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Just lately, however, A
Douglas Swa
'My dear A
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Douglas shook his head. 'I'm afraid not, he said. 'There is little possibility of improvement. Indeed it must be faced that there is now no possibility of improvement. The end of her journey is in sight. He sighed deeply.
'I am so sorry! said A
«'Change and decay in all around we see», said Douglas. 'One must accept it. But it is terrible how one grieves over these partings. I'm afraid it shows a lack of faith.
A lack of faith, thought A
'I always found my parents such a support, he said, 'a support that never failed. I suppose I was lucky.
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In the distance under the beech trees A
It was Pe
'He's a thoroughly decent boy, said Douglas. 'I expect you'll miss him?
'Yes, said A
Douglas smiled. 'How one suffers when one's young! Then, as if thinking that this was tactless, he added. 'You wait till Miranda's old enough to be in love. Then the sparks will fly!
'That was probably why he decided not to go to London with Humphrey. He couldn't bear to leave Miranda. I couldn't understand it at all at the time.
'I imagined you'd thought otherwise of it because of Humphrey's er—
'No, no, Humphrey has plenty of sense. And Pe
They were silent. A
He did not rise, but said in a softened voice, not looking at her, 'No news from Randall, I suppose?
'Nothing, said A
'We must have good hope, good hope, said Douglas. 'Of course, said A
'I most heartily believe it, said Douglas, with the slightly self-conscious accent of the happily married man who knows about such things by hearsay. 'Marriage is a sacrament. And we must believe, in such cases, a special grace assists our love.
'My love just exasperates Randall, said A
Douglas seemed a little shocked. He said, 'In a purely temporal sense, perhaps not. But the marriage service contains the word «love». It is the first thing that we promise to do. The continuation of love is a duty, and it is a matter much more genuinely subject to the will than is commonly supposed nowadays. Even if we leave divine grace out of the picture.
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