But he caught her to his bosom; and she dropped her head upon his shoulders, and burst into a passion of tears and sobs.
“Oh, my own! my own!” he cried; “my beloved! my peerless treasure! This is the very happiest moment of my life! How cheaply purchased with shipwreck and the loss of everything else!”
Still she sobbed upon his shoulder, unable to make any other reply.
“You are with me! I have you, and I care for nothing that can befall me that does not part us!” he continued.
“And I’m left out in the cowld entirely,” said Judith, who had gradually recovered from her panic, and recognized the apparition as Mr. Rosenthal in the flesh.
“Britomarte! Love! love! Do you know how happy I am? Speak to me, love! I have not heard the sound of your voice yet, except in sobs. Speak to me, my own, only love!” whispered Justin.
“Oh, I am so glad, so glad, that you are saved! Oh, thank God! thank God! Oh, in what words can I thank God enough!” exclaimed Britomarte, with an emotion that shook her whole delicate frame.
He caught her closer to his bosom, and bent down his head over hers until his lips touched her forehead and his auburn locks mingled with her dark brown tresses.
“God bless you for every sweet word you have spoken, oh, my dearest! my dearest!” he murmured.
But it was not until her great passion of joy had somewhat exhausted itself that she recollected herself, and gently attempted to withdraw from his embrace.