I shall never have another;" then pressing his hands
suddenly up on his forehead, whose blue veins seemed to swell with
the intensity of his emotions, he continued. "But, no, Mr. St.
Claire. It cannot be, she is too young, too merry-hearted, too
full of life and love to be brought into the shadow of our
household. She would die upon my hands. Her voice would grow
sadder and more mournful with the coming of every season, until at
last when I had learned to love her as my life, I should some
morning listen for what, would never greet my ear again. It's a
great temptation, but it must not be. A crazy old man and his
blind son are not fit guardians for a child like Edith Hastings.
She must not walk in our darkness."
"But might not her presence bring daylight to that darkness?"
asked Arthur, gazing with mingled feelings of wonder and
admiration upon the singularly handsome noble-looking man, who was
indeed walking in thick darkness.
"She might," said Richard. "Yes, she might bring the full rich
daylight to us, but on her the shadow would fail with a fearful
blackness if she linked her destiny with mine.
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