Get the full ebook with Bonus Features for a Better Reading Experience on ebookmeta.

com

Foundational Java Key Elements and Practical

Programming 2nd Edition David Parsons

https://ebookmeta.com/product/foundational-java-key-
elements-and-practical-programming-2nd-edition-david-
parsons/

OR CLICK HERE

DOWLOAD NOW

Download more ebook instantly today at https://ebookmeta.com

 Recommended digital products (PDF, EPUB, MOBI) that
you can download immediately if you are interested.

Elements of Programming Interviews 2nd Edition Adnan Aziz

https://ebookmeta.com/product/elements-of-programming-interviews-2nd-
edition-adnan-aziz/

ebookmeta.com

Interactive Object-Oriented Programming in Java: Learn and

Test Your Programming Skills, 2nd Edition Vaskaran Sarcar

https://ebookmeta.com/product/interactive-object-oriented-programming-
in-java-learn-and-test-your-programming-skills-2nd-edition-vaskaran-
sarcar/
ebookmeta.com

HR The Key Elements tutorial 1st Edition Zinurova R.

https://ebookmeta.com/product/hr-the-key-elements-tutorial-1st-
edition-zinurova-r/

ebookmeta.com

Twisted The Driven World 1st Edition Ariana Rose

https://ebookmeta.com/product/twisted-the-driven-world-1st-edition-
ariana-rose/

ebookmeta.com
Service Mesh The New Infrastructure for Microservices 1st
Edition Eberhard Wolff

https://ebookmeta.com/product/service-mesh-the-new-infrastructure-for-
microservices-1st-edition-eberhard-wolff/

ebookmeta.com

Assisted Reproduction Techniques Khaldoun Sharif

https://ebookmeta.com/product/assisted-reproduction-techniques-
khaldoun-sharif/

ebookmeta.com

Tito and His Comrades Pirjevec Jože

https://ebookmeta.com/product/tito-and-his-comrades-pirjevec-joze/

ebookmeta.com

Stories from a migrant city Living and working together in

the shadow of Brexit 1st Edition Ben Rogaly

https://ebookmeta.com/product/stories-from-a-migrant-city-living-and-
working-together-in-the-shadow-of-brexit-1st-edition-ben-rogaly/

ebookmeta.com

Communicating with Data: The Art of Writing for Data

Science Nolan

https://ebookmeta.com/product/communicating-with-data-the-art-of-
writing-for-data-science-nolan/

ebookmeta.com
Alexis de Tocqueville Selected Letters on Politics and
Society Roger Boesche (Editor)

https://ebookmeta.com/product/alexis-de-tocqueville-selected-letters-
on-politics-and-society-roger-boesche-editor/

ebookmeta.com
Texts in Computer Science

Series Editors
David Gries
Department of Computer Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

Orit Hazzan
Faculty of Education in Technology and Science, Technion—Israel
Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

More information about this series at http://​www.​springer.​com/​

series/​3191 Titles in this series now included in the Thomson Reuters
Book Citation Index!
'Texts in Computer Science' (TCS) delivers high-quality instructional
content for undergraduates and graduates in all areas of computing and
information science, with a strong emphasis on core foundational and
theoretical material but inclusive of some prominent applications-
related content. TCS books should be reasonably self-contained and aim
to provide students with modern and clear accounts of topics ranging
across the computing curriculum. As a result, the books are ideal for
semester courses or for individual self-study in cases where people
need to expand their knowledge. All texts are authored by established
experts in their fields, reviewed internally and by the series editors, and
provide numerous examples, problems, and other pedagogical tools;
many contain fully worked solutions.
The TCS series is comprised of high-quality, self-contained books
that have broad and comprehensive coverage and are generally in
hardback format and sometimes contain color. For undergraduate
textbooks that are likely to be more brief and modular in their
approach, require only black and white, and are under 275 pages,
Springer offers the flexibly designed Undergraduate Topics in
Computer Science series, to which we refer potential authors.
David Parsons

Foundational Java
Key Elements and Practical Programming
2nd ed. 2020
David Parsons
The Mind Lab, Auckland, New Zealand

ISSN 1868-0941 e-ISSN 1868-095X

Texts in Computer Science
ISBN 978-3-030-54517-8 e-ISBN 978-3-030-54518-5
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54518-5

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020

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.

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks,

service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the
absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the
relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general
use.

The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the
advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate
at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the
editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the
material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have
been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional
claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer
Nature Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham,
Switzerland
To my parents, gone but not forgotten.
Preface
In the Spring of 1996, I attended the Object Technology conference at
Christ church College, Oxford. The excited buzz around the “new” Java
language at this conference got me curious, and a few months spent
getting up to speed with the syntax convinced me that it was worth
trying out as a teaching language. After overcoming some hurdles,
including getting a teaching lab upgraded from Windows 3.1 to
Windows 95 so we could run Java, I taught a class of student volunteers
at what is now Southampton Solent University the basics of Java in
1997. From this experience I wrote the first edition of “Introductory
Java” which was published by Letts Educational in 1998. In 1999 I left
academia to spend some years in industry, training and consulting in
Java. This gave me a whole new perspective on the language as a
professional tool, and the second edition of “Introductory Java” was
published in 2003. By 2012 I was back teaching various programming
languages in academia, but also continuing to deliver Java training for
commercial clients and felt that a completely new book was needed to
address all the changes in the language over the intervening decade.
Hence the first edition of “Foundational Java: Key Elements and
Practical Programming” was almost a completely new book with a new
focus and a new publisher, covering Java up to version 7.
Fast forward to 2020 and the many accumulated changes to Java
since version 7 had reached a point where I felt that Foundational Java
needed a significant update, hence this second edition. It has grown out
of more than 20 years of teaching Java both to students and to
professionals across the world and reflects a wealth of experience and
insight. I have had a great journey with Java, and I am grateful for the
opportunity to share my Java knowledge with readers of this book.

Overview and Goals

The second edition of “Foundational Java: Key Elements and Practical
Programming” guides the reader through all the core features of Java,
and some more recent innovations, in a way that builds skills and
confidence though tried and trusted stages, supported by exercises that
reinforce the key learning points. Using this book, the reader is
introduced to all the most useful and commonly applied Java syntax and
libraries and is provided with many example programs that can provide
the basis for more substantial applications.
Integral to the book is the use of the Eclipse Integrated
Development Environment (IDE) and the JUnit testing framework. This
ensures maximum productivity and code quality when learning Java.
However, the fundamentals of using the Java compiler and run time are
also explained to ensure that skills are not confined to one
environment. In addition, coverage of the Ant tool ensures that the
reader is equipped to automatically build, test and deploy their
applications, including simple web applications, independent of an IDE.

Organization and Features

The book is organized into 20 chapters that cover various levels of Java
(see “Suggested Uses” for further information). Each chapter covers a
discrete topic and includes scaffolded exercises that build skills in a
step by step fashion. I have experimented in the past with teaching Java
using an “objects first” approach but experience has shown me that it is
better to cover the language fundamentals before addressing object-
oriented concepts, so this book follows an “objects later” philosophy.
The key features of this book are that it
Meets the needs of both students and professionals.
Provides both introductory and intermediate coverage
Has been completely updated, including Java 14
Uses the Eclipse IDE, the most popular open source Java IDE, but also
explains how Java can be run from the command line
Makes unit testing one of its key themes, integrating the JUnit 5
testing framework to emphasize the importance of unit testing in
modern software development
Includes coverage of the Ant build tool
Comes with code examples and exercises throughout
Is accompanied by a full set of PowerPoint presentation slides that
have been road tested with classes
Builds on three previous volumes and a set of classroom training
materials that have been refined and developed as Java has continued
to evolve.
 Includes some important illustrations in color.

Target Audiences
This is primarily an undergraduate textbook. It can be used for basic
introductory courses or for intermediate classes. From that perspective
it has been structured as a teaching text that breaks into weekly topics
that build upon one another. It is also a book suitable for professional
software developers who need to pick up Java from previous
experience in other tools or languages. The materials have been tried
and tested in commercial training courses for professional software
developers over a period of 15 years. The choice of intermediate topics
has been driven by customer requirements. All these topics have been
requested by clients in various courses.

Suggested Uses
The book has been structured in such a way that it breaks easily into
weekly topics. There is a core set of chapters that can be used as an
introductory course, in a single semester, and a further set of chapters
that can be used for intermediate study, for follow-on, longer or double
weighted courses. It contains exercises throughout, designed to
reinforce learning about the topics covered in each part of the chapter.
The final exercises at the end of each chapter draw together the key
aspects that have been covered, which are also reiterated in chapter
summaries.
Foundational Java can be used for courses of different lengths and
levels by using it in three different ways. The first 12 chapters, listed
below, cover the core knowledge of Java, and provide a solid basis for
an introductory course on object-oriented programming with Java.
These fit easily into a 12-week semester, providing 11 weeks of
teaching material (Chap. 1 is just an introduction) and opportunities for
revision and reflection.
1. The Java Story

2. Compiling and Running Java Programs

3. Data Types, Arithmetic and Arrays

4. Control Structures

5. Creating Objects

6. Creating Domain Classes

7. Objects Working Together: Association, Aggregation and

Composition

8. Inheritance, Polymorphism and Interfaces

9. Exception handling

10. Unit Testing with JUnit

11. Exploring the Java Libraries

12. The Collections Framework and Generics.

The following four chapters, listed below, are more intermediate,

and provide more specialized coverage of Java; interaction with
external connections to files, databases and build tools, as well as
introducing multithreading. These are useful in longer semesters, or
courses that require intermediate level study.
13. Input and Output Streams

14. Automatic Building and Testing with Ant

15. Java and the Database (JDBC)

16. Multithreading.
 The final four chapters are specific to building applications with a
graphical user interface or connecting to a web server and provide
optional coverage for courses that have requirements for this type of
programming. They provide additional resources and flexibility for
longer or broader courses.
17. Building GUIs with the JFC Swing Library

18. Event Driven Programming

19. Dialogs and Menus, Models and Views

20. Java Web Servers and the HttpClient.

Supplemental Resources
Several supplemental resources are available from the book’s website
at http://​www.​foundjava.​com
Resources on the website for students include
Downloadable source code for all the examples in the book
Downloadable source code for solutions to selected exercises.
Additional resources for instructors include
A complete set of PowerPoint slides
Downloadable source code for solutions to all exercises (on request
to the author).
A Note About the Code
Source code in the text appears in a Courier font to mark it our clearly
from the surrounding text
Java source code appears in this font
Due to the page width, it has often proved necessary to break lines
of code in places where the original source code (which can be
downloaded from the website) would not have a line break.
In most cases the line breaks have been inserted so that they do not
affect compilation. For example, this code statement appears in Chap. 3.
 double mean =
((double)intArray[0] + intArray[1] +
intArray[2])
/ intArray.length;
This is, in fact, a single statement, even though it is broken across
three lines of text. A single statement in Java is terminated by a
semicolon, and line feeds do not, in most cases, affect the way the code
works. However, in a very small number of cases it has not been
possible to break lines within the margin constraints of the book in
such a way that their workings are unaffected. If in doubt, or if you are
having problems with compiling or running code, please refer to the
original source code files.
David Parsons
Auckland, New Zealand
Acknowledgements
It is difficult to acknowledge all the individuals who have contributed to
this book, because my experience of Java has been so long and broad. I
am grateful to many authors of courseware from my various past
employers; The Object People, BEA Systems, Valtech, IBM and Software
Education Associates. The experience of teaching from material
authored by others, however good or bad it is, provides new
perspectives and understanding that goes way beyond what if possible
when only teaching from your own perspective.
I am also grateful to Wayne Wheeler at Springer-Verlag London Ltd.,
who gave me the opportunity to bring this new edition of the book to
publication.
Contents
1 The Java Story
1.​1 A Brief History of Java
1.​2 Characteristics of Java
1.​2.​1 Simple
1.​2.​2 Object-Oriented
1.​2.​3 Distributed
1.​2.​4 Robust
1.​2.​5 Secure
1.​2.​6 Architecture-Neutral
1.​2.​7 Portable
1.​2.​8 High-Performing
1.​2.​9 Multithreaded
1.​2.​10 Dynamic
1.​3 The JDK and the JRE
1.​3.​1 Java Versions
1.​4 Java APIs
1.​5 Summary
2 Compiling and Running Java Programs
2.​1 Java from the Command Prompt
2.​1.​1 Setting the Path to the JDK
2.​2 A First Java Program
2.​2.​1 The MyJavaProgram Class
2.​2.​2 The “main” Method
2.​2.​3 Output with the System Class
2.​3 Compiling Java
 Another Random Document on
Scribd Without Any Related Topics
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Anne Page
 This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United
States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away
or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License
included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the
laws of the country where you are located before using this
eBook.

Title: Anne Page

Author: Netta Syrett

Release date: February 22, 2024 [eBook #73015]

Language: English

Original publication: New York: John Lane, 1909

Credits: MWS, Terry Jeffress and the Online Distributed

Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file
was produced from images generously made available
by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANNE PAGE

***
ANNE PAGE
 ANNE PAGE
BY

NETTA SYRETT
AUTHOR OF “THE CHILD OF PROMISE,” ETC.

NEW YORK
JOHN LANE COMPANY
MCMIX
 PRINTED BY
WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED
LONDON AND BECCLES

All rights reserved

 ANNE PAGE

I
At the hour between sunset and twilight Miss Page was generally to
be found in her garden.
The long irregular front of Fairholme Court faced the west, and
before it, through the interminable evenings of summer, was spread
the pageant of the sunset, the quiet glory of the after-glow, and
finally the transition, mysterious, indefinably subtle, from the light of
day, to the vaporous purple of night.
It was at this quiet end of evening that the garden, always
beautiful, took on an added grace, the dream-like delicate charm
which belongs to the enchanted places of the earth—places such as
Corot knew, and with a magic equal to their own, has transferred
upon canvasses which hold for ever the glamour of the dawn or the
mystic spell of twilight.
The house, built originally in the last years of Elizabeth, and
enlarged in succeeding reigns, was a medley of incongruous
architecture, resulting in a style delightful and fantastic enough for a
dwelling in a fairy tale. The latest wing, added in Georgian days, its
red brick toned now to a restful mellow colour, imparted an air of
formal stateliness to the irregular but charming structure.
Roses wreathed the latticed window-panes of the older part of
the house; clematis rioted over part of the roof and climbed the
chimney-stacks. On the sunny walls of the later wing a vine had
been trained.
The door of the panelled hall in the middle of the house opened
upon a square of flagstones, and level with these, a lawn, its
smoothness unspoilt by flower-beds, stretched to a sunk fence from
which meadowland, whose broad expanse was broken here and
there by groups of elms, extended far as the eye could see till its
verge touched the sunset sky.
On the lawn to the right of the house, one magnificent beech tree
swept the ground with its lower branches, and then soared
majestically towards the sky. On the left there was a group of
chestnuts. But, except for a small white fountain opposite the hall
porch, the lawn in its velvet softness was left unadorned.
The fountain Miss Page had brought back after one of her
periodical journeys to Italy. It was a slight, graceful thing, of delicate
workmanship, its thread of water falling from a fluted shell into a
square marble basin. It was a fountain beloved by the fan-tailed
pigeons, who from their dovecote behind the kitchen garden came to
it often to drink. When they perched on the edge of the shell, or
walked near it on the grass, their snowy tails outspread, a hint of
Italian courtyards, a sort of fragrance of Italy, was wafted into the
English garden.
All the flowers grew in secluded sheltered spots, protected by
high walls or hedges of yew.
Away from the lawn, behind the beech tree, a moss-grown wall
into which a little gate was set, gave promise of scent and colour
within—of a garden enclosed.
This particular enclosure, one of many, was known as the
“lavender garden.” It was arranged in the formal Dutch fashion—
divided into square beds filled with pink monthly roses, each bed
surrounded by a thick border of lavender. A sundial stood in the
midst, and against the sundial, her elbows resting upon its lichen-
stained plate, leant Anne Page, her face turned towards the lingering
sunset.
She was expecting friends to dinner, but unable to resist the
temptation of the garden, she had wandered from the drawing-room
into the sweet evening air. She wore a dress the colour of which, in
its shades of grey-green and purple, might have been suggested by
the lavender in the borders. It was a graceful flowing dress; beautiful
naturally, inevitably. Anne Page possessed the gift of surrounding
herself with everything that was exquisite, as simply as a flower
surrounds itself with leaves and dainty buds.
She was not a young woman. She had indeed travelled quite far
on the road that leads from youth to death.
It was even on record that a girl staying at the vicarage had
alluded to her as an old lady.
Every one had started with shocked surprise. None of Anne
Page’s friends were accustomed to consider her age.
To them, she was just “beautiful Miss Page.” In the same way,
one never thought of analyzing her appearance, nor of criticizing her
features. It would have seemed an impertinence. One felt vaguely
that she would have been quite as lovely without any, for her beauty
was like a rare effect of light that has no connection with the object it
transfigures.
Certainly her face had the delicacy of a white rose. Certainly her
eyes were blue; blue as cornflowers; blue as the sea. But they were
Miss Page’s eyes, and one instinctively compared them to lovely
natural things.
She turned her head as the gate creaked.
Burks, in a frilled apron and a becoming cap with streamers, was
hurrying up the path towards the sundial.
“There’s a carriage coming up the drive, ma’am,” she said.
“Thank you, Burks, I’ll come.”
The maid hastened back, her skirts ruffling the lavender borders,
and, gathering up the filmy folds of her own gown, her mistress
followed her.
At the gate, she turned for a last glance at the dying sunset sky.
On her way across the lawn, she noticed, with a thrill of pleasure,
the beauty of the trees, motionless, dreaming in the dusk. White and
slim in the half-light, the little fountain suggested to her a strayed
nymph, transfixed with surprise and fear to find herself so near the
haunts of man. Smiling at the fancy, Anne entered the drawing-room
by one of the long open windows, and waited for her guests.
In a few moments, Burks admitted the Vicar and his wife.
 The Reverend George Carfax was of the type already somewhat
vieux jeu, of the muscular school of Christianity.
Good-looking, clean-shaven, bullet-headed, his appearance was
rather that of a country squire than of a vicar of Christ. An excellent
cricketer, hearty in manner, sound in health, he was nevertheless the
ideal pastor for the rising generation of youths and maidens, whose
muscles were possibly better worth developing than their souls.
His wife was the dowdy little woman, who inevitably by a process
of natural selection becomes the mate of the muscular Christian.
In her first youth she had possessed the undistinguished
prettiness common to thousands of English girls whose character,
composed of negative qualities, renders them peculiarly acceptable
to the average self-assertive man.
Now, at forty-five, in spite of her family of children, her figure was
as spare and meagre as it had been at twenty, and the gown she
wore, a black silk, slightly cut out at the neck, and trimmed with
cheap coffee lace, was as dowdy as any of the dresses of her
girlhood.
Miss Page walked with a charming dignity, her long gown moving
over the floor with a soft frou-frou suggestive of silk, and cloudy
concealed frills. Her appearance as she bent towards the dowdy little
woman, made a contrast almost ludicrous, if it had not also been
somewhat pathetic.
Mrs. Carfax, innocent of contrasts and all they implied, took her
hand in both of hers with an affectionate movement, and in the
Vicar’s firm handshake, and in his hearty words of greeting, the
same evident liking for their hostess was expressed.
“Dr. and Mrs. Dakin,” said Burks, at the door, and again Miss
Page’s smile welcomed the new-comers.
She particularly liked the tall thin man who entered. Dr. Dakin
was a scholar and a dreamer, a man too unpractical by nature
adequately to cope with a profession eminently practical. The doctor
was only a partial success at Dymfield, where a man of the Vicar’s
stamp, genial, a trifle blustering, always cheerful, would have
inspired more confidence than the dreamy medical man, who did not
treat illness in the high-handed fashion unconsciously expected by
his patients.
 Only his success with one or two really serious cases in the
neighbourhood preserved for him some measure of respect, and a
general concurrence of opinion, that absent-minded as he appeared
before the milder forms of ailment, when it came to graver maladies,
Dr. Dakin was presumably to be trusted. To no one was his lack of
force and “push” a greater trial than to his wife, whose ambition for
her husband had been a London practice, and for herself a smart
amusing circle of acquaintances.
She was a pretty little woman of six or seven and twenty, with soft
dark hair, and a slim figure. Endowed with all the nervous energy her
husband lacked, she bore the traces of her discontent about her
well-shaped mouth, and in the expression, exasperated and
querulous of her brown eyes.
They softened into a wholly admiring glance however as they
rested on Miss Page.
“My dear lady,” she whispered, “that’s the most lovely dress I ever
saw in my life! Where do you get your things? And however do you
manage to look so delightful in them?”
Anne laughed.
“Let me return the compliment. You look charming, Madge.”
Mrs. Dakin blushed with pleasure, as she turned to shake hands
with Mrs. Carfax.
“We are waiting for another guest,” said Miss Page, sitting down
in one of the big, chintz-covered chairs. “Monsieur Fontenelle, who,
as I dare say you know, has just been made President of the
International Art Congress.”
Dr. Dakin looked up quickly from the examination of an
eighteenth-century fan, which he recognized as a new treasure in a
cabinet filled with ivories, enamel snuff-boxes, old lace, old treasures
of all kinds.
“Really?” he exclaimed. “That’s most interesting. The Monsieur
Fontenelle, in fact?”
“He’s a very old friend of mine,” said Anne.
“In England for the opening of the show next week, of course?”
“Yes. He’s been staying for a couple of days at The Chase, and
as he goes to London to-morrow I asked him to join us this evening.”
 To none of Anne’s visitors but the doctor was the Frenchman’s
name significant.
Dymfield was not interested in the world of art. Very few of its
inhabitants had ever heard of the International Art Congress, and
even if they had, it would have conveyed nothing to their minds.
Nevertheless, a tremor of excitement and curiosity passed over
the faces of Mrs. Carfax and Mrs. Dakin.
Strangers at Dymfield were rare, and a visitor who was staying at
The Chase, as the guest of Lord Farringchurch was on that account
alone, a distinguished if not an alarming personality.
“A Frenchman!” exclaimed Mrs. Carfax. “I hope he speaks
English?” she added below her breath.
“Oh, perfectly,” Anne assured her, as the door opened.
“Monsieur Fontenelle!”
Burks, who had frequently accompanied her mistress in foreign
travel, delivered the name with commendable swing and correctness
of accent.
The man who entered looked considerably younger than his
forty-seven years. Slight, still elegant in figure, his face possessed
the distinction of clear-cut features, combined with an expression
which only the charm of his smile saved from a suspicion of
arrogance.
His hair, a little white on the temples, was thick and slightly wavy.
His blue eyes, keen above a hawk-like nose, gleamed every now
and then with a trace of irony; that irony which has become habitual,
the recognized medium through which its possessor views the world.
A shrewd observer would have guessed the character represented
by such a face to be difficult and complex. Instinctively one knew that
François Fontenelle would be no very easy man to thwart; one
guessed also that he might be a man apt to form his own rules of
conduct, to carve his own path in life, without too much consideration
for the convenience or the paths of others.
As Miss Page rose and stretched out her hand, he stooped and
kissed it with the graceful ease of manner natural to a Frenchman.
Mrs. Carfax felt quite embarrassed.
“So foreign,” she thought; the phrase expressing unconscious
disapprobation.
 “Glad we haven’t those monkey tricks!” was her husband’s half-
formed mental exclamation.
Mrs. Dakin’s heart gave a curious little flutter for which she could
not account, except that she liked the manners of Frenchmen, and
was for the moment acutely conscious of the dulness of life.
To her husband, the action suddenly recalled the days of
Madame de Pompadour.
He glanced at the fan he still held, and his mind wandered to a
book of that lady’s period which he had long coveted, and had
hitherto been unable to obtain.
Absorbed in reverie, he missed Miss Page’s formal introduction,
and was only recalled to the present day by the general movement
following the announcement that dinner was served.
The dining-room at Fairholme Court, in the older part of the
house, was a long, low room with casement windows, and carved
beams supporting the ceiling.
In its midst the table sparkled with glass and silver, arranged with
studied care between the shaded candles in sconces of Sheffield
plate, and the crystal bowls of roses. It had the look of something
exquisite, something in fact which belonged to Miss Page, and was
marked with her individuality.
Mrs. Dakin made anxious notes. Her dinner-table never looked a
work of art, and in the intervals of her study of, and speculations
concerning Monsieur Fontenelle, she wondered why. Several times
her glance wandered to Miss Page, whose eyes were bright, and
whose faint pink colour was rather deeper than usual.
Did the Frenchman she wondered, represent Miss Page’s
romance? It was strange how little one knew about Miss Page.
Nothing, in fact. Mrs. Dakin realized the fact for the first time with a
little shock of surprise. But then one never expected Miss Page to
talk about her own affairs. Quite naturally, inevitably as it seemed,
one went to Miss Page for advice, for sympathy, for encouragement
about one’s self.
But this man must belong to the past life of her hostess, whatever
it had been—something charming, something gentle, since Miss
Page had lived it. Of course she had been loved. She was too pretty
not to have been loved. Had this man loved her perhaps? If so, why
had they not married?
Mrs. Dakin roused herself, and began to pay attention to the
conversation to which, so far, she had only contributed mechanical,
unheeding remarks. Indefinitely she felt that it was on a higher level
than usual; the sort of conversation to which Dymfield was
unaccustomed.
The Frenchman talked with the vivacity, the wealth of phrase and
imagery common to his race, and Miss Page talked too, eagerly,
fluently, leaning a little forward, as though enjoying a much-loved
rarely indulged delight.
Dr. Dakin, roused at last from his dreaming, also sat upright,
glancing from one to the other, throwing in now and again a question
or a comment which was often seized upon appreciatively to form
fresh material for conversation. Mrs. Dakin sat and wondered,
mystified, scarcely comprehending. The topics over which the talk
ranged, abstract subjects for the most part, illustrated by frequent
references to books;—novels, French novels mostly, of which she
sometimes just knew the titles, philosophy of which she had never
heard—belonged to a class of ideas which as yet had never
appeared upon her mental horizon. She was interested, as well as
overwhelmed, by a new view of her hostess. Miss Page, this brilliant
conversationalist, this subtle reasoner, to whose words the
Frenchman, himself so fluent, such an acute critic and thinker,
accorded a deference so obviously spontaneous and sincere! Miss
Page, who would spend hours in discussing the organization of a
mothers’ meeting, of a local flower show, of a Church bazaar. Miss
Page, to whom one applied for recipes for pot pourri, for dainty
invalid dishes, for remedies against chills. Miss Page, who
suggested the fashion for one’s new summer muslin, and cut out
night-shirts for the children in the Cottage Hospital!
“How we must bore her!” was Mrs. Dakin’s involuntary mental
exclamation. “And how well, how delightfully she disguises it,” was
her next reflection.
She remembered other dinners at Fairholme Court—dinners at
which the guests had discussed the new curate, the latest book of
Miss Marie Corelli, the village cricket match, the fund for the new
organ.
She remembered Miss Page’s gracious charm of manner on
these occasions, her apparent interest in each of these trivial topics.
Even now, surprised, uncomprehending as she was with regard
to most of the conversation, she did not fail to remark the tact which
with a word, with a question easy to answer, she kept three of her
guests, at least, ostensibly within the pale of the conversation.
“It’s quite fair. We are evenly matched, to-night. Our stupidity has
always outweighed her intelligence before, so she never had a
chance,” thought Mrs. Dakin. The bitterness of the reflection was
caused by the conviction that it was ignorance, not lack of ability,
which kept her, at least, out of discussions which interested her. Mrs.
Dakin was one of those women whom mental laziness, not lack of
brain quality, goes far to ruin. Her mind, naturally active and restless,
was unemployed. She had never trained herself to think. To-night,
with sudden self-recognition, she regretted both circumstances.
Harry, she noticed it with a curious sensation, half jealousy, half
pride, was not out of the talk. He was no conversationalist, but he
understood, he appreciated, he contributed. That his point of view
was valuable, she knew by the brightening of Miss Page’s eyes
when he spoke; by an occasional vivacious affirmative nod from
Monsieur Fontenelle.
An idea, odd, staggering in its novelty, occurred to her.
“Perhaps I bore Harry?”
Never before had this aspect of affairs presented itself to her
consciousness, and the notion passed like a flash.
The conviction that the exhausting mental ailment of boredom
belonged by right to her alone, was too firmly established to be upset
by a fugitive ridiculous fancy.
Again she listened.
The Frenchman’s eloquence and vivacity amused and excited
her. He spoke rapidly, and though the words were English,
pronounced with only the slightest foreign accent, their use, their
handling was French.
Never before, for instance, had she heard any one utter at length
a panegyric such as that to which she was now listening. It was
evoked by the name of an author of whom she had never heard, and
it was the sort of thing which in a book she was accustomed to skip.
Spoken with the ease and certainty which indicated a natural habit of
fluent speech, it amazed and impressed her.
Never before had she guessed that Miss Page was witty. Wit at
Dymfield was not understood; it was ignored, passed over in silence
disapproving because uncomprehended. Quicker than her
neighbours, Mrs. Dakin realized that in an argument on a play of
Bernard Shaw’s which Monsieur Fontenelle had recently seen in
America, Miss Page was saying good things. In opposing his view,
her raillery, delicate and ingenious, brought a frequent smile to his
lips, and more than once an appreciative burst of laughter.
Mr. Carfax, who had never heard of Bernard Shaw, asked for the
story of the play.
His hostess told it in a few words. That they were in every respect
well chosen, Mrs. Dakin, who had also never read the works of the
latter-day apostle, guessed from a faint smile of admiration, which at
various points in the narrative lighted the Frenchman’s face. Mr.
Carfax nodded his head approvingly when she ceased.
“Very good, I should say. Full of common sense and right views.
We want some one to elevate the stage; and I’m glad this man,
what’s his name? Ah! Shaw—is a Britisher. I believe in home-grown
literature; something that expresses the character of the English
people. A fine, sturdy character; the best in the world.”
Miss Page rose without looking at Monsieur Fontenelle, whose
smile, for greater safety, had taken refuge in his eyes.
Mrs. Dakin and Mrs. Carfax followed her into the drawing-room,
and as though stricken with fear lest the dinner-table topics had
resulted in dissatisfaction for her guests, she moved close to Mrs.
Carfax.
“I saw Sylvia, to-day, looking so pretty,” she began in her gentle,
caressing voice.
Mrs. Carfax bridled, half pleased, half unwilling to accept a
compliment on behalf of a daughter who was unsatisfactory.
“Looks don’t matter so much as right behaviour,” she returned.
“She displeases her father very much with what he calls her
advanced ideas. I don’t know what they are, I’m sure, except wanting
to get away from a good home. I wish you would speak to her, Miss
Page. She thinks so much of you. You might bring her to her
senses.”
“Poor little Sylvia,” said Miss Page, softly. “She’s very young, my
dear—and she’s a sweet child at heart. Do ask her to come to tea
with me to-morrow.”
“I think your French friend is most interesting,” remarked Mrs.
Dakin, suddenly, putting down her coffee cup, and taking a seat
beside Anne on the sofa.
Her hostess turned to her with a pleased smile.
“I’m so glad. You are always appreciative, Madge.”
“I never heard any one talk like you two,” continued Mrs. Dakin,
slowly.
“I’m afraid we talked too much.” The quick colour sprang to her
cheeks. “I hope you weren’t bored?” She included the two women in
a swift, apologetic glance. “Talking too much is an old habit of mine,
a habit of long ago, which revives when I see François. I——” she
paused suddenly.
“I was never so interested in my life,” said Mrs. Dakin, with such
obvious sincerity that Anne’s face cleared.
“Very clever, I’m sure. Very clever,” murmured Mrs. Carfax. “Tell
me, my dear, what shall I do about Emma? The girl gets worse and
worse. She’s no good at all as a parlourmaid. I’ve been thinking
about her all dinner-time, and wondering whether I should give her
notice, or whether——”
The entrance of the three men interrupted the heart-searchings of
Mrs. Carfax.
Monsieur Fontenelle stood a moment just within the door. His
eyes fell upon Mrs. Dakin, who sat in the corner of the sofa, her
slender little figure in its white dress showing to advantage against
its coloured background.
A tremor of pleasure shook her as he drew up a chair of gilded
cane, and leaning over the arm of the sofa, began to talk to her.
Mr. Carfax and Dr. Dakin, who both made simultaneously for Miss
Page’s corner of the room, were met by her with a little amused
laugh, to which each responded.
 “We can’t both talk to her,” declared Mr. Carfax, “because of
course we each want her advice.”
“I yield to you,” said the Doctor, characteristically. “But you
mustn’t keep her too long.”
“Time passes all too quickly with Miss Page,” returned Mr. Carfax,
with his hearty laugh. “I can make no promises.”
“Do you really want to consult me?” asked his hostess, turning to
him with her flattering air of undivided, interested attention.
“About many things. There’s that case of Mrs. O’Malley’s. It’s
really very difficult. Now, what would you advise?” He recounted at
length a conversation he had lately held with the drunken old
woman, on the circumstances of whose life, though upon this point
she was silent, Miss Page’s knowledge was considerably fuller than
his own.
She listened thoughtfully, and suggested a different method of
attack.
“Thank you,” said the Vicar, his brow clearing. “I never thought of
that.”
“Anything else?” asked Miss Page.
“Oh well, yes; but I haven’t time for that now. I must come some
other day. I want to have a long talk with you about Sylvia. I can’t
make the girl out.” He frowned. “She’s so restless and discontented.
I can’t imagine why she doesn’t settle down and be of some little
assistance to her mother. The girl annoys me. I have no patience
with the modern shirking of home duties.”
“Dear little Sylvia!” repeated Miss Page. “She’s coming to tea with
me to-morrow. I always like talking to Sylvia. She’s so pretty and
charming.”
Mr. Carfax looked a little mollified. “There’s Dakin thinking I’ve
overstepped my time-limit,” he declared. “Come along, Dakin, your
innings now.”
The doctor approached Miss Page’s chair, a smile on his long
thin face.
“I only want you to show me your latest toys,” he said, glancing at
the cabinet. “I see you have one or two new things there.”
She rose with alacrity, and in a few moments they were bending
over and discussing a piece of Battersea enamel.
 Dr. Dakin, also an enthusiastic collector, was especially
interested in the dainty trifles of the eighteenth century, which Anne
too loved. It was a period which specially appealed to him, and the
conversation passing from the frail things they handled—fans
painted on chicken-skin, ivories, patch-boxes—soon extended to
books, many of which he found Anne possessed.
Their conversation became engrossing, and Mrs. Dakin turned to
her companion with a laugh.
“My husband is very happy,” she remarked.
“No wonder,” he returned. “Every one is happy with Miss Page.”
“And she’s so pretty, isn’t she?”
“The most beautiful woman of my acquaintance,” he replied
gravely. “Because she has acquired her beauty—secreted it, in the
same marvellous way that from hidden cells a rose draws its colour
and its sweetness.”
Mrs. Dakin glanced at him curiously. “It takes a Frenchman to say
that. But it describes Miss Page,” she added.
She hesitated a moment, curiosity very strong within her.
“You have known her a long time? Many years?” she asked.
“I first met sweet Anne Page twenty years ago, in this very
house.”
He smiled, a quiet reminiscent smile.
“And she wasn’t young even then!” exclaimed Mrs. Dakin,
involuntarily.
“Pardon me. Anne Page was always young, in the sense that the
brooks and the hawthorn-trees and the roses are always young.”
The smile was still on his lips, and Mrs. Dakin blushed.
“Oh yes, I know,” she began hurriedly. “One never thinks of age
with regard to her. I didn’t mean that exactly.”
“He must have been in love with her!” The idea ran into the
undercurrent of her thoughts. “Perhaps he is still. It would be awfully
romantic. And not absurd at all,” she added, as a sudden mental
supplement. “Sweet Anne Page is quite pretty.”
Aloud, still impelled by irresistible curiosity, she went on asking
questions.
“But this house didn’t belong to her then, did it? We haven’t been
at Dymfield long enough, of course, but the old people in the village