"Is what you have said to me exactly true?" "Upon my honor; exactly true," he answered. "Is there no morbid selfishness in it; no foolish fancy?" "Upon my honor, none!" "Do you believe I am your dream come true with the same matter-of-fact belief which convinces you that there is a ferry in the river?" She pointed out the boat as it moved lazily through the water, and as he looked at it he seemed to resolve the matter carefully in his mind. "Yes," he answered, "I am as certain that you are the woman I have loved devotedly all my life, as I am certain that there is a river at the foot of the hill. What I have said to you is generally regarded as sentimental nonsense except when it is protected by the charity of a sweetheart or a wife; but it is in every man's heart, though it is sometimes never expressed, and my idle life here has made me bold enough to state that it is true. I have been seeking contentment with so much eagerness, and know so well that it is hard to find, that I have come to believe that there is but one more chance, and that I would find what I lack in the love of a woman like you. Even if I should discover by experience that I am mistaken in this belief, I would feel better off than I ever did before; for I would then conclude that my fancies were wrong, and that I was as well off as any man; but this feeling will always be denied me, for I am denied the privilege of happiness now that it is within my reach. My lonely life here has wrung a confession from me which I should have kept to myself, but it is every word true; you can depend on that." Annie Benton seemed satisfied with the answers he had made, and there was another long silence between them.