d you, and if there was, I would
not resort to it. You are as dear to me as ever, and my thoughts shall
always be devoted to you. It would be a great sacrifice for me to give
you up to another, but if it be your desire, as great as the sacrifice
is, I will make it. Send me and your child into a Free State if we are
in your way."

Again and again Linwood assured her that no woman possessed his love
but her. Oh, what falsehood and deceit man can put on when dealing with
woman's love!

The unabated storm kept Henry from returning home until after the
clock had struck two, and as he drew near his residence he saw his wife
standing at the window. Giving his horse in charge of the servant who
was waiting, he entered the house, and found his wife in tears. Although
he had never satisfied Gertrude as to who the quadroon woman and child
were, he had kept her comparatively easy by his close attention to
her, and by telling her that she was mistaken in regard to the child's
calling him "papa." His absence that night, however, without any
apparent cause, had again aroused the jealousy of Gertrude; but Henry
told her that he had been caught in the rain while out, which prevented
his sooner returning, and she, anxious to believe him, received the
story as satisfactory.

Somewhat heated with brandy, and wearied with much loss of sleep,
Linwood fell into a sound slumber as soon as he retired. Not so with
Gertrude. That faithfulness which has ever distinguished her sex, and
the anxiety with which she watched all his movements, kept the wife
awake while the husband slept. His sleep, though apparently sound, was
nevertheless uneasy. Again and again she heard him pronounce the name
of Isabella, and more than once she heard him say, "I am not married;
I will never marry while you live." Then he would speak the name of
Clotelle and say, "My dear child, how I love you!"

After a sleepless night, Gertrude arose from her couch, resolved that
she would reveal the whole matter to her mother. Mrs. Miller was a woman
of little or no feeling, proud, peevish, and passionate, thus making
everybody miserable that came near her; and when she disliked any
one, her hatred knew no bounds. This Gertrude knew; and had she not
considered it her duty, she would have kept the secret locked in her own
heart.

During the day, Mrs. Linwood visited her mother and told her all that
had happened. The mother scolded the daughter for not having informed
her soon