But the impression she had made upon the young man's mind remained and even gained strength by the working of his imagination; for he thought of her night and day, treasuring up every memory of her that he could recall, building romances in his mind, conceiving the most ingenious reasons for the solitary visit she had made to the vicarage, and inwardly vowing that if ever he should be at liberty to follow his own inclinations he would go out into the world and search for her.

He was only eighteen then, and of a strongly susceptible temperament.

He had seen nothing of the world, for even when living in London, in a dingy lodging, with his father, he had been perpetually occupied with books, reading much and seeing little.

Then he had been at school, but he had seen the dark side of school life--the side which boys who are known to be very poor generally see; and more than ever he had resorted to study for comfort and relief from outward ills.

Then at last he had been transferred to a serener state in the vicarage of Billingsfield and had grown up rapidly from a schoolboy to a young man; but, as has been said, the feminine element at the vicarage was solely represented by Mrs.Ambrose and the monotony of her maternal society was varied only by the occasional visits of the mild young Mrs.Edward Pewlay.