The fault's in me--damned snob that I am!" Clearly, if he was to be what he wished, if he was to become what he had thought he was, he must get away from this sinister influence, from this temptation that had made him, at first onset, not merely stumble, but fall flat and begin to grovel.

"She is a superior woman--that is no snob notion of mine," reflected he.

"But from the way I falter and get weak in the knees, she ought to be superhuman--which she isn't, by any means.
No, there's only one thing to do--keep away from her.

Besides, I'd feel miserable with her about as my wife." My wife! The very words threw him into a cold sweat.
So the note was written, was feverishly dispatched.
No sooner was it sent than it was repented.

"What's the matter with me ?" demanded he of himself, as his courage came swaggering back, once the danger had been banished.