"There is a good deal to go through," said Devilsdust. "It
tries a man."
"You don't mean that?"
"But if you are firm, all's right. Now I must leave you."
"No, no, Dusty," said Mick.
"I must go," said Devilsdust; "and you must rest here till you
are sent for. Now mind--whatever is bid you, obey; and
whatever you see, be quiet. There," and Devilsdust taking a
flask out of his pocket, held it forth to his friend, "give a
good pull, man, I can't leave it you, for though your heart
must be warm, your head must be cool," and so saying he
vanished.
Notwithstanding the animating draught, the heart of Mick
Radley trembled. There are some moments when the nervous
system defies even brandy. Mick was on the eve of a great and
solemn incident, round which for years his imagination had
gathered and brooded. Often in that imagination he had
conceived the scene, and successfully confronted its perils or
its trials. Often had the occasion been the drama of many a
triumphant reverie, but the stern presence of reality had
dispelled all his fancy and all his courage. He recalled the
warning of Julia, who had often dissuaded him from the
impending step; that warning received with so much scorn and
treated with so much levity.
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