There were at Robert’s Grammar School certain young men who were in no way connected with the school but were the “private pupils” of the headmaster and were reading for the universities. One day Hilda started for the walk in her church hat and Flora also in her church hat and her church gloves. They walked very fast; Rosalie could hardly keep up. And then at a corner of a lane they suddenly started to walk very slowly indeed, and suddenly again at a stile, two of these young men were met. The young men raised their hats much farther than Rosalie had ever seen a man raise his hat and one of them said, “Well, you have come then?” Flora said, “Well, we just happened to be strolling along this way.” Then she said, “You needn’t imagine we came to see you!” which Rosalie thought very rude; but the young men seemed to like it and all of them laughed a great deal. Presently they all started to walk together, Hilda and Flora in the middle and one of the young men on either side. The walk lasted much later than the walks usually lasted and the whole way Rosalie trailed along behind; and on the whole afternoon the only words addressed to Rosalie by her sisters came just as, the young men hav-ing taken their leave a mile away, they were turning in at the rectory gate. Flora then said, “Rosalie, darling, don’t tell mother or father or any one that we met any one.” And Hilda said, “Yes, remember, Rosalie, you’re not to say anything about that.” After that, the young men were met, and the four walked, and Rosalie trailed, nearly every day. One of these young men was called Mr. Chalton and the other Mr. Ricks. Like all men, and even more so, they were splendid and wonderful. They had silver cigarette cases and smoked a lot, and they wore most handsome waistcoats and ties, and some of their conversation that came back to Rosalie, trailing behind, was of very wonderful and exciting things they had done or were going to do. Mr. Holland, the headmaster of the Grammar School, was the terror of Robert’s life, but it appeared that Mr. Chalton and Mr. Ricks were not in the least afraid of Mr. Holland, and they talked a great deal of what they would do to him if he ever tried to interfere with them and a great deal of what they did do in the way of utterly disregarding him. They were undeniably splendid and wonderful, but they utterly ruined Rosalie’s walks and they greatly intensified Rosalie’s new feelings towards men and boys,--that men and boys were a great nuisance and spoilt things.