"Nay, grieve not, beloved," he said, as she turned her face sadly away; "for a few short months I must leave thee, but I will come back to thee with many a long tale of the wonders I have seen. There is nought like travel to make a man hold up his head among his fellows, and the seeing of strange things that others have not seen."
"There is nought like travel," she said, "to make a man forget his home, and love the new things better than the old."
"Dost thou think me so faithless, Œnone?"
"Many men are faithful till they meet temptation," she replied.
"Had I listened to thee, I should still have been a shepherd on the mountains, knowing neither kith nor kin."
"It would have been happier so," said she.
"Œnone, I must not heed thy fears. Remember, I am a king's son, and I must live my life as befits a man, and not be ever held back by a woman's arms."
"The gods grant thou mayest always think so, Paris. Fare thee well, then; I will stay thee no longer, but I will watch for thy coming as never woman watched before. If evil fortune befall thee, Paris, come back to me, and I will save thee."
So, with many a promise not to forget her, but to come back to her as soon as might be, he left her and set sail with Menelaus.