nobly impracticable; subject to the electric influence of a man who was great
enough to conceive and direct his life by such a project, who could repose so
supreme a faith in those he loved, all the primitive nobleness of his character
asserted itself, and he could accept with a throbbing heart the superb challenge
addressed to him.
    »If Jane can think me worthy to be her husband,« he replied, »your friend
shall see that he has feared without cause.«
    »I knew it, Sidney; I knew it!« exclaimed the old man. »How much younger I
feel now that I have shared this burden with you!«
    »And shall you now tell Jane?« the other inquired.
    »Not yet; not just yet. She is very young; we must wait a little. But there
can be no reason why you shouldn't speak to her - of yourself.«
    Sidney was descending from the clouds. As the flush of his humanitarian
enthusiasm passed away, and he thought of his personal relations to Jane, a
misgiving, a scruple began to make itself heard within him. Worldly and
commonplace the thought, but - had he a right to ask the girl to pledge herself
to him under circumstances such as these? To be sure, it was not as if Jane were
an heiress in the ordinary way; for all that, would it not be a proceeding of
doubtful justice to woo her when as yet she was wholly ignorant of the most
important item in her situation? His sincerity was unassailable, but - suppose,
in fact, he had to judge the conduct of another man thus placed? Upon the heated
pulsing of his blood succeeded a coolness, almost a chill; he felt as though he
had been on the verge of a precipice, and had been warned to draw back only just
in time. Every second showed him more distinctly what his duty was. He
experienced a sensation of thankfulness that he had not spoken definitely on
Saturday evening. His instinct had guided him aright; Jane was still too young
to be called upon solemnly to decide her whole future.
    »That, too, had better wait, Mr. Snowdon,« he said, after a pause of a
minute. »I should like her to know everything before I speak to her in that way.
In a year it will be time enough.«
    Michael regarded him thoughtfully.
    »Perhaps you are right. I wish you knew Mr. Percival; but there is time,
there is time. He still thinks I shall be persuaded to alter my plans.