been then, and seemed to think that if the unlucky homicide could not
be got to go over-sea, he might at any rate go and live somewhere in
the neighbourhood pretty much by himself; at any rate, that was what
he himself had proposed. To Dick, and I must say to me also, this
seemed a strange remedy; and Dick said as much. Quoth he:

"Friend Walter, don't set the man brooding on the tragedy by letting
him live alone. That will only strengthen his idea that he has
committed a crime, and you will have him killing himself in good
earnest."

Said Clara: "I don't know. If I may say what I think of it, it is
that he had better have his fill of gloom now, and, so to say, wake
up presently to see how little need there has been for it; and then
he will live happily afterwards. As for his killing himself, you
need not be afraid of that; for, from all you tell me, he is really
very much in love with the woman; and to speak plainly, until his
love is satisfied, he will not only stick to life as tightly as he
can, but will also make the most of every event of his life--will, so
to say, hug himself up in it; and I think that this is the real
explanation of his taking the whole matter with such an excess of
tragedy."

Walter looked thoughtful, and said: "Well, you may be right; and
perhaps we should have treated it all more lightly: but you see,
guest" (turning to me), "such things happen so seldom, that when they
do happen, we cannot help being much taken up with it. For the rest,
we are all inclined, to excuse our poor friend for making us so
unhappy, on the ground that he does it out of an exaggerated respect
for human life and its happiness. Well, I will say no more about it;