Page:Margaret Fuller by Howe, Julia Ward, Ed. (1883).djvu/84

Rh beginning of this nearer relation to a certain day on which he sought;Margaret amid these new surroundings. It was a bright summer day. The windows of Margaret's parlour commanded a pleasant view of meadows, with bills beyond. She entered, bearing a vase of freshly-gathered flowers, her own tribute just levied from the garden. Of these, and of their significance, was her first speech. From these she passed to the engravings which adorned her walls, and to much talk of art and artists. From this theme an easy transition led the conversation to Greece and its mythology. A little later, Margaret began to speak of the friends whose care had surrounded her with these objects of her delighting contemplation. The intended marriage of two of the best beloved among these friends was much in her mind at the moment, and Mr. Channing compares the gradation of thought by which she arrived at the announcement of this piece of intelligence to the progress and dénouement of a drama, no eloquent and artistic did it appear to him.

A ramble in Bussey's woods followed this indoor interview. In his account of it Mr. Channing has given us not only a record pf much that Margaret said, but also a picture of how she looked on that ever- remembered day.

"Reaching a moss-cushioned ledge near the summit, she seated herself.... As, leaning on one arm, she poured out her stream thought, turning now and then her eyes full upon me, to see whether I caught her meaning, there was leisure to study her thoroughly. Her temperament was predominantly what the physiologists would call nervous-sanguine; and the gray eye, rich brown hair, and light complexion, with the muscular and well-developed frame, bespoke delicacy