He tried to persuade himself that he should have the moral courage
to let her as soon as possible understand his new position; he also
tried to believe that this would not involve any serious shock to
Ida. For all that, he knew only too well that man is "_ein
erbarmlicher Schuft_," and there was always the possibility
that he might say nothing of what had happened, and let things take
their course.
On the Monday he was already looking forward to the meeting with
restlessness. Could he have foreseen that anything would occur to
prevent his keeping his promise, it would have caused him extreme
anxiety. But such a possibility never entered his thoughts, and,
shortly before mid-day, he went down to collect his rents as usual.
The effect of a hard winter was seen in the decrease of the
collector's weekly receipts. The misery of cold and starvation was
growing familiar to Waymark's eyes, and scarcely excited the same
feelings as formerly; yet there were some cases in which he had not
the heart to press for the payment of rent, and his representations
to Mr. Woodstock on behalf of the poor creatures were more
frequently successful than in former times. Still, in the absence of
then but eviction, and Waymark more than once knew what ideal
philanthropy, there was nothing for it every now and it was to be
cursed to his face by suffering wretches whom despair made incapable
of discrimination.
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