She had sustained many a siege, however, both before her husband's untimely death and since; and though a stranger to love, she was no novice in love-making.
Indeed few women are; certainly no beautiful women.
Margaret, then, though a pure-hearted and brave lady, was of the world, understanding the wiles thereof; and so, when Mr.Barker began to come regularly to see her, and when she noticed how very long the slight lameness he had incurred from the runaway accident seemed to last, and when she observed how cunningly he endeavoured to excite her sympathy towards him, she began to suspect that he meant something more than a mere diversion for himself.

He spoke so feelingly of his lonely position in the world; to accentuate which, he spoke of his father without any feeling whatever.

He represented himself as so drearily lonely and friendless in this hard-hearted, thorny world.

Quite a little lamb was Silas, leaving shreds of his pure white wool rent off and clinging to the briars of his solitary life-journey.

He was very patient in his sufferings, he said, for he so keenly felt that coarser natures could not suffer as he did; that troubles glided from their backs like water from the feathers of the draggled but happy goose, whereas on his tender heart they struck deep like a fiery rain.