nd I actually longed
for the hour, as might a lover to meet his mistress. To gaze at will
upon her pale and beautiful face, to watch the sunlight as it played
upon her golden hair, which she wore--in some fashion, perhaps, peculiar
to her race--in heavy masses of curls, that fell over her back and
shoulders; her hand, too, a model of symmetry, and with the fingers
rose-tipped, like the goddesses of Homer, affected me as a spell; and
I have stood there unconsciously staring at it till warned by a second
admonition to retire.

[Illustration: 009]

Perhaps the solitude in which I lived helped to make me dwell more
thoughtfully on this daily-recurring interview; for I went nowhere, I
associated with no one, I dined alone, and my one brisk walk for health
and exercise I took by myself. When evening came, and the other clerks
frequented the theatre, I went home to read, or as often to sit and
think.

"Sara tells me," said the old man one day, when some rare chance had
brought him to my office,--"Sara tells me that you are suffering from
over-confinement. She thinks you look pale and worn, and that this
constant work is telling on you."

"Far from it, sir. I am both well and happy; and if I needed to be made
happier, this thoughtful kindness would make me so."

"Yes; she is very kind, and very thoughtful too; but, as well as these,
she is despotic," said he, with a faint laugh; "and so she has decided
that you are to exchange with M. Marsac, who will be here by Saturday,
and who will put you up to all the details of his walk. He buys our
timber for us in Hungary and Transylvania; and he, too, will enjoy a
little rest from constant travel."

"I don't speak Hungarian, sir," began I, eager to offer an opposition to
the plan.

"Sara says you are a quick learner, and will soon acquire it,--at least,
enough for traffic."

"It is a business, too, that I suspect requires much insight into the
people and their ways."

"You can't learn them younger, lad; and as all those we deal with are
old clients of the house, you will not be much exposed to rogueries."

"But if I make mistakes, sir? If I involve you in difficulty and in
loss?"

"You 'll repay it by zeal, lad, and by devotion, as we have seen you do
here."

He waved his hand in adieu, and left me to my own thoughts. Very sad
thoughts they were, as they told me of separation from her that gave the
whole charm to my life. Sara's manner to me had been so markedly cold