CHAPTER II

_FEBRUARY_

The beginning of spring--The spring of the North--The story of St. Milburgha--Legends of her sanctity--Belief in the efficacy of the saint's water--Wishing Well at Wenlock--First spring flowers in the red-walled garden--I see starlings--The cock chaffinch--Hals' visit--"Sister Helen" in the mouth of babes--Bess's remorse--Constance's quilt from "Gerard's Herbal"--The peace of Wenlock--Bess and her future--The difficulties of education--An interview with Burbidge--How his brother was "overlooked"--I go to Homer--Beautiful view--The story of Banister's Coppice--The arrest of the Duke of Buckingham--The Duke's curse--Its effect upon the Banister family--A visit to an old cottager--A noble life, and unclouded faith--Nanny Morgan the witch--Her life and death--Bess returns--The first snowdrops of the year--A walk home in the gloaming 58