ten to the suggestions of prudence
when Eugenia was to be found; and, having once given out that I was a
widow, I resolved to preserve the consistency of my character for my own
sake--for your sake, and for the sake of this blessed child, the only
drop that has sweetened my cup of affliction. Had you by any means
discovered my place of abode, the peace of my uncle's house, and the
prospects of my child, had been for ever blasted.

"Now then, say, Frank, have I, or have I not, acted the part of a Roman
mother? My grand-uncle having declared his intention of making me heir
to his property, for his sake, and yours, and for my child, I have
preserved the strict line of duty, from which God, in his infinite
mercy, grant that I may never depart!

"I first resolved upon not seeing you until I could be more my own
mistress; and when, at the death of my respected relative, I was not
only released from any restraint on account of his feelings, but also
became still more independent in my circumstances, you might be
surprised that I did not immediately impart to you the change of fortune
which would have enabled us to have enjoyed the comfort of unrestricted
communication. But time, reflection, the conversation and society of my
uncle and his select friends, the care of my infant, and the reading of
many excellent books had wrought a great change in my sentiments.
Having once tasted the pleasures of society among virtuous women, I
vowed to Heaven that no future act of mine should ever drive me from it.
The past could not be recalled; but the future was my own.

"I took the sacrament after a long and serious course of reading; and,
having made my vows at the altar, with the help of God, they are
unchangeable. Dramatic works, the pernicious study and poison of my
youthful ardent mind, I have long since discarded; and I had resolved
never to see you again, until after your marriage with Miss Somerville
had been solemnised. Start not! By the simplest and easiest means I
have known all your movements--your dangers, your escapes, your
undaunted acts of bravery and self-devotion for the sake of others.

"`Shall I then,' said I to myself, `blast the prospects of the man I
love--the father of my boy? Shall I, to gratify the poor, pitiful
ambition of becoming the wife of him to whom I once was the mistress,
sacrifice thus the hopes and fortune of himself and family, the reward
of a virtuous maiden?' In all this I hope you will pe