Many days passed and I did not see her, either in the garden or at
the window. The gardener scolded me for laziness; I was out of humor,
tired of myself and of all about me.
I was lying on the grass one Sunday afternoon, watching the blue
wreaths of smoke from my pipe, and fretting because I had not chosen
some other trade which would not have bored me so day after day.
The other fellows had all gone off to the dance in the neighboring
village. Every one was strolling about in Sunday attire, the houses
were gay, and there was melody in the very air. But I walked off and
sat solitary, like a bittern among the reeds, by a lonely pond in the
garden, rocking myself in a little skiff tied there, while the vesper
bells sounded faintly from the town and the swans glided to and fro on
the placid water. A sadness as of death possessed me.
On a sudden I heard, in the distance, voices talking gaily, and bursts
of merry laughter. They sounded nearer and nearer, and red and white
kerchiefs and hats and feathers were visible through the shrubbery. A
party of gentlemen and ladies were coming from the castle, across the
meadow, directly toward me, and my two ladies among them. I stood up
and was about to retire, when the elder perceived me. "Aha, you are
just what we want!" she called to me, smiling. "Row us across the
pond to the other side." The ladies cautiously took their seats in
the boat, assisted by the gentlemen, who made quite a parade of their
familiarity with the water.
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