122
 

CHAPTER   VIII.

STAFFORD IN RETREAT AND SIR RODERICK IN ACTION.

When Stafford got into the train on his head¬
long flight from Millstead Manor, he had no
settled idea of his destination, and he arrived
in London without having made much progress
towards a resolution. Not knowing what he
wanted, he could not decide where he was most
likely to find it. Did he want to forget or to
think: to repent or to resolve? This is the
alternative that presents itself to a mind
puzzled to know whether its doubt is a con¬
cession to sin or a homage to reason. Stafford
had been bred in a school widely different
from that which treats all questions as open,
and all to be referred to the verdict of the
balance of expediency. Among other lessons,
he had been taught a deep distrust of the
instrument by which he was forced to guide
his actions. But no training had succeeded in
eradicating a strong mind's instinct of self-
confidence, and if up till now he had committed
no rebellion, it was because his reason had been
rather a voluntary and eager helper than a
captive or slave to the tribunal he distinguished