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seemed as if then for the first time, when seeing her so crushed and sorrowful, was he able to reveal the full depth of his love.
"And I thought I should lose you, too!" she said.
"I'm not one that grief can drive away," said he. "Did you think I would desert you because of your great compassion?"
In that moment she understood his heart as never before. She knew that in peaceful and happy days she must rely on herself—which she was well able to do; but in sorrow and suffering and times of stress he would always be by her side—her stay and comfort.
