"Ah, don't!" he whispered brokenly.

"You break my heart! My darling love! What is the matter ?" "I am a fool--a fool!--a fool!" she sobbed tempestuously.

"To have given in to you! You will despise me!" He slipped to the floor at her feet.

He strove desperately to comfort her.

Tenderness lent eloquence to his clumsy, unaccustomed tongue.
"Ah, don't say that! It's like sticking a knife in me! My lovely one! As if I could! You are everything to me! I have nothing in the world but you! Forgive me for being so rough! I couldn't help it! I couldn't go by anything you said.