takewarningbyit。Thewildestwordsthatfellfromhimwere，oneandall，thefaithfulechoofwhathesaidtomeinthebestdaysofhishealthandhisstrength。WhathopehaveIthathewillrecoverwithanalteredmindtowardme？Absencehasnotchangedit；sufferinghasnotchangedit。Inthedeliriumoffever，andinthefullpossessionofhisreason，hehasthesamedreadfuldoubtofme。Iseebutonewayofwinninghimback：I
mustdestroyatitsroothismotiveforleavingme。ItishopelesstopersuadehimthatIbelieveinhisinnocence：Imustshowhimthatbeliefisnolongernecessary；Imustprovetohimthathispositiontowardmehasbecomethepositionofaninnocentman！\"
\"Valeria！Valeria！youarewastingtimeandwords。Youhavetriedtheexperiment；andyouknowaswellasIdothatthethingisnottobedone。\"
Ihadnoanswertothat。IcouldsaynomorethanIhadsaidalready。
\"SupposeyougobacktoDexter，outofsheercompassionforamadandmiserablewretchwhohasalreadyinsultedyou，\"proceededmymother—in—law。\"Youcanonlygobackaccompaniedbyme，orbysomeothertrustworthyperson。Youcanonlystaylongenoughtohumorthecreature’swaywardfancy，andtokeephiscrazybrainquietforatime。Thatdone，allisdone——youleavehim。EvensupposingDextertobestillcapableofhelpingyou，howcanyoumakeuseofhimbutbyadmittinghimtotermsofconfidenceandfamiliarity——bytreatinghim，inshort，onthefootingofanintimatefriend？Answermehonestly：canyoubringyourselftodothat，afterwhathappenedatMr。Benjamin’shouse？\"