ne only bliss!"

Certainly, if I should say that this idea was not pleasing to me, I
should surely lie, for it drew forth a gentle sigh from my bosom,
accompanied by these words: "And thou art mine!" unless, perchance, the
words were but the echo of his, caught by my mind and remaining within
it. But what availed it whether such words were spoken or not? The heart
had good understanding within itself of that which was not expressed by
the lips, and kept, too, within itself that which, if it had escaped
outside, might, mayhap, have left me still free. And so, from that time
forward, I gave more absolute liberty to my foolish eyes than ever they
had possessed before, and they were well content withal. And surely, if
the gods, who guide all things to a definite issue, had not deprived me
of understanding, I could still have been mistress of myself. But,
postponing every consideration to the last one that swayed me, I took
delight in following my unruly passion, and having made myself meet, all
at once, for such slavery, I became its thrall. For the fire that leaped
forth from his eyes encountered the light in mine, flashing thereunto a
most subtle ray. It did not remain content therewith, but, by what
hidden ways I know not, penetrated directly into the deepest recesses of
my heart; the which, affrighted by the sudden advent of this flame,
recalled to its center its exterior forces and left me as pale as
death, and also with the chill of death upon me. But not for long did
this continue, rather it happened contrariwise; and I felt my heart not
only glow with sudden beat, but its forces speeded back swiftly to their
places, bringing with them a throbbing warmth that chased away my pallor
and flushed my cheeks deeply; and, marveling wherefore this should
betide, I sighed heavily; nor thereafter was there other thought in my
soul than how I might please him.

In like fashion, he, without changing his place, continued to scrutinize
my features, but with the greatest caution; and, perhaps, having had
much practice in amorous warfare, and knowing by what devices the
longed-for prey might be captured, he showed himself every moment more
humble, more desperate, and more fraught with tender yearning. Alas! how
much guile did that seeming desperation hide, which, as the result has
now shown, though it may have come from the heart, never afterward
returned to the same, and made manifest later that its revealment on the
face was only