"If you had been dragged down," he answered simply, "my love would have been killed. I know something of the horrors you have been through, as though I had suffered them myself. They might have dragged down another woman, Honora. But they have strangely ennobled you."

She drew her hand away.

"No," she said, "I do not deserve happiness. It cannot be my destiny."

"Destiny," he repeated. "Destiny is a thing not understandable by finite minds. It is not necessarily continued tragedy and waste, of that I am certain. Only a little thought is required, it seems to me, to assure us that we cannot be the judges of our own punishment on this earth. And of another world we know nothing. It cannot be any one's destiny to throw away a life while still something may be made of it. You would be throwing your life away here. That no other woman is possible, or ever can be possible, for me should be a consideration with you, Honora. What I ask of you is a sacrifice--will you make me happy?"

Her eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, Peter, do you care so much as that? If--if I could be sure that I were doing it for you! If in spite--of all that has happened to me, I could be doing something for you--!"

He stooped and kissed her.

"You can if you will," he said.

PG EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

Best way is to leave 'em alone. Don't dandle 'em (babies) Blessed are the ugly, for they shall not be tempted Comparisons, as Shakespeare said, are odorous Constitutionally honest Conversation was a mockery Every one, man or woman, has the right to happiness Fact should be written like fiction, and fiction like fact Fetters of love Happy the people whose annals are blank in history's book He has always been too honest to make a great deal of money Her words of comfort were as few as her silent deeds were many How can you talk of things other people have and not want them Immutable love in a changing, heedless, selfish world Intense longing is always followed by disappointment Little better than a gambling place (Stock Exchange) No reason why we should suffer all our lives for a mistake Often in real danger at the moment when they feel most secure Providence is accepted by his beneficiaries as a matter of fact Regarding favourable impressions with profound suspicion Resented the implication of possession Rocks to which one might cling, successful or failing Self-torture is human She had never known the necessity of making friends Sleep! A despised waste of time in childhood So glad to have what other people haven't Sought to remove comparisons Taking him like daily bread, to be eaten and not thought about That magic word Change The greatest wonders are not at the ends of the earth, but near The days of useless martyrdom are past Thinking that because you have no ideals, other people haven't Those who walk on ice will slide against their wills Time, the unbribeable Weak coffee and the Protestant religion seemed inseparable Why should I desire what I cannot have