And while they looked into
each other's eyes, neither suspected for a moment the existence of a
secret chamber in the other's soul. All appeared plain and simple on the
surface, and Judy, as well as Abel, was honestly of the opinion that she
understood perfectly the situation and that the passionate refusal of
her heart was the only element that threatened the conventional security
of appearances.
She was in the morbid condition of mind when the capacity for feeling
seems concentrated on a single centre of pain. Her soul revolved in a
circle, and outside of its narrow orbit there was only the arid flatness
which surrounds any moment of vivid experience. The velvet slippers,
which might have been worn by the young clergyman, possessed a vital
and romantic interest in her thoughts, but the mill and the machinery
of which Abel was speaking showed to her merely as sordid and mechanical
details of existence.
Looking at her suddenly, he realized that she had heard nothing of what
he was saying. If he had looked deeper still he would have seen the
tragedy of her lovely little soul spinning the web of its perishing
illusion.
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