“I am mad! I am mad! Two spirits possess me—a mad and a sane one. It is the mad spirit that impels me to say now—while your serpent-treachery folds its cold, damp coils about my heart, and not so much stings as chills me to death—to say now, in the face of all reason—while the same spirit keeps before me—to say, only forgive Elsie! only be reconciled with her, and take all the rest; and I will try to forget that I have been deceived and scorned. At least I will never, never harbor the thought, much less give it expression again. Come, forgive your child! You cannot be forever obdurate to your child! Be reconciled to her, and I will believe that anger and disappointment bereft you of your reason—for a little while—and that it was only during a temporary fit of insanity that you could have done such a thing. And I will honor you again.” “Pooh! fudge! You are not so mad as to believe the words you are saying,” said General Garnet, jerking her up and flinging her upon the sofa. “There, be quiet; I hate raving. And now listen to what I have to say in regard to Elsie: I will never see her, or speak to her, or receive a letter or a message from her, under any circumstances whatever, so long as I live. I will never permit you to see her, or speak to her, or hold any communication, by letter or message, with her, under any circumstances that may occur, so long as you live. I will never give her an acre of land, or a cent of money, or an article of food, or raiment, or fuel, to save her from starvation or freezing!” Alice, exhausted, prostrate, gazed at him in horror, as with a darkened and ferocious countenance, and a voice of concentrated hatred, so deep as to be nearly inaudible, he continued: “If she were to dare to set foot upon this plantation I would loosen my bloodhounds upon her!” “Fiend—you are the only bloodhound that would hurt her. Turn them loose on her, then—do it! They would crouch at her feet! They would lick her hands—her beautiful hands—that have fed and caressed them all. Or get strange dogs to hunt her with, and even they would grovel before the angel in her eyes. Oh, fool!—you are the only brute on God’s creation that would harm her,” said Alice, in a low, deep tone. General Garnet continued, as if he had not heard her: “If she were lying, dying, at my gate I would not suffer one of my negroes to hand her a drink of water, if that drink of water would save her from death!” “Demon—there is not a man, woman, or child on this plantation that you could hinder, with all your malice and power, from rendering Elsie any service she might require—unless you imprisoned them, or tied them hand and foot!” said Alice, in a dying voice. Still he continued, without attending to her indignant but faint interruptions. And his face became still more dark and demoniac.