"As Eunice's white dress disappeared among the cedars crowning the shore, I sprang up and ran after her. I knew that Abel was not intoxicated, but simply excited, and I had no fear on his account: I obeyed an involuntary impulse. On approaching the water, I heard their voices,--hers in friendly persuasion, his in sentimental entreaty,--then the sound of oars in the rowlocks. Looking out from the last clump of cedars, I saw them seated in the boat, Eunice at the stern, while Abel, facing her, just dipped an oar now and then to keep from drifting with the tide. She had found him already in the boat, which was loosely chained to a stone. Stepping on one of the forward thwarts, in her eagerness to persuade him to return, he sprang past her, jerked away the chain, and pushed off before she could escape. She would have fallen, but he caught her and placed her in, the stern, and then seated himself at the oars. She must have been somewhat alarmed, but there was only indignation in her voice. All this had transpired before my arrival, and the first words I heard bound me to the spot and kept me silent. "'Abel, what does this mean?' she asked. "'It means Fate,--Destiny!' he exclaimed, rather wildly. 'Ah, Eunice, ask the night, and the moon,--ask the impulse which told you to follow me! Let us be candid, like the old Arcadians we imitate. Eunice, we know that we love each other: why should we conceal it any longer? The Angel of Love comes down from the stars on his azure wings, and whispers to our hearts. Let us confess to each other! The female heart should not be timid, in this pure and beautiful atmosphere of Love which we breathe. Come, Eunice! we are alone: let your heart speak to me!' "Ned, if you've ever been in love, (we'll talk of that, after a while,) you will easily understand what tortures I endured, in thus hearing him speak. That _he_ should love Eunice! It was a profanation to her, an outrage to me. Yet the assurance with which he spoke! _Could_ she love this conceited, ridiculous, repulsive fellow, after all? I almost gasped for breath, as I clinched the prickly boughs of the cedars in my hands, and set my teeth, waiting to hear her answer. "'I will not hear such language! Take me back to the shore!' she said, in very short, decided tones. "'Oh, Eunice,' he groaned, (and now, I think, he was perfectly sober,) 'don't you love me, indeed? _I_ love _you_,--from my heart I do: yes, I love you. Tell me how you feel towards me.' "'Abel,' said she, earnestly, 'I feel towards you only as a friend; and if you wish me to retain a friendly interest in you, you must never again talk in this manner. I do not love you, and I never shall. Let me go back to the house. "His head dropped upon his breast, but he rowed back to the shore, drew the bow upon the rocks, and assisted her to land. Then, sitting down, he groaned forth,-- "'Oh, Eunice, you have broken my heart!' and putting his big hands to his face, began to cry.