DOM Scripting Web Design with JavaScript and the

Document Object Model Keith Jeremy Sambells

Jeffrey download

https://textbookfull.com/product/dom-scripting-web-design-with-
javascript-and-the-document-object-model-keith-jeremy-sambells-
jeffrey/

Download full version ebook from https://textbookfull.com

We believe these products will be a great fit for you. Click
the link to download now, or visit textbookfull.com
to discover even more!

Beginning iPhone and iPad Web Apps Scripting with HTML5

CSS3 and JavaScript 1st Edition Apers Chris Paterson
Daniel

https://textbookfull.com/product/beginning-iphone-and-ipad-web-
apps-scripting-with-html5-css3-and-javascript-1st-edition-apers-
chris-paterson-daniel/

DOM Enlightenment Exploring JavaScript and the Modern

DOM 1st Edition Lindley Cody

https://textbookfull.com/product/dom-enlightenment-exploring-
javascript-and-the-modern-dom-1st-edition-lindley-cody/

Responsive Web Design by Example Embrace responsive

design with HTML5 CSS3 JavaScript jQuery and Bootstrap
4 Hussain

https://textbookfull.com/product/responsive-web-design-by-
example-embrace-responsive-design-with-html5-css3-javascript-
jquery-and-bootstrap-4-hussain/

JavaScript Object Programming Rinehart Martin

https://textbookfull.com/product/javascript-object-programming-
rinehart-martin/
Building web and mobile ArcGIS Server applications with
JavaScript Lewin

https://textbookfull.com/product/building-web-and-mobile-arcgis-
server-applications-with-javascript-lewin/

Web Development with Node and Express Leveraging the

JavaScript Stack 2nd Edition Ethan Brown

https://textbookfull.com/product/web-development-with-node-and-
express-leveraging-the-javascript-stack-2nd-edition-ethan-brown/

Systems Analysis and Design An Object Oriented Approach

with UML Dennis

https://textbookfull.com/product/systems-analysis-and-design-an-
object-oriented-approach-with-uml-dennis/

PHP 8 Quick Scripting Reference A Pocket Guide to PHP

Web Scripting Third Edition Mikael Olsson

https://textbookfull.com/product/php-8-quick-scripting-reference-
a-pocket-guide-to-php-web-scripting-third-edition-mikael-olsson/

JavaScript Cookbook: Programming the Web 3rd Edition

Scott

https://textbookfull.com/product/javascript-cookbook-programming-
the-web-3rd-edition-scott/
 Second
Edition

DOM SCRIPTING
 DOM Scripting
Web Design with JavaScript and the
Document Object Model
Second Edition

■■■

Jeremy Keith
with Jeffrey Sambells

i
 DOM Scripting: Web Design with JavaScript and the Document Object Model: Second Edition
Copyright © 2010 by Jeremy Keith with Jeffrey Sambells
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information
storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the
publisher.
ISBN-13 (pbk): 978-1-4302-3389-3
ISBN-13 (electronic): 978-1-4302-3390-9
Printed and bound in the United States of America 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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 and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of
infringement of the trademark.
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.

Publisher and President: Paul Manning

Lead Editor: Ben Renow-Clarke
Technical Reviewer: Rob Drimmie
Editorial Board: Steve Anglin, Mark Beckner, Ewan Buckingham, Gary Cornell, Jonathan
Gennick, Jonathan Hassell, Michelle Lowman, Matthew Moodie, Duncan Parkes, Jeffrey
Pepper, Frank Pohlmann, Douglas Pundick, Ben Renow-Clarke, Dominic Shakeshaft, Matt
Wade, Tom Welsh
Coordinating Editors: Candace English
Copy Editor: Jim Compton and Marilyn Smith
Compositor: MacPS, LLC
Indexer: Toma Mulligan
Artist: April Milne
Cover Designer: Anna Ishchenko
Distributed to the book trade worldwide by Springer Science+Business Media, LLC., 233 Spring
Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10013. Phone 1-800-SPRINGER, fax (201) 348-4505, e-mail
[email protected], or visit www.springeronline.com.
For information on translations, please e-mail [email protected], or visit www.apress.com.
Apress and friends of ED books may be purchased in bulk for academic, corporate, or promotional
use. eBook versions and licenses are also available for most titles. For more information, reference
our Special Bulk Sales–eBook Licensing web page at www.apress.com/info/bulksales.
The information in this book is distributed on an “as is” basis, without warranty. Although every
precaution has been taken in the preparation of this work, neither the author(s) nor Apress shall
have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be
caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this work.

ii
 For Jessica, my wordridden wife
—Jeremy

For Stephanie, Addison, and Hayden, always by my side

—Jeffrey

iii
 Contents at a Glance

■Contents ................................................................................................................ v

■About the Authors .............................................................................................. xiii

■About the Technical Reviewer............................................................................ xiv

■Acknowledgments............................................................................................... xv

■Introduction ....................................................................................................... xvi
■Chapter 1: A Brief History of JavaScript ............................................................... 1

■Chapter 2: JavaScript Syntax ................................................................................ 7

■Chapter 3: The Document Object Model .............................................................. 31

■Chapter 4: A JavaScript Image Gallery ............................................................... 45

■Chapter 5: Best Practices .................................................................................... 59

■Chapter 6: The Image Gallery Revisited .............................................................. 73

■Chapter 7: Creating Markup on the Fly ............................................................... 95

■Chapter 8: Enhancing Content ........................................................................... 123

■Chapter 9: CSS-DOM .......................................................................................... 149

■Chapter 10: An Animated Slideshow ................................................................. 175

■Chapter 11: HTML5 ............................................................................................ 205

■Chapter 12: Putting It All Together.................................................................... 227

■Appendix: DOM Scripting Libraries ................................................................... 279

■Index ................................................................................................................. 303

iv
Contents

■Contents at a Glance ............................................................................................ iv

■About the Authors .............................................................................................. xiii

■About the Technical Reviewer............................................................................ xiv

■Acknowledgments............................................................................................... xv

■Introduction........................................................................................................ xvi

■Chapter 1: A Brief History of JavaScript ............................................................... 1

The origins of JavaScript ................................................................................................ 1

The Document Object Model ........................................................................................... 2

The browser wars ........................................................................................................... 3

The D word: DHTML ............................................................................................................................... 3

Clash of the browsers ............................................................................................................................ 3

Raising the standard ....................................................................................................... 4

Thinking outside the browser ................................................................................................................ 4

The end of the browser wars ................................................................................................................. 4

A new beginning .................................................................................................................................... 5

What’s next? ................................................................................................................... 5

■Chapter 2: JavaScript Syntax ................................................................................ 7

What you’ll need ............................................................................................................. 7

Syntax ............................................................................................................................. 9

Statements ............................................................................................................................................. 9

Comments ............................................................................................................................................ 10

Variables .............................................................................................................................................. 10

v
■ CONTENTS

Data types ............................................................................................................................................ 12

Arrays ................................................................................................................................................... 14

Objects ................................................................................................................................................. 16

Operations ..................................................................................................................... 17

Arithmetic operators ............................................................................................................................ 17

Conditional statements ................................................................................................. 19

Comparison operators .......................................................................................................................... 20

Logical operators ................................................................................................................................. 21

Looping statements ...................................................................................................... 22

The while loop ...................................................................................................................................... 22

The for loop .......................................................................................................................................... 24

Functions ...................................................................................................................... 24

Objects .......................................................................................................................... 27

Native objects ...................................................................................................................................... 28

Host objects ......................................................................................................................................... 29

What’s next? ................................................................................................................. 29

■Chapter 3: The Document Object Model .............................................................. 31

D is for document.......................................................................................................... 31

Objects of desire ........................................................................................................... 31

Dial M for model............................................................................................................ 32

Nodes ............................................................................................................................ 33

Element nodes ..................................................................................................................................... 34

Text nodes............................................................................................................................................ 34

Attribute nodes..................................................................................................................................... 34

Cascading Style Sheets........................................................................................................................ 35

Getting Elements .................................................................................................................................. 37

Taking stock ......................................................................................................................................... 41

Getting and Setting Attributes ....................................................................................... 41

getAttribute .......................................................................................................................................... 41

vi
 ■ CONTENTS

setAttribute .......................................................................................................................................... 43

What’s next? ................................................................................................................. 44

■Chapter 4: A JavaScript Image Gallery ............................................................... 45

The markup ................................................................................................................... 45

The JavaScript .............................................................................................................. 47

A DOM diversion ................................................................................................................................... 48

Finishing the function .......................................................................................................................... 49

Applying the JavaScript ................................................................................................ 49

Event handlers ..................................................................................................................................... 49

Expanding the function ................................................................................................. 51

Introducing childNodes ........................................................................................................................ 51

Introducing the nodeType property ...................................................................................................... 52

Adding a description in the markup ..................................................................................................... 53

Changing the description with JavaScript ........................................................................................... 54

Introducing the nodeValue property ..................................................................................................... 54

Introducing firstChild and lastChild ...................................................................................................... 55

Using nodeValue to update the description ......................................................................................... 55

What’s next? ................................................................................................................. 58

■Chapter 5: Best Practices .................................................................................... 59

Mistakes of the past ..................................................................................................... 59

Don’t blame the messenger ................................................................................................................. 59

The Flash mob...................................................................................................................................... 60

Question everything ............................................................................................................................. 60

Graceful degradation .................................................................................................... 61

The javascript: pseudo-protocol .......................................................................................................... 62

Inline event handlers ............................................................................................................................ 62

Who cares? .......................................................................................................................................... 63

The lessons of CSS ....................................................................................................... 63

Separation of structure and style ......................................................................................................... 63

vii
 ■ CONTENTS

Progressive enhancement ................................................................................................................... 64

Unobtrusive JavaScript ................................................................................................. 65

Backward compatibility ................................................................................................ 67

Object detection ................................................................................................................................... 67

Browser sniffing ................................................................................................................................... 68

Performance considerations ......................................................................................... 69

Minimizing DOM access and markup................................................................................................... 69

Assembling and placing scripts ........................................................................................................... 70

Minification .......................................................................................................................................... 70

What’s next? ................................................................................................................. 71

■Chapter 6: The Image Gallery Revisited .............................................................. 73

A quick recap ................................................................................................................ 73

Does it degrade gracefully? .......................................................................................... 74

Is the JavaScript unobtrusive? ..................................................................................... 75

Adding the event handler ..................................................................................................................... 75

Share the load ...................................................................................................................................... 80

Assuming too much ...................................................................................................... 82

Fine-tuning.................................................................................................................... 84

Keyboard access ........................................................................................................... 86

Beware of onkeypress ......................................................................................................................... 87

Sharing hooks with CSS................................................................................................ 88

DOM Core and HTML-DOM ............................................................................................ 91

What’s next? ................................................................................................................. 92

■Chapter 7: Creating Markup on the Fly ............................................................... 95

Some old-school methods ............................................................................................ 95

document.write .................................................................................................................................... 95

innerHTML ............................................................................................................................................ 97

DOM methods ............................................................................................................. 100

createElement .................................................................................................................................... 101

viii
 ■ CONTENTS

appendChild ....................................................................................................................................... 102

createTextNode .................................................................................................................................. 103

A more complex combination ............................................................................................................ 105

Revisiting the image gallery ....................................................................................... 107

Inserting a new element before an existing one ................................................................................ 109

Inserting a new element after an existing one................................................................................... 110

The finished image gallery ................................................................................................................. 112

Ajax ............................................................................................................................. 116

The XMLHttpRequest object ............................................................................................................... 116

Progressive enhancement with Ajax .................................................................................................. 121

Hijax ................................................................................................................................................... 121

What’s next? ............................................................................................................... 122

■Chapter 8: Enhancing Content ........................................................................... 123

What not to do............................................................................................................. 123

Making the invisible visible......................................................................................... 124

The content ................................................................................................................. 124

The markup: HTML, XHTML, or HTML5 .............................................................................................. 125

The CSS .............................................................................................................................................. 127

The JavaScript ................................................................................................................................... 128

Displaying abbreviations ............................................................................................. 128

Writing the displayAbbreviations function ......................................................................................... 129

Creating the markup .......................................................................................................................... 131

A browser bomb ................................................................................................................................. 136

Displaying citations ..................................................................................................... 139

Writing the displayCitations function ................................................................................................. 140

Displaying access keys ............................................................................................... 145

Retrieving and attaching information ......................................................................... 148

What’s next? ............................................................................................................... 148

ix
 ■ CONTENTS

■Chapter 9: CSS-DOM ......................................................................................... 149

Three sheets to the Web . ............................................................................................149

Structure .............................................................................................................................................. 149

Presentation ......................................................................................................................................... 150

Behavior ............................................................................................................................................... 150

Separation ............................................................................................................................................ 151

The style property ....................................................................................................... 152

Getting styles ....................................................................................................................................... 153

Setting styles ....................................................................................................................................... 158

Knowing when to use DOM styling . ........................................................................... 160

Styling elements in the node tree . ...................................................................................................... 160

Download from Wow! eBook <www.wowebook.com>

Repetitive styling ................................................................................................................................. 164

Responding to events........................................................................................................................... 168

className . ................................................................................................................ 170

Abstracting a function .......................................................................................................................... 173

What’s next? . ............................................................................................................. 174

■Chapter 10: An Animated Slideshow ................................................................ 175

Animation basics ........................................................................................................175

Position ................................................................................................................................................ 175

Time . .................................................................................................................................................... 178

Incremental movement ........................................................................................................................ 178

Abstraction ........................................................................................................................................... 181

Practical animation . ................................................................................................... 187

The situation ........................................................................................................................................ 188

The solution ......................................................................................................................................... 189

CSS. ...................................................................................................................................................... 190

JavaScript ............................................................................................................................................ 192

A question of scope.............................................................................................................................. 195

Refining the animation ......................................................................................................................... 197

Adding a safety check .......................................................................................................................... 200

x
 ■ CONTENTS

Generating markup ............................................................................................................................ 201

What’s next? ............................................................................................................... 204

■Chapter 11: HTML5 ............................................................................................ 205

What is HTML5? .......................................................................................................... 205

A little help from a friend ............................................................................................ 206

A few examples .......................................................................................................... 208

Canvas ............................................................................................................................................... 208

Audio/Video ........................................................................................................................................ 213

Forms ................................................................................................................................................. 221

Is there anything else?................................................................................................ 225

What's Next ................................................................................................................. 226

■Chapter 12: Putting It All Together.................................................................... 227

The brief ...................................................................................................................... 227

Raw materials .................................................................................................................................... 227

Site structure ..................................................................................................................................... 227

Page structure.................................................................................................................................... 229

Design ......................................................................................................................... 229

CSS ............................................................................................................................. 230

Color ................................................................................................................................................... 232

Layout ................................................................................................................................................ 234

Typography ........................................................................................................................................ 236

Markup ........................................................................................................................ 238

JavaScript ................................................................................................................... 238

Page highlighting ............................................................................................................................... 240

JavaScript slideshow ......................................................................................................................... 243

Internal navigation ............................................................................................................................. 248

JavaScript image gallery ................................................................................................................... 252

Table enhancements .......................................................................................................................... 256

Form enhancements .......................................................................................................................... 261

xi
 ■ CONTENTS

Minification ........................................................................................................................................ 276

What’s next? ............................................................................................................... 277

■Appendix: DOM Scripting Libraries ................................................................... 279

Choosing a library ....................................................................................................... 280

A few libraries .................................................................................................................................... 281

Content delivery networks ................................................................................................................. 282

Syntax ......................................................................................................................... 283

Selecting elements ..................................................................................................... 284

CSS selectors ..................................................................................................................................... 284

Library-specific selectors .................................................................................................................. 286

Filtering with a callback ..................................................................................................................... 288

Manipulating the DOM document ............................................................................... 289

Creating content................................................................................................................................. 289

Manipulating content ......................................................................................................................... 291

Handling events .......................................................................................................... 291

Load events ........................................................................................................................................ 291

Other events ....................................................................................................................................... 292

Ajax ............................................................................................................................. 293

Ajax with Prototype ............................................................................................................................ 293

Ajax with jQuery ................................................................................................................................. 296

Animation and effects ................................................................................................. 298

CSS property-based animations ........................................................................................................ 299

Packaged animations ......................................................................................................................... 300

Remember accessibility ..................................................................................................................... 301

Summary..................................................................................................................... 301
■Index ................................................................................................................. 303

xii
About the Authors

■ Jeremy Keith is a web developer living and working in Brighton, England. Working with the web
consultancy firm Clearleft (www.clearleft.com), Jeremy enjoys building accessible, elegant websites
using the troika of web standards: XHTML, CSS, and the DOM. His online home is http://adactio.com.
Jeremy is also a member of the Web Standards Project (www.webstandards.org), where he serves as joint
leader of the DOM Scripting Task Force. When he is not building websites, Jeremy plays bouzouki in the
alt.country band Salter Cane (www.saltercane.com). He is also the creator and curator of one of the Web’s
largest online communities dedicated to Irish traditional music, The Session (www.thesession.org).

■ Jeffrey Sambells is a Canadian designer of pristine pixel layouts and a developer of squeaky clean
code. Back in the good-old days of the Internet, he started a little company called We-Create. Today, he
is still there as Director of Research and Development / Mobile. The title “Director of R&D” may sound
flashy, but really, that just means he is in charge of learning and cramming as much goodness into
products as possible—ensuring they’re all just awesome. He is currently having fun exploring mobile
design and development techniques. Jeffrey loves to learn. He has as much enthusiasm for digging in the
dirt or climbing a cliff as he does for precisely aligning pixels or forcing that page to load just a little
faster. What really pushes him forward is taking the bits of knowledge he has collected and piecing them
together into something new and unique—something other people can be excited about, too. Along the
way, Jeffrey has managed to graduate university, start a few businesses, write some books, and raise a
wonderful family.

xiii
■ CONTENTS

About the Technical Reviewer

■ Rob Drimmie is lucky. He has an amazing wife, two awesome kids, and a brand-new keyboard. Rob's
creative urges tend to manifest in the form of web applications, and he prefers they be fueled by pho and
hamburgers (the creative urges, that is).

xiv
Another Random Scribd Document
with Unrelated Content
 "Well! there might be worse places," and Mrs. Rawlinson pulled
down her veil, preparatory to departure, "in spite of slight drawbacks
in the way of distance, typhoons, earthquakes, etc. By the way, I
wanted to telephone to you on Wednesday after that awful shock,
but the wires were disarranged. Were you frightened? Did you suffer
much loss?"

"Several of my best pieces of Imari china were smashed," replied

Pearl, "and I picked up my big Delft vase in fear and trembling. But
it was uninjured, mercifully. Stranger still, this heavy bronze clock
was thrown off the mantelpiece, and was still going when I picked it
up. Frightened? I should think I was frightened. I and all the
Japanese servants rushed into the garden, and watched the house
rocking backwards and forwards, expecting every moment to see it
collapse."

"It was the worst earthquake we've had for years," added Rosina,
"but it was nothing here compared to what it was in the north. I see
by the newspapers whole villages were destroyed, and there has
been immense loss of life. Amy will have told you how Tom retired
as usual under the table. And did you hear how those two American
globe-trotters, those dear old Miss Mordants, each clutching her own
particular Chin dog, fled precipitately from the Grand Hotel, clad in
little else than their stockings and chemises, and took refuge in a
'ricksha in the middle of the Bund? Thus airily clad, with the hood
down and the apron up, they insisted on remaining for several
hours. And then poor Nelly Richards, who was completely lost, and
at last, after a long search, was found up a tree in the garden. I am
told no power in heaven or earth would induce her to desert her tree
until dragged down by main force by her infuriated parent."

"Yes, even earthquakes have their comical side. I heard of a

certain mutual friend of ours who was indulging in a bath at that
moment, and who fled into the street adorned tastefully but
extremely simply in a high hat and a walking-stick," and Pearl
laughed, but a second later her face became once more
overclouded, and she sighed deeply.

"Now my dear," said Rosina, as she took her in her arms and
kissed her affectionately, "be your own brave philosophical self, and
don't worry about things. And as for your late husband, the last
thing you could possibly manage to do is to mourn him, you know.
Personally, I make no attempt to disguise how greatly relieved I am
that a merciful Providence has thought fit to remove him from this
troublesome world to another, and,--we'll hope,--a brighter sphere.
While he was alive, in spite of your divorce, one could never feel
quite sure that he might not take it into that evil head of his to
annoy you in some way. Why! who knows? He might have turned up
here in Tokyo!"

"There may be, for all you think, a far worse danger threatening
me than the unexpected arrival of a divorced husband," murmured
Pearl oracularly.

She was on the verge of confiding to Rosina the probable arrival

in Japan of Lord Martinworth. She would have done so if it had not
been that, since those few confidential conversations held on Pearl's
first arrival three years ago, the name and even the existence of
Martinworth had, by a sort of tacit consent and mutual
understanding, been ignored by the two women in all later
intercourse. Pearl was longing for Rosina's sympathy and advice in
the difficulties she saw before her, but an incipient feeling of
shyness, a kind of mauvaise honte, prevented her from venturing to
reopen a subject which for so long had been closed between them.
She therefore held her peace.

"After all," she thought, as she seated herself at her writing table
after Mrs. Rawlinson's departure, "it may simply be a mare's nest of
Sir Ralph's. Dick may never come in the end. A thousand incidents
may occur to cause him to change his mind. And even if he and his
wife do come to Japan, it is just as likely we shall not meet. What
scores of globe-trotters visit this country whom I never see. I can
easily abstain for the next two or three months from accepting
invitations to the English Legation, the one place where we are likely
to run across each other. Yes, after all, I am glad I said nothing to
Rosina."

And yet in spite of all her sophistries, deep down in her heart of
hearts, Pearl never doubted for a moment but that it was ordained
by fate that Dick Martinworth should visit Japan, and that once
again, whether for weal or for woe she knew not, their paths in life
should cross.

Mr. Hall's and Rosina's arguments combined carried weight, and

the next mail conveyed a letter from Mrs. Nugent to the former, in
which no mention was made of renouncing the wealth left her.
Indeed, enclosed with the letter was the rough draft of a will, by
which, with the exception of a very substantial legacy to Mrs.
Rawlinson, and another to the old lawyer himself, the whole of
Pearl's vast fortune was left unconditionally to her young cousin,
Miss Amy Mendovy.

CHAPTER VI.

A Woman's Womanliness.

The Imperial Cherry garden party was fixed that year for the 21st
of April, the day proving one of the most perfect of a perfect
Japanese spring.

Pearl had been prevented from attending both the spring parties
that had taken place since her arrival. Therefore, though suffering
from a certain depression of spirits which, in spite of her efforts to
the contrary, possessed her at times, she found herself looking
forward with considerable pleasure to the coming event.

As a member of the Rawlinson family she had a right to an

invitation. She accompanied her cousins, and as they drove towards
the Hama-Goten Palace, Mrs. Rawlinson's critical eyes rested
admiringly on Pearl's beautiful face, and on the almost equal
loveliness of her young niece seated opposite to her. Her heart
swelled with natural pride as she complacently smoothed out the
creases of the purple shot silk that in various forms and shapes had
graced many an Imperial garden party.

"There's not the slightest doubt," she ejaculated, "but that my

niece and my cousin will be two of the prettiest and best dressed
women at the party to-day. You are both of you, my dears, looking
perfectly charming. Don't you agree with me, Tom? Come now, say
something, you tiresome person. Pay your relatives a compliment for
once in a way."

Mr. Rawlinson opened his lazy eyes with somewhat of an effort.

"Both Pearl and Amy are quite vain enough of their looks without
any compliments from me," he grunted. "The only thing unusual that
I observe about them to-day is that the things they are wearing on
their heads look, if anything, a shade more absurd and grotesque
than they do even on ordinary occasions. My dear Rosina, I do wish
you would leave me alone, and make the proper use of your parasol,
instead of employing it for the sole purpose of poking me in the ribs.
It is bad enough to be dragged to this infernal garden-party, without
being massacred before I get there."

This last remark was accompanied with a twinkle in the very

kindly eyes. Tom Rawlinson was somewhat of a rough diamond, and
he affected a certain gruffness both in speech and manner. His bark,
however, was well known for being considerably worse than his bite,
and many there were who could vouch for his open-handedness in
their moments of distress and need, his ever-ready helpful
generosity, and above all, that priceless treasure in this unfeeling
world--a warm heart.

"Now don't call the garden-party names, my dear, just because

you would prefer to be wasting this beautiful day in that stupid,
stuffy office of yours. And, Amy, don't pay any attention to what
your uncle says. Your hat is very pretty. I am sure it ought to be, as
nothing was considered good enough for your ladyship but a
fabrication from Paris. By the bye, Pearl, do you know anything
about Sir Ralph Nicholson? Is he still here? He never comes our way
now. What's the matter with him? I have seen him once since his
return, and he appeared considerably changed from the genial,
pleasant fellow that I remember him."

Both Pearl and Amy reddened at Mrs. Rawlinson's questions.

Neither conscience was entirely free from guilt.

"Yes," answered the former hesitatingly, "he is still here. He came

to see me yesterday, and said that he would be at the party to-day.
But here we are," she added, as with a certain relief she saw the
entrance to the Palace gardens.

"Oh, Pearl, isn't it lovely?" exclaimed Amy. "I never saw the cherry
trees so beautiful as they are this year."

They walked through the picturesque grounds, planted with the

world-famed cherry tree, heavy with its fragrant mass of blossom.
Interspersed was the graceful momiji, or spring maple, clothed in its
luxurious mantle of brilliant red, forming with the dark foliage of the
lofty pines, and the varied greens of rare and ancient trees in all
their rich and perfect beauty, an enchanting contrast to the cloudless
azure sky above. Pearl for a moment, in her admiration of these
beauties of nature, perfected by the cunning art of man, forgot to be
anxious and unhappy. Her sweet face was no longer grave, and her
eyes shone, as, giving herself up to the enjoyment of the hour, she
experienced the charm of gazing at a landscape glorified at that
moment by glowing, brilliant sunshine, and scented by the delicate
odour of a myriad faintly-tinted, profusely clustering blooms.

Her eyes revelled in the unrivalled beauty of these lovely grounds,

and only when she arrived at the waiting place beneath the ancient
and wide-spreading trees, and was quickly surrounded and greeted
by her many friends, did she realise that she was there not merely to
admire, but, in her turn, to be equally admired.

She was in an animated conversation with the Minister of Foreign

Affairs and the Belgian and Spanish Chefs de Mission, when Amy
came up to her.

"Fancy, Pearl," she exclaimed, "Baron de Pennett has just told me

that Monsieur de Güldenfeldt is still away at Sendai and Hakodate,
and all sorts of out-of-the-way places. You are guilty of keeping him
away like this," she added in a whisper. "He loves these functions as
a rule. But no doubt he has forgotten all about you by this time. Men
are strange animals. Talk about the fickleness and changeableness
of women indeed! Just look at the pronounced way Sir Ralph is
flirting with that strong-minded looking female in magenta. Not that
I care a bit, you know. Though I can't say I particularly admire his
taste, do you?" And Amy's dark orbs flashed disdainfully.

Pearl let her eyes travel in the direction indicated, and, as she
looked, a puzzled expression came into them. "I seem to know that
face," she said musingly. "Where can I have seen it before?"

She was still pondering, when her thoughts were interrupted by a

man's voice behind her enquiring, in a strong foreign accent,
"Madame Nugent, may I be allowed to have the honour of
presenting an old friend of mine to you?" and turning, Pearl with no
previous warning of the ordeal before her, met Lord Martinworth
face to face.

The meeting was so unexpected,--for she had gathered from Sir

Ralph that it would still be some weeks before the Martinworth's
arrival,--that Pearl found herself murmuring commonplaces, and
mechanically bowing, as she would have murmured and bowed to a
complete stranger. Later on she realised how dazed, how completely
lost she had been at the moment. It was only on perceiving the
deathly pallor of the face before her that she remembered that she
was in public, that a thousand eyes were upon her, and with a
supreme effort she partially succeeded in recovering her presence of
mind.

Lord Martinworth had been standing conversing with Count

Carlitti, a member of one of the Foreign Legations and a former
acquaintance whom he had unearthed in Tokyo, when the latter
caught sight of Pearl's tall figure and straight back, clad in a
perfectly cut gown. He had already announced himself as one of her
many admirers, though, having only lately arrived in Japan, he was
unacquainted as yet with the gossip of his new post. Always talking
himself, and never giving another a chance to put in a word, he was
so far, in ignorance of Mrs. Nugent's history. He had heard vaguely
that she was separated from her husband, a fact which he
considered much in her favour, for in the opinion of this vivacious
gentleman every pretty woman profited much, certainly as far as he
personally was concerned, in being placed in a position more or less
irregular or equivocal. At any rate, if unfortunately a husband did
happen to exist, the more such an inconvenient appendage
remained in the background, the greater approval was the lady of
the hour likely to find in Count Carlitti's soft brown eyes.

Those eyes were ever on the look out for a pretty face or a
rounded bust. His taste in female beauty was considered, certainly
by himself if by no one else, indisputable. So when at the Club he
had once given out that there was no doubt whatsoever but that
Mrs. Nugent was la plus belle femme de Tokyo, no one troubled,
even if they disagreed, to contradict one who counted himself such
an experienced judge of the correct and classic lines of feminine
loveliness.
 "I must, mon ami," he said to Martinworth, "present you to une
beauté--mais une beauté incomparable! Madame Nugent is English.
You see that beautiful, straight back, and leetle head poised so
haughtily? Ah, I perceive you admire! But wait, mon ami, till you see
her face. And when you will have seen her face, wait a leetle longer
till you have seen her en robe de bal! Quelles epaules mon cher, ah!
quelles epaules! Then tell me if we do not possess a gem in ce triste
Tokyo."

The introduction promptly followed, and shortly afterwards Count

Carlitti was heard relating that la parfaite beauté de cette Madame
Nugent had made such an impression on ce brave Martinworth that
he had actually trembled, and turned ashen from the violence of his
emotions.

"My triumph is complete," he was saying to Tom Spence, a junior

member of the English Legation. "C'etait le coup de foudre!"

"Coup de foudre, by Jove! I should just think it must have been,"

exclaimed Spence. "Why, my dear fellow, Martinworth is the very
man with whom Mrs. Nugent (that's not her real name, you know)
was mixed up with in that divorce-suit two or three years ago. She
came out here, they say, to get rid of him. And now you go and
introduce them to each other as if they had never met before! Ha,
ha, ha! upon my word, that's the best joke, the rummest situation I
have ever heard of!"

"Mon Dieu," exclaimed Carlitti, with a shrug of his shoulders, "if

women change their names, how is it possible to know the right--
what do you call it--co-respondents--that belong to them? Mais
sapristi! quelle guigne!"

"What is the matter, Count?" asked Lady Thomson, who, with her
husband the English Minister, at that moment joined the two young
men. "You look quite upset. An unusual state of things for you."
 "Carlitti has just been distinguishing himself by introducing Lord
Martinworth to Mrs. Nugent," explained the amused Spence. "He
evidently wished for a sensation."

The British Minister was a very dignified person, and no one

realised better than His Excellency himself that he was assisting in a
prominent position at an important Court function. At his Secretary's
words however, he screwed up his mouth into the form of a button,
and a sound very like a whistle issued from his lips.

"My dear Carlitti, what a terrible situation! You mean to say you
didn't know about the divorce, and all the rest of it?"

"Mais naturellement, Monsieur le Ministre, je n'en savais rien. I

desired to make a pleasure to mon ami Martinworth, for he knows
himself well en beauté de femme. And I was assured that he would
admire la belle Madame Nugent. Aprés tout j'avais raison, je connais
bien son gôut."

"Yes! you are quite right, Count," murmured the English wife of
one of the German Secretaries, equally remarkable for her extreme
prettiness, her sharp tongue, and her very many indiscretions, "Lord
Martinworth certainly knows something about the good points of le
beau sexe. As for Mrs. Nugent, he has had in her case, I am told,
many years of leisure in London to study this particular example.
Well, now he can re-commence, and can still further improve himself
in what you dear, foolish men tell us is an absorbing and
inexhaustible occupation,--the study of the female heart. Dear Mrs.
Nugent's heart must be so very, very interesting. It is a pity that, so
far, this boring, dull Tokyo has never provided her with an adorer, to
help to solve its mysteries."

"Don't, I pray you, waste your pity where it is not required, my

dear little Countess," laughed Lady Thomson. "Mrs. Nugent could
have had, I feel assured, as many adorers as she desired. But you
know as well as I do, that in spite of her somewhat difficult position
she does not lay herself out for admiration and that sort of thing.
She is certainly not a bit of a flirt. By the bye," she added sotto voce
to her husband, "do you think I ought to say anything to her about
that horrid man's death, and the fortune? Or shall I ignore the whole
subject? What do you think about it?"

"By all means hold your tongue," replied the cautious diplomatist.
"To refer to the fellow's death would be in the worst possible taste.
Why, I see she doesn't even wear mourning, and quite right, too. It
would be the height of hypocrisy. Come along, my dear. Collect the
wives of my secretaries and those other ladies whom it is your duty
to introduce to the Empress, for it will soon be our turn to be
received in audience. We must take our place."

For the rest of that afternoon Count Carlitti retired into the
background, and this usually volatile gentleman was extremely silent
and considerably suppressed. Allowing for a certain amount of
exaggeration, the description he gave Tom Spence of Lord
Martinworth's demeanour at the moment of introduction was far
from being incorrect. If, instead of bounding away after someone
else, Carlitti had remained a little longer on the spot, his surprise
would have been greatly increased by hearing the one word, "Pearl,"
issuing in deep, astounded tones from the man's lips, and by
witnessing the intense look of joy that, after the first shock of
amazement, illumined the handsome but somewhat stern features.
To show emotion at an unexpected meeting, neither words nor
violent outbursts of excitement are necessary. Lord Martinworth and
Pearl Nugent met, and had at one glance, recognised each other.
She had let her trembling hand lie in his for a moment, while that
one look, that one word, had passed between them. She could not
have spoken if her life had depended on the opening of her lips, and
she felt it indeed a cause of thankfulness when the Court
Chamberlains chose that moment to divide the crowd, forming it into
two lines facing each other, and when in the necessary confusion,
Martinworth was separated from her side.
 The Corps Diplomatique took up their stand in line, by order of
precedence, the rest of the crowd placing themselves beyond and
behind, where they could obtain the best view. The military bands
repeated one after the other, the very solemn and impressive
National Anthem, while their Imperial Majesties, accompanied by the
Princes and Princesses of the Blood and all the Court, walked slowly
by between the two lines of their respectful subjects, and that of the
Corps Diplomatique, acknowledging graciously the deferential
salutations of this large gathering of people. Immediately on the
passing of the Court, the Corps Diplomatique took their place in the
procession. The crowds of guests followed, and Pearl found herself
leaning heavily on Nicholson's arm, walking, in a sort of trance
across the picturesque bridges, and along the lovely verdure-shaded
paths.

Ralph had been an anxious and interested spectator of the

meeting between his two friends. He was exchanging banalities with
Lady Martinworth--the recollection of whose face had proved so
great a puzzle to Pearl--when he had observed the greeting, and his
kind heart had beaten sympathetically at what he knew must indeed
be a terrible ordeal to both.

He witnessed Pearl's sudden dismay, the dazed and frightened

look, and the nervous clutch of the handle of her parasol.
Unceremoniously deserting his companion, he made his way towards
Mrs. Nugent, and when everyone started to follow in the procession
he without a word, simply drew her arm through his, holding her up
through all that long and silent promenade.

When the Imperial party at length arrived at the marquee

prepared for them, and the crowd was waiting expectantly on the
turf outside, Ralph succeeded in obtaining a chair for his companion.
Pearl by this time had regained a certain amount of control, and was
so far composed that she could watch with interest their Imperial
Majesties receiving the members of the Corps Diplomatique, and
accepting the various presentations that are made to them on these
occasions.

While this ceremony was still proceeding, Amy Mendovy occupied

with her own affairs, and all unconscious of the event that had just
taken place, came up to her cousin.

"You lucky woman," she said, "to have got a chair. I am simply
dead with fatigue. But, Pearl," she added, struck with her cousin's
pallor and gazing at her with anxiety, "how terribly pale you look.
Are you not well, dear?"

"Mrs. Nugent felt the sun a little. I have persuaded her to sit
down," replied Nicholson, who with open parasol was still standing
guard over Pearl.

Amy raised her eyebrows, and instead of glancing at him gazed

somewhat superciliously down her straight nose. She was feeling
deeply offended with Ralph. He had not approached her the whole
of that day, and--as she had confessed to Pearl--had indeed scarcely
honoured her with his society, at home or abroad, since the
memorable piano incident.

Ralph Nicholson was following strictly to the letter Pearl's advice,

and was feeling extremely pleased with himself in consequence.

"After all, what clever creatures women are," he thought. "Now,

unless it had been put into my dull head, I should never have
dreamt of this very easy plan of getting round the little witch. I
should simply either have cut it, or else like an idiot have rushed off
and proposed again. Either of which proceedings would, according to
Mrs. Nugent, have proved fatal to my chances. Now I see My Lady is
just wild with me. She won't even look at me. She saw me at work
though, as I intended she should do, on that queer fish, Lady
Martinworth, who, by the bye, is not half a bad sort and capital
company to boot. Tant mieux, Miss Mendovy. Your punishment will
last considerably longer, I can tell you!"
 Thus thought Ralph, as he stood at the back of Pearl's chair,
complacently twirling his moustache, and furtively watching the lady
of his dreams.

He found her looking more charming, more seductive than ever

to-day, in her pretty gown and extremely becoming hat. Her dark
eyes were flashing, the rich colour in her cheeks was coming and
going with suppressed excitement, as completely ignoring
Nicholson's presence, she bent down and wrapped a lace scarf
around Pearl's shoulders.

"I think," said Sir Ralph, this time addressing himself to Pearl, "if
you will excuse me, Mrs Nugent, as you have Miss Mendovy with you
now, and as I see many of your acquaintances making their way
towards you, I will just go and give Lady Martinworth a look. I see
her casting signals of distress. She knows no one here in all this
crowd, you know. And she is awfully nice."

So with a grin, and a parting glance at the back of Amy's dark

head, off he went.

Pearl watched him go. Then she looked at Amy, who had turned,
with apparently great animation, to address one of her numerous
admirers hard by.

"I hope," she thought, "he won't over-act it. Men can never do
things by halves. And of course, two can play at that game."

The truth of which remark Miss Mendovy was determined to

prove. For, during the rest of the afternoon she succeeded in
attaching to her charming person a by no means unworthy suitor, a
certain good-looking Secretary of Legation, who long had been
known to sigh hopelessly for her hand.

Pearl never quite recalled how she got through the rest of the
ceremony. Afterwards she remembered vaguely catching a
somewhat distant view of their Imperial Majesties seated at a table
within the tent, discussing their repast in solitary grandeur. Near
them were placed the Imperial Princes and Princesses, and beyond
were little tables at which were seated the Ministers of State, and
the members of the Corps Diplomatique with their wives and
families. She had a dim recollection of someone forcing her to
swallow a fragment of paté de foie gras and a glass of champagne,
and she once remembered raising her eyes and finding those of
Lady Martinworth fixed with a look of mocking enquiry and scrutiny
upon her face.

This expression on Lady Martinworth's countenance was an

additional shock to the many that Pearl was fated to experience that
afternoon. Fortunately shortly after this incident, the Imperial party
broke up, thereby allowing the guests the liberty to take their
departure, or the long strain on Pearl's nerves, and the dread that
Martinworth would again approach her, would inevitably have
culminated in a breakdown.

As it was, her first action on reaching the shelter of her home was
a characteristic one of her sex. She shut herself into her drawing
room, and walking straight up to the glass over the mantelpiece, she
gazed at herself for fully two minutes. In spite of the pallor of her
cheeks this close examination apparently did not prove otherwise
than satisfactory, for there was a slight smile about the lips as she
drew the long pins from her hat, and laid her head back on the
pillows of the sofa.

She was anxious to collect her thoughts, and if possible, to devise

some plan for the immediate future. Whether that plan would ever
have been formed it is difficult to say. As it was, her cogitations were
speedily interrupted by the simple fact of a violent ring at the door
bell.

Pearl was on her feet in an instant, and her hand was pressed
against her heart to still its beating.
 Who could it be? Was it?---- Yes, it must be Martinworth, who had
probably ascertained without difficulty her whereabouts, and had
lost no time in following her.

She experienced a strange sensation--a mixture of

disappointment and relief when she realized it was not Martinworth's
voice, but a woman's, that she heard in the hall.

The next moment Lady Martinworth entered the room.

She made a considerable noise as she strode with long steps

toward Pearl, who was standing erect, with a slight look of defiance
in her wide-open eyes.

"How do you do, Mrs. Norrywood," she exclaimed, holding out a

large hand. "I saw you at the garden party, easily found out where
you lived, and thought it best to come on here without delay, to
have a necessary yarn with you. No objection, I suppose, to my
bearding you in your den like this?" she added, with a broad,
decidedly good-natured smile.

Pearl drew herself up, and threw her head back in a manner
peculiar to herself. She felt completely mistress of her actions, quite
ready for the fray, as she answered calmly:

"Before proceeding further in our interview, Lady Martinworth,"

the name stuck in her throat, "I think it best that you should be
aware that I am known here under the name of Nugent. Will you not
sit down?"

"Thanks. Oh! so you have changed your name," was the reply.
"Well, perhaps it is just as well in the circumstances."

"I am glad it meets with your approval. May I offer you a cup of
tea, or perhaps a cigarette? You smoke, I believe?"

"Thanks, yes, I smoke. Oh! Egyptians, I see. Fearfully doctored,

you know. Couldn't think of drinking tea. I ate enough of that spread
this afternoon to last me for a week. Pretty sight, but I was dying to
get away to have a smoke, and now, like a good Samaritan, you
have come to my rescue." Another broad smile.

Then followed a silence which Pearl for one was determined not
to break.

Lady Martinworth threw herself back in her chair, stuck her feet
out before her, and made rings with the cigarette smoke.

"Pretty place, this Tokyo. Been here long?" at length she

ejaculated.

"I have lived here rather more than three years," replied Pearl
quietly. "Have you come to see me for the purpose of obtaining
some information about the place or the people?"

"Nothing further from my thoughts, I assure you. You like it better

than London, I suppose? Uncommonly dull place to live in, though, I
should think. But no accounting for tastes. I didn't know you were
here, you know, or of course I shouldn't have been such a brute as
to have come to Japan and disturbed your peace of mind."

Pearl slightly lifted her eyebrows, and looked her companion

straight in the face.

"And may I enquire," she asked suavely, "in what possible way
you would be likely to do that?"

Lady Martinworth tossed her cigarette into the grate, and rising
from her armchair, went and perched herself on the music stool.

"In bringing Martinworth here attached to my apron strings, of

course. Hard luck on you both, I call it. Not very pleasant for me,
either, you know. Why, he'll detest me more than ever now, which is
saying a good deal."
 Pearl seated herself in a chair near the music-stool on which her
visitor was twirling herself round and round, accompanied by that
teeth-edging squeak with which music-stools seem chronically to be
affected. She laid her hand on the stool to try to stop the
movement.

"Lady Martinworth," she said, "do you not think it would be wiser
for us both to keep Lord Martinworth's name out of this
conversation? He and I are old friends. We meet again after some
years, and we----"

"Oh, I say," interrupted her companion rudely, "stop that. I don't

want a long jobation about your and Martinworth's friendship, you
know. I know all about that. Read the whole case from the
beginning to the end with the greatest interest. I made up my mind
years ago to marry Dick, but of course everyone knew he was
otherwise engaged, and when you got your divorce, it was given out
that he would marry you. And so he would have done, if you had not
bolted like the little idiot you were. Well, ''tis an ill wind that blows
no one any good.' You no sooner made yourself scarce than I seized
my opportunity. I needn't tell you he never asked me to marry him. I
saved him that trouble. And here I am Lady Martinworth, whereas
you are.----By the way, by what outlandish name did you say you
called yourself?"

Pearl rose and calmly went towards the door, which she threw
open.

"Lady Martinworth," she said, very slowly and very icily, "no doubt
my education has been sadly neglected, but I must confess, in
private matters of this kind, I have only been accustomed to dealing
with ladies. As therefore, it is absolutely impossible for me to cope
with a person of your calibre, I must beg of you to do me the favour
of leaving my house directly."

But Lady Martinworth did not stir from her seat. On the contrary,
the eternal smile grew broader on the somewhat homely features.
She took a single eyeglass from the breast pocket of her coat, and
rubbing it with a silk handkerchief, stuck it calmly into her left eye,
gazing meanwhile complacently at Pearl.

"Bravo, bravo!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands, "you really did
that very well, you know. What an actress you would make, with
your figure and grand air. No wonder Martinworth fell in love with
you. I admire his excellent taste, 'pon my word, I do. Poor old
fellow, it is hard lines on him, that after having been your slave for
so long he should now have to fall back on me. Never mind, we
won't talk about him if you don't like it. Do be a sensible woman.
Come and sit down, and leave that door to take care of itself. I'm
not going just yet, you know, for I have something I want to say to
you."

Much to her own astonishment, Pearl found herself obediently

following her ladyship's request. She closed the door, and came once
more and sat down by her side.

If she had been asked to do so, she could not have defined her
sentiments towards this strange woman, who all unbidden, had
forced herself into her presence. Coarse, utterly wanting in tact and
delicacy as she seemed to be, there was something about her very
honesty and good nature that attracted Pearl. She found herself
trying to analyse her companion's character, wondering what there
was in it, and in the situation altogether, that was tending to change
her sentiments towards her visitor. Was it sympathy she asked
herself--a feeling of sorrow that was now taking possession of her?

She answered gently, "Forgive me for my brusqueness. If there is

anything you wish to say to me, I shall be willing to listen to you.
Can I be of use to you in any way?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Lady Martinworth rose from her

seat and clasped Pearl's two hands.
 "Yes," she said, "you can be of great use to me, if you will. You
can be my friend. Will you?"

There was no reply, for Pearl was deeply considering this

extraordinary request. What did it mean? Was the woman sincere, or
was it merely a clever move on her part to secure the alliance of a
person who otherwise might be an impediment, a dangerous rival?
The ups and downs of a stormy existence had developed in Pearl a
certain mistrustfulness, a suspiciousness of disposition, otherwise
unnatural to her, and considering the circumstances of the case, she
felt in no wise inclined to jump at this unexpected proposal. While
she was debating in her mind what reply to make, Lady Martinworth
spoke again.

"Well, I see you don't like the notion," she said, moving towards
the window. "Why should you? I suppose you and I haven't an idea
or a taste in common. I have never had a woman friend in my life,
and have never wanted to have one. Till now I have always looked
on women as poor creatures. But somehow you seem different from
the rest. I liked the way you went to that door and wanted to turn
me out. Real plucky I call it, and one so seldom sees pluck in a
woman. Then the way you left it when I asked you to do so showed
me you had a heart, for I saw you were feeling sorry for me. I've got
a heart too, whatever you may think of me. Yes, Mrs. Nugent, I've
got a heart. One that is full of love for my husband, too, though he
little knows it."

As Lady Martinworth uttered these last words, she might have

been called almost pretty. A wonderfully tender light lit up the small
eyes, and the wide mouth smiled very sweetly as she continued:

"And that is just it, that is just why I ask you to be my friend. I
love my husband. He doesn't care a rap about me, you know. No!
not one little bit. In fact, I know there are times when he downright
detests me. I well know he is just as devoted to you as ever he was.
Of course he has adored you for years. You are a good woman, I
know you are, in spite of that nasty speech I made about the divorce
case. With your pretty face and unhappy married life you must, of
course, have had heaps of temptations, and yet, as I look at you, I
feel convinced you have always kept as straight as a die. You have
got such nice true eyes. Yes, 'pon my word, I like you, Mrs. Nugent.
I feel you are a trump, and it would make me thoroughly happy if
you would do me the kindness of calling me your friend. Cannot you
make an effort in that direction? Do try. I know I am not a very
attractive person, but one thing I swear to you, I am neither mean
nor petty, and I am sure that, so far, I have never willingly done a
shabby action. Of course, those qualities are not much to boast of,
but they are all I possess, so I enumerate them, and I do so want a
friend--oh! I do so want a friend."

At these words Lady Martinworth suddenly hid her face in her

hands and burst into a flood of tears.

Pearl began to think there was to be no end to the surprises of

that day. Now, behold! as a climax to every excitement, Lady
Martinworth, succumbing, like any other member of her sex, to an
hysterical attack of nerves. It was this womanly, weak action that
conquered Pearl, and if Lady Martinworth had but known it, she
could not have chosen better tactics to have achieved her ends.

Pearl understood that in spite of those mannish ways and the

abrupt speech, in spite of the general roughness and uncouthness,
in spite of all these outward traits that on ordinary occasions would
have gone so far towards repelling a gentle nature such as her own,
that nevertheless she had there, seated in her house in the
abandonment of grief, a friendless, miserable woman, with a
woman's heart and a woman's weakness. Realizing this, Pearl kissed
her and put her arms about her, as only a woman knows how to kiss
and soothe, and comfort another of her sex.

Half an hour later, a grateful and transformed Lady Martinworth

departed from Mrs. Nugent's house, and Pearl was left once more to
her thoughts. Poor Pearl! they could hardly be reckoned pleasant
thoughts. She perfectly well understood that she was being
entangled in a net, that net of circumstances which is oft-times so
strangely and so strongly woven that to the unfortunate victim
entrapped within there appears no possible loophole of escape.

She thought of this interview just past, and asked herself where
would it lead her? An hour ago she considered herself the natural
enemy of the wife of the man she loved. Now, to her bewilderment,
she found she had vowed eternal friendship and protection to this
woman, who in the usual order of things, according to all natural
laws, she ought to treat, if not with great dislike, certainly with fear,
avoidance and distrust.

And yet, strange to say, she did not in the least regret her action,
for she pitied with all her heart the woman who in such a genuine
outburst of grief, had prayed for her friendship. All the chivalry of
Pearl's generous nature was aroused when she thought of this poor,
friendless, heart-broken woman crying to her for help--to her who,
from Lady Martinworth's own confession, was still the sole recipient
of Dick Martinworth's love. Lady Martinworth had thrown herself, as
it were, on her protection, and Pearl then and there vowed to
herself, that as far as it lay in her power, as far as strength would be
given her to carry out her intentions, she would not prove her false.

She had she knew well, a difficult task before her, and she did not
disguise from herself the fact that in this matter there would be not
only herself, not only her own strength, her own endurance to be
reckoned with, but Martinworth, from whom she had fled, and who
was here once more on the spot. He knew his power, and he would
surely use it. Of that she had no doubt. Her dread of that power, of
that determination of will, was as great now as had been the case in
former years. After all,--as she had written of herself in her farewell
letter at that time,--she was but a woman--a helpless, loving
woman, weak and frail. On that occasion, when she had thought,
rightly or wrongly, her disappearance was for his benefit, her love
had given her the almost superhuman strength to fly from him. Now
she had only herself to think of, and one other forlorn woman--a
stranger,--who had prayed to her for help. Could she hope to be
given a second time the power to resist his undeniable influence
over her? Could she resist his importunities,--his prayers? He was so
strong, so very strong, and she was so loving, so lonely, and so
weak.

Again the bell rang. This time it was Lord Martinworth who
entered the room, and with his arrival, Pearl knew that her
resolutions, her force of will, would be put straightway to the test.

CHAPTER VII.

Tried as by Fire.

There are moments in one's career when one knows as clearly as

if written in letters of fire that one's whole future may depend on an
action or a word. Both may appear insignificant enough in
themselves, and yet that one little action, that one little word, may
be all-sufficient to make or mar a life.

Pearl was fully aware of this fact as she saw Lord Martinworth
with outstretched hands, his face and eyes all aglow, coming
towards her. The moment was portentous! Her first instinct was to
greet him with all the pent-up feelings of years, and to throw herself
into his arms; but realizing how greatly everything depended on her
self-control, she took refuge in silence and inaction, and shrinking
back behind her chair, she waited with down-cast eyes for him to
speak.
 Lord Martinworth did not appear to resent her silence, or to notice
the fear and unrest of her movement. The chair acted as no barrier
to his impetuosity, and brushing it aside he seized her two hands
and kept them within his own.

"At last, Pearl," he said in a low voice, "at last I have found you."

She did not reply, but slowly raising her eyes to his, gazed long
and steadily into his face.

What she saw was a man approaching middle age, with lined face
and saddened eyes, and not the Martinworth whom she had known.

She had left behind her a man with dark hair, frank and laughing
blue eyes, and a mobile and expressive mouth. He whom she saw
before her now had hair thickly sprinkled with grey, his eyes, blue as
in days of yore, laughed no longer, but gleamed mournfully and
somewhat wildly from beneath the finely marked eyebrows, while
the beauty of the well shaped mouth was marred by certain hard
and scornful lines that surrounded the slightly parted lips. His very
figure seemed altered. He was a tall man, and had formerly been
remarkable for his erect carriage. Now there was a stoop in the
shoulders, and in spite of the well-cut frock coat, his stature seemed
to Pearl to have decreased.

All these outward examples of change, these slight signs of

degeneration, struck Pearl with a sudden chill. She let her eyes rest
on the man before her, feeling as if she were in the presence of a
stranger.

"Why do you not speak to me?" he asked at last. "Have you no

word of welcome for me, Pearl?"

"I do not seem to know you," answered Pearl sadly, as she

withdrew her hands from his. "You are changed, very changed. You
are not the Dick Martinworth I remember."
 "You find me changed? Doubtless I am. Well! I will credit you with
believing that it does not give you much pleasure to look at a
wretched, a broken-hearted man. To gaze at your own handiwork,"
he answered bitterly.

"My handiwork?" faltered Pearl.

"Yes, your handiwork. Listen, Pearl! God knows I did not come
here with the intention of reproaching you, but nevertheless I must
tell you a little of the harm that you have done. The man who loved
his occupations and enjoyed all that life had to give him, now has
taste for none of these things, but on the contrary is possessed,--
poor soul,--with the demon of perpetual unrest. The man who had a
certain faith in purity and truth, and was not otherwise than happy
in that faith, now doubts whether such things really exist. And yet,
Pearl, I did believe in goodness and in truth, for I believed in you.
You left me, after years of waiting and of longing, left me at the
moment I thought my dearest hopes were to be realised. You threw
me a letter and left me,--and in so doing you have ruined my life.
Yes, you have ruined my future and my life."

As Martinworth was speaking, his eyes grew larger and wilder,

and Pearl shrank back further behind the chair.

"I did it for the best," she murmured in a smothered voice, "Dick,
I did it for your sake."

He took a step towards her, and clasped her by the wrist.

"Oh, Pearl! You dare to stand there and to tell me that lie. You tell
me you did it for my sake, when you know it was only of yourself, it
was only of your own reputation, your own good name, you were
thinking. I'm not a fool, Pearl, whatever you may think me, and it
was easy enough to read through the falseness, the hypocrisy of
that letter you wrote me. Why, during all those years we knew and
loved each other, were you not always considering, always fearful of
what the world--your little mean world--would say? And it was just
Welcome to our website – the ideal destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. With a mission to inspire endlessly, we offer a
vast collection of books, ranging from classic literary works to
specialized publications, self-development books, and children's
literature. Each book is a new journey of discovery, expanding
knowledge and enriching the soul of the reade

Our website is not just a platform for buying books, but a bridge
connecting readers to the timeless values of culture and wisdom. With
an elegant, user-friendly interface and an intelligent search system,
we are committed to providing a quick and convenient shopping
experience. Additionally, our special promotions and home delivery
services ensure that you save time and fully enjoy the joy of reading.

Let us accompany you on the journey of exploring knowledge and

personal growth!

textbookfull.com