But it was too late now to close it
up; he must follow out the thread that led him on,--the thread of fate,
if you choose to call it so; but rather the impulse of an evil will, a
stubborn self-interest, a desire for certain objects of ambition which
were preferred to what yet were recognized as real goods. Thus reasoned,
thus raved, Eldredge, as he considered the things that he had done, and
still intended to do; nor did these perceptions make the slightest
difference in his plans, nor in the activity with which he set about
their performance. For this purpose he sent for his lawyer, and
consulted him on the feasibility of the design which he had already
communicated to him respecting Middleton. But the man of law shook his
head, and, though deferentially, declined to have any active concern with
the matter that threatened to lead him beyond the bounds which he allowed
himself, into a seductive but perilous region.
"My dear sir," said he, with some earnestness, "you had much better
content yourself with such assistance as I can professionally and
consistently give you. Believe [me], I am willing to do a lawyer's
utmost, and to do more would be as unsafe for the client as for the legal
adviser.
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