ers, Lucy. I will probably do more; and if
I find that they have played me foul by imposing upon me--" He paused
abruptly, and seemed embarrassed, the truth being that he knew and felt
how completely he was in their power.

"Now, papa," said Lucy, "after having heard my opinion of this young
man--after the wanton outrage upon all female delicacy and virtue of
which he has been guilty, I trust you will not in future attempt to
obtrude him upon me. I will not see him, speak to him, nor acknowledge
him; and such, let what may happen, is my final determination."

"So far, Lucy, I will accede to your wishes. I shall take care that he
troubles you with no more wicked exhortations."

"Thank you, dear papa; this is kind, and I feel it so."

"Now," said her father, after she had withdrawn, "how am I to act? It is
not impossible but there may be much truth in what she says. I remember,
however, the death of the only son that could possibly be imposed on me
in the sense alluded to her. He surely does not live; or if he does,
the far-sighted sagacity which made the account of his death a fraud
upon my credulity, for such selfish and treacherous purposes, is worthy
of being concocted in the deepest pit of hell. Yet that some one of them
has betrayed me, is evident from the charges brought against me by this
stranger to whom Lucy is so devotedly attached, and which charges Thomas
Corbet could not clear up. If one of these base but dexterous villains,
or if the whole gang were to outwit me, positively I could almost blow
my very brains out, for allowing myself, after all, to become their
dupe and plaything. I will think of it, however. And again, there is the
likeness; there does seem to be a difficulty in that; for, beyond all
doubt, my legitimate child, up until his disappearance, did not bear in
his countenance a single feature of mine but bore a strong resemblance
to his mother; whereas this Tom is my born image! Yet I like him. He has
all my points; knows the world, and despises it as much as I do. He did
not know Lucy, however, or he would have kept his worldly opinions to
himself. It is true he said very little but what we see about us as the
regulating principles of life every day; but Lucy, on the other hand, is
no every-day girl, and will not receive such doctrines, and I am glad
of it They may do very well in a son; but somehow one shudders at
the contemplation of their existence in the heart and principles of a
daughter