Annestarted；andturningroundfromthewindow，lookedathiminsilentsurprise。Hewasundertheinfluenceofstrongemotion；
　　hisface，hisvoice，hismanner，allshowedit。
　　“HowlonghadyoubeeninScotland，whenyouwrotethis？“HepointedtoAnne’sletterasheaskedthequestion，puttingitsoeagerlythathestammeredoverthefirstwords。“Morethanthreeweeks？“headded，withhisbrightblackeyesfixedinabsorbinginterestonherface。
　　“Yes。“
　　“Areyousureofthat？“
　　“Iamcertainofit。“
　　“Youcanrefertopersonswhohaveseenyou？“
　　“Easily。“
　　Heturnedthesheetofnote-paper，andpointedtoGeoffrey’spenciledletteronthefourthpage。
　　“Howlonghad_he_beeninScotland，when_he_wrotethis？Morethanthreeweeks，too？“
　　Anneconsideredforamoment。
　　“ForGod’ssake，becareful!“saidSirPatrick。“Youdon’tknowwhatdependsonthis，Ifyourmemoryisnotclearaboutit，sayso。“
　　“Mymemorywasconfusedforamoment。Itisclearagainnow。Hehadbeenathisbrother’sinPerthshirethreeweeksbeforehewrotethat。AndbeforehewenttoSwanhaven，hespentthreeorfourdaysinthevalleyoftheEsk。“
　　“Areyousureagain？“
　　“Quitesure!“
　　“DoyouknowofanyonewhosawhiminthevalleyoftheEsk？“
　　“Iknowofapersonwhotookanotetohim，fromme。“
　　“Apersoneasilyfound？“
　　“Quiteeasily。“
　　SirPatricklaidasidetheletter，andseizedinungovernableagitationonbothherhands。
　　“Listentome，“hesaid。“ThewholeconspiracyagainstArnoldBrinkworthandyoufallstothegroundbeforethatcorrespondence。Whenyouandhemetattheinn——“
　　Hepaused，andlookedather。Herhandswerebeginningtotrembleinhis。
　　“WhenyouandArnoldBrinkworthmetattheinn，“heresumed，“thelawofScotlandhadmadeyouamarriedwoman。Ontheday，andatthehour，whenhewrotethoselinesatthebackofyourlettertohim，youwere_GeoffreyDelamayn’sweddedwife!_“
　　Hestopped，andlookedatheragain。
　　Withoutawordinreply，withouttheslightestmovementinherfromheadtofoot，shelookedbackathim。Theblankstillnessofhorrorwasinherface。Thedeadlycoldofhorrorwasinherhands。
　　Insilence，onhisside，SirPatrickdrewbackastep，withafaintreflectionof_her_dismayinhisface。Married——tothevillainwhohadnothesitatedtocalumniatethewomanwhomhehadruined，andthentocastherhelplessontheworld。Married——tothetraitorwhohadnotshrunkfrombetrayingArnold’strustinhim，anddesolatingArnold’shome。Married——totheruffianwhowouldhavestruckherthatmorning，ifthehandsofhisownfriendshadnotheldhimback。AndSirPatrickhadneverthoughtofit!AbsorbedintheoneideaofBlanche’sfuture，hehadneverthoughtofit，tillthathorror-strickenfacelookedathim，andsaid，Thinkof_my_future，too!
　　Hecamebacktoher。Hetookhercoldhandoncemoreinhis。
　　“Forgiveme，“hesaid，“forthinkingfirstofBlanche。“
　　Blanche’snameseemedtorouseher。Thelifecamebacktoherface；thetenderbrightnessbegantoshineagaininhereyes。Hesawthathemightventuretospeakmoreplainlystill：hewenton。
　　“Iseethedreadfulsacrificeas_you_seeit。Iaskmyself，haveIanyright，hasBlancheanyright——“
　　Shestoppedhimbyafaintpressureofhishand。
　　“Yes，“shesaid，softly，“ifBlanche’shappinessdependsonit。“
　　ASOLITARYforeigner，driftingaboutLondon，driftedtowardFulhamonthedayoftheFoot-Race。
　　Littlebylittle，hefoundhimselfinvolvedinthecurrentofathrongofimpetuousEnglishpeople，allflowingtogethertowardonegivenpoint，andalldecoratedalikewithcolorsoftwoprevailinghues——pinkandyellow。Hedriftedalongwiththestreamofpassengersonthepavementaccompaniedbyastreamofcarriagesintheroaduntiltheystoppedwithoneaccordatagate——andpaidadmissionmoneytoamaninoffice——andpouredintoagreatopenspaceofgroundwhichlookedlikeanuncultivatedgarden。
　　Arrivedhere，theforeignvisitoropenedhiseyesinwonderatthescenerevealedtoview。Heobservedthousandsofpeopleassembled，composedalmostexclusivelyofthemiddleandupperclassesofsociety。Theywerecongregatedroundavastinclosure；
　　theywereelevatedonamphitheatricalwoodenstands，andtheywereperchedontheroofsofhorselesscarriages，drawnupinrows。Fromthiscongregationthererosesucharoarofeagervoicesashehadneverheardyetfromanyassembledmultitudeintheseislands。Predominatingamongthecries，hedetectedoneeverlastingquestion。Itbeganwith，“Whobacks——？“anditendedinthealternatepronouncingoftwoBritishnamesunintelligibletoforeignears。Seeingtheseextraordinarysights，andhearingthesestirringsounds，heappliedtoapolicemanonduty；andsaid，inhisbestproducibleEnglish，“Ifyouplease，Sir，whatisthis？“
　　Thepolicemananswered，“NorthagainstSouth——Sports。“
　　Theforeignerwasinformed，butnotsatisfied。Hepointedallroundtheassemblywithacircularsweepofhishand；andsaid，“Why？“
　　Thepolicemandeclinedtowastewordsonamanwhocouldasksuchaquestionasthat。Heliftedalargepurpleforefinger，withabroadwhitenailattheendofit，andpointedgravelytoaprintedBill，postedonthewallbehindhim。ThedriftingforeignerdriftedtotheBill。
　　Afterreadingitcarefully，fromtoptobottom，heconsultedapoliteprivateindividualnearathand，whoprovedtobefarmorecommunicativethanthepoliceman。Theresultonhismind，asapersonnotthoroughlyawakenedtotheenormousnationalimportanceofAthleticSports，wasmuchasfollows：
　　ThecolorofNorthispink。ThecolorofSouthisyellow。Northproducesfourteenpinkmen，andSouthproducesthirteenyellowmen。Themeetingofpinkandyellowisasolemnity。Thesolemnitytakesitsriseinanindomitablenationalpassionforhardeningthearmsandlegs，bythrowinghammersandcricket-ballswiththefirst，andrunningandjumpingwiththesecond。Theobjectinviewistodothisinpublicrivalry。Theendsarrivedatarephysicallyanexcessivedevelopmentofthemuscles，purchasedattheexpenseofanexcessivestrainontheheartandthelungs——morally，glory；conferredatthemomentbythepublicapplause；confirmedthenextdaybyareportinthenewspapers。
　　Anypersonwhopresumestoseeanyphysicalevilinvolvedintheseexercisestothemenwhopracticethem，oranymoralobstructionintheexhibitionitselftothosecivilizinginfluencesonwhichthetruegreatnessofallnationsdepends，isapersonwithoutabiceps，whoissimplyincomprehensible。
　　MuscularEnglanddevelopsitself，andtakesnonoticeofhim。
　　Theforeignermixedwiththeassembly，andlookedmorecloselyatthesocialspectaclearoundhim。
　　Hehadmetwiththesepeoplebefore。Hehadseenthemforinstanceatthetheatre，andobservedtheirmannersandcustomswithconsiderablecuriosityandsurprise。Whenthecurtainwasdown，theyweresolittleinterestedinwhattheyhadcometosee，thattheyhadhardlyspiritenoughtospeaktoeachotherbetweentheacts。Whenthecurtainwasup，iftheplaymadeanyappealtotheirsympathywithanyofthehigherandnobleremotionsofhumanity，theyreceiveditassomethingwearisome，orsneeredatitassomethingabsurd。ThepublicfeelingofthecountrymenofShakespeare，sofarastheyrepresentedit，recognizedbuttwodutiesinthedramatist——thedutyofmakingthemlaugh，andthedutyofgettingitoversoon。Thetwogreatmeritsofastageproprietor，inEnglandjudgingbytherareapplauseofhiscultivatedcustomers，consistedinspendingplentyofmoneyonhisscenery，andinhiringplentyofbrazen-facedwomentoexhibittheirbosomsandtheirlegs。Notattheatresonly；butamongothergatherings，inotherplaces，theforeignerhadnoticedthesamestolidlanguorwhereanyeffortwasexactedfromgenteelEnglishbrains，andthesamestupidcontemptwhereanyappealwasmadetogenteelEnglishhearts。
　　Preserveusfromenjoyinganythingbutjokesandscandal!
　　Preserveusfromrespectinganythingbutrankandmoney!Therewerethesocialaspirationsoftheseinsularladiesandgentlemen，asexpressedunderothercircumstances，andasbetrayedamidstotherscenes。Here，allwaschanged。Herewasthestrongfeeling，thebreathlessinterest，theheartyenthusiasm，notvisibleelsewhere。Herewerethesuperbgentlemenwhoweretoowearytospeak，whenanArtwasaddressingthem，shoutingthemselveshoarsewithburstonburstofgenuineapplause。Herewerethefineladieswhoyawnedbehindtheirfans，atthebareideaofbeingcalledontothinkortofeel，wavingtheirhandkerchiefsinhonestdelight，andactuallyflushingwithexcitementthroughtheirpowderandtheirpaint。Andallforwhat？Allforrunningandjumping——allforthrowinghammersandballs。
　　Theforeignerlookedatit，andtried，asacitizenofacivilizedcountry，tounderstandit。Hewasstilltrying——whenthereoccurredapauseintheperformances。
　　Certainhurdles，whichhadservedtoexhibitthepresentsatisfactorystateofcivilizationinjumpingamongtheupperclasses，wereremoved。Theprivilegedpersonswhohaddutiestoperformwithintheinclosure，lookedallroundit；anddisappearedoneafteranother。Agreathushofexpectationpervadedthewholeassembly。Somethingofnocommoninterestandimportancewasevidentlyabouttotakeplace。Onasudden，thesilencewasbrokenbyaroarofcheeringfromthemobintheroadoutsidethegrounds。Peoplelookedateachotherexcitedly，andsaid，“Oneofthemhascome。“Thesilenceprevailedagain——andwasasecondtimebrokenbyanotherroarofapplause。Peoplenoddedtoeachotherwithanairofreliefandsaid，“Bothofthemhavecome。“Thenthegreathushfellonthecrowdoncemore，andalleyeslookedtowardoneparticularpointoftheground，occupiedbyalittlewoodenpavilion，withtheblindsdownovertheopenwindows，andthedoorclosed。
　　Theforeignerwasdeeplyimpressedbythesilentexpectationofthegreatthrongabouthim。Hefelthisownsympathiesstirred，withoutknowingwhy。HebelievedhimselftobeonthepointofunderstandingtheEnglishpeople。
　　Someceremonyofgraveimportancewasevidentlyinpreparation。