give way to anger. Forbearance, love, entreaty
are the only weapons which I can use against him, if I rightly
understand his weak side.

HANNAH.

But if he should harden himself against them?

MARWOOD.

If he should harden himself against them? Then I shall not be angry. I
shall rave! I feel it, Hannah, and I would rather do so to begin with.

HANNAH.

Calm yourself! He may come at any moment.

MARWOOD.

I only hope he may come; I only hope he has not decided to await me on
his own ground. But do you know, Hannah, on what I chiefly found my
hopes of drawing away the faithless man from this new object of his
love? On our Bella!

HANNAH.

It is true, she is a little idol to him; and there could not have been
a happier idea than that of bringing her with you.

MARWOOD.

Even if his heart should be deaf to an old love, the language of blood
will at least be audible to him. He tore the child from my arms a short
time ago under the pretext of wishing to give her an education such as
she could not have with me. It is only by an artifice that I have been
able to get her again from the lady who had charge of her. He had paid
more than a year in advance, and had given strict orders the very day
before his flight that they should by no means give admission to a
certain Marwood, who would perhaps come and give herself out as mother
of the child. From this order I see the distinction which he draws
between us. He regards Arabella as a precious portion of himself, and
me as an unfortunate creature, of whose charms he has grown weary.

HANNAH.

What ingratitude!

MARWOOD.

Ah, Hannah! Nothing more infallibly draws down ingratitude, than
favours for which no gratitude would be too great. Why have I shown him
these fatal favours? Ought I not to have foreseen that they could not
always retain their value with him; that their value rested on the
difficulty in the way of their enjoyment, and that the latter must
disappear with the charm of our looks which the hand of time
imperceptibly but surely effaces?

HANNAH.

You, Madam, have not anything to fear for a long time from this
dangerous hand! To my mind your beauty is so far from hav