Then continuing thoughtfully:
"It is strange that I should have found such a friend at the bottom of a
quarrel, all because I allowed him to abuse me. Truly forbearance is a
profitable virtue. The 'other cheek' is the better of the two."
Upon my insistence, he accepted the gold and gave me the ten guineas he
had borrowed from Lilly, asking me to return them.
Frances was making an entire failure of her effort to hold herself in
check, and George was having difficulty in restraining himself, so, to
bring the interview to an end, he gave me his hand, saying:--
"Thank you, Ned, and good-by. I wish I could hope ever to see you again,
but if Le Grand fails me, I shall go to the new world and lose myself in
the Canadian woods."
"No, no!" cried Frances, imploringly.
"I hope not," began George, but he could not finish, so he took Frances
in his arms for a moment, and when he released her, thrust us both out
the door, saying: "Please leave me at once. If you do not, I fear I shall
never let her go. Take care of her, Ned. Good-by!"
The door closed on us, and when Frances had put on her vizard, she
followed me upstairs to see Betty.
I was not admitted to Betty's room, so I went back to the printing shop
for a moment, and George gave me the key to the cipher, in which we were
to write to each other. His letters were to be sent under cover to Lilly,
and mine were to go to an address in Paris which George would send to me.
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