 also
saw the blue and the sunshine of the sky. A thunderbolt has fallen from that
sky, and suddenly all is still and dark around me for ever. I will never forgive
you, Nina; and tomorrow I shall forget you! I shall never forgive you,« he
repeated with mechanical obstinacy while she sat, her head bowed down as if
afraid to look at her father.
    To him it seemed of the utmost importance that he should assure her of his
intention of never forgiving. He was convinced that his faith in her had been
the foundation of his hopes, the motive of his courage, of his determination to
live and struggle, and to be victorious for her sake. And now his faith was
gone, destroyed by her own hands; destroyed cruelly, treacherously, in the dark;
in the very moment of success. In the utter wreck of his affections and of all
his feelings, in the chaotic disorder of his thoughts, above the confused
sensation of physical pain that wrapped him up in a sting as of a whiplash
curling round him from his shoulders down to his feet, only one idea remained
clear and definite - not to forgive her; only one vivid desire - to forget her.
And this must be made clear to her - and to himself - by frequent repetition.
That was his idea of his duty to himself - to his race - to his respectable
connections; to the whole universe unsettled and shaken by this frightful
catastrophe of his life. He saw it clearly and believed he was a strong man. He
had always prided himself upon his unflinching firmness. And yet he was afraid.
She had been all in all to him. What if he should let the memory of his love for
her weaken the sense of his dignity? She was a remarkable woman; he could see
that; all the latent greatness of his nature - in which he honestly believed -
had been transfused into that slight, girlish figure. Great things could be
done! What if he should suddenly take her to his heart, forget his shame, and
pain, and anger, and - follow her! What if he changed his heart if not his skin
and made her life easier between the two loves that would guard her from any
mischance! His heart yearned for her. What if he should say that his love for
her was greater than ...
    »I will never forgive you, Nina!« he shouted, leaping up madly in the sudden
fear of his dream.
    This was the last time in his life that he was heard to raise his voice.
Henceforth he
