Esther Lockwin looks upon George Harpwood as her savior.
"I wanted to be happy," she smiles. "I did not believe I could exist in that desolate state. You came to me! You came to me!"
"Emerson declares that all men honor love because it looks up, not down; aspires, not despairs," says Harpwood. The friend of Esther's widowhood has quoted to her nearly every consolatory remark of the philosophers.
"Shall we live here?" she asks, willing to go to Sahara.
"Certainly. Here I have the best future. You are a helpful soul, Esther. I shall rely upon you."
"We are too sad to be true lovers," she sighs. "Yet I could wish to have you all to myself."
The man is flattered. He, too, is in love. "I will go with you if you would be happier amid other scenes," he suggests.
"I have nothing to be ashamed of, have I?" she asks proudly, thinking of her noble David and his fragrant memory.
"If I am to have a widow I should like such a widow," the man replies.
"I pray God you shall never have one," she vows.