ture. He would have the wretched lady
become his menial--he would have her perform for him the drudgery of a
servant. He ordered her to bring him wine, and wait upon him; and
enforced the command with a blow, which left a red mark upon her
beautiful white shoulder.

'Henceforward,' cried he, with an oath, 'I am your master, and you are
my slave. Hesitate to obey me in any thing which I may desire you to do,
and I will denounce you to Mr. Hedge as a vile adulteress and impostor,
unworthy to become his wife, even if you had no husband living. Dare to
refuse my slightest wish, and I will prevent your marriage under pain of
being sent to the State Prison for the crime of bigamy.'

By these and other threats did the ruffian compel the unhappy Julia to
obey him. She brought him wine and waited upon him; and was obliged to
submit to every species of insult and degradation. Nor was this the only
refinement of cruelty which only his own infernal ingenuity could have
devised; he resolved that Nero, the black, should be a witness of her
humiliation; and accordingly he rang the bell, and ordered the negro to
be sent up. Nero entered the room, and observing the triumphant chuckle
of the Dead Man, and the dejected look of his mistress, with his natural
acuteness instantly comprehended the true state of affairs. The contempt
with which Julia had treated him was still fresh in his memory, and led
him to view that lady with hatred; he therefore determined to add to her
chagrin and hatred on the present occasion, by enjoying the scene as
much as possible.

'Sit down, Nero,' said the Dead Man, with a sardonic grin--'this
beautiful lady, who formerly showered her favors upon you, has
transferred her kindness to me; I have just tasted the joys of heaven in
her arms. Is she not a superb creature?'

'Divinely voluptuous,' replied the African, rubbing his hands and
showing his white teeth.

'She is so,' said the other--'but the virtue of obedience is her most
prominent and excellent quality. Mark how she will obey me in what I
order her to do: Julia, love, my shoes are muddy; take them off my feet,
and clean them.'

The high-born lady was about to give utterance to an indignant refusal,
when a terrible glance from her tyrant assured her that resistance would
be useless. His savage brutality--the blow he had given her--her forced
submission to his loathsome embraces--and the consciousness that she was
completely in his power, compelled h