romantic adventure to the little lady. He was surprised, when they
came to talk, to find how much they appeared to have read of a
solid kind. He asked if they had any plan.

"No, indeed," said Miss Merry, "we just wander on; one thing
suggests another. Mrs. Graves likes LONG books; she says she likes
to get at a subject quietly--that there ought not to be too many
good things in books; she likes them slow and spacious."

"I am afraid one has to go back a good way for that!" said Howard.
"People can't afford now to know more than a manual of a couple of
hundred pages can tell them about a subject. I can tell you some
good historical books, and some books of literary criticism and
biography. I can't do much about poetry or novels; and philosophy,
science, and theology I am no use at all for. But I could get you
some advice if you like. That's the best of Cambridge, there are so
many people about who are able to tell what to read."

While they were making out a list, Jack arrived breathlessly, and
Miss Merry shamefacedly withdrew. Howard said: "Perhaps that will
do to go on with--we will have another talk to-morrow. I begin to
see the sort of thing you want."

Jack was in a state of high excitement.

"What on earth were you doing," he said, as the door closed, "with
that sedate spinster?"

"We were making out a list of books!"