Though a wretched rider, he
turned out at every meet, and took the most amazing falls in his
determination to hold his own with the best. When the vicarage
caught fire he distinguished himself also by the fearlessness
with which he reentered the building to save property, after the
local fire brigade had given it up as impossible. Thus it came
about that John Douglas of the Manor House had within five years
won himself quite a reputation in Birlstone.
His wife, too, was popular with those who had made her
acquaintance; though, after the English fashion, the callers upon
a stranger who settled in the county without introductions were
few and far between. This mattered the less to her, as she was
retiring by disposition, and very much absorbed, to all
appearance, in her husband and her domestic duties. It was known
that she was an English lady who had met Mr. Douglas in London,
he being at that time a widower. She was a beautiful woman,
tall, dark, and slender, some twenty years younger than her
husband; a disparity which seemed in no wise to mar the
contentment of their family life.
It was remarked sometimes, however, by those who knew them best,
that the confidence between the two did not appear to be
complete, since the wife was either very reticent about her
husband's past life, or else, as seemed more likely, was
imperfectly informed about it.
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