Page:The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (emended first edition), Volume 2.djvu/65

Rh admirers, indubitably courted his notice and held out every encouragement to his timid advances. Then indeed, he began to hope for a dawn of brighter days; and if for a while, I darkened his prospects by standing between him and his sun—and so, nearly plunged him again into the abyss of despair—it only intensified his ardour and strengthened his hopes when I chose to abandon the field in the pursuit of a brighter treasure. In a word, as I told you, he is fairly besotted. At first, he could dimly perceive her faults, and they gave him considerable uneasiness; but now his passion and her art together, have blinded him to everything but her perfections and his amazing good fortune. Last night, he came to me brimfull of his new-found felicity:

"'Huntingdon, I am not a cast-away!' said he, seizing my hand and squeezing it like a vice. 'There is happiness in store for me, yet—even in this life—she loves me!'

"'Indeed!' said I. 'Has she told you so?'