But does not love of money drive men to acts even
worse than this? I believe they thought that an aged and wealthy
father could be tempted to pay them a rich ransom for his child; and,
perhaps," she added, stealing an enquiring glance through her tears,
at the attentive Middleton, "they counted something on the fresh
affections of a bridegroom."
"They might have extracted the blood from my heart, drop by drop!"
"Yes," resumed his young and timid wife, instantly withdrawing the
stolen look she had hazarded, and hurriedly pursuing the train of the
discourse, as if glad to make him forget the liberty she had just
taken, "I have been told, there are men so base as to perjure
themselves at the altar, in order to command the gold of ignorant and
confiding girls; and if love of money will lead to such baseness, we
may surely expect it will hurry those, who devote themselves to gain,
into acts of lesser fraud."
"It must be so; and now, Inez, though I am here to guard you with my
life, and we are in possession of this rock, our difficulties, perhaps
our dangers, are not ended.
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