st his brain, and got
nothing instead, a man would find himself a mere centre of unanswerable
questions."

"You go too far for me," said his lordship, looking a little
uncomfortable, "but I think it is time to try and break myself a little
of the habit--or almost time. By degrees one might, you know,--eh?"

"I have little faith in doing things by degrees, my lord--except such
indeed as by their very nature cannot be done at once. It is true a bad
habit can only be contracted by degrees; and I will not say, because I
do not know, whether anyone has ever cured himself of one by degrees;
but it cannot be the best way. What is bad ought to be got rid of at
once."

"Ah, but, don't you know? that might cost you your life!"

"What of that, my lord! Life, the life you mean, is not the first
thing."

"Not the first thing! Why, the Bible says, 'All that a man hath will he
give for his life'!"

"That is in the Bible; but whether the Bible says it, is another thing."

"I do not understand silly distinctions."

"Why, my lord, who said that?"

"What does it matter who said it?"

"Much always; everything sometimes."

"Who said it then?"

"The devil."

"The devil he did! And who ought to know better, I should like to ask!"

"Every man ought to know better. And besides, it is not what a man will
or will not do, but what a man ought or ought not to do!"

"Ah, there you have me, I suppose! But there are some things so damned
difficult, that a man must be very sure of his danger before he can
bring himself to do them!"

"That may be, my lord: in the present case, however, you must be aware
that the danger is not to the bodily health alone; these drugs
undermine the moral nature as well!"

"I know it: I cannot be counted guilty of many things; they were done
under the influence of hellish concoctions. It was not I, but these
things working in me--on my brain, making me see things in a false
light! This will be taken into account when I come to be judged--if
there be such a thing as a day of judgment."

"One thing I am sure of," said Donal, "that your lordship will have
fair play. At first, not quite knowing what you were about, you may not
have been much to blame; but afterwards, when you knew that you were
putting yourself in danger of doing you did not know what, you were as
much to blame as if you made a Frankenstein-demon, and turned him loose
on the earth, knowing yourself utterly unable to control him."

"And