Was it this sort of commodity I held between my finger and thumb at this moment?
Scarcely: I did not dream it for a moment.

Suitor or admirer my very thoughts had not conceived.

All the teachers had dreams of some lover; one (but she was naturally of a credulous turn) believed in a future husband.

All the pupils above fourteen knew of some prospective bridegroom; two or three were already affianced by their parents, and had been so from childhood: but into the realm of feelings and hopes which such prospects open, my speculations, far less my presumptions, had never once had warrant to intrude.

If the other teachers went into town, or took a walk on the boulevards, or only attended mass, they were very certain (according to the accounts brought back) to meet with some individual of the "opposite sex," whose rapt, earnest gaze assured them of their power to strike and to attract.