"I rejoice in your loss
of fortune, for it has made us equals."
"Not quite!" cried the young man, throwing her from him, as if stung by
an adder. "Birth, education, the prejudices of society, have placed an
eternal barrier between us. Impoverished though I be, I never can so far
forget myself as to mate with a vulgar peasant!"
"Say that word again--that word of misery!" cried the unhappy girl,
clinging to his arm. "Recall your many promises--the awful oath you
swore on that fatal night, when I first yielded to temptation, when you
solemnly declared, in the name of Almighty God, that the moment you were
your own master, you would make me your wife."
"Mary," said Godfrey, sternly, "do not deceive yourself--I never will
make you my wife!"
"Then God forgive you, and grant me patience to bear my wrongs!"
murmured the poor girl, as she sunk down upon the ground, and buried her
face in the dewy grass; while her heartless seducer continued his
solitary walk to the Lodge.
CHAPTER XIV.
My mind is like a vessel tossed at sea
By winds and waves--her helm and compass lost;
No friendly hand to guide her o'er the waste,
Or point to rocks and shoals that yawn beneath.--S.M.
The day after his uncle's funeral, as Anthony sat alone in the good
rector's study, pondering over his recent loss, painfully alive to his
present condition, and the uncertainty of his future prospects, he was
informed by the servant that a gentleman wished to see him.
Pages:
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247