ButnewsreachedthevillagefromafriendofPhyllis’sfatherconcerningMr。HumphreyGould，herremarkablycoolandpatientbetrothed。ThisgentlemanhadbeenheardtosayinBaththatheconsideredhisoverturestoMissPhyllisGrovetohavereachedonlythestageofahalf-understanding；andinviewofhisenforcedabsenceonhisfather’saccount，whowastoogreataninvalidnowtoattendtohisaffairs，hethoughtitbestthatthereshouldbenodefinitepromiseasyetoneitherside。Hewasnotsure，indeed，thathemightnotcasthiseyeselsewhere。
Thisaccount——thoughonlyapieceofhearsay，andassuchentitledtonoabsolutecredit——talliedsowellwiththeinfrequencyofhislettersandtheirlackofwarmth，thatPhyllisdidnotdoubtitstruthforonemoment；andfromthathourshefeltherselffreetobestowherheartassheshouldchoose。Notsoherfather；hedeclaredthewholestorytobeafabrication。HehadknownMr。
Gould’sfamilyfromhisboyhood；andiftherewasoneproverbwhichexpressedthematrimonialaspectofthatfamilywell，itwas’Lovemelittle，lovemelong。’Humphreywasanhonourableman，whowouldnotthinkoftreatinghisengagementsolightly。’Doyouwaitinpatience，’hesaid；’allwillberightenoughintime。’
FromthesewordsPhyllisatfirstimaginedthatherfatherwasincorrespondencewithMr。Gould；andherheartsankwithinher；forinspiteofheroriginalintentionsshehadbeenrelievedtohearthatherengagementhadcometonothing。ButshepresentlylearntthatherfatherhadheardnomoreofHumphreyGouldthansheherselfhaddone；whilehewouldnotwriteandaddressheraffianceddirectlyonthesubject，lestitshouldbedeemedanimputationonthatbachelor’shonour。
’Youwantanexcuseforencouragingoneorotherofthoseforeignfellowstoflatteryouwithhisunmeaningattentions，’herfatherexclaimed，hismoodhavingoflatebeenaveryunkindonetowardsher。’IseemorethanIsay。Don’tyoueversetfootoutsidethatgarden-fencewithoutmypermission。IfyouwanttoseethecampI’lltakeyoumyselfsomeSundayafternoon。’
Phyllishadnotthesmallestintentionofdisobeyinghiminheractions，butsheassumedherselftobeindependentwithrespecttoherfeelings。ShenolongercheckedherfancyfortheHussar，thoughshewasfarfromregardinghimasherloverintheserioussenseinwhichanEnglishmanmighthavebeenregardedassuch。Theyoungforeignsoldierwasalmostanidealbeingtoher，withnoneoftheappurtenancesofanordinaryhouse-dweller；onewhohaddescendedsheknewnotwhence，andwoulddisappearsheknewnotwhither；thesubjectofafascinatingdream——nomore。
Theymetcontinuallynow——mostlyatdusk——duringthebriefintervalbetweenthegoingdownofthesunandtheminuteatwhichthelasttrumpet-callsummonedhimtohistent。Perhapshermannerhadbecomelessrestrainedlatterly；atanyratethatoftheHussarwasso；hehadgrownmoretendereveryday，andatpartingafterthesehurriedinterviewsshereacheddownherhandfromthetopofthewallthathemightpressit。Oneeveninghehelditsolongthatsheexclaimed，’Thewalliswhite，andsomebodyinthefieldmayseeyourshapeagainstit!’
Helingeredsolongthatnightthatitwaswiththegreatestdifficultythathecouldrunacrosstheinterveningstretchofgroundandenterthecampintime。Onthenextoccasionofhisawaitinghershedidnotappearinherusualplaceattheusualhour。Hisdisappointmentwasunspeakablykeen；heremainedstaringblanklyatthespot，likeamaninatrance。Thetrumpetsandtattoosounded，andstillhedidnotgo。
Shehadbeendelayedpurelybyanaccident。Whenshearrivedshewasanxiousbecauseofthelatenessofthehour，havingheardaswellashethesoundsdenotingtheclosingofthecamp。Sheimploredhimtoleaveimmediately。
’No，’hesaidgloomily。’Ishallnotgoinyet——themomentyoucome——
Ihavethoughtofyourcomingallday。’
’Butyoumaybedisgracedatbeingaftertime？’
’Idon’tmindthat。Ishouldhavedisappearedfromtheworldsometimeagoifithadnotbeenfortwopersons——mybeloved，here，andmymotherinSaarbruck。Ihatethearmy。Icaremoreforaminuteofyourcompanythanforallthepromotionintheworld。’
Thushestayedandtalkedtoher，andtoldherinterestingdetailsofhisnativeplace，andincidentsofhischildhood，tillshewasinasimmerofdistressathisrecklessnessinremaining。Itwasonlybecausesheinsistedonbiddinghimgood-nightandleavingthewallthathereturnedtohisquarters。
Thenexttimethatshesawhimhewaswithoutthestripesthathadadornedhissleeve。Hehadbeenbrokentothelevelofprivateforhislatenessthatnight；andasPhyllisconsideredherselftobethecauseofhisdisgracehersorrowwasgreat。Butthepositionwasnowreversed；itwashisturntocheerher。
’Don’tgrieve，meineLiebliche!’hesaid。’Ihavegotaremedyforwhatevercomes。First，evensupposingIregainmystripes，wouldyourfatherallowyoutomarryanon-commissionedofficerintheYorkHussars？’
Sheflushed。Thispracticalstephadnotbeeninhermindinrelationtosuchanunrealisticpersonashewas；andamoment’sreflectionwasenoughforit。’Myfatherwouldnot——certainlywouldnot，’sheansweredunflinchingly。’Itcannotbethoughtof!Mydearfriend，pleasedoforgetme：IfearIamruiningyouandyourprospects!’
’Notatall!’saidhe。’Youaregivingthiscountryofyoursjustsufficientinteresttometomakemecaretokeepaliveinit。Ifmydearlandwereherealso，andmyoldparent，withyou，IcouldbehappyasIam，andwoulddomybestasasoldier。Butitisnotso。
Andnowlisten。Thisismyplan。Thatyougowithmetomyowncountry，andbemywifethere，andlivetherewithmymotherandme。
IamnotaHanoverian，asyouknow，thoughIenteredthearmyassuch；mycountryisbytheSaar，andisatpeacewithFrance，andifIwereonceinitIshouldbefree。’
’Buthowgetthere？’sheasked。Phyllishadbeenratheramazedthanshockedathisproposition。Herpositioninherfather’shousewasgrowingirksomeandpainfulintheextreme；hisparentalaffectionseemedtobequitedriedup。Shewasnotanativeofthevillage，likeallthejoyousgirlsaroundher；andinsomewayMatthausTinahadinfectedherwithhisownpassionatelongingforhiscountry，andmother，andhome。
’Buthow？’sherepeated，findingthathedidnotanswer。’Willyoubuyyourdischarge？’
’Ah，no，’hesaid。’That’simpossibleinthesetimes。No；Icamehereagainstmywill；whyshouldInotescape？Nowisthetime，asweshallsoonbestrikingcamp，andImightseeyounomore。Thisismyscheme。Iwillaskyoutomeetmeonthehighwaytwomilesoff；
onsomecalmnightnextweekthatmaybeappointed。Therewillbenothingunbecominginit，ortocauseyoushame；youwillnotflyalonewithme，forIwillbringwithmemydevotedyoungfriendChristoph，anAlsatian，whohaslatelyjoinedtheregiment，andwhohasagreedtoassistinthisenterprise。Weshallhavecomefromyonderharbour，whereweshallhaveexaminedtheboats，andfoundonesuitedtoourpurpose。ChristophhasalreadyachartoftheChannel，andwewillthengototheharbour，andatmidnightcuttheboatfromhermoorings，androwawayroundthepointoutofsight；andbythenextmorningweareonthecoastofFrance，nearCherbourg。Therestiseasy，forIhavesavedmoneyforthelandjourney，andcangetachangeofclothes。Iwillwritetomymother，whowillmeetusontheway。’
Headdeddetailsinreplytoherinquiries，whichleftnodoubtinPhyllis’smindofthefeasibilityoftheundertaking。Butitsmagnitudealmostappalledher；anditisquestionableifshewouldeverhavegonefurtherinthewildadventureif，onenteringthehousethatnight，herfatherhadnotaccostedherinthemostsignificantterms。
’HowabouttheYorkHussars？’hesaid。
’Theyarestillatthecamp；buttheyaresoongoingaway，I
believe。’
’Itisuselessforyoutoattempttocloakyouractionsinthatway。
Youhavebeenmeetingoneofthosefellows；youhavebeenseenwalkingwithhim——foreignbarbarians，notmuchbetterthantheFrenchthemselves!Ihavemadeupmymind——don’tspeakawordtillIhavedone，please!——Ihavemadeupmymindthatyoushallstayherenolongerwhiletheyareonthespot。Youshallgotoyouraunt’s。’
Itwasuselessforhertoprotestthatshehadnevertakenawalkwithanysoldierormanunderthesunexcepthimself。Herprotestationswerefeeble，too，forthoughhewasnotliterallycorrectinhisassertion，hewasvirtuallyonlyhalfinerror。
Thehouseofherfather’ssisterwasaprisontoPhyllis。Shehadquiterecentlyundergoneexperienceofitsgloom；andwhenherfatherwentontodirecthertopackwhatwouldbenecessaryforhertotake，herheartdiedwithinher。Inafteryearssheneverattemptedtoexcuseherconductduringthisweekofagitation；buttheresultofherself-communingwasthatshedecidedtojoinintheschemeofherloverandhisfriend，andflytothecountrywhichhehadcolouredwithsuchlovelyhuesinherimagination。Shealwayssaidthattheonefeatureinhisproposalwhichovercameherhesitationwastheobviouspurityandstraightforwardnessofhisintentions。Heshowedhimselftobesovirtuousandkind；hetreatedherwitharespecttowhichshehadneverbeforebeenaccustomed；andshewasbracedtotheobviousrisksofthevoyagebyherconfidenceinhim。
Itwasonasoft，darkeveningofthefollowingweekthattheyengagedintheadventure。Tinawastomeetheratapointinthehighwayatwhichthelanetothevillagebranchedoff。Christophwastogoaheadofthemtotheharbourwheretheboatlay，rowitroundtheNothe——orLook-outasitwascalledinthosedays——andpickthemupontheothersideofthepromontory，whichtheyweretoreachbycrossingtheharbour-bridgeonfoot，andclimbingovertheLook-outhill。
Assoonasherfatherhadascendedtohisroomsheleftthehouse，and，bundleinhand，proceededatatrotalongthelane。Atsuchanhournotasoulwasafootanywhereinthevillage，andshereachedthejunctionofthelanewiththehighwayunobserved。Hereshetookupherpositionintheobscurityformedbytheangleofafence，whenceshecoulddiscerneveryonewhoapproachedalongtheturnpike-
road，withoutbeingherselfseen。
Shehadnotremainedthuswaitingforherloverlongerthanaminute——
thoughfromthetensionofhernervesthelapseofeventhatshorttimewastrying——when，insteadoftheexpectedfootsteps，thestage-
coachcouldbehearddescendingthehill。SheknewthatTinawouldnotshowhimselftilltheroadwasclear，andwaitedimpatientlyforthecoachtopass。Nearingthecornerwhereshewasitslackenedspeed，and，insteadofgoingbyasusual，drewupwithinafewyardsofher。Apassengeralighted，andsheheardhisvoice。ItwasHumphreyGould’s。
Hehadbroughtafriendwithhim，andluggage。Theluggagewasdepositedonthegrass，andthecoachwentonitsroutetotheroyalwatering-place。