"You must not depend on me to check you; you must keep guard over yourself. I have little moral courage; the want of it is my bane. It is that which has made me an unnatural parent--which has kept me apart from my child during the ten years which have elapsed since my husband's death left me at liberty to claim her. It was that which first unnerved my arms and permitted the infant I might have retained a while longer to be snatched prematurely from their embrace."
"How, mamma?"

"You must not depend on me to stop you; I have little moral courage. The want of it is my bane. It is that which kept me apart from my child during the ten years since my husband's death. It was that which first permitted the infant I might have kept a while longer to be snatched from my embrace."
"How, mamma?"
