His moment of disillusionment about one particular German was at hand.
As he himself said ruefully about the affair afterwards:
"Who'd have thought it? I would not have expected it of that man; I would not, indeed——"
But let me tell you from the beginning what happened.
CHAPTER XXXIV
HARVEST, NINETEEN-EIGHTEEN
"She stood breast-high amid the corn
Clasped by the golden light of morn,
Like the sweetheart of the sun
Who many a glowing kiss had won.
"In her cheek an autumn flush
Deeply ripened, such a blush
In the midst of brown was born
Like red poppies grown with corn.
"And her hat with shady brim
Made her tressy forehead dim;
Thus she stood amid the stooks,
Praising God with sweetest looks."
—WORDSWORTH.
All this, you must remember, was in harvest time.