He knew he had merited curses and hate, and he
met with affection and tenderness; his heart yearned--a sensation of
admiration for her virtues and constancy came over him, and, ere it had
possessed him entirely, it humbled his proud spirit--it undeceived his
false expectations. "My God, I have not deserved this!" burst from his
swelling heart. A tear, such as he had not shed since he left the paths of
innocence, stole down his cheek. Fervently, truly, affectionately, he
blessed his wife and child."
"They are gone. Was it a vision that had visited his waking dreams? The
spell is dissolved; he is still on earth, and earthly thoughts and worldly
crimes return and weigh down his soul."
"The fetters of vice are not broken in a moment; they may yield sometimes
like wax, but they close again, and the link is adamant. His foster-mother
came to say her last farewell. He shuddered as she entered. He felt the
presence of his evil genius, and wished she had spared him this. This, too,
was transient; her influence, though disarranged by the vision of the last
few moments, was not broken. He was again enslaved.
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