Let us sit down upon this bank, and I will suffer you to see more of my restless and secret heart than any hitherto have beheld." We sat down upon a little mound: how well I remember the spot! I can see the tree which shadows it from my window at this moment.

How many seasons have the sweet herb and the emerald grass been withered there and renewed! Ah, what is this revival of all things fresh and youthful in external Nature but a mockery of the wintry spot which lies perished and _irrenewable_ within! We drew near to each other, and as my arm wound around him, I said, "Aubrey, your love has been to me a more precious gift than any who have not, like me, thirsted and longed even for the love of a dog, can conceive.

Never let me lose that affection! And do not think of me hereafter as of one whose heart echoed all that his lip uttered.

Do not believe that irony, and sarcasm, and bitterness of tongue flowed from a malignant or evil source.

That disposition which seems to you alternately so light and gloomy had, perhaps, its origin in a mind too intense in its affections, and too exacting in having them returned.
Till you sought my friendship, three short years ago, none but my uncle, with whom I could have nothing in common but attachment, seemed to care for my very existence.