I know my mother does not wish me to marry, and I have never thought of the possibility of leaving her.

I would not dare to give this frail frame and too tenderly indulged heart into the keeping of one who could never, never bestow the love, the boundless love, which has surrounded me from infancy, like the firmament of heaven.

I have been sought in marriage more than once, it might be for reputed wealth or for imagined charms; but when I compared my would-be lovers to Ernest, they faded into such utter insignificance, I could scarcely pardon their presumption.

I do not think he has ever loved himself.

I do not think he has ever seen one worthy of his love.