"Hannah, I cannot tell you! Oh, Hannah, I feel that I have been very wrong, criminal even! But I acted blindly; you have opened my eyes, and now I see I must visit your house no more; how much it costs me to say this—to do this—you can never know!"
He wiped the perspiration from his pale brow, and, after a few moments given to the effort of composing himself, he asked:
"Shall we go on now?"
She nodded assent and they walked onward.
"Hannah," he said, as they went along, "I have one deplorable weakness."
She looked up suddenly, fearing to hear the confession of some fatal vice.
He continued:
"It is the propensity to please others, whether by doing so I act well or ill!"
"Mr. Brudenell!" exclaimed Hannah, in a shocked voice.
"Yes, the pain I feel in seeing others suffer, the delight I have in seeing them enjoy, often leads—leads me to sacrifice not only my own personal interests, but the principles of truth and justice!"