, patience--everything in
me belongs to him as to me?" And we again answered, "Yes."

Then she joined our hands and kissed us on the forehead, and we again
prayed silently. Then the priest came through the door near the altar,
and blessed us all three; and a song, sung by the other holy men,
sounded from behind the altar screen, and the bond of eternal
friendship was concluded. When we rose, I saw my mother standing by
the church door weeping heartily.

How cheerful it was now, in our little hut, and by the springs of
Delphi! On the evening before his departure, Aphtanides sat thoughtful
with me on the declivity of a mountain; his arm was flung round my
waist, and mine was round his neck: we spoke of the sorrows of Greece,
and of the men whom the country could trust. Every thought of our
souls lay clear before each of us, and I seized his hand.

"One thing thou must still know, one thing that till now has been a
secret between myself and Heaven. My whole soul is filled with love!
with a love stronger than the love I bear to my mother and to thee!"

"And whom do you love?" asked Aphtanides, and his face and neck grew
red as fire.

"I love Anastasia," I replied--and his hand trembled in mine, and he
became pale as a corpse. I saw it; I understood the cause; and I
believe _my_ hand trembled. I bent towards him, kissed his forehead,
and whispered, "I have never spoken of it to her, and perhaps she does
not love me. Brother, think of this: I have seen her daily; she has
grown up beside me, and has become a part of my soul!"

"And she shall be thine!" he exclaimed, "thine! I may not deceive
thee, nor will I do so. I also love her; but to-morrow I depart. In a
year we shall see each other once more, and then you will be married,
will you not? I have a little gold of my own: it shall be thine. Thou
must, thou shalt take it."

And we wandered home silently across the mountains. It was late in the
evening when we stood at my mother's door.

Anastasia held the lamp upwards as we entered; my mother was not
there. She gazed at Aphtanides with a beautifully mournful gaze.
"To-morrow you are going from us," she said: "I am very sorry for
it."

"Sorry!" he repeated, and in his voice there seemed a trouble as great
as the grief I myself felt. I could not speak, but he seized her hand
and said, "Our brother yonder loves you, and he is dear to you, is he
not? His very silence is a proof of his affection."

Anastasia trembled