Well, my dear, marriage proposal Number One came just before lunch. I've told you about him. It was John Seward, the doctor from the lunatic asylum. The man who has that strong jaw and good forehead. He seemed very cool, but he was nervous all the same. He had clearly been practising all the little things he would do, and he remembered to do them. But he almost managed to sit on his silk hat, which men don't normally do when they are cool. Then, when he wanted to seem relaxed he kept playing with a lancet in a way that nearly made me scream. But he was very honest with me, Mina. He told me that I was very dear to him, though he had not known me long, and how good his life would be with me to help and encourage him.

He was going to tell me that he would be unhappy if I did not love him. But when he saw me crying he said he was a brute and he didn't want to make me feel even worse. Then he stopped and asked if I could love him one day. When I shook my head his hands trembled. Then with some hesitation he asked me if I already loved someone else. He asked very nicely, saying that he did not want me to tell my secrets. He only wanted to know, because if a woman's heart was free, a man might have hope.

And then, Mina, I felt I really had to tell him that I loved some one else. As soon as I said that he stood up. He looked very strong and very serious. Then he took both my hands in his and said he hoped I would be happy. If I ever needed a friend, he said, I must think of him as one of my best.