If I am long away from them
they do not thrive, but when I am often with them they flourish."
She was on her knees, supporting herself with one hand, while with
the other she pulled up some grass. "The thieves," said she,
"which want to rob my saplings."
If it had been a little person who had said this; a little person
with lively eyes and a merry mouth--but Helene was tall and
stately; her eyes were not lively, but met one with a steady gaze.
Her mouth was large, and gave deliberate utterance to her
thoughts.
Whoever has read Helene's words quickly, hurriedly, must read them
over again. She spoke quietly and thoughtfully, each syllable
distinct and musical. She was not the same girl who had led the
way by river and hill. Then she seemed to glory in her strength;
now her energy had changed to delicate feeling.
One of the most remarkable women in Scandinavia, who also had
these two sides to her character, and made the fullest use of
both, Johanne Luise Hejberg, once saw Helene when she had but just
attained to womanhood. She could not take her eyes off her; she
never tired of watching her and listening to her.
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