love is in vain. Instead of making me happy it will make me wretched.
That will be the only difference.'

'I would give my life to make you happy, if that were possible.'

'You will not give me your life in the way that I would have it.'

After that they walked in silence back to the house, and when he had
opened the front door for her, he parted from her and stood alone under
the porch, thinking of his misfortune.


CHAPTER VI

SAFE AGAINST LOVE-MAKING ONCE AGAIN

For a considerable time Belton stood under the porch of the house,
thinking of what had happened to him, and endeavouring to steady
himself under the blow which he had received. I do not know that he had
been sanguine of success. Probably he had made to himself no assurances
on the subject. But he was a man to whom failure, of itself, was
intolerable. In any other event of life he would have told himself that
he would not fail that he would persevere and conquer. He could imagine
no other position as to which he could at once have been assured of
failure, in any project on which he had set his heart. But as to this
project it was so. He had been told that she could not love him that
she could never love him and he had believed her. He had made his
attempt and had failed; and, as he thought of this, standing under the
porch, he became convinced that life for him was altogether changed,
and that he who had been so happy must now be a wretched man.