She took his trembling hand, and kissed it, and put it round her neck: she called him her John--her dear John--her old man--her kind old man; she poured out a hundred words of incoherent love and tenderness; her faithful voice and simple caresses wrought this sad heart up to an inexpressible delight and anguish, and cheered and solaced his over-burdened soul.
Only once in the course of the long night as they sate together, and poor Sedley opened his pent-up soul, and told the story of his losses and embarrassments--the treason of some of his oldest friends, the manly kindness of some, from whom he never could have expected it--in a general confession--only once did the faithful wife give way to emotion.
"My God, my God, it will break Emmy's heart," she said.
The father had forgotten the poor girl.

She was lying, awake and unhappy, overhead.

In the midst of friends, home, and kind parents, she was alone.

To how many people can any one tell all?
Who will be open where there is no sympathy, or has call to speak to those who never can understand?
Our gentle Amelia was thus solitary.

She had no confidante, so to speak, ever since she had anything to confide.