Lady Susan took the blow in silence, and that quality in her that can only be described as an absence of smallness, dimly appealed to the country-woman, as occasionally through Lady Susan’s careless life it had had its effect on women of her own class. “D’ye know yer way home out o’ this?” said Maria sullenly. “If ye’ll come with me I’ll show ye the short way out into the bohireen below our house.” She was beginning to be sorry for what she had said, or perhaps the saying of it had eased her heart. “One that didn’t know this field would aisy be killed in it. It’s full o’ thim cracks, and we have it finced sthrong from the sheep.” She turned and pointed to the tall Druidic stones. “While ye live ye’ll mind yerself whin ye see thim. I thought every one in the counthry knew this place. But sure what are you but a sthranger!” She said it more kindly, and as if explaining the position to herself. “Look here,” said Lady Susan suddenly, “I want to tell you that I don’t deserve this kindness from you, and I’m truly sorry for all that has happened about the hounds. It won’t happen any more. Will you--will you accept my regret for anything I have done to annoy you, and my sympathy about your brother? I didn’t understand how things were----” “Oh, God help ye!” broke out Maria, “what does the likes o’ ye undherstand about the likes of us? It wasn’t wanting to desthroy us ye were, I know that well--and faith! I think ye have nature that’d make ye sorry if ye seen my brother this day where he’s lying beyond. I know well the one that have no pity; maybe he’ll be in the want of it yet.” She took Lady Susan by the sleeve, staring at her as if taking in her good looks. “Mind yerself!” she said in a whisper; “that fella would throw ye on the roadside whin he’d be tired o’ ye. Don’t be makin’ little o’ yerself with the likes o’ him--you that has a good husband and nothin’ to throuble ye. I can tell ye of the day I wint to Glashgow to the office, axing him to take back the price o’ the land, and he put a hand on me to kiss me; he thought that was all he had to do to humour me. He remembers that day agin me yet. It couldn’t be that you, that might be talkin’ to the Lord Left’nant or any other, would bring sorrow on yerself for the sake of _him_.” Neither the straining misfit of the black dress, nor the atrocious pretensions of the cheap boots, could impute vulgarity to the speaker. Lady Susan kept her eyes on the ground with a firmly-set mouth, and Maria turned away in the direction from which she had come. She was overtaken almost immediately. “I am going back the other way,” said Lady Susan. “I’m afraid my husband or some one may be coming this way and not know of this place, and I must tell them where the hounds are, but---- Good-bye.” She put out her hand in its torn glove; it was still trembling from exertion. There was a moment’s pause, and the country-woman’s hard, red hand took it and shook it, and dropped it.