To say they affected me like the eyes of a serpent is to say nothing.

I felt her soul in them, looking into mine--looking, if such a thing can be, unconsciously to her own mortal self.

I tell you my impression, in all its horror and in all its folly! That woman is destined (without knowing it herself) to be the evil genius of my life.

Her innocent eyes saw hidden capabilities of wickedness in me that I was not aware of myself, until I felt them stirring under her look.

If I commit faults in my life to come--if I am even guilty of crimes--she will bring the retribution, without (as I firmly believe) any conscious exercise of her own will.