features warm with a faint flush of recognition. How many dreams I based
on that slight fabric! Of course I discovered her name; and of course I
learned that her father was very rich; but what was that to me? With
what pride did I gaze at his name in huge gilt letters on a great
warehouse near us, and what wonderful little gothic cottages did I build
on the strength of the "and Son" that would shortly be added to it! The
long nights with my cousin became less wearisome. I could hear the dull
creaking of the letter-press, and see him sit poring over his writing,
quite patiently. When the organ-grinder stopped on the corner and played
"Make me no gaudy chaplet," I did not long to rush into the streets, for
I had _her_ to think about. When the clock struck eleven, and my cousin,
with his peculiar "phew!" commenced another letter, I looked on quite
calmly, and began the construction of another cottage. Of course there
were rainy days, and Thursdays that were ages to me; and there were
Christmas holidays, and long, hot vacations, that she did not come; but
September brought back the radiant face, and I worshiped on.

Gradually I noticed a change in her dress. She wore little lace collars,
and bright ribbons I had not seen before; and sometimes she carried a
little bouquet of violets, with a white rosebud in the center. As she
grew older, I had many rivals. Gallant youths, brave in broadcloth and
beavers, followed by dozens the _Picciola_ I had watched so tenderly.
How proudly I passed them by! and how I sneered at the thought of their
understanding _her_!

I saw her form grow fuller and expand into a more queenly beauty. I saw
her eyes sparkle with a diviner light, and her bosom swell with new and
strange emotions. I watched her until she became a woman, and gloried in
her matchless loveliness.