“Iresumedmynoticeofyou。Therewassomethinggladinyourglance，andgenialinyourmanner，whenyouconversed:Isawyouhadasocialheart;itwasthesilentschoolroom—itwasthetediumofyourlife—thatmadeyoumournful。Ipermittedmyselfthedelightofbeingkindtoyou;kindnessstirredemotionsoon:yourfacebecamesoftinexpression，yourtonesgentle;Ilikedmynamepronouncedbyyourlipsinagratefulhappyaccent。Iusedtoenjoyachancemeetingwithyou，Jane，atthistime:therewasacurioushesitationinyourmanner:youglancedatmewithaslighttrouble—ahoveringdoubt:youdidnotknowwhatmycapricemightbe—whetherIwasgoingtoplaythemasterandbestern，orthefriendandbebenignant。Iwasnowtoofondofyouoftentosimulatethefirstwhim;and，whenIstretchedmyhandoutcordially，suchbloomandlightandblissrosetoyouryoung，wistfulfeatures，Ihadmuchadooftentoavoidstrainingyouthenandtheretomyheart。”
“Don’ttalkanymoreofthosedays，sir，”Iinterrupted，furtivelydashingawaysometearsfrommyeyes;hislanguagewastorturetome;forIknewwhatImustdo—anddosoon—andallthesereminiscences，andtheserevelationsofhisfeelingsonlymademyworkmoredifficult。
“No，Jane，”hereturned:“whatnecessityistheretodwellonthePast，whenthePresentissomuchsurer—theFuturesomuchbrighter？”
Ishudderedtoheartheinfatuatedassertion。
“Youseenowhowthecasestands—doyounot？”hecontinued。“Afterayouthandmanhoodpassedhalfinunutterablemiseryandhalfindrearysolitude，IhaveforthefirsttimefoundwhatIcantrulylove—Ihavefoundyou。Youaremysympathy—mybetterself—mygoodangel。Iamboundtoyouwithastrongattachment。Ithinkyougood，gifted，lovely:afervent，asolemnpassionisconceivedinmyheart;itleanstoyou，drawsyoutomycentreandspringoflife，wrapsmyexistenceaboutyou，and，kindlinginpure，powerfulflame，fusesyouandmeinone。