And thus Macneillie’s plot prospered exceedingly, and though the wrench of parting was hard, Ralph and Evereld soon settled down very happily in their new quarters, a snug little flat at the very top of the same building at Chelsea in which Christine Greville occupied the first floor, and she could see as much or as little of them as she liked. She liked to see a great deal of them as it happened, and Evereld and Dick were always ready to come in and companionise Charlie, while Ralph proved himself a most trusty knight-errant, and the happiness of the young husband and wife cheered Christine as it had cheered Macneillie. Those whose lives have been clouded by some grievous trouble are supposed theoretically to hate the sight of happiness; but that is merely a popular fallacy. With the great majority it is an intense relief to come across happiness, the mere sight of it does good, and the happy confer on the sorrowful a real boon by their mere existence. CHAPTER XLI “As Thou hast found me ready to Thy call, Which stationed me to watch the outer wall, And, quitting joys and hopes that once were mine, To pace with patient steps this narrow line Oh! may it be that, coming soon or late, Thou still shalt find Thy soldier at the gate, Who then may follow Thee till sight needs not to prove, And faith will be dissolved in knowledge of Thy love.” G. J. Romanes. |It was in July, while Macneillie was spending his summer holiday at Callander, that his mother’s sudden death made him more than ever alone in the world. They had passed together a particularly happy fortnight, and though he could see that she was gradually getting more infirm she had never known a day’s illness, and her loss came as a terrible shock to him. Ralph and Evereld were able to come down to the funeral, for the London season was just over and he was glad to have them with him for ten days before he started once more on tour. He was thinking of selling the house and furniture, but Ralph who knew what pains he had spent in building it, and how sad the dispersal of all his old home belongings must be, persuaded him to leave things much as they were and content himself with letting it as a furnished house for the summer months.