the
form of a beautiful rose," said my mother; and the priest announced,
"Christ is risen!" All the people kissed each other: each one had a
burning taper in his hand, and I received one myself, and so did
little Anastasia. The bagpipes sounded, men danced hand in hand from
the church, and outside the women were roasting the Easter lamb. We
were invited to partake, and I sat by the fire; a boy, older than
myself, put his arms round my neck, kissed me, and said, "Christ is
risen!" and thus it was that for the first time I met Aphtanides.

My mother could make fishermen's nets, for which there was a good
demand here in the bay, and we lived a long time by the side of the
sea, the beautiful sea, that tasted like tears, and in its colours
reminded me of the song of the stag that wept--for sometimes its
waters were red, and sometimes green or blue.

[Illustration: THE FRIENDS AT LEPANTO.]

Aphtanides knew how to manage our boat, and I often sat in it, with my
little Anastasia, while it glided on through the water, swift as a
bird flying through the air. Then, when the sun sank down, the
mountains were tinted with a deeper and deeper blue, one range seemed
to rise behind the other, and behind them all stood Parnassus with its
snow-crowned summit. The mountain-top gleamed in the evening rays like
glowing iron, and it seemed as though the light came from within it;
for long after the sun had set, the mountain still shone through the
clear blue air. The white water birds touched the surface of the sea
with their wings, and all here was as calm and quiet as among the
black rocks at Delphi. I lay on my back in the boat, Anastasia leaned
against me, and the stars above us shone brighter than the lamps in
our church. They were the same stars, and they stood exactly in the
same positions above me, as when I had sat in front of our hut at
Delphi; and at last I almost fancied I was there. Suddenly there was a
splash in the water, and the boat rocked violently. I cried out in
horror, for Anastasia had fallen into the water: but in a moment
Aphtanides had sprung in after her, and was holding her up to me! We
dried her clothes as well as we could, remaining on the water till
they were dry; for no one was to know what a fright we had had for our
little adopted sister, in whose life Aphtanides now had a part.

The summer came. The sun burned so hot that the leaves turned yellow
on the trees. I thought of our cool mountains, and of the f