Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1908-05-14
CHAPTER VIII.
Continued

CI1aI 1 Eh WILL.
Continued.
II might have known it from the first.
Every one told me, as we'll as they
could, what an idiot l was making Of
myself! An idiOt-a cursed, headstrOng
fool l am served rightly now-to have
my name mixed up in such a cOmpli-
cation of infamy as this! Pray, how
long is it"-and he stopped short, and
for the first time looked full in the
girls face-"how long is it really since
you knew all this? l should greatly
prefer hearing the whole truth now."
1t was an infamous, cowardly speech.
AS her eyes stared up, in their helpless,
blank misery, back to his, Clifford felt
how cowardly it was; and he almost
hated her--as is common to some peo-
ple-for the injury he had done her by
such a suspicion.
Cant you speak?" he exclaimed, as
her trembling lips parted, but brought
out no sound. "Do you wish to drive
me mad by putting on that air Of cool
Indifference at such time as this?"
I believe it is an established rule of
art that no hero shall ever act in an
intrinsically dishOnorable or cowardly
manner; and as Mohun must, Of neces-
sity, be styled the hero of this story of
Jane Grand's life-and as / have every
wish to transcribe the record of the
same with due regard to the Unities-
7 Jrax in 1ix,npcn 1irna.
tions by the requirements of art, and
of what consider to be truth, at this
particular point. Before hitting him
very hard, however, would beg OF
the reader, from his own knowledge of
life, to state how many men-say out
of every hundred-would shine il
placed in exactly the same position as
Clifford Mohun's?
TO remain mistaken in his loyalty
under such circumstances man must
be either weak or most herOically
strong; and Mohun was neither. Pride
world respect, thirst for popularity
were, at this time especially, passion
ately strong in him; of true moral cour
age, of the higher kind of self-respect
Of purpose and happiness beyond the
reach of ordinary worldly opinion, he
knew nothing. He understood one
kind of dishonor very well-the com
mon, vulgar kind, into which he had
never had any temptation to fall; and
he loathed 1t and felt himself extreme
ly noble in giving up his en-
gagement to Jane Grand. He went
through none of the conflicting
struggles which man of higher ma
ture must have sustained, even while
resolving to act in precisely the same
way; and, in judging of the guilt of al
action, we must-modern ethics say
bear in mind what degree Of moral re-
spOnsibility has to be accredited to the
actor.
TO behave as heroes are expected to
do, man must have little of the
leaven of the heroic in his composition,
and Mohun had none. He never did
heroic thing, or thought heroic
thought, or decided for any other OBJ
ject save what he conceived to be an
Immediate personal advantage in his
life. The episode of his youth, con.
tanning the best germ in It, was that
Of which he was already at the closing
scene-his love of Jane; and that in
this he had been unworldly was simply
owing to the fact of his being made
up of the common elements of human.
ity--a lad who could calculate while
falling in love being Il lusus naturae of
which even this generation affords but
few specimens. The homage of SO
young and tender woman as poor
Jane had made his pride succumb for
the time to personal vanity and he
thought very highly of the victory
speaking of it to his own conscience
in other terms than | have dOne), and
had been very seriously enamored of
James lovely face and had known as
much of the inner value of the pearl
"worther than all his tribe which
he was now about to cast away, as a
savage knows of the value of the
piece of gold he barters for handful
of tinseled rubbish or glass beads.
SO much for Clifford Mohun as hero
We will return to him as the com
monplace type of commonplace human
creature that he was.
"Can you speak, Jane? Can you give
me any answer to what | have asked!
Or must I really think that-that--"
Gifford's manhood was spared the
further shame to which his own lips
were about to put it by Miss Grand's
rising from her seat, tottcring up to his
side. and throwing her arms around
his neck. She laid her head upon his
breast and sobbcd there. (Sparc her,
oh, Cornelia! it was for the first and
last time in this life) She said tender
words that till this moment had never
even entered her heart to say. She be-
sought him to have pity or her now,
so that, at least, she might have the
recollection of his kindness, of his gen
erosity, to comfort her when he was
gone.
"You can't really believe l would
have kept all this from you-you cant
really believe / ever looked in youl
face and deceived you. Yon only said
1t in your first anger-I am sure OF
that! Oh, Clifford, it is hard tria
for you to bear! Will you ever forgive
me all the suffering my love has
brought upon you?'
With the tact Of perfect love she
sought to assign to him the part whicl