Neville, that it shall remain the secret it is, and that you
will take no other action whatsoever upon it than endeavouring (and
that most earnestly) to erase it from your mind. I will not tell
you that it will soon pass; I will not tell you that it is the
fancy of the moment; I will not tell you that such caprices have
their rise and fall among the young and ardent every hour; I will
leave you undisturbed in the belief that it has few parallels or
none, that it will abide with you a long time, and that it will be
very difficult to conquer. So much the more weight shall I attach
to the pledge I require from you, when it is unreservedly given.'
The young man twice or thrice essayed to speak, but failed.
'Let me leave you with your sister, whom it is time you took home,'
said Mr. Crisparkle. 'You will find me alone in my room by-and-
by.'
'Pray do not leave us yet,' Helena implored him. 'Another minute.'
'I should not,' said Neville, pressing his hand upon his face,
'have needed so much as another minute, if you had been less
patient with me, Mr. Crisparkle, less considerate of me, and less
unpretendingly good and true. O, if in my childhood I had known
such a guide!'
'Follow your guide now, Neville,' murmured Helena, 'and follow him
to Heaven!'
There was that in her tone which broke the good Minor Canon's
voice, or it would have repudiated her exaltation of him.
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