But they succeeded in giving Miss Bilson a sufficiently lurid account of it to make "the darling little island," in as far as her charge, Damaris, was concerned, more than ever taboo.

Their request that the story might "go no further" she interpreted with the elasticity usually accorded to such requests; and proceeded, at the first opportunity, to retail the whole shocking occurrence to her pupil as an example of the ingratitude and insubordination of the common people.

For Theresa was nothing if not conservative and aristocratic.
From such august anachronisms as the divine right of kings and the Stuart succession, down to humble bobbing of curtseys and pulling of forelocks in to-day's village street, she held a permanent brief for the classes as against the masses.

Unluckily the Miss Minetts' hasty and watery withdrawal, with upgathered skirts, across the causeway had appealed to Damaris' sense of comedy rather than of tragedy .-- She didn't want to be unkind, but you shouldn't interfere; and if you insisted on interfering you must accept whatever followed.

The two ladies in question were richly addicted to interfering she had reason to think .-- And then they must have looked so wonderfully funny scuttling thus! The picture remained by her as a thing of permanent mirth.