Page:The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (emended first edition), Volume 2.djvu/202

192 "But she abuses me; and no doubt you helped her."

"No; I told her she over-rated my influence with you, that I would gladly draw you away from the temptations of the town if I could, but had little hope of success, and that I thought she was wrong in supposing that you enticed Mr. Hattersley or any one else into error. I had, myself, held the contrary opinion at one time, but I now believed that you mutually corrupted each other; and, perhaps, if she used a little gentle, but serious remonstrance with her husband, it might be of some service, as though he was more rough hewn than mine, I believed he was of a less impenetrable material."

"And so that is the way you go on—heartening each other up to mutiny, and abusing each other's partners, and throwing out implications against your own, to the mutual gratification of both!"

"According to your own account," said I,