Mr. Moore, released from the business yoke, was, if not lively himself, a willing spectator of Caroline's liveliness, a complacent listener to her talk, a ready respondent to her questions. He was something agreeable to sit near, to hover round, to address and look at. Sometimes he was better than this--almost animated, quite gentle and friendly.
The drawback was that by the next morning he was sure to be frozen up again; and however much he seemed, in his quiet way, to enjoy these social evenings, he rarely contrived their recurrence. This circumstance puzzled the inexperienced head of his cousin. "If I had a means of happiness at my command," she thought, "I would employ that means often. I would keep it bright with use, and not let it lie for weeks aside, till it gets rusty."

Mr. Moore, released from business, was, if not lively himself, a willing spectator of Caroline's liveliness, agreeable and ready to respond to her questions. Sometimes he was almost animated, quite gentle and friendly.
The drawback was that by the next morning he was sure to be frozen up again; and however much he seemed, in his quiet way, to enjoy these social evenings, he rarely asked for their recurrence. This puzzled his inexperienced cousin.
"If I had a means of happiness at my command," she thought, "I would employ it often, and not let it lie for weeks aside."
