, as the bird in the hand of the snarer ; as 
easily might she have sought to escape from a vice of 
steel that had locked her in its jaws, as seek to wrench 
herself free from the deadly grip of the man whose 
outraged wordnetdesire made him a fiend, whose vain  
made him a madman. 

A sickness of mental wordnetfear came over her ; a mist 
blinded her eyes, shutting out the light of day ; a loud 
noise surged in her ear, and beat about her brain. 
He only saw in the glaring sun-rays the face which 
he had worshipped  the face which had lured him to 
his sin ; he only knew but one brute wordnetdesire to  
and trample out this loveliness, where never more 
could it reproach him  where nevermore could others 
gaze upon, and rejoice in, it. She was dying  dying 
by his hand !  without power to summon all those who 
lay within her call ; without strength to break from 
him to where safety, succour, defence were all close, 
only parted from her by the velvet hangings of 
her door! There, without, lay the sunny peopled 
earth ; here, nigh at hand, was the household which 
obeyed her lightest word : yet, powerless, voiceless, 
imprisoned in his grip, she must die, without a sign, 



THE REAPER