to Doctor Yardley in a very civilly-worded note, which left a fair
opening for a settlement of all difficulties, had the latter been so
pleased. The latter did not so please, however, but exploded in a
terrible burst of passion, which almost carried him off in a fit of
apoplexy.

Escaping all physical dangers, in the end, Doctor Yardley went
immediately to Philadelphia, and brought his daughter home. Both Mark
and Bridget now felt that they had offended against one of the simplest
commands of God. They had _not_ honoured their father and their mother,
and even thus early came the consciousness of their offence. It was in
Mark's power, however, to go and claim his wife, and remove her to his
father's house, notwithstanding his minority and that of Bridget. In
this last respect, the law offered no obstacle; but the discretion of
Doctor Woolston did. This gentleman, through the agency of a common
friend, had an interview with his competitor, and they talked the matter
over in a tolerably composed and reasonable temper. Both the parents, as
medical men, agreed that it would be better that the young couple should
not live together for two or three years, the very tender age of
Bridget, in particular, rendering this humane, as well as discreet.
Nothing was said of the fortune, which mollified Doctor Yardley a good
deal, since he would be left to manage it, or at least to receive the
income so long as no legal claimant interfered with his control. Elderly
gentlemen submit very easily to this sort of influence. Then, Doctor
Woolston was exceedingly polite, and spoke to his rival of a difficult
case in his own practice, as if indirectly to ask an opinion of his
competitor. All this contributed to render the interview more amicable
than had been hoped, and the parties separated, if not friends, at least
with an understanding on the subject of future proceedings.