"My wishes go farther still, dear one," replied William Seymour; "I could not be content--not half content, to see my Arabella only by stealth, with long and frequent intervals. I must be able to pass the whole livelong day with her, to sun myself in her smiles whenever I will, to hear the music of her voice continually, to watch her eyes, and trace every varying thought from day to day." "Oh, that can never be here," answered Arabella, sadly. "No, not here," replied William Seymour, "but in another land, where this King's power will not reach us. In any of the Spanish territories, in Flanders, in Italy, in Spain itself, we shall be quite secure; and where thou art, is my country, Arabella. That climate will be brightest where thy looks beam upon me--that scene the fairest where thou art by my side." A bright drop rose in Arabella's eye as he spoke, but she answered, almost sadly, "You know, William, that I desire nothing but you; and yet it seems to me hardly right that my love should banish you from the land of your birth. You have many friends, good men and noble, wise and honourable; and I should be proud to see the husband that I love surrounded and admired by those he himself esteems. I would enlarge all your sphere of enjoyment, Seymour, not diminish it. I would not have you for me, if I could help it, give up one friend--abandon one virtuous pleasure. Oh no, love is not a selfish passion. On the contrary, it is a self-denying one; for I feel that all I could desire to make me happy, would be the happiness of him I love." "Dear, noble girl," cried Seymour, bending down his head, and kissing the hand that rested on her bridle rein, "I say so too; and therefore is it that I give not one thought to the abandonment of everything else, for the bright hope of making you happy in some distant country. But still, my beloved, you need not think that we shall be condemned to everlasting banishment. A few short years may pass, till the King sees that he cannot break our union; and then he must perceive, that it is for his own interest, as well as his honour, that we should return, and enjoy our rights in our own land." "I do not know," answered Arabella, in a doubtful tone; "he is hard and resolute in his resentments. Do not you know how he treated the Palatine who urged him, with continual prayers and entreaties, to set free the unfortunate Lord Grey? All that the king replied was, 'When I come to your dominions, son-in-law, I will ask for none of your prisoners.'"