"We agree here perfectly."

"You have no fear?"

"No, nor any hopes that I am conscious of. Can I not admire your
paragon to your heart's content without insisting that she bestow upon
me the treasures of her life? Miss St. John has a frank, cordial
manner all her own, and I think also that for your sake she has
received me rather graciously, but I should be blind indeed did I not
recognize that it would require a siege to win her; and that would be
useless, as you said, unless her own heart prompted the surrender. I
have heard and read that many women are capable of passing fancies of
which adroit suitors can take advantage, and they are engaged or
married before fully comprehending what it all means. Were Miss St.
John of this class I should still hesitate to venture, for nothing in
my training has fitted me to take an advantage of a lady's mood. I
don't think your favorite is given to fancies. She is too well poised.
Her serene, laughing confidence, her more than content, comes either
from a heart already happily given, or else from a nature so sound and
healthful that life in itself is an unalloyed joy. She impresses me as
the happiest being I ever met, and as such it is a delight to be in
her presence; but if I should approach her as a lover, something tells
me that I should find her like a snowy peak, warm and rose-tinted in
the sunlight, as seen in the distance, but growing cold as you draw
near. There may be subterranean fires, but they would manifest
themselves from some inward impulse. At least I do not feel conscious
of any power to awaken them."

Mrs. Mayburn shook her head ominously.