Now, that which had surprised him into a strength of love almost too great to be in keeping with his character, was the unity of two beings whom he had believed to be distinct--the playmate and the saint.
"Whether the liking we take to a beautiful face be base or noble depends, madame, upon the face; and no man could see yours without being a better man for the sight.

But think: when I saw the face that had been enshrined for years in my memory yesterday, was it the face of a woman whom I did not know--with whom I had never spoken ?" He was not looking at her as he spoke.

He added, and his heart was revealed in the tone: "_You_ do not know what it is to be shut out from all that is good on earth." There came no answer; in a moment he lifted his eyes to see what response she gave, and he was astonished to detect a look upon her face that would have become an angel who had received some fresh beatitude.
It was plain that now she saw and believed the truth of his love; it appeared, too, that she felt it to be a blessing.

He could not understand this, but she wasted no words in explanation.

When her eyes met his, the joy in her face passed into pity for a minute; she looked at him quietly and frankly; then she said: "Love is good in itself, and suffering is good, and God is good.