Ididallamancoulddotoreclaimher。Quiteuseless！ShehadneverreallyreturnedtheloveIfeltforher:Ihadnoinfluence；
Icoulddonothing。Mymother，hearingofthislastworsetrouble，resolvedtotrywhatherinfluencecoulddo。Illasshewas，I
foundheronedaydressedtogoout。
“Iamnotlongforthisworld，Francis，“shesaid。“Ishallnotfeeleasyonmydeathbed，unlessIhavedonemybesttothelasttomakeyouhappy。Imeantoputmyownfearsandmyownfeelingsoutofthequestion，andgowithyoutoyourwife，andtrywhatIcandotoreclaimher。Takemehomewithyou，Francis。LetmedoallIcantohelpmyson，beforeitistoolate。“
HowcouldIdisobeyher？Wetooktherailwaytothetown:itwasonlyhalfanhour’sride。Byoneo’clockintheafternoonwereachedmyhouse。Itwasourdinnerhour，andAliciawasinthekitchen。Iwasabletotakemymotherquietlyintotheparlorandthentopreparemywifeforthevisit。Shehaddrunkbutlittleatthatearlyhour；and，luckily，thedevilinherwastamedforthetime。