"Power! Lilith? Lilith wished for Power? Of all the inexplicable wishes! I might have guessed for months but I should never have guessed that. Lilith? the most humble and retiring of women. Look at her now! That's where she would always be, if she were not driven forward,-- hiding in some out-of-the-way corner. And you tell me that she wished for _Power_? When was that--fifteen years ago? And we have been married for twelve... How extraordinarily she must have changed!" Through eight different minds the reflection was passing, how extraordinarily Lilith remained the same, but it did not become mere friends to contradict the verdict of a husband, so they remained silent, and, his outburst of amusement over, Hereward Lowther vouchsafed a more serious attention to the problem. "Well!" he said thoughtfully, "we may say that vicariously she has gained her wish. As my wife--" He checked himself as though fearful of seeming to boast, and added quickly, "I should be delighted to feel that I have been able to provide Lilith with anything for which she wished!" Lilith bent forward and sent him a smile of acknowledgment. Then her eyes travelled round the circle and rested on her hostess's face. The two women looked at one another long and steadily and a flush rose into Mrs Ingram's cheeks. "I think," she said quietly, "I must reckon Lilith among my successes. Mr Lowther, may I tell you how proud my husband and I feel to number you among our guests to-night? Ordinary people who can only stand by and watch feel a profound gratitude to workers like yourself, who are types of all that is honourable and disinterested. England owes you a great debt to-day." Every man present joined in a murmur of assent, for though political opinions differed, one and all acknowledged the singleness of Lowther's aim. Across one or two minds flitted a remembrance of the tragic eclipse which had marked the statesman's early career, but in each case the remembrance brought with it an increased admiration. Not one man in a thousand would have had the power to climb out of so deep a ditch! And now, one by one, the nine histories had been discussed, and the company instinctively drew their chairs nearer the fire, watching with questioning eagerness the eloquent face of the woman whose words had had so large a bearing on their lives. Here she was, an old woman now, worn to the point of breaking, yet vital, as ever, with the flame of an encompassing sympathy.