"Ah," he sighed, thinking still of Martha:
None so rare, None so fair, Yet enraptur'd mortal heart; Maiden dear. Past compare, Oh, 'twas death from thee to part! Ere I saw thy sweet face On my heart there was no trace Of that love from above, That in sorrow now I prove; but alas, thou art gone, And in grief I mourn alone; Life a shadow doth seem, And my joy a fleeting dream, A fleeting dream. None so rare, etc.]
And after he had sung thus touchingly of Martha, he threw himself down on the grass, and remained absorbed in his thoughts. But while he was resting there, Lady Harriet and Sir Tristram had also wandered thither. At first they did not see Lionel.
"I have come here away from the others, in order to be alone," Harriet declared impatiently.
"Alone with me?" Sir Tristram asked indiscreetly.
"Good heaven--it doesn't matter in the least whether you are here or elsewhere. I am quite unconscious of you, wherever you are," she replied, not very graciously. "Do go away and let me alone!" and, finding that he could not please her, Tristram wandered off, and left her meditating there. After a while she began to sing to herself, softly, and Lionel recognized the voice.
"It is she!--Martha!" he cried, starting up. Harriet recognized him, and at once found herself in a dreadful state of mind.
"What shall I do? It is Lionel! that farmer I hired out to!" Well! It was Lionel's opportunity, and he fell to making the most desperate love to her--which she liked very much, but which, being a high-born lady of Queen Anne's Court, she was bound to resent. She called him base-born and a good many unpleasant things, which did not seem to discourage him in the least, even though it made him feel rather badly; but while he was still protesting his love, Tristram returned, and at once believed Harriet to be in the toils of some dreadful fellow. So he called loudly for everybody in the hunt to come to the rescue--which was about the most foolish thing he could do. Then all set upon Lionel. Plunkett, hearing the row, rushed in.
Nancy appeared. "What does this mean?" she in turn demanded in a high-handed manner.
"Julia, too," Lionel shouted, recognizing her.
"Bind this madman in fetters," Tristram ordered.