“No, sir. Justice is a thing absolute; it is not altered by circumstances, especially for a circumstance so trivial as a young man’s idle fancy.”
“‘Tis no idle fancy. I love Cornelia Moran.”
“You have already loved a score of beauties—and forgotten them.”
“I have admired, and forgot. If I had loved, I should not have forgotten. Now, I love.”
“Then, sir, be a man, a noble man, and put your personal gratification below justice, honour, and gratitude. This is the first real trial of your life, George, are you going to play the coward in it?”
“If you could only see Miss Moran!”
“I should find it difficult to be civil to her. George, I put before you a duty that no gentleman can by any possibility evade.”
“If this arrangement is so important, why was I not told of it, ere this?”
“It is scarcely a year since your Cousin Harry’s death. Annie is not fifteen years old. I did not wish to force matters. I intended you to go to England next year, and I hoped that a marriage might come without my advice or my interference. It seemed to me that Annie’s position would itself open your heart to her.”
“I have no heart to give her.”