and great
as I feel it, touches me deeply. I am not used to such passages in life;
I have read of such. Pardon me, feel for me, if I receive them with some
disorder. They sound to me for the first time--and for the last. Perhaps
they ought never to have reached my ear. No matter now--I have a life of
penitence before me, and I trust I shall be pardoned." And she wept.

"You have indeed punished me for the fatal accident of birth, if it
deprives me of you."

"Not so," she added weeping; "I shall never be the bride of earth; and
but for one whose claims though earthly are to me irresistible, I should
have ere this forgotten my hereditary sorrows in the cloister."

All this time Egremont had retained her hand, which she had not
attempted to withdraw. He had bent his head over it as she spoke--it was
touched with his tears. For some moments there was silence; then looking
up and in a smothered voice Egremont made one more effort to induce
Sybil to consider his suit. He combated her views as to the importance
to him of the sympathies of his family and of society; he detailed
to her his hopes and plans for their future welfare; he dwelt with
passionate eloquence on his abounding love. But with a solemn sweetness,
and as it were a tender inflexibility, the tears trickling down her
beautiful cheek, and pressing his hand in both of hers, she subdued and
put aside all his efforts.

"Believe me," she said, "the gulf is impassable."

END OF THE FOURTH BOOK

BOOK V

Book 5 Chapter 1

"Terrible news from Birmingham," said Mr Egerton at Brookes'. "They have
massacred the police, beat off the military, and sacked the town. News
just arrived."

"I have known it these two hours," said a grey-headed gentleman,
speaking without taking his eyes off the newspaper. "There is a cabinet
sitting now."

"Well I always said so," said Mr Egerton, "our fellows ought to have put
down that Convention."

"It is deuced lucky," said Mr Berners, "that the Bedchamber business
is over, and we are all right. This affair in the midst of the Jamaica
hitch would have been fatal to us."

"These chartists evidently act upon a system," said Mr Egerton. "You see
they were perfectly quiet till the National Petition was presented and
debated; and now, almost simultaneously with our refusing to consider
their petition, we have news of this outbreak."

"I hope they will not spread," said the grey-headed gentleman. "There
are not troo