He had seen her, and had had every possible advantage on his side.

What could any man desire better than the privilege of walking home with the girl he loved through country lanes of a summer evening?
They had been an hour together,--or might have been, had he chosen to prolong the interview.

But the words which had been spoken between them had had not the slightest interest,--unless it were that they had tended to make the interval between him and her wider than ever.

He had asked her,--he thought that he had asked,--whether it would grieve her to abandon that delicate, dainty mode of life to which she had been accustomed; and she had replied, that she would never abandon it of her own accord.

Of course she had intended him to take her at her word.
He blew forth quick clouds of heavy smoke, as he attempted to make himself believe that this was all for the best.