168 



I learned that Nanina had gone to confide her 

 griefs to her mother; and as she did not return, I 

 became so incensed at her for leaving me, as 

 well as at her family for encouraging her to stay 

 away, and I spoke of them with so much bitter- 

 ness to the overseer, that he lost no opportunity 

 of treating them with rigour. No attention, how- 

 ever, was paid to rny positive orders for her 

 return : she was not with her family ; to all in- 

 quiries about her, they preserved a stubborn 

 silence ; and it was notorious that the unjust 

 harshness of the overseer to them all was the 

 effect of my resentment. Several weeks elapsed 

 without any tidings of her, and irritated by what 

 I considered her obstinacy, I determined to com- 

 municate the whole affair to Mr. P., in order that 

 he might enforce obedience to my commands. 

 I did so, and never shall I forget the horror and 

 astonishment he expressed at my conduct. At 

 first I was vexed and mortified by what he said 

 but when he calmly retraced to me all the cir- 

 cumstances of the case, contrasting my professed 

 sensibility with my real inhumanity, and dwell- 

 ing not only on the capricious extremes of my 

 affection and hatred for Nanina, but on the accu- 

 mulated cruelty of suspecting her without cause, 

 of punishing her without proof, and of revenging 

 my quarrel with her on the whole family, I sunk 

 into his arms, I saw and acknowledged all my 

 odious errors, and would have done anything to 



