He was not conscious that he
praised Madeleine Presson's gifts of mind or person. But as he had found
her, so he portrayed her to the isolated girl of the north country,
describing her attainments, her culture, her breadth of view, her grasp
of the questions of the day, her ability to understand the big matters
in which men were interested.
She made no comment as he talked. She did not interrupt him when he had
finished with Madeleine Presson and went on to relate how he had been
forced into the forefront of the State's political situation.
"So, then, you have become a great man," she faltered. "I remember. I
was selfish. I did not want you to go away."
"No, I am not a great man, little Clare," he protested, laughingly. "I'm
only a little chap that a great man is using. And you were not selfish.
It was you that first put the thought into my mind that I ought to use
my opportunities. That night at the end of the bridge, you know! I was
sullen and obstinate. But you talked to me like a wise little woman. All
the time I was with my grandfather later that evening, trying to be
angry with him, I kept remembering your advice.
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