they say if they knew how blind I have been! Why, you have known her
but a few weeks! You must be mistaken. It is a fancy. It will pass away.
Conquer yourself. Go away. Oh, do go away, Howard, for a time at least!"

"I cannot, I will not. Mrs. Douglas, I have never longed for a thing in
my life but it has come to me. I long for Barbara's love more than I
ever wished for any other thing in the world. She must give it to me.
Oh, were I only well and strong, I know I could compel it."

"Listen to me, Howard. I know that Barbara has never had one thought of
this. Her mind is completely occupied with her study, the pleasures and
the novelties that each day is bringing her. She does not conceal
anything. She has no reason to do so. She and Bettina are no silly girls
who think of a lover in every young man they meet. They are as sweet and
fresh and free from all sentimentalities as when they were children.
Barbara would be frightened could she hear you talk,--should she for a
moment suspect how you feel. You must conceal it; for your own sake, you
must."

"I will not show what I feel any more than I already have. I will not
speak to Barbara yet of my love. Only let me stay here, where I can see
her every day. Do not send me away. Mrs. Douglas, you do not know how
lonely my life has been--without brother or sister--without father or
mother. It has been like a bit of Paradise to go in and out of your
household; and to think--to hope that perhaps Barbara would sometime
love me and be with me always. My love has become a passion, stronger
than life itself. Look at me! Do you not believe my words, Mrs.
Douglas?"

As Mrs. Douglas lifted her eyes and looked full into the delicate,