CLARISSA'S ELOPEMENT.
Mr. Fairfax came a little after noon--came with a calm grave aspect, as of
a man who had serious work before him. With all his heart he wished that
the days of duelling had not been over; that he could have sent his best
friend to Daniel Granger, and made an end of the quarrel in a gentlemanlike
way, in some obscure alley at Vincennes, or amidst the shadowy aisles of
St. Germains. But a duel nowadays is too complete an anachronism for an
Englishman to propose in cold blood. Mr. Fairfax came to his enemy's house
for one special purpose. The woman he loved was in Daniel Granger's power;
it was his duty to explain that fatal meeting in Austin's rooms, to justify
Clarissa's conduct in the eyes of her husband. It was not that he meant to
surrender his hope of their future union--indeed, he hoped that the scene
of the previous evening would bring about a speedy separation between
husband and wife. But he had placed her in a false position; she was
innocent, and he was bound to assert her innocence.
He found Daniel Granger like a man of iron, fully justifying that phrase of
Lady Laura's--"_Carre par la base_." The ignominy of his own position came
fully home to him at the first moment of their meeting. He remembered the
day when he had liked and respected this man: he could not despise him now.
He was conscious that he carried the mark of last night's skirmish in an
unpleasantly conspicuous manner.
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