I have met you very frequently at your father's house and elsewhere, and your manner has ever been most kind and friendly towards me. Yet I dare not flatter myself that you are aware of the deep love I entertain for you, a love which now emboldens me to write and to confess how the hope of gaining your affection and of inducing you to become my wife, has been for the last few months uppermost in my mind. Should I be so fortunate as to win your regard, your happiness should be my one thought and care, and you should never regret having entrusted it to my keeping.
I shall await your answer with the greatest impatience. If there is any hope, hasten to put an end to my anxieties, and make me the happiest of men.
If, on the other hand, you require time for consideration, do not be afraid to ask for it. Now that you know how dearly I love you I can afford to leave my cause in your hands, and to wait any length of time you may consider necessary for your final decision.
Believe me, dear Miss Starr, Yours very faithfully,
John Peabody.
180. Answer to the Above (Favorable).
B——, May 3, 19—.
Dear Mr. Peabody:—
Hitherto I have looked upon you only as a friend, and I can hardly yet realize that you wish me to regard you in any other light. From what I already know, I have no doubt that you would make any girl very happy whom you loved, but, although I have a great liking and esteem for you, I cannot say that I return your affection as you deserve.
However, as I know how good and kind you are, and how highly both my father and mother think of you, let us hope that in time I may learn to love as much as I esteem. It is perhaps better not to say more at present. Please believe in my deep-felt gratitude for the offer of your life's devotion.