"And thus it came about that I received Cousin Robert in her stead.
"As I stepped out on to the verandah, he was just alighting from his carriage.
"'He does not look much better than papa,' that was my first thought. A great strong man like a giant, with broad chest and shoulders, his face sun-burnt, with little blue eyes in it, and framed by a shaggy beard, such a beard as the 'lancequenets' used to wear.
"'Only the chin-strap is wanting,' I thought to myself.
"He came jumping up the steps laughing towards me.
"'Well, good morning, Martha!' he cried.
"And then suddenly he stopped short, measured me from head to foot and stood there, half-way up the stairs, as if petrified.
"'My name is not Martha, but Olga!' I remarked, somewhat dejectedly.
"'Ah, that accounts for it!' he cried, shaking with laughter, stepped up to me and offered me a red, horny hand, quite covered with cracks and weals.
"'What an uncouth fellow!' I thought in my own mind. And when we had entered the room he looked me up and down again and said, 'You were quite a little thing yet, Olga, when I went away from here; now it seems like a wonder to me that you should be so like Martha!'