"By ——! I wish I had buried my knife in her heart, as she lay on the dissecting table before me!" he cried, his voice hoarse with emotion. "Look at me! When first I met that woman I was studious, ambitious; the thought of my mother and two sisters, who depended upon my efforts, stirred me into superhuman exertion. Well!—It is not quite a century since I met that woman, and look at me now—a gambler—a drunkard; yes," he struck the table with his fist—"Arthur Conroy is come to that! My mother dead, of a broken heart, and my sisters, well!—my sisters—"
As he tried to choke down his emotion, his features worked as with a spasm.
"Well! never mind!—and the accursed woman, whom I brought to your house, in order to kill the fruits of her passion,—she is the cause of all,—"
The light which left the greater part of the room in shadow, fell strongly over the florid face of the Madam, manifesting vague astonishment; and the flushed visage of Conroy, working with violent emotions.
"Yes," he said, as though thinking aloud, while his eyes shone with the brilliancy of a lighted coal,—"she was to make my fortune; she was to aid me, as I ascended that difficult path, which ambition treads in pursuit of fame. How smooth her words! I called her back from the dead,—she recovered from her relative a large portion of her property, sacrificing the rest, on condition that he concealed the fact of her existence from the world,—and I loved her, became the habitant of her mansion, the companion of her voluptuous hours. The she-devil! look to what she has brought me!"
"I wonder if he wants to borrow money?" said the Madam, in a sort of stage-whisper.
"No he does not," returned Conroy, with a scowl,—"He wants to do you a service, good lady. This morning about daybreak, as I was returning from the Club-Room, I came across a poor devil in the streets, who had been shockingly abused by ruffians,—"
"Ah!" and the Madam sank back in her chair.
"I could not let him die there, so I dragged him to the house of a clergyman, hard by, and laid him on the sofa. Then, assisted by the wife of the clergyman, a good sort of woman,—I dressed the wounds of the poor devil, and brought him to."
"The name of the clergyman?" asked the Madam, biting her lips.