"It is the voice of the husband and father away beyond, the wild seas-- there on the other side of the wide world, speaking to the wife and child he loves, and its essence is, `I am weary of waiting--wife-- child--I bid you come.'" As she spoke, Bayle felt his legs tremble, and he involuntarily caught at a chair, tilting it forward and resting upon its back till, as she said the last words, he spasmodically snatched his hands from the chair, which fell with a heavy crash into the grate. It was not noticed by any there, only by Thisbe, who ran to the door in alarm, as Bayle was speaking excitedly. "No, no. It is impossible. You could not go!" "My husband tells me," continued Mrs Hallam, gazing now at Sir Gordon, who seemed to shrink and grow older of aspect than before--"that after such a long probation as his the Government have some compassion towards the poor exiles in their charge; that they extend certain privileges to them, and ameliorate their sufferings; that his wife and child would be allowed to see him, and that under certain restrictions he would be free so long as he did not attempt to leave the colony." "It is too horrible!" groaned Sir Gordon to himself, as in imagination he saw the horrors of the penal settlement, and this gently-nurtured woman and her child landed there. "I say it is impossible," said Bayle again; and there were firmness and anger combined in his tones. "Mrs Hallam, you must not think of it." "Not think of it?" she said sternly. "For your own sake: no." "You say this to me, Christie Bayle?" "Yes, to you; and if I must bring forward a stronger argument--for your child's sake you must not go." A look that was half joy, half grief, flashed from Julia's eyes; and Mrs Hallam looked to her, and took her hand firmly in her own. "Will you tell me why, Mr Bayle?" she said sternly. "I could not. I dare not," he said firmly. "Believe me, though, when I tell you this. As your friend--as Julia's protector, almost foster-father--knowing what I do, I have mastered everything possible, from the Government minutes and despatches, respecting the penal settlement out there. It is no place for two tender women. Mrs Hallam, it is impossible for you to go." "Again I ask you why?" said Mrs Hallam sternly. "I cannot--I dare not paint to you what you would have to go through," said Bayle almost fiercely. "Mrs Hallam," said Sir Gordon, coming to his aid; "what he says is right. Believe me too. You cannot: you must not go." There was a pause for a few moments, and then Mrs Hallam drew her child more closely to her side. "You dare not paint the horrors that await us there, Christie Bayle," she then said in a softened tone. "There is no need. The recital would fall on barren ground. The horrors suffered by the husband and father, his wife and child will gladly dare." "You cannot. You shall not. For God's sake pause!"