The sound of her low sobbing
smote him to the heart.
"Angela--Angela!" he whispered, more to himself than to her. "Have I
hurt you so much?"
"Yes, yes!" she murmured between her tears. "You have hurt me!--but
you are right--you are quite right! I am selfish--weak--cowardly--
ungrateful too;--but forgive me,--have patience with me!--I will
try--I will try to bear it all more bravely--I will indeed!"
He rose from her side and paced the room, not trusting himself to
speak. She looked at him anxiously and endeavoured to control her
sobs.
"You are angry?"
"Angry!" He came back, and lifting her suddenly, but gently like a
little child, he placed her in an easy sitting position, leaning
cosily among her pillows. "Come!" he said smiling, as the colour
flushed her cheeks at the swiftness of his action--"Let the
Princesse D'Agramont see that I am something of a doctor! You will
grow weaker and weaker lying down all day--I want to make you strong
again! Will you help me?"
He looked into her eyes, and her own fell before his earnest,
reverent, but undisguisedly tender glance.
"I will try to do what you wish," she said. "If I fail you must
forgive me--but I will honestly try!"
"If you try, you will succeed"--said Cyrillon, and bending down, he
kissed the trembling little hands--"Ah! forgive me! If you knew how
dear your life is--to--to many, you would not waste it in weeping
for what cannot be remedied by all your tears! I will not say one
word against the man you loved--for YOU do not say it, and you are
the most injured;--he is dead--let him rest;--but life claims you,--
claims me for the moment;--our fellow-men and women claim our
attention, our work, our doing for the best and greatest while we
can,--our duty is to them,--not to ourselves! Will you for your
father's sake--for the world's sake--if I dared say, for MY sake!--
will you throw off this torpor of sorrow? Only you can do it,--only
you yourself can command the forces of your own soul! Be Angela once
more!--the guiding angel of more lives than you know of!--"
His voice sank to a pleading whisper.
Pages:
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862
863
864
865
866
867
868
869