And as to being easily led to suspect, God only knows what a blind, incredulous fool I have hitherto been, perseveringly shutting my eyes and stopping my ears against everything that threatened to shake my confidence in you, till proof itself confounded my infatuation!' 'What proof, sir ?' 'Well, I'll tell you.

You remember that evening when I was here last ?' 'I do.' 'Even then you dropped some hints that might have opened the eyes of a wiser man; but they had no such effect upon me: I went on trusting and believing, hoping against hope, and adoring where I could not comprehend.
It so happened, however, that after I left you I turned back--drawn by pure depth of sympathy and ardour of affection--not daring to intrude my presence openly upon you, but unable to resist the temptation of catching one glimpse through the window, just to see how you were: for I had left you apparently in great affliction, and I partly blamed my own want of forbearance and discretion as the cause of it.

If I did wrong, love alone was my incentive, and the punishment was severe enough; for it was just as I had reached that tree, that you came out into the garden with your friend.

Not choosing to show myself, under the circumstances, I stood still, in the shadow, till you had both passed by.' 'And how much of our conversation did you hear ?' 'I heard quite enough, Helen.

And it was well for me that I did hear it; for nothing less could have cured my infatuation.