' And she slipped on her knees and burst into a
passionate fit of weeping.
'The best thing that could have happened,' thought Hubert; and his thought
said, clearly and precisely, 'Yes; it is awful, shocking, cruel beyond
measure!'
The fire was sinking, and he built it up quietly, ashamed of this proof of
his regard for physical comfort, and hoping it would pass unnoticed. His
pain expressed itself less vehemently than Julia's; but for all that his
mind ached. He remembered how he had taken everything from her--fortune,
happiness, and now life itself. It was an appalling tragedy--one of those
senseless cruelties which we find nature constantly inventing. A thought
revealed an unexpected analogy between him and his victim. In both lives
there had been a supreme desire, and both had failed. 'Hers was the better
part,' he said bitterly. 'Those whose souls are burdened with desire that
may not be gratified had better fling the load aside. They are fools who
carry it on to the end.... If it were not for Julia----'
Then he sought to determine what were his exact feelings. He knew he was
infinitely sorry for poor Emily; but he could not stir himself into a
paroxysm of grief, and, ashamed of his inability to express his feelings,
he looked at Julia, who still wept.
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