The Count was a man of few words, and told his tale in this brief, artless manner.

But why, at its conclusion, did the gentle Helen leave the room, her eyes filled with tears?
She left the room once more to kiss a certain lock of yellow hair she had pilfered.

A dazzling, delicious thought, a strange wild hope, arose in her soul! When she appeared again, she made some side-handed inquiries regarding Otto (with that gentle artifice oft employed by women); but he was gone.
He and his companion were gone.

The Count of Hombourg had likewise taken his departure, under pretext of particular business.

How lonely the vast castle seemed to Helen, now that HE was no longer there.