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Guide to
PLANT FAMILIES
of southern Africa
M. Koekemoer, H.M. Steyn & S.P. Bester

<§&TRELITZIA 31
 <3TRELITZIA 31

Guide to

PLANT FAMILIES
of southern Africa

M. Koekemoer, H.M. Steyn & S.P. Bester

SANBI
Biodiversity for Life

South African National Biodiversity Institute

Pretoria
2014
 rSf\TRELITZIA

This series has replaced Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of South Africa and Annals of the Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens
which the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) inherited from its predecessor organisations.

The plant genus Strelitzia occurs naturally in the eastern parts of southern Africa. It comprises three arborescent spe-
cies,known as wild bananas, and two acaulescent species, known as crane flowers or bird-of-paradise flowers. The logo
of SANBI is partly based on the striking inflorescence of Strelitzia reginae, a native of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal
that has become a garden favourite worldwide. It symbolises the commitment of the Institute to champion the exploration,
conservation, sustainable use, appreciation and enjoyment of South Africa's exceptionally rich biodiversity for all people.

M. Koekemoer, H.M. Steyn & S.P. Bester

National Herbarium, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria,

South Africa

EDITOR: Alicia Grobler

COVER DESIGN & LAYOUT: Elizma Fouche

2015 Edition 2. Impression 2

Recommended citation format:

KOEKEMOER, STEYN, H.M. & BESTER, S.P. 2014. Guide to plant families of southern
M., Africa, edition 2. Strelitzia 31.
South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.

ISBN: 978-1-919976-92-1

Obtainable from: SANBI Bookshop, Private Bag X101, Pretoria, 0001 South Africa.
Tel.: +27 12 843 5000
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.sanbi.org
Printed by: Seriti Printing, Tel.: +27 12 333 9757, Website: www.seritiprinting.co.za
Address: Unit 6, 49 Eland Street, Koedoespoort, Pretoria, 0001 South Africa

Copyright © 2014 by South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the copyright owners.
The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of SANBI. The authors and publisher have made their best efforts to
prepare this book, and make no representation or warranties of any kind with regard to the completeness or accuracy of the contents
herein. All images in this book have been reproduced with the knowledge and prior consent of the artists and photographers concerned
and no responsibility is accepted by the publisher or printer for any infringement of copyright or otherwise arising from the contents of
this publication. Every effort has been made to ensure that the credits accurately comply with the information supplied by the author.
 TRELITZIA 31 (2014) iii

Contents

Foreword iv Malvaceae 134

Introduction 1 Mesembryanthemaceae 138
Background 1 Molluginaceae 146
About this guide 1 Oxalidaceae 150
Photo credits 2 Polygalaceae 154
Acknowledgements 2 Rhamnaceae 158
How to use this guide 3 Rosaceae 162
Rutaceae 166
Key to groups of plant families 4 Santalaceae 170
Sterculiaceae 174
Quick guide to plant families 6 Group 5:
Apocynaceae 178
Families with specialised flowers 15 Asteraceae 184
Boraginaceae 202
Family descriptions 17 Campanulaceae 206
Group 1: Convolvulaceae 210
Cyperaceae 18 Crassulaceae 214
Poaceae 22 Cucurbitaceae 218
Restionaceae 36 Ericaceae 222
Group 2: Gentianaceae 226
Asparagaceae 40 Proteaceae 230
Asphodelaceae 44 Rubiaceae 234
Colchicaceae 48 Solanaceae 238
Eriospermaceae 52 Thymelaeaceae 242
Hyacinthaceae 56 Group 6:
Group 3: Acanthaceae 246
Amaryllidaceae 60 Lamiaceae 250
Hypoxidaceae 64 Lobeliaceae 254
Iridaceae 68 Orobanchaceae 258
Orchidaceae 76 Scrophulariaceae 262
Group 4:
Aizoaceae 80 References and further reading 268
Amaranthaceae 84
Anacardiaceae 88 Glossary 269
Apiaceae 92
Brassicaceae 96 Index to scientific and common names 280
Bruniaceae 100
Caryophyllaceae 104 Appendix A:
Celastraceae 108 Alphabetical list of all FSA families 287
Chenopodiaceae 112
Euphorbiaceae 116 Appendix B:

Fabaceae 120 List of 52 largest families in FSA (in order of

Geraniaceae 130 size) 294
iv TRELITZIA31 (2014)

Foreword

For the identification of an unknown flowering plant, Besides facilitating species identification, the most
the first step usually is to establish the family to which significant advantage of recognising plant families is
it belongs. If one knows the family, many species can its predictive value. Knowing the plant family is im-

be eliminated and the search for a name becomes mensely empowering in that it allows one to foretell
more directed. Guide to plant families of southern Afri- some of the properties of a plant even before it has
ca is the first of its kind for the region. This splendidly been identified to species level. Because of com-
illustrated book with
its concise and informative text mon descent, most members of a family possess a
provides practical help for those interested in learn- basic uniformity brought about by their many shared
ing the special of identifying the most important
skill
features. By knowing the properties of a family as

plant families southern Africa. As professional plant

in
a whole, one can immediately infer a great deal of

taxonomists, Marinda Koekemoer, Hester Steyn and information about its members, such as the particu-
Pieter Bester have extensive experience of plant iden-
lar floral morphology, anatomy and cytological and
tification in the region and are particularly well quali-
chemical characteristics. More often than not, such
fied to introduce the topic to the general public.
inferences are accurate, even in respect of a member
of the family not previously investigated.
The floristic richness of southern Africa is unequalled
Guide to plant families of southern Africa is a welcome
anywhere else in the world on a subcontinental scale.
deviation from the highly technical keys to plant
With about 22 800 species of flowering plants alone,
families that hitherto have dominated our botanical
the identification of species presents particular chal-
literature. It uses an easy-to-understand group-rec-
lenges to both nature lovers and professional bota-
ognition approach combined with photographs and
nists. Somehow one needs to establish a classification
diagnostic characters to help narrow down the fami-
framework to organise this wealth of plants. Fortu-
lies to which a plant could possibly belong. Each fam-
nately, there is a deep orderliness within this diversity,
ily entry contains a wealth of fascinating information,
as in all life. The field of scientific classification, or tax-
including notes on diversity, distribution, diagnostic
onomy, sets out to detect such natural patterns and to characters and ecological and economic significance,
order and name the various groupings. For centuries all supplemented by beautiful photographs depicting
natural groups, known as families, have been recog- several members of the family. Written principally for
nised by layperson and taxonomist alike. The family is non-scientists, this book should appeal to people in
a fundamental unit in the classification of plants and various walks of life. Traditionally, the family has fea-
it groups together species and genera based on as-
tured prominently in the training of biologists, espe-
sumed common descent. Hence, this book should also be useful
cially botanists.
to teachers and students. No doubt, the knowledge
Family recognition is the most powerful approach to-
contained in this attractive, informative and carefully
wards plant and it is essential for mas-
identification,
organised guide will enhance the understanding of
tering this Although southern African flowering
skill.
the flora of southern Africa and beyond. I strongly
plants comprise about 220 families, most are relative- recommend nature lovers.
it to all
ly small with only a few species each. Most species

belong to one of a few large families. For example,

just 20 families account for almost 70% of the region's
species, with more than 50% of the species belonging
to only ten families. Being able to identify these ten
largest families, one can, at least theoretically, identify
almost 12 000 plant species to family level! Rarely are
the practical benefits of learning the diagnostic char- Abraham E. van Wyk
acters of only a few taxonomic groupings as reward- University of Pretoria
ing as in the case of flowering plant families. October 2012
 TRELITZIA 31 (2014) 1

Introduction

clude the 52 largest families in this guide (see Appendi-

Background ces A and B), which coincidently challenges the reader
to learn one family per week over a calendar year.
The Flora of southern Africa (FSA) region includes
South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland and
Lesotho. This region has a rich floristic diversity of
± 23 000 species of flowering plants which represents About this guide
more than 10% of the world's plants. The richness of
the flora can be attributed mainly to both a diverse cli- General consensus has not been reached on the in-
mate and landscape. The flora is made up of gymno- terpretation and delimitation of all plant families and
sperms (e.g. cycads, pines, yellowwoods) represented current concepts are often based on the results of on-
by six families (68 species); the mosses by 97 families going molecular work. The family delimitations used
(903 species); ferns by 34 families (321 species) and in this guide follow Leistner (2000), except for the

220 flowering plant families (22 800 species). The five families Scrophulariaceae and Orobanchaceae which
largest families in the region are Asteraceae (daisies), are treated as two separate families. Recent advances
Mesembryanthemaceae (vygies), Fabaceae (legumes), in DNA-based studies propose different interpreta-

Iridaceae (irises) and Poaceae (grasses). tions of relationships and family concepts (APG II, III
& IV), but we have decided to follow a more conser-
Knowing the names of plants enhances one's enjoy- vative approach and to use family concepts that are
ment and understanding of not only plants but also largely based on morphological characters (generally
the natural environment as a whole. If one can attach supported by APG II concepts).
a name to something, it acquires a firm position in
one's frame of reference, has more meaning and fos- The number of genera and species per family in the
ters appreciation. It is also then easier to communi- FSA region, as recorded here, is according to informa-
cate about the plant and to find more information on tion in PRECIS (PRE Computerised Information Sys-
it.With the large number of plant species in southern —
tem the plant database of the South African Nation-
is relatively difficult. The first step
Africa identification al Biodiversity Institute [SANBI]) as in February 2012,
is usually to determine which family a plant belongs except where experts advised otherwise. The term
to. This can be done by familiarising oneself with the 'species', as used in this guide, refers to species or to

diagnostic characters of families. subspecific ranks (which include subspecies, varieties

and formas) where applicable.
Surprisingly, there is no user-friendly, well-illustrated
publication on the southern African flora to assist Common names can be confusing, as different plants
scholars, amateurs and professionals to
students, may have same common name, while different
the
identify plant families. Flowering Plants of the World common names may refer to the same plant. However,
(Heywood et ai 2007), is a useful reference work but common names are widely used by the public, and we
covers the families of the world and has very few have an English, Afrikaans (A)
tried to include at least

southern African examples. and, where possible, an African name in the Flagship
species sections. Abbreviations used in the text refer
With this guide, we aim to produce a comprehensive, to the following languages: NS (Northern Sotho), SS
well-illustrated publication enabling readers to identi- (Southern Sotho), T (Tswana), X (Xhosa) and Z (Zulu).
fy the 52 largest plant families of southern Africa. This
includes more than 90% of the species in the region. Throughout this guide, the emphasis is on indigenous
southern African species and most examples used are
The initial thought was to cover the 50 largest families, indigenous, except in the sections on Significance.
but there is a 'natural' gap between the size of the 52nd Where exotic or naturalised species are used as ex-
and the 53rd family. Therefore, we have decided to in- amples, these are indicated by an asterisk (*).
2 TRELITZIA31 (2014)

Photo credits Acknowledgements

ALR - Annelise le Roux SANBI Publishing team (Sandra Turck, Elizma Fouche,
ALV- Anne Lise Schutte-Vlok Grobler and Gillian Condy) for their support
Alicia
AWK - Arrie Klopper and enthusiasm. Fellow botanists Clare Archer, Robert
EE - Etienne Erasmus Archer, Christien Bredenkamp, John Burrows, Sandie
GN - Geoff Nichols Burrows, Christopher Cupido, Lyn Fish, Anne Johanns-
HS - Hester Steyn meier, Marie Jordaan, Ronell Klopper, Anthony Magee,
HV - Hans Vahrmeijer John Manning, Elizabeth Retief, Shirley Smithies, Dee
JB - John Burrows Snijman, Janine Victor, Mienkie Welman and Pieter
JF - Jane Forrester Winter who gave useful comments on the draft text.
JK-Judd Kirkel Prof. A.E. van Wyk for writing the foreword and for
JV- Jan Vlok general advice. The Botanical Education Trust for par-
LF- Lyn Fish tially funding this project. Dr O.A. Leistner is thanked
MK - Marinda Koekemoer for critically reviewing the manuscript and for very
NC - Neil Crouch valuable improvements to the text.
PMB - Priscilla Burgoyne
RDV- Riaan de Villiers
RO - Roger Oliver
SPB - Pieter Bester
SS - Sumarie Slabber
WW- Willem Wiese

Where no photo credits are indicated, images were

taken by the authors.

Trust
 TRELITZIA 31 (2014) 3

How to use this guide indication of size, growth

species-richness map to
form and habitat as well as
show the Distribution within
a

the region. The Flagship species (chosen by the authors

The aim of this guide is to enable the reader to iden-
and guided by availability of information and images)
tify plants to family level. The 52 families are ar-
gives more information on a well-known member of
ranged inthree main categories: grasses and grass-
the specific family. Notes on the Significance of the
like plants, monocotyledons (excluding grasses and
family and illustrated diagnostic characters ( How to
grass-like plants) and dicotyledons. Within these cat-
identify) are also included. The section Families with
egories, the families have been sorted into six groups
specialised flowers deals with the six families in which
using a combination of common characters (see Key
flowers are difficult to interpret.
to groups of plant families). Families within a group are
in alphabetical order.
Each family has at least one double page with images
depicting variation within the family. For the 'big five'
When trying to identify a plant, it is recommended
that the reader use the Key
groups of plant families
to
(Asteraceae,Mesembryanthemaceae, Fabaceae, Iri-
to establish a possible family group. Once the group daceae and Poaceae) additional pages were added to
has been identified, the reader can use the Quick illustrate the next level of classification (subfamilies or
guide to plant families or page through the relevant tribes) and their diagnostic characters. As the focus
group and either read the diagnostic characters of the of this guide ison plant family level, the images are
relevant families or compare the images of members identified to genus level only.
of the families with the unknown plant.

Each family page contains a short introductory para- Make it a year of plant families: get to know one
graph, a section with General information to give an family a week!
4 TRELITZIA31 (2014)

Key to groups of plant families

Monocotyledons (grasses and Monocotyledons (excluding

grass-like plants) grasses and grass-like plants)

Flowers small, without colourful petals, arranged in Flowers white or brightly coloured; flower parts 3 or
spikeletssubtended or enclosed by bracts in multiples of 3, with no marked distinction between
sepals and petals (=tepals); either all sepal-like, or all
petal-like; leaves often strap-shaped with parallel
venation, rarely needle-like

Ovary superior Ovary inferior

Group 3
Amaryllidaceae
Hypoxidaceae
Iridaceae
Orchidaceae
 TRELITZIA 31 (2014) 5

Dicotyledons
Flower parts 4 or 5, or in multiples of 4 or 5, or very many, usually
with a clear distinction between sepals and petals; leaves usually
with a distinct midrib and several side veins (pinnately veined)

Flowers with petals (or petal- Flowers with petals (or petal-like
likestructures) ± free from one structures) clearly fused with one
another another into a short or long tube

Group 4
Aizoaceae
I

Amaranthaceae Flowers more or less regular (ra- Flowers more or less irregular
Anacardiaceae dially symmetric) in outline (pet- symmetric) in outline
(bilaterally
Apiaceae als all similar in size and shape, (often appear 2-lipped; petals not
Apocynaceae*(see Group 5)
arranged around the centre like uniform in size and shape)
Asteraceae*(see Group 5)
the spokes of a wheel)
Brassicaceae
Bruniaceae
Caryophyllaceae Group 5 Group 6
Celastraceae Acanthaceae (see Group Acanthaceae
6)
Chenopodiaceae Apocynaceae Lamiaceae
Crassulaceae (see Group 5) Asteraceae Lobeliaceae
Euphorbiaceae* Boraginaceae Orobanchaceae
Fabaceae Campanulaceae Scrophulariaceae
Geraniaceae Convolvulaceae
Malvaceae Crassulaceae
Mesembryanthemaceae Cucurbitaceae
Molluginaceae Ericaceae
Oxalidaceae
Gentianaceae
Polygalaceae
Proteaceae
Proteaceae*(see Group 5)
Rubiaceae
Rhamnaceae Scrophulariaceae (see Group 6)
Rosaceae
Solanaceae
Rutaceae
Santalaceae
Sterculiaceae
Thymelaeaceae (see Group 5)

*The key interprets some characters in

a way that is not botanically correct, but
rather as they would most likely be ob-
served by many users. See also the section
on Families with specialised flowers.
 6 TRELITZIA 31 (2014)

Quick guide to plant families

1 Cyperaceae Poaceae
Sedge family Grass family
Culms (=stems) usually solid, often Culms hollow, usually cylindrical.
3-angled. Leaves in 3 ranks, with Leaves in 2 ranks, with blade and
GROUP blade and sheath, sheath forming a sheath, sheath split open, with free
tube around the culm. margins.
 TRELITZIA 31 (2014) 7

Asparagaceae Asphodelaceae Colchicaceae

Asparagus family Aloe family Colchicum family
Subshrubs or climbers. Leaves Perennials with tuberous roots. Leaves Geophytes. Leaves alternate,
GROUP
reduced, often scale-like. Flowers mostly succulent, in a rosette. sheathing at the base. Fruit a capsule.
small, white or cream, star-like. Inflorescences on long peduncles.

Eriospermaceae Hyacinthaceae
Eriospermum family Chincherinchee family
Tuberous geophytes with leafless Geophytes with rosette of channelled
inflorescence and woolly seeds. leaves. Leavesappear with the flowers.
 TRELITZIA 31 (2014)

Amaryllidaceae Hypoxidaceae Iridaceae Orchidaceae

Clivia family Star lily family Gladiolus family Orchid family
Bulbous herbs. Leaves Geophytes with vertical Geophytes. Leaves sword- Geophytes. Leaves usually
strap-shaped, or elliptical, tuber. Perianth with 6 shaped, forming a fan. basal, spirally arranged or
mostly in 2 rows. Flowers segments and 6 stamens. Flowers with 3 stamens. in 2 rows. Flowers often
usually in an umbel-like spurred. Stamens and style
structure. Stamens 6. fused into a column.

4 Aizoaceae
Kraalbos family
Amaranthaceae
Amaranth family
Anacardiaceae
Wild currant family
Apiaceae
Carrot family
Herbs. Flowers small, with Leaves alternate or Plants mostly woody. Flow- Aromatic herbs or trees.
petals much reduced or opposite. Flowers very ers small, green or yellow. Stems with distinct pith.
GROUP absent. small, in spike-like Crushed leaves with distinct Leaves usually much-
structures. resinous-scent. divided with a sheath at
base. Flowers in umbels.
 TRELITZIA 31 (2014) 9

Apocynaceae Asteraceae Brassicaceae Bruniaceae

(see Group 5) (see Group 5)
Mustard family Brunia family
Milkweed family Daisy family
Flowers in raceme. Four Shrubs. Leaves ericoid with
Leaves mostly opposite. Flowers arranged in a head. petals arranged in the form black tip. Inflorescence a
Flowers usually in umbels. Anthers fused into a tube. of a cross. Fruit a siliqua. spike or dense head.
Stamen and pistil fused Fruit with a pappus.
into a complex structure.
Plants with watery or milky
sap.

Caryophyllaceae Celastraceae Chenopodiaceae Crassulaceae

(see Group 5)
Carnation family Spike-thorn family Salt bush family
Crassula family
Leaves opposite. Nodes Woody plants. Branches Leaves covered with
often swollen. Tips of petals often angular. Flowers 'powdery' indumentum. Succulent leaves. Flowers
notched or fringed. Styles, usually small with nectar- Flowers inconspicuous.
separate (2-5). secreting disc below the
ovary.
 10 TRELITZIA 31 (2014)

4 Euphorbiaceae
Euphorbia family
Fabaceae
Pea family
Geraniaceae
Pelargonium family
Malvaceae
Hibiscus family
Usually succulent plants Pod-bearing plants. Leaves Aromatic herbs or shrubs. Many anthers fused into
with milky or watery latex. compound with leaf-base Fruit breaking up into 3-5 a distinct column around
GROUP Flowers unisexual. Fruit frequently swollen. parts, each with a spiral the style. Star-shaped hairs
splits into 3. awn. present.

Mesembryanthemaceae Molluginaceae Oxalidaceae

Vygie family Carpet weed family Oxalis family
Succulent leaves. Flowers with numerous Herbs. Flowers small with 5-10 Leaves usually with 3 leaflets. Petals
petals and stamens. Fruit a capsule stamens. furled in bud. Stamens 10, in two
opening when moistened. whorls.
 TRELITZIA 31 (2014) 11

Polygalaceae Proteaceae Rhamnaceae Rosaceae

(see Group 5)
Polygala family Buffalo-thorn family Rose family
Protea family
Flowers resembling those Leaves often glossy. Stems sometimes with
of a pea flower, with a Woody plants. Flowers in Flowers inconspicuous. prickles. Leaves often
brush-like appendage on heads or spikes. Fruit a fleshy drupe. sheathing at the base.
the keel-petal. Stipules 2, free or fused to
the petiole.

Rutaceae Santalaceae Sterculiaceae Thymelaeaceae

(see Group 5)
Buchu family Thesium family Star-chestnut family
Fibre-bark family
Plants aromatic. Leaves Plants bluish-green; with Stamens free or fused into
dotted with glands. reduced leaves and small a short tube. Star-shaped Tough fibrous bark.
flowers. hairs present. Flowers tubular, often in
dense heads.
 12 TRELITZIA 31 (2014)

5 Acanthaceae
(see Group 6)
Apocynaceae Asteraceae Boraginaceae
Milkweed family Daisy family Forget-me-not family
I Pistol bush family
Leaves mostly opposite. Flowers arranged in a head. Plants with stiff hairs.

Opposite leaves often on Flowers usually in umbels. Anthers fused into a tube. Inflorescence often 1-sided
GROUP swollen nodes. Bracts Stamen and pistil fused Fruit with a pappus. and coiled.
conspicuous. Fruit an into a complex structure.
explosive capsule. Plants with watery or milky
sap.

Campanulaceae Convolvulaceae Crassulaceae Cucurbitaceae

Bell flower family Morning glory family Crassula family Cucumber family
Bell-shaped flowers, Twining climbing herbs, Succulent leaves. Flowers Herbs. Stems trailing with
predominantly blue. An- rarely shrubs. Flowers with 3-5 separate carpels. coiled tendrils. Whole plant
thers free. trumpet-shaped. covered with rough hairs.
 TRELITZIA 31 (2014) 13

Ericaceae Gentianaceae Proteaceae Rubiaceae

Erica family Gentian family Protea family Gardenia family
Woody shrubs. Leaves Opposite leaves united at Plantswoody. Flowers in Leaves opposite with
GROUP
mostly whorled, reduced the base. Petals twisted in heads or spikes. interpetiolar stipules,
and leathery (ericoid). the bud. margins entire. Petals
Anthers opening with united into a tube. Mouth
pores. of tube usually hairy.

Scrophulariaceae Solanaceae Thymelaeaceae

(see Group 6)
Tomato family Fibre-bark family
Snapdragon family
Flowers often opposite the leaves. Tough fibrous bark. Flowers tubular,
Herbs. Leaves opposite. Stamens Fruits berries or capsules. often in dense heads.
mostly 4, 2 usually longer than the
other, attached to the corolla.
 14 TRELITZIA 31 (2014)

6 Acanthaceae
Pistol bush family
Lamiaceae
Sage family
Lobeliaceae
Lobelia family
Opposite leaves, often on swollen Aromatic herbs or small shrubs. Stems Two-lipped flowers. Anthers fused
nodes. Bracts conspicuous. Fruit an 4-angled. Leaves frequently decussate. into a tube.

GROUP explosive capsule.

Orobanchaceae Scrophulariaceae
Ink flower family Snapdragon family
Plants turn black when damaged or Herbs. Leaves opposite. Stamens
dried. mostly 4, 2 usually longer than the
other, attached to the corolla.
TRELITZIA 31 (2014) 15

Families with specialised flowers

Apocynaceae Asteraceae

ray floret

Euphorbiaceae
stigma

ovary

standard
anther

keel

Orchidaceae Proteaceae
median petal

stigma
anther
gynostemium
sepal

lateral sepals

spur

ovary
Family descriptions
18 TRELITZIA 31 (2014)

CYPERACEAE
Sedge family

Many people find it difficult to distinguish between grasses and

sedges, but once you know the differences, it is quite easy. Apart from
the morphological differences, there are also differences in habitat
requirements.

General information
Number of genera/species in the world: 109/ca. 5 500. Distribution
Number of genera/species in FSA: 37/486. A cosmopolitan family associated
Well-known FSA genera: Carex, Cyperus, Eleocharis, Ficinia, Isolepis, with moist situations. In southern
Kyllinga. Africa it is widespread with higher
Growth forms: Grass-like herbs, usually with a perennial rhizome and densities in the eastern parts
often tufted. of the country and along the
Habitats: Primarily in moist or wet places but also in drier areas such as coast to the Western Cape and
grassland and savanna. Cederberg Range.

Flagship species Significance

Cyperus textilis (emezi grass, tall star sedge, basket Many Cyperaceae species are used traditionally
grass; matjiesgoed [A]; umuzi [X, Z]) is quite to weave baskets, mats and other household
widespread near the coasts of the Western and items, build rafts and houses, forthatching and
Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, and is often papermaking. They also play an important role
cultivated elsewhere. It grows in clumps with robust, water in wetland ecosystems and in
in filtering
rounded culms. Inflorescences consist of clustered stabilising the soil. Many species are cultivated and
spikelets subtended by a few whorls of long, flat are attractive garden plants (e.g. *Cyperus prolifer
subtending bracts. Culms are used for weaving, and *C. papyrus). The fruits are a major source of
making sleeping mats, and were also used by the food for birds and other animals.
Namas to build their beehive huts (matjieshuise).
It grows and spreads easily on any soil type and is

ideally planted at a pond where there is enough water.

 TRELITZIA 31 (2014) 19

HOW TO IDENTIFY
Grass-like, tufted 1
or with rhizomes or corms. Leaves arranged
in 3 ranks 2 crowded at the base, linear with
,

parallel veins, consisting ofblade and sheath; sheaths are closed around the stem 3 and rarely split; culms
3-angled, rounded or flat, usually solid 4 with or without nodes. Inflorescence at the tip of the culm or on
,

branches clustered at the tip 5 often umbellate or in heads, subtended by leaf-like bracts 6 Flowers small, in
,
.

a single bract 7 Fruit a small nut, not splitting open 3

. .

DID YOU KNOW: Corex is the largest genus in the family and has about 2 000 species in the world.
20 TRELITZIA 31 (2014)

CYPERACEAE
SrTRELITZIA 31 (2014) 21

CYPERACEAE
22 TRELITZIA 31 (2014)

POACEAE
(Gramineae)

Grass family

The virtues of grasses have been sung by many through the ages.
People and animals are totally dependent on the numerous species
grown as crops and fodder. It is not until you delve deeper that you
start appreciating the beauty of the spikelets, their hairs, awns and their
sculpturing that create the amazing differences between genera and
species. In southern Africa, eight subfamilies are recognised. Distribution
Grasses occur worldwide and
General information throughout southern Africa.
Locally the family has higher
Number of genera/species in the world: 600/9 000-10 000.
densities on the Highveld and in
Number of genera/species in FSA: 200/1 016.
the warmer areas, but different
Well-known FSA genera: Digitaria, Eragrostis, Panicum, Setaria,
combinations of species are found
Sporobolus, Themeda.
in the Western Cape.
Growth forms: Annual or perennial herbs, usually tufted and often with
a rhizome, rarely woody and tree-like (bamboo).
Habitats: Almost everywhere, from forest, open grassland, to the desert
and the coast, on all types of soils and in all moisture conditions.

Flagship species Significance

The genus Themeda is well known despite the fact The major importance of grasses is to provide
that is has only one species. Themeda triandra (red grazing for animals and food for humans, but it has
grass; rooigras [A]; iNsinde [Z]) is generally regarded numerous other uses, for example, in horticulture as
as a desirable grass for grazing and can disappear ornamentals and lawns, in the construction industry
quickly if the veld is not well managed. It is widely as building material, in the decorative industry as
distributed, except in the dry areas of the Northern furniture and flooring, and in the textile industry as a
Cape. This distribution contributes to the very large source of fibre. Some of the more important species
variationin the species. are: barley{*Hordeum vulgare), a nutritious cereal
used to produce flour and for brewing beer; rice
k
0 Oryza sativa) provides high-energy starch; sugar
cane {*Saccharum officinarum is used as sweetener;
)

maize products (*Zea mays) are a staple food in

many countries. Seed necklaces of *Coix lacryma-
jobi have traditionally been used in Zulu culture as
protective charms and in teething rings for babies.
 TRELITZIA 31 (2014) 23

HOW TO IDENTIFY
Herbaceous; culms usually hollow 1
,
cylindrical or compressed, with obvious nodes 2 and internodes. Leaves
with blades and leaf sheaths 3
,
with ligules 4 . Inflorescences at the tip of the culms 5
. Flowers borne in
spikelets 6
.

DID YOU KNOW: Three cereals (rice, wheat and maize) provide more than half of all calories consumed by humans.
24 TRELITZIA 31 (2014)

Subfamily Panicoideae
The subfamily has 71 genera and 327 species in southern Africa. It is subdivided into 5 tribes in FSA
(Isachneae, Arundinelleae, Paniceae, Andropogoneae and Maydeae). Ligule a short membrane, a fringe
of hairs or a fringed membrane; inflorescence a panicle or unilateral raceme; spikelets generally all alike,
with 2 florets, bisexual, articulate below the glumes, lower glume shorter than the spikelet. In the tribe
Andropogoneae spikelets are paired (different from each other, one often sessile and one pedicellate) and
the inflorescence is usually a leafy false panicle.

Well-known FSA genera \ Alloteropsis, Andropogon, Brachiaria, Cenchrus Cymbopogon, Digitaria, Hyparrhenio,
Melinis, Panicum, Setorio, Themeda.

POACEAE
TRELITZIA 31 (2014) 25

POACEAE
26 TRELITZIA 31 (2014)

Subfamily Chloridoideae
The subfamily has 51 genera and 241 species in southern Africa. It is subdivided into 2 tribes in FSA

(Pappophoreae, Triodieae). Ligule membranous or a line of hairs (rarely a fringed membrane); inflorescence
often with unilateral racemes, 1-many-flowered; spikelets laterally compressed, lemmas 1-3-nerved.

Well-known FSA genera: Chloris Cynodon, Enneapogon,

, Eragrostis, Pogonarthria, Sporobolus Tragus.
,

POACEAE
TRELITZIA 31 (2014) 27

POACEAE
28 TRELITZIA 31 (2014)

Subfamily Pooideae
The subfamily has 45 genera and 144 species in southern Africa. It is subdivided into 7 tribes in FSA. Ligule
membranous; inflorescence a panicle; spikelets 1-many-flowered and laterally compressed, with or without
an apical or dorsal awn.

Well-known FSA genera: Agrostis, *Briza, Bromus, Festuco, Helictotrichon, *Hordeum.

POACEAE
TRELITZIA 31 (2014) 29

POACEAE
30 TRELITZIA 31 (2014)

Subfamily Danthonioideae
The subfamily has 11 genera and 124 species in southern Africa. Ligule a line of hairs; inflorescence a panicle;
lateral and/or central awns present.

Well-known FSA genera: Choetobromus, Merxmuellero, Pentomeris, Tribolium.

POACEAE
TRELITZIA 31 (2014) 31

POACEAE
32 TRELITZIA 31 (2014)

Subfamily Aristidoideae
The subfamily has 3 genera and 79 species in southern Africa. Ligule a line of hairs; inflorescence a panicle;
spikelets 3-awned, awns bare or with plumes.

Well-known FSA genera: Aristida, Stipagrostis, Sartidia.

POACEAE
 TRELITZIA 31 (2014) 33

Subfamily Ehrhartoideae
The subfamily has 5 genera and 43 species in southern Africa. Ligule membranous; inflorescence a panicle or
unilateral raceme; spikelets often unconventional and the structure difficult to interpret.

Well-known FSA genera: Ehrharta, Leersia, Oryza, Prosphytochloa.

POACEAE
34 TRELITZIA 31 (2014)

Subfamily Arundinoideae
The subfamily has 5 genera and 8 species in southern Africa. Reed-like; ligule membranous with ciliate
margin; inflorescence a panicle.

Well-known FSA genera: *Arundo, Phrogmites, Dregeochloo, Elytrophorus.

Phrag mites MK *Arundo MK

POACEAE
 TRELITZIA 31 (2014) 35

Subfamily Bambusoideae
The subfamily has 4 genera and 4 species in southern Africa. Plants generally woody trees, shrubs or climbers;
spikelets with 3-6 stamens and 1-3 stigmas.

Well-known FSA genera: Thamnocalamus, *Bambusa, Oxytenanthera, Olyra.

POACEAE
36 TRELITZIA 31 (2014)

RESTIONACEAE
Cape reed family

Restionaceae is one of the families that characterises the Fynbos Biome

and here it largely occupies the position grasses maintain in other
biomes. In South Africa it has been a sought-after building material that
has been put to multiple uses, from building basic shelters in the veld,
to thatching the famous Cape Dutch houses dating back to the 17th
century.

Distribution
General information
A southern hemisphere family,
Number of genera/species in the world: ca. 55/ca. 490. with most species in southwestern
Number of genera/species in FSA: 18/299. South Africa and western
Well-known FSA genera: Cannomois, Chondropetalum, Elegia, Australia. Also occurs in Chile,
Hypodiscus, Restio, Rhodocoma, Tharrmochortus, Willdenowia. Madagascar, New Zealand and
Growth forms: Rush-like, tufted, rhizomatous or stoloniferous. Malaysia.
Habitats: Found in marshes, swamps, seasonally dry, fire-prone
habitats, from sea level to altitudes of up to 2 500 m.

Flagship species Significance

Cannomois virgata (bellreed; bergbamboes, A number of species are extensively used for
besemriet [A]) is a truly magnificent example of thatching. Today the main species used is

one of the large restio species, which can become Thamnochortus insignis, which harvested and even
is

bamboo-like and reaches up to 3 m in height. It is cultivated in the Albertinia area of the Western Cape.
quite widespread in the Western and Eastern Cape It is used in thematic or waterwise gardens and has

where it is common on moist mountain slopes and become a signature/feature plant in flower beds
along streams. Inflorescences of male plants can be or potted gardens. The horticultural importance of
up to 0.5 m long with hundreds of small spikelets various restio species is continuously being explored
clustered on branchlets at the nodes. Female plants and more and more species are becoming available
have fat spindle-shaped spikelets, each bearing in the trade.
several large black fruits.
 TRELITZIA 31 (2014) 37

HOW TO IDENTIFY
Grass- or rush-like 1 plants usually dioecious (separate male and female plants). Stems mostly solid and
;

circular in cross section 2 Leaves mostly reduced to sheaths in older plants 3 culms with abscission rings
.
;

where sheaths have dropped off 4 sheaths split down to the base 5 Inflorescences at the tip of culms 6
;
. .

Flowers included in spikelets 7 occasionally with conspicuous spathes. Fruit a capsule or a nut 8
, .

DID YOU KNOW: Roofs thatched with high quality restios can last for up to 50 years before they need to be redone.
38 TRELITZIA 31 (2014)

RESTIONACEAE
TRELITZIA 31 (2014) 39

RESTIONACEAE
40 TRELITZIA 31 (2014)

ASPARAGACEAE
Asparagus family

A small family consisting of a single genus of perennials with thick

underground organs, reduced leaves and small, star-like, fragrant
flowers.

General information
Number of genera/species in the world: 1/ca. 120.
Number of genera/species in FSA: 1/88. Distribution
Well-known FSA genus: Asparagus. Widely distributed throughout
Growth forms: Spiny shrubs, suffrutices or scramblers with stems Africa, Europe and Asia, with a
arisingfrom rhizomes, or rarely tubers. single species in Australia. Most
Habitats: From exposed habitats on coastal plains to semi-shaded areas species are found in semi-arid
along forest margins; also in rocky areas in grassland and as climbers to arid areas, but also found
in forest. in Mediterranean climate;

widespread in southern Africa.

Flagship species Significance

Asparagus densiflorus (cat's tail fern; katstert [A]; The garden asparagus (*Asparagus officinalis) has
isiqobola [Z]) is a well-known garden plant all over been cultivated since ancient Greek times as a
South Africa. It is an erect to scrambling shrublet, vegetable. Several indigenous species are known to
naturally found in woodland areas. Several cultivars be edible (A africanus, A. capensis). Some species (A
have been registered by plant growers. This species setaceus,A falcatus) are used by florists as foliage.
can easily be grown from seed or by dividing the Certain members of this group are also known as
clumps. It grows relatively fast and prefers sunny to garden plants (A asparagoides, A densiflorus) and
partially shaded areas. The red berries attract birds used in traditional medicine to treat kidney and
to the garden. (Photo: GN). stomach complaints, coughs and tuberculosis.
 TRELITZIA 31 (2014) 41

HOW TO IDENTIFY
Compact woody base with fibrous or tuberous roots 1 Leaves scale-like 2 spurred at the base and
.
,

subtending leaf-like phylloclades/cladodes 3 Flowers star-like, regular, usually white or cream and fragrant,
.

with 2 whorls of 3 tepals each and 2 whorls of 3 stamens each 4 Ovary superior 5 with 3 locules. Fruit a
.

fleshy berry e or occasionally a nutlet

DID YOU KNOW: Asparagus falcatus is sometimes mistaken for young plants of the common yellowwood
C Podocarpus falcatus)
42 TRELITZIA 31 (2014)

ASPARAGACEAE
<3rTRELITZIA 31 (2014) 43

^ *

Asparagus SPB Asparagus HS Asparagus SPB

ASPARAGACEAE
44 TRELITZIA 31 (2014)

ASPHODELACEAE
Aloe family

A relatively small but widespread family of predominantly succulent

herbs with a basal or terminal rosette of leaves; best known for the
genus Aloe.

General information
Number of genera/species in the world: ca. 12/ca. 900. Distribution
Number of genera/species in FSA: 9/635.
Widespread in arid and mesic
Well-known FSA genera: Aloe, Bulbine, Kniphofia. areas of the temperate to
Growth forms: Perennial herbs, shrubs or small to large trees, also a few tropical regions of the Old World,
geophytes and climbers; mostly with a rosette of succulent leaves. with the highest diversity in
Habitats: Found from arid plains to the marshy areas of high
southern Africa, especially in the
escarpment mountains. northeastern parts.

Flagship species Significance

Aloe dichotoma (quiver tree; kokerboom [A]) is a Important as garden subjects {Aloe, Bulbine,
conspicuous constituent of the vegetation of the Kniphofia), cut flowers {Kniphofia) or as collector's
arid parts of South Africa (Northern Cape) and items {Aloe, Gasteria, Haworthia). Members of the
Namibia. This tree aloe grows up to 9 m tall and family (especially Aloe species) are known to be
bears beautiful yellow flowers during the winter used medicinally as a purgative, in the treatment of
months. The common name refers to the use of the arthritis,eczema, skin irritations, burns, hypertension
hollowed-out stems as quivers by San hunters. Large and stress. The fleshy part of the Aloe leaf (aloe gel)
trunks of dead trees are also hollowed out and used is used in the cosmetics industry and also forms the

as natural fridges. In this tree-poor region, sociable basis of health drinks and tonics.
weavers often use the quiver tree as structural
support for their communal nests.
 Another Random Document on
Scribd Without Any Related Topics
 "You have a fine lot of pupils, Bessie. I 'd like to be father of them
all."
"Mr. Moore!" exclaimed the girl, horrified at such a wish.
"I mean I 'd like to have a family as smart as they look,"
explained Moore, helping himself to a chair.
"That would not require much effort," replied the girl, coldly.
"But it would take time," suggested the graceless young joker.
Then he continued, as Bessie gave him a freezing glance, "I mean,
never having been married, I don't know, so I will have to take your
word for it."
"You deserve to be punished for your impudence, Tom Moore."
"Since I 'm a bachelor, that is easy brought about, Bessie."
"Who would marry such a rogue as you?"
"I 'm not going to betray the ladies' confidence in my honor by
giving you a list of their names," replied Moore, virtuously. Then he
added softly:
"I know something--I mean some one--I deserve, whom I am
afraid I won't get."
"Sooner or later we all get our deserts," said Bessie, wisely.
"I want her for more than dessert," he answered. "For three
meals of love a day and a light lunch in the evening."
"It is time to dismiss school."
"I am not sorry for that; send the darlings home."
"And another thing, Tom Moore, you must never come here again
during school hours. It is impossible to control the children when you
are around."
Moore laughed.
"You had them nicely controlled when I arrived, didn't you?" said
he. "Oh, well, I'll come later and stay longer. Dismiss them."
 Bessie rang the bell, and school broke up for the day immediately.

Chapter Four
THE BLACKMAILING OF TOM MOORE

After bidding good-bye to the visitor most of the children crowded

noisily out of the door, rejoicing at their resumption of freedom, but
Patsy, he of the red hair, seated himself deliberately on the front
bench and immediately became deeply interested in his arithmetic, his
presence for the moment being completely overlooked by Moore,
whose attention was attracted by the attempt of a ragged little miss to
make an unnoticed exit.
"Little girl," said Moore, gently, "why are you going without saying
good-bye to me? What have I done to deserve such treatment from a
young lady?"
The child thus reproached, a tiny blonde-haired maiden, dressed
in a faded and ragged frock, looked timidly at her questioner, and
flushed to her temples.
"I thought you would n't want to say good-bye to me, sir," she
answered, shyly.
"And why not, alanna?"
"'Cause I 'm poor," she whispered.
A tender look came into Moore's eyes and he crossed to the side
of the child, his generous heart full of pity for the little one's
embarrassment.
"I 'm poor, too," he said, patting her yellow curls. "Where do you
live, my dear?"
 "Down by the Mill, sir, with my auntie."
"And is this the best dress she can give you?" he asked, trying the
texture of the little gown and finding it threadbare and thin.
The child looked down at her feet, for the moment abashed, then
raising her eyes to the young man's face, read only sympathy and
tenderness there, and, thus encouraged, answered bravely:
"It is better than hers."
"Then we can't complain, dear, can we? Of course not, but is n't it
very thin?"
"Yes, sir, but I would n't mind if it was a bit more stylish."
Moore looked at Bessie, smiling at this characteristic manifestation
of femininity.
"The size of her!" he said. "With a woman's vanity already."
Then, turning to the child again, he continued:
"Well, we poor people must stick together. I 'll call on your aunt
to-morrow."
"Will you?" cried the girl in delight. "And you 'll sing to us?"
"That I will," said Moore, heartily. "Now run along like a good girl,
and mind me, dear, never be ashamed of your honest poverty.
Remember that the best man of us all slept in a manger."
"Yes, sir," responded the child, happily, "I 'll not forget."
As she started for the door Moore called her back and put a
shilling in her little pink palm.
"What will you do with it?" he asked, chucking her under the chin.
"Buy a ribbon, sir."
"A ribbon?" echoed Moore in imitation of her jubilant tone.
"For me auntie."
"Bless your generous little heart," said Moore, drawing another
coin from his pocket. "There is the like of it for yourself. Buy one for
each of you. Now off you go. Good-bye."
The child ran lightly to the door, but, as she reached the steps,
turned, as though struck by a sudden thought, and beckoned to
Moore.
"You may kiss me, sir," she announced with as much dignity as
though she were bestowing upon her benefactor some priceless gift,
as indeed she was, for certainly she possessed nothing more valuable.
Then, after he had availed himself of her offer, she courtesied with
childish grace and trotted gayly off, her two precious shillings tightly
clutched in her hand. Believing himself to be alone with Bessie, Moore
hastened toward her with outstretched arms, but was suddenly made
aware of the presence of a third party by Patsy, who discreetly cleared
his throat as he sat immersed in his book.
Moore turned to Bessie.
"What is that lad doing there?" he whispered. "Does n't he know
school is over?"
"How should I know?" she answered, though a glint of fun in her
eyes showed she was not without her suspicion as to the reason of
Patsy's presence.
"You might ask him what he wants," she suggested
encouragingly.
"I will," said Moore, approaching the interrupter of his wooing
with a disapproving expression upon his face.
"Look here, my son, don't you know school is dismissed?"
"Yis, sir," replied Patsy, loudly.
"And yet you are still here?"
"Yis, sir."
"Bad luck to you, can't you say anything but 'Yis, sir'?"
 "No, sir," responded Patsy, not at all intimidated by Moore's
glowering looks.
"That is better," said Moore. "You are going home now?"
"No, sir."
"There you go again! Faith, I wish you would say 'Yes' and stick to
it. What are you doing here at this unseasonable hour?"
"I wish to study me lessons," replied Patsy, enthusiastically.
Fairly dashed, Moore returned to Bessie.
"I never saw a lad so fond of his books before," said he.
"It is a new thing for Patsy," said Bessie with a laugh. "There is no
bigger dunce in school."
"Is that so?" asked Moore. "Faith, I'm beginning to understand."
Patsy looked sharply over his book at the young poet.
"Can't you study at home, my lad?"
"No, sir."
"Will you never say 'Yes, sir,' again?"
"No, sir."
"Now look here, my young friend, if you say 'Yes, sir,' or 'No, sir,'
again I 'll beat the life out of you."
"All right, sir," responded Patsy, plunging his face still deeper into
his book.
Moore regarded his small tormentor with a look of dismay.
"You will strain your eyes with so much study, Patsy," he said,
warningly. "That is what you will do,--and go blind and have to be led
around by a stick, leaning on a small dog."
A suppressed giggle from Bessie drew his attention to his mistake.
"It 's the other way round I mean. Are n't you afraid of that sad
fate, my bucko?"
 Patsy shook his head and continued his energetic investigation of
his arithmetic, while Moore sought counsel from the schoolmistress,
who was keenly enjoying her admirer's discomfiture.
"What will I say to the little tinker, Bessie?" he asked, ruefully.
"How should I know, Tom? I am his teacher and will have to help
him if he wishes it."
"What is it troubles you?" demanded Moore, looking down on
Patsy's red head.
"A sum, sir," replied Patsy.
"Show it to me."
The boy designated an example with his finger.
"'If a man sold forty eggs at one ha'penny an egg,'" read Moore
from the book, "'how many eggs--'?"
Shutting up the arithmetic, he put his hand in his pocket and
jingled its contents merrily.
"Is the answer to this problem sixpence?" he asked.
"Oh, no, sir," replied Patsy ingenuously.
"What is, then?" demanded Moore, baffled.
"Two shillings," announced the graceless youth.
"I 'll give you one," said Moore, suggesting a compromise, but
Patsy was not to be so lowered in his price.
"Two is the answer," he replied in a determined tone.
Moore yielded without further protest and produced the money.
"There you are, you murdering blackmailer," said he. "Now get
out before I warm your jacket."
Patsy seized his books, and, dodging a cuff aimed at him by his
victim, ran out of the schoolhouse with a derisive yell.
"Bessie," said Moore, solemnly, "that little spalpeen will surely
come to some bad end."
 "And be hanged?" asked the girl, taking a handful of goose-quills
from her desk preparatory to sharpening them into pens with an old
knife drawn from the same storehouse.
"Or get married, my sweet girl, though they say death is better
than torture," replied Moore, approaching the schoolmistress. "Do you
know it cost me two shillings to get a talk with you?"
Bessie smiled and finished a pen with exquisite care.
"Talk is cheap," she observed, carelessly.
"Whoever said that never called at your school, Bessie Dyke," said
Moore, perching himself upon her desk. "Turn your face a bit the other
way, if you please."
As he spoke he took the girl's round chin in his hands and moved
her head until only a side view of her pretty face could be obtained
from his post of vantage.
"Do you like my profile so much, Tom?" she asked, submitting
docilely to his direction.
"It's not that, Bessie," answered Moore, "it's because I can't stand
two such eyes at once. Now there is but one of them looking at me.
And such an eye! My heart's jumping under my jacket like a tethered
bullfrog with the glance of it. Ah, Bessie, there is only one in the wide
world like it."
"And where is that?" asked the girl, a shade of jealousy
perceptible in her inquiry.
"Just around the bend of your nose, mavourneen," laughed
Moore. "Filled with melted moonshine are both of them. Sure, one soft
look from those eyes would make a cocked hat out of starlight."
"Would it?" murmured Bessie, charmed in spite of herself. "Do
you really mean all you say?"
 "Mean it? It's poor justice my words do your beauty, Bessie dear.
You have the sauciest, darlingest, scornfullest nose, and such a
mouth! Why, to look at it makes my lips pucker."
"A lemon would do the same," observed Bessie, foiling Moore's
attempt to snatch a kiss by sitting back in her chair. "You need not
think I believe all your nonsense, Thomas Moore."
"Don't you believe what I have just said, Bessie?"
"Not I. You need n't flatter yourself."
"Why needn't I? Will you do it for me?"
"I have something better to do," replied Bessie, paring another
quill with much vigor.
"That is what I call a cutting remark," said Moore, looking at the
knife.
Bessie sighed, and temporarily abandoned her labors.
"Tom Moore," she said solemnly, "why will you make such awful
puns?"
"Practice makes perfect, my dear. If I keep on, some day I may
make a good one."
"I wonder if there ever was a good pun?"
"Keep on wondering. You look like an angel pondering over the fit
of her wings."
"Tom, that is sacrilegious."
"You 're wrong, Bessie, it's only poetry."
Bessie frowned. Like all good women, she did not like to hear
religion spoken of lightly, so she rebuked the erring Thomas with a
glance.
"You are pretty even when you frown, Bessie," remarked the
unregenerate versifier.
 Bessie attempted to look doubtful as to the truth of this last
statement.
"Why should n't you believe me? Has n't your mirror showed you
day after day what I am telling you?"
As he spoke Moore took her hand in his, not noticing that one
slender finger was wound round by a bandage. Bessie gave a little cry
of pain.
"What is the matter?"
"You hurt me," she answered, exhibiting her finger.
"I 'm more than sorry, Bessie, but what ails your pinkie?"
"I burned my hand."
"Shall I burn the other for you?" asked Moore, extending his in
invitation.
"How could you?" she demanded, suspecting a trap.
"Why," said Moore, "with a kiss half as warm as my heart."
Bessie giggled, then tried to resume her dignity, but Moore had no
intention of letting such an advantage pass unutilized, and, seizing her
uninjured hand, planted a hearty smack in its warm palm.
"Mr. Moore!"
"Mistress Dyke!"
"I shan't allow you to stay here if you cannot behave in a sensible
manner," she threatened.
"I'm not sensible?"
"Not now."
"Then, if I am not sensible, I am unconscious, and, if I am
unconscious, I am not responsible for what I do."
Moore with this justification made a sudden attempt to embrace
Bessie, who, always prepared for such lawlessness, evaded his
outstretched arms and retaliated by pricking him with her knife, a
proceeding which resulted in the instant removal of the poet's person
from her desk, accompanied by an ejaculation that sounded
suspiciously like profanity.
"What did you say, Tom?" asked Bessie with a gurgle of
satisfaction. For once she had the better of her resourceful admirer.
"You will have to guess that, Bessie," he remarked. "Do you think
that is a nice way to treat a young man?"
"Oh, it was only a joke," said Bessie, quite unrepentant.
"Your jokes are too pointed," said Moore. "After this please refrain
from any that are sharp enough to go clean through doe-skin
breeches and I 'll thank you."
The door opened suddenly and Dicky, still resplendent in red shirt
and golden curls, appeared, carrying a book. He halted on the
threshold and looked inquiringly at his teacher.
"Egad, it's the cherub!" exclaimed Moore.
Taking courage, Dicky toddled in, book in hand, and approached
Moore, who gazed wonderingly down at him.
"Well, my lad, what do you want?"
"Please, sir," piped Dicky, "I wants help wid me lessons," and he
held up his book. Bessie stuffed her handkerchief into her mouth to
smother her laughter, while a look of understanding came into Moore's
eyes.
"Oh, you want help, do you?" said the latter.
"Yis, sir, wid me aris'metic," announced Dicky, laboring earnestly
to bring forth the big word and catching some of the edges with his
teeth in spite of the exertion. "It's a sum, sir."
"A sum indeed?" echoed Moore.
"Yis, sir, and the answer is one shillin', sir."
 Moore looked over at Bessie, who almost choked and had to seek
relief in coughing. Then he regarded the recently arrived blackmailer
with a glance that he vainly endeavored to make severe, but Dicky
perceived the twist of mirth at the sides of his victim's mouth, and
took heart accordingly.
"A shilling, my young Jack Sheppard?" said Moore, feeling in his
pocket. "I 'll give you a six-pence."
"Patsy said it was a shillin'," insisted Dicky, stamping his feet by
way of emphasis.
Moore yielded in shameful defeat.
"There you are, you highwayman, and you tell Patsy I 'll flake him
when I catch him again," he said, handing out the desired coin. "You
see that door? Well, get through it as quickly as you can, or I may do
you bodily injury."
Dicky fled wildly across the school-room with Moore galloping at
his heels, then the door shut with a bang, and the pair were alone
again.

Chapter Five
TOM MOORE GIVES MISTRESS DYKE AN INKLING

Moore regarded Bessie with a glance of reproving indignation, which

was quite lost upon the young lady.
"I 'm in a den of thieves, I am," he remarked, sternly. "Bessie, I
half believe you put those lads up to that same game. What share do
you get? Half, I 'll wager."
 "When do you go back to Dublin, Tom?" asked the girl, waving
aside his insinuation with a flirt of her handkerchief.
"I don't know," responded Moore. "I should be there now."
"Should you, Tom? What is keeping you, then?"
Simple child! She, of course, had not the slightest suspicion that
she was in any way concerned in the poet's prolonged tarrying at
Dalky. Innocence is a truly beautiful thing, and that it is not more
popular is much to be regretted.
"Keeping me?" repeated Moore. "Nothing but my heart,
mavourneen."
"Indeed? Who has it in their possession, if it is no longer in
yours?"
"You, Bessie," answered Moore, earnestly. "And pray do not
return it. After being in your keeping, no other woman would satisfy it,
and I 'd have no peace at all. Ah, alanna, when I left Dublin, weary
and discouraged at my failure to sell my poetry, and came to this quiet
country place in search of rest, it is little I dreamed I would run across
such a girl as you. You have put new thoughts in my head, Bessie. My
soul is not the same at all."
Touched by the tenderness of his tone, the girl grew sober in her
turn.
"And you must go, Tom?" she asked, regretfully.
"I have my fortune to make, Bessie. Why, mavourneen, I have n't
a penny of my own."
"And no pennies of anybody else's?"
Moore smiled broadly.
"How could I have?" said he. "I never went to school here. I don't
know the system like your pupils."
 Bessie laughed and looked so tempting in her mirth that Moore
made another attempt to kiss her, with no better success than had
rewarded his previous efforts.
"Poverty is a common complaint," she observed, shaking her head
at the disappointed youth.
"I had rather be poor than a miser," said Moore, sitting down on a
stool.
"A miser? Am I one?"
"Yes, with your kisses. Faith, they are spoiling to be picked."
"I am the best judge of when and by whom they shall be picked,
good sir," replied Bessie, pensively nibbling on the end of a brown curl.
"It is hard to be poor, Bessie," sighed Moore, resting his feet on a
rung of the stool, his elbows on his knees, and his chin in his hand,
this being a favorite attitude of the poet's.
"If you would marry Winnie Farrell you would have slews of
money," suggested Bessie, leaning on the back of the bench with
affected carelessness of demeanor, but there was a gleam in her eye,
hidden 'neath drooping lids and long lashes, that seemed indicative of
no little interest in the forthcoming answer.
Moore looked inquiringly at his fair companion.
"Winnie Farrell is it?" he said, laughing at the idea. "Not for me,
Bessie. I have picked out another lassie."
"But I 'm told you often call at Squire Farrell's," persisted the girl,
not wholly reassured.
"To be sure I do, Bessie," replied Moore frankly. "And no wonder.
The Farrells are pleasant people. Winnie is nice to chat with, and I like
her brother. He is the cleverest lad in the country."
Bessie shook her head doubtfully, and a sunbeam that, slanting in
the window, had comfortably nested in a coil of her bonny brown hair
was rudely thrown forth to find no better resting-place than the floor,
for the girl moved nearer to Moore as she spoke.
"He is too clever for his own good, I fear," she said. "The fewer
dealings you have with Terence the better it will be for you."
Before Moore could reply the door opened, and Patsy, Micky, and
Willy Donohue filed in, each clutching an arithmetic.
"Look, Tom," said Bessie, pointing out the new-comers.
Moore regarded the little party with wide-open eyes.
"Egad, Bessie," said he, "it's a committee. What do you lads want
now?"
"Please, sir," said Patsy, acting as spokesman, "these two boys
wants help wid their lessons. They each has a sum, sir, and their
answer is sixpence apiece."
"Come here, then," said Moore, sweetly, "and I 'll hand it to you."
The boys, made confident by past successes, came forward
without hesitation as their victim put both hands in his pockets.
"It is a long worm that has no turning," remarked Moore, seizing
Patsy by the collar with one hand, while with the other he picked up
the ruler from the desk. "This is where Thomas Moore worms--I mean
turns. There is sixpence where you won't lose it, my lad."
The dust flew from Patsy's breeches, while from his mouth
proceeded vigorous objections to his present treatment.
"Now run, you divil, or I will repeat the dose," cried Moore,
throwing the ruler at Micky's bare shins as that youthful conspirator
sought safety in headlong flight with Willy before him and Patsy close
at his heels. A moment later they appeared outside the window and
retaliated with derisive gestures for their recent defeat until Moore ran
towards the door as though about to give chase, when the lads,
squealing with fright, fled across the fields, disappearing in the distant
trees.
"How do you like teaching?" asked Bessie, mischievously, as
Moore returned.
"Fine," he said. "Fine, and it's I that pays the fines, little limbs of
Satan."
"Remember, you are speaking of my pupils, Mr. Moore," she said
threateningly.
"All right," said Moore, "little limbs of Bessie Dyke!"
"Tom!"
"I did n't mean it that way, my dear. Far be it from me to make
such indelicate remarks intentionally."
"I am not so sure," said Bessie, suspiciously.
"I did n't think what I was saying, Bessie."
"Do you always say what you think?"
"Do you want me to be arrested?" demanded Moore. "I conceal
my thoughts almost as often as you do, mavourneen."
"You can omit that 'Mavourneen,'" said Bessie, refusing to be so
soon cajoled into good humor. "I 'm not to be blarneyed so easily."
"Oh," said Moore, "it's a terrible thing to be haunted by a girl's
face."
"Is it?" asked Bessie, mollified.
"I should think so," responded Moore. "I can't work for thinking of
one."
"Is her name 'Laziness'?"
"You 'll get no more information on the subject from me. Do you
know, Bessie, I have half made up my mind not to go back to Dublin
at all?"
"No? Where else would you go, Tom?"
 "To London," announced Moore, dramatically. "To London, Bessie,
and once there I 'll take Dame Fortune by the throat and strangle the
hussy till she gives me what I deserve."
"Ah," cried Bessie, "that would be splendid, Tom!"
"I 'd go to-morrow only I dare n't leave you, darlin', for fear you
will be stolen from me in my absence."
"What do you mean?" asked Bessie, looking at him in surprise.
"As though you did not know, Bessie!" answered Moore, rising to
his feet. "I mean this Sir Percival Lovelace, who is seen so often in
your company of late. Lord Brooking's friend. Don't I know what he is
after when I see a great gentleman like him, the odor of Court still in
his ruffles, walking and talking with a pretty bit of a school-teacher like
you?"
Bessie flushed a little, but her tone was sad instead of angry
when she answered:
"Tom, have you no faith in me?"
"Well, it is precious little I have in Sir Percival," he replied, turning
away angrily, "and the less you have the better it will be for you."
Bessie's eyes twinkled maliciously. Here was her chance to pay
her lover back for some of the plaguements he had practised upon
her.
"You don't like Sir Percival?" said she, calmly.
"Not I," said Moore. "I see through his fine manners easy
enough."
"He says I would make a good actress," continued Bessie, as
though flattered by the idea.
Moore bit his lip in anger, but spoke calmly enough when he
answered:
"He did n't say you would make a good wife?"
 It was Bessie's turn to lose her temper.
"Oh, Tom," she snapped crossly. "I shall be angry."
Moore sat down on the bench previously ornamented by Patsy's
youthful form.
"I'd rather you would be angry than sorry," he said, moodily.
There was a short silence. For a moment Bessie hesitated
between anger and apology, then her real regard for Moore triumphed
and she decided not to torment him further.
"Tom," she said softly.
Moore showed no sign of having heard her.
"Tom," she said as sweetly as a deliciously modulated voice could
sound the word.
Still no reply. She stepped lightly towards him.
"Tom, dear, don't be sulky," she said, laying one hand upon his
sturdy shoulder. "Why I care more for your little finger than I ever
could for Sir Percival."
"Will you tell him so?" asked Moore, taking her hand as he rose.
This was asking entirely too much and Bessie raised her head
very haughtily, indignant that her condescension in making so
confidential a statement had led to such an extravagant request.
"Indeed, I will not," she declared, defiantly, returning as she
spoke to her chair behind the desk at the front of the schoolroom.
Moore followed her and they stood face to face, the desk between
them.
"Very well," he said determinedly, "if you won't, I will."
"If you dare, Thomas Moore," cried Bessie, shaking one pink
forefinger at the poet, admonishingly. "If you dare!"
"Faith, I dare do anything," he replied, and, seizing her hand,
plunged the lifted finger up to the second joint in the contents of the
inkstand, thus effectually ending the argument.
"Oh!" cried Bessie, holding her hand, so the jetty fluid would not
fall upon her gown or apron. "You horrid, horrid thing, see what you
have done!"
Moore laughed heartily at her discomfiture, and in so doing
recovered his usual cheerful spirits.
"Oh, the ink will wash off," he chuckled. "That is more than the
mark you have left on my heart will do, for that is indelible."
Bessie stamped her tiny foot in her rage and made as though she
would wipe her hand on Moore's coat, which caused the triumphant
young man to seek sudden shelter behind the benches.
"I can't wash it off, Tom Moore."
 "I can't wash it off, Tom Moore."

"Have you never been taught to perform your ablutions, Bessie?"

"Stupid! My other hand is burned and water will make it smart."
"I wonder if water would make me smart."
"I 'd like to," said the girl.
"I 've always tried wine when I thought I needed intellectual
stimulation."
"I should think you would be drinking all the time," said Bessie,
spitefully.
 "Not all the time," corrected Moore. "Part of it I spend earning the
price. There, now, don't worry, I 'll scrub your little fist for you if you
will let me. Will you?"
Bessie's anger cooled as rapidly as it had warmed.
"If you will be very gentle, you may."
"Trust me for that," said Moore, going to the bucket that stood in
the corner with a basin covering it. "It's empty, Bessie. There is not as
much water here as would make a foot-bath for a flea."
"You can fetch it from the well," said Bessie.
"Will you come with me?"
"You can go alone, Tom Moore."
"I can, but I don't want to, Bessie."
"You would be almost there now if you had n't stopped to talk."
"Won't you come, Bessie?"
"I suppose I will have to do it to please you," said the girl,
yielding with a little sigh.
"Won't it please you, too?" said Moore, stopping her.
"But, Tom--"
"Won't it?" he insisted.
"Yes,--yes,--yes!" she replied, with increasing emphasis on each
reiteration.
Moore let her pass, and she paused at the door, looking over her
plump shoulder.
"What a child you are, Tom Moore!"
"Child," he repeated. "Child? Maybe I am, Bessie, but when you
are called 'Mama' it won't be by me, though I think I 'll not be far off."
"Oh!" she cried, and slammed the door.
 Chapter Six
TWO GENTLEMEN OF WEALTH AND BREEDING

It is doubtful if a search prosecuted through the entire extent of the

United Kingdoms over which the Prince of Wales ruled as Regent
would have brought forth a more debonair or contented individual
than Sir Percival Lovelace, gentleman, libertine, and chosen comrade
of His Royal Highness. In the eyes of this gallant, morals were a mark
of ancient barbarism that gentle breeding and a long line of ancestors
should be expected to remove or render forgotten. As these views
coincided almost exactly with those cherished by the First Gentleman
of Europe, it is not to be wondered that the Prince found in the
baronet an agreeable and, more than that, an amusing companion.
But even London may pall upon one and, not being hampered by the
restrictions limiting the peregrinations of royalty, which were often the
cause for much princely profanity at Carlton House, Sir Percival sought
change and diversion in a jaunt through Scotland and Wales, finally
ending in a tour of Ireland, where, much to his surprise, he stumbled
upon certain persons destined to furnish him with more or less food
for thought for the next year or two. His companion on his travels was
none other than Lord Brooking, nephew of Lord Moira, already known
as one of England's most capable statesmen. The young gentleman
first mentioned was quite popular in the Regent's set, but more widely
known in the circles from whence the various arts drew
encouragement and patronage. But, in spite of his leanings toward the
more cultured pursuits scantily patronized by the profligate society
immediately surrounding the Regent, Lord Brooking was much more
popular with that noble gentleman than many whose daily and nightly
labor was the effort to curry favor with England's ruler. Lord Brooking
was no ordinary personage. There was small flavor of the roué in his
character, though it cannot be denied that, following the general
current of fashion, he had not hesitated to play his part in the masque
of dissipation offered as entertainment to the middle and lower classes
by the aristocracy whom they were expected to envy and admire. But
in his heart he felt only regret for his own participation in such
unworthy extravagance, and, in most instances, a profound contempt
for those who found diversion and contentment in such existence.
There were two conspicuous exceptions to his lordship's general
condemnation. The first was Richard Brinsley Sheridan, poet,
dramatist, and statesman, now in his decadence, who still sought and
furnished entertainment in society, a garrulous, drunken, and witty old
gentleman, with a heart as young and a thirst as dictatorial as when
Fame first brought him well-merited reward. The only enemies owned
by this lightsome veteran were those foolish enough to expect
eventual settlement of bills or loans that they were so unwise as to
allow him to add to his long list of personal indebtedness. It is almost
unnecessary to mention that disappointment was the subsequent
conclusion of all such hopes of his deluded creditors, for Mr. Sheridan
was consistent in one thing to the last--entire lack of financial
responsibility.
The other exception was Sir Percival, who was so gay, so
generous, so witty that Brooking, blinded by the glitter of a sparklingly
brilliant personality, neither saw nor felt the hideous moral
imperfections that this winning gentleman hid beneath his splendid
exterior. The several peccadilloes really beyond all extenuation or
apology of which the baronet had been guilty had never been brought
to the attention of his younger friend and so at the time of which this
tale is a chronicle it would have been difficult to find two closer cronies
than this pair of young noblemen, who were strolling leisurely in the
direction of the schoolhouse.
Sir Percival looked at Brooking quizzically.
"You do not approve, lad," he said with a little laugh. "You 're too
good a fellow, I am afraid."
"I wish I could be as timid about you," replied Brooking,
pleasantly.
"Can't you, dear boy? No? Pray, why not?"
"Do you really wish to know?" asked Brooking, hesitating a little.
Sir Percival treated himself daintily to a pinch of snuff and
brushed the dust from his coat with an embroidered handkerchief.
"I think you wish to tell me," he answered, smiling. "It amounts to
the same thing between friends, doesn't it?"
"I think we may as well understand each other now," said
Brooking, in a serious tone.
"I quite agree with you," remarked Sir Percival, inwardly
wondering what this introduction would lead to.
"I have been postponing this conversation from day to day for the
last week."
"Indeed? And why?"
"It is rather a delicate subject."
"I would prefer one that is indelicate, if it is not inconvenient,"
suggested Sir Percival.
"For once in your life, Lovelace, be serious."
"Even that I will not deny you. Proceed."
"We have been pals since boyhood. As little lads we blacked each
other's eyes."
 "We did," admitted Sir Percival, laughing gently, "and bled each
other's noses, too."
"We licked the same stick of candy."
"Gad, yes. My favorite was peppermint. I remember it as well as
though it were but yesterday."
"We grew up to manhood together," continued Brooking, half
sadly. "A pretty couple of rakes we were, too."
"We are still, dear lad," corrected Sir Percival. "Two very pretty
little libertines, upon my honor."
"In London, where we were well known as an unworthy couple, I
have no fault to find with you."
"No?" said the baronet in surprise. "To tell the truth, that
statement causes me some little astonishment."
"We sailed under our true colors there--"
"But," interrupted Sir Percival, "the same flag is still flying, old
man."
"Ah," said his lordship, "while that is true, it must be remembered
that they do not understand its meaning down here. I haven't much to
brag of in the way of morals, more is the pity, but no woman has ever
wept of shame from my wrong doing, nor will a woman ever do so."
Sir Percival gave his companion a smile of interrogation.
"And I?" he asked.
"I am not so sure about you," responded Lord Brooking,
deliberately, "but in London, where you are known, the folly of a girl in
trusting you would be so inexcusable that indiscretion upon your part
might be readily condoned; but here in this peaceful, simple old town
it is very different."
"Come to the point, Brooking. You are almost tiresomely wordy
to-day."
 "It amounts to this, Percy. I have done some things I 'm heartily
ashamed of and I intend in the future to be a better fellow."
"Very commendable, indeed," observed the baronet, a trifle
bored, "Does my approval encourage you?"
"What do you intend to do with Bessie Dyke?" demanded the
younger man, halting as he spoke.
Sir Percival paused and pensively cut down a weed or two with his
walking stick.
"Hum," he said slowly. "As I thought."
"Do you mean honestly by the girl?"
"Your last words are quite correct," said the baronet, coolly. "Buy
the girl--I mean to do that, Brooking."
"You frankly avow that is your object?" began Brooking, genuinely
shocked.
"Tut--tut!" interrupted his companion, good humoredly. "She is a
pretty creature, is n't she? Clever, too, in her own innocent, foolish,
little way. For her smiles and bread-and-buttery love--a welcome
change, by the way, from the London brand of petulant passion--I 'll
give her a carriage, horses, fine dresses, a necklace or two, and lastly
my own charming self for--er--for probably as long a time as several
months."
"And then, what will become of her?"
"Really, I don't know," answered Sir Percival. "Can't imagine, and
I shan't bore myself by wondering. Perhaps she will marry some
clodhopper like this Tom Moore. No doubt he would think her doubly
valuable when I have finished with her."
"You are not in earnest," stammered Brooking, incredulously.
"Quite in earnest, my dear old chap. Ah, you think that I will not
succeed? Pshaw, Brooking! Not here, perhaps, in this deliciously moral
atmosphere, but elsewhere, yes. And I intend that she shall be
elsewhere. Brooking, I shall fetch this rural beauty to London."
"She will not go," asserted his lordship.
"No?" returned the baronet. "Who, think you, will prevent her?"
"Tom Moore, or I am much mistaken," answered Brooking,
confidently.
"Tut!" said Sir Percival, incredulously. "You do not give my tact
sufficient consideration. I 'll wager the objections Mr. Moore may see
fit to make will prove of no avail in influencing the lady. In fact, if I do
say it myself, my plans are clever enough to discount the efforts of a
dozen bogtrotters, let alone one and he a rhymester. To begin with I
have read and gone in raptures over old Robin Dyke's verses. Egad, I
have pronounced them beautiful, and really they are not half bad,
Brooking. If they were not so crammed with anarchy they would sell in
London. The old boy is a socialist, you know. Yes, i' faith, he bastes
the Prince and Castlereagh soundly," and this ardent royalist chuckled
gleefully at the memory.
"Then you have broached the subject to Mr. Dyke?" asked Lord
Brooking, as they continued their stroll in the direction of the
schoolhouse. Sir Percival nodded his head.
"Yes, Brooking, the old scribbler is half persuaded already. I have
promised him my support and patronage in London if he comes."
"And the girl?"
"I am tempting Bessie with the promise of a place at Old Drury,
where, as you know, I am not without influence. Stab me! with her
eyes and rosy red cheeks she would need neither paint nor powder to
make her an ornament to the boards. Like most clever women, she
has ambitions of a histrionic nature. She will come to London,
Brooking, and once there!--once there--she is mine, dear lad, she is
mine."
Brooking's anger and disgust refused to be longer pent up
beneath his calm, almost indifferent, demeanor.
"What a low scoundrel you are!" he ejaculated, much to Sir
Percival's surprise. The baronet for a moment regarded him quizzically,
as though suspicious that this uncomplimentary description of his
character was intended as a humorous remark, but seeing severity in
his lordship's face, he smiled pleasantly and refused to take offence.
"Don't be so serious, old cock," he drawled. "Earnestness is so
tiresome. Ah, life at its best bores me. My friends bore me. Even you,
Brooking, bore me at times. Toss me, if I know anything that does not
bore me sooner or later."
"Sir Percival," said the younger gentleman, "if I whispered one
half that you have said to me in Tom Moore's ear he would choke the
life out of you and sink your body in the pond."
"And spoil the drinking water? Well, such treatment as you
describe would not bore me at all events. 'T would be exciting, even
unpleasant, 't is true, but interesting in the extreme, and anything
which is not tedious is worthy of all consideration."
Brooking laughed, amused in spite of his disapproval.
"You are incorrigible," he said.
"Permit me to explain my view of the matter," continued Sir
Percival, amiably.
"By all means, Percy."
"This piquant country damsel pleases me rarely. She is a sweet
little thing whose view of life is about as comprehensive as that of a
day-old kitten. She shall be educated, Brooking, and I will serve as
tutor. You saw me stoop and pluck a primrose from beside the road as
we walked this way, did you not? Here it is in my button-hole. This girl
is a primrose, Brooking; I 'll wear her till she is faded,--then, like this
wilted blossom, I will toss her aside. And why? Because there are
other primroses as fair and sweet, unplucked and unfaded, that grow
beside my path farther on, and I like fresh flowers and new faces."
This very pretty gentleman helped himself to snuff, and then
beamed benevolently upon his companion. Brooking saw the baronet
was in sober earnest in spite of his pleasant manner and humorous
tone. A new comprehension of his friend's real character dawned upon
his mind, and for the first time in the long years of their acquaintance
and fellowship he was able to strip from the libertine the exterior of
the winning and courtly gentleman that had hitherto served to conceal
his imperfections. In that one moment vanished the affection and
admiration the younger man had felt for the elder, leaving only the
colder and less exacting friendship existing between men of the same
circle in society, who find much to interest and amuse in each other's
company, but nothing to love or respect.
There was a slight pause before his lordship spoke, but when he
did so there was a new ring to his voice.
"If you harm this little girl, I 'll never take your hand in mine
again. You hear, Percy? Do as you have said, and we are strangers
forever."
"And why?" demanded his companion.
"Because I 'll not own friendship with so filthy a rogue as you will
have proved yourself to be."
"Hum!" murmured Sir Percival, thoughtfully. "Then you will
probably constitute yourself her protector?"
"If necessary, yes."
 "And will no doubt seek to balk me by telling her what a villain
you think me, lad?"
"You know better than that," replied Brooking, a reproachful tone
perceptible in his voice.
"So I do," assented the baronet. "What do you say to making it a
game? One hundred guineas I win."
The instinct of the gamester, without which no buck of the times
was considered completely a gentleman in society's interpretation of
the word, stirred in the blood of his lordship.
"Done," said he.
"Good lad," commented Sir Percival. "My cards are wealth and
fame, London and Drury Lane."
"Mine are the girl's honesty and Tom Moore."
"Tom Moore?" repeated the other, inquiringly.
"Yes," answered Brooking, "for if Bessie Dyke does go to London
with you as her patron, I 'll bring Tom Moore there and be his."
"Just as you like," said Sir Percival.
Reaching the door of the schoolhouse a moment later, the two
bloods knocked vigorously and stood on the stone threshold, waiting
patiently for a response from the interior. As this was not forthcoming,
after another moment's delay, Sir Percival opened the door and led the
way into the schoolroom.

Chapter Seven
TOM MOORE OBLIGES A FRIEND AND GETS IN TROUBLE
"Can it be Mistress Bessie has departed for the day?" said Sir Percival,
surveying the deserted room with no little disappointment.
"I think not," replied his lordship, imitating his companion's look
of investigation. "As I thought, Sir Percival! There is her hat."
As he spoke, Brooking pointed to a dainty affair composed of
some complicated combination of white straw and blue ribbons, from
which peered inquisitively forth a bunch of pink posies. This charming
creation hung pendant by the strings from a nail in the wall behind the
desk, making plain that the school-mistress intended to return.
"True, Brooking," said Sir Percival, and taking it down he pressed
one of the ribbons to his lips. "Almost as sweet and pretty as its
owner. Egad, how tuned in harmony with her own charm are the
belongings of a dainty and tasteful woman. Like the scientists of the
Museum who from a bone construct a skeleton, so could I from this
little hat draw the portrait of the lady whom it might become."
"You are dangerously near sentimentality," said Brooking, as
though warning the baronet of peril unperceived.
Sir Percival laughed.
"I sometimes forget that I am no longer a lad of two-and-twenty,
though Heaven knows I lack not reminders. Impossible as it seems, it
is nevertheless true that I found a gray hair this morning. A silver
messenger from approaching Age. I plucked the rascally thing out and
breathed more freely when I was rid of it."
A knock sounded on the door by which the pair had entered, and
Sir Percival, peeking slyly through a convenient window, gave an
exclamation of dismay.
"Pluck me, Brooking, if it is not old Robin Dyke himself. Devil take
the old bore!"
Brooking pointed to the other exit.
 "Perhaps we can escape this way."
Sir Percival, followed by his lordship, tiptoed across the room, but
before they reached the other doorway, Mr. Dyke, weary of waiting,
entered briskly, and their plan of evasion was abandoned as hastily as
it had been adopted.
"Why, if it is not Mr. Dyke," cried Sir Percival, cheerily, quite as
though he were overjoyed at the meeting. "Good-day to you, sir. I
hope it finds you sound in health."
Dyke flushed with pleasure at the heartiness of the great
gentleman's greeting. He was a pleasant-faced old man, simple and
good-hearted, too prone to trust in the honor of others, but erring
only by giving them credit for benevolence and honesty equal to his
own. He was quite a portly old person, with a face strongly lined in
spite of its placid expression. His hair, worn rather long as became a
poet, was a wavy, shimmery gray, and he walked with a rambling sort
of gait that suggested vaguely a compromise between a stride and a
toddle. Sir Percival's quick eye caught sight of a suggestive roll of
manuscript sticking out of the new-comer's pocket.
"Ah!" exclaimed the baronet, tapping the paper with his cane. "I
see a paper peeking from your coat, Mr. Dyke. Another poem, I 'll be
bound. Come now, sir, out with it. I swear, we will hear it, eh,
Brooking?"
"I 'm afraid we will," murmured his lordship beneath his breath,
but he bowed in pleasant assent in reply to the old gentleman's
inquiring look.
"What?" continued Sir Percival. "Too modest, eh? Then I will read
it myself," and, with a gesture gracefully apologetic for the liberty, he
drew the roll from Dyke's pocket.
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