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She hastily put the papers from her; but the words, which had

roused equally her curiosity and terror, she could not dishts So powerfully had they affected her, that she even could not

resolve to destroy the papers immediately; and the more she dwelt on the

circued by the most

forcible, and apparently thethe terrible and mysterious subject, to which she

had seen an allusion, she began to lament her promise to destroy the

papers For a moment, she even doubted, whether it could justly be

obeyed, in contradiction to such reasons as there appeared to be for

further inforiven a solemn promise,' said she, 'to observe a soleue, but to obey Let me

hasten to remove the temptation, that would destroy my innocence, and

euilt, while I

have strength to reject it'

Thus re-animated with a sense of her duty, she cority over temptation, ned the papers to the flames Her eyes watched them as

they slowly consumed, she shuddered at the recollection of the sentence

she had just seen, and at the certainty, that the only opportunity of

explaining it was then passing away for ever