CHAPTER XIII.
O, my Lord, beware of jealousy! Othello.
To explain the deep effect which the few broken passages of the conversation we have detailed made upon the unfortunate prisoner by whom they were overheard, it is necessary to say something of his previous state of mind, and of the origin of his acquaintance with Edith.
Henry Morton was one of those gifted characters, which possess a force of talent unsuspected by the owner himself.

He had inherited from his father an undaunted courage, and a firm and uncompromising detestation of oppression, whether in politics or religion.

But his enthusiasm was unsullied by fanatic zeal, and unleavened by the sourness of the puritanical spirit.

From these his mind had been freed, partly by the active exertions of his own excellent understanding, partly by frequent and long visits at Major Bellenden's, where he had an opportunity of meeting with many guests whose conversation taught him, that goodness and worth were not limited to those of any single form of religious observance.
The base parsimony of his uncle had thrown many obstacles in the way of his education; but he had so far improved the opportunities which offered themselves, that his instructors as well as his friends were surprised at his progress under such disadvantages.

Still, however, the current of his soul was frozen by a sense of dependence, of poverty, above all, of an imperfect and limited education.