'Oh! Thou art changed, Alice! I left thee almost a child, and now—now—I thought to catch thee in my arms—a sweet rustic nymph—and now—fain must I go upon my knees to a goddess.'
'Robin!' Who, indeed, would have expected such language from Robin!
'And Robin was come home again, and I was lying in his arms, and he was kissing me.'
'Alice,' he said, still gazing upon me with a kind of wonder which made me blush, 'do you remember when we parted four years ago—the words we said? As for me, I have never forgotten them. I was to think of thee always; I was to love thee always. Truly I may say that there is never a day but thou hast been in my mind. But not like this'——He continued to look upon me as upon some strange creature, so that I began to be frightened and turned away.
'Nay, Alice, forgive me. I am one who is dazzled by the splendour of the sun. Forgive me; I cannot speak. I thought of a village beauty, rosy-cheeked, sweet and wholesome as an August quarander, and I find'——
'Robin—not a goddess.'
'Well, then, a woman tall and stately, and more beautiful than words can say.'
'Nay, Robin, you do but flatter. That is not like the old Robin I remember and'——I should have added 'loved,' but the word stuck.
'I swear, sweet saint—if I may swear—nay, then I do affirm, that I do not flatter. Hear me tell a plain tale. I have travelled far since last I saw thee; I have seen the great ladies of the Court both of St. James's and of the Louvre; I have seen the famous beauties of Provence, and the black-eyed witches of Italy; but nowhere have I seen a woman half so fair.'