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the school had made Philip’s conscience very sensitive; he
absorbed insensibly the feeling about him that the Tempt-
er was ever on the watch to gain his immortal soul; and
though he was not more truthful than most boys he never
told a lie without suffering from remorse. When he thought
over this incident he was very much distressed, and made
up his mind that he must go to Luard and tell him that the
story was an invention. Though he dreaded humiliation
more than anything in the world, he hugged himself for
two or three days at the thought of the agonising joy of hu-
miliating himself to the Glory of God. But he never got any
further. He satisfied his conscience by the more comfortable
method of expressing his repentance only to the Almighty.
But he could not understand why he should have been so
genuinely affected by the story he was making up. The tears
that flowed down his grubby cheeks were real tears. Then
by some accident of association there occurred to him that
scene when Emma had told him of his mother’s death, and,
though he could not speak for crying, he had insisted on
going in to say good-bye to the Misses Watkin so that they
might see his grief and pity him.