"She is bashful and very shy," replied Pablo: "She is afraid of troubling us in the house. Florentina, I must tell you—in confidence, that I love her dearly; you will love her too. I have a most eager wish to see my good little comrade and friend."
"I will go and look for her to-morrow morning myself."
"Yes, do—but do not be gone long. When I do not see you I feel very lonely; I have become accustomed to see you, and these three days have been centuries of happiness.—Do not rob me of a minute. Last night my father told me that after having seen you I ought never to want to see another woman."
"What nonsense!" exclaimed the girl blushing. "There are plenty much prettier than I am...."
"No, no; they all say no." Pablo vehemently declared, turning his blindfold eyes towards his cousin, as if he could see her even through his bandages. "They used to tell me so before, and I could not believe it; but now that I have seen the world and know what beauty is, I believe it—yes indeed I do. You are perfectly lovely; there is no one—there can be no one more lovely.—Give me your hand." And he grasped it eagerly in both of his.
"I laugh now," he went on, "to think of my absurd blind man's vanity, of my foolish attempts to realize the true aspect of things without seeing them. I believe that as long as I live I shall never forget the surprise that the reality was to me. Reality! Oh, the man who knows it not is blind indeed, a perfect idiot!—Florentina I was an idiot."
"No, cousin, you were always very clever and so you are still. But do not let your fancy work too vividly now. It will soon be time to go to bed. Don Teodoro particularly said that I was not to let you talk so late, because it keeps you from sleeping; if you do not keep quiet I shall go away."
"Is it night already?"
"Yes, quite night."
"But day or night I love to talk to you," Pablo persisted, tossing over on his bed, on which he was lying dressed and very restless. "I will be silent on one condition, and that is that you do not go away from my side, and that, from time to time, you pat the bed with your hand that I may know that you are there."