"She is still quietly sleeping, dearest. Ah, I wish you also had
continued sleeping! It was such a delight to have you in my arms."

"My love!" she said, laying her soft cheek against mine. "How sweet it
was to fall asleep in your arms! When we came in here I could scarcely
say a word, for my heart was too full for speech; and now I have a
hundred things to say. After all, I should only finish by giving you a
kiss, which is more eloquent than speech; so I shall kiss you at once,
and save myself the trouble of talking so much."

"Say one of the hundred things, Yoletta."

"Oh, Smith, before this evening I did not think that I could love you
more; and sometimes, when I recalled what I once said to you--on the
hill, do you remember?--it seemed to me that I already loved you a
little too much. But now I am convinced that I was mistaken, for a
thousand offenses could not alienate my heart, which is all yours
forever."

"Mine for ever, without a doubt, darling?" I murmured, holding her
against my breast; and in my rapture almost forgetting that this angelic
affection she lavished on me would not long satisfy my heart.

"Yes, for ever, for you shall never, never leave the house. Your
pilgrimage, from which you derived so little benefit, is over now. And
if you ever attempt to go forth again to find out new wonders in the
world, I shall clasp you round with my arms, as I do now, and keep you
prisoner against your will; and if you say 'Farewell' a hundred times to
me, I shall blot out that sad word every time with my lips, and put a