With a grieved, child-like wonder the beautiful, ignorant savage
watched him, as he hurried across the velvet lawn, among beds of
brilliant flowers, to greet a lily-like maiden, clad in what, in her
uncivilized eyes, appeared to be a mingling of mist and moonbeams. It
was the first time that he had shown a wish to leave her. Hitherto she
had been the object of his pursuit, of his devotion, of his ardent
desire. Now, like a cold blast, his neglect struck chill upon her
heart, and she turned back into the forest solitudes with all the
brightness suddenly and strangely gone out of her life.
But instead of being translated to the earthly paradise of a beautiful
woman's favour, Edward, to his own great disappointment and chagrin,
found himself in a very different atmosphere. Helene was cold, nearly
silent, utterly indifferent. She was looking unusually well. The rich
harmonious contrasts of face and hair--the midnight darkness of the
one breaking into the radiant dawn of the other--never before
impressed him so vividly. But she was terribly distant. The young man
assured himself rather bitterly that if she were a thousand miles off
she could not have been more oblivious of his presence.
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