Yet an instant he lingered to exchange
a farewell with the old man, then turned quickly, passed through the
gate, and they saw him no more.
Antonina's tears fell fast on the grass beneath as she resumed her
place. When she raised her head again, and saw that her father was
looking at her, she nestled close to him and laid one of her arms round
his neck: the other gradually dropped to her side, until her hand
reached the topmost leaves of the shrubs that grew round the grave.
*****
Shall we longer delay in the farm-house garden? No! For us, as for
Vetranio, it is now time to depart! While peace still watches round the
walls of Rome; while the hearts of the father and daughter still repose
together in security, after the trials that have wrung them, let us quit
the scene! Here, at last, the narrative that we have followed over a
dark and stormy track reposes on a tranquil field; and here let us cease
to pursue it!
So the traveller who traces the course of a river wanders through the
day among the rocks and precipices that lead onward from its troubled
source; and, when the evening is at hand, pauses and rests where the
banks are grassy and the stream is smooth.
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