‘I didn’t! I didn’t!’ sobbed Cathy, fit to break her heart. ‘I didn’t once think of loving him till - ‘

‘LOVING!’ cried I, as scornfully as I could utter the word. ‘LOVING! Did anybody ever hear the like! I might just as well talk of loving the miller who comes once a year to buy our corn. Pretty loving, indeed! and both times together you have seen Linton hardly four hours in your life! Now here is the babyish trash. I’m going with it to the library; and we’ll see what your father says to such LOVING.’

She sprang at her precious epistles, but I hold them above my head; and then she poured out further frantic entreaties that I would burn them - do anything rather than show them. And being really fully as much