endearing sentiment is the prized object of thy
existence, and its successful termination thy reward. Debarred by nature
and education from the glittering pursuits of ambition; incapable by the
delicacy of thy frame, and the softness of thy nature, of following the
rude pastimes, and participating in the laborious and dangerous
avocations of man, thy whole being is wrapt in the charm of that one
feeling--love! A feeling the most congenial to thy nature--blissful in
the possession, and often but too fatal in its effects. Man seeks thee
as a friend, to treat thee like an enemy. Thou lovest--he triumphs! and
then he spurns thee because thou hast been kind. Base and degrading
contradiction of human nature!--that because man is endowed with greater
powers of attack, than woman has strength to resist, in the unequal
strife, odium and shame should attach to the victim, whilst the betrayer
acquires a false lustre from his unmanly triumph!

But Woman! such is the angelic essence of thy being, that while capable
of feeling with poignancy the shafts of ingratitude and neglect, thou
art still ready to pardon, and ever disposed to forget, when repentance
makes an appeal to thy compassionate and gentle heart.

Such a woman was Theodora!--After having borne the extremity of sorrows,
which seemed to surpass the strength of human forbearance, instigated by
madness and despair, she had grasped the dagger in that soft hand little
adequate for a deed so dark; like the midnight assassin, she had
entered the chamber of her wronger, bent upon the commission of crime.
But the sight of _him_ who was once so dear disarms her--she cannot
accomplish the deed of guilt, and the sudden repentance of her betrayer,
like a potent charm, soon dispels the evil passions to which she was a
prey. Only a few words of comfort had Gomez Arias spoken before the
voice of sorrow was hushed in her heart. Nay, the man who had wounded
her so deeply, was endeared by his very cruelty; for, alas! Theodora
felt she loved him _now_ more tenderly than ever.

She had forgotten the former treachery of her lover, and, incapable of
anticipating the possibility of a renewal, she retired to her chamber to
revel in her happiness, and await the coming of the day in anxious
expectation.

In the meantime, Gomez Arias was pacing his apartment in the utmost
impatience and agitation. Scarcely had Theodora withdrawn and the first
impulse of pity subsided, than the sense of the dange