Page:Georgie by Dorothea Deakin, 1906.djvu/248

"Georgie" pulled down by the remembrance of the thousands of good intentions I'd never carried out and been paving the way with; only held up by a few longings for something better."

"You're getting quite eloquent!" Anne murmured admiringly. "You've developed that gift of metaphor since you were engaged to me. Were there any broken promises in that muddy water, Georgie?"

But Georgie had worked himself up.

"Diana is an angel from Paradise compared with all the other girls I've—"

"Been engaged to?" she asked softly. "Of course. But even to angels there are some drawbacks. When Diana came along and picked you out of that muddy water full of broken promises and things, did she shake all the mud off your clothes before she led you into paths of light ? Because if there is one little speck left, you must hide it from her. It isn't likely, of course, but still you never know. Diana wouldn't understand that that kind of 232