It was a comfort, even though he had earned that money by "ushering" for the last two years.
When he left Julia Brabazon in the garden, Harry Clavering did not go at once home to the rectory, but sauntered out all alone into the park, intending to indulge in reminiscences of his past romance.

It was all over, that idea of having Julia Brabazon for his love; and now he had to ask himself whether he intended to be made permanently miserable by her wordly falseness, or whether he would borrow something of her wordly wisdom, and agree with himself to look back on what was past as a pleasurable excitement in his boyhood.

Of course we all know that really permanent misery was in truth out of the question.

Nature had not made him physically or mentally so poor a creature as to be incapable of a cure.

But on this occasion he decided on permanent misery.