Cloudy had not failed to push his suit with all his might.
But Jacquelina still hesitated--she did not know, she said, but she
thought she had no right to be happy, as other people had, she had
caused so much trouble in the world, she reckoned she had better go back
to her convent.
"And because you unintentionally occasioned some sorrow, now happily
over, to some people, you would atone for the fault by adding one more
to the list of victims, and making me miserable. Bad logic, Lina, and
worse religion."
Jacquelina did not know--she could not decide--after so many grave
errors, she was afraid to trust herself. The matter was then
referred--of all men in the world--to the commodore, who graciously
replied, that they might go to the demon for him. But as Cloudy and Lina
had no especial business with his Satanic Majesty they declined to avail
themselves of the permission, and consulted Mrs. Waugh, whose deep,
mellow laugh preceded her answer, when she said:
"Take heart, Lapwing! take heart, and all the happiness you can possibly
get! I have lived a long time, and seen a great many people, good and
bad, and though I have sometimes met people who were not so happy as
they merited--yet I never have seen any one happier than they deserved
to be! and that they cannot be so, seems to be a law of nature that
ought to reconcile us very much to the apparent flourishing of the
wicked.
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