ced the road, as
was shown by the large portico, dimly to be discerned in that
direction; but its rooms were mainly on the side, and it was from one
of these that the light shone. As I came yet nearer, I perceived that
these rooms were guarded by a piazza, which, communicating with the
portico in front, afforded an open road to that window and a clear
sight of what lay behind it.

I was instantly off my horse and upon the piazza, and before I had had
time to realize that my fears had returned to me with double force, I
had crept with stealthy steps towards that uncurtained window and
looked in.

What did I see? At first nothing but a calm, studious figure, bending
above a batch of closely written papers, upon which the light shone
too brightly for me to perceive much of what lay beyond them. But
gradually an influence, of whose workings I was scarcely conscious,
drew my eyes away, and I began to discover on every side strange and
beautiful objects which greatly interested me, until suddenly my eyes
fell upon a vision of loveliness so enchanting that I forgot to look
elsewhere, and became for the moment nothing but sight and feeling.

It was a picture, or so I thought in that first instant of awe and
delight. But presently I saw that it was a woman, living and full of
the thoughts that had never been mine; and at the discovery a sudden
trembling seized me; for I had never seen anything in heaven or earth
like her beauty, while she saw nothing but the man who was bending
over his papers.

There was a door or something dark behind her, and against it her tall
strong figure, clad in a close white gown, stood out with a
distinctness that was not altogether earthly. But it was her face that
held me, and made of me from moment to moment a new man.

For in it I discerned what I had never believed in till now, devotion
that had no limit, and love which asked nothing in return. She seemed
to be faltering on the threshold of that room, like one who would like
to enter but does not dare, and in another moment, with a smile that
pierced me through and through, she turned as if to go. Instantly I
forgot everything but my despair, and leaned forward with an
impetuosity that betrayed my presence, for she glanced quickly towards
the window, and seeing me, turned pale, even while she rose in height
till I felt myself shrink and grow small before her.

Thrusting out her hand, she caught from the table before her what
looked like a