CH. X.]
WRONGS OF WOMAN.
23
CHAP. X.
"MY father's situation was now so distressing, that I prevailed on my uncle to accompany me to visit him; and to lend me his assistance, to prevent the whole property of the family from becoming the prey of my brother's rapacity; for, to extricate himself out of present difficulties, my father was totally regardless of futurity. I took down with me some presents for my step-mother; it did not require an effort for me to treat her with civility, or to forget the past.
"This was the first time I had visited my native village, since my marriage. But with what different emotions did I return from the busy world, with a
heavy
