I have finally
settled the point, and you have nothing further now, nor anything worse,
to dread from him. I have given the villain his _nunc dimittis_ once and
forever, and you will never see him more."
"But I fear, papa," she replied, feebly, "that, as I said before, it is
now too late. I feel that he has killed me. I know not how I will
pass this night. I dread the hours of sleep above all conditions of my
unhappy existence. O, no wonder that the entrance of that man-demon to
our house should be heralded by the storms and hurricanes of heaven, and
that the terrible fury of the elements, as indicative of the Almighty's
anger, should mark his introduction to our family. Then the prodigy
which took place when the bonfires were lighted to welcome his accursed
return--the shower of blood! O, may God support me, and, above all
things, banish him from my dreams! Still, I feel some relief by the
knowledge that he is not to come here again. Yes, I feel that it
relieves me; but, alas! I fear that even the consciousness of that
cannot prevent the awful impression that I think I am near death.
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