houseinHampstead，workingforthemostpart，sincehewasabsolutelydeterminedtojustifyhimselfandgetonintheprofessionwhichhehadchosen。InthesummerheandArthurwentwalkingtours，andonce，withsomeotheryoungmen，visitedtheContinenttostudyvariousbattlefields，andimprovetheirminds。AtleastGodfreystudiedthebattlefields，whileArthurgavemostofhisattentiontotheyoungerpartofthefemalepopulationofFranceandItaly。AtEasteragaintheywenttoScotland，whereArthurhadsomepropertysettledonhim——
forhewasayoungmanwellsuppliedwiththisworld’sgoods——andfishedforsalmonandtrout。Altogether，forGodfrey，itwasaprofitableandhappytwoyears。AtSandhurstandelsewhereeveryonethoughtwellofhim，whileoldGeneralCubittebecamehisdevotedfriendandcouldnotsayenoughinhispraise。
“Damnit!Sir，“heexclaimedonce，“doyoumeantotellmethatyouneveroverdrawyourallowance？Itisnotnatural；almostwrongindeed。
Iwonderwhatyoursecretvicesare？Well，solongasyoukeepthemsecret，yououghttobeabigmanonedayandendupinaverydifferentpositiontoGeorgeCubitte——calledaGeneral——whoneversawashotfiredinhislife。There’llbelotsofthemflyingaboutbeforeyou’reold，myboy，anddoubtlessyou’llgetyourshareofgunpowder——
ornitro-glycerine——ifyougoonasyouhavebegun。IfIweren’tafraidofmakingyoucocky，I’dtellyouwhattheysayaboutyoudownatthatSandhurstshop，whereIhaveanoldpalortwo。
Shortlyafterthiscamethefinalexamination，throughwhich，ashasbeensaid，Godfreysailedouttop，aneasyfirstindeed——apositiontowhichhisthoroughknowledgeofFrenchandgeneralaptitudeforforeignlanguages，togetherwithhispowersofworkandapplication，reallyentitledhim。Allhisfriendsweredelighted，especiallyArthur，wholookedonhimasakindof/lususnatur？/，andfromhishumblepositionatthebottomofthetree，gazedadmiringlyatGodfreypercheduponitstopmostbough。TheoldPasteur，too，withwhomGodfreykeptupanalmostweeklycorrespondence，continuinghisastronomicalstudiesbyletter，wasenrapturedandcoveredhimwithcompliments，asdidhisinstructorsattheCollege。
Allofthiswouldhavebeenenoughtoturntheheadsofmanyyoungmen，butasithappenedGodfreywasbynaturemodest，withenoughintelligencetoappreciatetheabysmaldepthsofhisownignorancebythelightofthelittlelampofknowledgewithwhichhehadfurnishedhimselfonhisjourneyintotheirblackness。Thisintensemodestyalwaysremainedaleadingcharacteristicofhis，whichendearedhimtomany，althoughitwasnotonethathelpedhimforwardinlife。Itisthebold，self-confidentman，whoknowshowtomakethemostofhissmallgifts，whotravelsfastestandfarthestinthisworldofours。
When，however，actuallyhereceivedquiteanaffectionateandpleasedletterfromhisfather，hedid，forawhile，feelalittleproud。Theletterenclosedacuttingfromthelocalpaperrecordinghissuccess，anddiggingupforthebenefitofitsreadersanaccountofhisadventureontheAlps。Also，itmentionedprominentlythathewasthesonoftheRev。Mr。Knight，theincumbentofMonk’sAbbey，andhadreceivedhiseducationinthatgentleman’sestablishment；soprominently，indeed，thateventheunsuspiciousGodfreycouldnothelpwonderingifhisfatherhadeverseenthatparagraphbeforeitappearedinprint。Theletterendedwiththispassage：
“Wehavenotmetforalongwhile，owingtocausestowhichIwillnotallude，andIsupposethatshortlyyouwillbegoingtoIndia。
IfyoucaretocomehereIshouldliketoseeyoubeforeyouleaveEngland。Thisisnatural，asafterallyouaremyonlychildandI
amgrowingold。Onceyouhavedepartedtothatfarcountrywhoknowswhetherweshallevermeetagaininthisworld？“
Godfrey，agenerous-heartedandforgivingperson，wasmuchtouchedwhenhereadthesewords，andwroteatoncetosaythatifitwereconvenient，hewouldcomedowntoMonk’sAbbeyatthebeginningofthefollowingweekandspendsomeofhisleavethere。So，induecourse，hewent。
Asithappened，ataboutthesametimeDestinyhadarrangedthatanothercharacterinthishistorywasreturningtothatquietEssexvillage，namelyIsobelBlake。
IsobelwenttoMexicowithheruncleandtherehadamostinterestingtime。ShestudiedAztechistorywithherusualthoroughness；sowell，indeed，thatshebecamearecognisedauthorityonthesubject。SheclimbedPopocatepetl，themysterious“SleepingWoman“thatoverhandstheancienttown，andlookedintoitscrater。Greatlydaring，sheevenvisitedYucatanandsawsomeofthepre-Aztecremains。Forthisadventureshepaidwithanattackoffeverwhichneverquitelefthersystem。Indeed，thatfeverhadapeculiareffectuponher，whichmayhavebeenphysicalorsomethingelse。Isobel’sfault，orrathercharacteristic，asthereadermayhavegathered，wasthatshebuilttoomuchuponthematerialsideofthings。Whatshesaw，whatsheknew，whatherbodytoldher，whattherecordedexperienceoftheworldtaught——thesewerereal；alltherest，toher，wasphantasyorimagination。Shekeptherfeetuponthesolidgroundoffact，andleftallelsetodreamers；or，asshewouldhaveexpressedit，tothevictimsofsuperstitioninheritedoracquired。
Well，somethinghappenedtoheratthecrisisofthatfever，whichwassharp，andtookheronherreturnfromYucatan，atahorribleportcalledFrontera，wheretherewerepalmtreesand/zopilotes/——akindofvileAmericanvulture——whichsatsilentlyontheverandahoutsideherdoorinthedreadfullittlehotelbuiltuponpilesinthemudofthegreatriver，andmosquitoesbythetenmillion，andsleepy-eyed，crushed-lookingIndians，andhorriblehalfbreeds，andeverythingelsewhichsuggestsanearthlyhell，excepttheglorioussunshine。
Ofasudden，whenshewasatherworst，allthemateriality——iftherebesuchaword——whichcircumstancesandinnatetendencyhadwovenaboutherasagarment，seemedtomeltaway，andshebecameawareofsomethingvastinwhichshefloatedlikeaninsectintheatmosphere——
somesurroundingseawhichshecouldneithermeasurenortravel。
SheknewthatshewasnotmerelyIsobelBlake，butapartoftheuniverseinitslargestsense，andthattheuniverseexpresseditselfinminiaturewithinhersoul。Sheknewthateversinceithadbeen，shewas，andthatwhileitexistedshewouldendure。Thisimaginationorinspiration，whicheveritmayhavebeen，wentnofurtherthanthat，andafterwardsshesetitdowntodelirium，ortotheexaltationthatoftenaccompaniesfever。Still，itleftamarkuponher，openinganewdoorinherheart，sotospeak。
Fortherest，thelifeinMexicoCitywasgay，especiallyinthepositionwhichshefilledasthenieceoftheBritishMinister，whowasoftencalledupontoactashostess，asherauntwasdelicateandhercousinwasyoungerthanherselfandnotaptatthebusiness。TherewereDiazandtheforeignDiplomaticMinisters；alsotheleadingMexicanstobeentertained，forwhichpurposeshelearnedSpanish。
ThentherewereEnglishtravellers，distinguished，someofthem，andGermannobles，generallyintheDiplomaticServiceoftheircountry，whombysomepeculiarfeminineinstinctofherown，shesuspectedofbeingspiesandgenerallypersonsofevilintentions。AlsotherewastheBritishcolony，amongwhomweresomeverynicepeoplethatshemadeherfriends，thestrange，adventurouspioneersofourEmpirewhoaretobeboundineverypartoftheworld，andinasenseitscream。
Lastly，thereweretheAmericantouristsandbusinessmen，manyofwhomshethoughtamusing。Oneofthese，amillionairewhohadtodowitha“beeftrust，“thoughwhatthatmightbesheneverquiteunderstood，proposedtoher。Hewasaniceyoungfellowenough，ofarealoldAmericanfamilywhoseancestorsweresupposedtohavecomeoverinthe/Mayflower/，andpossessedofaremarkableveinoforiginalhumour；alsohewasmuchinlove。ButIsobelwouldhavenoneofit，andsaidsoinsuchplain，unmistakablelanguagethatthemillionairestraightwayleftMexicoCityinhisprivaterailwaycar，disconsolatelytopursuehisbeefspeculationsinotherlands。
OnthedaythathedepartedIsobelreceivedanotefromhimwhichran：
“Ihavelostyou，andsinceIamtoosore-heartedtostayinthisantiquecountryandconcludethebusinessthatbroughtmehere，I
reckonthatIhavealsolost250，000dollars。Thatsum，however，I
wouldgladlyhavegivenforthehonourandjoyofyourfriendship，andasmuchmoreadded。SoIthinkitwellspent，especiallyasitneverfiguredinmyaccounts。Good-bye。Godblessyouandwhoeveritmaybewithwhomyouareinlove，forthatthereissomeoneI
amquitesure，alsothathemustbeagoodfellow。“
Fromwhichitwillbeseenthatthismillionairewasaveryniceyoungman。So，atleast，thoughtIsobel，thoughhedidwriteaboutherbeinginlovewithsomeone，whichwastherankestnonsense。Inlove，indeed!
Why，shehadnevermetamanforwhomshecouldpossiblyentertainanyfeelingsofthatsort，no，notevenifhehadbeenabletomakeaqueenofher，ortoendowherwithallthecashresourcesofallthebeeftrustsintheworld。Meninthataspectwererepellentandhatefultoher；thepossibilityofsuchaunionwithanyoneofthemwaspoisonous，evenunnaturaltoher，soulandbody。
Once，itistrue，therehadbeenacertainboy——buthehadpassedoutofherlife——oh!yearsago，and，whatismore，hadaffrontedherbyrefusingtoansweraletterwhichshehadwrittentohim，just，assheimagined——thoughofcoursethiswasonlyaguess——becauseofhisridiculousandunwarrantablejealousyandtheatrociouspridethatwashisfailing。AlsoshehadreadinthepapersofaverybraveactwhichhehaddoneontheAlps，onewhichfilledherwithapridethatwasnotatrocious，butquitenaturalwhereanoldplaymatewasconcerned，andhadnoticedthatitwasayoungladywhomhehadrescued。That，ofcourse，explainedeverything，andifherfirstsuppositionshouldbeincorrect，wouldquiteaccountforherhavingreceivednoanswertoherletter。
Itwastrue，however，thatshehadheardnomoreofthisyounglady，thoughscrapsofgossipconcerningGodfreydidoccasionallyreachher。
Forinstance，sheknewthathehadquarrelledwithhisfatherbecausehewouldnotentertheChurchandwasgoingintothearmy，acareerwhichshemuchpreferred，especiallyasshedidnotbelieveintheChurchandcouldnotimaginewhatGodfreywouldlooklikeinablackcoatandawhitetie。
Bytheway，shewonderedwhathedidlooklikenow。Shehadanoldfadedphotographofhimasalankyyouth，butafterallthistimehecouldnotintheleastresemblethat。Well，probablyhehadgrownasplainanduninteresting——asshewasherself。ItwaswonderfulthattheAmericanyoungmancouldhaveseenanythinginher，butthen，nodoubthewentoninthesamekindofwaywithhalfthegirlshemet。
ThusreflectedIsobel，andalittlewhilelaterpaidalastvisittothemuseum，whichinterestedhermorethananyplaceinMexico，perhapsbecauseitsexhibitsstrengthenedhertheoriesastocomparativereligion，andshookoffherfeetthedustofwhatherAmericanadmirerhadcalledthat“antiqueland。“ItwaswithapositivepangthatfromthedeckofthesteamshipoutsideVeraCruzshelookedherlastonthesnowsofthegloriouspeakofOrizaba，butsoonthesefadedawayintotheskylineandwiththemherlifeinMexico。