Then she did a mad thing.

The paper was freshly put on; it was hardly dry.

Maria deliberately approached the wall near the bay-window, where the paper looked somewhat damp; she inserted her slender little fingers, with a scratching of her nails under the edge, and she tore off a great, ragged strip.

Then she took up her lamp and returned to her room.
Mrs.Addix was still asleep.

She had begun to snore, in an odd sort of fashion, with deep, regular puffs of breath; it was like the beating of a drum to peace and rest, after a day of weary and unskilled labor unprofitable to the soul.