referred to her husband. But, the feeling was in her heart; and it
inspired her with a new purpose. Her thought, turned from herself,
and fixed, with a yearning love upon her children, gave to the blood
a quicker motion through the veins, and to her mind a new activity.
She could no longer remain passive, as she had been for hours,
brooding over her own unhappy state, but arose and left her chamber.
In another room she found her unhappy child, who had gone off to
brood alone over her disappointment, and to weep where none could
see her.

"Madeline, dear!" said the mother, in a loving, sympathetic voice.

Instantly the child flung herself into her arms, and laid her face,
sobbing, upon her bosom.

Gently, yet wisely--for there came, in that moment, to Mrs. Leslie,
a clear perception of all her duty--did the mother seek to soften
Madeline's disappointment, and to inspire her with fortitude to
bear. Beyond her own expectation came success in this effort. The
reason she invented or imagined, for the father's refusal, satisfied
the child; and soon the clouded brow was lit up by the heart's
sunshine.

From that hour, Mrs. Leslie was changed. From that hour, a new
purpose filled her heart. She could not leave her children, nor
could she take them with her if she passed away; and so, she
resolved to live for them, to forget her own suffering, in the
tenderness of maternal care. The mother had risen superior to the
unhappy, unappreciated wife.