Emily and I longed to get the two better acquainted, but
it did not become possible while Griff absorbed the maiden as his
exclusive property.
The engagement was treated as an avowed and settled thing, though I
do not know that there had been a formal ratification by the
parents; but in truth Mrs. Fordyce must have tacitly yielded her
consent when she permitted her daughter to make the journey under
the guardianship of Parson Frank. After a walk in the ravine of
Lynton, we became aware of a ring upon Ellen's finger; and Emily was
allowed at night to hear how and when it had been put on.
Ellen only slightly deepened her lovely carnation tints when her
father indulged in a little tender teasing and lamentation over
himself. She was thoroughly happy and proud of her hero, and not
ashamed of owning it.
There was one evening when she and I were sitting with our
sketchbooks in the shade on the beech at Ilfracombe, while the rest
had gone, some to bathe, the others to make purchases in the town.
We had been condoling with one another over the impossibility of
finding anything among our water-colours that would express the
wondrous tints before our eyes.
'No, nothing can do it,' I said at last; 'we can only make a sort of
blot to assist our memories.'
'Sunshine outside and in!' said Ellen. 'The memory of such days as
these can never fade away,--no, nor thankfulness for them, I hope.
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