I do not
know that there was ever any question of love from Edward to
her. He regarded her, certainly, as desirable amongst her sisters.
He was obstinate to the extent of saying that if he could not have
her he would not have any of them. And, no doubt, before the
marriage, he made her pretty speeches out of books that he had
read. But, as far as he could describe his feelings at all, later, it
seems that, calmly and without any quickening of the pulse, he
just carried the girl off, there being no opposition . It had,
however, been all so long ago that it seemed to him, at the end of
his poor life, a dim and misty affair. He had the greatest
admiration for Leonora.
He had the very greatest admiration. He admired her for her
truthfulness, for her cleanness of mind, and the clean-run-ness of
her limbs, for her efficiency, for the fairness of her skin, for the
gold of her hair, for her religion, for her sense of duty. It was a
satisfaction to take her about with him.
But she had not for him a touch of magnetism. I suppose, really, he
did not love her because she was never mournful; what really
made him feel good in life was to comfort somebody who would
be darkly and mysteriously mournful.
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