But to sit all day in the same room with her, and feign to be engaged upon Heineccius, surpassed my strength.

So that I fell instead upon the expedient of absenting myself so much as I was able; taking out classes and sitting there regularly, often with small attention, the test of which I found the other day in a note-book of that period, where I had left off to follow an edifying lecture and actually scribbled in my book some very ill verses, though the Latinity is rather better than I thought I could ever have compassed.

The evil of this course was unhappily near as great as its advantage.

I had the less time of trial, but I believe, while that time lasted, I was tried the more extremely.

For she being so much left to solitude, she came to greet my return with an increasing fervour that came nigh to overmaster me.