What did he
mean by a "traceable" connection? Gordon never used words idly, and he
meant to make of this point an intelligible distinction. It was this
sense of his usual accuracy of expression that assisted Bernard in
fitting a meaning to his late companion's letter. He intended to
intimate that he had come back to Baden with his mind made up to
relinquish his suit, and that he had questioned Bernard simply from
moral curiosity--for the sake of intellectual satisfaction. Nothing was
altered by the fact that Bernard had told him a sorry tale; it had not
modified his behavior--that effect would have been traceable. It
had simply affected his imagination, which was a consequence of the
imponderable sort. This view of the case was supported by Gordon's
mention of his good spirits. A man always had good spirits when he had
acted in harmony with a conviction. Of course, after renouncing the
attempt to make himself acceptable to Miss Vivian, the only possible
thing for Gordon had been to leave Baden. Bernard, continuing to
meditate, at last convinced himself that there had been no explicit
rupture, that Gordon's last visit had simply been a visit of farewell,
that its character had sufficiently signified his withdrawal, and that
he had now gone away because, after giving the girl up, he wished
very naturally not to meet her again.
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