with my dying
breath.

"These were the causes of my fatal delay in writing to you.

"At length the time arrived. On the fifth of April, just five months
after our separation. I became the mother of a fine, healthy, beautiful
boy. He brought with him the mother-love that is Heaven's first gift to
the child. I loved my son as I never loved a human being before. I _had_
prayed for death; but as I clasped my first-born to my bosom, I asked
pardon for that sinful prayer, thanked the Lord that I had lived through
my trial, and besought him still to spare my life for my boy's sake. From
that day forth I was able to pray and to give thanks. I resolved that my
first act of recovery should be to go to the church and make my
confession to the good father there, gain my absolution, and then write
and inform you of the birth of your heir, the infant Earl of Arondelle,
for such I knew was even then the baby boy's title! With these fond hopes
I rapidly recovered. "Perfect love casteth out fear." Mother-love had
cast out from my soul all fear of you. I thought that you would feel so
rejoiced at the news of the birth of your son, your heir, and so fine a
boy, that even for his sake you would forgive his mother, supposing that
you should still think you had anything to forgive.

"In the midst of my vain dreaming a thunderbolt fell upon me!

"My boy was six weeks old. I had not yet left the house to carry out any
of my happy resolutions, when my good Madelena entered my room and
brought two large parcels of English papers, such as were sent me monthly
by my London correspondent. She told me that the first parcel had arrived
during my confinement to my bed, and that she had laid it away and
forgotten all about it until this day, when the arrival of the second
parcel had reminded her of it, and now she had brought them both, and
hoped I would excuse her negligence in not having remembered to bring the
first parcel sooner. I readily and even hastily excused her, for I was
anxious to get rid of my good hostess and read my files of papers.

"As any one else would have done under the like circumstances, I opened
the last parcel first, and selected the latest paper to begin with. It
was the London _Times_ of April 7th. As I opened it, a short, marked
paragraph caught my eyes.

"Judge of my consternation when I read the notice of your marriage with
the Lady Augusta McDugald!

"The letters ran together on my vision, the room whirled around