BY ORDER OF THE CZAR. 133
rugs, there was drawn up before the fire a big much- cushioned seat; and the general tone of the room was yellow, but whether it was the yellow of warm light or the yellow of curtains and walls one did not think of inquiring, though one might wonder about all this afterwards, reflecting on the pretty, comfortable, unusual kind of room it was.
Mrs. Milbanke was seated at a pretty tea table, lighted with a pretty copper lamp. Dolly was half buried in an easy chair with the last new book in her lap. Swynford hoped she was enjoying her literature. She looked up with a mischievous smile and said she was, though she must confess it was full of sadness, not to say horrors. Stepniak's "Russia under the Czars," she continued, this time turning her blue eyes towards Philip, who, of course, became immediately interested. Her sister had suggested the book as a desirable one to have lying about since they had seen the sketch on Philip's easel, and they had driven down to Mudie's for it before going home after they had left the studio that very afternoon. It had not taken Dolly half an hour, the half hour after dinner, to get at the tone of the work, and to know just enough to let Philip see that she was interested in the subjects which interested him.
"Yes," he replied, sitting down by her side, "it is a painful subject, though one might be forgiven for expecting to find something noble in pages inscribed with such a title but there is in the record of its martydoms."
There was something fateful in Philip's appearance and manner; he was pale, his black hair was dishevelled, it fell in a great shock over his forehead, his long hands were particularly white, and there was a poetic melancholy in the expression of his sallow face that suggested much thought and work. All this made him interesting in Dolly's estimation, and she was also taken by the air of distinction which seemed to belong to those student-like character-
