I thought that
with a little care life might become at least bearable with his wife;
that by treating her not so much as if she were criminal, but as if
she were diseased, hatred might pass into pity, and pity into
merciful tenderness to her, and that they might dwell together upon
terms not harder than those upon which many persons who have made
mistakes in youth agree to remain with each other; terms which, after
much consideration, they adjudge it better to accept than to break
loose, and bring upon themselves and those connected with them all
that open rupture involves. The difficulty was to get Cardinal to
give up his theory of what two abstract human beings should do
between whom no love exists. It seemed to him something like atheism
to forsake his clearly-discerned, simple rule for a course which was
dictated by no easily-grasped higher law, and it was very difficult
to persuade him that there is anything of equal authority in a law
less rigid in its outline. However, he went home. I called on him
some time afterwards, and saw that a peace, or at any rate a truce,
was proclaimed, which lasted up to the day of his death. M'Kay and I
agreed to make as much of Mrs. Cardinal as we could, and yielding to
urgent invitation, she came to the room.
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