when I think of
the dreary heroism he must display. Nothing picturesque, nothing
striking. He must simply baffle the scoffers by an inscrutable
endurance. Mrs. Parflete is a beautiful creature, but quite a
child, and therefore weedy as to figure. I consider her far too
young for marriage in any case. She is only seventeen--tall,
slight, with a transparent skin, and something actually _babyish_
about the eyes. Her dignity, in the circumstances, was wholly
admirable. Perfectly self-possessed. Pensee will describe the
interviews far better than I could, so I will refer you to her for
the details of our mission. Women, I have decided, in every
disappointment always look for some future change of circumstances
favourable to their wishes. No matter how nominal, shallow, and
delusive this faith may be, it sustains them through the worst
trials. Thus it is that when a woman sacrifices either her repose
or the legitimate compensations of life to a great idea, she
suffers far less than a man in similar conditions. The devout
female sex drive a good bargain always: they manage somehow to
obtain all the sentiment they require from both worlds. Men cannot
be happy on sentiment alone; hence, therefore, the dreadful
hesitations, self-doubts, and terror which assail so frequently the
interior peace of all men drawn, like Orange, by certain qualities
of temperament, toward the mortification of their humanity. Laying
aside the proud idea of the independence, vigour, and
spiritual-mindedness which this practice is held to secure, there
is one drawback which, with a view to that class who are really
willing to endure many afflictions for the sake of any one definite
advantage, ought not to be overlooked. The weak, under such
discipline, become sugary: the strong grow hard. Robert has
backbone; he is a man of ability, perhaps even genius, but there is
always a danger that, either from the accumulation of scruples or
the want of romantic incentive, he may throw up the political game
and bury himself in a monastery where his dreams may find their
sole expression in prayer. Another point occurs to me. Will the
rank and file ever trust a person so far above their comprehension?
The very word "mystical" is a word of reproach in the mouth of the
world. People continually