rval
of silence; I sitting still in my chair, and he standing with his back to
the fire, silently triumphing in my despair.

'And so,' said he at length, 'you thought to disgrace me, did you, by
running away and turning artist, and supporting yourself by the labour of
your hands, forsooth? And you thought to rob me of my son, too, and
bring him up to be a dirty Yankee tradesman, or a low, beggarly painter?'

'Yes, to obviate his becoming such a gentleman as his father.'

'It's well you couldn't keep your own secret--ha, ha! It's well these
women must be blabbing. If they haven't a friend to talk to, they must
whisper their secrets to the fishes, or write them on the sand, or
something; and it's well, too, I wasn't over full to-night, now I think
of it, or I might have snoozed away and never dreamt of looking what my
sweet lady was about; or I might have lacked the sense or the power to
carry my point like a man, as I have done.'

Leaving him to his self-congratulations, I rose to secure my manuscript,
for I now remembered it had been left upon the drawing-room table, and I
determined, if possible, to save myself the humiliation of seeing it in
his hands again. I could not bear the idea of his amusing himself over
my secret thoughts and recollections; though, to be sure, he would find
little good of himself therein indited, except in the former part; and
oh, I would sooner burn it all than he should read what I had written
when I was such a fool as to love him!

'And by-the-by,' cried he, as I was leaving the room, 'you'd better tell
that d--d old sneak of a nurse to keep out of my way for a day or two;
I'd pay her her wages and send her packing to-morrow, but I know she'd do
more mischief out of the house than in it.'

And as I departed, he went on cursing and abusing my faithful friend and
servant with epithets I will not defile this paper with repeating. I
went to her as soon as I had put away my book, and told her how our
project was defeated. She was as much distressed and horrified as I
was--and more so than I was that night, for I was partly stunned by the
blow, and partly excited and supported against it by the bitterness of my
wrath. But in the morning, when I woke without that cheering hope that
had been my secret comfort and support so long, and all this day, when I
have wandered about restless and objectless, shunning my husband,
shrinking even from my child, knowing that I am unfit to be his teac