His first idea had been flight, and being unable to drag the ring from
Edmund's hand, which was swollen, he had cut it off, and thrown the body
into the ditch. On hearing of the finding of the body, and of poor
George's position, he determined to brave it out, with what almost fatal
success we have seen. He dared not then sell the ring, and so buried it
in his barn. Two things respecting his end were singular: First, at the
last he sent for Dr. Penn, imploring him to stay with him till he died.
That good man, as ever, obeyed the call of duty and kindness, but he was
not fated to see the execution of my brother's murderer. The night
before, Thomas Parker died in prison; not by his own hand, Nelly. A fit
of apoplexy, the result of intense mental excitement, forestalled the
vengeance of the law.
Need I tell you, dear friend, who know it so well, that I am happy?
Not, my love, that such tragedies can be forgotten--these deep wounds
leave a scar. This one brought my husband's first white hairs, and took
away my girlhood for ever. But if the first blush of careless gaiety has
gone from life, if we are a little "old before our time," it may be that
this state of things has its advantages.
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