch。Divorcehadfollowed，remarriage，andthentheBoerWar，inwhichhehadbeenbadlywounded。Shehadgoneoutandnursedhimbacktohalfhisrobusthealth，and，attwenty—eight，takenuplifewithhimonanup—countryfarminCapeColony。Thismiddleperiodhadlastedtenyears，betweenthelonelyfarmandanoldDutchhouseatHighConstantia。Lynchwasnotabadfellow，but，likemostsoldiersoftheoldArmy，hadbeenquitecarefullydivestedofanaestheticsense。AnditwasLeila’smisfortunetohavemomentswhenaestheticsenseseemednecessary。Shehadstruggledtoovercomethisweakness，andthatotherweaknessofhers——alikingformen’sadmiration;buttherehadcertainlybeenintervalswhenshehadnotproperlysucceeded。HeracquaintancewithJimmyForthadoccurredduringoneoftheseintervals，andwhenhewentbacktoEnglandsoabruptly，shehadbeenfeelingverytenderlytowardshim。Shestillrememberedhimwithacertainpleasure。BeforeLynchdied，these\"intervals\"hadbeeninterruptedbyaspellofreturningwarmthfortheinvalidedmantowhomshehadjoinedherlifeundertheromanticconditionsofdivorce。Hehadfailed，ofcourse，asafarmer，andhisdeathleftherwithnothingbutherownsettledincomeofahundredandfiftypoundsayear。Facedbytheprospectofhavingalmosttomakeherliving，atthirty—eight，shefeltbutmomentarydismay——forshehadrealpluck。Likemanywhohaveplayedwithamateurtheatricals，shefanciedherselfasanactress;but，aftermucheffort，foundthatonlyhervoiceandtheperfectpreservationofherlegswereappreciatedbythediscerningmanagersandpublicofSouthAfrica;andforthreechequeredyearsshemadefaceagainstfortunewiththehelpofthem，underanassumedname。Whatshedid——keepingacertainbloomofrefinement，wasfarbetterthantheachievementsofmanymorerespectableladiesinhershoes。Atleastsheneverbemoanedher\"reducedcircumstances，\"andifherlifewasirregularandhadatleastthreeepisodes，itwasveryhuman。Shebravelytooktheroughwiththesmooth，neverlostthepowerofenjoyingherself，andgrewinsympathywiththehardshipsofothers。