I have mentioned an
accusation which has rested on me for years. There are circumstances
in connexion with it that tell against me. I cannot bring myself to
acknowledge what the accusation is. And I am incapable, perfectly
incapable, of proving my innocence. I can only assert my innocence. I
assert it, sir, on my oath, as a Christian. It is useless to appeal to
my honour as a man."
He paused again. I looked round at him. He never looked at me in return.
His whole being seemed to be absorbed in the agony of recollecting, and
in the effort to speak.
"There is much that I might say," he went on, "about the merciless
treatment of me by my own family, and the merciless enmity to which
I have fallen a victim. But the harm is done; the wrong is beyond all
remedy. I decline to weary or distress you, sir, if I can help it. At
the outset of my career in this country, the vile slander to which
I have referred struck me down at once and for ever. I resigned my
aspirations in my profession--obscurity was the only hope left for me.
I parted with the woman I loved--how could I condemn her to share my
disgrace? A medical assistant's place offered itself, in a remote
corner of England.
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