There was a change in the house already. It
was lighted from top to bottom as befits a time of rejoicing, and our
other guests, whom I passed in my search, seemed gayer--or I fancied
so. She was not among them, but I took the liberty of going to her
rooms and knocked at the sitting-room door, and entered. She rose to
receive me, stretching out her hands, and my first impression was that
she had grown; afterwards I understood that it was a change in the
fashion of her dress that made it appear so. She wore a long robe,
exquisitely draped, which was loose, but yet clung to her, and fell in
rich folds about her with a grace that satisfied. I cannot describe the
fashion of this robe, or the form, but I have seen one like it
somewhere--it must have been in a picture, or on a statue of a grand
heroic woman or a saint; and it suggested something womanly and strong,
but not to be defined.
It was Ideala, herself--not as she had been, but as I always hoped she
would be, and felt she might. She showed the change in every gesture,
but most of all in her clear and steady eyes, which made you feel she
had a purpose now, and a future yet before her.
Pages:
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296