"Oh, Mr. de Haldimar!" she implored, "in the name of God
and of our blessed Saviour, if you would save me from
madness, intercede for my unhappy husband, and preserve
him from the horrid fate that awaits him. You are too
good, too gentle, too amiable, to reject the prayer of
a heart-broken woman. Moreover, Mr. de Haldimar," she
proceeded, with deeper energy, while she caught and
pressed, between her own white and bloodless hands, one
nearly as delicate that lay extended near her, "consider
all my dear but unfortunate husband has done for your
family. Think of the blood he once spilt in the defence
of your brother's life; that brother, through whom alone,
oh God! he is now condemned to die. Call to mind the days
and nights of anguish I passed near his couch of suffering,
when yet writhing beneath the wound aimed at the life of
Captain de Haldimar. Almighty Providence!" she pursued,
in the same impassioned yet plaintive voice, "why is not
Miss Clara here to plead the cause of the innocent, and
to touch the stubborn heart of her merciless father? She
would, indeed, move heaven and earth to save the life of
him to whom she so often vowed eternal gratitude and
acknowledgment.
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