[preface To Second Edition:] ...

He Had Not Breathed A Word Of Love, Or Dropped One Hint Of Tenderness Or Affection, And Yet I Had Been Supremely Happy. To Be Near Him, To Hear Him Talk As He Did Talk, And To Feel That He Thought Me Worthy To Be So Spoken To - Capable Of Understanding And Duly Appreciating Such Discourse - Was Enough.

To Regret The Exchange Of Earthly Pleasures For The Joys Of Heaven, Is As If The Grovelling Caterpillar Should Lament That It Must One Day Quit The Nibbled Leaf To Soar Aloft And Flutter Through The Air, Roving At Will From Flower To Flower, Sipping Sweet Honey From Their Cups, Or Basking In Their Sunny Petals.

I Was Sorry For Her; I Was Amazed, Disgusted At Her Heartless Vanity; I Wondered Why So Much Beauty Should Be Given To Those Who Made So Bad A Use Of It, And Denied To Some Who Would Make It A Benefit To Both Themselves And Others. But, God Knows Best, I Concluded. There Are, I Suppose, Some Men As Vain, As Selfish, And As Heartless As She Is, And, Perhaps, Such Women May Be Useful To Punish Them.

There Is Always A But In This Imperfect World.

Yet, Should Thy Darkest Fears Be True, If Heaven Be So Severe, That Such A Soul As Thine Is Lost, Oh! How Shall I Appear?