"
"And wilt thou lead in the right way? If I give thee thy desire, wilt
thou not forget, when it is already thine?" the marabout asked. "When a
man wears a jewel on his finger, it does not always glitter so brightly
as when he saw and coveted it first."
"Not always. But in each man's life there is one jewel, supreme above
others, to possess which he eats the heart, and which, when it is his,
becomes the star of his life, to be worshipped forever. Once he has seen
the jewel, the man knows that there is nothing more glorious for him
this side heaven; that it is for him the All of joy, though to others,
perhaps, it might not seem as bright. And there is nothing he would not
do to have and to keep it."
The marabout looked intently at Maieddine, searching his mind to the
depths; and the face of each man was lit by an inner flame, which gave
nobility to his expression. Each was passionately sincere in his way,
though the way of one was not the way of the other.
In his love Maieddine was true, according to the light his religion and
the unchanging customs of his race had given him. He intended no wrong
to Victoria, and as he was sure that his love was an honour for her, he
saw no shame in taking her against what she mistakenly believed to be
her wish. Her confession of love for another man had shocked him at
first, but now he had come to feel that it had been but a stroke of
diplomacy on her part, and he valued her more than ever for her
subtlety.
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