to walk
with ease, I went for a ramble in the wood, in the hope that Rima would
accompany me, and that out among the trees she would cast aside that
artificial constraint and shyness which was her manner in the house.

It fell out just as I had expected; she accompanied me in the sense of
being always near me, or within earshot, and her manner was now free and
unconstrained as I could wish; but little or nothing was gained by the
change. She was once more the tantalizing, elusive, mysterious creature
I had first known through her wandering, melodious voice. The only
difference was that the musical, inarticulate sounds were now less often
heard, and that she was no longer afraid to show herself to me. This for
a short time was enough to make me happy, since no lovelier being was
ever looked upon, nor one whose loveliness was less likely to lose its
charm through being often seen.

But to keep her near me or always in sight was, I found, impossible: she
would be free as the wind, free as the butterfly, going and coming at
her wayward will, and losing herself from sight a dozen times every
hour. To induce her to walk soberly at my side or sit down and enter
into conversation with me seemed about as impracticable as to tame
the fiery-hearted little humming-bird that flashes into sight, remains
suspended motionless for a few seconds before your face, then, quick as
lightning, vanishes again.

At length, feeling convinced that she was most happy when she had me out
following her in the wood, that in spite of her bird-like wildness she
had a tender, human heart, which was easily moved, I determined to try
to draw her closer by means of a little innocent stratagem. Going out in
the morning, after calling her several times to no purpose, I began to
assume a downcast manner, as if suffering pain or depressed with grief;
and at last, finding a convenient exposed root under a tree, on a spot
where the ground was dry and strewn with loose yellow sand, I sat down
and refused to go any further. For she always wanted to lead me on and
on, and whenever I paused she would return to show herself, or to chide
or encourage me in her mysterious language. All her pretty little arts
were now practiced in vain: with cheek resting on my hand, I still sat.

So my eyes fixed on that patch of yellow sand at my feet, watching how
the small particles glinted like diamond dust when the sunlight touched
them. A full hour passed in this way, during