noon
Love feels delightful remorse at its tender omissions ; accuses , reproaches itself , and feels no rest till they have been repaired . They are gems fallen from the heart or the lips of the loved one , which cause the lover 's thoughts to travel back over the past , to gather them up , and to increase the treasure of his feelings . Julie , when she awoke , received my letter , which made it appear to her as though the conversation of the preceding evening had not been interrupted , but had been kept up in whispered tones during her sleep . I always received her answer before noon . My heart being thus appeased , after the agitation of the night , my next thought was to calm the impatience for the evening 's interview , which began to take possession of me . I strove not to divert my heart from its one thought , but to interest my eyes and mind , and had laid down as a law to myself to spend several hours in reading and study , to occupy the interval between the time when I left Julie till we met again . I wished to improve myself not for others , but for her , -- in order that he whom she loved should not disgrace her preference ; and that those superior men who composed her society , and who sometimes saw me in her drawing-room standing at a corner of the fireplace , like a statue of contemplation , should discover in me , if by chance they spoke to me , a soul , an intelligence , a hope , or a promise , beneath my timid and silent appearance .