art. You should have seen her and talked to her once at least,
before making up your mind.

Bishop. I will tell you something in confidence, Hagbart. Justice Rost,
who lives out there in the country, has often seen General Rosen coming
away from her house at most unseemly hours. I will have nothing to do
with women of that sort.

Hagbart. What about men of that sort?

Bishop. Well, as I said, that is quite another matter.

Hagbart. Quite so.--Mrs. Falk takes compassion on the General; she
interests herself in him. That is all.

Bishop. Did she know him previously, then?

Hagbart. Very likely.

Bishop. Then she has her own private reasons for acting as she does.

Hagbart. Shall I tell you what it is? She has a kinder heart than any of
us, and can make a sacrifice more willingly.

Bishop. So you know that?

Hagbart. Yes. Hers is a finer nature than any of ours; it is more
completely developed, intellectually and morally.

Bishop. I am listening to you with the profoundest amazement!

Hagbart. Oh, don't misunderstand me! She has her faults.

Bishop. Really, you admit that!--I want to beg something of you
earnestly, Hagbart. Go away for a little while.

Hagbart. Go away!

Bishop. Yes, to your uncle's, for instance. Only for a week or a
fortnight. You need to clear your thoughts, badly--about all sorts of
things. Your brain is in a whirl.

Hagbart. That is true; but--

Bishop. Speak out!

Hagbart. My brain has been in a whirl much longer than you have had any
idea of. It has been so ever since that day in winter when I did Mrs.
Falk such a horrible injustice.

Bishop. Not exactly an injustice, but--

Hagbart. Yes, an injustice! It was a turning point in my life. To think
that I should have given way to such a fanatical outburst! It ended
in my being terrified at myself--well, I won't bore you with the whole
story of my long fight with myself. You saw nothing of it, because I was
not here. But at last, when I got ill and had to go away and take the
waters, and then happened to see Aagot--the effect on me was more than
anything I could have imagined. I seemed to see the truth; mankind
seemed different, and I seemed to hear the voice of life itself at last.
You cannot imagine the upheaval it caused in me. It must be that she had
something within her that I lacked, and had always lacked! It was her
wonderful naturalness; everything she did was done with more charm and
gaiety than I found in any one else