I could and would be kind to her, and that alone in time would make me fond.

It is true, my affection would be of a fashion more comfortable than exciting; but who, having passed his galloping youth, will contemn the joys that come from making others happy?
I believe there is no person, past the age of forty, at all given to pondering the whys of life, who will gainsay that the joy we give to others is our chief source of happiness.

Why, then, should not a wise man, through purely selfish motives, begin early to cultivate the gentle art of giving joy?
But the fates were to work out the destinies of Dorothy and myself without our assistance.

Self-willed, arrogant creatures are those same fates, but they save us a deal of trouble by assuming our responsibilities..