with her towards Laystall Street, he thought of
the wonderful goodness of God towards him, in throwing in his way the very
person of all others whom he was most glad to see, and whom in spite of her
living so near him he might have never fallen in with but for a happy accident.
    When people get it into their heads that they are being specially favoured
by the Almighty, they had better as a general rule mind their p's and q's, and
when they think they see the devil's drift with more especial clearness, let
them remember that he has had much more experience than they have, and is
probably meditating mischief.
    Already during supper the thought that in Ellen at last he had found a woman
whom he could love well enough to wish to live with and marry had flitted across
his mind, and the more they had chatted the more reasons kept suggesting
themselves for thinking that what might be folly in ordinary cases would not be
folly in his.
    He must marry someone. That was already settled. He could not marry a lady.
That was absurd. He must marry a poor woman. Yes, but a fallen one? Was he not
fallen himself? Ellen would fall no more. He had only to look at her to be sure
of this. He could not live with her in sin - not for more than the shortest time
that could elapse before their marriage; he no longer believed in the
supernatural element of Christianity, but the Christian morality at any rate was
indisputable. Besides, they might have children, and a stigma would rest upon
them. Whom had he to consult but himself now? His father and mother never need
know, and even if they did, they should be thankful to see him married to any
woman who would make him happy as Ellen would. As for not being able to afford
marriage: how did poor people do? Did not a good wife rather help matters than
not? Where one could live two could do so, and if Ellen was three or four years
older than he was - well, what was that?
    Have you, oh gentle reader, ever loved at first sight? When you fell in love
at first sight, how long, let me ask you, did it take you to become ready to
fling every other consideration to the winds except that of obtaining possession
of the loved one? Or rather, how long would it have taken you if you had no
father or mother, nothing to lose in the way of money, position, friends,
professional advancement, or what not