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Beginning JSP JSF and Tomcat 2nd Edition Java Web
Development Giulio Zambon Digital Instant Download
Author(s): Giulio Zambon
ISBN(s): 9781430246237, 1430246235
File Details: PDF, 10.90 MB
Year: 2012
Language: english
 Beginning JSP, JSF and
Tomcat
Java Web Development

„„„

Giulio Zambon

www.it-ebooks.info
 Beginning JSP, JSF and Tomcat
Copyright © 2012 by Giulio Zambon
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is
concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting,
reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval,
electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter
developed. Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or
material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use
by the purchaser of the work. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of
the Copyright Law of the Publisher's location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained
from Springer. Permissions for use may be obtained through RightsLink at the Copyright Clearance Center. Violations
are liable to prosecution under the respective Copyright Law.
ISBN 978-1-4302-4623-7
ISBN 978-1-4302-4624-4 (eBook)
Trademarked names, logos, and images may appear in this book. Rather than use a trademark symbol with every
occurrence of a trademarked name, logo, or image we use the names, logos, and images only in an editorial fashion
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The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not
identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary
rights.
While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication, neither
the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may
be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein.
President and Publisher: Paul Manning
Lead Editor: Steve Anglin
Developmental Editor: Douglas Pundick, Ralph Moore
Technical Reviewer: Boris Minkin, Manuel Joran Elera
Editorial Board: Steve Anglin, Ewan Buckingham, Gary Cornell, Louise Corrigan, Morgan Ertel, Jonathan
Gennick, Jonathan Hassell, Robert Hutchinson, Michelle Lowman, James Markham, Matthew Moodie, Jeff
Olson, Jeffrey Pepper, Douglas Pundick, Ben Renow-Clarke, Dominic Shakeshaft, Gwenan Spearing, Matt
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Apress and friends of ED books may be purchased in bulk for academic, corporate, or promotional use. eBook
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code.

ii

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Contents at a Glance

„ About the Author.................................................................................................. xiv

„ About the Technical Reviewers ............................................................................ xv
„ Chapter 1: Introducing JSP and Tomcat .................................................................1
„ Chapter 2: JSP Elements.......................................................................................19
„ Chapter 3: JSP Application Architectures ............................................................49
„ Chapter 4: JSP in Action .......................................................................................79
„ Chapter 5: XML and JSP .....................................................................................121
„ Chapter 6: Databases..........................................................................................159
„ Chapter 7: JavaServer Faces 2.2 ........................................................................189
„ Chapter 8: JSF and eshop ...................................................................................231
„ Chapter 9: Tomcat...............................................................................................259
„ Chapter 10: eshop* .............................................................................................281
„ Appendix A: The Web Page .................................................................................317
„ Appendix B: SQL Practical Introduction..............................................................379
„ Appendix C: Abbreviations and Acronyms..........................................................405
„ Index ...................................................................................................................409

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 Contents

„ About the Author.................................................................................................. xiv

„ About the Technical Reviewers ............................................................................ xv
„ Chapter 1: Introducing JSP and Tomcat .................................................................1
Installing Java....................................................................................................................3
Java Test .................................................................................................................................................. 5
Installing Tomcat ...............................................................................................................6
Simple Tomcat Test.................................................................................................................................. 8
What Is JSP?......................................................................................................................9
Viewing a JSP Page................................................................................................................................ 10
Hello World! .....................................................................................................................12
Listing the HTML-Request Parameters............................................................................16
Summary .........................................................................................................................17
„ Chapter 2: JSP Elements.......................................................................................19
Introduction .....................................................................................................................19
Scripting Elements and Java ...........................................................................................20
Scriptlets ................................................................................................................................................ 20
Expressions ............................................................................................................................................ 20
Declarations............................................................................................................................................ 21
Data Types and Variables ....................................................................................................................... 21
Objects and Arrays ................................................................................................................................. 23
Operators, Assignments, and Comparisons ........................................................................................... 24

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Selections ............................................................................................................................................... 25
Iterations ................................................................................................................................................ 26
Implicit Objects................................................................................................................27
The application Object....................................................................................................................... 27
The config Object ................................................................................................................................. 30
The exception Object........................................................................................................................... 31
The out Object ....................................................................................................................................... 32
The pageContext Object....................................................................................................................... 34
The request Object............................................................................................................................... 34
The response Object............................................................................................................................. 43
The session Object............................................................................................................................... 43
Directive Elements...........................................................................................................44
The page Directive ................................................................................................................................. 44
The include Directive ........................................................................................................................... 47
The taglib Directive ............................................................................................................................. 47

Summary .........................................................................................................................47
„ Chapter 3: JSP Application Architectures ............................................................49
The Model 1 Architecture ................................................................................................49
The Model 2 Architecture ................................................................................................50
The E-bookshop Home Page .................................................................................................................. 52
The E-bookshop Servlet ......................................................................................................................... 54
More on E-bookshop .............................................................................................................................. 57
E-bookshop’s Folder Structure............................................................................................................... 60
Eclipse .............................................................................................................................63
Creating a New Web Project................................................................................................................... 67
Importing a WAR file............................................................................................................................... 69
Eclipse Occasional Bugs......................................................................................................................... 70

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A Better Online Bookshop................................................................................................70

Objects and Operations .......................................................................................................................... 71
The Customer Interface .......................................................................................................................... 72
The E-shop Architecture ..................................................................................................73
The Model............................................................................................................................................... 73
The Controller ......................................................................................................................................... 74
The View ................................................................................................................................................. 76
Summary .........................................................................................................................77
„ Chapter 4: JSP in Action .......................................................................................79
JSP Standard Actions ......................................................................................................79
Actions: forward, include, and param .................................................................................................... 79
Action: useBean...................................................................................................................................... 82
Actions: setProperty and getProperty..................................................................................................... 84
Action: text ............................................................................................................................................. 87
Actions: element, attribute, and body..................................................................................................... 87
Actions: plugin, params, and fallback .................................................................................................... 88
Comments and Escape Characters..................................................................................90
JSP’s Tag Extension Mechanism.....................................................................................90
Bodyless Custom Actions ....................................................................................................................... 91
Bodied Custom Actions........................................................................................................................... 95
Tag Files ................................................................................................................................................. 98
JSTL and EL ...................................................................................................................103
JSP Expression Language .................................................................................................................... 103
JSP Standard Tag Library ..................................................................................................................... 107
The Core Library ................................................................................................................................... 109
The i18n Library: Writing Multi-Lingual Applications ........................................................................... 112
Summary .......................................................................................................................119

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„ Chapter 5: XML and JSP .....................................................................................121

The XML Document........................................................................................................122
Defining Your Own XML Documents ..............................................................................123
XML DTDs ............................................................................................................................................. 124
XML Schemas....................................................................................................................................... 124
Validation.............................................................................................................................................. 132
JSTL-XML and XSL ........................................................................................................139
XPath .................................................................................................................................................... 139
An XPath Example ................................................................................................................................ 143
x:parse.................................................................................................................................................. 145
XSLT: Transformation from One XML Format to Another...................................................................... 146
XSLT: Transformation from XML to HTML ............................................................................................ 147
XSL Transformation: Browser Side vs. Server Side.............................................................................. 148
x:transform and x:param ...................................................................................................................... 152
JSP in XML Syntax.........................................................................................................153
Summary .......................................................................................................................157
„ Chapter 6: Databases..........................................................................................159
MySQL............................................................................................................................159
MySQL Test........................................................................................................................................... 161
MySQL/Tomcat Test ............................................................................................................................. 165
Database Basics ............................................................................................................168
SQL Scripts ....................................................................................................................170
Java API .........................................................................................................................171
Connecting to the Database ................................................................................................................. 172
Accessing Data..................................................................................................................................... 173
Transactions ......................................................................................................................................... 176
DB Access in E-shop......................................................................................................176

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What about the XML Syntax?.........................................................................................180

Possible Alternatives to MySQL .....................................................................................184
Summary .......................................................................................................................187
„ Chapter 7: JavaServer Faces 2.2 ........................................................................189
The simplef Application .................................................................................................189
An Alternative to <managed-bean>..................................................................................................... 195
The simplefx and simpleh Applications .........................................................................195
The JSF Life Cycle .........................................................................................................197
Event Handling...................................................................................................................................... 199
The JSF Tag Libraries ....................................................................................................199
The html Library .................................................................................................................................. 200
The core Library .................................................................................................................................. 205
The facelet Library ............................................................................................................................ 215
The composite Library........................................................................................................................ 224
Summary .......................................................................................................................229
„ Chapter 8: JSF and eshop ...................................................................................231
eshopf............................................................................................................................231
The Top Menu....................................................................................................................................... 232
The Left Menu (part 1) .......................................................................................................................... 233
The Shop Manager ............................................................................................................................... 235
The Left Menu (part 2) .......................................................................................................................... 236
The Checkout Page............................................................................................................................... 237
web.xml ................................................................................................................................................ 238
Using and Creating Converters ......................................................................................240
Writing the Converter in Java ............................................................................................................... 241
Registering the Converter with the Application.................................................................................... 243
Using the Converter .............................................................................................................................. 243

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Using and Creating Validators .......................................................................................243

Built-In Validators ................................................................................................................................. 244
Application-Level Validation ................................................................................................................. 245
Custom Validators................................................................................................................................. 246
Validation Methods in Backing Beans .................................................................................................. 247
Creating Custom Components .......................................................................................248
Component ........................................................................................................................................... 249
Renderer............................................................................................................................................... 251
Tag........................................................................................................................................................ 253
Inline Renderer ..................................................................................................................................... 256
faces-config.xml............................................................................................................257
Summary .......................................................................................................................257
„ Chapter 9: Tomcat...............................................................................................259
Tomcat’s Architecture and server.xml...........................................................................259
Context ................................................................................................................................................. 260
Connector ............................................................................................................................................. 261
Host ...................................................................................................................................................... 261
Engine................................................................................................................................................... 262
Service.................................................................................................................................................. 262
Server ................................................................................................................................................... 262
Listener................................................................................................................................................. 263
Global Naming Resources .................................................................................................................... 263
Realm ................................................................................................................................................... 263
Cluster .................................................................................................................................................. 263
Valve ..................................................................................................................................................... 264
Loader and Manager............................................................................................................................. 264
Directory Structure ........................................................................................................264
conf....................................................................................................................................................... 265

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lib.......................................................................................................................................................... 265
logs....................................................................................................................................................... 266
webapps ............................................................................................................................................... 266
work ..................................................................................................................................................... 266
Logging the Requests ....................................................................................................267
Tomcat on Port 80 .........................................................................................................269
Creating a Virtual Host...................................................................................................269
HTTPS ............................................................................................................................271
Application Deployment.................................................................................................276
Summary .......................................................................................................................279
„ Chapter 10: eshop* .............................................................................................281
The eshop Application ...................................................................................................281
What Happens When the Application Starts ......................................................................................... 283
Handling Requests for Book Selection and Book Search ..................................................................... 286
Displaying the Book Details.................................................................................................................. 287
Managing the Shopping Cart ................................................................................................................ 288
Accepting an Order............................................................................................................................... 289
Providing the Payment Details.............................................................................................................. 299
The eshopx Application..................................................................................................300
Style Sheet ........................................................................................................................................... 301
web.xml ................................................................................................................................................ 302
JSP Documents .................................................................................................................................... 303
Custom Tags and TLD........................................................................................................................... 306
The eshopf Application ..................................................................................................308
web.xml and context.xml ..................................................................................................................... 309
Style Sheet ........................................................................................................................................... 310
JSP Documents .................................................................................................................................... 312

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Java Modules ....................................................................................................................................... 313

Summary .......................................................................................................................315
„ Appendix A: The Web Page .................................................................................317
The WWW Network ........................................................................................................317
URLs, Hosts, and Paths..................................................................................................320
XHTML vs HTML.............................................................................................................322
XHTML/HTML Elements .................................................................................................324
HTML5............................................................................................................................327
HTML Documents...........................................................................................................329
Standard Attributes........................................................................................................331
Core Attributes...................................................................................................................................... 331
Language Attributes ............................................................................................................................. 332
Keyboard Attributes.............................................................................................................................. 333
Event Attributes .............................................................................................................333
Object Event Attributes......................................................................................................................... 333
Form Event Attributes........................................................................................................................... 334
Keyboard Event Attributes .................................................................................................................... 334
Mouse Event Attributes ........................................................................................................................ 335
Tables ............................................................................................................................335
Table Structure..................................................................................................................................... 337
Table Width........................................................................................................................................... 337
Table Borders ....................................................................................................................................... 337
Row and Cell Alignment ....................................................................................................................... 339
Columns................................................................................................................................................ 342
Column Groups ..................................................................................................................................... 343
Table Header, Body, and Footer ........................................................................................................... 344
Input Forms....................................................................................................................345

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Buttons and Images.............................................................................................................................. 348

Lists ...............................................................................................................................350
Image Maps ...................................................................................................................351
Splitting an Image with a Table............................................................................................................ 351
Using an Image Map with a Table or a List .......................................................................................... 353
Using an Image Map with Areas........................................................................................................... 356
The Bottom Line ................................................................................................................................... 357
Cascading Style Sheets .................................................................................................357
Style Syntax.......................................................................................................................................... 358
Placing Styles ....................................................................................................................................... 359
HTML Elements div and span ............................................................................................................... 360
Using a Style Sheet to Implement Tabs.........................................................................361
JavaScript......................................................................................................................364
Placing JavaScript Inside a Web Page ................................................................................................. 364
Responding to Events ........................................................................................................................... 365
Checking and Correcting Dates ............................................................................................................ 365
Animation: Ticker Tape......................................................................................................................... 370
Animation: Bouncing Balls.................................................................................................................... 373
„ Appendix B: SQL Practical Introduction..............................................................379
SQL Terminology............................................................................................................379
Transactions ..................................................................................................................380
Conventions ...................................................................................................................382
Statements ....................................................................................................................382
The WHERE Condition ........................................................................................................................... 384
Data Types............................................................................................................................................ 385
SELECT ................................................................................................................................................. 388
CREATE DATABASE............................................................................................................................... 394

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CREATE TABLE...................................................................................................................................... 395

CREATE INDEX ...................................................................................................................................... 397
CREATE VIEW ........................................................................................................................................ 398
INSERT.................................................................................................................................................. 398
DROP..................................................................................................................................................... 399
DELETE ................................................................................................................................................. 399
ALTER TABLE ........................................................................................................................................ 399
UPDATE................................................................................................................................................. 400
SET TRANSACTION and START TRANSACTION...................................................................................... 400
COMMIT and ROLLBACK ....................................................................................................................... 401
Reserved SQL Keywords................................................................................................401
„ Appendix C: Abbreviations and Acronyms..........................................................405
„ Index ...................................................................................................................409

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 About the Author

Giulio Zambon’s first love was physics, but he decided to dedicate himself to
software development more than 30 years ago: back when computers were still
made of transistors and core memories, programs were punched on cards, and
Fortran only had arithmetic IFs. Over the years, he learned a dozen computer
languages and worked with all sorts of operating systems. His specific interests
were in telecom and real-time systems, and he managed several projects to their
successful completion.
In 2001 Giulio founded his own company offering computer telephony
integration (CTI) services, and he used JSP and Tomcat exclusively to develop the
web side of the service platform. Back in Australia after many years in Europe, he
now dedicates himself to writing software to generate and solve numeric puzzles.
His web site, http://zambon.com.au/, is written in JSP on his dedicated server, which, unsurprisingly,
runs Tomcat!

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About the Technical Reviewers

Boris Minkin is a senior technical architect at a major financial corporation. He

has more than 20 years of experience working in various areas of information
technology and financial services. Boris obtained his master’s degree in
information systems at Stevens Institute of Technology, New Jersey. His
professional interests are in Internet technology, service-oriented architecture,
enterprise application architecture, multi-platform distributed applications,
cloud, distributed caching, Java, grid, and high performance computing. You can
contact Boris at bm@panix.com.

Manuel Jordan Elera is an autodidactic developer and researcher who enjoys

learning new technologies for his own experiments and creating new
integrations. Manuel won the 2010 Springy Award-Community Champion. In his
limited free time, he reads the Bible and composes music on his guitar. Manuel is
a senior member in the Spring Community Forums known as dr_pompeii and a
technical reviewer for important books about Spring Source projects, all
published by Apress. Read more and contact him through his blog at
http://manueljordan.wordpress.com and follow him on his Twitter account,
@dr_pompei.

xv

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all this without consulting me. And now that you have done so, let us go to
dinner."

"But I----"

"There's the gong," observed Leah, opening the door, "and I don't like cold
soup."

"You'll have to like lots of things now you didn't like before," said Jim, as
they went down.

"The selection doesn't include you, my good man, so don't be

disappointed."

Jim could have shaken her, and began to understand why the lower orders
indulged in wife-beating. But as they were entering the drawing-room at
this moment, he had to play the part of a devoted husband. Leah floated
radiantly into the brilliantly lighted apartment, and Jim sought out the oldest
and ugliest woman he could find. When he thought of his wife, beauty
sickened him for the time being. Thus it came about that Miss Jaffray had
the pleasure of shouting into his ear throughout a long and wearisome
dinner.

Whether it was the work of the fetish or of Lady Frith, Leah did not know,
but she found herself seated at the table with Askew on her right hand.

The young man looked flustered, and ill at ease. "I'm so sorry!" he began
apologetically, and, as she thought, tactlessly.

"That you're my neighbour?" she interrupted sweetly. "How unkind!"

"No! But I never knew he was your husband."

"Who? Mr. Berring?"

"Don't make it harder for me," he entreated softly. "I've been calling myself
names ever since we parted."

"You should have left that to me, Mr. Askew."

"There's nothing in it, you know," he stuttered, heedlessly. "Of course, she
never married him."

"I hope not, for the sake of morality," said Lady Jim, lightly, and thinking
that the soup was worse than usual. "However, it doesn't matter. My
husband is a modest man, and sometimes drops his title when travelling. I
daresay, as Mr. Berring, he thought he was free to make love."

"But he wasn't," protested Askew, with a glance towards the unconscious

Jim, who apparently had not recognised him.

"You should tell him so."

"I intend to--in the smoking room."

Lady Jim looked at him imperiously, and softened her voice to a very direct
whisper. "Don't make trouble," she said, in a somewhat domineering tone;
"that will do no good and much harm. And after all, married or unmarried,
every man has a right to admire a pretty woman."

"But not to make love to her," muttered the young man, with another
vengeful glance.

"I am no casuist," replied Leah, calmly; "and you should be pleased that
things are as they are. You can now return to Lima, or Rosario, and marry
the lady."

"She wouldn't have me!"

"Is she so much in love with Mr. Berring, then?"

"Please don't, Lady James. I can't talk like this to you."

She gave a light laugh. "It seems to me that you are talking; therefore I
repeat my question."

"It might only have been gratitude," he murmured.

"For what?"
"Berring--I mean your husband--saved her from being trampled upon by a
mustang."

"How picturesque, and how suited to Jim's qualifications! And she----?"

"No, she didn't," interrupted Askew, hurriedly. "I see I have been mistaken.
It was gratitude, not love."

"Of course," said Lady Jim, jeeringly; "a woman always prefers to exercise
the former rather than the latter."

"I wish I'd stopped and tried my luck," muttered the sailor, not clever
enough to interpret this speech.

"It's not too late. Mr. Berring is safely secured, by love and the law, to my
apron-strings, so you can go back and----"

"No; I've just come in for a property of sorts, and the service has seen the
last of me."

"Is Señorita Fajardo in the same predicament as the service?"

"There's a cousin, Lady James----"

"A female cousin, who goes with the property, as a fixture. I quite
understand. You have to marry her, out of gratitude for the money, and
without the discomforting passion of love. The Spanish lady's history
repeats itself, I see."

Askew was rather discomfited. "How quick you are!"

"You can't have had much to do with women," she murmured; "but I hope
you will make no trouble in the smoking-room."

"No; as things are, it's none of my funeral," he observed, grumpily.

"Quite so. I am the chief mourner."

"But I say, Lady James," said the lieutenant, anxiously, "I hope what I've
inadvertently told you won't----"

"Of course not," she assured him, mendaciously; "my husband is most
trustworthy, as you can see by his choice of that ugly old maid as a dinner
companion. You were mistaken."

"I think I must have been," said Askew, with great relief. "Of course, people
talk at Lima, as elsewhere," he ended apologetically.

"Unless South America is inhabited by the deaf and dumb, I suppose they
do."

"You're laughing at me, Lady James."

"I always laugh. It's good for the digestion."

"At everything?"

"At everything."

"Even at love?" he asked timidly.

She shot an amused glance at his colouring face. "Remember you are
engaged to the fixture, Mr. Askew."

"But I say, can't I come and see you in town?"

"I shall be delighted, if you can find your way to Curzon Street."

"You live there?" he asked obtusely.

"In a most respectable manner with my husband, Mr. Berring. I'm known as
Lady Jim of Curzon Street. Most improper, isn't it, when Berring----?"

"I say, don't," expostulated the young man, quickly. "I'll never forgive
myself for being such a fool. Can I call you Lady Jim?"
He was getting on very fast, and Leah, in the interests of virtue, deemed it
necessary to snub him. "Certainly not. Only people who have known me
fifty years address me so familiarly."

"You must believe in re-incarnation then," he retorted.

This was clever and pleased her. "I was Circe in the days of Homer, Mr.
Askew. But as to my name now, there is another Lady Jim--a horrid woman
who carries tracts and meddles with morals, and dresses in a piously shabby
fashion. So that we may not be mixed up, I am known by the name of the
street I live in. To you I am Lady James Kaimes!"

"And Circe, the sorceress," he murmured.

Leah laughed. "We'll see what sort of animal my magic will turn you into,"
she observed, with an encouraging smile.

This was a distinct promise, or at least he construed it as such, for his eyes
brightened, and he glanced at her in a way which assured her that she was
looking her best. He was certainly a delightful boy, she reflected, if
somewhat fickle. But a man who was catholic enough to marry the fixture,
and adore the Spanish lady, and make sudden love to herself, must be worth
feminine appreciation and study. Besides, he was good-looking, and had
money, conjoined with a frank and unsuspicious nature. Assuredly, he might
be useful, if not inclined to explore the Land of Tenderness too assiduously.
But in that case, he might compromise her in an earnest, pig-headed way,
which would be at once boring, ridiculous, and dangerous. Leah approved
of playing with fire, but she was too careful to risk a personal conflagration.
Though allured by the prospect of tormenting an honest heart, she had not
made up her mind to enjoy the opportunity by the time she left the dining-
room. But a distinctly tigerish glance, sent to her address by Demetrius,
almost inclined her to give young Askew the chance of making a fool of
himself. The Russian had apparently noticed the embryo flirtation.

"All the better," thought Leah, sailing into the Adamless Eden of the winter
garden; "it will be an additional card to play"--which showed that Lady Jim
was by no means satisfied with the arrangement come to between her
husband and his father.
"A cigarette, dear Lady Jim?" simpered Mrs. Penworthy.

"No, thanks; I leave smoking to women who bait their hooks with agreeable
vices;" and she moved towards Lady Canvey.

It was horribly rude, and Mrs. Penworthy choked back an hysterical scream.

"Delightful woman, Lady James," said Miss Jaffray.

"Delightful," assented the other, who at the moment would gladly have
mounted the scaffold on a charge of murdering her insolent rival. "I call her
perfectly lovely. Such a perfect complexion, and exquisite figure, and
heavenly eyes, and large hands."

But this piece of spite was wasted, as by this time Lady Jim was seated by
her godmother, assuring that sceptical lady how absolutely delighted she
was to learn that dear Jim had arranged matters with the dear Duke. "And
so sweet of the Duke to tell you," she went on. "I know how anxious you
have been about me.

"Can you wonder at it, my dear, when you are so sweet and gentle and
womanly?" said Lady Canvey, who was quite equal to a war of words.

"You must be thinking of Hilda Frith," replied Lady Jim, calmly. "I cannot
call myself such an angel."

"No; you left that to the sailor-boy you were flirting with."

"Poor boy, he doesn't know how to flirt."

"You'll teach him, my dear," chuckled the old lady.

"Not without fees."

"Humph. His education will cost him a pretty penny."

"Possibly. But I might teach him for love, after the fashion of Miss
Tallentire and Lionel."
"Rubbish! Joan doesn't know how to flirt."

"Or to dress either. I must ask her how the Whiteley sales are getting on."

"Leah!" said Lady Canvey, with a pained look. "Why have you such a bitter
tongue?"

"I must defend myself somehow. You wouldn't have me scratch and bite,
would you?"

"I would have you be more womanly and lovable, my dear."

"On a thousand a year, and such a husband as I have?"

"Every man is what his wife makes him."

"They generally go to other men's wives to be manufactured. Besides, so far

as Jim is concerned, you can't make a silk purse out of a certain animal's
ear."

"My dear, I am an old woman, and perhaps rather sharp-tongued at times,

but I have a motherly feeling for you. Can't you give up this wild life, and
go abroad to devote yourself to Jim? He has his good points, my dear, and if
you would try and live more amicably with him, I am sure you would be a
happy woman. Then, in a year or so, you could come back to Curzon Street,
with all the debts paid, and your full income to live on. Believe me"--she
laid a withered hand on Leah's beautiful arm--"I speak for the best, my dear
girl."

Leah smiled disdainfully. "Now that the sermon's over, can I pass round the
plate?" she said cruelly.

"Not for me to put money in," said Lady Canvey, with a flush. "I shan't give
you a penny. It is useless talking to you, Leah; your one idea is money and
enjoyment and love of admiration."

"It seems to me that those are three ideas," replied Lady Jim, rising; "but as
our conversation is neither enjoyable nor instructive, I shall go away." All
the same she lingered, and talked in a low tone, with unexpected emotion.
"You blame me, Lady Canvey, for being what I am. Pray, what chance have
I had of being otherwise? I lost my mother when I was a child; I was
brought up by a neglectful and selfish father; I am married to a husband
who has nothing of the man about him, save those handsome looks, which
lured me into a much-regretted marriage. All my life I have lived with
worldly and material people, and your counsel has been as worldly as that
of any one of them. I have never been shown the difference between right
and wrong, and there isn't a single soul in the world who has a spark of love
for me. If my up-bringing and surroundings had been better, I might be a
good woman--so far as I can be, I am a good woman. I have my moments
of regret--I have my moments when I wish I could be a religious, dowdy
saint. But who will help me out of the mire--who will----?" Here she broke
off, for her emotion was becoming too strong for the publicity of the place.
With a violent effort, which showed the strength and courage of her nature,
she calmed down, and the colour faded from her face, as did the frown,
which gave place to a cynical smile. Annoyed with herself for having given
Lady Canvey a glimpse of her better nature, she walked away, leaving the
old woman surprised and startled, and, in her own selfish way, truly sorry.
There was much truth in what Leah had said.

But her mask was on again the moment she crossed to the door, and
Demetrius, who was obviously looking for her, saw only the beautiful, calm
woman he knew so well. His face was as agitated as Leah's had been a few
minutes previously.

"Madame, I must see you privately."

"What an extraordinary request, monsieur!"

"Ah, but you will understand----" He threw out his hands expressively.

"No; I am ignorant of the deaf and dumb language."

"Cruel--cruel."

"Silly--silly," she mocked, then glanced round with up-raised eyebrows;

"don't make a scene, monsieur, or I shall begin to believe that you
appreciate our English custom of lingering over the wine."
"Will you let me explain?" entreated the Russian.

"Certainly--to-morrow, at four. Ill be in the picture gallery. Good night;"

and with a friendly nod she moved away.

Demetrius swore softly in Russian, which is a most picturesque language in

many ways. Without a glance, Lady Jim ascended the stairs, well pleased.
Demetrius was losing command of himself, and therefore would be all the
easier to manage, should she require his services. "I'll have that twenty
thousand before spring," she decided.

CHAPTER X

"What is love?" asked Leah, the next day, at twenty minutes past four of a
clear wintry afternoon.

With all his knowledge of five languages, Demetrius could find no answer,
and rose from his knees with the feelings of a man who is trying to melt an
iceberg with a lucifer match. Ever since Lady Jim arrived to keep her
appointment in the picture gallery, he had been explaining his feelings at
length, and in the orthodox attitude of a mortal worshipping a goddess. He
had crossed his "t's" and dotted his "i's" with the utmost precision. From
English he had glided into French, to plead the attractions of illicit passion:
two minutes of German resulted in sentimental assertions of that passion's
righteousness, and in illustrations of Wertherism; and, immediately before
she asked that impossible question, he had harked back to her native
tongue, to impress upon her the solid British common-sense of his wooing.
Leah listened to this polyglot love-making with the feeling that she was
camping under the tower of Babel. Demetrius might have been a
gramophone, pouring out recitations from the poets, for all the impression
his impassionate rhetoric made on her well-trained feelings.

"I suppose all these speeches can be classified under the heading of love,"
she said unkindly, when his exhaustion gave her an opportunity of
intervening. "But--what is love?"

"I have been trying to explain," stammered the Russian, getting on his legs
dispiritedly.

"Oh, your intentions are of the best. I gather that much; but I am still
waiting for a definition."

"Love is worship," ventured Demetrius, rashly.

"Then why aren't you on your knees?"

"I have been on my knees for fifteen minutes."

"Really! When did you look at your watch?"

"My heart told me."

"Then your heart is a time-keeper, or perhaps a time-server."

"If you will permit me to serve you, my service will be for all time."

"Ah! It seems we are immortal, then?"

"You are," he declared passionately; "every goddess is immortal."

Lady Jim laughed. This war of words was amusing and pretty, but she
wished to arrive at some conclusion which would repay her for spending an
hour in a cold gallery, packed with shockingly bad pictures.

"I am waiting for your definition of love," she said at length.

"I cannot explain the impossible."

"It seems to me that you have been trying to do so. Would you like to hear
how I define love?"

His eyes burned like two menacing stars. "Yes," he muttered in a husky
voice, and holding his passions in leash.

"Love is sacrifice," said Leah, slowly.

"Then I--love you," he burst out. "There is no sacrifice I would not make
for your dear sake."

"Can I believe that?"

"Try me," and he again dropped on his knees.

"Get up," said Lady Jim, brusquely. He did so. "Take a seat!" He did so.
"Look at the floor, and not at me." He did so. "Now then," she continued,
feeling relieved that those fierce eyes were not making her flesh creep, "do
you know what you are, Monsieur Demetrius?"

"A fool," he murmured bitterly, his gaze on the parquetry.

"I quite agree with you," she rejoined promptly. "And why?"

"Because I love you."

"Not at all. Because you don't love Katinka Aksakoff."

"What has that to do with this?" he said gloomily.

"Everything. She is free and I am not; she loves you, and I don't; she will do
you good, I shall do you harm; she can gain your pardon and make your
fortune----"

"And you can make me happy," cried Demetrius, looking up with the air of
one who has found a clinching argument.

"With the crumbs from my husband's table?"

"You don't love him!"

The British-matron portion of Leah revolted against this plain speaking. She
liked sugar-coated speeches. "You have no right to say that."

"I have no right to make love to you," cried the doctor, rising, "but I do.
Pschutt"--he snapped his fingers--"what care I for that English pig, your
husband? As to that young fool who sat beside you last night----"

Lady Jim clapped her hands, and jumped up, laughing. "Oh," she cried,
with great enjoyment, "so it was Mr. Askew's attentions that made you lose
your head?"

"But not my heart. I lost that months ago, when I first met you. Ah, you
cruel woman, have I not worshipped and adored you these many days? Do I
not ache here?" he struck his breast passionately. "Have you not made my
life miserable with your looks and smiles and coldness and beauty?" He
seized her hands roughly. "I love you so much that I--even I, Constantine
Demetrius--could kill you--kill you."

She released herself with a cold laugh. "That sounds as though you were in
earnest. But if I could return your love----"

"Ah!" he made a step towards her, trembling and breathing hard.

"One moment." She waved him back, and retreated herself to the window.
"Supposing I could love you--what then?"

"I would--I would----" He flung out his hands with a sob. "What is your
price?" he cried savagely.

"How crudely you put things!" said Lady Jim, coolly. "My price is your
services, to be given blindly, and without question."

"And my reward?"

"Marriage with me."

Demetrius stared, and gazed at her with unaffected amazement. "You mock
me," he said faintly.

"No, I am in earnest. It is true that I am not free now. But," she looked at
him steadily, "you can make me so."

"Murder," whispered Demetrius, looking up and down the long, empty, chill
gallery, and not at the Eve who was tempting him.

Leah blazed out into genuine rage. "What do you mean?" she cried,
stamping her foot. "Not a hair of Jim's head shall be harmed."

"Then how--how----?"

"Sit down and listen," she said, pointing to a chair. "I have a deeper feeling
for you than you think. No; leave my hand alone. We are now talking
business."

"Business," echoed Demetrius, blankly.

Lady Jim nodded composedly. "The pleasure can come later. You have no
money, no title, no position----"

"I can make money," he explained rapidly; "and I can take up again my title
of Prince, which I dropped when I became a doctor. As the wife of a
Russian noble----"

"You will have to make your peace with the Czar to get these things."

"I will do so."

"Through Mademoiselle Askakoff?"

"No; there are other ways. I am not worthy of Katinka----"

"And, therefore, think yourself worthy of me," said Lady Jim, calmly.
"Thank you! There's nothing like being honest."

"But you do not understand----"

"Oh yes, I do. I understand that you can make me a cheap sort of princess,
and in some way can give me money----"

"All that you require--as my wife."

"You must have the lamp of Aladdin, then," said Leah, with a shrug. "My
capacity for spending will try even your finances. But at the present
moment I have not a penny, neither has my husband."

"Well?" asked the doctor, anxiously.

Now that the plunge was made she found less difficulty in speaking plainly.
Leaning towards him, till the perfume of her hair and the close
neighbourhood of her whole gracious person nearly maddened him into
seizing her in his arms, she proceeded rapidly. "My husband's life is insured
for twenty thousand pounds. If you as a doctor can arrange to satisfy the
insurance company of his death, so that we can get the money, he will
disappear, and I, in the eyes of the world, shall be free to marry you."

"Do you mean that I should give him a drug, and----"

"No; I mean--Harold Garth."

"My peasant patient. Well?"

"How stupid you are," said Lady Jim, with unfeigned irritation. "This man
Garth is very like Jim, and is apparently dying----"

"He can't live another two months."

"Then the matter is easily managed. Can't you see?"

"Yes," replied Demetrius, whose quick brain seized the feasibility of the
scheme at once. "But will your husband give you up?"

Leah nodded, not wishing to be too explicit. "We have arranged that."

"And does he know that his disappearance means our marriage?"

"No! He thinks you are poor, and will do anything for money."

"Ah," said Demetrius, sarcastically. "Then the high-born nobleman does not
credit me with being a gentleman?"

"What does it matter what he thinks?" said Lady Jim, impatiently. "We
needn't trouble about him after he disappears. Can it be managed?"

"Yes, if you will promise to marry me when you are free and in possession
of this money."

She gave him both hands. "I do promise."

He bent down and kissed them, passionately. "Consider it done."

"Without any scandal?"

"Assuredly. Listen! The Duke wishes to save the life of this Garth, because-
-he is fond of him."

"Yes, yes; I understand. Go on."

"I say to the Duke that a warm climate will work wonders," continued
Demetrius, dramatically. "He will gladly consent, and with this Garth I go
to----"

"To Nice, or Cannes, or----"

"No," said the doctor, sharply. "If I set foot on the Continent I may be
captured by the secret police. I have no wish to take Garth with me to
Siberia," he added sarcastically. "It is not a warm climate. The Azores--
Madeira--Jamaica--Barbados--any such place, will make him better."

"I don't want him to be made better," said the other conspirator, naïvely.

"Leave that to me, madame. Garth will die as Garth, and be buried as Milor,
your husband."

"No, no," said Leah, with a shudder. "I won't have murder."
"You are scrupulous," rejoined Demetrius, with a shrug. "But make your
mind easy. Garth cannot live--he may die on the voyage----

"Or he may live for months."

Demetrius shrugged his shoulders again. "In that case, I may have to assist
nature."

"No," said Leah, again, and very determinedly. "I could never spend the
money with any pleasure if I thought that you--you assisted nature," she
ended faintly, not liking to use a strong word.

The Russian looked at her with silent surprise. He could not understand
why she should be scrupulous in one thing and not in another. She
contemplated a fraud on the insurance company, and bigamistic marriage
with him, so it was impossible to guess why she should object to the
inclusion of a third crime.

"And it would scarcely be murder," said Demetrius, continuing his train of

thought aloud. "He is so ill, this poor Garth, that the relief of death----"

"Don't," interrupted Leah, who both looked and felt pale. "I won't have it.
Let the poor man die in peace. If he dies otherwise, I shall refuse to marry
you."

"You may do that in any case," said the doctor grimly. "What hold have I
over you?"

"There is no need for you to have any hold," said Lady Jim, wincing, and
feeling that she had indeed delivered herself into the power of the enemy.
"But if you think I will not keep my promise you are mistaken. I swear to
marry you."

"Ah, well," said Demetrius, with a penetrating look. "If you do not marry
me, you cannot marry another, since your husband will always be alive."

He spoke with slow significance.

"Oh, you make him out to be immortal also," said she, with an uneasy
laugh; then felt the necessity of bringing this interview to a conclusion. "We
must part now. It will not do for us to be seen talking together."

"I agree," said Demetrius, gravely; "your proposal alters our relations
entirely. In society, I will speak to you little."

Lady Jim nodded, and put her handkerchief to her lips with a feeling of
nausea. Now that her scheme was taking shape, its outlines appeared rather
repulsive. To read of such a plot conceived and detailed by a dexterous
author was amusing and stimulating; to engage in its execution meant
worry, and a fearful ignorance as to what might happen, should things go
awry. The same difference might be supposed to exist between Aldershot
man[oe]uvres and a real battle. Theorising in criminality was easy; practice
would be both difficult and dangerous.

Moreover, she might have to pay a very large price for the privilege of
engaging in this questionable transaction. Demetrius would certainly exact
his bond in genuine Shylock fashion. Needless to say, she had no intention
of marrying him, and trusted to the providence of the peacock fetish to
avoid the necessity though at the moment she saw no means whereby she
could escape fulfilling her promise. This reflection almost made her draw
back. As yet, she was not under the doctor's thumb, and could extricate
herself even at this eleventh hour by denying everything, should he dare to
speak out. But a second thought of her desperate need of money, a sordid
vision of cheap hotels and ready-made frocks, a shuddering remembrance
that the future, as it now stood, meant limited pocket-money and the
everlasting boredom of Jim's society, turned the scale in favour of the
venture. "Be bold! Be bold!" said the warning of the door in the old fairy
tale, and Leah thought the advice worth taking. But she forgot the
concluding words, "Be not too bold!"

"I leave details to you," she said to her companion, when they had
concluded their nefarious bargain.
"Madame, I relieve you of all responsibility," said Demetrius, now quite his
grave, restrained self. "But, should I tell the Duke that your husband is
suffering from consumption, you will endorse my statement, I trust."

"Consumption? Jim? Oh, Lord, he's as healthy as a pig."

"He will not be if he takes a certain medicine," said the man, dryly.

Leah had a conscience, though for years it had been persistently snubbed
into holding its peace. After all, Jim was her husband, and she had no right
to sanction tricks being played on his robust health. "You don't mean----"
Her voice died away nervously.

"I mean business," Demetrius flashed out. "I love you, and I mean to win
you. The price that you ask shall be paid."

"Without harm to Jim or this man Garth?"

"I swear it."

"In that case"--Leah extended her hand, to withdraw it suddenly before the
Russian could rain kisses on its soft whiteness. A choking sensation, new to
one of her superb health, made her gasp frantically after the breath which
seemed to be leaving her. With unexpected force came a new sensation.
This abominable playing with the lives and hearts of men stirred up to
vehement protest a hitherto unknown better self which overwhelmed her
with wave upon wave of reproachful shame. Conscience, uppermost for
once in her greedy, selfish, animal life, stripped the contemplated sin of its
allurements, and she recoiled before an inward vision of the horror her
baser nature was creating. It might prove to her what the monster proved to
Frankenstein, and haunt her with nightmare insistence for the remainder of
an unbearable life.

"So weak, madame?" asked Demetrius, reading the secret handwriting on

the wall like a very Daniel.
The sneer nerved her, and she strove desperately to escape from the light of
heaven into the material darkness, that would not reveal her sin, unclothed
and shameless. "No!" she cried in a loud, ringing voice. "I--I----" Again the
celestial light mercilessly and mercifully disclosed the inward foulness of
that fair-seeming sin, and the sight beat down her pride and courage into
nothingness. "I take it all back," she stuttered, broken-up and panic-struck.
"Forget--don't move in--in----" Something clicked in her throat, and only by
a violent effort did she repress the climbing hysteria. Incapable of speech,
and only anxious to escape from this extraordinary influence, which
compelled her to face the powers of darkness in their naked horror, she
passed swiftly down the long, echoing gallery. Not till she was safe in her
own room did she halt, to consider why she had fled. Her brain was now
clear, and the actual world resumed its wonted aspect. Her face was still
white, her lips still quivered, her soul was still shaken by the visitation. But,
with a courage worthy of a better cause, she sat down and fought with her
fears, till the colour returned and the nerves came under control. Yet her
material nature could not grasp that the terrible gift of the interior sight had
been hers for one short moment.

"I'm a fool!" she assured herself harshly.

And she was. For, as the walls of the flesh closed round her soul, to darken
it anew, her good angel, who had wrought the miracle, weeping for the
blind that would not see and the deaf that would not hear, left her
despairingly. Then the powers of darkness soothed her into such
contentment, that she laughed scornfully at her late folly, and adopted their
explanation.

"I'm run down with all this worry," said Lady Jim. "I really need a tonic."

CHAPTER XI
A triple knock at the door both interrupted Leah's meditations and annoyed
her, as she was far from wishing for company. It could not be Jim, as he
usually banged the panels impatiently, and walked in before the invitation
to enter could be heard through the noise of his tattoo. Besides, Jim, for
obvious reasons, connected with Askew, had made himself scarce for the
last four-and-twenty hours. Should it be a visitor, Leah resolved to decline
conversation, especially with one of her own sex. But the women of the
house-party so rarely ventured into Lady Jim's sitting-room, that she
concluded the disturber to be some servant with a message. Perhaps Jim had
broken his head while skating, or had made a hole in the ice. If so, his death
would greatly simplify matters.

"Come in," she cried impatiently, and to her surprise, Lionel presented
himself, with a somewhat diffident look. "Oh, it's you, padre!" Lady Jim
had picked up the word from a Sandhurst cadet. "What's the matter,--
anything wrong?"

"What should be wrong?" inquired Kaimes, closing the door and remaining
on the inside.

"Oh, I don't know. I always expect bad news when I see a lawyer's letter or
a parson's face. Well? Has Lady Canvey been converted, or has Jim gone to
that place where the climate forbids skating?"

"Nothing of the sort has happened," said Lionel, dryly. "I have merely come
to chat with you."

"Sit down, then, though I warn you I don't feel companionable."

"You are worried."

"My dear man, when am I anything else but worried, with Jim for a
husband, and the Duke behaving like Shylock at his worst? You and Jim
have made a mess of things."
"I don't know about Jim," said Lionel, resenting this ungrateful speech, "but
I did my best to put matters in the right light."

"Oh, Lord, who wanted a right light? The less light on Jim's and my affairs
the better. A few white lies would have resulted in a larger sum than that
miserable two hundred with which the Duke insulted us."

"I am not in the habit of telling lies, white or black, Lady James."

"I daresay. You parsons are so ridiculously punctilious. As if diplomatic lies

were not as oil on the troubled waters of this world."

"I did not come to discuss this," said Lionel, seeing how utterly impossible
she was, "but to help you in your trouble."

"What trouble?"

"I don't know. I was reading in the library, when a feeling came to me that I
must see you at once--that you needed assistance."

Leah looked rather queer. What could he possibly know of her late
experience? "Telepathy, I suppose."

"Well, that may be the scientific name for the Divine Spirit."

"The what?"

"The Divine Spirit," he repeated, firmly and seriously. "I believe that the
impulse to seek you came from above. You are in danger."

"Am I--of being bored to death?"

"You can't deny that you are in trouble of some sort. I can see it in your
expression."

"My trouble is my own. I share it with no one."

"Then you are in----"

"Pray don't question me," snapped Leah, with a nervous glance around. This
interference of the Unseen with her material affairs was both weird and
uncomfortable. She could not deny the panic that had driven her headlong
from the security of the flesh, and it was remarkable that Lionel,
unsummoned and unsought, should seek her at so critical a moment. The
feeling that he was meddling with what did not concern him, annoyed her
the more. "I wish you would not frighten me," she cried, with an angry
determination to stop this uncanny business.

"Perhaps it is your conscience that is frightening you."

"How dare you say that?"

"Because there is something serious the matter, or I should not have been
called to your assistance."

"I never called you."

"Then your good angel did."

"I don't believe in such things."

"Do you believe in anything?"

"Yes," she said defiantly--"in myself."

"That is a poor help in time of trouble."

"I have managed very well hitherto."

"Can you substantiate that statement, seeing how embarrassed your worldly
affairs are at this moment?"

Lady Jim could find no direct answer. "Parsons have nothing to do with
worldly matters," she muttered, averting her eyes.

"Very true. But if I can offer spiritual consolation----"

"Take it to Lady Canvey. She needs it more than I do."

"I doubt that, or the call would not have come."

"It's a false alarm, padre," she said jeeringly. "I don't want to be preached at,
and you're suffering from indigestion, or softening of the brain."

"Well, Lady James," said Lionel, rising with a sigh, "your limitations may
lead you to look at the matter in that light. But if I can do nothing for you, I
can only retire, after asking your pardon--as I do--for my intrusion;" and he
made for the door.

Her mood changed with feminine rapidity, and she beckoned imperatively
that he should remain. Disguise it as she would to Kaimes, his sudden
coming on the top of her late puzzling experience drove her to acknowledge
that something outside the material was at work. Leah was too clever a
woman to deny the existence of more things in heaven and earth than came
within the scope of her knowledge.

"It is the duty of you parsons to pry into the secrets of souls, I suppose," she
said, leaning her elbow on the chair arm, and her chin on her hand. "But
what interest can you have in my soul--if I have one?"

"I, as other servants of the Master, interest myself in all souls."

"That you may save them?"

"Only Christ can do that."

"I may deny His power to do so--I may deny Him."

"And so fall as Peter fell," said Lionel, sadly. "Yet he repented with bitter
weeping."

"I am not a tearful woman," she retorted, and turned to look into the fire.
She did not wish to meet his eyes when she spoke the ensuing
acknowledgment. "You are a good man, Lionel, and--and--you may be able
to help me."

Kaimes resumed his seat. "I hope so; but I can only point the way to a better
Helper, and One more powerful."
She continued to gaze at the burning coals. "I was frightened a few minutes
before you entered," she said abruptly.

"By what?"

"That is the question you must answer. By something which made me see
what a horrid nature I have."

Lionel was silent for a few moments, not quite sure of his speech.

"The Unseen presses closely around us," he remarked at length, "and at

times reveals itself. For instance, a contemplated sin may be prevented by a
spiritual influence informing the intelligence how terrible the consequences
of such a sin may be."

"It was the sin itself rather than its consequence which frightened me,"
murmured Leah, so softly that Lionel caught but one word.

"What is that you say about sin?"

Lady Jim's cunning made her shirk confession. "Nothing--oh, nothing," she
said hurriedly; "only it seems to me that everything pleasant is a sin in your
eyes."

"Dead Sea Fruit," replied Kaimes, earnestly; "fair to the eye, foul to the
taste. If you turn devoutly to the spiritual, the material pleasures of this
world lose their attractiveness."

"Perhaps," she said sceptically; "but many things goody-goody people of

your sort shudder at are attractive. You can't deny that."

"I have no wish to. Satan always supplies us with rose-coloured spectacles,
through which to contemplate his works."

Lady Jim rose and walked up and down the narrow limits of the room,
twisting her hands in a nervous, hesitating way, quite unlike her usually
calm, decisive self. "I wish you would not talk nonsense," she snapped; "it
is absurd to believe in a personal devil."
"And in a possible hell also, I suppose you would say."

"Oh," she said carelessly, "scientists have explained that away."

"And the Inquisition of the middle ages denied that the earth went round the
sun," said Kaimes, grimly; "but I understand that it does."

"Clever, but not convincing. What is the use of talking nursery theology and
cheap science to me? What can you say that is likely to do me good?"

"The patient must be frank with his physician," hinted Lionel.

"Oh, we always tell the exact truth to doctor and lawyer," said Lady Jim,
scornfully, "because we fear for our bodies and our property. But who tells
the truth to a parson?"

"Those who are convinced of sin."

"In that case I may as well hold my tongue. I am not convinced of anything,
not even if I ought to make you my father confessor."

"I cannot compel your confidence. On the other hand, I cannot help you
unless----"

"Unless! Quite so. Let me think," and turning her back on him, she went to
the window. The early winter gloom was blotting out the distant landscape,
but near at hand the spectral glare of the snow revealed blackly the figures
of homeward-bound skaters. The cold deadness of so sinister a world did
not tend to soothe Leah's overstrung nerves, and shrouded Nature could
give her no counsel. Had it been a summer's twilight of nightingales and
roses, of sleeping blossoms and murmuring leaves, she would have
recovered sufficient spirit to scoff. But this arctic waste, livid and still in the
half light, reminded her of the frozen hell, in the deadly chills of which
shuddered Dante, the seer. And the virile Saxon word hinted at the possible,
if not at the probable. Of course, it was all very ridiculous, and her system
was out of order. Nevertheless, she felt that some kindly human comfort
and advice might restore her tormented mind to its usual peace. And
whatever she said to Lionel, he would not dare to repeat. As a cousin, as a
gentleman, as a priest, his lips would be triply sealed. And he might be able
to point out a less dangerous path than that towards which the need of
money was driving her. He was a good fellow, too, and honest enough, in
spite of his superstition. She decided to speak, and came back to her chair.
Had she been less material, she could have heard in the stillness the rustling
wings of a returning angel. Lionel looked at her inquiringly. She was about
to speak hurriedly, lest the good impulse should pass away, when Jim's
tattoo was heard. With a snap Leah closed her lips, as he lumbered, red-
faced, hearty, and essentially fleshy, into the room. The mere sight of his
tangible commonplace made the woman thank her stars that she had not
blundered into hysterical frankness.

"Holloa, Lionel! Holloa, Leah! Sittin' in the twilight an' talkin' secrets--eh?
Mind some light?" He clicked the ivory knob near the door, and the room
sprang into vivid being. "Had a jolly day's skatin. Y' should ha' come, Leah.
No end of a lark. Feel sick?" This polite question was asked because she
shaded her eyes from the glare.

"No; but I can't stand wild bulls charging into a room."

"Might call it a china-shop," chuckled Jim, glancing disparagingly at the

nicknackery. "Nerves slack, I'll bet. Fresh air an' exercise an' cheerful
company is what you want, Leah."

"I'm likely to get the last, with you," she rejoined witheringly, for the
overpowering vitality of the man made her wince.

"Well, Lionel here's--been no catch in th' way of fun, I expect. Seems to

have given you the hump. Goin', old man? All right! I'll cheer her up. See
you at dinner."

The curate nodded and went out. Since Jim's plunge into the middle of their
conversation he had not uttered a word, for the interruption had jarred on
him, as on Lady Jim. Moreover, he departed with an intuitive feeling that
the golden moment had passed. And this was truly the case. When she next
saw him, Leah wondered why she had so nearly made a fool of herself. And
indeed, she was already wondering while Jim, obviously embarrassed,
discoursed in a breezy, blundering way, with an attempt at connubial
fondness.

"Poor old girl," he said, sitting opposite to her, looking fresh and handsome,
and essentially manly. "'Awfully sorry you're chippy. If I'd known I'd ha'
come back to keep you company."

"Are the heavens falling?" asked Leah, listlessly.

Jim, as usual, could not follow this recondite speech. "Don't know what
you're talkin' about," he remarked good-humouredly, and bustling to the
bell. "You're a peg too low, Leah. Tell you what: we'll have tea here, an' a
talk, if you don't mind."

His wife nodded, wondering if he was about to confess his possible

Mormonism. She did not think so, as Jim never confessed anything, unless
it was dragged piecemeal out of him. Her feelings at this moment did not
lean towards cross-examination, so she let him ring the bell and order tea,
without using her too-ready tongue. In fact, she unbent so far as to make
use of him.

"Get me a dose of sal volatile, Jim," she ordered. "There's a bottle on my

dressing-table."

"Poor old girl," said the sympathetic Jim, again, and stumbling into the next
room with eager haste.

Leah smiled to herself. This ready obedience argued a guilty conscience.

After Jim dosed her, he was tactful enough to hold his tongue and improve
the fire, without clattering the poker and tongs. Then he pulled down the
blinds and drew the curtains, and altered the shades of the electrics, so that
Leah might not be overpowered by the glare.

"It's quite like a new honeymoon," she said, sarcastically. The drug was
doing its renovating work, and her original devil was returning to a swept
and garnished house, with seven other spirits more wicked than himself.
Jim took the remark seriously, and coloured with pleasure. "I believe we'd
get on rippin'," said he, enthusiastically. "If we only had the money I believe
we'd be as happy as birds."

"They can't be very happy in this cold weather," replied Leah, seeing
plainly that Jim's amiability was owing to a selfish fear of reproval for his
iniquities. "Here's the tea. I don't want any just now, as the sal volatile is
doing me good. You can eat."

"Oh, can't I, just," said Jim, when the footman left and he was filling
himself a cup. "Th' skatin's given me an appetite. 'Sides, I want to get into
form; as I've somethin' serious to say about this insurance business."

Leah looked up suddenly. "I thought you had given that the go-by."

"No--o--o," drawled her husband, not meeting her eyes. "Course, th' pater's
a good sort an' all that. But his arrangement will give us a howlin' bad time
for the next few years."

"So I told you."

"Well, then," Jim fiddled nervously with a piece of toast, "why not get the
twenty thousand?"

"It could be managed, of course, with some little difficulty."

"Through that Russian Johnny?"

"Demetrius? Yes."

"You've see him, then?"

"To-day. He'll see the thing through."

"What's his price?"

Leah smiled blandly, as she thought of what Jim would say did she reply
honestly to this question. But she did not intend to. It seemed to her that Jim
was driving her towards the very path which Lionel, unknowingly, wished
her to avoid. It was useless to fight against fate, so she decided, and like
many another person, she laid the blame on those scapegoats, the stars. She
was now completely dominated by the selfish influence of the great god
Mammon, and the lesser sin of lying was swallowed up in the greater one of
idolatry.

"He'll want a few thousands, of course," she said mendaciously; "but, as

yet, we have not fixed any sum."

"Hum," muttered Jim, suspiciously. "I thought he'd want something more
than money."

Leah rose indignantly, and proclaimed a virtue that her conscience assured
her she might yet lose. "I am an honest woman, Jim," she said haughtily,
"and, married or unmarried, I should never allow any man to make love to
me."

"Seems to me you do."

"Only to pass away the time. I stop short when----"

"When their hearts are broken," growled her husband. "Upon my soul,
Leah, I'm straighter than you are."

"I doubt that, since you swear by what you haven't got."

Jim rashly became aggressively virtuous. "I've not been a bad sort of
husband to you, Leah."

"I have seen so little of you that it is rather difficult for me to give an
opinion," she said, resting her elbow on the mantelpiece. "Mrs. Berring may
be in a better position to judge of your virtues."

Kaimes turned white with emotion, and he rose from his low chair as
though worked by springs. "It's a lie," he growled hoarsely. "I never married
her."

"Married who?"
"The lady you talk about."

"The lady Mr. Askew talked about, you mean. I merely mention her name."

"It is not her name. She is Lola Fajardo."

"Of the Estancia, San Jago. So Mr. Askew explained."

"Oh, if you're goin' to make a row----"

"Do I ever make rows?" asked Lady Jim, impatiently.

"You don't care enough about me to raise Cain," said Jim, rather sorry for
himself. "I swear I'd be a different man, if you were a different woman."

"Every husband in the divorce court witness-box makes the same excuse.
Sit down, Jim, and let us talk over the matter quietly. Your infidelities have
long since converted us from man and wife into a business firm to earn
money."

"But, Leah, I swear----"

"By that soul you know nothing about?" she flashed out contemptuously.
"Talk sense, if you are capable of doing so. You have been trying to dodge
this explanation ever since you met Mr. Askew last night, in the smoking-
room. But now that we've stumbled on an opening, perhaps you will
explain."

"Explain what?"

"All that Mr. Askew did not tell me."

"Oh, he's been makin' somethin' out of nothin', the silly ass," protested Jim,
sitting down and handling the poker with a fervent wish that he could use it
on the sailor's head. "I met Señorita Fajardo at Lima, and later at Buenos
Ayres. Her brother asked me out to their estancia in the camp of Argentina,
near Rosario, and I stopped there for a month. Bit of luck came my way, an'
I pulled her from under a beastly mustang, that would have kicked the life
out of her. She took a fancy to me, 'cause I saved her life."
"Is that all?"

"Well, I went again to San Jago, last year----"

"Your third visit to South America since our marriage."

"Yes," said Jim, sullenly; "an' I met Lola--I mean Señorita Fajardo."

"Oh, don't apologise. Lola is a pretty name."

"An' she's a pretty woman, an' I'm flesh an' blood," cried Jim, getting up to
work himself into a rage. "I met her durin' my second visit, an' went again
to the estancia on my third. It was no use luggin' a title round, for these
mouldy hotel-keepers always make a chap pay for havin' a handle to his
name, so I called myself Berring--James Berring."

"James Berring, bachelor."

"Bachelor, certainly. I haven't married her, and if Askew says I have, he's a
liar."

"And assuredly a marplot," said Leah, dryly, "since he has exploded your
romance. I understood from him that this lady loves you."

"So she does."

"And you love her?"

Jim wriggled. "Oh, go on--go on! Kick a chap when he's down!"

"If I had intended to kick, you would have been black and blue by now, Mr.
James Berring. But you needn't flatter yourself that my feelings are hurt in
any way. You're not worth it."

"Other women think differently."

"Lola Fajardo, for instance."

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