'I thought just now you objected to them. However, it will be necessary for me to make a good many, sooner or later, just to make sure that you know what you are about in marrying me. But to begin with this emerald.—Do you know what it means?' It did occur to the girl, as she went on a foray after her thoughts, that she had no immediate intention of marrying anybody! But to use her own words, that was not the point in hand. 'Means?' she repeated,—which of all the five hundred and forty things that it meant did Mr. Rollo wish to have set forth!—'But you are to make statements—not ask questions,' she said. 'It is an old jewel that I have had reset for you. I preferred it to a diamond, because it is a finer stone than any diamond in my possession, and because of the meaning, as I said. In the description of John's vision in the Revelation, it is said "there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like to an emerald."—In Ezekiel's vision the word is, "as the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain." ' Partly shielding her face with her other hand, Hazel sat studying the ring, her eyes intent and grave and wide open as a child's. 'What does the rainbow mean?' he asked. 'It was a promise against desolation—at first,' she said slowly; very unconsciously betraying what already the emerald was to her. 'The promise was against desolation—the bow was the sign for the faithfulness of the promiser. Where is your Bible?—' He went on, talking purposely to let Hazel find her composure, for he saw she was scarcely able to take her part in any conversation. So he went on. He knew she was listening. 'Do you see?—the rainbow "like to an emerald"—the rainbow "round about the throne,"—that is the same as, "_thy faithfulness round about thee_," "O Lord, who is like unto thee, or to thy faithfulness round about thee!" So that is what the emerald means;—faithfulness. First, your faith, and mine; and then, the strength and repose of that other faithfulness, which is round us both; in which—we will _both_ walk, Hazel, shall we not?' He could not tell what she was thinking of. Not of him, apparently, for the look on the face was far away, as if thought had followed his words quite out of sight; yet more to something past than towards other things to come. So leaning her head on her hand she sat, and then—still full of her thought—looked up at him, the same child's look of intentness, with words all ready on her lips. 'Then in those days,' she began— But then came the sudden recollection of whom she was speaking to, and what a stranger he was, and that he was not a stranger at all; with probably some quick realization of what she was going to say; for the scarlet flushed up all over her face again, and her head went down on her hand, and she was silent. 'What "in those days?"—I want the rest of it.'