of such?"

"Nonsense!" he exclaimed, impatiently, "let me hear no more of such
stuff! you are entirely too young and childish to attempt to reason on
such subjects. Your place is simply to obey; are you going to do it?"

"Oh, papa!" she murmured, almost under her breath, "I cannot."

"Elsie," said he, in a tone of great anger, "I should certainly be
greatly tempted to whip you into submission, had I the strength to do
it."

Elsie answered only by her tears and sobs.

There was silence for a moment, and then her father said: "Elsie, I
expect from my daughter entire, unquestioning obedience, and until you
are ready to render it, I shall cease to treat you as my child. I shall
banish you from my presence, and my affections. This is the alternative I
set before you. I will give you ten minutes to consider it. At the end of
that time, if you are ready to obey me, well and good--if not, you will
leave this room, not to enter it again until you are ready to acknowledge
your fault, ask forgiveness, and promise implicit obedience in the
future."

A low cry of utter despair broke from Elsie's lips, as she thus heard her
sentence pronounced in tones of calm, stern determination; and, hiding
her face on the bed, she sobbed convulsively.

Her father lifted his watch from a little stand by the bedside, and held
it in his hand until the ten minutes expired.