"Every thing."

"I do not understand. You have no interest in me. You could have no
inducement."

"On the contrary, I had the strongest inducement: I saw that an
opportunity might come of serving you."

"But that is just the unintelligible thing to me. There is no reason why
you should wish to serve me!" said Juliet, thinking to get at the bottom
of some design.

"There you mistake, ma'am. I am under the most absolute and imperative
obligation to serve you--the greatest under which any being can find
himself."

"What a ridiculous, crooked little monster!" said Juliet to herself. But
she began the same moment to think whether she might not turn the
creature's devotion to good account. She might at all events insure his
silence.

"Would you be kind enough to explain yourself?" she said, now also
interested in the continuance of the conversation.

"I would at once," replied Polwarth, "had I sufficient ground for hoping
you would understand my explanation."

"I do not know that I am particularly stupid," she returned, with a wan
smile.

"I have heard to the contrary," said Polwarth. "Yet I can not help
greatly doubting whether you will understand what I am now going to tell
you. For I will tell you--on the chance: I have no secrets--that is, of
my own.--I am one of those, Mrs. Faber," he went on after a moment's
pause, but his voice neither became more solemn in tone, nor did he
cease his digging, although it got slower, "who, against the
_non-evidence_ of their senses, believe there is a Master of men, the
one Master, a right perfect Man, who demands of them, and lets them know
in themselves the rectitude of the demand that they also shall be right
and true men, that is, true brothers to their brothers and sisters of
mankind. It is recorded too, and I believe it, that this Master said
that any service rendered to one of His people was rendered to Himself.
Therefore, for love of His will, even if I had no sympathy with you,
Mrs. Faber, I should feel bound to help you. As you can not believe me
interested in yourself, I must tell you that to betray your secret for
the satisfaction of a love of gossip, would be to sin against my highest
joy, against my own hope, against the heart of God, from which your
being and mine draws the life of its every moment."

Juliet's heart seemed to turn sick at the thought of such a creature
claiming brotherhood with her. That it gave ground for such a claim,
seemed for the moment