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Northcote carried the toil-stained hand to his lips with a reverence that was more profound than any he had ever felt for it before.
"Every man needs to have known one truly good woman," he said, strengthening his grasp of the roughened fingers, "before he can even begin his own education."
It darkened his eyes to see the muscles of the harsh face relax as they yielded to the slight softness of an infrequent emotion.
"Your father was constantly making speeches like these," she said, with that simplicity which was so formidable. "I was never able to understand them."
