Long suits in that sunny land, wherein, as whereof, I now write, are unknown.

In no other land, perhaps, is there found so commonly the love at first sight, which in France is a jest, and in England a doubt; in no other land, too, is love, though so suddenly conceived, more faithfully preserved.

That which is ripened in fancy comes at once to passion, yet is embalmed through all time by sentiment.

And this must be my and their excuse, if the love of Adrian some too prematurely formed, and that of Irene too romantically conceived;--it is the excuse which they take from the air and sun, from the customs of their ancestors, from the soft contagion of example.
But while they yielded to the dictates of their hearts, it was with a certain though secret sadness--a presentiment that had, perhaps, its charm, though it was of cross and evil.

Born of so proud a race, Adrian could scarcely dream of marriage with the sister of a plebeian; and Irene, unconscious of the future glory of her brother, could hardly have cherished any hope, save that of being loved.