It was plain to him, as a Christian and as a hearty soul, that there had
been an untoward accident--a bestial fault, a soul-debasing carnal sin,
but still an accident, and hence to be forgiven by God and woman. It was
his duty to interfere; and so, having disciplined the husband, he
essayed the more delicate matter of propitiating the wife. And he
essayed it without a thought of failure.
"I'm afraid she's determined to leave me, and that there's not much
hope," said Babcock, despondently, as he gripped the clergyman's hand in
token of his gratitude.
"Nonsense, my man," asserted Mr. Glynn briskly. "All she needs is an
exhortation from me, and she will take you back."
Selma was opposed to divorce in theory. That is, she had accepted on
trust the traditional prejudice against it as she had accepted
Shakespeare and Boston. But theory stood for nothing in her regard
before the crying needs of her own experience. She had not the least
intention of living with her husband again. No one could oblige her to
do that. In addition, the law offered her a formal escape from his
control and name. Why not avail herself of it? She recollected, besides,
that her husband's church recognized infidelity as a lawful ground of
release from the so-called sacrament of marriage.
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