Thus, at the very threshold of her self-imposed
task, she found that she was too ignorant to pro-
ceed. No doubt the Castle library contained books
that might help her, but meanwhile there was the
room prepared and the fire lighted.
Determined to make it her study for that even-
ing, she went upstairs and brought down the first
books that came handy. After doing so it occurred
to her that her cousin would surely know some-
thing of these native butterflies about which she
was so ignorant.
One of the parlour-doors gave on to a small
lobby, in which hung hats and coats, and this again
through an opening with no door into the fireplace-
recess of the common room. Using this passage
of communication, Sabrina came on her cousin net-
making.
" Oh, David, are you busy ? " she asked him.
He took her question as a summons, and went
with her into the little parlour.
THE PAINTED PARLOUR 127

" I am beginning to discover my ignorance," she
said ; " I wonder if you can help me ? " She told him
her difficulty, and found him fully up in the English
and local names, but the labels were all in Latin ;
they could get no further. David thought that
they were French; his saying so caused her to
exclaim —

"What, do you not know French, David, after
having been so much abroad ? "

"Only a word or two that I picked up at
the ports," he answered. " I never had much
scholaring."

" Don't you miss it ? " she asked.
" I don't know. Can a man miss what he has
never had ? "

" Yes ; surely he can feel the want of something.
