It was well I had learnt that this elf must return to me--that it belonged to my house down below--or I could not have felt it pass away from under my hand, and seen it vanish behind the dim hedge, without singular regret.

I heard you come home that night, Jane, though probably you were not aware that I thought of you or watched for you.

The next day I observed you--myself unseen--for half-an- hour, while you played with Adele in the gallery.

It was a snowy day, I recollect, and you could not go out of doors.

I was in my room; the door was ajar: I could both listen and watch.