who, without raising an arm to balance her body, without a totter or
a slip, could step in that way upon stones some of which are as
slippery as ice with gelatinous weed and slime, while others are as
sharp as razors. To walk like that the eye must be my darling's, that
is to say, an eye as sure as a bird's the ball of the foot must be
the ball of a certain little foot I have often had in my hand wet
with sea-water and gritty with sand. For such work a mountaineer or a
cragsman, or Winifred, is needed.' Then I recalled her love of marine
creatures, her delight in seaweed, of which she would weave the most
astonishing chaplets and necklaces coloured like the rainbow.
'seawood boas' and seaweed turbans, calling herself the princess of
the sea (as indeed she was), and calling me her prince. 'Yes,' said
I, 'it is certainly she'; and when at last I espied a little dog by
her side, Tom Wynne's little dog Snap (a descendant of the original
Snap of our never-to-be-forgotten seaside adventures)--when I espied
all these things I said, 'Then the hour is come.'

By this time my heart had settled down to a calmer throb, the
paradisal scent had become more supportable, and I grew master of
myself again. I was going towards her, when I stayed my steps, for
she was already making her way, entirely unconscious of my presence,
towards the boulder where I sat.

'I know what I will do.' I said; 'I will fling myself flat on the
sands behind the boulder and watch her. I will observe her without
being myself observed.'

I was in the mood when one tries sportfully to deceive one's self as
to the depth and intensity of the emotion within. Perhaps I would and
perhaps I would not speak to her at all that night; but if I did