“I approached and stooped to look at his face.
“Heaven of heavens!
“Think—think what I must have felt on recognizing my own child!
“Surprise, delight, wonder, terror—all shook me in turns as I gazed.
“‘Eh, ma’am! I don’t wonder it gives you a turn! It did me, I tell you!’ the good woman whispered, as she stood beside me.
“In a tumult of emotion I withdrew from the room. I was afraid the child might open his eyes and see me, and I knew as surely as I had recognized him would the little one remember me, and call me by my name as soon as he should set eyes upon me.
“I was afraid to stay any longer, or to ask any more questions, lest I should in some manner betray myself. I took leave of Miss Bayard, and left the house.
“The rescued child was the talk of the county for the whole season. Every one wondered and speculated as to the boy’s birth and social position, but no one could decide upon it, for there was no mark on the nightdress in which the little one had been found.
“In a few days I heard that you, my beloved and honored husband—you, of all men—had taken upon yourself the cost of the child’s maintenance and education; that you had engaged to pay Miss Bayard a liberal quarterly allowance for her care of the boy, and to send him to school, as soon as he should be old enough to go.
“Then, when I heard this, my better angel urged me to confide in you—to confess the truth and throw myself upon your mercy—the mercy of the truest, noblest, tenderest heart that ever beat!