“Of — of course. That goes without saying. We all do, we men, but we — damn it all! Do you suppose I’ve lived all these years and not seen? Why — we think of ourselves first every time. D — don’t we, though? Rather!”

“But selfish as we are, we can love — a man can, if he sets himself to it honestly, — love a woman and make her happy, even without the appreciation of others, in spite of environment, — everything. It’s the destiny of women to love us, thank God. She would have been doomed surely to die if she had married the one who wanted her first — or to live a life for her worse than death.”

“Oh, Lord bless you, boy, yes. It’s a woman’s destiny. I’m an old fool. There — there’s