380 Esther Wharncliff ; [Oct. 



speak from my heart ; for a man had need be somewhat fearful, when 

 the gallows-cord is swingmg above his head ! — Have you any gold ?" he 

 added, in a stern voice. 



" ]\Ierciful heaven !" exclaimed his agonized wife, " what has befallen 

 you ? Your looks are wild and haggard. You tremble, Walter !" 



" Have you any gold V repeated her husband, impatiently. 



" Oh, Wharncliff/' continued the wretched woman, sinking at his feet, 

 " will you not trust in me } Dangers, tremendous dangers, I fear, hang 

 over thee, but if your friends have betrayed you, I never did; if fortune 

 has deserted you, I at least have been true ; and though we have been 

 long estranged, would as willingly resign my life to rescue you from 

 peril, as in the earliest days of our love." 



" Is the woman deaf, or mad }" returned Wharncliff, tearing his cloak 

 from Esther's grasp. " Again I say, give me what gold you have, and 

 hold thy peace." 



" Alas, Walter," she replied, wildly and eagerly, " I have none. I 

 have not a farthing in the wide world to buy a morning meal for my 

 child." 



" The devil !" muttered her husband sternly between his teeth, and 

 turning away, he walked twice or thi'ice aci'oss the chamber, with hur- 

 ried strides. At length, stopping before Esther, who stood fearfully 

 watching his motions, he added, " but you have trinkets?" 



" Alas, tliey were all sold long ago," replied the wretched woman. 



" Some poor remains of plate.''" 



" Not an atom." 



" Fool that I was, to encumber myself with a beggar and her brat !" 

 he exclaimed, even fiercer than before : Esther replied only by her tears. 

 " But you have books — clothes V he continued. 



" Nothing but my mother's bible," answered his trembling wife, 

 " and tliat— " 



" Give it to me instantly," he impatiently exclamied ; " the book is 

 embossed with silver, and will sell for a broad piece or two." 



" Oh, rob me not of that, my last consolation," said she, wildly ; " it 

 was her dying gift, and is the only token I have left of her." 



" Keep it then, minion," replied Wharncliff; " and when you see your 

 husband borne to the gallows, as the consequence of your folly, seek that 

 comfort in its pages your own conscience will fail to afford." 



" Oh, Walter," returned his wife eagerly, " you wrong me cruelly ! 

 Whatever be your apprehensions, whatever be your crime, am I not 

 worthy of your trust .'' Take it, take even this precious book ; take all 

 I have on earth, all but my child ; and if these can save you from danger, 

 I am content to perish ! But do not leave me thus ; part not from me 

 in anger ! Rather would I go with you to the furthest corner of the 

 earth, and share disgrace by your side, than be left here to die in 

 ignorance." 



" Noble-minded creature !" exclaimed her husband, moved at length 

 by her generous devotion. " Heap curses on my head, for I have 

 deserved thy wrath, but torture me not by words like these." 



The agitation of the agonized criminal was, for awhile, too deep for 

 utterance. He pressed his hand on his brow, and stood silent and 

 motionless. It seemed as if the long-obstructed tide of feeling burst 

 wildly on his soul. The remembrances of his youth, of times of inno- 

 cence and tranquillity, rushed with stupifying effect round him, and even 

 his selfish breast experienced for a moment the horrors of repentance. 



