All in a garden fair; the simple story of three boys ... - University Library

i64 ALL IX A GARDEN FAIR.
at all, provided the words were musical and
rang melodiously on his ear. Claire would
understand him—nay, she had already under-
stood him.
' You think,' he asked timidl}^ ' you think,
Claire, that I may, some day, succeed ? *
' Oh, Allen, I am sure you will !
' she re-
plied, with the generous warmth of feminine
sympathy which strengthens a man's courage
and consoles the most despondent. Observe
that Claire pretended no longer ; she was now
quite overpowered by the depth of his am-
bition. She believed in him henceforth as
Kadijah believed in the Prophet—because he
said it. Had he never produced a line of
poetry in his life she would have beheved in
him to the end.
' As for the City,' Allen went on, ' I hate
it, Claire. The same work every day; the
same letters to be written ; the same papers to
be copied ; the same figures to be entered and
added \\\) ; the same chatter of the clerks.
Will doesn't mmd it ; he takes an interest in