had got to her_,--and _she's dead_!"

Dinah held up her hands, and, turning, saw close by her side the
spirit-like form of Evangeline, her large, mystic eyes dilated with
horror, and every drop of blood driven from her lips and cheeks.

"Lor bless us! Miss Eva's gwine to faint away! What go us all, to let
her har such talk? Her pa'll be rail mad."

"I shan't faint, Dinah," said the child, firmly; "and why shouldn't I
hear it? It an't so much for me to hear it, as for poor Prue to suffer
it."

"_Lor sakes_! it isn't for sweet, delicate young ladies, like
you,--these yer stories isn't; it's enough to kill 'em!"

Eva sighed again, and walked up stairs with a slow and melancholy step.

Miss Ophelia anxiously inquired the woman's story. Dinah gave a very
garrulous version of it, to which Tom added the particulars which he had
drawn from her that morning.

"An abominable business,--perfectly horrible!" she exclaimed, as she
entered the room where St. Clare lay reading his paper.

"Pray, what iniquity has turned up now?" said he.

"What now? why, those folks have whipped Prue to death!" said Miss
Ophelia, going on, with great strength of detail, into the story, and
enlarging on its most shocking particulars.

"I thought it would come to that, some time," said St. Clare, going on
with his paper.

"Thought so!--an't you going to _do_ anything about it?" said Miss
Ophelia. "Haven't you got any _selectmen_, or anybody, to interfere and
look after such matters?"

"It's commonly supposed that the _property_ interest is a sufficient
guard in these cases. If people choose to ruin their own possessions, I
don't know what's to be done. It seems the poor creature was a thief and
a drunkard; and so there won't be much hope to get up sympathy for her."

"It is perfectly outrageous,--it is horrid, Augustine! It will certainly
bring down vengeance upon you."

"My dear cousin, I didn't do it, and I can't help it; I would, if I
could. If low-minded, brutal people will act like themselves, what am I
to do? they have absolute control; they are irresponsible despots. There
would be no use in interfering; there is no law that amounts to anything
practically, for such a case. The best we can do is to shut our eyes and
ears, and let it alone. It's the only resource left us."

"How can you shut your eyes and ears? How can you let such things
alone?"

"My dear child, what do you expect? Here is a whole class,--debased,
uneducated,