Page:The Wreck of a World - Grove - 1890.djvu/157

Rh "Of course I will give you any advice or help I can, but are you sure you are coming to the right quarter for that?"

"Yes, surely, to the only quarter. Aurelia, I have held my tongue all this time, but must speak at last. You know what I would say. From the day I met you on board the ship you had brought all alone from America, from the moment I brought you on shore and handed you to your father, I have been a different man. I have thought of you every hour of my existence. I have dreamed of you each night. I have lost interest in my profession, in my studies, in everything else in the world. No man could love you with a deeper love than I do, and I feel I cannot any longer refrain from telling you, so that at least you may know that my life is bound up in yours, and that nothing can break the chain. And now I want to ask you, Is there any hope for me?"

"Mr. Dana," said Aurelia gravely, "is this quite fair? You know how I admire you, nay I will say what affection I feel for you, more than I feel for anyone in the world but my father—and my betrothed husband."