There was, besides, Dr. Johnson's _Rasselas_, which
mildly interested her; and a book called _Dialogues of Devils_, which she
read with avidity. And thus, if indeed her ignorance did not become rapidly
less, at least her knowledge of its existence became slowly greater.
And all the time the conviction grew upon her, that she had been in that
region before, and that in truth she could not be far from the spot where
she laid her child down, and lost him.
CHAPTER XVIII
In the meantime the said child, a splendid boy, was the delight of the
humble dwelling to which Maggie had borne him in triumph. But the mind of
the soutar was not a little exercised as to how far their right in the boy
approached the paternal: were they justified in regarding him as their
love-property, before having made exhaustive inquiry as to who could claim,
and might re-appropriate him? For nothing could liberate the finder of
such a thing from the duty of restoring it upon demand, seeing there could
be no assurance that the child had been deliberately and finally
abandoned! Maggie, indeed, regarded the baby as absolutely hers by right of
rescue; but her father asked himself whether by appropriating him she
might not be depriving his mother of the one remaining link between her
and humanity, and so abandoning her helpless to the Enemy.
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