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!"

"Oh, Mr. Brudenell!"

"It is so, Hannah! And one signal instance of such a sacrifice at once
of myself and of the right has loaded my life with endless regret!
However, I am ungenerous to say this; for a gift once given, even if it
is of that which one holds most precious in the world, should be
forgotten or at least not be grudged by the giver! Ah, Hannah--" He
stopped abruptly.