" And rising from his chair, he walked across the room,
and laid his hand tenderly on Mark's shoulder. Mark had been sitting
lounging in his chair, and had at first, for a moment only, thought
to brazen it out. But all idea of brazening had now left him. He had
raised himself from his comfortable ease, and was leaning forward
with his elbow on the table; but now, when he heard these words,
he allowed his head to sink upon his arms, and he buried his face
between his hands.
"It is a terrible falling off," continued Crawley: "terrible in the
fall, but doubly terrible through that difficulty of returning. But
it cannot be that it should content you to place yourself as one
among those thoughtless sinners, for the crushing of whose sin you
have been placed here among them. You become a hunting parson, and
ride with a happy mind among blasphemers and mocking devils--you,
whose aspirations were so high, who have spoken so often and so well
of the duties of a minister of Christ; you, who can argue in your
pride as to the petty details of your Church, as though the broad
teachings of its great and simple lessons were not enough for your
energies! It cannot be that I have had a hypocrite beside me in all
those eager controversies!
"Not a hypocrite--not a hypocrite," said Mark, in a tone which was
almost reduced to sobbing.
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