If he had persevered,--
and he was still sure, almost sure, that he would persevere,--his
object must be achieved after a different fashion. There must be
infinite suffering,--suffering both to him and to her. Could she
have been made to consent to marry someone else, terrible as the
rupture might have been, she would have reconciled herself at last
to her new life. So it had been with Glencora,--after a time. Now
the misery must go on from day to day beneath his eyes, with the
knowledge on his part that he was crushing all the joy out of her
young life, and the conviction on her part that she was being
treated with continued cruelty by her father! It was a terrible
prospect! But if it was manifestly his duty to act after this
fashion, must he not do his duty?
If he were to find that by persevering in this course he would
doom her to death, or perchance to madness,--what then? If it were
right, he must still do it. He must still do it, if the weakness
incident to his human nature did not rob him of the necessary
firmness. If every foolish girl were indulged, all restraint would
be lost, and there would be an end to those rules as to birth and
position by which he thought his world was kept straight.
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