They
were living in peace and power and plenty; we were their guests,
their prisoners, absolutely dependent.
Of course we could promise whatsoever we might of advantages,
if they would come to our country; but the more we knew of theirs,
the less we boasted.
Terry's jewels and trinkets they prized as curios; handed them about,
asking questions as to workmanship, not in the least as to value;
and discussed not ownership, but which museum to put them in.
When a man has nothing to give a woman, is dependent wholly
on his personal attraction, his courtship is under limitations.
They were considering these two things: the advisability of
making the Great Change; and the degree of personal adaptability
which would best serve that end.
Here we had the advantage of our small personal experience with
those three fleet forest girls; and that served to draw us together.
As for Ellador: Suppose you come to a strange land and find
it pleasant enough--just a little more than ordinarily pleasant--
and then you find rich farmland, and then gardens, gorgeous
gardens, and then palaces full of rare and curious treasures--
incalculable, inexhaustible, and then--mountains--like the
Himalayas, and then the sea.
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