Young men and women with exalted and ideal views about each other, cannot do better than to keep out of one another's way.

Unless they are prepared to mingle a great deal of what is earthly with their dreams, they will be apt, sooner or later, to have a rude awakening.
The conceit of her ideal crusade against Bressant's shortcomings blinded Sophie to what she could not otherwise have helped seeing--that she enjoyed his companionship for its own immediate sake.

She had, perhaps, more direct and simple strength of character than he; but he made up in other ways for the lack of it.

Besides, he had not taken measures to obstruct the natural keenness of his vision, and therefore saw, with comparative clearness, how the land lay; an immense advantage over Sophie, of course.

But when he came to analyzing and classifying what he saw, he found his intelligence at fault.