Strephon is never so devoted as when Chloe has been removed from him--when his glances seek for her in vain on the well-remembered lawn.

And Chloe, too, is disconsolate, when she no longer sees the crook of her shepherd, or hears the madrigals he sings.

Absence smoothes all rough places; and the friend from whom we are separated, takes the dearest place in the heart of hearts.
Redbud did not discover how much she loved Verty, until she was gone from him, and the fresh music of his laughter was no longer in her ears.

Then she found that he held a very different place in her heart from what she had supposed;--or rather, to speak more accurately, she did not reflect in the least upon the matter, but only felt that he was not there near her, and that she was not happy.
This will explain the prim little ladylike air of bashfulness and constraint which Redbud exhibited, when her eyes fell on Verty, and the coolness with which she gave him her hand.

The old things had passed away--Verty could be the boy-playmate no more, however much it grieved her.