"For mercy's sake, dear father, let us have no violent scenes!"
"Fear not, my child, I shall oppose, not violence, but firmness to his tyranny and oppression; besides, I have both justice and reason on my side, and I stand up to defend the cause of my child: you see, Bertha, how quiet and composed I am! But, in the first place, we must quit this roof; fortunately I have lived so frugally upon what you made me accept, that I have managed to lay by a trifling sum, and that, added to the small amount the sale of my poor furniture will bring, will suffice to obtain my admission into Sainte Perine."
"Oh, dearest father! never, never."
"Bertha, my child, you know my opinion respecting those asylums, so fitly provided for and offered to honest poverty; and, besides, do you think, that under present circumstances I can accept the most trifling assistance from your husband?"
"Certainly not! Oh, not for worlds, after all those cruel and degrading reproaches!"
"Well, then, what must I do? how contrive to live?"
"Listen, father. Since the painful scene which occurred here some days since, when my husband presumed to taunt you with the aid he rendered you, I have reflected much and deeply on your situation, and I think I have found a good way to improve it, if you will only assist me."
"Speak, speak!"
"Alas! I am unfortunately as poor as yourself, but, thank God, I still possess the talent I received from you, and which formerly helped to support us; since my marriage it has been my only solace amid the many sorrows by which I have been surrounded, and now in this our day of trouble it will and shall be our resource."
"My beloved Bertha, what do you mean?"