'Each hour a pearl, each pearl a prayer,' ay, a passionate plea that past and present may blend together into a perfect rosary, and that the future may hold no possibility of pain or parting.

Oh, Jane--Jane! Shall I ever be able to make you understand--all--how much--Oh, JANE!" She was not sure just when he had come so near; but he had dropped on one knee in front of her, and, as he uttered the last broken sentences, he passed both his arms around her waist and pressed his face into the soft lace at her bosom.

A sudden quietness came over him.

All struggling with explanations seemed hushed into the silence of complete comprehension--an all-pervading, enveloping silence.
Jane neither moved nor spoke.

It was so strangely sweet to have him there--this whirlwind of emotion come home to rest, in a great stillness, just above her quiet heart.