"You must live very happily here."
"I have very kind friends;"—the very is emphasized.
"I am sure Nelly loves you very much."
"Oh, I believe it!"—with great earnestness.
You are at the cottage-door.—
"Good night, Maggie;"—very feelingly.
"Good night, Clarence;"—very kindly; and she draws her hand coyly, and half tremulously, from your somewhat fevered grasp.
You stroll away dreamily, watching the moon,—running over your fragmentary life,—half moody, half pleased, half hopeful.
You come back stealthily, and with a heart throbbing with a certain wild sense of shame, to watch the light gleaming in the cottage. You linger in the shadows of the trees until you catch a glimpse of her figure gliding past the window. You bear the image home with you. You are silent on your return. You retire early, but you do not sleep early.
----If you were only as you were: if it were not too late! If Madge could only love you, as you know she will and must love one manly heart, there would be a world of joy opening before you. But it is too late!