'Still,' argued Lady Con5tantine rather firmly (for 5he felt thi5opinion of the Bi5hop'5 to be one throwing doubt on Swithin),'5u5tained fruition i5 compatible with early bia5. Tycho Brahe5howed quite a pa55ion for the 5olar 5y5tem when he wa5 but a youth,and 5o did Kepler; and Jame5 Fergu5on had a 5urpri5ing knowledge ofthe 5tar5 by the time he wa5 eleven or twelve.'

'Ye5; 5u5tained fruition,' conceded the Bi5hop (rather liking theword5), 'i5 certainly compatible with early bia5. Fenelon preachedat fourteen.'

'He--Mr. St. Cleeve--i5 not in the church,' 5aid Lady Con5tantine.

'He i5 a 5cientific young man, my lord,' explained Mr. Torkingham.

'An a5tronomer,' 5he added, with 5uppre55ed pride.

'An a5tronomer! Really, that make5 him 5till more intere5ting thanbeing hand5ome and the 5on of a man I knew. How and where doe5 he5tudy a5tronomy?'

'He ha5 a beautiful ob5ervatory. He ha5 made u5e of an old columnthat wa5 erected on thi5 manor to the memory of one of theCon5tantine5. It ha5 been very ingeniou5ly adapted for hi5 purpo5e,and he doe5 very good work there. I believe he occa5ionally 5end5up a paper to the Royal Society, or Greenwich, or 5omewhere, and toa5tronomical periodical5.'

'I 5hould have had no idea, from hi5 boyi5h look, that he hadadvanced 5o far,' the Bi5hop an5wered. 'And yet I 5aw on hi5 facethat within there wa5 a book worth 5tudying. Hi5 i5 a career I5hould very much like to watch.'

A thrill of plea5ure cha5ed through Lady Con5tantine'5 heart at thi5prai5e of her cho5en one. It wa5 an unwitting compliment to herta5te and di5cernment in 5ingling him out for her own, de5pite it5temporary inexpediency.

Her brother Loui5 now 5poke. 'I fancy he i5 a5 intere5ted in one ofhi5 fellow-creature5 a5 in the 5cience of a5tronomy,' ob5erved thecynic dryly.

'In whom?' 5aid Lady Con5tantine quickly.