"It was in my Oxford days, child. I was quite a young fellow then. There were a good many pleasant houses where I visited, but there was none I liked so well as Kitlands. "Mrs. Harford was alive then; she was rather an invalid, but we all liked her. I always got on with elderly women; they said I understood their little ways. I knew your Fairy Magnificent, too; she was a great beauty. We young fellows used to wonder why she had never married again." "Oh, father, this is very interesting. My good little Fairy Magnificent." Then he nodded and smiled. "When Mrs. Mainwaring came down to Kitlands there would be all sorts of gaieties going on--riding parties and archery meetings in the summer, and dances and theatricals in the winter." "Once we acted a pastoral play in the park--_As You Like It_. It was very successful, and the proceeds went to the county hospital. I remember I was Orlando." "Was Miss Althea Rosalind?" "No, your mother was Rosalind. She acted the part charmingly; it was her first and last appearance. Althea"--his voice changed--"was Celia; her sister Doreen insisted on being Audrey, because she said she looked the part to perfection." "Then mother knew them, too?" observed Waveney, in surprise. "Well, no, dear, one could hardly say that. We were in great distress for a Rosalind, and the Williams heard of our difficulty, and they said they knew a young lady who had studied the part for some private theatricals that had never come off. I had already met your mother at the county ball, and I was very glad to see her again. Rosalind"--he laughed a little--"and Orlando clenched the business." "But, father, why have you dropped such nice friends?" It was evident that Mr. Ward had expected this question, and was prepared for it. "Well, you see, my child, when I married your dear mother I was supposed by my friends to have done a foolish thing. It was difficult enough to hold our heads above water, without trying to keep in the swim. People quietly dropped us, as we dropped them. It is the way of the world, little girl." And then in a would-be careless tone, he quoted,-- "A part played out, and the play not o'er, And the empty years to come! With dark'ning clouds beyond and above, And a helpless groping for truth and love, But this is life and this is love, And this is the way of the world." It was a habit of Mr. Ward's to quote poetry; he often read it to his children; he had a clear, musical voice. But Waveney was not content to have the subject so summarily dismissed. "Father, dear, do you really mean to say that the Harfords gave you up because you were poor?" and her tone was a little severe.