, and one more in accordance
with his honorable and generous character. I do believe, Mr. Woodward,
that his apparent coldness to me, of late, proceeds from delicacy, and
a disinterestedness that is honorable to him; at least I will interpret
his conduct in this light until I am perfectly convinced that he is the
profligate you describe him. I do not impute, in the disclosure you have
made, ungenerous motives to you; because, if you attempted to displace
my affections from your brother by groundless slander or deliberate
falsehood, you would be a monster, and as such I would look upon you,
and will, if it appears that you are maligning him for selfish
purposes of your own. I will now tell you to what I impute his apparent
estrangement; I impute it to honor, sir--to an honorable pride. He
knows now that I am rich; at least comparatively so, and that he is
comparatively poor; he hesitates to renew our relations with each
other lest I might suspect him of mingling a selfish principle with his
affection. That is the conduct of a man of honor; and until the facts
you hint at come out broadly, and to public proof, as such I shall
continue to consider him. But, Mr. Woodward, I shall not rest here; I
shall see him, and give him that to which his previous affection and
honorable conduct have entitled him at my hands--that is, an opportunity
of making an explanation to myself. But, at all events, I assure you of
this fact, that, if I do not marry him, I shall never marry another."

"Great God!" exclaimed Woodward, "what a jewel he has lost. Well, Miss
Goodwin, I have nothing further to say; if I am wrong, time will convict
me. I have mentioned these matters to you, not on my own account but
yours. I have no hope of your affection; and if there were any living
man, except myself, to whom I should wish to see you united, it would
be my brother Charles--that is, if I thought he was worthy of you. All
I ask of you, however, is to wait a little; remain calm and quiet,
and time will tell you which of us feels the deepest interest in your
happiness. In the meantime, aware of your attachment to him, as I am,
I beg you will no longer consider me in any other light than that of a
sincere friend. To seduce innocence, indeed--but I will not dwell upon
it; the love of woman, they say, is generous and forgiving; I hope yours
will be so. But, Miss Goodwin, as I can approach you no longer in
the character of a lover, I trust I may be permitted th