“‘Yes, my beloved child, you shall go with me; could I have foreseen your ill health and unhappiness, I never would have left you; I have been thinking of you, my love, during my whole journey, in Athens, at Mount Etna, everywhere you were constantly in my thoughts.’
“‘I wish I could have ascended Mount Etna with you: how I should like to see it.’
“‘It would have been too tiresome a journey for you, my darling; now go and pack up your clothing, while I speak to Madame Deville before our departure.’
“He went into Madame’s parlor, and his daughter walked toward the staircase with a quick light step; she was going to leave the school; in all probability I should never see her again: I was determined to say farewell, and, therefore, ran after her.
“‘Are you going away, are you going to leave us, Miss Clarendon?’
“She stopped and looked around; her face brightened with a sweet smile, when she saw it was I who spoke to her. ‘Yes, Genevra, I am about leaving you; my dear father has come to take me home to England.’
“‘Are you very glad to leave the school?’
“Yes, I am glad, because I am going to see many beloved friends, and because I have suffered much since I have been here from ill health; but I regret losing some of my school companions, and among them is yourself; when I am gone, you must sometimes think of me, Genevra, and keep this in remembrance of me.’
“She gently placed a small gold ring upon my finger, kissed me, and then ran up stairs; I watched her till she disappeared, and then returned to my piano, with the saddening reflection that we should never meet again.