“ Burgoyne.Halfway up the hill, she stopped involuntarily, wringing her hands in front of her. It was the thought of Manisty not half a mile away, of his warm, living self so close to her that had swept upon her, like a tempest wind on a young oak.'Oh! I mustn't—mustn't—be glad!'—she cried, gulping down a sob, hating, despising herself.Then she hurried on. With every step, she grew more angry with Father Benecke. At best, he must have been careless, inconsiderate. A man of true delicacy would have done more than keep his promise, would have actively protected him. ”
Mrs. Humphry Ward
Summary
Quotes from Eleanor (Mrs. Humphry Ward)
“ Fifty thousand people hush every movement, strain their ears to listen.Ah! how weak it is! Surely the effort is too great for a frame so enfeebled, so ancient. It should not have been exacted—allowed. Lucy's ears listen painfully for the inevitable break. But no!—The Pope draws a long sigh—the sigh of weakness,— ('Ah! poveretto!' says a woman, close to Lucy, in a transport of pity) ,—then once more attempts the chant—sighs again—and sings. Lucy's face softens and glows; her eyes fill with tears. Nothing more touching, more triumphant, than this weakness and this perseverance. ”
“ Alack! what woman ever yet refused to love a man because he loved himself? It depends entirely on how she estimates the force of his temptation. And it would almost seem as though nature, for her own secret reasons, had thrown a special charm round the egotist of all types, for the loving and the true. Is it that she is thinking of the race—must needs balance in it the forces of death and life? What matters the separate joy or pain!Yes. Lucy would have given herself to Manisty, not blind to risks, expecting thorns!—if it had been possible. ”
