Age impressed itself upon him.

This was a woman's room, but the woman had not been here recently.

And the child had not been here recently.
For the first time his eyes turned in a closer inspection of the table on which stood the big brass lamp.

Father Roland's violin lay beside it.
He made a step or two nearer, so that he could see beyond the lamp, and his heart gave a sudden jump.

Shimmering on the faded red cloth of the table, glowing as brightly as though it had been clipped from a woman's head but yesterday, was a long, thick tress of hair! It was dark, richly dark, and his second impression was one of amazement at the length of it.