Aubrey monologue — The Second Mrs. Tanqueray: A Play in Four Acts

My dear Paula, I have no curiosity--I know what you were at Ellean's age. I'll tell you. You hadn't a thought that wasn't a wholesome one, you hadn't an impulse that didn't tend towards good, you never harboured a notion you couldn't have gossiped about to a parcel of children. [_She makes another effort to rise: he lays his hand lightly on her shoulder._] And this was a very few years back--there are days now when you look like a schoolgirl--but think of the difference between the two Paulas. You'll have to think hard, because after a cruel life one's perceptions grow a thick skin. But, for God's sake, do think till you get these two images clearly in your mind, and then ask yourself what sort of a friend such a woman as you are to-day would have been for the girl of seven or eight years ago.