Georgiana's struggle was to make her great passion eat up all the others. Sure of the intensity and thoroughness of her love for Merthyr, she would forecast for herself tasks in his service impossible save to one sensually dead and therefore spiritually sexless. "My love is pure," she would say; as if that were the talisman which rendered it superhuman. She was under the delusion that lovers' love was a reprehensible egoism. Her heart had never had place for it; and thus her nature was unconsummated, and the torment of a haunting insufficiency accompanied her sweetest hours, ready to mislead her in all but very clearest actions. She saw, or she divined, much of this struggle; but the vision of it was fitful, not consecutive. It frightened and harassed without illuminating her. Now, upon Merthyr's return, she was moved by it just enough to take his hand and say:-- "We are the same?" "What can change us?" he replied. "Or who?" and as she smiled up to him, she was ashamed of her smile. "Yes, who!" he interjected, by this time quite enlightened. All subtle feelings are discerned by Welsh eyes when untroubled by any mental agitation. Brother and sister were Welsh, and I may observe that there is human nature and Welsh nature. "Forgive me," she said; "I have been disturbed about you." Perceiving that it would be well to save her from any spiritual twists and turns that she might reach what she desired to know, he spoke out fully: "I have not written to you about Miss Belloni lately. I think it must be seven or eight days since I had a letter from her--you shall see it--looking as if it had been written in the dark. She gave the address of a London hotel. I went to her, and her story was that she had come to town to get Mr. Pole's consent to her marriage with his son; and that when she succeeded in making herself understood by him, the old man fell, smitten with paralysis, crying out that he was ruined, and his children beggars." "Ah!" said Georgiana; "then this son is engaged to her?" "She calls him her lover." "Openly?" "Have I not told you? 'naked and unashamed.'" "Of course that has attracted my Merthyr!" Georgians drew to him tenderly, breathing as one who has a burden off her heart. "But why did she write to you?" the question started up. For this reason: it appears that Mr. Pole showed such nervous irritation at the idea of his family knowing the state he was in, that the doctor attending him exacted a promise from her not to communicate with one of them. She was alone, in great perplexity, and did what I had requested her to do. She did me the honour to apply to me for any help it was in my power to give. Georgiana stood eyeing the ground sideways. "What is she like?" "You shall see to-morrow, if you will come with me." "Dark, or fair?" Merthyr turned her face to the light, laughing softly. Georgiana coloured, with dropped eyelids. She raised her eyes under their load of shame. "I will come gladly," she said.