Harold himself was deeply sensible of the stain and burthen of his actual guilt, more so, indeed, than he had ever been before, both from the religious influences to which he had submitted himself, and from the sense of that sweet innocence of his Viola’s; but his feeling had come to be that if his Heavenly Father loved and forgave him, so, in a lesser way, Viola forgave him because she loved him.  He did not wonder at nor complain of Lady Diana’s not thinking him worthy of her good and lovely child.  He would be thankful to submit to any probation, five, seven, ten years without any engagement, if he might hope at last.  Even Lord Erymanth, when he saw how his darling’s soul was set on it, thought that thus much might be granted.

But Lady Diana had still another entrenchment which she had concealed, as it were, to the last, not wishing to shock and pain us all, she said.  Though she said she had reason to complain of not having been told from the first that Harold had once been insane, nothing could induce her to sanction her daughter’s marriage with a man whose mind had been disordered; nay, who had done mortal injury in his frenzy.  It was a monstrous idea!

Dermot’s reply to this was, that nobody, then, ought to marry who had had a delirious fever; and he brought Prometesky over to Arked to testify to her how far the attack had been from anything approaching to constitutional insanity.  The terrible fall, of which Harold’s head still bore the mark, the shock, the burning sun, were a combination of causes that only made it wonderful that he should have recovered the ensuing brain fever, and the blow to his rival had been fatal by the mere accident of his strength.  A more ordinary man would have done no serious harm by such a stroke, given when not accountable.  Lady Diana answered stiffly that this might be quite true, but that there had been another cause for the temporary derangement which had not been mentioned, and that it was notorious that Mr. Alison, in consequence, had been forced to avoid all liquors, and she appealed to Dermot as to the effects of a very small quantity on his friend’s brain.

Poor Dermot! it was bitter enough for him to have that orgie at Foling brought forward against his friend.  Nor could any representation appease Lady Diana.

I thought her very cruel and unreasonable then, and I am afraid I believe that if Harold had had ten, or even five thousand a year, these objections would never have been heard of; but after years and experience have cooled my mind, it seems to me that on several grounds she was justified in her reluctance, and that, as Viola was so young, and Harold’s repentance had been comparatively recent, she might fairly have insisted on waiting long enough to see whether he were indeed to be depended upon, or if Viola’s affection were strong enough to endure such risk as there might be.