"Is it a light thing for Nicholas Jelnik to say to the
woman he loves, 'I cannot marry you: I am a beggar'? Is it such a
small sacrifice to give you up, Sophy?"
"It would appear so."
"You crucify me!" he said, in a choking voice. "Good God, don't you
understand that I love you?"
"I don't understand anything, except that you are going away from
me. And I have waited for you all my life," I said.
"And I for you! and I for you!" he said passionately. "Don't make it
too hard for me, Sophy!"
"If you go away from me," I gasped, "I think I shall die.
Nicholas--I can't bear it! It was easier for me when I thought you
loved somebody else. But now that I know you love _me_" and I
paused.
He took a step forward, but stopped. His arms fell to his sides.
"Not as a beggar!" he said. "Not as a beggar! Never that, for
Nicholas Jelnik! I love you too much for that, Sophy. I love you not
only for yourself, but for my own best self, too, my dearest."
For a moment he stood there, regarding me fixedly. It was a long
look, of suffering, of love, of pride, of unyielding resolve. Then
he lifted my hand to his lips, bowed, and left me.
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