Of course you have known it; I haven't tried to disguise why I came here so often.

It's so seldom that I see you alone; and now that fortune is kind to me I must speak as best I can.

I won't make myself ridiculous in your eyes--if I can help it.

You despise the love-making of ballrooms and garden parties; so do I, most heartily.

Let me speak like a man who has few illusions to overcome.