Meantime where was Rose? To all outward appearance she was demurely
listening to the remarks of a distinguished statesman, whose opinions
were held to be of great weight, and whose form, at any rate, fully
merited this description. He was so delighted to think that one so
young and fair could be so deep. Alas! she _was_ deep in a sense the
gifted gentleman never knew. For, while the sweet head bowed assent,
and the rose-bud lips unclosed to utter such remarks as "Ah, indeed!
You surprise me!" and "Very true!" to statements of profound national
import, her maiden meditations were as free as fancy. Before her
mental vision the brilliant rooms with their gay well-dressed
assemblage melted away, and in their place was a fair green meadow,
wide and waving and deliciously cool under the declining sun of a
summer evening. The last load of the second crop of hay was on its way
to the barn, when a great longing desire took possession of her to
ride on it. She walked out to the field, very slowly and feebly, but
still she actually walked--and the whole cavalcade came to a dead stop
at sight of her, for she had never been able to go any farther than
the gate since her accident.
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