His moroseness increased from this hour, until a day or two after his disease broke out in phrensy. His attack had reached its crisis, passed it, and declined into gloom as before. Sophie had successfully guarded him from public exposure. Again as before, a sermon written during the exalted stage of his insanity, had electrified the whole country. It seemed strange, but it was not unprecedented in the annals of insanity, that one who had well nigh lost his reason, should at some periods perceive the points of his subject with microscopic distinctness, and argue them with mathematical closeness and precision. It was less strange, that into this perfect body of logic, his burning imagination should cast a soul of eloquence, fire, and life. His fame was spread all through the neighboring counties, and crowds flocked to hear him preach. Could they at some seasons have seen his heart, or even entered his home! And yet they knew as much, and judged as correctly of him, as many of us know and judge of some around and near us every day. Still he accomplished much good. Sophie felt this, and took heart amid her troubles. Truth, pure _truth_, loses none of its force and point by any mode of conveyance through which it reaches its object. Truth diluted with falsehood, comes weak and faint through any medium. It would be vain to try to give you any fair idea of the winning beauty and gentle grace of the little Rosalia Aguilar, whom but to look upon was to love. She soon became the favorite of the whole house, from its solemn master down to old Cumbo in the kitchen. Hagar loved her at first, and tried to teach her to make and use little bows and arrows, and to coax her off to her forest haunts, or out on the bay; but when, after her repeated efforts, she found the gentle and timorous child still shrank from her offers of entertainment, she left her alone—and afterwards, when she felt that the loving little beauty was winning from her the little hold she had upon the affections of the household, her heart became bitter, and the jealous trait in her character grew and strengthened. More than ever she took to the desolate scenes about her native hall. She made wider excursions upon the bay, and deeper inroads into the forest—in the wild wantonness of her nature she would scale the most difficult rocks, and skim along the very edge of the most fearful precipices, or climb the tallest trees, and letting herself out upon the frailest branches, rock up and down between earth and sky, delighted to tamper with danger; or if the branch beneath her broke, save herself, monkey-like, by an agile spring and catch at the nearest bough. Thus the keen perceptive faculties of the child were only employed in perfecting her animal strength and agility. And Sophie? had Sophie quite abandoned her? No; but occupied with her unhappy and exacting husband, and with her younger and more helpless niece, Sophie seeing Hagar always well, left her very much to herself.