She believed she was the most selfish of human beings, and feared that this was the right hand to be cut off, the right eye to be plucked out.

I was pained to hear her talk in this way; for I thought if any one ever gained the heart of Ernest, it would be dearly purchased by the sacrifice of Edith's friendship.

But it was only a jesting way of expressing her exceeding love, after all.

She was not selfish; she was all that was disinterested and kind.
I followed her down stairs into a blaze of light, that at first dazzled and bewildered me.

The chandeliers with their myriad pendants of glittering crystal emitted thousands of brilliant coruscations, like wintry boughs loaded with icicles and sparkling in a noonday sun.