第130章

wentoncemoretothepolicecourt，andtoldmystory——toanothermagistratethistime。Myonlypetitionwastohavemyhusbandkeptawayfromme。’Idon’twanttobeaburdenonothers’(Isays)’Idon’twanttodoanythingbutwhat’sright。

Idon’tevencomplainofhavingbeenverycruellyused。AllIaskistobelettoearnanhonestliving。Willthelawprotectmeintheefforttodothat？’

“Theanswer，insubstance，wasthatthelawmightprotectme，providedIhadmoneytospendinaskingsomehighercourttograntmeaseparation。AfterallowingmyhusbandtorobmeopenlyoftheonlypropertyIpossessed——namely，myfurniture——thelawturnedroundonmewhenIcalleduponitinmydistress，andheldoutitshandtobepaid。Ihadjustthreeandsixpenceleftintheworld——andtheprospect，ifIearnedmore，ofmyhusbandcoming(withpermissionofthelaw)andtakingitawayfromme。

Therewasonlyonechance——namely，togettimetoturnroundin，andtoescapehimagain。Igotamonth’sfreedomfromhim，bycharginghimwithknockingmedown。Themagistrate(happeningtobeyoung，andnewtohisbusiness)senthimtoprison，insteadoffininghim。Thisgavemetimetogetacharacterfromtheclub，aswellasaspecialtestimonialfromgoodMr。Bapchild。Withthehelpofthese，Iobtainedaplaceinaprivatefamily——aplaceinthecountry，thistime。

“Ifoundmyselfnowinahavenofpeace。Iwasamongworthykind-heartedpeople，whofeltformydistresses，andtreatedmemostindulgently。Indeed，throughallmytroubles，ImustsayI

havefoundonethingholdgood。Inmyexperience，Ihaveobservedthatpeopleareoftenerquickthannottofeelahumancompassionforothersindistress。Also，thattheymostlyseeplainenoughwhat’shardandcruelandunfairontheminthegoverningofthecountrywhichtheyhelptokeepgoing。Butonceaskthemtogetonfromsittingdownandgrumblingaboutit，torisingupandsettingitright，andwhatdoyoufindthem？Ashelplessasaflockofsheep——that’swhatyoufindthem。

“Morethansixmonthspassed，andIsavedalittlemoneyagain。

“Onenight，justasweweregoingtobed，therewasaloudringatthebell。Thefootmanansweredthedoor——andIheardmyhusband’svoiceinthehall。Hehadtracedme，withthehelpofamanheknewinthepolice；andhehadcometoclaimhisrights。I

offeredhimallthelittlemoneyIhad，toletmebe。Mygoodmasterspoketohim。Itwasalluseless。Hewasobstinateandsavage。If——insteadofmyrunningofffromhim——ithadbeenalltheotherwayandhehadrunofffromme，somethingmighthavebeendone(asIunderstood)toprotectme。Buthestucktohiswife。AslongasIcouldmakeafarthing，hestucktohiswife。

Beingmarriedtohim，Ihadnorighttohavelefthim；Iwasboundtogowithmyhusband；therewasnoescapeforme。Ibadethemgood-by。AndIhaveneverforgottentheirkindnesstomefromthatdaytothis。

“MyhusbandtookmebacktoLondon。

“Aslongasthemoneylasted，thedrinkingwenton。Whenitwasgone，Iwasbeatenagain。Wherewastheremedy？Therewasnoremedy，buttotryandescapehimoncemore。Whydidn’tIhavehimlockedup？Whatwasthegoodofhavinghimlockedup？Inafewweekshewouldbeoutofprison；soberandpenitent，andpromisingamendment——andthenwhenthefittookhim，therehewouldbe，thesamefurioussavagethatbehadbeenoftenandoftenbefore。Myheartgothardunderthehopelessnessofit；anddarkthoughtsbesetme，mostlyatnight。Ab