She trembled, but she sat still.
"Only a moment, Arabella, while I tell you that man's love is different from this. That man can reason upon his affections, and that when the first beauty and excellence upon which he may cast his eyes is denied to his arms, he can look for equal beauty—equal excellence—equal charms of mind and person in another, and—"
Arabella tried to go, but somehow she felt spell-bound and could not rise from that garden seat.
"And," added the colonel, "with as pure a passion, man can make an idol of her who can be his, as he approached her who could not.—Miss Wilmot, I love you!"
"Oh, no, no—Johanna."
Colonel Jeffery Declares His Love For Arabella.
"I do not shrink from the pronunciation of that name; I have said that I loved Johanna. If she had been fancy-free and would have looked upon me with eyes of favour, I would have made her my wife; but such was not to be, and for the same qualities that I loved her I love you. I am afraid I have not explained my feelings well."
"Oh, yes. That is, I don't know."
"And now, Miss Wilmot, will you allow me to hope that what I have said to you may not be all in vain? That—"