The soft twilight grew deeper and deeper every moment, changing the
rosy hues of the west into a pale ashen gray, over which hung the
lamp of love,--the evening star, which shines so brightly and sets
so soon,--and ever the sooner as it hastens to become again the
morning star of a brighter day.
The shadow of the broad, spreading tree fell darker round the rustic
seat where sat these two--as myriads have sat before and since,
working out the problems of their lives, and beginning to comprehend
each other, as they await with a thrill of anticipation the moment
of mutual confidence and fond confession.
Pierre Philibert sat some minutes without speaking. He could
have sat so forever, gazing with rapture upon her half-averted
countenance, which beamed with such a divine beauty, all aglow with
the happy consciousness of his ardent admiration, that it seemed the
face of a seraph; and in his heart, if not on his knees, he bent in
worship, almost idolatrous, at her feet.
And yet he trembled, this strong man who had faced death in every
form but this! He trembled by the side of this gentle girl,--but it
was for joy, not for fear.
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