imminent danger on board the boat had left upon
the mind of Gertrude. During the three days that succeeded the accident
the words, "My child! my own darling!" had been continually ringing in
her ears, and haunting her imagination. Now the blissful idea would
flash upon her, that the noble, disinterested stranger, who had risked
his life in her own and Emily's cause, might indeed be her father; and
every fibre of her being had thrilled at the thought, while her head
grew dizzy and confused with the strong  of  that almost
overwhelmed her brain.

Her first inquiries, on recovering consciousness, had been for the
preserver of Emily and Isabel, but he had disappeared; no trace of him
could be obtained, and Mr. Graham arriving and hurrying them from the
neighbourhood, she had been compelled to  the  of seeing him
again. The same motives which induced her not to consult Emily
concerning the mysterious epistle had hitherto prevented her from
imparting the secret of Mr. Phillips' inexplicable language and manner;
but she had dwelt upon them none the less.

The first perusal of the letter served only to excite and wordnetfear her. But
as she sat for an hour gazing upon the page, which she read and re-read
until it was blistered with the varying expression of