The very point you make against him should have
told most strongly in his favor with a young girl. My reading of his
character is that so far as concerns the love you spoke of, he knows as
little of it as yourself, and thus he agreed to our proposal with a
seeming indifference which you entirely misjudge. If you, then, have any
belief in my goodwill towards you, in my deep anxiety for your welfare
and happiness, I implore you to agree to the suggestion my Lord of
Mayence has made. You speak of love knowing nothing concerning it. I
call to your remembrance the fact that one noble lady of your race may
have foregone the happiness that love perhaps brings, in her desire for
the advancement of one whom she loved so truly that she chose for her
guide the more subdued but steadier star of duty. The case is presented
to you, my dear, in different form, and I feel assured that duty and
love will shine together."
As the venerable Archbishop spoke with such deep earnestness, in a voice
she loved so well, the girl buried her face in her hands, and he could
see the tears trickle between her fingers.
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