\
 
 * C '- - J '1-''} 
 
 .
 
 OB 
 
 IN NEED OF A GUIDE AND GUARD. 
 
 BY 
 
 EMMA YOUNG fPREWITT. 
 
 PRINTED BY 
 
 J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY, 
 
 /5~~P HILADKLPHIA. 
 
 yl889.
 
 Copyright, 1889, by EMMA YOUNG PREWITT.
 
 I DEDICATE THIS, 
 MY FIRST BOOK, 
 
 o tfie Dftlemory of my ZBekved tfatfier, 
 J. H. PKEWITT, D.D.S., 
 
 WHO DIED DECEMBER 31, 1887, LAST DAT OF YEAB, MONTH, 
 
 AND WEEK. 
 
 " His sun went down while it was yet day." 
 
 They took him from our home and sight, 
 
 With us he dwells no more ; 
 
 'Tis always, then, we sigh and long 
 
 For Papa's smile so bright, 
 
 But most we miss his face at eve, 
 
 When twilight gathers near ; 
 
 Then to our hearts dark shadows cling 
 
 That bring the silent tear.
 
 PEEFAOE. 
 
 DEAR READER, 
 
 Are yon a friend? Then may your friendship 
 prove stronger than your impulse to criticise. Are 
 you an enemy? Then, I pray you, remember my 
 youth and be magnanimous. Are you a man? 
 Then you will, with your usual gallantry and chivalry 
 of spirit, render me no adverse criticism. Are you 
 a woman? Then, with your wondrous powers of 
 love and sympathy, you will, I feel sure, prove a 
 kindly critic. Although I well know the proverbial 
 kindness and indulgence of that infallible and decisive 
 tribunal, "the public," to which all writers must 
 submit, still, it is with much diffidence and doubt 
 that I send this book into the literary world ; and if 
 it were not for a sacred promise given to my dear 
 sainted papa, I fear I never should have persevered. 
 If your critical eye finds my book crude and faulty, 
 let me plead in extenuation my youth, being only 
 thirteen years of age when I wrote it, and also a 
 want of leisure to revise it. Much of it was written 
 amid the clamor of school-mates, much of it is the 
 result of moments snatched from my classes, and a 
 
 6
 
 Q PREFACE. 
 
 great part of it was written under circumstances of the 
 most crushing sorrow. The " Reaper" invaded our 
 low, thatched cot and left my beloved father's chair 
 vacant, our .cottage desolate, bereft of its guiding 
 spirit. The orphan's robes are mine. This sudden 
 blow came upon me when I had only written about 
 half of my book, but for many long weeks I did 
 nothing but try to comfort my poor " little mother," 
 whose loving heart was wellnigh broken, and whose 
 troubles I often feared would prove greater than she 
 could bear. And when I could again resume my 
 work all incentive seemed gone. He who would 
 with words of love and encouragement have led me 
 on would not be there to set his seal and sign of ap- 
 proval upon it when it was at last finished ; but my 
 promise was sacred, and although every faculty 
 seemed paralyzed, every thought and feeling steeped 
 in woe, I gathered together what remnants of 
 strength and pride were left me, and, now that it is 
 done, I give it, kind reader, into your hands, hoping 
 you may find much to commend, little to condemn. 
 But if, indeed, you find nothing to commend, I can, 
 like Pope, claim your lasting gratitude for writing 
 no more. 
 
 EMMA Y. PREWITT.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAOE 
 
 I. "SCHOOL MLLE. DE ROODE" ... 9 
 II. SELECTING A GUARDIAN . . . .14 
 
 III. THE SHADOW OF SIN 19 
 
 IV. SUNSHINE AND ROSES .... 27 
 
 V. CALM AFTER THE STORM .... 34 
 
 VI. HOW SHE SIGHED FOR HOME AND MOTHER ! 41 
 
 VII. PREPARATIONS FOR COMMENCEMENT. . 47 
 
 VIII. KARLENE'S LAST VISIT TO THE GROUNDS 54 
 
 IX. A NIGHT IN THE VILLAGE OF LINNSBURG 58 
 
 X. TRUSTING THEIR FATE TO THE CORNERS. 65 
 
 XI. SCEPTICISM 71 
 
 XII. VIEWING STRANGE PREMISES ... 77 
 
 XIII. GOING TO HER NEW HOME . 82 
 
 XIV. COMPLETELY CAPTIVATED BY A WOMAN 88 
 
 XV. THE ARRIVAL OF EGBERT MAUCHLINE . 92 
 
 XVI. THE VISIT TO MR. ELLIS . . . .96 
 
 XVII. THE MASQUERADE 105 
 
 XVIII. PICTURES TO DREAM OVER . . . 114 
 
 XIX. WON AND WED 118 
 
 XX. THE PROPOSAL . . . . . .124 
 
 XXI. A CLOUD IN THEIR HEAVEN . . . 129 
 
 XXII. THE SHADOWS AROUND HER PATHWAY . 135 
 
 XXIII. ALAS ! FOR THE MONSTER JEALOUSY . 140 
 
 XXIV. THE LETTER 143 
 
 XXV. WE KNOW NOT WHAT AN HOUR MAY 
 
 BRING FORTH 147 
 
 XXVI. THE BAND WHICH BOUND TWO HEARTS . 151 
 
 7
 
 8 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 XXVII. HE MIGHT RUE IT, BUT HE COULD NOT 
 
 UNDO IT 157 
 
 XXVIII. THE SHOT 164 
 
 XXIX. FRIDAY, "THE FAIREST OR FOULEST OF 
 
 THE WEEK" 170 
 
 XXX. LEGON'S LIFE A FAILURE . . . 180 
 
 XXXI. MISERABLE BECAUSE OF ANOTHER'S SIN 182 
 
 XXXII. MEMORY GAVE IT BACK TO HER . . 186 
 
 XXXIII. THE MIRROR OF HER PAST . . .192 
 
 XXXIV. FAIR BUT FALSE 199 
 
 XXXV. VIEWING PICTURES OF THE PAST . . 204 
 
 XXXVI. HAZEL INSANE 208 
 
 XXXVII. THE CONFESSION 212 
 
 XXXVIII. A DISCLOSURE 219 
 
 XXXIX. THE DEATH OF SORROW .-... 223 
 
 XL. SETTING SAIL 231 
 
 XLI. THE REVELATION 236 
 
 XLII. BREAD UPON THE WATERS . . . 246
 
 KARLENE HOY; 
 
 OR, 
 
 IN NEED OF A GUIDE AND GUARD. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 "SCHOOL MLLE. DE ROODE." 
 
 IT was no " Lake of Coino" place, not " margined 
 by fruits of gold and whispering myrtle," so to 
 speak ; but spreading out here and there over nearly 
 an acre of ground, all told, which includes the origi- 
 nal building, with many wings added, as patronage 
 had demanded. The grounds were large, and 
 though but little skilled effort had been brought into 
 requisition to beautify them, nature had dealt some- 
 what lavishly with the grounds surrounding this 
 more than ordinary structure. More than ordinary, 
 not in the building, perhaps, but rather in its associa- 
 tions. Occupying about the centre of a plot of 
 ground nearly fifty acres in extent, as we have indi- 
 cated, the natural environments made the place more 
 than ordinarily attractive. The main entrance to the 
 
 2 9
 
 10 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 building faced the south, aud was in the oldest part 
 of the structure, which had the appearance of being 
 very massive, and in spite of the fact that paint and 
 pencil had often done duty on the walls, yet the 
 brick and mortar that went to make up those walls 
 were honest, and could not be made to assume an 
 appearance that would belie the fact. They were 
 old, very old, which, by the way, is no disgrace, 
 and their wrinkles, in spite of fate, would peer out 
 through the cosmetics applied by means of the 
 trowel, the brush, and the pencil. Huge pillars 
 supported a narrow, long porch; and another evi- 
 dence of antiquity was found in the old brass 
 knocker, that from its appearance for more than a 
 century had done duty there. Of course, to conform 
 to these " fair, well-spoken days," a door-bell had 
 been provided. The windows in this part were 
 large and of many and very small glass ; in many 
 respects the older part of the building, which had 
 evidently been the home of one of the wealthiest, 
 was suffered it may have been by choice to remain 
 as found by the present masters. At all events, in 
 the windows on the ground floor may still be seen 
 immense iron bars, fastened securely on the inside, 
 the original purpose of which, no doubt, was that 
 none might " break through and steal." The addi- 
 tions to this evidently old building were in every 
 sense modern. Spreading out before this en- 
 trance was a most beautiful lawn; the long,
 
 "SCHOOL MLLE. DE ROODE." \\ 
 
 waving blue grass, with here and there a clover- 
 blossom peeping out with becoming coyness, was in- 
 deed beautiful ; add to this the semicircular drive, the 
 wide pavement laid with large white flag-stones from 
 the front door to the "big gate," immense trees, oak, 
 walnut, and chestnut, standing about in rich profu- 
 sion, but with the most beautiful irregularity. Their 
 age none could tell, but the school-girls used to say 
 that they looked to them as if they might have been 
 there when the " morning stars first began to warble." 
 Old as they were, they afforded the kindest shelter 
 from the pelting rays of a summer's sun, and on that 
 account under nearly every one could be found a 
 rustic settee. East and north of the building a 
 beautiful stream sped on to its destination. The 
 finny tribe in great numbers and variety inhabited 
 its waters. Its banks were lovely, approaching 
 sometimes miniature grandeur in its cliffs. The 
 shade of the haw and sycamore, and the flat rock 
 seats that it seemed nature had provided for the 
 purpose, had the effect to entice many a maiden 
 angler. In every direction from the building there 
 was a gradual descent. South of west from the build- 
 ing was a beautiful flower-garden, for which we may 
 not thank the principal, except that she permitted 
 her most excellent corps of assistant teachers, out of 
 their own means, to plant and keep to their liking this 
 attractive and refreshing resort. Such is a meagre 
 description of what is known as the school of Mile.
 
 12 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 de Roode. A school of learning; not a finishing 
 school only, but one in which the learned only can 
 finish. One hundred yards, more or less, from the 
 " big gate" aforesaid, is the railway station or depot, 
 erected " for the accommodation," as the conductor 
 would often say, " of the ' Rude' school-girls only." 
 Take it all in all, and as the tears of many a " sweet 
 girl graduate" has testified, it was a dear old place, 
 and by no means the dullest place in the world. But 
 one more week, and commencement, with its ever-sad 
 partings and happy home anticipations, is upon us ; 
 the discipline had already grown lax. Seated on the 
 lawn, under one of the spreading oaks, are two per- 
 sons : one young and beautiful ; the other, while not 
 yet old ; at least many years her senior. " But what 
 I want to know is, How came I here ?" 
 
 This question was asked by the younger of the 
 two, Karlene Hoy, by common consent the pret- 
 tiest girl in the school. A perfect type of the blonde, 
 rather above than below medium height ; a figure and 
 carriage that never failed to elicit favorable comment ; 
 light golden hair of great profusion and length ; eyes 
 large, blue, and almond-shaped, shaded by long curl- 
 ing lashes ; broad forehead, aquiline nose, cheeks rosy 
 and dimpled, teeth of pearl, and lips a kiss from 
 which if reported in the daily markets would be con- 
 sidered low if quoted at the price of a Nevada mine. 
 
 " Karlene," said her companion, Mrs. Clara Ham- 
 mond, an assistant teacher, whose authority was
 
 "SCHOOL MLLE. DE ROODE." 13 
 
 second only to that of Mile, de Roode in that great 
 school establishment, a great favorite with all the 
 school-girls, and, notwithstanding the disparity in 
 age, the warm personal and confidential friend of 
 Karlene Hoy. Mrs. Hammond was a woman of 
 thirty-five, and a widow for nearly fifteen years. 
 She had buried her young love, and her heart seemed 
 a stranger to any new enlistments in that direction. 
 Notwithstanding her troubles, and the worry conse- 
 quent upon the life of a teacher, she was a remark- 
 able type of a well-preserved woman : having been 
 beautiful as a girl, she was none the less attractive as 
 a woman of thirty-five. "Karleue, as much as I 
 would love to answer your question directly, and 
 even enlarge upon it, I doubt if I can with propriety 
 do so now ; but I promise you, and you know what 
 my promise to you means, that before commencement 
 day I will answer you fully. There, now, don't ask 
 me any more, but let my promise suffice." 
 
 " Miss Clara," for so Mrs. Hammond was called 
 by all the girls, " you know that I am regarded by 
 my school-mates as a frolicsome, light-hearted girl," 
 said Karlene; " but indeed, while I have no disposi- 
 tion to change that opinion, I have many sad hours 
 and unpleasant forebodings. When I lie down at 
 night I ask myself the questions, Who am I? 
 Where is my home? Are there any who love me? 
 and in this way commune with a sadder heart than 
 any have ever supposed, until tired nature finds rest
 
 14 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 in sleep, and I dream of a mother I never saw and 
 a father I have not known. But forgive me, Miss 
 Clara, for dividing with you so sad a story. You 
 are the first one who has heard it from my lips. I 
 shall rely upon your promise, and thank you for it." 
 And with this conclusion she kissed Mrs. Ham- 
 mond on the cheek, which was wet with tears, elicited 
 by the story of Karlene. 
 
 I 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 SELECTING A GUAEDIAN. 
 
 NEA.ELY fifteen years prior to the events of the 
 preceding chapter there was held in the city of 
 Nashville, Tennessee, a meeting at which only two 
 were present, and which was to determine largely 
 the future of our heroine, then five years of age. 
 One of the parties at this interview, and the one to 
 whom these elegantly-furnished apartments belonged, 
 at least temporarily, was Edwin Clemont. In Eng- 
 land he was the Earl of Clemont, but in America 
 plain Mr. Edwin Clemont. For many reasons 
 satisfactory to himself, he had turned his back upon 
 the honors and pleasures that might have been ex- 
 tracted from his position as a " peer of the realm," 
 and had come to America to make it his home for 
 life. Notwithstanding the fact of having occupied
 
 SELECTING A GUARDIAN. 15 
 
 an exalted position in the House of Lords for a half- 
 dozen years, with flattering prospects of a leadership 
 as he advanced in years and experience, he as coolly 
 applied for and secured citizenship through the 
 proper channels as if he had been plain "Jack 
 Homer," instead of an English lord. It was said 
 at the time of his coming to America that he would 
 likely enter into the struggle, then just begun, be- 
 tween the States ; but whether as a Federal or Con- 
 federate was not known. When he had indicated 
 his desire to become a citizen, however, he was very 
 graciously tendered a commission by the authorities 
 at Washington, which he as graciously declined. 
 Upon his arrival in New York he deposited in 
 Wall Street banks very large sums of money; 
 so that it was soon known, to moneyed men at least, 
 that, whether he desired it or not, he was able to 
 cope with the best of them in stock markets. This 
 fact was soon demonstrated by his eager entrance 
 into the boldest and, by some considered, the wildest 
 imaginable schemes for the accumulation of money. 
 The fates were with him ; for everything he touched 
 turned into shining gold or its equivalent; others 
 lost, but Edwin Clemont, never ! At last the drink 
 fiend fastened his fangs upon him ; his nights were 
 spent in debauch, he grew to be the friend and 
 almost constant companion of the disreputable ; but 
 no matter ; the chink of the shekel was heard as it 
 dropped daily to his credit in the five banks with
 
 16 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 which he did business in New York. Besides all 
 this, his income from his estate in England was very 
 large. Despite these facts his thirst for gold grew 
 continually. He had no bosom friend ; gold was 
 his god ; he was cold-hearted, if, indeed, he had a 
 heart. He was fitted for the higher walks of life, but 
 was more frequently found with the low and vulgar. 
 Besides his gold, but one thing on earth seemed to 
 have a place in his heart. He had brought with 
 him to America a child, two years of age, whom he 
 provided for as money best could provide; this child 
 was his other god. He kept his own counsel, and 
 to the curious the child and man were a mystery. 
 About this time disease, consequent upon the life 
 he had led for three years and a half, entwined 
 its icy fingers about him; it was plain from the 
 beginning that the struggle would not be of long 
 duration. His physician had advised an immediate 
 change of climate, and after making the necessary 
 arrangements for the care of his elegant New York 
 home, with child and nurse he started for the sunny 
 South, and in the city of Nashville we .find him in 
 company with a gentleman several years his senior, 
 though an old college chum at Oxford. Knowing 
 that his death was close at hand, he had summoned 
 this friend to his side, whose whereabouts he had 
 known of all the time, but whom he had not met 
 since he had been in America. 
 
 " Melbourne," said Mr. Clemont, " you are the
 
 SELECTING A GUARDIAN. 17 
 
 only one whose face I have been glad to see these 
 three years." 
 
 " And, in return," said Mr. Melbourne, " I am 
 glad to see you, and only sorry to find my Lord 
 Clemont " 
 
 " Stop, Melbourne !" interrupted Clemont, with an 
 ill-suppressed scowl of anger. " Don't lord me, if 
 you please ; I am plain Edwin, or Mr. Clemont, if 
 you prefer it, and an American citizen." 
 
 " I beg your pardon, Edwin, for by that name I 
 will call you, and by which I have known you best ? 
 but must say, in my own defence, that I did not 
 know you were in America, much less a citizen. I 
 will confess that I knew you had left England, but 
 of your whereabouts, until this good hour, I had not 
 known, as neither did any of my friends in England. 
 I will now conclude my sentence by saying I am 
 sorry to find you an invalid." 
 
 " Ah, Melbourne, I am indeed an invalid. I am 
 dying, my good friend ; and that I die ' unwept, 
 unhonored, and unsung' I know, too, full well. 
 From the time we parted at old Oxford, or soon after, 
 I have seen but few happy hours. It is said that 
 we all ' dig our graves with our teeth.' I have 
 most certainly dug mine, and shall soon occupy it ; 
 but the digging has not been altogether with the 
 teeth. My hands, heart, and brain have done their 
 share. And, Melbourne," continued Edwin Cle- 
 mont, with voice that was husky and eyes that 
 2*
 
 18 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 glared, " I have had help from sources that you would 
 have least expected." 
 
 " I fear, Edwin, that your condition will not be 
 bettered by your present state of excitement, and I 
 beg you to calm yourself. Tell me, without the in- 
 troduction of other unpleasant matter, your condition, 
 I mean as seen by your physician." 
 
 " That, my friend," answered Clemont, " will not 
 increase the pleasure of your visit; but to speak 
 plainly, I am told by him that death may ensue at 
 any moment, and on that account I have sent for 
 you. When I was a boy and you were a man, in 
 school together at Oxford, we were friends, and as I 
 then thanked you many times for your kindnesses to 
 me, I am thankful that I can again do so before I 
 die ; but, Melbourne, if you should accept to do me 
 the favor I shall ask of you now, then will I indeed 
 have cause to thank you. It was for this that I 
 desired so much to see you. I have never wronged 
 you, Melbourne, but I fear the list of those I have 
 not wronged must stop there. With the 6clat which 
 wealth and position can give was my life begun. 
 My advantages were in every way superior to most 
 of my fellows ; my life has been blacker than any." 
 
 " Let us hope," interrupted Mr. Melbourne, " that 
 you overdraw the picture, and in answer to your 
 partly-expressed wish, allow me to say, that whatever 
 your life may have been, I am your friend, John 
 Melbourne, and at your service."
 
 THE SHADOW OF SIN. 19 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE SHADOW OF SIN. 
 
 FOE a moment both men were silent. Edwin 
 Clemont, who for the most of this time had raised 
 himself in his bed and rested on his elbow, now fell 
 back as from sheer exhaustion ; his head resting upon 
 a pillow of snowy whiteness revealed the blackness 
 of his long and well-kept hair, his eyes were closed 
 and hollow, his cheeks were sunken, lips compressed, 
 added to which was a livid complexion, giving to the 
 whole face that pinched appearance that so truly 
 presages the near approach of death. 
 
 " And this," soliloquized Mr. Melbourne, as he sat 
 looking into the face of the dying man, " is Edwin, 
 Earl of Clemont ! How changed ! how sad ! the 
 loved, honored, and brilliant. At one time life had 
 for him only roseate views, but now, alas ! I fear 
 that his sun must set in gloom." 
 
 Opening his eyes, and stroking his brow as if to 
 call his memory back, Edwin beckoned his friend to 
 draw closer to him. 
 
 " Melbourne," said he, " you see I am dying, and 
 I want to speak to you of the only thing in which 
 my heart has an interest. I have a few preparations
 
 20 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 to make, and they are, as you will imagine, concern- 
 ing my child " 
 
 "But," interrupted Mr. Melbourne, surprised at 
 the revelation, " the mother, where is she ?" 
 
 "Dead to me," said Clemont, as a doubtful 
 flush either of shame or anger suffused his other- 
 wise marble-like cheek. 
 
 Not wishing to press what would evidently only 
 develop bad, Mr. Melbourne said to him, "But, 
 Edwin, you have intimated to me that yours has 
 been a misspent life. Have you nothing to repent 
 of, nothing to ask pardon for? Tell me, are these 
 all the preparations you would make, my friend ? 
 none for death ?" 
 
 " No," said the wretched earl ; " God would de- 
 spise my supplications now ; 'twould be cowardly and 
 insulting to offer Him such a remnant of such a life. 
 I have read somewhere that 
 
 ' As the tree falls, so must it lie. 
 As a man lives, so must he die.' 
 
 Could I live my life over again, I think now that I 
 would order it other than it has been ; but now it is 
 late, too late. Rather now to business. I did not send 
 for you thinking to talk of death or its consequences. 
 You know what I would ask of you. Be a father 
 to my child, and if I were not allowed breath to 
 speak another word, that would embrace quite
 
 THE SHADOW OF SIN. 21 
 
 enough. I know you have money, much more than 
 you need, but take mine and my child. The latter 
 is indeed a precious gift ; take her, be her father, do 
 by her as though she had been your own. Here is my 
 will ; it is finished and properly witnessed ; take it. 
 I want to know, while yet in sound mind, that it 
 is in good hands, and may heaven be more merciful 
 to you, my only friend, than it has been to me. 
 Now tap on that door and ask that my child be 
 sent in." 
 
 Mr. Melbourne did as requested, and before he 
 had time to resume his place at the bedside of his 
 friend, the fairest, most beautiful child he had ever 
 seen came bounding into the room, accompanied by 
 one about two years her senior, and one of the most 
 homely and blackest of her race, but, notwithstand- 
 ing, the constant companion of Karlene, the earl's 
 daughter. Mr. Clemont held out his emaciated 
 hands to his child, who quickly sprang upon the bed, 
 eagerly kissing him, and in turn was as eagerly 
 kissed. Jinny, the sable companion of Karlene, 
 leaned on the bed, and without intending to be im- 
 pudent, rested her head on the same pillow with the 
 earl, eying with intense interest this stranger visitor 
 in the person of Mr. Melbourne. At last, Edwin 
 Clemont, whose voice was growing rapidly weaker, 
 and brow, if possible, paler, said to the little one, 
 who nestled so close to his bosom and kissed his 
 cheek so eagerly,
 
 22 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 " Karlene, this is your other father," pointing to 
 Mr. Melbourne ; " you must call him so." 
 
 With this, two chubby little hands in perfect con- 
 fidence were stretched out to Mr. Melbourne, who 
 received them as tears dimmed his eyes, and while 
 with Karlene pressed to his bosom, whose little lips 
 covered his cheek with loving kisses, with ill-sup- 
 pressed sobs, he said, 
 
 " Edwin, I will be a father to your child." 
 
 Looking at the earl, he saw that his eyes were 
 filled with tears, and thinking the circumstances 
 favorable, and not willing to see his friend die with- 
 out even asking God's mercy, involving the certain 
 separation of father and child for eternity, he said to 
 him, 
 
 " Edwin, may I bow by your bed and pray with 
 and for you ?" 
 
 "Yes," responded Edwin Clemont, with better 
 voice than he had had for nearly an hour. 
 
 Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Mr. Mel- 
 bourne fell upon his knees at the bedside of his 
 school-mate, and with his arm still around Karlene, 
 who viewed in silent wonderment the strange pro- 
 ceedings, prayed long and fervently that God might 
 prepare that soul for heaven ere he broke the brittle 
 thread of life. So earnestly did Mr. Melbourne 
 pray, and so enlisted was his heart and mind for the 
 dying man, that he did not notice the entrance of 
 Dr. Briggs, who, unannounced, had come into the
 
 THE SHADOW OF SIN. 23 
 
 room, and who, realizing the situation, had main- 
 tained a respectful and no doubt a prayerful silence. 
 Directly, Mr. Melbourne arose from his knees, and, 
 looking into the face of his dying friend, saw that 
 his lips were moving, and though faint indeed, was 
 certain that he heard from those lips, "God have 
 mercy !" With these faintly-articulated words, the 
 lips ceased to move, the lids opened, and revealed the 
 balls fixed in their sockets ; there was a slight quiver 
 of the whole frame ; then Dr. Briggs, who had come 
 forward, and was holding in his hand that of the 
 dying man's, pronounced the fact that Edwin, the 
 fifth Earl of Clemont, was no more. 
 
 Six months have passed since the death of the 
 Earl of Clemont. His remains occupied a vault in 
 the most beautiful cemetery in New York. No 
 thought had been paid to the outlay of money in 
 this last earthly resting-place. The bankers and 
 stock-gamblers with whom Edwin Clemont had had 
 business were all in that great city who remembered 
 that such an one had ever lived, and they remem- 
 bered him only for his vast wealth, and that he was 
 a wild, reckless, and wonderfully successful stock- 
 gambler. 
 
 The will had been properly probated, in which 
 " John Thackston Melbourne, of Baltimore, Mary- 
 land," had been made sole executor, without bond, as 
 well as guardian for Karlene Hoy Clemont.
 
 24 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 Mr. Melbourne had accepted the trust and entered 
 upon the discharge of the duties, which were, in 
 consequence of the multiplicity of interests be- 
 queathed by the deceased, enormous. Karlene was 
 fast growing to be a part of his life, and but for 
 Jinny's occasional repetition of the death-bed scene, 
 Karlene would much sooner than she did have 
 forgotten that she had ever had a father other than 
 Mr. Melbourne. Six months prior to the death of 
 the Earl of Clemont, John Melbourne had buried 
 the wife of his bosom, his first and only love, and, 
 as he said often to his friends, " his last love." 
 Much indeed of the light of his life had gone out 
 in the death of his wife, by whose bedside he had 
 watched unceasingly for nearly two years, and but for 
 which circumstance he would no doubt at this time 
 have been following the banner of the Confederacy. 
 Unlike many men, he had grieved at the death of 
 his wife, but had not given up ; the world wore a 
 sombre appearance to him, but there was much for 
 willing hands to do from which could be extracted 
 much pleasure. He suffered himself to be led by the 
 spirit of God, and invoked His direction and bless- 
 ing on everything he did. How fortunate for " Kar- 
 lene, the orphan," that among the papers left by 
 the Earl of Clemont was one letter addressed to 
 "John Thackston Melbourne, Baltimore, Mary- 
 land" ! By accident it had not been posted, and it 
 read as follows :
 
 THE SHADOW OF SIN. 25 
 
 " NASHVILLE, TENN., February 21, 18 . 
 
 "MY DEAR MELBOURNE, I have both written 
 and telegraphed you to come to me at once. I am 
 dying. I have made you the sole executor of my 
 will and the guardian of my child. Be a father to 
 her, and should you not reach me until after death, 
 this will be sufficient for you to know. The slave 
 and her child Jinny, whom you will find with my 
 child, are my property. I desire that the woman be 
 given five hundred dollars and her freedom, upon 
 condition that her child remains always the servant 
 and maid of mine. I desire that my child be known 
 as Karlene Hoy until such a time, after the com- 
 pletion of her education, as you may see fit to 
 enlighten her. Keep from her especially, until that 
 time, her own and her family's history, and espe- 
 cially that of her father. I suggest that you place 
 her in a school, should you find one suited, with 
 kind and capable teachers, in this country and this 
 latitude, and keep her there, except at such intervals 
 as you may think best, until the completion of her 
 education ; arrangements to be made always, un- 
 less she otherwise desires it, for her serving-maid 
 Jinny to accompany her in that capacity. 
 
 " With perfect confidence in you, I am 
 
 " Your school-mate and friend, 
 
 "EDWIN CLEMONT." 
 
 Complying with the wishes expressed in the fore-
 
 26 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 going letter, Mr. Melbourne had just completed 
 arrangements for Karlene at the school of Mile. 
 de Roode, heretofore described in this book, and situ- 
 ated in middle Kentucky, which was destined to be 
 her home until the completion of her school-days. Of 
 course, the maid Jinny was provided for to the satis- 
 faction of Karlene. The parting between Karlene 
 and "Father" Melbourne was very affecting; so 
 much so that none of the teachers and scholars who 
 witnessed it, except the haughty Hazel Hart, and 
 there were quite a number, could keep back their 
 tears, and mingled with the sobs of Karlene and 
 the broken sentences and husky voice of Mr. Mel- 
 bourne were the audible sobs of many of the lookers 
 on. Kissing Karlene again, and promising to come 
 back and see her soon, he was about to "beat a hasty 
 retreat," when he felt himself hindered, and looking 
 down saw and felt Jinny hugging his feet and 
 knees, and who, with eyes streaming with tears, look- 
 ing up into his face, said, between her sobs, 
 " Mars' Melbourne, tell Jinny good-by, too." 
 This Mr. Melbourne did kindly, if not affection- 
 ately, and, bowing to those present, was gone in a 
 moment.
 
 SUNSHINE AND ROSES. 27 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 SUNSHINE AND KOSES. 
 
 IT was the day before commencement, and every 
 human about the school of Mile, de Roode was in a 
 stir: trunks were being packed, apartments were 
 being prepared for expected visitors, fathers, 
 mothers, and friends, especially of the members of 
 the graduating class. Indeed, the farm-houses in the 
 neighborhood, as well as the village inn, were being 
 brought into requisition for this important occasion. 
 By agreement, at 8 A.M. the girls of each grade had 
 joined in one common meeting in Chapel Hall, and, 
 with the dignity and solemnity of a great public 
 meeting or national convention, had proceeded to 
 elect Karlene Hoy president, with numberless vice- 
 presidents. Marjorie Mauchline and Nadine Gist 
 were elected secretaries. After the appointment of 
 a committee on resolutions, the meeting took a re- 
 cess of five minutes, which was entirely sufficient to 
 prepare for presentation to that august body a set 
 of " cut-and-dried" resolutions. At the expiration 
 of the time given for the preparation of resolutions 
 the president called the house to order and apologized 
 for neglecting to state the object of the meeting 
 when she first called the same to order.
 
 28 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 " My experience," said Karlene, with the dignity 
 of an ex-speaker of the House of Congress, " in pre- 
 siding over great deliberative bodies has been so 
 limited of late years that I have neglected that im- 
 portant duty. Suffice it to say, my countrymen, 
 that liberty long deferred makes the heart sick, and 
 that a bird in the bush is worth two in the hand." 
 These patriotic words were spoken in the most tragic 
 manner, and had the effect of producing storms of 
 applause from the auditors. By raising her hand, 
 Karlene indicated to the audience that she had 
 further to say, and all was silent in a moment. 
 "But one more day," she began, "and the com- 
 mencement exercises are upon us, after which comes 
 the flood of tears; and be we women, and stand 
 we idly here with arms supinely folded, crying 
 ' Peace ! peace ! when there is no peace' ? No, my 
 countrymen ; I had rather be a cat and cry ' Mew !' a 
 toad, and ' live upon the vapors of a dungeon ;' and 
 when I say that, I know that I but express the senti- 
 ments of my entire audience from the hod-carrier to 
 the six-button ( kid.' There is no denying the fact 
 that war, unrelenting war, is upon us, and we must 
 fight like Trojans; and let our watchword and motto 
 be the language of a distinguished friend of our 
 forefathers, 'Give me liberty or give me death' till 
 Friday night." 
 
 This speech had the effect of producing the wildest 
 and most vociferous applause. Handkerchiefs were
 
 SUNSHINE AND ROSES. 29 
 
 being waved and hats tossed, in the midst of which 
 the president resumed her seat with the air of a 
 conquering hero or the best speaker of a ward club. 
 
 When order had been restored, Lillie Parker, the 
 chairman of the committee on resolutions, addressed 
 the chair, notifying that dignitary that said committee 
 was ready to report. In a minute a half-dozen or 
 more were on their feet, crying lustily, "Mister 
 Speaker I" and otherwise giving unmistakable evi- 
 dences of an organized effort to filibuster. The presi- 
 dent rapped loudly on the table with the heel of her 
 slipper, which she had taken off to use as a gavel, but 
 all to no purpose. Still the cry came up from an in- 
 creased number of throats, and louder than ever, 
 " Mister Speaker !" and not until the president had 
 called to her assistance the sergeant-at-arms, Mary 
 McGrew, directing said officer to suppress at any 
 cost, vi et armis, any attempt at riot or other unbe- 
 coming outbreaks, was order restored. When, how- 
 ever, that much-desired end had been attained, the 
 president rose slowly and surveyed the audience for 
 a moment, and then, in deep and awful tones, said, 
 
 " My fellow-countrymen, I am surprised at your 
 excitement and pained by your insubordination. 
 The work we are engaged in is of the gravest im- 
 portance, and failure is fraught with the most dire 
 consequences ; let me beg you that you deport your- 
 selves as is becoming this solemn occasion; and 
 should any again disturb the deliberations of this
 
 30 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 body, I direct the sergeant-at-arms, at the peril of 
 her own individual hazard, that she immediately 
 present said offenders before the bar of the house. 
 Does the chair hear any objections to the reading of 
 the resolutions? The chair hears none, and the chair- 
 man of the committee will proceed with the reading." 
 Assuming the air of a man conscious of his parlia- 
 mentary ability, Karlene took her seat amid applause 
 that was genuine. Lillie Parker then read the 
 resolutions, which were as follows : 
 
 " TO OUR VERY DEARLY-BELOVED PRINCIPAL AND 
 TEACHERS ALL. 
 
 " Remembering that to-morrow evening will con- 
 clude our school duties for the present scholastic 
 year, many of us leaving only for the vacation, 
 while many of us close with this term our happy 
 school-days, and will leave forever, we therefore 
 humbly petition you that you grant us the time be- 
 tween this and to-morrow evening's closing exercises 
 for social intercourse and leave-taking. 
 
 " Again assuring you one and all of our love, in- 
 dividually and collectively, and that the pleasant 
 memories of school Mile, de Roode will grow 
 green with the lapse of years, 
 
 " We are your devoted pupils, 
 
 "ALL." 
 
 The reading of the resolutions being concluded,
 
 SUNSHINE AND ROSES. 31 
 
 Marjorie Mauchline rose from her seat and, address- 
 ing the chair, said, 
 
 " MR. PRESIDENT, I move you that the resolu- 
 tions just read be adopted as a proper expression of 
 the sentiments and wishes of this honorable body, 
 and that the entire body be appointed as a committee, 
 with you, Mr. Pres., as the chairman of same, and 
 that we proceed at once to present said resolutions to 
 the parties therein addressed." 
 
 Before Marjorie had taken her seat, the motion 
 received a dozen or more seconds, and the president, 
 after stating the motion in true parliamentary style, 
 asked, " Are you all ready for the question ?" 
 
 " Not ready, Mr. President," said Ruth Porter, a 
 plain-spoken and one of the funniest girls in the 
 school ; " nor will I be ready," she continued, " until 
 the resolutions embody one something like this ;" 
 and holding up a piece of paper, she read as follows : 
 "And, further, it is the sense of this meeting that 
 teaching school the last two days of a ten months' 
 term, thereby giving a fellow no time to say good- 
 by and cry a spell with each school-mate, is a nui- 
 sance. I move you," continued Ruth, " that this reso- 
 lution be embodied as one of those to be presented to 
 our honored and beloved board of teachers." 
 
 Her resolution was applauded to the echo. After 
 some little consultation with the committee on resolu- 
 tions and others, it was agreed that Ruth's resolution 
 should be embodied with the others, and on putting
 
 32 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 the motion to adopt the resolution as amended the 
 house fairly went wild ; of course there was not a 
 dissenting voice. The business of the meeting being 
 concluded, it only remained for the president to an- 
 nounce the same adjourned, which she did in the fol- 
 lowing words : " Fellow-citizens," began Karlene, " I 
 have to congratulate you on the harmony and unan- 
 imity of feelings and ideas expressed on this occa- 
 sion, and I congratulate myself on the possession of 
 a good pair of lungs and the most intimate acquaint- 
 ance with parliamentary law. It gives me great 
 pleasure to announce, in declaring the meeting ad- 
 journed, that there has been no bloodshed. The 
 sergeant-at-arms will now proceed to form the line 
 by twos, and we will at once charge the enemy's 
 works, armed with the resolutions and a most sacred 
 determination to howl like wolves should we fail in 
 the attack." 
 
 The girls, having formed by twos, were standing 
 in line awaiting the word of command, when Kar- 
 lene advanced to the head of the column, and turn- 
 ing with true military grace, she faced her army of 
 " fellow-citizens," now transformed into soldiers, and 
 standing on tiptoe, with voice and gesture that would 
 have put to flight any drill-master, she gave the 
 command, " Forward, march !" 
 
 " Halt !" cried a voice that could be heard above 
 the tramp of the soldiery, a voice so familiar to 
 that army that there could be no mistaking it. In
 
 SUNSHINE AND ROSES. 33 
 
 another moment Mile, de Roode, accompanied by 
 each of her assistants, stood at the head of the 
 column, alongside of " Commander Karlene Hoy." 
 During the entire proceedings of this "solemn meet- 
 ing," as the girls called it, they had been silent 
 spectators, and never was a mockery more keenly 
 enjoyed by any company than was this meeting of 
 mock statesmen and soldiers by Mile, de Roode 
 and assistants, who, having been informed of the 
 intended meeting, had, long before the meeting 
 was called to order, ensconced themselves in an 
 adjoining cloak-room, the door of which the girls 
 thought securely locked, but which was really, during 
 the meeting, standing half open. The appearance 
 of the principal and assistants, under the circum- 
 stances, came near creating a panic. The girls 
 blushed and shied, being full of doubts as to how 
 their fun would be received by " the authorities ;" 
 but they were not long in doubt, however, for al- 
 most immediately after gaining the head of the 
 column, Mile, de Roode continued by saying, 
 
 " We have been uninvited witnesses of your entire 
 proceedings, and know the strength of your army, 
 and anticipate the great loss which must ensue to us 
 should we determine to fight against such odds, and, 
 therefore, we come to say that upon conditions we 
 are ready to sign articles of capitulation." 
 
 " Name them," said Karlene, losing none of her self- 
 possession, and with the hauteur of a conquering hero. 
 
 3
 
 34 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 " That you furnish us full minutes of the meeting 
 just held, including the resolutions, and ' officially' 
 sign the same," said Mile, de Roode, with an effort 
 to be serious. 
 
 "The terms appear to me to be honorable/' said 
 Karlene, half soliloquizing. " What say you, com- 
 rades? Shall we accept?" 
 
 "Accept!" cried the soldiery, and a war which 
 had promised the spilling of so much blood was 
 closed without the loss of a single man. 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 CALM AFTER THE STORM. 
 
 WHEN articles of capitulation and the proceedings 
 of the meeting had all been properly and " officially" 
 signed, every one was happy. The time-honored 
 principle, that u to the victor belongs the spoil," pre- 
 vailed on this occasion, and the girls were free to 
 occupy their time as they chose, to go and come and 
 do without " let or hinderance." Every game im- 
 aginable was participated in that afternoon, from 
 " mumble-peg" and " poor puss wants a corner' 7 to 
 that sedate old game, " straw." 
 
 " To give the greatest variety to the performances 
 possible," said Ruth Porter, " I would be willing to 
 play foot-ball on the lawn, if we just had the ball."
 
 CALM AFTER THE STORM. 35 
 
 At last, growing tired of such games as required 
 bodily exercise, the girls began to drop out by twos 
 and threes, until about each rustic settee was a little 
 bevy, and, of course, each was composed of the greatest 
 chums. As water seeks its level, and " birds of a feather 
 will flock together," so a girl at a boarding-school 
 will soon find some two or three more congenial than 
 others, and so she designates them as " my chums." 
 The topic of conversation in these little groups was 
 principally of the happy school-days just past, the 
 separation that was to take place so soon, their 
 homes, the uncertain future, and, in the language of 
 Ruth Porter, here and there could be found one who 
 was " crying a spell" in the preliminary leave-taking. 
 
 " I say, Lil, ' old boy/ " said Ruth Porter, as she 
 locked her arm in that of Lillie Parker, and moved 
 off from the little knot of girls with whom they had 
 been sitting, "when I think seriously of bidding 
 you good-by the day after to-morrow, and that that 
 parting is to be for a long time, and maybe forever, 
 I confess that a lump about the size of a guinea egg 
 comes up into my throat, and that my lachrymal 
 ducts pour their salty secretions right into the inner 
 corners of my eyes. Plainly, Lil, it's mighty hard 
 to keep from crying a spell, when one thinks of 
 parting with her best chum." 
 
 " You are quite right, Ruth, but don't let us talk 
 of it. I want the benefit of all the sunshine that is 
 in you until we part."
 
 36 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 " Well, I guess you are right, Lil : we ought not 
 to spoil our pretty faces with crying before the hang- 
 ing takes place ; but when I go back to Georgia, and 
 leave you here in Kentucky, and all the other girls 
 scattered to the four winds, Geminy ! won't I have 
 the horrors." 
 
 The camel's back was broken ; the picture drawn 
 by Ruth, in her own peculiar language, though not 
 intending it, had done its legitimate work, and was 
 only answered by a succession of sobs from Lillie. 
 
 By this time the girls were generally promenad- 
 ing, two or three together, with arms locked, either 
 on the broad white flag-stone walk or the gravel 
 drive. Two of the most interesting, and beautiful 
 for that matter, of the promenaders were Marjorie 
 Mauchline and Nadine Gist, the former a decided 
 brunette, rather above medium height, eyes that 
 talked, and a form and carriage that were only sur- 
 passed, if at all, by that of Karlene Hoy. Nadine 
 Gist, though undecided, neither blonde nor brunette, 
 yet, notwithstanding, was a very handsome girl, and 
 though she might have been positively ugly, yet she 
 would have appeared beautiful to her school-mates. 
 Manners that were the very best, retiring even to 
 timidity, yet bold enough to dare to do her duty 
 under all circumstances; the friend of all and loved 
 by all ; truthful to austerity, yet " upon her sleeve 
 her heart was worn." 
 
 If Karlene Hoy could be said to have favorites in
 
 CALM AFTER THE STORM. 37 
 
 the school they were Marjorie and Nadine, who, like 
 all the rest of the school, idolized Karlene. 
 
 " What," said Marjorie, stopping suddenly, as if 
 just realizing her absence, " what can have become 
 of that vixen, our late president and commander, 
 Karlene Hoy?" 
 
 " I have missed her, as I always do," replied Na- 
 dine, " when she is absent from me. Of course I 
 know you only said it in love, but think how illy 
 the term vixen applies to Karlene, yet we all so 
 frequently call her so. By the way, the old adage 
 comes to us again, 'Speak of the angels and you 
 hear the rustling of their wings.' ' See, the conquering 
 hero comes.' " 
 
 "Mr. President!" said Marjorie and Nadine 
 simultaneously, as Karlene drew near them. 
 
 "If you both persist in speaking at the same 
 time," answered Karlene, " you will put me to the 
 test of taking off my slipper out here and rapping 
 you down, and after so impudently facing ' the 
 authorities' this morning, you know I dare to do 
 anything. But, I say, girls, this has indeed been a 
 happy day, but one does not dare to think much of 
 what the day after to-morrow will bring." 
 
 " Time enough," answered Marjorie ; " but I hope 
 it will bring nothing to cause you to wear such a 
 face as you did one week ago this afternoon. Why, 
 Hoy," continued Marjorie, " that evening you and 
 ' Miss Clara' passed Nadine and I, as you approached
 
 38 KARLENE HOY, 
 
 the front entrance, you raised your head and looked 
 at us, but upon your face was an expression I had 
 never seen before, and, positively, it looked as if you 
 were in trouble. Strange to think of Karlene Hoy 
 having trouble, yet so your face impressed us." 
 
 "So it did," said Nadine, as if she thought it 
 necessary to corroborate the statement of Marjorie, 
 made about a matter so improbable. 
 
 " Strange as it may seem to you, my friends, my 
 face did not belie my heart," said Karlene, slowly 
 and deliberately, and in a voice that sent a thrill 
 of pain to the hearts of her two friends. At this 
 juncture, Miss Brooks, an assistant teacher, who had 
 appeared unnoticed, said to Karlene that she was the 
 bearer of a message to her, which she would deliver 
 if favored by her with a short walk. Karlene was 
 glad of the opportunity afforded to avoid a conver- 
 sation which was likely to awaken those reflections 
 that always made her unhappy, and putting her arm 
 around Miss Brooks's waist, the two walked off in 
 the direction of the " big gate." 
 
 " What cowards we are !" said Marjorie, as Kar- 
 lene and Miss Brooks walked off. " How often we 
 have determined to ask Karlene something of her- 
 self, and as often have we failed ! That there is a 
 great mystery in her life I have long believed, and 
 that she has her troubles I now have no doubt. She 
 has promised to visit me after our graduation, and 
 so also have you, and we must know if she has a
 
 CALM AFTER THE STORM. 39 
 
 trouble, and if we cannot relieve, we can at least 
 share it." 
 
 " With all my heart I accept the challenge to do 
 what I can to relieve or share the troubles of Kar- 
 lene Hoy," said Nadine Gist, as she and Marjorie 
 Mauchline walked to the front entrance. 
 
 " The message I have for you," said Miss Brooks 
 to Karlene, as they seated themselves on the same 
 settee occupied by Mrs. Hammond and Karlene just 
 one week ago, at which time Mrs. Hammond had 
 promised to answer her questions before commence- 
 ment day, "is from Mrs. Hammond, who desires 
 that you come to her room at eight o'clock; and 
 now that I have delivered her message I shall de- 
 tain you on my own account for a short time, with 
 your permission." 
 
 "Certainly, with pleasure," answered Karlene, 
 sweetly. 
 
 "My dear, you have been with us so long that 
 the thought of giving you up now is almost unbear- 
 able. I doubt if you can well remember the day 
 your guardian brought you to this home and school. 
 You were then one of the most loving and attractive 
 of children, and except the short vacations you would 
 spend with him travelling, or with your school-mates 
 visiting, this has been your constant home; you are 
 the child of the school of Mile, de Roode, and each 
 of us who has helped to instruct and raise you and 
 mould your character is jealous of that honor, being
 
 40 KARLENE HOT. 
 
 able, as we think, to produce in you the noblest type 
 of young womanhood. Beautiful as a child, your 
 attractions sit about you most debonairly as a 
 woman." 
 
 " I thank you for your kind words to me," said 
 Karlene, " and while I know you to be anything else 
 than an idle talker, I feel sure I do not deserve all 
 you have said of me. It is useless for me to attempt 
 to thank you for all your kindness to me, and that 
 you shall never have cause to blush for the interest 
 you have taken in me be assured." 
 
 "I should like to have you tell me concerning 
 your future. What are you to do ? Where are you 
 going?" 
 
 "I can answer your two questions as if they 
 were but one," said Karlene, gloomily. " I do not 
 know, and that I am not able to answer those 
 questions has been the dark cloud that has shut out 
 from me the simple, happy haven of other girls." 
 
 " Can you not tell me, my child, something of 
 yourself? Are you an orphan ?" 
 
 " I cannot answer you even that. I would to 
 heaven I could ! Until the day I was brought here 
 my life was a perfect blank. My recollection of my 
 arrival at this place would be exceedingly indistinct, 
 but that Jinny so frequently recalls the circum- 
 stances of the leave-taking of my guardian and only 
 father that I know anything of. The first vivid 
 recollection I have of myself, and indeed all that I
 
 HOW SHE SIGHED FOR HOME AND MOTHER! 41 
 
 really know of myself to that time, is, that one 
 glorious morning I found myself, accompanied by 
 my maid, Jinny, in the lovely, sunshiny flower- 
 garden that I have loved so much ever since. I re- 
 member learning my own name there, and when I 
 grew older I wondered if in all the world there were 
 other Hoys, or whether I was the only person so 
 named. When I have often said, in answer to the 
 queries of my school-mates, that ' I know not where 
 I came from/ they have consoled me with the pro- 
 found philosophy, ' You must have come from some- 
 where.' Totally ignorant of myself, I must bide my 
 time and await developments, as must you, my dear, 
 good teacher," and throwing her arms about Miss 
 Brooke's neck, she kissed her affectionately. 
 
 Just then the bell rang for supper, and with arms 
 around each other's waist, they walked slowly towards 
 the main entrance, recalling to memory each of the 
 many pleasant incidents of the happy past. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HOW SHE SIGHED FOE HOME AND MOTHER! 
 
 WHEN a child, Karlene Hoy had asked unceas- 
 ingly for her mother, and why she did not come. 
 Other girls had mothers, and why not she ? She had 
 longed so ardently for news of some one, even, who 
 
 3*
 
 42 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 was related to her. Both sleeping and waking, she 
 had dreamed such beautiful dreams of a happy home 
 and a loving mother as made her heart glow when 
 she recalled them. As " we never miss the water 'till 
 the well runs dry," so none but those who have not, 
 or those who have had and lost, can ever know how 
 passionately she had sighed for home and mother. 
 The days in which she had first wandered over these 
 beautiful grounds, watching the birds and bees, 
 seemed very far from her now. She was now 
 seventeen years old, and to-morrow would mark an 
 epoch in her life. She was a member of the gradu- 
 ating class, and that she would be accorded great 
 honors as a member of that class had been indirectly 
 intimated to her by more than one of her teachers, 
 with all of whom she was a decided favorite. Her 
 course of instruction had been the most thorough, 
 and her graduation would include music, Latin, 
 German, and French; but what was all this to a heart 
 that longed, without hope, for home and mother? 
 True, it would fit and prepare her to battle with the 
 world, but not minister to a troubled heart. 
 
 The conversation with Miss Brooks had aroused 
 that train of reflection which always resulted in mel- 
 ancholy with Karlene, and having partaken of a light 
 supper, she hastened to her room, where she found 
 herself alone, and throwing her tired body on the 
 bed, found relief in a flood of tears. Reflections and 
 forebodings most disagreeable crowded themselves
 
 HOW SHE SIGHED FOR HOME AND MOTHER! 43 
 
 upon her, and but for suddenly remembering that 
 she was to see Mrs. Hammond in her room at eight 
 o'clock she might have laid there much longer. 
 Uttering a fervent prayer to God that He would 
 guard and direct her in all things, she rose to bathe 
 her face and rearrange her toilet, that Mrs. Ham- 
 mond might not suspect the cause of her delay, for 
 upon consulting her watch she found it to mark a 
 quarter past eight ; neither was Karlene aware that 
 she had prayed in an audible voice. At that moment 
 some one knocked at the door, and Karlene, feigning 
 a lively tone, said, " Come in." 
 
 " It's me, Miss Karly," said Jinny, as she entered 
 the room with a troubled look on her face, and who 
 was at the door in time to hear part of Karlene's 
 prayer, but could not distinguish what she was say- 
 ing. Loving her mistress passionately, Jinny was 
 quick to notice her swollen eyes and flushed face 
 and as quick to divine the cause. 
 
 " Miss Hammond," continued Jinny, " has bin a- 
 havin' me look for you eber'whar; said she was 
 wantin' you, and I done bin a-seein' all de tother 
 young ladies, and dey say dey didn't know whar 
 you wa', 'ceptin' you wa' up here in yo' room, and 
 so here I is. Who's in here wid you ? Who wa' 
 dat you's talkiii' to? What makes yo' face so red 
 and yo' eyes so swole ? Is you bin cryin' ?" 
 
 " Stop, Jinny ! One question at a time," said 
 Karlene, affecting to be herself. "I was so worn
 
 44 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 and tired by the fun and frolic of the day that I 
 thought to take a little rest before going to Mrs. 
 Hammond's room, and the time flew faster than I 
 thought." 
 
 "Now, Miss Karly, you knows I aint got no 
 patience wid 'souses. Did restin' make you bave yo' 
 eyes so long, and talk out loud to yo'se'f, and 
 make you keep yo' face hid from me all de time I 
 bin in here? You know dat las' letter what you 
 got from Mars' Melbourne, you read to me whar he 
 says, ( Jinny, take good keer of yo' missus,' and I'se 
 guinter do hit," continued Jinny, with the air of 
 one conscious of a great responsibility. 
 
 "Well, my protectress, I am ready. Will you 
 lead the way ?" said Karlene, after a few moments, 
 and with unaffected gayety, for the talk with her 
 maid, whom she loved, though her skin was black, 
 had had the most soothing effect upon her. Jinny 
 did lead the way, and when they had knocked at the 
 door of Mrs. Hammond's room, and had received 
 the answer, " Come in," she laid her hand on her 
 mistress's arm, as if to detain her, and said, " Miss 
 Karly, don't git mad wid yo' nigger, but I'se bound 
 to watch over and 'tect you." 
 
 "You need not fear that, Jinny," answered Kar- 
 lene, as she disappeared into Mrs. Hammond's room, 
 while Jinny sought the company of her servant 
 friends, feeling proud that she was the maid of Kar- 
 lene Hoy and equal to her duty.
 
 HOW SHE SIGHED FOR HOME AND MOTHER! 45 
 
 " I am glad you have come," said Mrs. Hammond, 
 as she offered Karlene a seat. 
 
 " And I want to offer an apology for having kept 
 you waiting for me," answered Karlene. 
 
 " Don't think of it, my child ; we like to be patient 
 with those we love." 
 
 " I thank you, my dear Miss Clara," said Kar- 
 lene, "but I fear that my failure to be here at the 
 appointed time will cause you to underestimate my 
 desire for this interview. Nothing have I waited 
 for with such patient eagerness, for I realize that you 
 have sent for me to redeem your promise of a week 
 ago." 
 
 " It is indeed for that that I have sent for you," 
 answered Mrs. Hammond. " I do not know, my 
 child," she continued, affectionately, " why I was 
 selected to tell you something of yourself; I say some- 
 thing, for indeed I can tell you but little." After 
 hesitating for a moment, she continued, " You are an 
 Englishwoman by birth, and, as they say, ' a lady.' 
 In this country, you know, we are all ladies who are 
 upright, honest, and virtuous, and no others; but 
 you, I am proud to say, are a lady after either inter- 
 pretation. You are Lady Karlene, the daughter of 
 the Earl of Clemont " 
 
 " But my mother, Miss Clara, tell me of her," 
 interrupted the beautiful, impatient girl. 
 
 " Of her, my dear child, I can tell you nothing ; 
 neither is anything known by your guardian ; but if
 
 46 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 she still lives time may reveal her to you ; and, but 
 for my promise to you, I should throw a veil over 
 the remainder of what I must say, which relates to 
 your father, who was, to be brief, far from being a 
 good man, and left the world none the better for 
 having lived in it." 
 
 Karlene had sat motionless, and almost livid, 
 listening to those things, every one of which made 
 her poor heart bleed. She had determined to meet 
 the worst bravely, " face to face," with God's help, 
 which, being His child, she certainly had. All her 
 beautiful, bright visions had faded. No mother's 
 arms, as she had hoped, would clasp her ; no loving 
 lips would kiss hers ; but instead the stern reality 
 was before her, alone in this unkind world, and 
 " in need of a guide and guard." 
 
 " In as few words as I could clothe the facts I 
 have told you all I know of your and your family's 
 history. All, my dearest Karlene," continued Mrs. 
 Hammond, " except that you have a large fortune, 
 and, if you should live, you will find it worth some- 
 thing to be a great heiress." 
 
 "But, my dear Miss Clara, if I only had my 
 mother to guide and direct me," said broken-hearted 
 Karlene, and the anguish on that young face was 
 terrible to see. 
 
 " The house of Clemont is an old and honored 
 one ; its masters have been amongst the foremost of 
 England's peers; you are a lady by birth, education,
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR COMMENCEMENT. 47 
 
 and training ; you have vast wealth, and a father in 
 your guardian; you have also the love of all who 
 know you. And, since I have had to perform this 
 unpleasant duty, I want to assure you that it has 
 grieved only you more than myself, for, believe me, 
 my child, I love you as if you were my own, and may 
 God sanctify these afflictions to your good, and may 
 you ever yield such perfect obedience to your Master 
 as that you may always be able to say, * Thy will be 
 done.'" 
 
 " I will try," said Karlene, in tones that told of a 
 broken heart, and, with arms about each other, tears 
 of grief and sympathy of both pupil and teacher 
 were commingled. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PKEPAKATIONS FOE COMMENCEMENT. 
 
 KARLENE hastily sought her own room after the 
 interview with Mrs. Hammond, in which, while 
 she had learned something of herself, she had 
 learned nothing of her mother. In her short life 
 she had been thrown but little with the fathers of 
 her school-mates, and consequently knew nothing of 
 the unfathomable love of an upright, Christian man 
 for his child. Her life had been spent almost wholly
 
 48 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 with her own sex. She had often witnessed the 
 tender devotion of mothers for their children, but 
 fathers seldom or never, and, without reasoning 
 about the matter, had learned to think only of her 
 mother and the need of her love; not that she 
 never thought of her father, but she thought of him 
 in a different way, her prejudices being in favor of 
 the mother from her associations and the knowledge 
 she had of mothers. She had often thought, should 
 she ever know her father, she would love him, but 
 not so passionately. She would admire, reverence 
 him, indeed would undoubtedly be very proud of 
 him, even more so than her guardian, and that 
 seemed to her, with her limited experience, fully as 
 much as other girls accorded to their fathers, so that 
 when Mrs. Hammond had told what she must of 
 the wretched father it did not cause the heart such 
 pangs as the want of knowledge of her mother did. 
 That she was a great heiress gave her no pleasure, 
 aside from the fact that she might be able to help 
 others and would never herself be a burden upon 
 any one. Upon reaching her own room she hastily 
 retired, with a heavy and almost broken heart, but 
 fortunately tears came to her relief. Hers seemed 
 the hardest lot of all, and tossing on her bed in a 
 feverish state of excitement, she counted the strokes 
 of the clock until the hour of two was told, when 
 tired nature gave way, and sleep gave respite to the 
 troubled heart. The burden of Karlene's prayer
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR COMMENCEMENT. 49 
 
 was, as ever, that God would protect and direct her, 
 and on this night she asked for grace to enable her to 
 bear, as became one of His children, these heavy 
 afflictions. He had promised as much to those who 
 love, and she would trust Him. 
 
 Friday morning, the last of her school-days, 
 dawned beautiful and bright. The hum of happy 
 voices, interrupted now and then by the merry, ring- 
 ing laugh of school-girls and visiting friends, were 
 heard on every hand. As Karlene descended the 
 stairs, on her way to the breakfast-room, she realized 
 that her troubles were really great, but determined 
 that she would keep them to herself, and so deport 
 herself as not to arouse in the minds of those about 
 her a suspicion of the heavy heart she possessed. 
 Arriving at the door of the breakfast-room, she, 
 fortunately or unfortunately, met Marjorie and 
 Nadine, accompanied by two, to her, strange ladies. 
 The first two threw their arms about Karlene and 
 kissed her, and were in turn kissed by her; not 
 coldly and formally, but as school-girl friends or 
 chums only can kiss. 
 
 "Karlene," said Marjorie, "this is my mother. 
 Mother, allow me to present to you Miss Hoy." 
 
 " And this is my mother," said Nadine. 
 
 The two mothers not only spoke cordially to 
 Karlene, taking her hand, but kissed her, while 
 none present lost sight of the fact that tears stood in 
 Karlene's eyes.
 
 50 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 Nadine and Marjorie in after years remembered 
 the incident and spoke of it. 
 
 " Marjorie tells me, Miss Hoy, that we are to have 
 the pleasure of a visit from you, and that you have 
 agreed to accompany us home to-morrow." 
 
 " Now, mother," said Marjorie, interrupting Kar- 
 lene, who was on the point of answering Mrs. 
 Mauchline, lt I want to tell you, that while her name 
 is Hoy, Miss Hoy to some, it is Karlene to Nadine 
 and I, also to our mothers," concluded Marjorie, as 
 she lovingly passed her arm around Karlene's waist. 
 These earnest words not only excited laughter on 
 the part of Nadine and the two mothers, but the 
 admiration of all, for the tone of her voice told that 
 her heart was betrayed in her words. 
 
 " Excuse me, daughter, if I have offended you in 
 my manner of addressing your friend," answered 
 Mrs. Mauchline, laughing. " I am sure I have known 
 ' Miss Hoy' long enough though I have never seen 
 her before to be permitted to call her Karlene." 
 
 " As have I, through Nadiue's letters," said Mrs. 
 Gist, still smiling at the fervor of Marjorie. 
 
 " I not only grant the permission," answered Kar- 
 lene, pleasantly, " but I request it." 
 
 And the little company moved on into the break- 
 fast-room, which presented a more attractive appear- 
 ance than at that hour was its wont. In the course 
 of the morning, when the mail for the school was 
 delivered, Karlene received a letter from her guar-
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR COMMENCEMENT. 51 
 
 dian which said that it would be impossible for him 
 to attend the commencement exercises of the school, 
 business of the greatest importance to her demand- 
 ing his attention. Of course, he very readily granted 
 her request to visit Marjorie upon the close of the 
 school, and said that he would communicate with 
 her in a few days, and would probably see her 
 during her visit to the Mauchlines. 
 
 The day was spent in making preparations for the 
 night, in receiving relatives and friends, while here 
 and there through the day could be seen little knots 
 of girls, who, in the language of Ruth Porter, had 
 begun to "say good-by and cry a spell." 
 
 The night came, and with it such a packing of 
 Chapel Hall as had never been seen before. The 
 patrons of the school represented nearly every one of 
 the original slave-holding and two or three Northern 
 and Eastern States. There was scarcely more room 
 than would accommodate the relatives and friends of 
 the pupils from a distance, and to them was accorded 
 the front seats by those attending from the neigh- 
 borhood and little village near by. The exercises 
 were opened with music, music that made the heart 
 glad and sad in turn, 
 
 " Music that gentler on the spirit lies 
 Than tired eyelids on tired eyes." 
 
 This was followed by prayer from the Rev. Dr. 
 Strickland, after which Karlene Hoy was intro-
 
 52 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 duced as the valedictorian. To say that her ap- 
 pearance and reading of the valedictory elicited ap- 
 plause and excited admiration would be to put 
 the matter very mildly indeed. Karlene's dress 
 was exquisite, being of the finest white silk and 
 point lace ; her ornaments were diamonds and lilies 
 of the valley. Standing before that large audience, 
 the very impersonation of beauty, intelligence, and 
 goodness, she looked every inch a queen. When 
 Karlene concluded the reading and made her obei- 
 sance, the applause was hearty and long continued, 
 and only ceased because of the appearance of the 
 president, Professor Rust, of Bethel College, who, 
 having some time since been invited, now proceeded 
 to deliver the charge to the graduating class, which 
 was exceedingly well received. Immediately upon 
 the close of the charge to the graduating class, the 
 Governor of Kentucky, who occupied a seat upon 
 the platform, advanced to the foot-lights and laid a 
 large roll upon the table at his right, which proved 
 to contain the diplomas which were to be given out 
 that evening. After a few eloquent and well-timed 
 remarks, the governor, who had been selected to 
 perform that office, began to call the names of the 
 members of that class, and as each name was called 
 the favored one would advance to the stage and 
 receive from him that which she valued so highly, 
 her diploma, the evidence of her proficiency. The 
 class occupied the seats directly in front of the stage,
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR COMMENCEMENT. 53 
 
 and by a tacit understanding between governor, 
 teachers, school-mates, and musicians, Karlene Hoy's 
 name was to be called last. She occupied a seat in 
 the class farthest from the stage. Her name was at 
 last reached ; everything for the moment was deathly 
 still, for the governor held up in his hand a diploma 
 differing from the others in that the lettering upon 
 it was in gilt, and it bore a beautiful and elaborate 
 coat of arms. In a clear, ringing voice he called out 
 the name of Lady Karlene Hoy Clemont. As Kar- 
 lene arose and advanced to the stage with eyes filled 
 with tears, and her heart standing still, the band 
 began to play " Hail to the Chief." The challenge of 
 the band was accepted by the audience, and the 
 cheering which followed was participated in by 
 all, but by none so heartily as the school-mates of 
 Karlene. When Karlene answered to the name of 
 Lady Karlene Hoy Clemont, the astonishment of 
 her school-mates and acquaintances, aside from the 
 governor and her teachers, was plainly visible on 
 their faces, and even while they were cheering, each 
 turned to his or her neighbor and asked what it 
 meant ; they had never heard her so called before ; 
 and was that really her name and title ? To none was 
 the surprise greater than to Karlene's two most in- 
 timate and confidential friends, Nadine and Marjorie. 
 When the exercises in Chapel Hall were concluded, 
 each teacher was surrounded by admiring and anx- 
 ious friends of Karlene, seeking to know the reason
 
 54 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 for the title of" lady," and the addition of "Clement" 
 to Karlene Hoy's name. To all the answer was 
 given that Lady Karlene Hoy Clemont was of 
 English birth, and was the only child and daughter 
 of Edwin, the fifth Earl of Clemont. 
 
 " It all makes but little difference to me," said 
 Ruth Porter, " except that I rejoice with Karlene in 
 what seems to be her good luck. I am not surprised 
 at all, for I always knew she was better than any one, 
 and fit to be the queen, for that matter, and I shall 
 allow it to make but little difference in my feelings, 
 but shall continue to love her as plain Karlene Hoy, 
 the most worthy and lovable girl I ever knew." 
 
 As usual, Ruth had spoken her sentiments to a 
 fraction, and in this case not only hers, but those of 
 all who knew Karlene. 
 
 The entire building and grounds were brilliantly 
 lighted, and were given over for the evening to 
 pupils and visitors, who made the night one long to 
 be remembered for its gayety and pleasure. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 KARLENE'S LAST VISIT TO THE GROUNDS. 
 
 THE evening of Friday had borrowed an hour 
 from the morning of Saturday before the company 
 assembled to witness the closing exercises of the
 
 KARLENE'ti LAST VISIT TO THE GROUNDS. 55 
 
 school of Mile, de Roode and enjoy the pleasant 
 entertainment following had remembered that every- 
 thing in this life must have an end, and that possibly 
 their stay had been prolonged already too long. 
 
 The evening was one of those in which everybody 
 had been suited and was happy; everybody had 
 met and been introduced to everybody. But in 
 another twenty-four hours all the girls would either 
 be at or on their way home. The last of their ward- 
 robes, except travelling suits, had been packed, and 
 it only remained to snatch from the few remaining 
 hours of the night such rest as they could, and pre- 
 pare for the homeward march on the morrow, re- 
 membering that they would separate then, many of 
 them at least, forever. The good-nights were not 
 half so carelessly said as usual, but instead the more 
 intimate friends added to the usual good-night a 
 most affectionate kiss. 
 
 The morning of Saturday dawned warm and bright. 
 The grounds had never looked more beautiful, the 
 very air was laden with delightful odors from the 
 honeysuckle, carnations, hyacinths, and other odor- 
 iferous plants and flowers from the beautiful garden, 
 " breathing an aromatic redolence" from the dew- 
 bent rose and clover-blossom. The busy bee hummed 
 merrily as he toiled; the trees and shrubbery seemed 
 alive with sweet birds that sang as if they would 
 split their little throats; indeed, all nature seemed to 
 conspire that beautiful morning either to make all
 
 56 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 about the school of Mile, de Roode happy, or to 
 render them miserable in leaving what it had that 
 morning made almost a paradise. It may have 
 always been so beautiful, but never did it seem so 
 before, thought many a school-girl as she bade good- 
 by to teachers, servants, birds, and flowers, and took 
 up her line of march to the depot. 
 
 The leave-taking between school-mates and teachers 
 had been most affectionate, and promises to write and 
 visit had been made on all sides. Quite a number 
 had taken their departure on the early trains both 
 north and south, and now the 11 A.M. train south 
 was nearly due, and a party of six persons have just 
 passed through the " big gate," are making directly 
 for the little depot, and are readily recognized as 
 Mrs. Mauchline and Mrs. Gist, Karlene, Marjorie, 
 Nadine, and behind came Jinny, Karlene's maid. 
 
 Marjorie and Nadine had reluctantly said good-by 
 to their teachers and all the attache's and surround- 
 ings of their beautiful school home, but what must 
 that good-by have been to Karlene ? To Nadine and 
 Marjorie it had only been their school home for three 
 school terms of ten months each, but to Karlene it 
 had been the only home she had ever known and 
 loved, and to attempt to express in words the anguish 
 she felt in leaving it would be fruitless. Before 
 leaving, Karlene had gone, as she supposed alone, 
 to make her last visit, at least for a time, long or short, 
 she didn't know, to the beautiful garden where she
 
 KARLENE'S LAST VISIT TO THE GROUNDS. 57 
 
 had first learned her own name, and in which in 
 latter days she had dreamed so much, with open eyes, 
 of a mother she was one day to know, and of a home 
 even fairer than this, and recalling in this, her last 
 visit, those first visits and her day-dreams in after 
 years ; and now that all these bright visions had been 
 dissipated by Mrs. Hammond in her talk two nights 
 before, she felt more lonely and desolate than ever, 
 and remembering that God had promised that the 
 burdens of His children should not be greater than 
 they could bear, she fell upon her knees to ask 
 strength, grace, and guidance for the future. As she 
 arose to return to her friends, she saw kneeling close 
 by her maid, Jinny, whom she knew to be as good 
 a Christian as any, and who seemed almost heart- 
 broken that she also was about to leave the only 
 home she had ever known, but more particularly 
 that she saw her mistress was in trouble. 
 
 " Miss Karly, I knows you's in a heap o' trouble. 
 Can I do anything?" said Jinny, as she walked by 
 the side of her mistress, and in that affectionate, 
 earnest tone that told of a heart that would dare to 
 do anything for Karlene, whom she loved better 
 than all the world beside. 
 
 " No, my good Jinny," said Karlene, kindly ; "you 
 have ever been and are all to me that I could ask." 
 
 When Karlene bade adieu to her teachers not a 
 word was spoken. No words could fitly speak their 
 adieus, but lips kissed lips which were dumb, and 
 
 4
 
 58 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 each felt the other's heart beat, telling in unmis- 
 takable language the anguish of that parting. As 
 Karlene passed out of the " big gate," having said 
 good-by to all others, she now bade adieu to birds 
 and flowers and never dared look back. 
 
 In a few minutes after reaching the depot the train 
 arrived and took on board Mrs. Mauchline, Mrs. Gist, 
 the three young ladies, and the maid, Jinny, all of 
 whom arrived without accident at the home of the 
 Mauchlines, which is situated less than a score of 
 miles from the city of Memphis, Tennessee, about 
 eleven o'clock that night. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 A NIGHT IN THE VILLAGE OF LINNSBURG. 
 
 THE little village of Linnsburg was scarcely 
 more than a mile from the school of Mile, de 
 Roode, and, as has been before intimated, the hotel 
 for it only had one was taxed to its utmost to 
 accommodate the guests applying on the occasion of 
 the closing of said school. To the villagers the 
 
 B Hotel seemed a very large house indeed, and 
 
 many had doubted if ever its proprietor would see 
 the time that he would need all the rooms, so nu- 
 merous did they appear to the plain homespun and
 
 A NIGHT IN THE VILLAGE OF LINNSBURG. 59 
 
 home-staying people, who mostly congregated of 
 nights and Sundays in the large parlors and office. 
 On this occasion, however, to their great surprise, 
 the cry of the landlord was for more room. 
 
 The governor and party, composed of his wife 
 who, by the way, was a graduate of said school and 
 two gentlemen friends, unmarried men, from Balti- 
 more, were stopping there, and many others, mostly 
 gentlemen, the relations, brothers, or fathers of the 
 pupils, come to attend them home. Some of the 
 rooms were large, and in them were placed extra 
 beds. The landlord was one of the most polite 
 men in the world, a good judge of human nature, 
 and far from being a fool. 
 
 Mr. Glenmore and Colonel Strange, the two gen- 
 tlemen accompanying the governor, were lighted to 
 their room immediately upon their return from the 
 school a few minutes after one o'clock. They found 
 the room neat and clean, but containing three beds. 
 
 "As I said before, gentlemen," said the affable 
 landlord, " room is in demand here to-night, and I 
 think it more than likely I shall have to intrude 
 another upon you, seeing there are three beds in the 
 room, but shall bring none except one whose visit 
 had the same object as yours, that is, to witness 
 the closing exercises of our school and participate 
 in the entertainment." 
 
 "Oh, certainly," answered Mr. Glenmore, "and 
 don't hesitate to do so, especially if he is one who
 
 60 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 attended the exercises and entertainment of to-night, 
 for if he was not a gentleman when he went there, 
 he certainly came away one." 
 
 " Thank you," responded the landlord. Bowing 
 himself out of the room, he closed the door and 
 descended to the office. Upon entering the office he 
 was met by a gentleman who said that he came in 
 on the train that arrived after nightfall, and had 
 not stopped to make arrangements at the hotel, but, 
 feeling that he was already late, had gone directly to 
 the school. 
 
 "You have friends or relatives in the school, I 
 presume?" said the landlord, as he led the way to 
 the room occupied by Glen'more and Strange. 
 
 " I have a friend/' said the gentleman, as he fol- 
 lowed the lead of the landlord. 
 
 " Will you give me your name, that I may intro- 
 duce you ?" said the latter. 
 
 " Legon," was the answer. 
 
 Upon rapping at the door the answer " Come in" 
 was heard, and opening the door the landlord ushered 
 in and introduced Mr. Legon, asking to be excused 
 for not remembering the names of the other two 
 gentlemen. 
 
 "My name is Glenmore, and this is my friend, 
 Colonel Strange," said one, as they both shook hands 
 cordially with Mr. Legon. 
 
 "By the way, Mr. Legon, my friend and I were 
 just arranging for a smoke and a little social chat
 
 A NIGHT IN THE VILLAGE OF LINNSBVRG. 61 
 
 before retiring. Won't you join us?" said Colonel 
 Strange. 
 
 " With pleasure/' answered Mr. Legon. 
 "And you, landlord, won't you join us also?" 
 continued Colonel Strange. 
 
 " No, thank you," said the landlord, as he retired, 
 thinking how much more he liked the faces of Glen- 
 more and Strange than he did that of Legon. He 
 remembered that the latter had hesitated when he 
 asked if he had relatives or friends in the school, and 
 then one eyelid drooped peculiarly, and with the 
 other eye he did not look you in the face when 
 speaking to you. To be plain, the landlord was not 
 prepared to bet much of his money that Legon was 
 a thorough gentleman. 
 
 " Well, gentlemen," said Barry Glenmore, when 
 they had lighted their cigars and were comfortably 
 seated, " what of the evening ? How have you spent 
 it?" 
 
 " Grandly !" exclaimed Colonel Strange. 
 
 "And what say you, Mr. Legon?" asked Mr. 
 Glenmore, seeing that that gentleman appeared to be 
 a little backward in expressing himself, as they 
 desired to make him feel as easy as possible. 
 
 " I have enjoyed the evening as well as possible," 
 said Legon, evasively. 
 
 " Your tone is that of one with a love affair, in 
 which all things were not going ' as merry as a mar- 
 riage bell,' " laughingly said Glenmore to Legon.
 
 62 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 " If I had not a love affair when I went, I cer- 
 tainly came away with one, for who could be one of 
 such an assembly and go and come the same?" 
 responded Legon, in a most gracious manner. 
 
 "Bravo! bravo!" exclaimed Colonel Strange, 
 clapping his hands. " Well said, by jingo ! and in so 
 saying you have expressed my sentiments and con- 
 dition to a dot. I went a free man, I came away a 
 slave." 
 
 " If you gentlemen are not sincere in your expres- 
 sions I must believe you to be mind- and heart-readers, 
 for you have read mine as though you were reading 
 from a book," said Glenmore. " I believe positively 
 that I am in love," he continued, " and that I will 
 have to, in some way, still the promptings of my 
 heart, or the visit to Kentucky on important business 
 will be changed to one of love-seeking and making." 
 
 "Glenmore, you talk like a man speaking the 
 truth in a jest. Come! tell us which one of the fair 
 ones lias so bewitched you ?" said Colonel Strange. 
 
 " Why, the valedictorian, of course. Who else 
 could it have been?" answered Glenmore. "By 
 George ! that face, form, and voice will haunt me 
 as long as I live," he continued, half soliloquizing. 
 
 " By Jove ! you are a splendid judge of women, 
 and a man of excellent taste in that direction ; but 
 seeing that you were apparently as much attracted to 
 other young ladies, especially to the young and 
 beautiful widow, Mrs. Gregory, as to the valedicto-
 
 A NIGHT IN THE VILLAGE OF LINNSBURG. 63 
 
 rian, I allowed myself to fall in love with her ; but if 
 we are to be rivals I give it up and bid you God-speed, 
 for," continued Colonel Strange, " I would rather 
 lead my regiment again in battle and fight for victory 
 there than against so handsome and worthy a fellow 
 as you in a love affair. There ! now you are looking 
 right into my hand, and I am for you." 
 
 " Thank you, but had you not better be careful 
 about committing yourself so fully and unreservedly 
 to my interests ? I may draw upon you sooner and 
 more largely than you think," answered Glenmore. 
 
 " All right, my friend," said the colonel. " Should 
 it be for money, you will find that I will not say you 
 nay, no odds the amount; if for friendship, my 
 honor is pledged, and upon that fund I take pleasure 
 in saying I never overdraw ; but," continued the 
 colonel, " while / have confessed the truth unblush- 
 ingly of my heart affairs of the-evening, and you have 
 candidly owned to wounds, ' not loud, but deep/ our 
 friend Legon here is as dumb as an oyster. Come !" 
 said he to Legon, "thy story quickly, and when it's 
 told we'll ' name the corners of the room' and ' lie 
 down to pleasant dreams.' " 
 
 This speech of the colonel's elicited a hearty laugh 
 from the other two. 
 
 " My heart," said Mr. Legon, " must be more sus- 
 ceptible than men's ordinarily, for I find myself in 
 love with more than one of the fair company of to- 
 night, and can hardly make a selection between them."
 
 64 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 " I remember to have seen you," said the colonel, 
 " in the course of the evening, with Miss Mauchline, 
 and after, and for a much longer time, with a very 
 attractive young lady, to whom I had the pleasure 
 of being introduced, a Miss Gist." 
 
 As the colonel spoke he was looking directly into 
 the face of Legon, and, consequently, noticed that he 
 grew nervous and his face flushed when he spoke of 
 Nadine Gist. The colonel, having for the first time 
 looked squarely into the face of Legon, found him- 
 self sharing in the opinions of the landlord. For 
 reasons satisfactory to himself, Mr. Legon sought and 
 succeeded, though somewhat abruptly, in changing 
 the topic of conversation. 
 
 "May I ask," said he, "where you two gentle- 
 men are from ?" 
 
 " We are both natives of Kentucky, though living 
 in Baltimore," answered Glenmore. "And you?" 
 he asked. 
 
 " I am a native of New York and live in Tennes- 
 see, the* western part," answered Legon.
 
 TRUSTING THEIR FATE TO THE CORNERS. (35 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 TEUSTING THEIK FATE TO THE COENEES. 
 
 THE change in the conversation made by George 
 Legon was especially noticeable for its abruptness, 
 and put his two companions to thinking, especially 
 the colonel. 
 
 Colonel Strange, though a man of middle age and 
 possessed of many attractions both of mind and 
 heart, had never married, and, while in no sense 
 averse to the charms of the fair sex, was not consid- 
 ered as seeking with all his heart the marriage rela- 
 tion ; indeed, rumor said that when yet a very young 
 man he had loved and lost. He was, by every one that 
 knew him, esteemed as one of the most gallant of 
 men ; educated at West Point, he had the bearing 
 of a soldier, which profession he laid down never to 
 take up again upon the day of the surrender at 
 Appomattox. Having followed the fortunes of the 
 Confederacy to that day, he found himself without 
 fortune, and with nothing but a stout heart, abundant 
 energy, and a determined will, he begun the battle 
 of life afresh and in a field almost new. His first 
 employment after the close of the war was with a 
 tobacco merchant, in which business he was soon 
 4*
 
 66 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 regarded as an expert, and almost immediately 
 chances of speculation in that article were afforded 
 him by moneyed men of New York. From the 
 beginning he was successful, and now not less than 
 twenty-three years have elapsed since the faded gray 
 uniform of a Confederate colonel was exchanged for 
 
 O 
 
 the dress of the civilian, and Colonel Lenu Strange is 
 reputed a millionaire. 
 
 Barry Glenmore, a distant relative, though a much 
 younger man, is his legal adviser and most intimate 
 and confidential friend. At Colonel Strange's sug- 
 gestion, Glenmore had gone to Baltimore to make it 
 his home. They were both visiting Kentucky on 
 business, and by invitation from the governor, and 
 as members of his party, were attending the closing 
 exercises of this deservedly-popular and widely- 
 known school merely for recreation, having no per- 
 sonal interest aside from the pleasure that might be 
 derived from the visit. 
 
 The governor was a lifetime friend of Colonel Lenn 
 Strange, and school-mate and warm personal friend 
 of Barry's father. Barry he had not known since 
 he was a boy ; but that he was the sou of his friend 
 was sufficient for the warm-hearted governor, and 
 any assistance he could render or kindness show he 
 would with very great pleasure. 
 
 Having finished his second cigar, Colonel Lenn 
 Strange arose and began making preparations rather 
 hurriedly for bed.
 
 TRUSTING THEIR FATE TO THE CORNERS. 67 
 
 " Well, gentlemen, however agreeable your com- 
 pany," said he, " tired nature calls for rest, and I 
 shall proceed at once to 'put me in my little bed."' 
 
 " I'll join you," said Barry Glenmore, beginning 
 to make the necessary arrangements. 
 
 George Legoii proceeded in the same direction, 
 but without remark. 
 
 "I will name the corners of the room for you 
 gentlemen, and you can name for me," said the 
 colonel, laughingly. "And you may be certain, 
 Barry," he continued, "that one will bear the 
 name of the beautiful valedictorian ; and you, Mr. 
 Legon, that one will bear that of the handsome 
 Miss Gist." 
 
 When the colonel spoke to Legon he watched 
 carefully the effect of the mention of Nadine Gist's 
 name. He was not rewarded by Legon with a word, 
 not even a look. 
 
 "May the gods direct my looking," said Barry 
 Glenmore, affecting to jest in the matter, when really 
 this was the prayer of his heart. 
 
 " Amen !" said the colonel, and all was still for the 
 night. 
 
 Colonel Strange was soon asleep, but not before 
 he had thought the matter over thoroughly and 
 determined in his own mind that Legon was not a 
 good man, and yet he was a man slow to believe that 
 of any one whom he had not proven so. George 
 Legon did not break the silence, and whether he
 
 68 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 communed with a happy or sad heart that night 
 none could tell, and whether the colonel's estimate 
 of him was correct or not the future will develop. 
 
 Barry Glenmore had said that the face, form, and 
 voice of Karlene Hoy would haunt him as long as 
 he lived, and for to-night, at least, that saying was 
 true. Try as he would to sleep, that face, form, and 
 voice, like the " ghost of Banquo," would not down, 
 nor indeed did he bid it down, but would recall each 
 movement, look, and word, and live over again and 
 again the few happy moments, the happiest of his 
 life, which he had spent with Karlene. 
 
 Barry Glenmore was a gentleman in the true sense 
 of that word. Much of his life had been spent in 
 the society of ladies, yet he had not had a single love 
 affair. True, when yet a boy, he had had his " best 
 girl" at school, and indeed his favorites among the 
 young ladies with whom he had been associated since 
 he had come to man's estate, but to say that he had 
 ever been really in love would be to mistake him. 
 
 He held that to trifle in such a matter was a 
 crime, and that a man who would, for pastime, court 
 and flirt with every pretty girl he met who would 
 allow him was not a gentleman. 
 
 While Barry Glenmore had never really loved, we 
 doubt if there were not those who had fallen in love 
 with him ; indeed, it was a thing incredible to think 
 of a man young, handsome, and intelligent as he 
 not being loved. Tall, erect, of fine form and easy,
 
 TRUSTING THEIR FATE TO THE CORNERS. 69 
 
 graceful carriage, hair as black as a raven, large 
 brown eyes, fair complexion, large mouth, thin lips, 
 which indicated great firmness of character, promi- 
 nent cheek bones and distended nostrils, thus is 
 given briefly and truly a pen-picture of this Apollo 
 among men. He, like many others, held to the 
 theory that man seldom finds his mate when and 
 where he expects, but that it is generally chance 
 accident kismet. And, without being able to give 
 to his own satisfaction the reasons, he felt that in 
 Lady Karlene he had met his fate. 
 
 Notwithstanding he was the only child of well-to- 
 do parents, he had never been petted and spoiled. 
 His mother having died when he was quite young, 
 he had been the constant companion of his father up 
 to six months prior to this time, when he was deprived 
 by death of the loving father and companion. John 
 Glenmore, the father of Barry, was a lawyer of pro- 
 found ability, a ripe scholar, and one of the most 
 affable, social, and engaging of men. After the death 
 of his wife he removed to the city of Washington, 
 where, until the day of his death, he was engaged 
 in the practise of his profession, generally understood 
 to have been one of the most, if not the most, lucrative 
 in the city. Strangely enough, he was understood to 
 have left but little money to his son, the only expla- 
 nation being in the fact that he was known to have 
 denied himself or his son nothing. He had left, 
 however, that which was far better than money, a
 
 70 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 good name and a spotless character. It was but a 
 short time after the death of his father that Barry 
 Glenmore was induced, principally by Colonel 
 Strange, to remove to Baltimore to practise his 
 profession. More than once, in the six months he 
 had lived in Baltimore, the Democrats of the district 
 in which he resided had tried to induce him to accept 
 at their hands an election to a seat in the House of 
 Congress, but having passed the most of his life in 
 the national capital, he had become disgusted with 
 office and office-seekers. And, more than that, he 
 had the good sense to realize that for him to enter 
 politics this young in life, and having accumulated 
 but little money, meant that he was to remain a poor 
 man if he continued an honest one. His pros- 
 pects were bright, and though an active partisan, he 
 had determined that his reputation, did he make 
 any, should be made in the line of his profession. 
 
 One month prior to this visit to Kentucky he had 
 learned from former friends of his father, residents 
 of that State, that he had interests there that were 
 likely to be worth his time to look after; so in com- 
 pany with his friend, Colonel Strange, who also had 
 business in the " dark and bloody ground," the visit 
 was made. 
 
 After an hour spent building beautiful castles and 
 in the most delightful eye-open dreams, Barry Glen- 
 more fell asleep.
 
 SCEPTICISM. 71 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 SCEPTICISM. 
 
 THE breakfast -bell at the tavern in Linnsburg had 
 rung the second time before either Glenmore, Strange, 
 or Legon, who had talked so much of the night 
 away, were aroused from that sweetest sleep, the 
 morning nap. When, however, the clapper had 
 made its last stroke, and as the clanging, grating, 
 jarring, and altogether unmelodious notes made by 
 it were dying out, Colonel Strange opened his eyes. 
 From time immemorial, "the memory of man runneth 
 not to the contrary/' it has been held by those who 
 have never married, and by that number especially 
 who want to marry, that upon sleeping in a room 
 never slept in by that one before, the very cor- 
 ners of the room may be made to predict with un- 
 erring certainty the person to whom the new occu- 
 pant is to be married ; so the legend goes. The 
 following is the method : upon retiring, two or more 
 persons, in a room never before occupied by them, 
 name for each other the corners thereof, giving to 
 said corners the names of those most admired by 
 the party whose future is to be told, and on waking 
 in the morning the corner first looked at bears the 
 name of the one whom he will marry. The one
 
 72 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 having been named for you gives the name borne by 
 that particular corner, and you know your fate. 
 
 Remembering this method to have been relied 
 upon for truly forecasting the future in matrimonial 
 directions by all well-regulated young men and 
 ladies in his more youthful days, and having spent 
 an hour in talking of love and marriage, Colonel 
 Strange thought by its use to 1 secure for his two 
 companions almost certain knowledge of the one 
 with whom they were to share life's joys or tread 
 life's weary way. 
 
 " Barry ! Barry !" called the colonel, in a loud, 
 excited voice, remembering the matter of the corners, 
 and wanting to startle Glenmore so he would look 
 up to see what the matter was. His loud calling 
 had the desired eifect. Hearing his name so ex- 
 citedly repeated, Barry Glenmore sprang almost to 
 his feet in the bed, and staring surprisedly at the 
 colonel, asked, 
 
 " What's the matter, colonel ?" 
 
 " I want company and my breakfast. But I say, 
 Barry, which corner did you see first?" said the 
 colonel, springing from the bed. 
 
 " That one directly beyond you." 
 
 "By jingo! you are a lucky dog, for if that 
 corner didn't bear the name of the beautiful valedic- 
 torian I am a prevaricating ' Johnny Reb,' " said 
 the colonel, with a show of seriousness and look of 
 congratulation.
 
 SCEPTICISM. 73 
 
 " Thank you, colonel, for the superb manner in 
 which you have handled my case before the spirits 
 of divination, but I am afraid your partiality caused 
 you to so arrange the matter that my interest could 
 not suffer ; in other words, I suspect you of having 
 named all the corners for the same lady." 
 
 " Now, Barry, ' that's the most unkindest cut of 
 all,' to accuse me of cheating in a game where I 
 haven't a chance to make a cent. Another suspicion 
 about my honor from you and I'll turn the wizard 
 against you," said the colonel, threateningly, and 
 just then, seeing that Legon was awake, said, " Good- 
 morning, Mr. Legon. Which corner did you see 
 first?" 
 
 " I saw that one," said Legon, pointing to the 
 south-east corner. 
 
 " Then, by George ! you get the handsome young 
 widow I saw you with last night," responded the 
 colonel, as though he believed every word he 
 spoke. 
 
 " I have very little faith in such superstitions," 
 said Legon, exhibiting just a little temper, and, in 
 spite of himself, seemed evidently annoyed that 
 Nadine's name had not been used instead of that of 
 the handsome widow, Hazel Gregory. 
 
 " Then you don't believe that there is a ' divinity 
 that shapes our ends, rough hew them as we may' ? " 
 asked the colonel, who had noticed the annoyance of 
 Legon, whom he was convinced was not a gentle-
 
 74 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 man, and for which reason he took pleasure in 
 pressing the plainly unpleasant fun. 
 
 " I believe there is no divinity except that which 
 is the outgrowth of ignorance and superstition/' an- 
 swered Legon, sharply. 
 
 " You believe there is a God, do you not ?" asked 
 Barry Glenmore of Legon, with a look of surprise 
 at the statement he had just made. 
 
 "Yes, if nature may be called God," answered 
 Legon. 
 
 " But do you not believe in the God of the Bible ?" 
 continued Mr. Glenmore. 
 
 " I do not !" emphatically answered Legon, with 
 an ill-suppressed look of disgust. 
 
 " I am glad, Mr. Legon," said Barry, " that I do 
 not share in your scepticism, and more, if I did I 
 would not promulgate it; not that you have or do, 
 for I believe your declaration of the want of faith to 
 have been drawn out by Colonel Strange, and that I 
 am responsible for your enlargement upon the fact 
 of your infidelity." 
 
 " I hope you will reflect neither upon yourself nor 
 Colonel Strange for my declaration of scepticism. 
 I am always proud and glad of an opportunity to 
 disavow my belief in the old women's fables of the 
 Bible, and my disbelief in gods, one or many," 
 retorted Legon. 
 
 " I am sorry indeed to hear you make these state- 
 ments, and hope that in time investigation or some-
 
 SCEPTICISM. 75 
 
 thing else will change your mind," said Barry, 
 mildly and kindly. 
 
 " Your wish is one I have no disposition to thank 
 you for, as I hope never to change my mind. In no 
 sense a slave to superstition, I have nothing but con- 
 tempt for the hypocritical canting of religion's 
 fanatics, and hope only for greater freedom of 
 thought and better and more favorable opportu- 
 nities and ability for denouncing the works and 
 teachings of crying, snivelling men and women and 
 brawling preachers," said Legon, with bombast that 
 was disgusting in the extreme. 
 
 George Legon, whether or not a bad man, was 
 certainly not a fool. Colonel Strange, who had 
 completed his toilet and was ready for breakfast, 
 only waiting on his two companions, listened calmly 
 to Legon's avowal of scepticism. But when he 
 heard the Bible and religion denounced, and low, 
 vulgar epithets applied to men and women of God, 
 notwithstanding his life was not entirely consistent 
 with that of a good Christian, the color would come 
 and go in his face, and a scowl of anger was plainly 
 visible there, and it was with the greatest effort that 
 he restrained himself from angry words, which with 
 the least persuasion he would have accompanied 
 with blows. His father had been a preacher of the 
 Gospel, and his mother a good Christian worker, and 
 himself a Christian man, though often failing in duty. 
 As he often called himself, " the weakest child God
 
 76 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 has, yet, nevertheless, His child." Thinking at last 
 that he had his feelings under such control as to 
 allow himself to speak without fear of boiling over, 
 he said, courteously, 
 
 " Mr. Legon, I think that every man ought to be 
 honest, but as our friend Glen more has said, did I 
 hold to your views, for the good of society I would 
 not promulgate them. It is already too corrupt, 
 and our aim should be not to make it worse, but 
 better and more honest." 
 
 " I feel no responsibility whatever for the honesty 
 or character of any man. I reject in toto the Bible 
 doctrine that I am my brother's keeper, but hold 
 as tenaciously to the theory of Disraeli ; that is, ' He 
 is a fool who is one grain honester than the times in 
 which he lives,' " answered Legon, his manner and 
 tone convincing Colonel Strange that he spoke as he 
 felt, and that his opinion heretofore formed of Legon 
 was correct. 
 
 "My estimation of the theory as quoted from 
 Disraeli is that it is a lie well told. My opinion is 
 that none but the bad will adopt it as their rule of 
 life. My prediction is that I shall live to see you 
 suffer for the abominable theories you hold and pro- 
 mulgate," said Colonel Strange, wholly indifferent 
 as to how what he said was received by Legon. 
 Feeling himself contaminated by the association, he 
 turned to Barry Glenmore, took his arm, and pro- 
 ceeded, without further notice of Legon, to the break-
 
 VIEWING STRANGE PREMISES. 77 
 
 fast-room, leaving the latter angry, and doubtful if 
 his company would be permitted by the other two. 
 George Legon was a coward, and especially when 
 the advantage was not all his own. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 VIEWING STKANGE PKEMISES. 
 
 " I NEED not ask you whether you have slept well, 
 you look so much better," was Marjorie's morning 
 greeting to Karlene. 
 
 " I assure you," she answered, " I am very much 
 rested." 
 
 But waking for the first time under a strange roof 
 was a new experience to Karlene, so she thought how 
 much she would like an early walk. The first thing 
 which met her eyes on waking was a bouquet of 
 beautiful roses of every tint, from the palest pink to 
 the deepest crimson. Then, with the natural desire 
 of a young girl to look her best, she chose her 
 prettiest morning dress amber blended with pale 
 blue and pinned a bunch of red roses in her hair, 
 for she felt some pride about her first appearance in 
 the house of her friend. Marjorie had often told her 
 of her much-loved brother Robert, and she had a
 
 78 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 great desire to appear to the best advantage before 
 him. She now exclaimed over and over again, " I 
 shall never forget the tedium, the ennui, the misery 
 of that first breakfast." The room was large, well 
 lighted, and handsomely furnished. The table shone 
 with silver and was artistically decorated with flowers, 
 and the damask was of the finest. 
 
 There was Marjorie, bright and beautiful as a 
 summer dream, and her mother kind and respectful 
 to all. But alas ! for this formal brother. He was 
 polished beyond a fault, but had none of those gentle, 
 conciliatory manners which are so attractive. The 
 conversation turned principally upon the engage- 
 ments and visitors who would be sure to call during 
 the day and evening. It was very evident to Kar- 
 lene, from the envious, half-stealthy glances of the 
 servants, that her history had been discussed among 
 them. At last all were through. It was quite a 
 relief indeed when the long, irksome breakfast was 
 at an end. Yet time dragged on in the drawing- 
 room, for Karlene was so unaccustomed to being 
 ill gentlemen's company that it half frightened her. 
 It was a luxury once more to be alone. She had 
 wandered out into the grounds, which were exten- 
 sive. An old-fashioned fountain stood in the midst 
 of a shady lawn, this was surrounded by a belt of 
 lime-trees, beyond which the grass grew wild. Some 
 fine old oaks stood there, and under their long, 
 drooping boughs Karlene took shelter. It was so
 
 VIEWING STRANGE PREMISES. 79 
 
 cool, so calm, so still. There she knelt clown and 
 laid her head upon one of the little garden seats and 
 wept as though her heart would break, for this was 
 the first time she had realized that she had left the 
 only home she had ever known and loved. Had 
 any one a greater trouble than Karlene Hoy, with no 
 one to love her and no one to love ? Not having 
 found father, mother, or home, really she felt more 
 desolate and lonely than ever before in her young life. 
 How she longed to be loved as other girls were ! 
 
 " I know I must go back to the house," said Kar- 
 lene, " for they will wonder at my long absence." 
 
 Brushing her dishevelled hair from her forehead, 
 she went-rather reluctantly. Jinny was the first to 
 meet her. 
 
 " Lor', Miss Karly, whar am yo' bin ? We hab 
 looked ebrywhar fur yo'. Now, Miss Karly, yo's 
 bin cryin' agin ; yo' eyes am all red an' swoled up." 
 
 Karlene hastened to her room, arranged her toilet, 
 and went again to her friends. 
 
 " Certainly you have enjoyed a long walk," said 
 Marjorie ; " you look all the fresher for it. But -come, 
 it is time for lunch, and I believe my brother is 
 already waiting." 
 
 "Oh, if I could only escape those thoughtful 
 eyes, lunch would not be half such a terror !" said 
 Karlene, under her breath. 
 
 It was now over, and indeed passed more pleasantly 
 than she anticipated.
 
 80 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 They retired to the drawing-room. Karlene 
 thought Mr. Robert looked tired and anxious, there- 
 fore, after singing his favorite songs as he called for 
 them, she asked to be excused on plea of writing to 
 her teachers. 
 
 ******* 
 
 Two weeks had passed. They had had a great 
 many callers, for it was known that Marjorie had 
 now finished at school, and had a very beautiful girl 
 and great heiress visiting her. 
 
 There were quite a good many visitors one evening 
 when Karlene entered the room ; she had a strange 
 impression that she had been the subject of conver- 
 sation, for many curious eyes were turned towards 
 her. The introductions were passed rather awk- 
 wardly. 
 
 In the recess of the room she saw the heavy mass 
 of dark-brown hair, the folds of pink silk, and gleam 
 of diamonds ; Marjorie and the Hon. Mr. Couch had 
 evidently met again. Karlene looked at him with 
 some curiosity. He was at the closing of the school, 
 though Karlene did not meet him ; but hearing so 
 much from Marjorie concerning him, decided at once 
 he must be a monstrosity. 
 
 He was tall and slender, with narrow shoulders ; 
 his face was handsome, his eyes large and clear, and 
 he had a long, drooping moustache. There was 
 something about him that was attractive. 
 
 Karlene having studied this man's face as long as
 
 VIEWING STRANGE PREMISES. 81 
 
 it interested her, turned suddenly to leave the place 
 where she had been standing, but was confronted by 
 two gentlemen, one of whom was Robert Mauch- 
 liue, who instantly asked her pardon for detaining 
 her. 
 
 "But, Lady Clemont," said he, "I want the 
 pleasure of introducing to you a great friend of mine, 
 Mr. Atwood." 
 
 Karlene, although a little startled, bowed politely 
 and cast one of her bewitching smiles on the friend 
 of Mr. Mauchline. By this time she was begin- 
 ning to feel just a little more at home in Mr. Rob- 
 ert's company, and it was very noticeable that he 
 greatly admired Karlene. They were naturally 
 thrown together a great deal. He found her very 
 interesting and well posted on subjects that astounded 
 him. 
 
 Karlene was introduced to quite a number that 
 evening, Mr. Vernon among others. He was tall, 
 dark, and erect, with a fine patrician face, but still 
 there was something that a close observer could 
 detect about his mouth which bespoke weakness and 
 cruelty. Karlene did not like this man and heartily 
 wished for some excuse to get away. 
 
 "I wish, Miss Hoy," he said, "to tell you some- 
 thing of myself. I know the story of your life ; I 
 have heard it, and it is as sweet and simple as a poem. 
 Mine has nothing in it but business, and that is not 
 very attractive. But I must tell you I have just 
 
 5
 
 82 KARLENE HOT. 
 
 awakened to the knowledge of the other side of life. 
 Since I first saw your face it has looked at me from 
 the blue sky, from the depths of the river, and the 
 waves of the sea, by day and by night." 
 
 Karlene was shocked beyond measure that an 
 entire stranger should be so bold. 
 
 " I should be pleased to be excused/' she said, and 
 indignantly left the room. 
 
 " I would have been a strong man could I have 
 resisted the charms of that lovely face," said Mr. 
 Vernon to himself; " but I fear I have offended 
 her." 
 
 Just then Mr. Mauchline came up, seeing Lady 
 Karlene leave the room very suddenly and uncere- 
 moniously. 
 
 They were to all appearances a happy party, 
 although there stood behind some of their chairs a 
 gaunt skeleton. In after years these words proved 
 true. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 GOING TO HEK NEW HOME. 
 
 TIME seemed to have taken golden wings and 
 flown away. The time which Karlene intended 
 staying with the Mauchlines had very near expired.
 
 GOING TO HER NEW HOME. $3 
 
 They had been very hospitable and kind to her, but 
 presently a longing to be up and away came over 
 her. 
 
 She was seventeen, and on that bright morning 
 seventeen seemed to her a very advanced age. How 
 little she dreamed of all that was to happen ere she 
 was twice that age.! The realities of life did not 
 enter her thoughts. She was so anxious to see and 
 know her dear father better, and, therefore, very 
 soon she must bid these friends adieu. 
 
 She had not mentioned the subject to any one, 
 not even to Jinny, but on the morrow she would 
 tell them she expected her father very soon. It 
 was quite a sudden announcement that she would 
 leave them the day after to-morrow, and to Mr. 
 Robert it was sad, for he had learned to think of 
 seeing her in his home always. Mr. Melbourne 
 came even sooner than he was expected, and it was 
 in vain that they insisted on their making their visit 
 longer, for it was impossible for Mr. Melbourne just 
 now. Marjorie said Nadine Gist had promised to 
 spend the following week with them, and she felt 
 and knew how disappointed she would be to find 
 Karlene gone. 
 
 The day came and they bid them good-by, with 
 the promise when Karlene had a home to visit her. 
 Her father and guardian was delighted to have 
 this young girl and her maid Jinny with him, for 
 his life was a lonely one. Mr. Melbourne had a
 
 84 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 suite of rooms prepared for Karlene at his hotel. 
 He was very anxious that she should see some of 
 the world, therefore he had previously arranged his 
 business so as to be able to devote his time to her 
 pleasure, for he felt and believed from what he heard 
 and knew that she was capable of appreciating any 
 kindness rendered her. He was anxious also that 
 she should reign queen of New York society. Mr. 
 Melbourne decided that Clemont mansion should be 
 beautifully refurnished, and Karlene's friends, of 
 whom she had written him, should come and spend 
 the season with her. 
 
 Karlene had always begged Miss Clara (Mrs. 
 Hammond) that when she had a home, if ever, to 
 give up those laborious duties and come and share 
 her home and fortune, and she had almost wrung 
 the promise from her, for she was delicate and her 
 duties were already too irksome for her. 
 
 One gloomy evening, when the murky sky looked 
 as though it would open and pour a flood, Karlene 
 Hoy was crouching on a low stool at the feet of her 
 guardian. She was everything that could be desired, 
 and even more beautiful aud appreciative than Mr. 
 Melbourne had expected, and indeed he was very 
 proud of his ward. 
 
 " Tell me, my dear father, something of myself, or 
 of my mother," began Karlene, anxiously regarding 
 her guardian. " Have I had a very strange episode
 
 GOING TO HER NEW HOME. 5 
 
 in my life? I will love yon all the more if you 
 speak plainly about the matter, as so few have done. 
 I always had an intense hatred for mystery of any 
 kind. If my father made a mystery of his marriage 
 and of my existence, there's no reason why we should 
 imitate him. And of my mother, do you know any- 
 thing? And was my father so wicked a man as he 
 is represented to be ?" 
 
 "Who told you all this?" he asked, indignantly. 
 
 " Mrs. Hammond, and then I have heard it from 
 others." 
 
 " Ah, that is sad 1" And his hand fell with a crush- 
 ing blow upon the table. "What else? Tell me 
 all you have heard, all the trouble," said Mr. 
 Melbourne; "and I must say it was a needless 
 ccuelty on the part of both teacher and friend 
 to burden your young life with such troubles. 
 My dear child, do put away such thoughts and be 
 the sweet, happy girl you must be. Our home 
 will soon be in readiness for us. Let by-gones be 
 by-gones." 
 
 " I will trust you, and I do thank you," Karlene 
 answered, with happy tears. " I should think myself 
 very ungrateful if I did not try to be happy and 
 content with such a kind protector and father as 
 yourself." 
 
 They were at last satisfactorily settled in their 
 beautiful home, the Clemont house. It was grand. 
 The corridors were wide, the floors and staircases
 
 86 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 were all of white oak ; but the prettiest and most 
 pleasant places on the grounds were the magnificent 
 gardens. 
 
 The season had just opened, and the news had. 
 rapidly flown that the great Clemont heiress would 
 make her dtbut. Marjorie was soon expected, as 
 soon as housekeeper, maids, and other servants were 
 procured and in good running order. 
 
 Marjorie came, and declared she had never in all 
 her life seen such elegance and comfort in any house, 
 and said to Karlene, " This man is the one in all the 
 world you needed most." 
 
 The prettiest ball-room in all New York was said 
 to be Mrs. Crenshaw's. Its ceiling was so lofty, so 
 beautifully decorated, and was always rendered so 
 charming by the quantity and variety of its flowers. 
 It had been built after a fashion which made it 
 capable of holding three times as many flowers as 
 any ball-room in New York. Richly-panelled walls, 
 beautiful vases were everywhere; fountains, birds, 
 and flowers. It also had a painted ceiling which 
 was one of the wonders of New York. The ball- 
 room opened into a small but exquisite conservatory 
 at one end, and at the other folding doors opened 
 into a magnificent suite of drawing-rooms. These 
 superb rooms were all thrown together on this occa- 
 sion, and it was said more matches had been made 
 there than in any other house in New York. Many 
 charming nooks for lovers, the atmosphere light
 
 GOING TO HER NEW HOME. 87 
 
 and laden with sweetest perfume, made it conducive 
 to love-making. 
 
 The cards were out and grand preparations being 
 made, and every one was living in happy anticipation 
 of the good time in store for them, for balls were 
 always a success when given by Mrs. Crenshaw. 
 Visits had been exchanged between Mrs. Crenshaw, 
 Karlene, and Marjorie. Father Melbourne was very 
 much exercised over his charge's first appearance, 
 and had said to Karlene, " Spare no expense as to 
 your toilet," for he saw and realized what a sensa- 
 tion she was creating in the fashionable world. It 
 had been said, and he believed it was a confirmed 
 fact, that Karlene was the most beautiful woman in 
 all New York, and an own father could not have 
 been more anxiously concerned about her future 
 happiness. He also was determined that she should 
 make a brilliant match. Mr. Melbourne was not 
 particular about her marrying for money, for he had 
 quite enough, to say nothing of her vast amount. 
 This good man had long since made his will, re- 
 membering only Karlene ; his great possessions never 
 to pass into another's hands until her death, not even 
 her husband's. She was a very great source of com- 
 fort to him in his declining days, and indeed she had 
 grown to be part of his life. Mr. Melbourne wanted 
 to win love for her, as he only knew how she sighed 
 for it. Karlene, in return, admired and honored this 
 heaven-sent friend, and she would say, " I will not
 
 88 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 forget my dearest father in my rounds of pleasure," 
 and often insisted on staying home and talking or 
 reading to him ; but he would have her accept many 
 invitations, and would frequently accompany her 
 himself. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 COMPLETELY CAPTIVATED BY A WOMAN. 
 
 As we told you in a preceding chapter, Barry 
 Glenmore determined to see and know more of 
 Karlene. He repeated this over and over again to 
 himself as he paced up and down the balcony. 
 " My whole soul is aroused," he said to himself. " I 
 must see her, for never has the fever of love so com- 
 pletely laid hold of man as it has of me." 
 
 He retired, fighting this the most desperate passion 
 that ever lived in man's breast, but no amount of 
 fighting availed ; there could be but one ending, 
 " She must be my wife !" 
 
 That night did Barry Glenmore promise himself 
 that he would go and find Karlene and learn his 
 fate, for he felt she held in her hands the happiness 
 of his future life. It had been four months since he 
 first saw her, or since the closing of her school, and 
 all this time his love had been burning its way from 
 his heart to his lips.
 
 COMPLETELY CAPTIVATED BY A WOMAN. 89 
 
 " My whole heart turns to her. I have no life left 
 except that which is centred in her/' he would say. 
 
 The sun rose higher and higher in the blue sky 
 and the lighted noon more golden. Barry Glenmore 
 arose quite determined. He said that what had 
 come and what had gone was well, but he could live 
 no longer without seeing his Karleue. 
 
 " I must win her ! How changed my life is ! I feel 
 as though there was nothing to fill my future now 
 but her ; and if I am spared to win her for my own 
 may heaven deal with me as I deal with her !" he 
 soliloquized, and a bad man never prays that prayer. 
 " For," he continued, " she is so sacred to me in her 
 youth and innocence." 
 
 Barry Glenmore decided to go at once to New 
 York, but he must manufacture some excuse, as 
 Colonel Strange was sure to suspect something. 
 
 " If he had a glimmering of an idea of the real 
 business that took me from home I would get a long 
 lecture." 
 
 " Marriage is such a serious thing, my boy," said 
 Colonel Strange, on suspecting the cause of Glenmore's 
 suddenly- announced visit; "it is not like anything 
 else in the world. Most ties can be broken, but that 
 one, never ! It requires very careful consideration." 
 
 "Listen, Colonel Strange, my cousin, I have a 
 pretty little speech to make to you. The light of 
 the moon may cease forever, the stars may fall, but 
 the love I pledge for Karlene Hoy Clemont is un- 
 
 5*
 
 90 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 dying ! I will devote my whole life to winning her 
 if needful ! I solemnly swear it ! Nothing shall 
 daunt me, no difficulty dismay me! Hear me. If 
 I can persuade this girl to be my wife this world 
 will be changed into heaven for me." 
 
 " And you go to-night ? Well, you have my richest 
 blessings," said Colonel Strange, " and the old saying 
 is a true one, ' The man who hesitates is lost.' " Then 
 to himself: " But love has an eloquence all its own. 
 Barry is young, handsome, noble, and certainly pas- 
 sionately in love with this beautiful girl, and there 
 is no argument possible that he has not used ; and 
 why should it not be so? How happy he would make 
 her!" soliloquized Colonel Strange, as he sat there 
 with the white moonlight all around him throwing 
 quivering, graceful shadows. Then he thought of 
 his own lonely life, but finally concluded " never a 
 goose so gray," etc., and with this consoling thought, 
 and missing Barry more than he cared to admit, 
 retired rather earlier than was his custom. 
 
 " I am tired of this place, tired of this life, tired 
 of everything to-night. I only wish I was as happy 
 as Barry and in pursuit of some one to love as good 
 and beautiful as Karlcne Hoy. I should think all 
 love would be welcome!" exclaimed the bachelor. 
 " I know I am not worthy of any, but it is so strange ! 
 I don't think I have ever given two minutes to lovers 
 until Barry was so ' struck,' as he expresses himself 
 to be."
 
 COMPLETELY CAPTIVATED BY A WOMAN. 91 
 
 Colonel Strange had been very happy all these 
 five years. He and Barry had lived together, and 
 by dint of honest industry made money. It is said 
 that every man's opportunity comes to him once in 
 life. " Too much work only tires the body, while 
 too little depraves the mind." This had been the 
 motto of Colonel Strange through life. To-night 
 the dark waves of memory swept over him. He 
 was so much engrossed in his thoughts that he did 
 not remember that Barry said he perhaps would 
 return to-night. He came, and without ceremony 
 entered the room and found Colonel Strange deep 
 in thought and the picture of despair. 
 
 " I have never been so surprised, Barry, in my 
 whole physical existence ! Why came you back so 
 soon, my fortune-seeker ? I tremble for your future ; 
 but, however, I am glad to have you back, ' right 
 side up with care/ But sit down and tell me what 
 happiness the future holds for you and when I am to 
 get you off my hands, and J may decide to take unto 
 myself a helpmeet." 
 
 Colonel Strange sat quite still for some minutes, 
 as though the shadow of some dread destiny had 
 fallen over him, then he held out his hands to Barry 
 and said, jestingly, " You must excuse my agitation, 
 but really, tell me, will I have to give you up, and 
 how soon ?" 
 
 " I shall never leave you, dear cousin," he said, 
 wringing his hands, " never again !"
 
 92 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE AKEIVAL OF EOBEET MAUCHLINE. 
 
 THE eventful evening of Mrs. Crenshaw's ball 
 came at last. Karlene was especially radiant, a very 
 vision of patrician loveliness. Her dress was per- 
 fection, white silk and lace cunningly intermixed 
 and trimmed with water-lilies and graceful grasses, 
 a dress that suited her delicate loveliness to per- 
 fection. Marjorie also looked remarkably pretty. 
 She chose black velvet, and made it picturesque with 
 delicate ferns and sprays of scarlet geranium. 
 
 " Ah, me, Karlene, I almost envy your fair face 
 and stately figure, the charm of your fair, shining 
 hair and your exquisite grace. It seems to me my 
 dark beauty, as it is called, becomes absolute plain- 
 ness beside your delicate blonde loveliness." 
 
 " Well, Marjorie, how you can flatter one ! I will 
 begin to imagine you insincere if you do not desist." 
 
 The carriage was already waiting at the door and 
 the fatherly man quite impatient and ready to accom- 
 pany them. Their introductions were many, and to 
 Karlene's surprise and annoyance Mr. Vernon was 
 there. She had met with him only once before, and 
 as soon as he discovered her arrival he placed him-
 
 THE ARRIVAL OF ROBERT MAUCHLINE. 93 
 
 self near the door so as to be able to speak to her 
 among the first. Karleue said to herself, "How 
 much pleasanter it would be for me if that most im- 
 pudent man had not put in his appearance here this 
 evening ! I am already nervous." 
 
 She could not endure him and never gave him 
 the faintest encouragement, and avoided him when- 
 ever it was possible that evening. And when she 
 was with him she was abrupt and almost discourteous 
 to him. The more she disliked him, as is the nature 
 of man, the more he loved her. Karlene would 
 scarcely admit this to herself, for she thought it so 
 horrible to be passionately loved by some one she 
 disliked so very much as this man. He sought 
 every opportunity to declare his love the second time, 
 but on all occasions he was avoided. 
 
 Two days had passed since the ball. Their time 
 had been mostly occupied by calls and drives, and 
 to-day they were all expectation. 
 
 "Karlene," cried Marjorie, "just think, it is al- 
 most time for the three o'clock train, and my dear 
 brother will be here in a very short time." 
 
 " I do hope he will enjoy his visit," said Karlene. 
 
 She admired and respected this sedate brother of 
 Marjorie's, but she dreaded just a little to have to 
 entertain him. 
 
 Mr. Mauchline arrived, and was very cordially 
 received by Mr. Melbourne for Marjorie's sake, but 
 soon they were quite good friends. Very soon Mr.
 
 94 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 Melbourne saw that Mr. Mauchline admired Kar- 
 lene, and was glad to see no encouragement on her 
 part. When she left his home Mr. Mauchline felt 
 as if sunshine and happiness had gone with her, for 
 indeed he had learned in that short time to love her, 
 and he had almost counted the hours until he should 
 see and be with her again. One evening, when left 
 alone with her, he said, eagerly, 
 
 "Karlene, if I may presume to call you so, 
 you make me the proudest man in the world." 
 
 " I can't see that I have given you any reason for 
 so suddenly occupying so very exalted a position," 
 said Karlene, laughingly. 
 
 "No? You, Karlene, are rather satirical to 
 me 
 
 " And you," interrupted our heroine, " are grow- 
 ing sentimental." 
 
 " Why ?" he asked, anxiously. 
 
 " Because I do not like those laborious compliments 
 of yours, and I decline to hear any more of them." 
 
 " There ! I will never again be guilty of such con- 
 duct." 
 
 "You promise on your honor? Then you may 
 sit down here and we will go on talking." 
 
 Therefore he resumed his seat ; but presently the 
 dressing-bell rung. Excusing herself, Karlene re- 
 paired to her own room. During the next week one 
 gayety succeeded another so quickly that there was 
 hardly time for any one entertainment to be dis-
 
 THE ARRIVAL OF ROBERT MAUCHLINE. 95 
 
 cussed. All, what it is to have wealth ! To be able 
 to surround oneself with all that is most beautiful ; 
 to be able to make a fairy-land, even more lovely 
 than that which fairies make for themselves. For 
 continually this loved father and guardian was add- 
 ing something from his own savings to this already 
 beautiful home, for he did not wish any to out- 
 rival their own. In honor of Marjorie and her 
 brother was to be given one grand entertainment. 
 Clemont mansion was well suited for such entertain- 
 ments as they expected to give. 
 
 Two suites of rooms which opened into the mag- 
 nificent ball-room, the ball-room opening into a 
 large, elegant conservatory, and the latter opening 
 into an exquisite fernery, when thrown together 
 made a beautiful picture. It was grand ! Most 
 people pronounced Clemont mansion the most com- 
 plete in the city. It also had all the beauty and 
 charms of the country. The place of all others for 
 a masquerade! Mr. Melbourne was exceedingly 
 anxious that nothing should be left undone that 
 would help to make this first entertainment a suc- 
 cess. He loved Karlene so well and so faithfully 
 that he often made a sacrifice of his own inclinations 
 for what he thought was for her pleasure. This kind 
 protector, this tender, indulgent father, often said he 
 would devote the remaining few years of his life to 
 making her, the child of his dead friend, as happy 
 as it is possible for woman to be. He often won-
 
 96 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 dered how many more suns he should see set. He 
 had prayed one prayer by light of sun, moon, and 
 stars, and that one prayer was that he might live 
 to see Karlene happily married. His prayer, as we 
 will see, was granted. 
 
 The fashionable world was all excitement concern- 
 ing their characters and costumes for the much- 
 talked-of ball. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE VISIT TO ME. ELLIS. 
 
 SINCE the close of Mile, de Roode's school time 
 had passed but slowly for Nadine. Oil returning 
 from school she was offered a position in the college 
 as teacher of art and vocal music. She gratefully 
 accepted the generous offer, and in the following 
 September took her post as teacher. Mr. Legon, 
 who you remember attended the commencement 
 exercises of Mile, de Roode's school, was still an 
 ardent admirer of Nadiue's, but his love was hateful 
 and odious to the young teacher. He would make 
 it convenient to meet her each morn on her way to 
 school, but his company was very distasteful to her, 
 and she contrived some way to rid herself of him. 
 
 Mr. Ellis, one of Tennessee's noble sons, who
 
 TEE VISIT TO MR. ELLIS. 97 
 
 lived with only a boundary fence between his vast 
 estate and Nadine's humble home, saw and knew 
 Nadine quite well when a dainty, dimpled, beautiful 
 child, but as she had spent the last five years at school 
 knew now but little of her. He had met her several 
 times recently when visiting the college and admired 
 her greatly. He had paid her polite attentions, had 
 sent her flowers and grapes from his place, which 
 had once been her own home and which he knew 
 would be appreciated upon that account. Legon see- 
 ing his polite attentions to Nadine on several occasions 
 construed them into deeper meaning. One morning 
 on meeting Nadine he again declared his deep respect 
 and love for her, but was again repulsed. He 
 became enraged and answered disrespectfully, 
 
 " Ah, miss, I know why you repulse me ! It is 
 because of the attentions of the scoundrel Ellis. You 
 think you will one day become his wife and mistress 
 of his rich domain, but" he fiercely grasped her 
 arm "you shall never be called ' wife' by any but 
 myself, and I call all the gods together to witness 
 me swear that if I see that man offering his officious 
 attentions to you I shall warn him if he repeat them 
 it will be at his peril ; for you, Nadine Gist, shall 
 one day be mine." 
 
 From time to time, as he witnessed these mere 
 meaningless little attentions from Ellis to Nadine, 
 he became more and more enraged, until at last he 
 worked himself up to such a pitch of anger that he
 
 98 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 coolly and deliberately concocted a plan by which he 
 might either maim or destroy him altogether, the 
 plan being so well executed that he had almost carried 
 out his diabolical scheme, but, fortunately, the deadly 
 bullet which was intended to pierce his heart qnly 
 grazed his cheek. But the great shock to Ellis's 
 nervous system was not greater than the pain and 
 surprise of knowing that he had so bitter an enemy 
 on earth. 
 
 A great darkness had fallen on the little suburban 
 cottage which Nadiiie called home. The moon was 
 shining and innumerable stars were out, but to this 
 timid girl the blackness of night had never fallen so 
 utterly rayless as on this night. The winds came in 
 fitful gusts around the corners of the house, its wail- 
 ings and meanings sounding almost like the human 
 voice. This night was an absolute torture to Nadine, 
 for intolerable suspense possessed her. 
 
 "Does it matter whether I live or die?" she 
 thought. 
 
 Her mother sat near by, and raising her eyes to 
 Nadine, she said, 
 
 " It is such a pity, my child, that we cannot give 
 this man Legon over to the hands of the good citizens 
 who have put every effort forth to find the miscreant 
 and bring him to justice." 
 
 "But, mother, what can we do? Let him go un- 
 punished because we haven't the courage to expose 
 him?"
 
 THE VISIT TO MR. ELLIS. 99 
 
 " My daughter, we must think thrice before we 
 speak or act ; we must be considerate and do nothing 
 rashly, and be guided by judgment rather than im- 
 pulses." 
 
 " Mother, it is our Christian duty as neighbors to 
 put Mr. Ellis on his guard." 
 
 ".Yes, we must indeed warn him ; but if it should 
 be known that we warned Mr. Ellis this wicked man 
 would dare to do anything, and then I would not 
 have you. summoned to the witness-stand, nor for all 
 the gold of the Inca would I have you in the trial 
 which would be sure to follow. These are the 
 reasons for desiring our names untold, and we must 
 indeed be very careful, for Legon is a coward and a 
 villain without a doubt." 
 
 " Oh, mother ! I am very much afraid of this man 
 and heartily wish we could never hear from him 
 again." 
 
 " Well, my child, let us trust we may not. See ! 
 the clock is on the stroke of twelve, and I fear you 
 are taxing your health and strength." 
 
 Nadine was indeed weary and her head hot and 
 feverish ; still she slept, but her brain was on fire and 
 her fairest recollections were turned into ugly night- 
 mares. As upon the blackness of night dawn comes 
 after a while, so Nadine awoke from her stupor of the 
 night to light and comparative cheerfulness. 
 
 " Mother, if it were not for your superior judgment 
 and discretion we might have acted in such a way as
 
 100 KARLENE HOY, 
 
 would have brought about trouble. We must indeed 
 be very cautious. I received a note from Legon this 
 morning," continued Nadine, "on my way to school, 
 and had I known whom it was from I would not 
 have opened it, but would have returned it to him by 
 bearer. I will read you the contents of the note : 
 
 "'Miss NADINE, You will not be surprised in 
 receiving this note, as you know to some extent my 
 feelings towards you, nay, my deep love and admira- 
 tion for you, etc. One word of encouragement from 
 those proud lips would make me the happiest man 
 in the land. You will never know how I long and 
 wait for it ; and since I first saw you I have loved 
 you madly and hoarded every cent, dear Nadine, that 
 I some day might surround you with every comfort, 
 every luxury of this life. Nadine, be my wife and 
 nothing shall be left undone to make your happiness 
 complete. Marry me, dearest, and I will guard you 
 from all influences that are not noble, pure, and 
 good. My sweetheart, I love you more than I can 
 ever tell you. Please let me hear from you imme- 
 diately. 
 
 " ' Your very ardent lover, 
 
 "'GEORGE LEGON.' 
 
 "Oh, mother, I cannot tell you how indignant I 
 was when I read this note, or of the intense hatred 
 I have for this man ;" and her face grew serious,
 
 THE VISIT TO MR. ELLIS. 
 
 but she made no further comments on the subject. 
 Then, to her mother's surprise, she suddenly broke 
 down and hid her face in her hands. 
 
 " What is it, darling ? I cannot bear to see you 
 troubled." 
 
 " Mother, why does this man persist in asking me 
 to marry him when I have told him my decision was 
 unalterable ? I would not marry a man for whom I 
 have not the least particle of love or respect. I do 
 so much hope I will never see him again, never ! and 
 to think he will still write, renewing his offer of love 
 and marriage. You remember, mother, the last time 
 I met him, he caught my hand, and in my attempt 
 to loosen it I dropped some flowers, which he quickly 
 picked up and placed in a small book and returned 
 them to his pocket, saying, ' I shall treasure these as 
 a small token of your love.' " 
 
 Mrs. Gist saw the pallor on that beautiful face and 
 pitied her child from the bottom of her heart. 
 
 " It is hard to say," she thought, " what that 
 wicked, unscrupulous man would not do to carry his 
 point to win Nadine." 
 
 As Mr. Ellis's home adjoined theirs, next morn- 
 ing mother and daughter decided it was best to 
 acquaint him with what they knew concerning Le- 
 gon's attempt upon his life. Mrs. Gist rang the 
 bell and asked to see Mr. Ellis. She was ushered 
 into a superbly-furnished room, and how her heart 
 sank within her to see her own beautiful home in
 
 102 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 other hands, for too well she remembered this home 
 had taken wings and flown from her ! " Time is said 
 to be the healer of all sorrow," she murmured. 
 What agony wrung those words from her lips she 
 alone knew. "But I must control myself," she 
 said. 
 
 "This is Mr. Ellis, I presume?" said she to a 
 gentleman, who advanced, bowed courteously, and 
 placed an easy-chair. 
 
 " Be seated, madam." 
 
 " Pardon my intrusion this morning, and also 
 pardon a stranger seeking an interview. I am Mrs. 
 Gist, the mother of Nadine Gist." 
 
 Mr. Ellis was somewhat startled, but very soon 
 recovered himself. 
 
 " Ah ! I have had the exquisite pleasure of meeting 
 Miss Nadine. Pray, madam, be seated." 
 
 Polite as he always was, for he had the instincts 
 and training of a gentleman, he had perhaps lost the 
 generous solicitude for the happiness of others, for 
 the man had lived so long all alone or, if I may say, 
 without the softening influence of woman's presence, 
 that he had naturally grown indifferent to some 
 extent. He loved the society of cultured, intelligent 
 women, and was a great favorite with them ; but of 
 late he had grown shy and reserved. 
 
 " Mr. Ellis," said Mrs. Gist, in a low, mysterious 
 tone of voice, " I have an important communication 
 for you only."
 
 THE VISIT TO MR. ELLIS. 1Q3 
 
 " Indeed, madam," wheeling his chair nearer her. 
 
 Speaking very low she said, 
 
 " It is of this man Legon I would speak. He has 
 made threats against your life in my daughter's 
 presence. He at one time addressed Nadine, and 
 though she refused positively to listen to him, he 
 repeated his offers until they became very distasteful 
 to her ; then he grew very angry and told her she 
 should never marry any one but himself. She dis- 
 likes this man very much and also fears him. I very 
 well know I can trust you. You will be prudent 
 for our sakes I know, for we would dislike any pub- 
 licity in regard to this matter." 
 
 " I am under the deepest obligations to both you 
 and your daughter." 
 
 " This man," she went on, ignoring his interrup- 
 tion, "taunted my daughter with having received 
 attentions from several, and among others yourself. 
 I hope you will not bring this man to justice just 
 now for our sakes. I forgot to say that on the 
 evening the first shot was fired he came to our house 
 and said to Nadine, 'If you do not marry me, 
 Nadine, you will regret it. I shall go as far away 
 from you as steam and time can take me. I shall 
 go where I will not be maddened by your heartless- 
 ness and beauty, and perhaps in time I may learn to 
 forget you/ and with these words he left the house 
 very angry, and in a short time we heard the shot 
 and were very much alarmed. Nadine has never
 
 104 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 quite recovered from the fright of that hour. Some- 
 times, when so acute a crisis comes up in our life as 
 has befallen Nadine, the limitation of our physical 
 nature gives way. She loathes this man Legon, with 
 his bad face, his treacherous eyes, and contemptible 
 behavior. You will please make no disclosure until 
 some other things develop," concluded Mrs. Gist. 
 
 Her woman's instinct told her she could trust this 
 man. 
 
 "On considering, my friend," said Mr. Ellis, 
 " most certainly, if you wish it, I will divulge nothing 
 in regard to this affair." 
 
 When Mrs. Gist reached home Nadine was watch- 
 ing for her return. 
 
 " You must be very tired, mother, after your long 
 walk." 
 
 She threw her arms about Nadine's neck, and the 
 latter's soft curls rested against the mother's cheek. 
 Her love for her mother was indeed deeper than the 
 grave, and she knew very well what a trial her 
 mother had undergone in going to the home of her 
 youth and happiness. And since giving up that 
 home no one will ever know how full of trials, dis- 
 appointments, and heartaches her life had been, for 
 in those days a husband's strong arm shielded her 
 from the hardships of this uncertain world. Time 
 and sorrow had made many inroads on both the 
 health and strength of Mrs. Gist.
 
 THE MASQUERADE. 1Q5 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE MASQTJEKADE. 
 
 To the thousands who are suffering in mind or 
 body there certainly come in this world moments 
 of repose, when pain ceases, and the respite seems so 
 sweet in contrast that it may well suggest the " rest 
 that remaineth." With closed eyes and mind not 
 so quiet as his motionless body, Barry Glenmore let 
 the moments pass ; but with the returning conscious- 
 ness of the necessity of living and acting he aroused 
 himself and said, " That was sorry progress I made." 
 
 You remember reading, in one of the preceding 
 chapters, that Mr. Glenmore took a trip to New York, 
 and for what reason the same chapter explained. He 
 called to see his old and much-thought-of friend, Mr. 
 Melbourne, while in the city, and, to his great satis- 
 faction, this good man would have him come to his 
 home and spend the time. Mr. Glenmore made des- 
 perate efforts to hide the intense longing for an 
 opportunity to pour out his very soul's adoration. 
 He was glad when the evening was over and he 
 could escape the thoughtful eyes of Robert Mauch- 
 line, the merry laugh of Marjorie, the innocent, child- 
 
 6
 
 106 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 like smile of Karlene, the noble fatherly ways of 
 Mr. Melbourne. 
 
 He bade his friends adieu and turned hastily away 
 to hide his feelings, for he could not endure to show 
 his love for Karlene on so short an acquaintance. 
 Looking towards the glowing east, and not the first 
 time by any means, he prayed that his life might 
 close in brightness. Barry went home after having 
 promised to return soon in company with his cousin 
 and intimate friend, Colonel Strange; for, as Mr. 
 Melbourne said, they would have a " house-warming" 
 very soon, and they most certainly must honor the 
 occasion. Then of what occurred after Barry 
 reached home our readers have already been in- 
 formed. 
 
 ******* 
 
 The night for the masquerade, or " house-warm- 
 ing," came at last. The house was like a paradise of 
 flowers and lights. The roll of carriages resembled 
 the distant rumbling of thunder. Vast crowds had 
 assembled hoping to get one glimpse of the brilliant 
 figures. Never was scene more beautiful and daz- 
 zling. The two gentlemen friends, Glenmore and 
 Strange, arrived that afternoon at three. In his 
 solitary room Glenmore again thought long and 
 deeply over his situation. The impression was grow- 
 ing strong that the supreme hour of his life, which 
 would decide his destiny for good or evil, was fast 
 approaching. For a long time he had even lost his
 
 THE MASQUERADE. 1Q7 
 
 earthly ambition and was as mere drift-wood on the 
 stream of time ; but a sweet, true woman was meant, 
 he believed, for him now, and he had awakened to a 
 consciousness of power to take up his burden again, 
 and to be a man among men. If in his folly and 
 wickedness he had blotted out the possibility of a 
 happy future, he would endure the terrible truth as 
 best he could. 
 
 " But," he said, " I will not try to steal into 
 heaven by the back door, fearing discovery and ex- 
 pulsion with great ignominy ; that course would be as 
 revolting as foolish. But," continued he, " I wonder 
 what my costume looks like? I will go to Colonel 
 Strange and have his opinion." 
 
 No sooner said than done. 
 
 " Why, Barry, I think your suit is most beautiful 
 and you look as handsome as a lord." 
 
 Every character in history, art, and fiction was to 
 be seen there : Mary, Queen of Scots, in her dress 
 of black velvet, with a silver crown and sceptre ; 
 Elizabeth then came ; next Cleopatra, with her robes 
 of n empress. Conspicuous among the well-repre- 
 sented characters were Night and Morning. Night 
 was a tall, graceful figure, who wore a dress of black 
 velvet with extensive train, and here and there gold 
 and silver stars half buried in the black lace which 
 covered her beautifully-fitting dress. Morning wore 
 a snow-white dress with silk lace overdress, and 
 here and there flecks of pink and gold to represent
 
 108 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 the rising of the sun. She wore a filmy veil which 
 entirely covered the elaborate train. Scattered about 
 were diamonds representing dew-drops. Her ex- 
 quisite arms, bare to the shoulders, were clasped by 
 diamonds set so as to represent dew-drops. The 
 graceful neck was clasped by a necklace of frosted 
 diamonds. She was so dazzlingly beautiful, so radi- 
 antly fair, that on all sides Morning was declared 
 the grandest success. Night was Marjorie ; Morning 
 was Karlene. Barry Glenmore was resolved on 
 finding out Morning. He believed her to be Kar- 
 lene, so he approached and asked if she would ac- 
 company him to the conservatory ; there he might 
 find out whether the future held any hope for him. 
 Karlene dared not refuse him, fearing recognition. 
 
 " This has been a grand success in every sense 
 of the word ! Indeed," continued he, " I have en- 
 joyed the evening very much. We are to unmask; 
 then, so far as I am concerned, all the pleasure of 
 the night is over. But I am very curious to know 
 to whom I have the pleasure of talking." 
 
 Barry did not believe she knew or had any idea 
 who he was, and now was his time to hear her 
 opinion of himself. 
 
 " I suppose you have met Mr. Glenmore, have 
 you not?" 
 
 She would never suspect, he thought, but said, 
 
 " We are good friends, and I should like to know 
 what you think of him?"
 
 THE MASQUERADE. JQ9 
 
 "Well, you have asked me" (his heart beat louder 
 with every word) " to express ray opinion about the 
 gentleman. Deep down in ray heart I have never 
 doubted his being a thoroughbred gentleman : every- 
 thing has confirmed it. I have had also some very 
 pleasant talks with Mr. Glenraore. He was far 
 happier then than when he came here." 
 
 " Yes," he answered, " I believe you always ex- 
 tract plenty of amusement for those around you. 
 That is one happy faculty for which I envy you." 
 
 " Yes, I should be very happy indeed if all around 
 me could be happy likewise." 
 
 Then he, with a beating heart, led her back to the 
 grand ball-room, and soon they were separated, each 
 mingling with the gay dancers. 
 
 At twelve o'clock supper was announced, and it 
 was all that could be imagined. The remainder of 
 the evening passed very pleasantly, but Barry had 
 not the chance of talking to Karlene again, and she 
 was very much surprised, when they were unmasked, 
 to find that it was to Barry she had been talking, 
 and about himself. 
 
 The next day Karlene said to Marjorie, 
 
 " I honestly believe, dearest, your doom to be 
 sealed ! In other words, you have met your fate, 
 for I have never seen any one so devoted as a cer- 
 tain Mr. Couch was last evening. He really had no 
 eyes for any one else." 
 
 "Karlene, I have admitted to his being very
 
 HO KARLENE HOY. 
 
 pleasant and so entertaining, but really it was a mere 
 accident that we found each other out last night and 
 early in the evening. But you must not be too 
 hasty in your conclusions." 
 
 "Well, time proves all things. Now let's go 
 down," answered Karlene; "my father and Mr. 
 Robert are waiting already, I am afraid, and think 
 us quite indolent girls, so we must redeem ourselves." 
 
 Marjorie was not mistaken or blinded as to the 
 feelings her brother entertained for Karlene, and 
 secretly hoped she might have her for a sister-in-law. 
 
 " Your disguise was very complete," said Mauch- 
 line to Karlene, after the good-mornings had been 
 said, "and gracefully carried out." 
 
 " And what have you to say about mine, brother ?" 
 asked Marjorie, trying to look hurt because he did 
 not address her as he did her friend. 
 
 "Very becoming and pretty, Marjorie; and, tak6 
 the occasion all in all, it was a perfect success." 
 
 Dinner was announced and passed very pleasantly, 
 except now and then a cloud would flit across Mr. 
 Robert's face, for he must take his departure on the 
 morrow, and, to his disappointment, he had failed so 
 far in speaking to Karlene as his heart prompted 
 him, for certainly she was the only woman he had 
 ever seen that he really admired, and this girl had 
 completely captured him, and so innocently. 
 
 He said to her at the door when leaving : 
 
 " Karlene, you have taught me how to love you ;
 
 THE MASqUERADE. 
 
 teach me how to leave you. How can I look at 
 your sweet face, knowing I have to bid you farewell ? 
 I have never told you I loved you, but you must 
 know it now ! My darling, ask heaven to give me 
 courage, for I have none ! Oh ! my fair, fair love, 
 farewell !" 
 
 He was gone ! but he seemed to leave his whole 
 heart, his soul, in those last few words. 
 
 After the good-bys were said, and with the 
 promise that both Mr. Melbourne and Karlene 
 would accompany Marjorie home in the near future, 
 he could leave better satisfied. 
 
 " You really think, Marjorie, you must leave so 
 soon ? lam sorry we are to be away," said Kar- 
 lene. " Mrs. Preston is to close her entertainments 
 for the season with tableaux, which promise to be a 
 brilliant succass, and we were to have taken parts." 
 
 " The letter came this afternoon from mamma, and 
 she is exceedingly anxious to have us come right 
 away." 
 
 " I hope there is nothing the matter ?" said Kar- 
 lene, anxiously. 
 
 " Oh, no ! but I guess she thinks I have been from 
 home quite long enough. I wonder when Mr. Mel- 
 bourne can arrange his business to go, for remember 
 you both are under promise to return home with me, 
 and if you did not, we would all be so disappointed." 
 
 Yes, they must go ; but it was hard to tear them- 
 selves away from fashionable pleasures.
 
 112 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 " But this change will be delightful," said Kar- 
 lene ; " to see and be with your dear mother again will 
 be a great pleasure. Oh, Marjorie ! you do not love 
 and appreciate her, I am afraid, as you should, for 
 she is such a dear, good mother, and so very indul- 
 gent." 
 
 " Ah, yes ! she is dear, an hundred times better 
 than I deserve. I make but poor return for their 
 love and kindness at home." 
 
 The family circle was not quite complete, for Mr. 
 Robert was away on special business, at the settle- 
 ment of some estate, some distance from home. 
 Karlene and all missed him more than you can 
 imagine. 
 
 Time passed rapidly on, and very soon Mr. Mauch- 
 line returned to make his visitor welcome; and he had 
 fully made up his mind that he would win Karlene 
 for his own, if it were possible. In the mean time 
 Mr. Robert found some very important letters to be 
 answered, and hardly were they out of the way before 
 one of his neighbors came to consult him on some 
 measures which would be brought up in debate that 
 evening. He came to ask to be excused, and re- 
 gretted having to leave them so soon after his re- 
 turn, but would be gone such a short time that they 
 would scarcely miss him. He hurried through so as to 
 return by that night's train. Next morning he arose 
 rather earlier than was his custom, to meet his 
 friends.
 
 THE MASQUERADE. H3 
 
 "How good to have you with us, my friends! 
 though I have not been able to see and be with you 
 very much," said Mr. Robert, on meeting them in 
 the breakfast-room. 
 
 " Stay, Karlene," said he one day, when she was 
 about to make her exit with Marjorie. " I wish to 
 say something to you," and he shuddered with the 
 intensity of his love. " Will you hear me ? One 
 word from those proud lips, one smile from those 
 beautiful eyes so like the glorious skies, would create 
 for me an Eden of bliss ! May I ask if your heart is 
 free?" 
 
 " I do not recognize your right to ask that ques- 
 tion, and I very well remember when I once refused 
 to listen to your compliments," said she, turning 
 haughtily away. 
 
 "Better do I remember it, Karlene; but a man 
 who offers a woman an honest love has a right to 
 know if she loves another. When I first declared 
 my feelings to you, I desired to know if your affec- 
 tions were previously enlisted, or " 
 
 "Then I told you they were not," interrupted 
 Karlene. 
 
 "But you dare not answer me so now." 
 
 A rosy flush stained her cheeks, and when they 
 ceased speaking a dead silence pervaded the room. 
 
 6*
 
 114 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 PICTUKES TO DEEAM OVEE. 
 
 A FORTNIGHT had flown by very rapidly and very 
 pleasantly. Mr. Melbourne said he was compelled 
 to return to the city, and he should not feel at home 
 at all without his dear little daughters, Karlene and 
 Marjorie. 
 
 It was not at all convenient for Marjorie to return 
 just now, but she would be with them later on. So 
 it was decided that on Wednesday, Karlene and her 
 father would leave for New York. 
 
 All the fashionable world stood with open arms to 
 welcome this beautiful and great heiress home. In- 
 vitation after invitation was received and accepted. 
 
 Mrs. Gregory, you remember, we introduced to 
 the reader as attending the school of Mile, de Eoode 
 when Karlene Hoy Clemont was but a child and 
 she was Hazel Hart. Then, also, you remember her 
 as being at the last commencement exercises of the 
 aforesaid school. 
 
 Hazel Hart Gregory was a lady of fashion, also a 
 woman of business, twice left a widow. The first 
 time she had to solve the difficult problem of living 
 well and in good society upon almost no income at
 
 PICTURES TO DREAM OVER. H5 
 
 all ; the second widowhood left to her the weighty 
 cares of an enormous fortune. 
 
 Karlene had often been in her company, but 
 neither loved nor admired her until she had known 
 her quite awhile. Mrs. Gregory was yet very young 
 and fascinating. She idled indefinitely wherever 
 she chose, acting the invalid to perfection, waited on 
 by a train of servants. When time hung heavy on 
 her hands she would shake off sloth, go to London, 
 and vigorously enter into all pleasures. It was known 
 that Mrs. Gregory lionized, yea worshipped, Barry 
 Glen more, and if he was conscious of her adoration 
 it did not make him more devoted, for he did not 
 love her, and he certainly did not want her fortune. 
 His manner towards her was all kindness and grace, 
 while she made every effort to secure his attention 
 and engage him in conversation every time they met. 
 He had seen and met Karlene often, and admired, 
 nay loved, her the moment he saw her. He deter- 
 mined to make her, and no other, his wife the soonest 
 moment possible. If activity and energy, idolatry 
 and industry, earnestness and perseverance could aid 
 him he would certainly succeed. 
 
 " I have been so happy here," Hazel Gregory said, 
 one morning, " that I do not see how I can tear my- 
 self away from you, my friends." 
 
 "You need not go away ; stay until the last of Jan- 
 uary ; I will be more than delighted, and I very well 
 know I can answer for my father in the same words."
 
 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 As we have told you, Hazel and Karlene had 
 become fast friends. Karlene had thrown open her 
 house to this friend while hers was under repair and 
 being refurnished, and she had been there quite two 
 months. 
 
 There were times when she gave herself up to 
 pondering over the strange problem of life. She 
 often asked herself why it was that she, who could 
 have been so happy, should find the whole world so 
 dark and dreary because the love of her life had been 
 given to one who did not reciprocate it. 
 
 She did not remind herself that it was her own 
 fault ; that she had voluntarily encouraged that love 
 to grow in her heart, knowing it to be useless, and 
 gave free rein to a passion that should have been 
 crushed in the beginning. She blamed Providence, 
 circumstances, fate, chance, any and everything but 
 herself. Of all the impulses that came to her, of all 
 the good thoughts and the bad ones, none were strong 
 enough to cause her to falter in her purpose. She 
 trembled with excitement, her face was flushed and 
 feverish and her eyes unnaturally bright. She sighed 
 deeply and said : " Poor little Karlene ! your bright 
 colors will soon be laid aside ; death will come to you 
 too." 
 
 What a miserable world this is! death making 
 havoc of our hearts and homes. Nature is full of 
 it ; everything lives apparently for the sake of dying. 
 In Hazel's bitterness of soul she only remembered
 
 PICTURES TO DREAM OVER. H7 
 
 that Barry Glenmore loved Karlene Clemont instead 
 of herself. 
 
 She once said : " It seems the brighter one's illu- 
 sions are the more terrible is the waking from them ; 
 and why need we wake at all ? Because we are not 
 lotus-eaters, you say ? There comes a time when we 
 all awake from what seems to have been a deep 
 sleep. I must arouse myself," she continued, with 
 a sigh, " for the last red ray of the sunset has faded, 
 the silver stars are already peeping, and I have too 
 long indulged. I must go down and make myself 
 as agreeable as possible." 
 
 This traitress was the owner of the finest jewels, 
 pictures, carriages, and horses in the city of New 
 York. Mistress of a large rent-roll and large in- 
 comes from different sources, and yet the most lonely 
 and desolate woman on earth. Ah ! if heaven had 
 given her the idol of her heart ; but, as it was, all 
 this magnificent inheritance was as nothing to her. 
 How she longed for this one man's love ! Indeed, 
 this was a sad picture for one so young, just in the 
 prime of life. In her prolonged revery the fire 
 burned low and the ruddy coals turned to ashes ; the 
 past faded into the distance, and the life before her 
 seemed dull and awful. 
 
 Hazel Gregory had often repeated her mother's 
 warning, not to be attracted by a handsome face, a 
 caressing manner, accomplishments, wealth, rank, or 
 position. " Half the miserable marriages, my child,"
 
 118 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 she would say, " in the world are caused by the fact 
 that girls do not always trust their mothers." And 
 poor unhappy Hazel knew too well that her heart 
 beat with the sorrowful knowledge that every word 
 was but too true in her case. 
 
 " How different my life would have been had I 
 heeded her !" 
 
 Marriage makes or mars a life. It is one thing 
 in life that can never be undone. If you make the 
 wrong step it can never, never be retraced. Hazel 
 now lived over much of her wayward life, for both 
 times she had married contrary to her mother's 
 advice. 
 
 Heaven only knew what that woman of the world 
 suffered in her very short life. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 WON AND WED. 
 
 BARRY GLENMORE had made repeated visits to 
 New York lately, in hope of seeing Karlene. At 
 last he said, in the consciousness of solitude, " I 
 will go to see this girl, and I will be prudent and 
 formal." But when he saw her (he could not help 
 it) prudence and formality were swept away in the
 
 WON AND WED. H9 
 
 twinkling of an eye. He told her he loved her. 
 " You are the first woman ray lips have ever 
 spoken this to ; the very first my heart has ever felt 
 such love for. Oh, my darling ! tell me, may I 
 hope?" The passionate eagerness, love, and fear 
 within him checked his words suddenly, and he 
 turned away, fearing he had already said too much. 
 He waited for an answer, but to his great sorrow it 
 did not come. "You have dreamed of this, Kar- 
 lene; you must have seen, must have known, for 
 some time that I loved you." 
 
 She smiled, and that lovely rose-pink blush of 
 hers deepened on her cheeks. Her heart thrilled 
 with a young girl's first dream of love. 
 
 " Heaven grant that all may be right in the end !" 
 said Barry. 
 
 " Mr. Glen more, have I been something in your 
 life lately? We have been much together, and I 
 am sure I would not be happy if I were never to 
 have your society." And she gave him a most be- 
 witching smile. 
 
 " Oh, Karlene, darling, don't trifle with my feel- 
 ings, for, dear, I love you," he repeated for the 
 fiftieth time, in a voice of unutterable tenderness. 
 " In all the great world we two stand alone. Be my 
 wife, Karlene. I have hoped for it since I first saw 
 you at the commencement. If you will be my wife, 
 you will make me the happiest man in all the world ! 
 We met by chance, by accident, and meeting you
 
 120 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 has changed my whole life ! It has shaped it into 
 new life and beauty. But has this meeting made any 
 difference in your life ?" His face flushed. 
 
 " Yes/' said she, shyly ; " I find it very pleasant 
 to know and be with you. I am always glad to see 
 you, and the day is always brighter for your coming." 
 
 ******* 
 
 Brightly smiled the morning. From her dream- 
 visited slumbers Karlene awoke to hail, with sub- 
 dued joy, her bridal-day. 
 
 This day completed her nineteenth year. It was to 
 be the beginning of an entirely new life, over whose 
 coming hours love cast a radiant glory, tinted only 
 by the dark thought that her mother was not there 
 to pour her blessings upon her head. She did not 
 forget, though, that that day, however unstained by 
 sorrow, however glad, must find an end in death. 
 She made her morning toilet quietly, for her thoughts 
 were busy with other things. 
 
 " Why, good-mornin', Miss Karly ; yo's up early. 
 I guess yo's a-studyin' 'cause this is yo'r marryin' 
 day ; and, oh, Miss Karly, it makes yo'r nigger so 
 lonesome to think about yo' changin' yo'r life so. 
 Do you love Mars' Barry, Miss Karly, good euuf 
 to lib wid him all yo'r lifetime? I always he'rn 
 about marryin' bein' a risky business." 
 
 At first Karlene was a little embarrassed by her 
 close scrutiny and direct questions. " Yes, Jinny," 
 she said, gravely, though with a smile upon her face,
 
 WON AND WED. 121 
 
 " I am very happy this beautiful day, as I think my 
 choice in selecting a husband could not have been 
 better, and my dear father thinks him all a man is 
 required to be." 
 
 With the proneness of a human mind to look into 
 the future, she had turned from the momentous 
 present to contemplate the new, strange picture of 
 her coming life, spread out so dimly yet so attrac- 
 tively before her. Karlene and her maid knelt to 
 ask God, as children ask fathers, to guide them 
 aright, and Karlene asked to be kept from forgetful- 
 ness amid her new-found happiness. 
 
 The trousseau was as complete and beautiful as 
 could be imagined, and very elegant presents had 
 already been received, for both Mr. Glenmore and 
 Karlene were quite favorites with every one. 
 
 They were to be married at nine, and leave on 
 the 10.30 train for an extensive tour. The large 
 company was already assembled in the parlors 
 awaiting the appearance of the bride and groom. 
 Then there sounded above the hum of voices an 
 organ yes, it was an organ pealing out the volu- 
 minous notes of a wedding-march : "Karlene Hoy's 
 wedding-march," said one. "How strange!" Then 
 came the attendants. First, Marjorie and Mr. 
 Couch ; second, Nadine Gist and Mr. Beve, one of 
 Barry's friends; third, Hazel Gregory and Mr. 
 Mauchline. The latter had determined not even to 
 be present at Karlene's wedding ; but his pride and
 
 122 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 circumstances conquered, and he decided to see them 
 married. Karlene, he said, should never know what 
 a trial it was to him. A shadow of sadness passed 
 over the face of the good and noble man she called 
 father; a thousand sweet yet touching memories 
 swept through his mind as he hastily recalled the 
 past. Passing his handkerchief slowly over his eyes 
 and driving back the flood of feeling which threat- 
 ened to overwhelm him, he aroused himself and 
 looked at his watch. The hour had arrived when 
 the marriage ceremony should be said, and when he 
 should give her he loved best on earth to another. 
 The guardian presented Karlene to Barry, and it 
 was a beautiful sight to witness the six attendants 
 grouped around the lovely bride. 
 
 " Barry Glenmore, this young girl, who leans on 
 your arm, in thus presenting herself makes known 
 her willingness to leave the bosom of a most fond 
 father and guardian, to part with him who loved 
 her well, to place herself under your protection, to 
 walk by your side along the path of life ; and now 
 do you solemnly promise to be to her a kind pro- 
 tector, a sympathetic husband, ever loving and com- 
 forting her until death shall bid you part?" 
 
 The minister paused, and the promise was given. 
 The old man then turned to the trembling girl. 
 
 " Karlene Clemont, do you take this man to be 
 your husband ?" 
 
 He could say no more ; his voice grew tremulous
 
 WON AND WED. 123 
 
 with emotion, whilst tears stole down his time-worn 
 cheek, and smothered sobs of sympathy were heard 
 throughout the room ; for this old and honored 
 minister of the gospel knew and loved Karlene, 
 and had helped a great many times to keep her in 
 the right path. " Let us pray," said he. 
 
 " O Thou, the all-wise God, our Father, who 
 didst Thyself institute this sacred relation, so full 
 of happiness and benefit, command Thy favor to 
 rest upon this pair, who have taken upon themselves 
 this most solemn vow. May they ever be a blessing 
 to each other when the days of, trial come; and, 
 when they shall pass from earth, receive them unto 
 the bliss of heaven. Amen." 
 
 " God bless you both, my dear children !" said 
 Mr. Melbourne, who was the first to congratulate 
 them. " May you ever be happy." 
 
 No mother's silent kiss was impressed upon that 
 fair brow, but a cordial greeting was given the bride- 
 groom by Mr. Melbourne and friends all, and he 
 indeed felt that he was blest of men. 
 
 " My dearest friends, let me congratulate you 
 both !" cried Marjorie, as she kissed Karlene in her 
 joyous manner. " May sunshine ever be yours !" 
 
 Warm wishes followed from all the company. 
 
 The grand dinner was served in style, and very 
 soon the bridal party made preparations to take 
 their leave. With beating heart and trembling 
 hands, Karlene changed her white silk robe and
 
 124 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 veil for a gray travelling dress and turban ; her 
 pearls for pure gold ornaments. With tears in her 
 eyes, she bid the company and her aged father an 
 affectionate farewell. 
 
 Among the guests was Hazel Gregory, who bid 
 them good-by with bitter feelings in her heart against 
 one who had destroyed every hope of happiness for 
 her. The guests also very soon departed, and the 
 fatherly old man was left alone. Jinny was all 
 excitement, and hastily bidding him good-by, cried, 
 "I knows Miss Karly will be waitin' fur dis here 
 nigger." She took her seat on the box with Jack, 
 and waved her hand to her fellow-companions as 
 long as they were in sight. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE PROPOSAL. 
 
 MES. GIST had said she would see Mr. Ellis and 
 be more explicit. Nadine often wished this very 
 wicked man, Legon, would pass out of their lives, 
 and they had recently heard that he had left the 
 country. Mr. Ellis, as soon as he was able to leave 
 his room, for he had been very sick since the assault 
 on his life, and that had been quite two months ago,
 
 THE PROPOSAL. 125 
 
 thought to see and know more of his kind friends 
 and hear what they knew further about this affair. 
 It had been a long two months to him, and he often 
 looked impatiently at the sun and said, " Oh, slow 
 and weary hours that have taken unto themselves 
 leaden wings." He had met Nadine frequently by 
 chance and admired her extremely. 
 
 He was driven over to their humble but comfort- 
 able and home-like cottage, and was met by Mrs. 
 Gist, who shrunk a little at his first appearance. 
 She ushered him into a small sitting-room. True, 
 there was nothing elegant, but woman's delicate 
 touches were there, and Mr. Ellis thought, " This is 
 more inviting than my own room on which I have 
 spared neither expense nor pains to beautify." 
 Nadine was there, " the most beautiful and attrac- 
 tive ornament," he thought, for indeed she always 
 looked charmingly neat at home. She scarcely 
 glanced at him as she placed a chair and said, " Be 
 seated, Mr. Ellis." 
 
 There was a moment's silence, and all that time 
 he was watching the beautiful downcast face. Their 
 discussion as to how they would proceed in the mat- 
 ter concerning Mr. Legon settled nothing, for he 
 loved and respected this girl, and lie had a horror of 
 such publicity as this would necessarily give Nadine. 
 Mrs. Gist soon asked to be excused, as the delivery 
 wagon was at the door. 
 
 "Nadine, if I may call you so, I have a great
 
 126 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 deal to say to you, and have almost counted the 
 hours since I last saw you. It has indeed been the 
 longest two months of my life. This is unexpected, 
 I know, but you will forgive me, for I have so 
 much longed to speak to you as my heart prompted 
 since the first time I met you. I love you, Nadine, 
 and some day this love I crave so much will be 
 mine, if by perseverance I can win it." 
 
 " This is indeed very unexpected, Mr. Ellis. I had 
 never dreamed of such a thing," said Nadine, the 
 color slowly dying in her face. 
 
 " Oh, how I have longed to lay my heart and 
 fortune at your feet ! Ah, have pity on me ! Think 
 before you sacrifice me to this lonely, miserable life I 
 have led for ten long years. I have lived many 
 years longer than you," he said, after a pause that 
 was filled with regret for the past years when he 
 had not known her and when another had borne 
 his name, another, loved but lost. "I cannot 
 bear to think of what years lie between your birth- 
 day and mine; but my age gives me the right to 
 speak." 
 
 " Why, Mr. Ellis, are you so ancient ? You do 
 not want a child to raise ?" 
 
 " I am thirty -six and you are only nineteen." 
 
 " Well, it's happiness untold or misery to all who 
 take this risky step, I have been told," said Nadine, 
 laughingly. 
 
 " Not if there is love," entreated he. " I do not
 
 THE PROPOSAL. 127 
 
 want either of us to make a mistake, because it would 
 sadden both lives." 
 
 The flush deepened on one face and the pallor on 
 the other. 
 
 " The greatest mistakes made in this world," 
 he continued, " are made in marriages ; but I love 
 you, Nadine, and how I have longed for the time 
 to tell you ! And now that I have told you, will 
 you think kindly, if not lovingly, of me when 
 I'm away ?" he said, with passionate entreaty in his 
 voice. 
 
 "Mr. Ellis, you have almost taken my breath; 
 but you see I cannot now give you an answer. You 
 will please give me time to consider what you have 
 said this afternoon." 
 
 "Only, dear Nadine, on condition that you will 
 consider in my favor and in the very shortest time 
 imaginable. Can't you tell me if I may hope ?" 
 
 " Yes," she whispered, as faintly as the summer 
 wind whispers love to the lily. " I love you !" and 
 from that moment her heart and soul seemed to leave 
 her and go out to him. 
 
 A light came into his eyes. 
 
 "Nadine, can you love me? Do you love me? 
 Oh, my darling, I see I have frightened you ! I did 
 not mean to. See how you tremble. I know I 
 shocked you ; but forgive those hasty, passionate 
 words, and only remember it was because I loved 
 you! Nadine," he continued, "my life has not
 
 128 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 been what it should have been, and some of it was a 
 fearful ordeal to go through." 
 
 He poured out the story of his past life and laid 
 all his evil deeds before her. While Nadine pitied 
 and loved this man, she saw a few sin-stained pages 
 in his book of life. Mr. Ellis did not spare him- 
 self anything. He suddenly paused in his low but 
 passionate flow of words and put his hands to his 
 head, as if to clear the mist and pain away that 
 had centred there. After the paroxysm had passed, 
 he continued in the weary tone of utter despair, 
 for he dreaded the effect and the look of horror 
 he feared he would see depicted on her face, and 
 which would perhaps blast his life and haunt him 
 forever. 
 
 "This world would be worse than death," he 
 murmured, "if I had to give up my Nadine." 
 After finishing the story of his life he paused. 
 Silence reigned. Not a word had she spoken as 
 yet. Then looking up he asked, " Now, Nadine, has 
 my life been so very much worse than any other? 
 Look up, my darling, and tell me." 
 
 He was interrupted by an audible sob ; Nadine had 
 buried her face in her hands. Then, in the despair- 
 ing condition of his mind, he said, " Nadine, I will 
 leave you. Do not, I beg you, think ill of me, for 
 I could not tell you of my love for you without lay- 
 ing befor-e you also my misspent life. I hope you 
 will think kindly of me, and now good-by. I will
 
 A CLOUD IN THEIR HEAVEN. 129 
 
 see you very soon, that is, if it will be pleasant for 
 you to have me come again. What say you, Nadine?" 
 " Come," sobbed she, and with the gray shadows 
 of evening falling fast, he was driven home. When 
 he was gone, Nadine stood looking after him. He 
 knew that her heart went with him. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 A CLOUD IN THEIK HEAVEN. 
 
 MOST young married people take some time to 
 understand each other's ways, to learn to forbear 
 and be patient with each other's faults. Barry and 
 Karlene had their differences of opinion. The hus- 
 band, although he spoke impatiently to his wife, 
 loved her passionately. Karlene, while wanting 
 in patience and experience, had the same great devo- 
 tion for her husband. They quarrelled sometimes, 
 they differed in opinion, they uttered a few sharp, 
 hasty words, then kissed and made friends, just like 
 other husbands and wives ; but they were perfectly 
 happy in their married life, happy in the present 
 and hopeful for the future. 
 
 There was quite a party invited to spend the re- 
 mainder of the season with the newly-made pair, 
 
 7
 
 130 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 for they were expected home from their long tour on 
 the morrow. Among the many invited guests was 
 Hazel Gregory, who would most certainly avail her- 
 self of the opportunity. And so she met them with 
 a kiss as false as the kiss of Judas, and that evening 
 Karlene and her husband discussed her. 
 
 " She seems so much attached to us, Barry. I 
 think myself very fortunate in having found such a 
 friend," said Karlene. " You have known her for 
 quite a long time, have you not? Why did you not 
 fall in love with her instead of me." 
 
 "Ah, Karlene, she is beautiful and clever, but 
 she is not the kind of woman I could have loved. 
 You are my style, and no other. We have been 
 married nearly six months, and I am even more 
 your lover now than on our wedding-day." 
 
 As Karlene kissed the lips that had just uttered 
 such loving words, she thought herself the most fortu- 
 nate as well as the happiest woman in the world, and 
 vowed ever to be true to and love her husband. 
 
 If the stars that shine above us and hear so many 
 vows could but tell how often they are made and 
 how often broken ! 
 
 As soon as Mrs. Gregory received Karlene's press- 
 ing invitation to visit her, she said, 
 
 " Now is my time to be revenged upon this woman 
 who supplanted me in the affections of the only man 
 on earth I ever really loved. Yes, I will go to them,
 
 A CLOUD IN THEIR HEAVEN. 131 
 
 and I will win the love and confidence of both hus- 
 band and wife. I shall sow the seeds of discord 
 and suspicion until at last he shall doubt her purity, 
 her chastity, her virtue. I shall procure an invita- 
 tion to their house for Mr. Banking, who is an un- 
 principled flirt, roue, and blackguard, tie cannot 
 fail to admire Karlene, and I shall by manoeuvring 
 throw them constantly together. I shall have an 
 understanding with Mr. Banking that he is to further 
 my plans. Karlene shall not know his real char- 
 acter. I shall by some well -concocted story parade 
 him as an object for her pity and consolation, and 
 she is so tender-hearted that she will not only give 
 him her sympathy, but will lavish upon him so 
 much of her time and so many little attentions that 
 her husband will soon be brought to construe them 
 into a deeper meaning. I shall lecture Karlene upon 
 the way she should commence her married life. I 
 shall advise her not to defer too much to her hus- 
 band's opinions, but to have her own opinions and 
 decisions and abide by them firmly. If he remon- 
 strates with her about Mr. Banking I shall persuade 
 her he is encroaching upon her liberty. Any little 
 remark husband may make concerning wife, or vice 
 versa, I shall repeat to them, but I shall twist and 
 exaggerate it out of all semblance to its original 
 meaning. I shall stir up dissension and strife be- 
 tween them ; I shall bring about coolness and indif- 
 ference ; I shall cause misunderstandings that shall
 
 132 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 end in bickerings; I shall arouse suspicions that 
 shall end in serious quarrels, and, finally, in dis- 
 grace and separation." 
 
 Ah, how well this cruel, wicked, revengeful 
 temptress carried out her heartless plots against the 
 happiness of these two unfortunate people ! What 
 a wily, scheming, venomous serpent she was in the 
 Eden of these two devoted people ! Karlene and 
 her husband had planned to give a dinner, a very 
 elaborate, formal dinner, but differed about some 
 trivial affair connected with it. The first time they 
 discussed it they merely disagreed ; the next time, we 
 am sorry to say, they quarrelled seriously, and sepa- 
 rated without coming to an amicable agreement or 
 "kissing and making up" for quite a long, weary 
 time. Karlene, as usual, went to Hazel's room to con- 
 fide to her the trouble between Barry and herself, and 
 Hazel, instead of counselling her to be patient and 
 forgiving, told her that the first advances towards a 
 reconciliation should always be made by the husband, 
 and that men were proverbially quarrelsome, selfish, 
 and exacting ; that their love and faithfulness rarely 
 lasted longer than the honeymoon. What poison to 
 have poured into the ear of a credulous, loving 
 young wife ! Into what fruitful soil she planted her 
 wicked words of advice! The result was that Kar- 
 lene and Barry "let the sun go down upon their 
 wrath." They met and passed each other without 
 the usual loving glance and the kind words of salu-
 
 A CLOUD IN THEIR HEAVEN. 133 
 
 tation, and retired at night with a sense of some im- 
 pending evil weighing heavily upon their sad but 
 unrelenting hearts. 
 
 "You seem a little gloomy this morning, Mr. 
 Glenmore," said Hazel. 
 
 Then she laughed a low, rippling laugh that 
 sounded like music and which stirred the very worst 
 passions of his soul. 
 
 "What is there so laughable, Mrs. Gregory?" 
 asked Barry. 
 
 " An idea that was perhaps too absurd to be spoken 
 of. I was just thinking that man and wife should 
 be more alike in spirits." 
 
 " In the way of spirits ?" 
 
 " Yes. If one is depressed the other should be 
 also. If one is bright the other should be the same." 
 
 " It should be that way, but, alas ! it seldom is. 
 For instance, think of the difference between myself 
 and Karlene to-night. She is happy, I am sad." 
 
 Yes, he thought it strange that his wife should 
 be so cheerful and happy when there was such a de- 
 plorable misunderstanding between them. 
 
 Mr. Melbourne, Karlene's guardian, saw and 
 knew that all things were not as they should be be- 
 tween husband and wife, and sorely regretted it. 
 He also saw that Hazel Gregory loved and admired 
 Barry Glenmore. Surely, Karlene took one of the 
 most fatal steps in her life when she confided in 
 Hazel against her husband.
 
 134 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 Hazel had been attempting to instil bitter feelings 
 in Karlene's heart against her husband, and was very 
 much pleased with her success ; but when she had 
 finished her long lecture, Karlene said, looking up 
 with a beautiful light in her lovely eyes, " Barry is 
 in the study, and he so much enjoys riding with us. 
 Shall I see if he will come along this afternoon ?" 
 
 Hazel's heart sunk within her. Why was it that 
 she always met with just such success ? Was it be- 
 cause of her wickedness ? If so she would be more so. 
 " Nothing shall daunt me, I swear !" she thought. 
 
 " Now, Karlene, never more consult me. I have 
 given you my honest opinion of a woman who makes 
 an advance before the husband who is not at all 
 anxious to make friends after a quarrel." 
 
 The bright light faded from Karlene's face, and the 
 result of these wicked words was that the husband 
 was left in his study to worry over his troubles 
 alone, while his wife and her friend rode and (acci- 
 dentally, as it seemed to Karlene) met Mr. Banking. 
 
 Barry did not like this separation from his wife, 
 but consoled himself with the thought that she would 
 come to the study in pretence of finding something, 
 and finding him would speak and make friends with 
 him. But she did not come, nor did he see her 
 again that evening, and it distressed him more than 
 he was willing to own. 
 
 " If she does not want me I will seek other com- 
 pany," he said ; " she shall see I do not care."
 
 THE SHADOWS AROUND HER PATHWAY. 135 
 
 What a pity that he could not humble his pride 
 and go to her without having to be sent for ! But 
 such is life. If men and women would stop to 
 consider the consequences of folly this would be 
 a different world. His disappointed, disconsolate 
 manner as he left the house would have brought 
 Karlene on her knees before him had she known all. 
 The last interview with her husband had been terri- 
 ble to her, had almost taken the last gleam of hope 
 from her short but happy life. Indeed, it seemed to 
 her that since the advent of her friend into their 
 home Barry and herself had never agreed upon any 
 one thing or been unanimous upon any subject. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE SHADOWS ABOUND HEK PATHWAY. 
 
 "You are looking a little ill, my love; not quite 
 so bright as usual. Why do you not send for Dr. 
 Beedle? You have been poorly so long," said Hazel 
 to Karlene, as they returned from their ride. 
 
 " I am only afraid my husband would think me 
 sick, pining, and miserable just because we are not 
 on good terms," said Karlene, despairingly. 
 
 " I think nothing remains for you to do but yield
 
 136 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 a cheerful obedience to your husband's will," an- 
 swered Hazel, with seeming candor. 
 
 " Do, pray, hush, Hazel ! I wish so much I had 
 never, never married !" And with that she left 
 Mrs. Gregory alone to enjoy her revenge. 
 
 Karlene went out into the cool shadows without 
 her hat. She still wore a dark blue velvet riding- 
 habit, and resembled a graceful young goddess more 
 than anything we can now imagine. Fevered with 
 excitement, Karlene dipped up the cool water and 
 wet her brow, and the dampness made her golden 
 hair lay in dainty ringlets. Her hands were in the 
 basin of the fountain, and the water being above her 
 wrists cooled the fever in her veins and calmed her 
 agitation. For his cruel words she would waive her 
 demand for an apology. She would try by degrees 
 to place things right between herself and husband, 
 or at least on a kind, confidential footing. Possibly 
 they would never again be such ardent lovers as 
 once, but they could still be affectionate, and maybe 
 happy. Pursuant to these intentions she called 
 Jinny to come and make her as charming as possible, 
 and when Barry came home she made it convenient 
 to meet him, and continued her work the more happy 
 for having carelessly nodded to him. This also 
 made Barry more comfortable, for she had not lav- 
 ished on him as much as a nod for, it seemed to him, 
 an eternity. All day long Karlene listened for a 
 messenger, but none came, and at two o'clock she
 
 THE SHADOWS AROUND HER PATHWAY. 137 
 
 wandered about the grounds, anxious to know if 
 Barry was still in the house. The sun shone next 
 morning, hope awoke again, and as she dressed she 
 sung to keep up her heart, still trusting something 
 would happen that would bring them together, for 
 this separation weighed heavily on both husband and 
 wife. Taking a long breath, and glancing up at the 
 clear blue sky, she said, " Can this old couplet be 
 true, ' It is riot all of life to live or all of death to 
 die'?" 
 
 That evening, while talking to Barry, Hazel said, 
 " Why should young women, because they are mar- 
 ried, be left unprotected in society ?" 
 
 " They should not ! What husband would leave 
 his young wife so ?" 
 
 " Why, you, Mr. Glenmore. I have been twice 
 on the point of telling you that you should use your 
 influence with Karlene concerning Mr. Banking, for 
 you know he is considered a very dangerous man 
 and heartless flirt." 
 
 " Certainly he is so considered. But what has he 
 to do with my wife ?" 
 
 " He admired her extremely the first time he ever 
 saw her, and she tolerates his homage and gives him 
 all the encouragement possible." 
 
 "She certainly has never danced with him nor 
 received any marked attention from him." 
 
 " She has done both often." 
 
 Barry was often kept from social life by his duties, 
 7*
 
 138 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 for he had been unsuccessful of late in business, and 
 was frequently very busily engaged while Karlene 
 was out and enjoying all the fashionable balls, 
 parties, fetes, etc. 
 
 " I thank you, Mrs. Gregory, for these hints ; but, 
 Hazel, Karlene does not know this man's character, 
 for no one could be more upright and pure than my 
 wife, and I love her better than life itself." 
 
 Then Hazel whispered to the flowers she carried, 
 "Some day he will have nothing but hatred for 
 Karlene and shall love me instead." 
 
 " But I will see Karlene myself," continued Barry, 
 " and tell her of this man's character." 
 
 " By the way, it is reported that he is to be married 
 soon. Is it true?" asked Hazel, sympathetically. 
 
 " I know nothing of the man's private affairs." 
 
 He then rang the bell for Jinny and ordered her 
 to request Mrs. Glenmore to come to his study, as 
 he wished to speak to her. 
 
 Karlene hesitated some time before going. Barry 
 asked Hazel if she had warned his wife against this 
 man, and she positively said she had, but it was in 
 a very different way from what he thought. She 
 had barely mentioned these reports to Karlene, and 
 excused Mr. Banking in everything she mentioned 
 to her. Hazel left Barry when Karlene came into 
 the room. 
 
 The latter was rather excited, but tried hard to 
 hide it. He spoke to her kindly but sadly.
 
 THE SHADOWS AROUND HER PATHWAY. 139 
 
 " Karlene, my darling, I have sent for you to 
 talk about, as I know and feel, a very delicate sub- 
 ject." A pause. " I have heard, whispered around, 
 your name connected with Mr. Banking, and I am 
 certain you did not know this man as others know 
 him, or you would have scorned even to have been 
 introduced to him." 
 
 " I know nothing," said Karlene, with a curl of 
 her pretty lips and a nod of her beautiful head. 
 "But," she continued, "I do know he is a man 
 whom society lionizes." 
 
 " Has Hazel never told you of the poor unfortu- 
 nate girls that have fallen by him ?" 
 
 " No ; who were they ?" asked Karlene, indiffer- 
 ently. 
 
 " And have you never heard of the many scandals 
 connected with Banking?" 
 
 " I have heard nothing," said his wife. " I hate 
 scandals, therefore no one ever speaks of them to me." 
 
 " Well, I will tell you of one." 
 
 Mrs. Glenmore had long cherished an anger 
 against her husband that was fast growing serious, 
 and, on the other hand, Hazel Gregory had so filled 
 her mind with the noble deeds of Mr. Banking that 
 he had become to her almost a pervading idea. Her 
 feeling towards him was far deeper and warmer 
 than she herself realized. Had Barry known of 
 it he would have been overwhelmed with indigna- 
 tion and heart-sickness. This feeling was not love,
 
 140 KARL EN E HOY. 
 
 but near akin to it, the warmest shade of friend- 
 ship. 
 
 Barry might believe all things against him, but she 
 would not! Some evil-minded person who envied 
 him had told these things. And thus she made 
 excuses for a man she knew nothing of, but admired 
 more and more every time she met him. She knew 
 Hazel had never said one word disapprovingly of 
 him, and she certainly knew nothing of the bad 
 reports and the scandals about this man. 
 
 Fevered by these thoughts she sprang up, for she 
 did not wish her guardian, who was just entering the 
 room, to see her in this state of mind. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 ALAS! FOE THE MONSTER JEALOUSY. 
 
 KARLENE had decided upon a new course of con- 
 duct. She did not exonerate Mr. Banking from all 
 guilt on some points upon which he was accused. 
 She soberly examined her course, and found she had 
 acted very recklessly in having danced on several 
 occasions and especially the last time they met 
 with him more than three times, two waltzes, 
 lancers, etc. She decided to be more discreet.
 
 ALAS! FOR THE MONSTER JEALOUSY. 
 
 There are many people who honestly believe that 
 when a woman is wicked she is worse than a man 
 can possibly be. How true this is it is impossible to 
 say, but not the most wicked man upon earth would 
 have set to work more earnestly and in a more treach- 
 erous manner to annihilate the happiness and mar the 
 lives of two persons than did Hazel Gregory. First, 
 she had done her best to prevent the marriage of Kar- 
 lene to Barry, but had failed in that purpose. She saw 
 they were both very proud and wilful. The husband 
 could not stand one command of his being disputed by 
 his wife, and Hazel knew that well. She had studied 
 both characters separately ; she knew the strength 
 and weakness of both. Mr. Glen more, who was far 
 too noble to suspect want of nobility in others, be- 
 gan to entertain a sense of irritation against the wife 
 whom he still loved with a passionate love. 
 
 " What shall I do?" murmured Hazel. " I must 
 not be unjust to Mr. Banking, and I do not want to 
 be the means of arousing a quarrel between him and 
 Barry, but I must and will bring about this separa- 
 tion sooner or later, and that I am determined upon, 
 cost what it may !" 
 
 Then there was a tap on the door, and Hazel arose 
 to admit Karlene. What if Karlene had heard her ! 
 And she had, but was quite innocent of whom she 
 was speaking, not hearing her husband's name called; 
 but in after years she thought often of what she had 
 heard Hazel say before opening the door.
 
 142 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 " I think, dear Karlene," said Hazel, after some 
 little time, " it was quite fortunate that we met Mr. 
 Banking this afternoon, for he certainly had a bad 
 case of the blues and was so lonely and sad, and we 
 cheered him without harming any one. For my 
 part, I think there is so much sorrow in this world 
 that it is something to be really thankful for if we 
 can lighten even a little of each other's burdens. 
 Ours, indeed, Karlene, are rather useless lives, and 
 an opportunity to comfort and sympathize comes to 
 us very seldom." 
 
 " I heartily agree with you, Hazel, in that our 
 lives are of little benefit to our fellow-creatures, and 
 I really think the good Father intended us to do all 
 the good possible in this life." 
 
 Husband and wife met frequently, but, save the 
 common civilities usual in a household, little passed 
 between them. 
 
 Barry felt that he had been badly treated by her 
 whom he idolized. If she really loved him she 
 would not play with his misery this way, he thought. 
 This agony was almost more than he could bear. 
 Oh, what bitter thoughts swept over him as he sat 
 in his room alone ! He had lavished all his adora- 
 tion on this woman, who never could have loved him. 
 All this he thought when he came to himself about 
 midnight. He felt really ill. He had been through 
 a kind of special suffering that left nothing for con- 
 solation. He had been, as it were, intoxicated by
 
 THE LETTER. 143 
 
 his emotion, and had acted in the most insane man- 
 ner in this unfortunate affair. He had not intended 
 to be unkind to Karlene, but to do what he really 
 believed to be his duty as a husband. He had in 
 one rash moment said and done things for which he 
 had repented the next moment, and would have liked 
 instead to have taken his young wife in his arms and 
 asked her forgiveness. 
 
 Now he felt and knew that he and his beautiful 
 wife could be lovers no more. These were the 
 thoughts which made his remorse unendurable and 
 added to his sorrow a thousand poignant regrets for 
 his own weakness and indiscretion. He felt that 
 he could not endure life unless he heard from her 
 lips that she forgave him, for now he knew he had 
 been too hasty, too harsh in what he had said. " But 
 jealousy is a mark of love," he said to himself. " No," 
 correcting himself, "jealousy is distrust, and perfect 
 love must have perfect love." 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE LETTER. 
 
 " OH, me !" sighed Lillie Bently (you remember, 
 dear reader, you have not heard from this much- 
 loved friend, once Lillie Parker, since the closing
 
 144 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 exercises of the school of Mile, de Roode), "how 
 time flies ! Though, in a life as monotonous as 
 mine, time does not seem to fly ; it slips on like the 
 lapse of water. Oh, my friend, how very strange 
 everything is to me now, and how changed is 
 my once happy life ! Yes, happy indeed ! But 
 here I am saddening your life by dividing my 
 miserable troubles with you again. While I know 
 that you, dear Ruth, sympathize with me in my 
 sorrows as much as any one, you have not the re- 
 motest idea of the heaviness of the burden that 
 weighs upon me." 
 
 Ruth this long-tried friend of Lillie's having 
 been notified of the death of Dr. Bently, Lillie's 
 husband, who was heart-broken, hastened to her as 
 fast as wheels could bring her. 
 
 "I knew, dear Lillie, how much you would 
 miss him, so I came. Your husband was so good, 
 his Christian character was a noble one, and the 
 church will feel its great loss. This life is made 
 up of sorrows and disappointments, which afflict us 
 so severely that at times it does seem life is not 
 worth living. A very sad death occurred in our 
 little city only night before last," continued Ruth, 
 "Mr. Corbit, of Kentucky. He died some time 
 in the night, unattended by any one; was found next 
 day about noon lying on the floor in his room cold 
 in death. He had been afflicted some time with 
 fits of apoplexy, and no doubt passed away in one.
 
 THE LETTER. 145 
 
 He was an unmarried man and very wicked, it was 
 said. He had one relative, who came and took 
 charge of the remains, which were carried to Louis- 
 ville to be interred by the side of his parents in 
 the beautiful Cave pill. But, Lillie, have you 
 heard from Karlene or Nadine recently? I have 
 had an occasional letter from Karlene since our 
 separation, but for some time she has left off 
 writing entirely. I have lost sight of Nadine alto- 
 gether. How often do I live over those happy days, 
 and sigh that they are forever gone !" 
 
 " Of late I have dreamed and thought of Karlene 
 very much," said Lillie. " I often wonder what has 
 been her life, for, Ruth, you know we were convinced 
 that she had a trouble which she never divulged to 
 any one that we ever knew of. I have often wondered 
 if she was happily married. If I am not mistaken 
 she wrote me last, so suppose I write and ask her to 
 come to us, for, doubtless, she is aware of the great 
 trouble that has so recently passed over my young 
 life. What say you ?" 
 
 " Oh, do, Lil ! I would be so rejoiced to see the 
 dear girl!" 
 
 It was the loveliest hour of all the day. The 
 sun was high and the earth and sky were resplendent 
 with the glory of mid-day. The wind blew fresh 
 and fragrant from far away, and in the groves 
 the birds were singing, as they only sing in such 
 places. There Lillie sat on a low garden seat,
 
 146 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 while Ruth nestled on the velvety grass at her feet ; 
 and there, also, the letter was begun by Lillie to 
 Karlene. 
 
 "K , GEORGIA, Juno 17, 18 . 
 
 " MY DEAR, DEAR KARLENE, 1 SO much hope 
 
 you will pardon my long delay, as you perhaps 
 know I received your letter when the burden laid 
 upon me was almost greater than I, so unused to 
 sorrow of any kind, could bear. Misfortune is hard 
 to endure since the heavy stroke under which I am 
 prostrated. The clouds that hover around me are 
 dark and heavy, but, behind and beyond the som- 
 bre gloom they tell me of, to-day the sun still 
 shines, the flowers still bloom, the birds still trill 
 melodies. The shock almost bereft me of life, and 
 while the darkness of the storm has passed, it has 
 left desolation in its track. 
 
 " The chastening rod of God has fallen so heavily 
 upon me that I feel very rebellious, and cannot as 
 yet say, 'Thy will be done.' Dear Karlene, my 
 whole soul and mind are absorbed in brooding 
 over my darling husband's untimely death. . My 
 bruised heart bleeds in secret, and I so much long 
 for the sound of that voice that is stilled forever. 
 
 " I write now, dear Karlene, to tell you that 
 Ruth Porter is with me, and we so much wish you 
 would come to us at your very earliest convenience. 
 Ruth is very anxious to see you. Time seems to
 
 WHAT AN HOUR MAY BRING FORTH. 147 
 
 have stood still with her, for she does not look a 
 day older than when we last parted at the school 
 of Mile, de E-oode. 
 
 " Hoping to have the pleasure of conversing with 
 you in person at a very early date, 
 
 " I am, truly, your friend, 
 
 "LILLIE BENTLY." 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 WE KNOW NOT WHAT AN HOTJK MAY BEING 
 FOKTH. 
 
 COLONEL STRANGE had started to spend the even- 
 ing with Barry Glenmore, and as he walked leisurely 
 through the beautiful garden where he had last 
 seen Karlene, he began to wonder what she could 
 have meant by her strange conduct and her last re- 
 mark. He repeated her words over slowly to himself. 
 " I trust this love may never die," she had said in 
 their last conversation concerning love affairs. What 
 could she have meant by such a remark, and to him 
 of all others ? Heavens ! could it be that her love 
 for her husband was no more ? No, it could not be ! 
 No; for each time he met her, if Glenraore's name 
 was mentioned, her face would at once soften, her
 
 148 KARL EN E HOY. 
 
 eyes be filled with a love-light, and her cheeks 
 would redden with a blush as fresh and beautiful as 
 that of a 4&inty maiden. Could it be that Barry's 
 love for her had vanished ? No ! he remembered 
 how very fond he was of his beautiful wife. 
 " Why, it was only Monday I heard Barry speak 
 of buying the Demoy diamonds for Karlene, which 
 are for sale, and are said to be the costliest jewels 
 in New York." . All this proved very conclusively 
 that he still loved his beautiful wife as devotedly as 
 ever; so Colonel Strange gave it up in despair, con- 
 sidering it a conundrum too deep for him to fathom. 
 He was now at the hall door. Barry had so often 
 told him to ring no bell, but walk in as though he 
 was at home. He did so now, and walked to the 
 library, where he thought he would be most likely 
 to find Barry. Being just a half-hour after those 
 few hasty, rough words concerning a divorce had 
 been spoken by Barry Glenmore to his young wife, 
 he found him alone. He apparently had not heard 
 the door open and Colonel Strange enter ; therefore 
 there would be time enough for him to disappear 
 before discovery. But just as he was closing the 
 door after him, Barry spoke : 
 
 " Colonel Strange, do not leave me ; you are the 
 one person on earth I am anxious to see and have 
 with me." 
 
 The colonel walked to his side and seated himself 
 beside him.
 
 WHAT AN HOUR MAY BRING FORTH. 149 
 
 " Barry, I am, as ever, at your service ; but why 
 this outbreak ?" 
 
 " Ah, me ! I can never tell you." 
 
 " Well, I can perhaps help you. Has anything 
 gone wrong with your financial affairs, your estate? 
 If so, my money, Barry, is at your disposal." 
 
 Barry shook his head, but did not raise it. 
 
 " What can it be, certainly not an accident or 
 a death ?" pondered Colonel Strange, aloud. 
 
 " 'Tis neither. Would to heaven it were !" 
 
 Then a sob broke from his lips. 
 
 "Tell me, Barry," said the colonel, "can it be 
 that you have quarrelled with Karlene ?" 
 
 Barry started to his feet. 
 
 " How came you to guess it ? There ! don't say 
 you suspicioned it," interrupted Barry, " for I know 
 you have a reason for believing what you have said." 
 
 The colonel had also risen in the excitement of 
 the moment. 
 
 " What ? You don't say I am right in my guess ?" 
 
 "Perfectly," answered Glenmore, calmly. 
 
 " Well, I did have a reason for believing it," con- 
 tinued Strange, more and more astonished. 
 
 A ray of sunlight crept in and filled the room 
 with a mellow and beautiful light, which fell di- 
 rectly on Barry's handsome face, revealing a death- 
 like pallor and an eager, despairing gaze. 
 
 "Quiet yourself, my dear fellow; it will all turn 
 out to be nothing."
 
 150 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 " Never ! never ! You are not acquainted with 
 the facts in the case. But how did you guess my 
 trouble? Your reason ?" 
 
 Then it was that Barry was enlightened concern- 
 ing the very strange actions of his wife when she 
 was met by the colonel in the garden ; of the spasm 
 of pain that had played on her face during their 
 conversation. 
 
 " Her last remark seems as though she doubted 
 my love. Don't you think so?" 
 
 " I do ! I also heartily agree with you in that 
 your words were, indeed, too hasty. You should 
 see her immediately." 
 
 Then the Glenmore clock pealed out the hour of 
 ten, and Colonel Strange rose to take his departure. 
 
 "My friend, I cannot tell you how thankful I am 
 to you for coming and telling me all you have, and 
 some time you will be rewarded for it." 
 
 " I neither want nor deserve a reward. I have 
 done no more than my duty." 
 
 Soon afterwards he was gone. 
 
 If poor Barry could have been acquainted with 
 the facts and the mistakes in this great trouble ; if 
 he had known all ; if he could have seen Mrs. 
 Gregory's heart, in his repentance and his misery, 
 this dense and immovable cloud which must ever 
 shut out the sunlight from their lives would quickly 
 have vanished. But he never dreamed who it was 
 that lured them on to their ruin. Barry had never
 
 THE BAND WHICH BOUND TWO HEARTS. 151 
 
 said anything that was not absolutely kind, affec- 
 tionate, and gentlemanly in all their married life 
 before. ! 
 
 "I had never listened to a tale of love until I 
 heard theirs," said Colonel Strange. " Karlene has 
 been the idol of Barry's secret worship since they 
 first met. I could scarcely believe the evidence of 
 my own senses when I knew of this estrangement 
 and misery in their once happy life." 
 
 When Colonel Strange was gone a wail tore its 
 way through Barry Glenruore's heart, and he swayed 
 in an agony of passionate emotion and mortification. 
 His head sank lower and lower with this burden of 
 sorrow. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THE BAND WHICH BOUND TWO HEARTS. 
 
 IT is true that Mrs. Gist's husband had been only 
 an overseer for Mr. Ellis since his ruin, but he had 
 been the soul of honor. He had been Frank Ellis's 
 confidential friend and adviser, and since his death 
 about twelve years since Mr. Ellis had put no such 
 confidence in any other man. Mrs. Gist and Nadine 
 lived very lonely in a little frame cottage, with only 
 a boundary fence between Mr. Ellis's vast estate,
 
 152 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 which was once her own, and her now humble cottage 
 home. As we told you in a preceding chapter, Frank 
 Ellis had seen and known Nadine through all these, 
 to him, weary years. She had, though not intending 
 or dreaming of such a thing, completely won his 
 heart. 
 
 The responsibilities and duties that would have 
 oppressed others were welcome to Nadine's enter- 
 prising and dauntless spirits. She felt more than 
 usually serene and hopeful this morning, as she sat 
 with her darning enjoying a young girl's dreams. 
 She had developed into a handsome woman in the 
 last two years. As she sat there taking stitch after 
 stitch, for this was Saturday, in other words, darning 
 or patching day, many fond and pleasant memories 
 came to her of days gone by, and she wondered what 
 her future life would be like. 
 
 "I wonder what mother will say when I tell her 
 of Mr. Ellis's proposal. But there are not many 
 like him in the world, I know. All who trust him 
 will show sound wisdom. His hands are clean and 
 his conscience void of offence." 
 
 The tears rushed into her eyes, and she looked 
 beautiful indeed as she sat meditating. She had 
 placed a bunch of holly-berries at her throat, also 
 some of the same in her hair, and, as we have told 
 you, she was " neatness personified." 
 
 Nadine would fain have persuaded herself that 
 such reflections and the impressions made on her when
 
 THE BAND WHICH BOUND TWO HEARTS. 153 
 
 she last saw Mr. Ellis were in vain ; that she, only a 
 poor girl, might never hope to love and be loved, and 
 eventually marry a man of his standing and wealth. 
 
 Mrs. Gist and Nadine were sitting in the pleasant 
 fire-light in their cheerful little sitting-room. The 
 latter had confided to her mother everything. A 
 feeling of sadness carne over them, and at the mention 
 of her father's name the tear-drops glistened for a 
 moment in her eyes, and she felt how gladly she 
 would forego all the expected pleasures of her life 
 for the sake of having her father back. She, how- 
 ever, dashed away the tears, and said, 
 
 " I wonder, mother, if father would approve of 
 this marriage or selection I have made, or think the 
 sunshine of my young life wholly covered up and 
 spoiled ?" 
 
 Mrs. Gist arose, but could not speak, though her 
 feelings were none the less deep, for the death of 
 her noble husband, who had been taken scarce thir- 
 teen years ago, while it left her with life and health, 
 still brought bitter regrets. On the morrow the 
 anxiously-looked-for to-morrow by both Mr. Ellis 
 and Nadine the latter had told her mother that the 
 final answer was to be given. She scarcely closed 
 her eyes that night for thinking what that answer 
 should be. Once she thought it should be no, for it 
 saddened her mother, and she realized that she would 
 not have her with her long, for time and sorrow had 
 made many inroads upon her always delicate life and 
 
 8
 
 154 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 beauty, and here and there the once bright auburn 
 locks were silvered over, and across the high white 
 brow were drawn many deep-cut lines. 
 
 Nadine loved her mother with a love deep and 
 lasting. Then she pictured her lover, standing before 
 her with such a pleading, beseeching look, and she 
 fully realized what it would be to give him up. 
 
 Mr. Ellis sat in his most luxuriously-furnished 
 room. 
 
 " To-morrow will be the day of days to me," he 
 said. " This has been the longest day I ever spent. 
 It seems absolutely endless ; but the sun is setting 
 clear, and that is a good sign for to-morrow. Yet 
 they say, ' To-morrow never comes,' "' with a sup- 
 pressed sigh. 
 
 Morning dawned clear and bright. Mr. Ellis was 
 up early, and impatient for time to roll on, for he 
 did not want to go at such an inopportune hour as 
 eight o'clock. Still, he was very anxious to know 
 what Nadine's decision would be, and to urge her to 
 set the time in the near future. 
 
 " Good-morning, Nadine, my dear. May I hope 
 for good news this morning? I, as you may imag- 
 ine, came over to invite you and your mother to 
 come and spend some weeks or, what is better, 
 years with me, and I will tell you a little secret, 
 which was meant to be kept for a while. The pret- 
 tiest saddle-horse on my place is being trained for 
 your especial self, and, if you will decide to pay me a
 
 THE BAND WHICH BOUND TWO HEARTS. 155 
 
 visit, you may take possession of the beauty, for 
 indeed he is a beauty, a coal black." Mr. Ellis 
 continued lovingly : " Nadine, I love you dearly, 
 and I will devote my life to making you as happy 
 as is in my power. What say you ? If your answer 
 be in the affirmative, I will be the happiest man in 
 the world ; but, if it be in the negative, I will be the 
 most miserable." While he was making this speech 
 great tear-drops, he noticed, were standing on her 
 eyelashes, almost ready to fall. "Would you like 
 to see the ring I have brought ?" he continued ; 
 "the ring I would be most happy to place upon 
 your finger, the band that binds two happy hearts 
 and a love that has no end ?" 
 
 " I trust our love may be as endless as the ring." 
 " My darling, my beloved, my own !" exclaimed 
 he in such passionate tones that she blushed and 
 trembled. The consciousness of being surrounded 
 by loving guardianship, the novel delight of being 
 cared for, was something new to her, for her 
 mother depended on her, instead of child on mother. 
 " Nadine, you have made me far too happy to-night. 
 My energy shall be tireless, and I will forget nothing 
 that will contribute to your happiness, present or 
 future. My home is ready whenever and as soon 
 as you will come to it. You, also your dear mother, 
 will be most welcome." 
 
 " Thank you. I hope I shall be worthy of your 
 love and respect for and goodness to me."
 
 156 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 " You are worthy of the love of the best man on 
 earth !" He kissed her hand, and went on to state 
 his plans for their united happiness. " I am exceed- 
 ingly anxious that our marriage should take place as 
 early as possible." 
 
 " Mr. Ellis, all hills and difficulties sink into utter 
 nothingness when you decide to walk over them. I 
 have had so many to climb in my short life, but I 
 really do not know how to begin to ascend this one. 
 Being an eminently practical young lady, how am I 
 to make ready the wardrobe I should stand in need 
 of? It almost puts me beside myself to think of the 
 complete remodelling of this dress and that one, of 
 the bridal gear and the wedding presents, etc./' said 
 Nadine, laughingly. 
 
 The days flew rapidly and glowingly by. Mr. 
 Ellis was a rich man, and he opened his heart and 
 purse to their utmost, and said to himself that he 
 would make his home so beautiful that even Nadine's 
 fastidious taste could desire nothing more. He was 
 proud of his home, but prouder of her whose gifts 
 of mind and person he had won for his own. 
 
 Notwithstanding the severe labors, the never- 
 ending hindrances which had lined Nadine's path- 
 way since she began to "get ready," she coura- 
 geously finished preparations, after a time, and was 
 happy in the consolatory thought that she loved and 
 was loved in return.
 
 HE MIGHT RUE IT, BUT NOT UNDO IT. 157 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 HE MIGHT KUE IT, BUT HE COULD NOT 
 UNDO IT. 
 
 THE day on which Colonel Strange visited Barry 
 Glenmore was a beautiful and pleasant one, and the 
 latter had somewhat repented of his hasty words, 
 and had promised himself to take tea with his wife ; 
 but it really seemed as if fate was against him, for 
 at the very moment he started for his wife's boudoir 
 a servant announced a gentleman to be waiting for 
 his master. He found the superintendent of his 
 estate, who was there to inform him of the serious 
 illness of his cousin. He must start immediately 
 if he wished to see Gerald Glenmore, heir to the 
 Glenmore estate should Barry leave no heir at his 
 death. He must then give up seeing Karlene until 
 to-morrow. "Never put off till to-morrow what 
 should be done to-day." This old proverb crowded 
 itself into his mind, but he would write her and say 
 where and why he went, and when he would return. 
 He did write, but we are afraid a little coolly. Oh, 
 if you could have seen her at this juncture in her 
 life you would have both pitied and admired her! 
 She wore a cream brocade wrapper which clung to
 
 158 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 her beautiful form, and the expression on her face 
 was the sweetest and saddest woman ever wore. 
 Karlene arose and hastened to Hazel Gregory for 
 sympathy, though had she known that her husband 
 had that very morning intended to try and bring 
 about a reconciliation she would have hesitated 
 about going. As she opened the door a beautiful 
 sight met her eye. Hazel, in her rich, dark beauty, 
 stood before her boudoir mirror admiring herself. 
 Her lovely raven hair fell over her shoulders like a 
 thick black veil. Karlene glided noiselessly into the 
 room and up to Hazel's side, and, laying her soft 
 hand tenderly about her waist, looked up into her 
 face. 
 
 " You impudent thing ! How dare you intrude 
 upon me unawares?" said Hazel. 
 
 Karlene's arms dropped limp at her side and she 
 shrunk back, reminding one of a frightened child. 
 The expression on her pale, beautiful face brought 
 Hazel to know what had escaped her lips in her terror 
 at finding the wife of the man she loved so near her. 
 
 " Oh, my darling, forgive me, forgive me ! I 
 did not mean one word of that wicked sentence. 
 Look up, Karlene, and say you forgive me this once." 
 
 " I forgive you," said Karlene, timidly. " And 
 are you sure you are not a little angry with me, for 
 you know it was all my fault ?" 
 
 " No, no !" interrupted Hazel. " Why do you 
 say that, child ?"
 
 HE MIGHT RUE IT, BUT NOT UNDO IT. 159 
 
 " Because you know I really should have knocked 
 before entering." 
 
 "Nonsense; but you have been tiring yourself; 
 you really look like death itself! Tell me, what 
 has happened ?" 
 
 " A few days ago Barry said the cruelest things 
 to me, which caused the very worst that could have 
 happened, a terrible outbreak with him, and I 
 am so miserable," cried Karlene. " Oh, pity me !" 
 
 "You distress me. It is most unjust of him. 
 Does he not know how delicate and nervous you 
 are?" 
 
 " He vowed he would have a separation ; yes, 
 even threatened a divorce ! If he tries that I will 
 put nothing in his way. If he chooses to destroy 
 me he may, and the guilt will lie at his door." 
 
 Hazel Gregory did not dream of Karlene's folly 
 and the unreasonable fury of Barry so soon giving her 
 the revenge her cruel spirit hungered and thirsted for. 
 
 " Is this true ?" She turned her head from Kar- 
 lene for fear she would see the happy light in her 
 eyes. " He demands a separation, perhaps a di- 
 vorce?" went on Hazel, dreamily. 
 
 " All this will be public," cried poor Karlene. 
 " My life is ruined !" She, lying back in her chair, 
 her lovely hands folded, her face white as the drifted 
 snow, her eyes heavy with unshed tears, little thought 
 that every word she uttered caused her rival such 
 infinite joy.
 
 160 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 " He will set the whole world, even my dearest 
 friends and guardian, against me ! What shall I do? 
 Oh, what will become of me? Wherever I go I will 
 find the finger of scorn or curiosity pointed at me !" 
 
 " My dear, dear Karlene, if Mr. Glenmore should 
 fulfil his threats of divorce, you know you have a 
 large maintenance and can live where you like." 
 
 " Yes, by losing myself forever from the world, 
 from former friends and acquaintances. But, my 
 dear Hazel, if I can only find peace before Death 
 lays his icy fingers about my heart and whispers, 
 e The Master has sent to bid you come !' ' : 
 
 "Hush, Karlene," cried Hazel, and a shudder 
 passed over her frame and a sudden terror seized 
 her. Should she bow before this unhappy woman, 
 and confess to her that she was the cause of all this 
 unpleasantness? Should she goto Karlene's hus- 
 band, the only man on earth she had ever loved, 
 and confess her guilt? Was it not her duty to go 
 away and leave husband and wife in peace ? Then 
 she thought of the life-long desire of her heart, 
 how she had longed for this man's love. She had 
 sacrificed honor, pride, and almost her life to win 
 his love. Then all her good impulses were swept 
 away. Should she go away and leave Karlene to 
 be happy with this man who should have been her 
 husband ? No ! her whole soul revolted against it 
 and cried out for revenge. But how long had she 
 been silent ! She must say something to this heart-
 
 HE MIGHT RUE IT, BUT NOT UNDO IT. 
 
 broken woman who had been gazing at her with a 
 horror-stricken gaze. 
 
 "Surely," taking Karlene's hand again, which 
 she had thrown from her in her reverie, "when 
 your husband understands the state of your health 
 and feelings^he will allow you to go away and live 
 in retirement, though he will go on with his divorce 
 proceedings, in the mean time keeping you under 
 constant espionage." 
 
 " Ah, me ! I should die of such suspicion and 
 watching !" 
 
 " No doubt it would be more cruel than death." 
 
 "Certainly, the dread of the future will drive me 
 mad !" sobbed Karlene. 
 
 " Consider how much better it would be for you 
 to live independently on your own vast means than 
 on some scant maintenance doled out by Barry 
 Glenmore, who would probably be married to some 
 one else very soon." 
 
 A spasm of pain crossed Karlene's lovely face at 
 these cruel words. 
 
 "Do consider all, my dear Karlene. You will 
 have your child to love, if you do as I would do; 
 that will be all you will have left you. What joy, 
 what consolation you could find in rearing your 
 child ! But it will be taken from you. The di- 
 vorced wife of the upright, unimpeachable Barry 
 Glenmore will not be allowed to rear his little one. 
 It will be trained by those who scorn you. Already 
 
 8*
 
 162 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 *- '- 
 
 his love is dead for you. They will teach it not to 
 love or respect you. You do not deserve this, I 
 know, my darling." 
 
 A groan escaped Karlene's lips, and her head sunk 
 on her bosom. 
 
 " What would you do, Hazel ? I pray you tell 
 me, and oh, help me, if you are my friend ! Tell 
 me what to do." 
 
 " But, my darling, I dare not advise you, or even 
 tell you what I would do under the circumstances. I 
 know that I would put a great distance between the 
 man who called himself my 'husband' and myself." 
 
 Karlene's face became still paler. 
 
 "And I should think to marry a man of his 
 jealous nature would be a horrible thing, and I 
 should think the more miles between us the happier 
 we both would be." 
 
 " Where would you go, Hazel ?" 
 
 " I would fly to the far West, and he could pro- 
 cure the divorce if he chose, and, when once away, 
 you could rear your child as best suited you." 
 
 "I will go, Hazel, and immediately, for I believe 
 this excitement and these threats will drive me mad ! 
 But, Hazel, I am so dependent. What will I do 
 when I'm away off there, not even Jinny with me for 
 company? Oh, must I go alone into a strange land 
 and among strangers? How changed my life is, and 
 how dark the future looks ! I have longed for weeks, 
 almost months, to get away from this coldness."
 
 - HE MIGHT RUE IT, BUT NOT UNDO IT. 163 
 
 All through that night Hazel stayed with Kar- 
 lene, pretending to soothe her, but all of no avail. 
 Up and down the room paced Karlene through the 
 weary hours of the night, praying and longing for 
 the daylight, asking impatiently now and then, 
 "Will it never come?" and "Must I leave my 
 home?" 
 
 " Oh, Hazel, no one has a greater cross to bear 
 than mine, leaving husband, father, home, and 
 friends, and ' going out into the world alone! Oh, 
 won't it soon be day ?" Her eyes were hot, dry, 
 and tearless. The gray dawn deepened into rose, 
 and how often have we noticed that in our hours of 
 direst grief it is then that Nature chooses to deck 
 herself in all her fairest and best, as though to mock 
 us ! During that day Karlene wandered about very 
 quietly. 
 
 " I believe," said Hazel, " when you have gone 
 away, your husband will see how harsh he has been 
 and how he misjudged you, and will seek you to ask 
 forgiveness ; and I think after you have had quiet 
 and rest for a while you will be yourself again." 
 
 " Oh, Hazel, if you could only go with me ! But 
 I must be brave. God grant that I may have courage 
 and strength, for I am leaving all that is dearest and 
 best behind me." 
 
 " Karlene, have you funds quite enough to go 
 where you like ?" 
 
 " I have a goodly sum of my own."
 
 164 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 "Take this, my friend," said Hazel; "you will 
 have need of it. Everything is arranged and you 
 will be safe from suspicion." 
 
 She gave her a check for five thousand dollars, 
 and thought that would compensate for the ruin 
 she had brought on her unsuspecting, heart-broken 
 friend. One more step and utter ruin ! Karlene 
 could not understand this misery that had so sud- 
 denly come into her life. 
 
 " ( Blessings brighten as they take their flight,' it 
 is said. Perhaps, though, my husband, finding me 
 gone, will come again to his senses. God grant that 
 he may, for heaven knows I could not live without 
 him !" 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 THE SHOT. 
 
 IN the five long months preceding Karlene's 
 flight a great deal had happened. The day was 
 really fixed for Nadine's promised marriage with 
 Mr. Ellis, the 15th of May. She had completed 
 her very simple trousseau. 
 
 " Mother," said she, while sewing away, " I think 
 I shall be very happy in my married life, for Mr. 
 Ellis is all I could ask, and then we shall have our 
 dear old home back again."
 
 THE SHOT. 
 
 " Yes, my child, it is dear to me because my hap- 
 piest and best days were spent beneath its roof." 
 
 " Mother, there is something that disturbs you. 
 Tell me anything you will; I can help you bear it." 
 
 How beautiful and brave she looked just then ! 
 
 "It is this, my child. As I went to Stevens's 
 this morning I met Mr. Legon, and he would have 
 had the audacity to have spoken had I not turned 
 away in time. Nadine, I very much fear this man, 
 and if he and Mr. Ellis should meet I would 
 dread the consequences. Harm would be sure to 
 come of it." 
 
 " Yes, mother, we should warn Mr. Ellis to stay 
 away from here a while. Shall I write and explain 
 to him ?" 
 
 Mr. Ellis received the note after half an hour's 
 time; but, as no name was given his rival, he 
 did not exactly understand its contents, and was 
 not alarmed in the least. 
 
 " I will go this very night and understand just 
 why this note was written." 
 
 Donning his hat and coat hurriedly, he was off; 
 but ere he reached the garden gate, very near the 
 cottage, a shot was heard, and Frank Ellis fell un- 
 conscious on the spot. The report was heard by 
 both Nadine and her mother. They were very 
 much alarmed, knowing it to be a very unusual 
 thing to hear a pistol-shot so near their home, and 
 at such an early hour as eight o'clock. In their
 
 166 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 uneasy frame of mind, they decided to find their 
 way into the garden without a light, and discover, if 
 possible, if anything was wrong. Hesitating at the 
 gate, they thought they heard some one call. They 
 hastened to the house for a light, and there, when 
 they opened the gate, lay Mr. Ellis, bleeding and 
 perhaps dying. Suddenly a slight cry of alarm, 
 caused by the unexpected falling of a piece of 
 stone, drew their attention to the shrubbery near 
 by, and the next moment the supposed murderer 
 stood before them. He first thought to make his 
 escape as speedily as possible, but, being attracted 
 by the light, came back to see the woman who had 
 been the cause of the commission of this crime, and 
 which crime would most assuredly cost him his life. 
 Nadine was kneeling over the body of his rival and 
 her lover. What torture it was to Legon to see by 
 every word and act that she loved him ! 
 
 He stepped forward and said, in a half whisper, 
 "Nadine, it was unfortunate that I fired that shot, 
 but I could not help it. He came between me and 
 happiness." The words were scarcely uttered when 
 they were followed by a most horrible cry of " Oh, 
 what have I done !" The next moment another 
 scream, shrill and terrible, echoed among the rocks, 
 and a figure with dishevelled gray hair and uplifted 
 hands hastened towards them. Legon fell back 
 greatly astonished at the presence of two ladies on the 
 scene, and his friend and would-be fellow-murderer
 
 THE SHOT. 167 
 
 still there, for he supposed that he was already some 
 distance away. He this man who last made his ap- 
 pearance had his mission, and was come to drag the 
 dead to his last resting-place. They had thought to 
 hide Ellis's body in an unknown well some distance 
 off. Butler was so alarmed by the very strange pro- 
 ceedings of his true and tried friend, Legon, that his 
 first impulse was to flee from so dangerous a place. 
 
 Two men were attracted by the pistol-shot, but 
 did not rush to the spot, only watched from the 
 bleak point near the cottage : one on a rock over- 
 hanging the water; on a jagged bowlder, higher 
 up, Roger, reputed to be a perfect dare-devil, was 
 perched like an evil bird of prey. He muttered 
 something like this as he drew himself up, 
 
 " It is a fortunate thing that I should be out 
 at this very inopportune hour; it is high time all 
 honest people were housed, as it is nearing the 'wee 
 sma' hours' of the night." Said he to his companion, 
 who would also brave anything that was upright and 
 honorable, " Shall we let those villains know that 
 they have two very intent spectators ?" 
 
 " No, we will see it through. All the harm has 
 been done that it is possible for them to do." 
 
 Nadine was wellnigh insane with grief and terror, 
 and fell from one fainting fit into another ; but she 
 was carefully borne into the house by friendly hands 
 and restored to her usual health. 
 
 The morning dawned gray and raw. There were
 
 168 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 brooding moans in the naked tree-tops and an air 
 of patient resignation on the face of the dismantled 
 earth that betokened to the weather-wise the speedy 
 coming of a rainy day. 
 
 Mr. Ellis was taken home that evening, and on 
 having his wound dressed it was seen to be much 
 slighter than was at first supposed. A messenger was 
 hastily sent next morning to inquire after Nadine, 
 and to tell her that Mr. Ellis's wound was slight 
 and he would soon be up and out and would hasten 
 to see her. In a few days a knock was heard, and 
 Nadine hastened in breathless eagerness to admit the 
 long-looked-for guest. 
 
 " Is it really your living self?" she asked, extend- 
 ing both her hands. Mr. Ellis was but too happy 
 to see Nadine, and clasped them both in his own. 
 In the midst of his agitation she discovered how hot 
 his hands felt. "Are you sure, Mr. Ellis, you are 
 quite well enough to be here ?" 
 
 " I wonder you are not surprised at the discovery 
 that I am not a ghost. How can you bring your- 
 self to take me by the hand, dear Nadine?" 
 " Is it your shadow that is frightening me so?" 
 " Not really a shadow, but flesh and blood." 
 " Ah ! then I am delighted to see you." 
 As the fire kindled, she noticed that he had sunk 
 upon a sofa as if his limbs refused to support him, 
 but his look of eager inquiry gave earnest life to the 
 otherwise so changed face.
 
 THE SHOT. 169 
 
 " Nadine, sit here ; I have something to say to you. 
 Don't keep me in suspense," he said, impatiently, 
 " for a man can suffer death but once." 
 
 He was too much engrossed in his own misery to 
 notice the painful flush that swept from neck to fore- 
 head of his companion. 
 
 " Tell me, my darling, when this shock is over, 
 will you not hasten the time of your home-coming 
 with me ? It seems so long, yet this is let me see 
 the 22d of November." 
 
 " But you must know that in these modern days 
 six months is considered a short period in which a 
 young lady may prepare her trousseau." 
 
 "But such beauty as yours needs no adorning. 
 Neither time nor art could enhance it. It would 
 be like painting the lily or giving deeper tint to 
 the rose. All the ingenuity of a modiste could 
 never -make you more beautiful to me than you are 
 at this moment, with that sweet love-light in your 
 eyes and beautiful blush upon your cheek." 
 
 " To repay you for those words of flattery I will 
 consider the possibility of shortening the interval 
 between this and our appointed time, the 15th 
 of May, and will acquaint you with my decision 
 to-morrow." 
 
 A sudden and severe headache kept him from pro- 
 longing his visit, but he said he would return on the 
 morrow. He was haggard now, and these few days 
 of suffering and anxiety to know how this trouble
 
 170 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 would end had left their marks of care carved on 
 brow and cheek ; but his eyes were clear, their glance 
 straight and kind. Rising to bid Nadine good-by, 
 he said, 
 
 " Your goodness to me is the first ray of light that 
 has crossed my path for days ! I feel and know, my 
 darling, that you will consider what I have said and 
 come home, for I need you, and will do everything 
 in my power to make your home happy, and you 
 shall never -regret the step you have taken." 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 FKIDAY, "THE FAIKEST OK FOULEST OF THE 
 WEEK." 
 
 AT last the fatal Friday night came, as the 
 superstitious say, " the fairest or foulest of the 
 week." The dawning of the coming morn would 
 find Karlene far away from husband and, in fact, 
 all that was near and dear to her. She had al- 
 ready bidden Hazel Gregory her dearest friend, 
 to all appearances a tender farewell, little think- 
 ing it was she who had brought about all this 
 sorrow.
 
 FRIDAY. 171 
 
 "What is to become of me?" sighed Karlene. 
 "Am I mad?" 
 
 No, she was not mad, but misguided, and each 
 moment became more painful to her as she was borne 
 further from her home. Then stopping, she took 
 one long, lingering look at the beautiful home that 
 had promised for her so much happiness only a short 
 time ago. Hastily placing herself in the carriage 
 that had been secured by Mrs. Gregory, she was 
 driven to the station. 
 
 It was late next morning when Jinny went to 
 her mistress's room. . When no answer came to her 
 loud rapping, she thought something must be wrong 
 and came in search of " Mars' Barry," who had been 
 met accidentally, as he thought, by Hazel, and was 
 taking a few turns in the garden with her, awaiting 
 the appearance of her hostess. Jinny came running 
 to say, " I have been to missus's room, but missus 
 wouldn't let her door be opened if she be dar ; but 
 she had faintin' spells lately, and Dr. Beedle dun 
 gib her some stuff t'other day." 
 
 " Heaven grant she is not dead or unconscious," 
 cried Barry, dropping down on one of the garden seats. 
 
 Hazel tried to comfort and keep him by her side 
 by saying, " I am sure all is well, for as I passed 
 Karlene's room I am quite positive I heard some 
 one stirring." 
 
 Jinny was sent again to Mrs. Glenmore's room, 
 but this time the cry came,
 
 172 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 " Miss Karly is not here, but gone !" 
 
 In a moment Barry was at her side. 
 
 "Not here? Gone?" 
 
 The horrible truth was beginning to break on 
 the already miserable husband. He looked around 
 the room in dumb agony. With a cry of pain and 
 rage he flung himself on a sofa. All was lost ! Kar- 
 leue, his love, had betrayed him ! His wife had fled ! 
 
 It was a terrible day in that mansion. The hus- 
 band often looked back and wondered how he lived 
 through it. He looked like a man out of the grave 
 even in that short time, and, to be sure, it was the 
 grave of his joy and his love. 
 
 From the beginning of that day there fell upon 
 that home a deep and solemn silence. It seemed 
 as though death certainly hovered nigh. This awful 
 shadow cast an ashen pallor over the face of Barry 
 Glenmore, for, indeed, it was a struggle for life or 
 death, and the fatherly guardian was so stunned and 
 stricken with grief that he was almost beside himself. 
 
 The sudden disappearance of Karlene, together 
 with his long-continued but unsuccessful search for 
 her, had at last stricken down and brought almost to 
 death's door the master of this once happy home, 
 now, alas ! so wrapped in gloom and uncertainty, the 
 gloom widening and deepening almost into Cimme- 
 rian darkness as the days went by and brought no news 
 of the whereabouts of its loved and honored mistress. 
 But, though the angel of death was still flapping
 
 FRIDAY. 173 
 
 his black wings in presageful omens of death over 
 this lovely home, still, while there was life there was 
 hope. Dr. Beedle watched him, fearing to see the 
 brittle thread break asunder and life take its flight. 
 Would the crisis never come? 
 
 Dr. Beedle hardly left his bedside long enough to 
 snatch the rest and refreshment of which he stood in 
 such need ; for, indeed, he loved this son of his old, 
 true, and tried friend as though he were his own. 
 But at last the crisis was reached. Barry struggled 
 slowly and painfully back to consciousness. His 
 first inquiries were, " "Where is Karlene? Have they 
 found her? Bring her to me." Then he turned 
 to Dr. Beedle and said, " Is it true, doctor, that 
 my wife has been ill, and you have seen and pre- 
 scribed for her without my knowledge ? In 
 heaven's name, tell me all !" 
 
 " I will, my boy, if you will only quiet yourself. 
 Your wife is of a keenly-sensitive organization, and 
 at that time she was more nervous and excitable than 
 ever before. There may, at any time, arise little 
 differences and misunderstandings between two loving, 
 devoted people whose hearts are knit together with 
 ties of strongest love and purest and deepest affec- 
 tion. And, my dear boy, when your beloved wife 
 returns to you, indulge in no coldness towards her, 
 watch over her with unceasing care, lavish upon her 
 your heart's great wealth of affection, demand for 
 her perfect quiet, surround her with the greatest
 
 174 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 comfort and ease, watch her every movement, antici- 
 pate her every want. But come ! you have been 
 too near death's door to excite yourself or talk so 
 much. Calm yourself and try to sleep some, and 
 later I will talk to you of these things." 
 
 " Oh, Dr. Beedle, in heaven's name do not keep 
 me in suspense, for it is intolerable in my present 
 condition! Tell me all. What do you know? 
 Was my wife in trouble ?" 
 
 "It was your wife's health." 
 
 " You alarm me, Dr. Beedle ! What was the 
 matter? What do you mean by her health and 
 mental balance?" 
 
 " While I was fully aware that there was some 
 trouble pressing heavily upon her young heart and 
 weighing down her usually buoyant spirits, still I 
 said nothing to her in regard to this, as my mission 
 on this earth is to minister to the body and not the 
 mind. I found upon my second visit to her that she 
 was in a condition requiring the utmost care and at- 
 tention ; for, my dear friend, do you not know that 
 heaven will soon bless you with that sweetest pledge 
 of affection, a child?" 
 
 Barry Glenmore struggled to raise himself, then 
 turned his haggard, worn face to Dr. Beedle with 
 that look of surprise that assured him that he sus- 
 pected or knew nothing. 
 
 ******* 
 
 As yet nothing had been heard from Karlene.
 
 FRIDAY. 175 
 
 The city had been scoured ; the detectives employed 
 by Mr. Glenmore had put forth every effort in 
 their power, but all were ineffectual. The good 
 father was heart-broken, and had exhausted every 
 means to find and bring the prodigal safely home, 
 for he felt and knew that their happiness now and 
 in the future depended upon making peace between 
 the young husband and wife. Now that Barry had 
 struggled back to life and partial health, he deter- 
 mined to go again himself in search of his beautiful 
 lost wife. 
 
 Karlene had succeeded admirably in leaving be- 
 hind her no clew or trace to her whereabouts ; Hazel 
 Gregory had dropped quietly out of their lives, and 
 it was her wish not even to be interviewed on the 
 subject of Karlene's disappearance. 
 
 Two years passed and still no tidings of the lost 
 one. 
 
 Karlene, even in that length of time, had not 
 ceased to pine for her husband and friends, but was 
 comfortably situated in a new home and with new but 
 pleasant surroundings, and with her baby boy to 
 love and care for, who was part of her lonely life, 
 lonely because she preferred it so. All this time 
 there had been one unbroken scene of intense, in- 
 tolerable suspense and suffering. Ruined in name, 
 she feared she had shut herself off from the world. 
 There seemed to be no avenue of usefulness or hap- 
 piness left for her. On leaving her home she went
 
 176 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 by a long, circuitous route to a small village on 
 the southwestern coast of California, Las Flores, 
 took a comfortable cottage, very retired, made it 
 as inviting as could be, and with housekeeper and 
 companion settled, perhaps, for life. And oh ! what 
 a life for one so young and beautiful as Karlene ! 
 When she fled from her home she was by no means 
 a victim to mania, as Dr. Beedle intimated, but was 
 in a highly-excited mental state which debarred her 
 of reasonable and cool judgment and showed her 
 troubles to her in exaggerated colors. 
 
 When Karlene had sufficiently recovered from the 
 painful remembrance of her past life, she said, " I 
 have bravely lived through it! Death had no mercy 
 for me. It took the young, the loved, and the happy, 
 but passed me by." 
 
 From the first day of her absence from her home 
 hope seemed to leave her. From day to day the 
 fair young face grew more sad and wistful, the 
 rounded, graceful figure grew thin and frail, until 
 her physician began to fear that her health would be 
 undermined by the great mental trouble she seemed 
 to be undergoing. With all his skill he could find 
 no solution of the mystery, no reason for the weak- 
 ness and languor that seemed to be wearing away 
 the life of his interesting and beautiful young 
 patient. 
 
 " Tell me," he said one day to Miss Paine, Kar- 
 lene's much-loved companion, " has Mrs. Glenrnore
 
 FRIDAY. 177 
 
 had any very great trouble ? Has she sustained a 
 shock of any kind, either mental or physical? Is 
 there grief or anxiety preying upon her?" 
 
 " I do not know," said Miss Paine. " I never 
 knew Mrs. Glenmore till she came to this neighbor- 
 hood. I only know she is a lady, indeed, and there 
 is nothing I would not do for her." 
 
 While the search was still being diligently made 
 for Karlene, her husband had slowly regained his 
 usual health, though not his spirits, for he had been 
 so depressed, so unhappy, so apprehensive of the 
 worst, that his recovery had been seriously retarded. 
 
 February had come, and the crocus and the snow- 
 drop began to push their pretty heads through the 
 loamy, leafy soil. 
 
 Barry Glenmore had grown of late very anxious 
 to see Hazel Gregory, for it occurred to him that 
 possibly she might be able to give him some idea of 
 Karlene's whereabouts. So he lost no time in mak- 
 ing his preparations to visit her. 
 
 When Barry was announced, Hazel was not in the 
 least surprised. Her face brightened upon his first 
 appearance in her presence, but immediately assumed 
 a pale ashen hue, from the fear that he might suspect 
 the cruel, heartless intriguing which had so success- 
 fully banished his lovely, innocent wife from the 
 protection of his roof. She could not understand 
 the change that had taken place. The light had 
 died out of those once bright eyes ; the smile had 
 
 9
 
 178 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 left his lips ; his face was sad and thoughtful. It 
 was a study for her, for she very well knew that she 
 was the cause of those lines of sorrow and suffering. 
 
 "Oh, Hazel, my friend, tell me if you know 
 anything of my dear wife; this weight of sorrow is 
 robbing me of my life, hope, and love I" 
 
 " This is a strange lot that has fallen on so happy a 
 household," Hazel answered, in a sympathetic voice ; 
 still she was determined that nothing she should say 
 or do should betray to Mr. Glenmore that she knew 
 anything whatever of Karlene's movements. But 
 it pained her very deeply to see the man whom she 
 loved so dearly bowed down with grief, anxiety, 
 and uncertainty. It was almost impossible to be- 
 lieve that this seemingly noble, high-minded, kind- 
 hearted woman could see the man who had repeat- 
 edly befriended her endure this sorrow, crushing his 
 very life out, and not try to stay the current that 
 was so fast carrying him on to utter ruin. Ah, 
 Hazel, be careful, or else you may repent at your 
 leisure the misery which your plotting and scheming 
 has brought to these loving hearts. 
 
 Barry, in his abstraction of mind, paced to and 
 fro through the long drawing-rooms, stopping at the 
 window, before which was spread out the loveliest of 
 landscape gardens. 
 
 Londale was the name Hazel had given to her 
 beautiful home, and the pride with which she re- 
 garded this place was indeed pardonable, and she
 
 FRIDAY. 179 
 
 had been amply rewarded for the very great care 
 and time she had expended upon it. 
 
 While Barry stood ruminating upon what the last 
 few years had brought him of happiness and misery, 
 memories of days gone by rushed over him, when he 
 had first met, loved, and won his beautiful wife. 
 Ah, what happy days were those when contrasted 
 with the present ones, so full of sorrow and sadness, 
 so long and full of uncertainty, dark and rayless as 
 the midnight hour ! He had almost counted the 
 moments since his darling Karlene had left him. 
 The weeks had passed by and clustered into months, 
 and the years had filled and ripened and fallen into 
 the broad bosom of the past. How white his face 
 had grown, and what a shadow of despair had come 
 into his eyes! But he was aroused by a hand being 
 laid on his arm, and he turned to find Hazel stand- 
 ing beside him. She felt alarmed at the agony de- 
 picted upon that noble face, and somewhat reproached 
 herself for the part she had enacted in this almost 
 tragedy.
 
 180 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXX. 
 
 LEGON'S LIFE A FAILUKE. 
 
 You perhaps wonder how all these people hap- 
 pened on the scene when Mr. Ellis was shot. They 
 lived very near and were great friends, continually 
 watching that they might befriend Mrs. Gist in some 
 way, and were ready to come to her assistance at a 
 moment's warning, and were there at this time for 
 the purpose of giving the man Legon and his posse 
 into the hands of the law. Legon was at once ar- 
 rested and boldly accused of the attempted murder. 
 He turned deadly pale and seemed about to swoon ; 
 but, presently recovering himself, he demanded 
 proof of the heinous charge, declaring, with a well- 
 feigned innocence, that Mr. Ellis and himself were 
 good friends. 
 
 He was told that, if innocent, it was only necessary 
 for him to prove it. 
 
 "No; you have made the charge," said Legon, 
 with wild, daring gestures, "now it is your business 
 to prove it to be true or release me." 
 
 Then Boggins, who, you remember, had been a 
 silent spectator of the attempted assassination, inter- 
 rupted him :
 
 LEGON'S LIFE A FAILURE. 
 
 " The former we will have no trouble at all in 
 doing." 
 
 And, in spite of the protestations of the accused 
 and his friend, he was safely landed in prison to 
 await his trial. 
 
 On the day following Boggins came forward, say- 
 ing, 
 
 " My friends, listen ! I have a plan by which I 
 think we can entrap the fiend into a full confession 
 of this crime; so to-morrow we will, should you all 
 approve, go to his cell and interview him." 
 
 Trusting, as they were wont, to Boggins's sound 
 judgment, on the day appointed there was quite a 
 company gathered in the county jail to witness Bog- 
 gins's victory and Legon's confession. 
 
 When Boggins crossed the threshold of the cell, 
 Legon trembled. 
 
 " Wretch !" thundered Boggins. "Villain ! mur- 
 derer!" (It was Boggins who had assumed the 
 character of the wretch, Garric, to whom Legon had 
 paid a handsome sum to hide away Ellis's body.) 
 " Dare you deny your crime before me? Down and 
 beg for mercy as you hope for life and forgiveness." 
 
 The wretched man instantly fell on his knees and 
 confessed all. Although he acknowledged his crime, 
 in order to determine whether the penalty should be 
 imprisonment for life or for a short time only, it 
 was necessary to submit his case to judge and jury, 
 who, upon mature deliberation, decided that, as this
 
 182 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 was his second dastardly attempt to take the life of 
 Mr. Ellis, he must spend the remnant of his miser- 
 able days within the walls of a dungeon. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 MISEKABLE BECAUSE OF ANOTHER'S SIN. 
 
 WE have never told you the history of that sad 
 missive that came begging Karlene to come imme- 
 diately to her loving friends, Lillie and Ruth ; but 
 it came too late; long after Karlene had deserted 
 her husband and home. This letter had been laid 
 aside, with the many other important ones, to be 
 answered when the dark clouds that hovered so 
 thick and black over this once happy home but 
 now, alas! so divided and broken up by sickness 
 and separation should disperse. 
 
 It was the 22d of July, 18 . Karlene Glenmore 
 had been from her home five years. She was now 
 twenty-four years old. The child and idol for 
 such he was indeed was a comfort and a joy to 
 the lonely mother. 
 
 Karlene lived in a small village on the coast, in 
 quite a retired little spot, and was as happy as she 
 could be under the existing circumstances. She prayed
 
 MISERABLE BECAUSE OF ANOTHER'S SIN. 183 
 
 that God might teach her aright and help her raise 
 her child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, 
 and she hoped and prayed that at no distant day all 
 would be well with them. This was a beautiful 
 morning; all nature was up and awake. The birds 
 were singing gayly. Karlene had taken her work 
 and gone to her favorite tree on the lawn, to live 
 over again the once happy days so far away and the 
 time so long past since she had looked on the one 
 face and form that she had loved as her life. 
 
 " Dear heaven ! will I drag out my existence here 
 in this lonely place, and no one be the better off for 
 my having lived?" Karlene exclaimed. "Will I 
 be compelled to spend the remaining few days of my 
 life here alone? No! I shall let my dear father 
 know and he will come to me, for he knows I love 
 him, and he will not betray me if I write and tell 
 him all." 
 
 Upon further consideration she said, 
 
 " No ! He, loving my husband so much, and 
 thinking perhaps to bring about a reconciliation and 
 happiness to us again, will disclose my secret to him. 
 That will never do ! Heaven help me to hold my 
 peace for my child's sake." 
 
 Little Barry came bounding up the walk, for he 
 had been permitted to go to the post-office with Miss 
 Paine. 
 
 " Here, mamma," said the boy, proudly, " see 
 what I have brought you ! The gentleman gave
 
 184 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 me this paper for you. Why don't yon get letters 
 like Dick Valworth's mamma? To-day he got one 
 and said it was from his papa. Why don't you get 
 letters from my papa ?" 
 
 Karlene did not answer just then, and the child 
 still insisted on knowing why his papa didn't come 
 to see them or write them a letter. 
 
 Often the boy questioned his mother in regard to 
 his father, asking her where he was, when he would 
 come, and if he loved them ; but to all these ques- 
 tions Karlene gave an evasive answer. 
 
 At this moment the child, seeing a bright and 
 beautiful butterfly, ran off in pursuit of it, while the 
 mother sat in deep thought, her heart throbbing and 
 pulsating with pain, which was almost unbearable at 
 the thought that she could not answer her child's 
 question, " Does my papa love us ?" in the affirma- 
 tive. 
 
 Karlene raised herself from her reclining position 
 just enough to glance at the paper brought her by 
 her bright-eyed boy. She saw it was her old favor- 
 ite, the New York Herald. She opened it, hoping 
 to see some familiar name or news from her home. 
 After glancing over it carelessly, and seeing nothing 
 to interest her except the marriage of a friend, she 
 threw it aside, her own sorrowful thoughts occupying 
 her mind to the exclusion of all others. Next day, 
 while sitting alone, she chanced to pick up the same 
 paper again. Her eyes fell upon a sketch headed,
 
 MISERABLE BECAUSE OF ANOTHER'S SIN. 185 
 
 "A Terrible Railroad Accident! Great Loss, both 
 of Life and Property I" 
 
 Seeing that the scene of the terrible disaster was 
 not far from her old home, New York, she thought 
 strange that it had been overlooked the day before. 
 She first read the many distressing incidents con- 
 nected with this awful holocaust, for many were 
 burned and charred into unrecognizable masses of 
 flesh and bone. Then she cast her eyes down the 
 long list containing the names of those who were 
 killed and wounded. Among the injured she found 
 several familiar names, but none, so far, among those 
 killed. How unfortunate that this paper fell into 
 her hands the second time ! She soon came upon the 
 name of her personal friend, Mr. Emerson, who, it 
 was stated, was killed instantly. How shocked she 
 was ! but read on further to find three more names, 
 and then a fourth one was Oh, heaven ! could it be ! 
 Yes. There, standing out before her like letters of 
 fire, was the name of her husband, Barry Glenmore ! 
 She sat there immovable, as if carved in stone ; her 
 eyes riveted to the letters forming that dear name. 
 Merciful God ! could this be true ? Pressing her 
 fingers before her aching eyes to shutout the horrible 
 pictures that would arise before her, she sank back 
 almost senseless. Ah, me! if fortune had only 
 favored her with the strength requisite to read next 
 day's paper, for it corrected the terrible report. 
 Fate seemed against her. She arose with the deter- 
 
 9*
 
 186 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 mination to go at once to her home and husband as 
 fast as wheels could carry her ; but ere she reached 
 the house she fell in a deep swoon. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 MEMORY GAVE IT BACK TO HER. 
 
 AEE you growing weary of our story, dear reader ? 
 Shall we close here and say no more concerning the 
 life of our heroine? Shall we leave you to imagine 
 what became of Karlene and her beautiful boy, little 
 Barry? No; something tells us that you would rather 
 follow Karlene to the end of this story, hoping to 
 see her triumphant over the enemies who have 
 worked her such dire evil. When Karlene recovered 
 from her swoon she could remember nothing of what 
 she had read or why she was placed in her bed. 
 Presently memory gave it all back to her, and she 
 called for the paper and looked for the date. It was 
 July 17. Oh ! so long ago, and she his wife was 
 not notified ! Her husband dead and buried, per- 
 haps, by this time ! Oh, horrible ! And such an in- 
 tense longing came over her for home and friends as 
 almost to drive her mad, and for three weeks her 
 life hung on a very tiny thread. At last the crisis
 
 MEMORY GAVE IT BACK TO HER. 187 
 
 came and passed, the physician pronounced her on 
 the road to recovery, and Karlene Glen more slowly 
 came back to life and health, though very reluctantly 
 on her part. 
 
 When she was able to be up she determined to 
 write to Mr. Melbourne to ascertain if that report of 
 July 17 could be true. She hesitated, and wondered 
 if such a letter would be the means of taking her 
 darling boy from her. Death a thousand times 
 rather than that trial! " What shall I do ? Where 
 is my dear guardian ? Will I never see him 
 again?" she exclaimed. Suddenly she remembered 
 that he must be almost seventy years of age. 
 
 Why had her life been blighted ? Why had she 
 fled from her much-loved home? She lived over 
 again every little incident in that unhappy quarrel 
 in which he threatened divorce and separation from 
 her. In her meditations, which were long and fre- 
 quent, she decided that Hazel Gregory, kistead of 
 mediating between herself and her husband, had 
 done everything in her power to bring about the 
 separation. She knew and felt, now, that she had 
 been no friend, and her eyes were opened in regard 
 to this woman, whom she believed to have worked 
 her more harm than any other living human being, 
 and in her long self-communings she decided that 
 Hazel had always loved her husband. She could 
 remember the glances of admiration, the coquetry, 
 the many, many little things which were now proof
 
 188 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 conclusive. Why had she been so blind all that 
 time? She saw so plainly now that Hazel had been 
 the wicked woman who had separated her from her 
 husband and driven her far from her home and 
 all she loved best on earth. She saw and knew now 
 that it was irretrievably too late ! Oh, heaven ! too 
 late ! All was over now ! Two, three lives or more 
 made miserable wrecks by one wicked, designing 
 woman. Ah ! dear reader, you will never quite 
 understand or appreciate the trials, disappointments, 
 and heartaches of our beautiful heroine, so far from 
 home and sadly in need of a guide and guard. 
 
 " I am desperately wicked. I know it should not 
 be so. Troubles and misfortunes should humble 
 and ennoble people rather than render them reckless 
 and hopeless, as I now feel," said Karlene. But 
 her woman's keen instinct told her that the past was 
 beyond recall and her life ruined, and throwing her- 
 self upos her couch, she gave way to her grief in 
 deep, broken sobs that shook her frame from head 
 to foot, and left her lying there pale and exhausted, 
 looking like a poor broken lily which had been 
 beaten from its stem and pelted by the rains from 
 heaven. 
 
 "Oh, my God!" said she, "this uncertainty! 
 Day and night the shadow of death rests upon me 
 with an ever-deepening and darkening horror ! Ah, 
 can it be that my eyes will never again rest upon the 
 face of my beloved, he who was so noble and true ?
 
 MEMORY GAVE IT BACK TO HER. Ig9 
 
 A gentler soul than his never dwelt in human breast ; 
 nobler qualities were never evinced by husband, 
 protector, and friend. Truly, the grim destroyer, 
 Death, has chosen a high and shining mark ; pray 
 God his aim was an erring one !" 
 
 But what should she do ? To remain here would 
 be to her a living death, and to go away would debar 
 her of news from home and friends ; but upon ma- 
 ture deliberation she decided to stay where she was 
 for the present, at least, probably, until her son should 
 attain his majority ; but how slowly those lonely 
 years would drag their weary length away ! 
 
 Karlene had grown very nervous, and devoured 
 the daily papers and journals in eager expectation of 
 hearing some news from home. How deeply she 
 sorrowed no one ever knew. Poor lonely woman ! 
 She stood by the window trying to peer into the 
 future and awaiting the appearance of her boy, the 
 one object on earth of whose love she was certain. 
 Karlene, standing there in her graceful, sweeping 
 robes, with that longing, wistful expression upon 
 her face, made a picture long to be remembered ; for 
 though her beautiful face usually wore the pallor of 
 death, and her lovely eyes the expression of those who 
 have nothing to hope for, still the appearance of her 
 child at any time would show the mother's love in her 
 heart by suffusing the pale face with a rosy red aud 
 the beautiful eyes with the light of a mother's love. 
 
 The day preceding the one which brought to Kar-
 
 190 KARLENK HOY. 
 
 lene the fatal news concerning her husband was a 
 day never to be forgotten by her, because of the 
 presageful omens which weighed upon her heart 
 like an incubus. A presentiment of coming evil, 
 which brought with it a strange oppression that 
 she could neither explain nor throw off, rested so 
 heavily upon her already burdened heart. A strange 
 dream haunted her. In her fitful slumbers there 
 passed before her mind like panoramic views many 
 incidents connected with her home life. She dreamed 
 that in the midst of the glowing summer she lay 
 dead in this beloved home, and her husband and 
 friends were grieved beyond measure. The sun had 
 set, and the soft, subdued light of the gloaming 
 threw a tender shadowy light over the fair face and 
 golden hair of Karlene. Just then little Barry came 
 bounding into the room saying, 
 
 " Mother, see what a lovely evening it is ! Come 
 go with me for a walk." 
 
 Throwing a light shawl about her shoulders, for 
 the air was cool and bracing, and taking Barry by 
 the hand, she went into the garden. Though its 
 glory was decidedly on the wane, it was as yet un- 
 visited by the frosts. Indeed, it looked very beau- 
 tiful, and it brought back memories of her childhood 
 home. It seemed so long ago since she lived those 
 happy days, almost eight long, weary years. How 
 changed was she and everything! Time had not 
 stood still. Her eyes fell upon her darling and her
 
 MEMORY GAVE IT BACK TO HER. . 
 
 face instantly softened. They did not tarry long in 
 the garden, for a shivering sense of discomfort soon 
 drove them into the house. Although the sun had 
 shone bright and warm in the morning, the fore- 
 shadowing of a storm was later very evident. A 
 haze had spread over the sky, increasing in leaden 
 hue towards night. The chilly wind moaned fitfully 
 through the trees, and the landscape darkened like a 
 face shadowed by some coming evil. Karlene feared 
 a storm very much; but a faint glimmering of hope 
 began to dawn in her breast as she saw the cloud 
 that had overcast the sky slowly vanishing. She 
 said to herself, "There may be a gale blowing 
 straight from heaven for me against the current 
 of evil." But in her wavering state of mind the 
 turn of the scales would depend very much on her 
 decision to remain, or to lay aside pride and fear 
 and take her child and go home. Wearied and de- 
 spondent, she turned to her books. A smoulder- 
 ing wood fire upon the hearth softened the air into 
 summer's temperature. The heat was grateful to 
 her chilled, bloodless body, and gave her a luxurious 
 sense of physical strength and comfort. 
 
 " I will leave this place, with its memories of 
 loneliness," she said to herself, " for it is growing 
 hateful to me. I suppose, though, it would be the 
 same anywhere else. I am too weak and ill to face 
 new scenes and discomforts. A little enjoyment and 
 bodily respite from pain seems about all that is left
 
 192 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 for me of existence, and perhaps I can find them 
 here as well as elsewhere." 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 THE MIRROR OF HEE PAST. 
 
 KAKLEKE had a horror of meeting strangers which 
 she could not overcome. Many had called to see her, 
 but she always excused herself by saying she would 
 be glad if they would call again when she was well 
 enough to see them. She spent much time regretting 
 her misspent life. How long ago it all seemed since 
 she had known happiness ! Now, these words came 
 into her mind : " Whatsoever a man soweth, that 
 shall he also reap." She had sown pride and wilful- 
 ness; now she was reaping bitterness, tears, and 
 death, and, shuddering, she buried her face in her 
 hands and shed the many tears that had lain like 
 liquid fire behind her heavy, drooping eyelids for 
 days. 
 
 " I have almost wept my life out since that dread 
 happening," said Karlene to herself, and she had 
 stood aloof from the world and its attractions, and 
 suffered in silence. She sorrowed over her husband's 
 supposed death with a grief that knew no bounds.
 
 TEE MIRROR OF HER PAST. 193 
 
 " He was one of the bravest and noblest of men," 
 said she; but to avenge himself he had avowed a 
 separation and brought misery and death, a thou- 
 sand times, to them both. " ' There's nothing half 
 so sweet in life as love's young dream,' " said Kar- 
 lene. " We were so happy fora time, but alas ! how 
 short-lived it was !" The cold and cruel words of 
 her husband came back to her, and the tenderness 
 and sweetness of her brief young life died out for- 
 ever. All that was best and brightest died within 
 her that night. 
 
 How often had Karlene regretted ever leaving her 
 school home, the one she loved best and the one in 
 which she was so happy ! Her home without cares 
 or troubles. Oh ! if she could lay her tired, aching 
 head on Miss Clara's breast and breathe away her 
 life! 
 
 " The sun of my life has gone down in gloom 
 and chill, and dear Marjorie Mauchline, how I would 
 like to know what her life has been ! I trust heaven 
 has been more merciful to her than it has to me. If I 
 could but live those dear old school-days over again !" 
 
 Karlene was more or less superstitious and be- 
 lieved in presentiments, and her dreams haunted her. 
 She daily expected some news or arrival from her 
 home, and the suspense grew intolerable sometimes. 
 One day little Barry rushed in, all enthusiasm, shout- 
 ing, 
 
 " Mamma ! Mamma ! There's a gentleman in the
 
 194 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 drawing-room waiting to see you. You know him, 
 for he told me he was your ( Father Melbourne.' r ' 
 
 Karlene's heart almost stood still. The boy was 
 very impatient for his mother to go and meet the 
 gentleman, but all the time she was trying to com- 
 pose herself, wondering how he had discovered her 
 whereabouts, and breathing a prayer that they would 
 not take her beautiful boy. She hastened down to 
 where Mr. Melbourne awaited her, not knowing how 
 to receive him. Ah ! never again will he see depicted 
 on mortal face such a look of agony as hers wore ; 
 never did human voice sound so despairing as did 
 hers to him. She stood in the door-way with clasped 
 hands, as if she were a statue. Her guardian's 
 heart sank within him to see that face so changed 
 and the look of sadness written there. Karlene, 
 faint and exhausted, fell at his feet and sobbed out 
 her grief. He raised her gently in his arms and 
 wiped away her tears, then told how these many 
 years they had searched the States for her, and how 
 her husband had almost worn out his life looking for 
 her. Mr. Melbourne was so overjoyed at finding 
 Karlene that he could scarcely wait to see her entirely 
 recover from her weakness, but rushed off to flash the 
 glad tidings over the wires to the poor, sad, aching 
 heart of Barry Glenmore. The constant anxiety of 
 the search told heavily upon Mr. Melbourne, for 
 often, very often, he was many nights without sleep.
 
 THE MIRROR OF HER PAST. 195 
 
 Life was a never-ending pain to Barry Glen more. 
 More than once these words had formed on his 
 lips: "I will end this miserable existence. I do 
 not longer want to live. The contents of this 
 bottle will end all the unhappy to-morrows for me 
 here." 
 
 Then he would ask himself: "Must I end this 
 life by these few drops of poison, or take courage 
 and still suffer this suspense, hoping joy may come 
 at last ?" His eyes had under them deep shadows, 
 his words were few, his manner strange. 
 
 " I wonder what my portion will be in the world 
 to come?" said he. All through that day he was 
 in torture, and so longed for relief from pain and 
 regret. 
 
 Barry had been in B for some weeks, so 
 
 miserable there, but much more miserable anywhere 
 else. Said he : "I could bear sorrow, despair, any- 
 thing rather than this suspense." 
 
 The sun had sunk behind the distant mountains, 
 and the landscape, as seen from the window, was 
 growing obscure in the early dusk of the autumn 
 evening. A luxurious sense of comfort stole over 
 him, and he composed himself to meditate, little 
 imagining he would fall asleep. He noticed before 
 falling to sleep that it was nearly night. His mail 
 had been brought and thrown on the escritoire, but 
 no news came in the least encouraging. Mr. Mel- 
 bourne wrote that he was not well and had decided to
 
 196 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 take a few days' rest before pursuing Iris journey, but 
 would expect a letter very soon, and would not leave 
 that place until he had heard from him again. 
 
 The wind began to moan and sigh around the 
 angles of the house, and soon the rain beat against 
 the window-panes. Barry, tired in body and mind, 
 slept a good sound sleep, which did more to sustain 
 him than anything else. All without had seemed 
 to him emblematic of himself, and yet the sleeper, 
 in his dreams, travelled night and day, hoping to 
 find what he had so long sought. 
 
 Would that we could have told him some whole- 
 some truths, for even an enemy could hardly have 
 looked on that noble patrician face without pitying 
 him. 
 
 When Barry awoke the sun was sending forth its 
 vivid rays, which seemed to make the whole world 
 bright, happy, and glorious ; but indeed it contained 
 many sad hearts. His health had been steadily de- 
 clining since the mysterious disappearance of his 
 beloved wife. During his early married life he was 
 considered an Apollo both in face and form, but 
 "time waits for no man," and it had not for him. 
 His brow was marked by lines of care, so that, in 
 truth, he looked prematurely old. He had now 
 almost given up in despair. It seemed that nothing 
 had been left undone, no stone unturned, in the hope 
 of finding Karlene. From the rock-ribbed moun- 
 tains of New York to the sea-girt coast of California
 
 THE MIRROR OF HER PAST. 197 
 
 had their search carried them, but all in vain. This 
 evening, while sitting alone, Barry Glenmore re- 
 membered the soft and gentle touch of Karlene's 
 hand upon his aching brow, and groaned aloud at 
 the thought of the gulf that his own words had 
 placed between them, a gulf seemingly too deep 
 and too wide to be bridged over by any effort of his. 
 As the shadows deepened around him he arose and 
 went, weary and despondent, to his own room ; it 
 had evidently been forgotten or neglected, for it was 
 chilly and fireless. It seemed to him that he could 
 drop out of existence unnoticed and uncared for. A 
 sense of loneliness and desolation, such as he had never 
 known, came over him ; he felt himself orphaned of 
 heaven and earth, forsaken by God and man. 
 
 We must not fail to tell you, dear reader, how 
 fortune favored Mr. Melbourne in his search for 
 Karlene. In his travels through the southwestern 
 part of California he was so attracted by the pretty 
 little town of Las Flores that he could not resist the 
 inclination to stop over and rest. The next morning, 
 while sitting upon a rustic settee in its triangular 
 little park, he saw a bright, rosy boy playing upon 
 the grass. Calling the boy to him, he, through mere 
 curiosity, began to question him. 
 
 " Come, my little man, and sit upon my knee and 
 tell me of yourself. Were you born here ? do you 
 live here ? and what is your name ?" 
 
 " My name is Barry Glenmore. Mamma Hoy,
 
 198 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 Miss Paine, Tennie, and I have always lived here. 
 I have asked my mamma where my papa was, but 
 she always said, * Do not bother me with questions, 
 my darling;' but I do think, sir, that he could write 
 to us as Dick Valworth's papa does to them." 
 
 " Perhaps he will some time, my boy." 
 
 " No, sir ; they told me I would never see or hear 
 from him." 
 
 When Mr. Melbourne heard the boy's name he 
 was startled into immediate action ; and when, by 
 further questioning, the little fellow told him his 
 mother's name was Karlene Hoy Glen more, he arose 
 and, taking the child by the hand, said, 
 
 " Take me to your mother, Barry. I must see 
 her." 
 
 Without hesitation the child obeyed ; and after 
 traversing several handsomely-laid-out streets they 
 stopped at the little wicket which gave ingress to 
 "Sylvan Retreat," as Karlene had dubbed her 
 cottage home. Upon entering, Mr. Melbourne told 
 the boy to go tell his mother that " Father Mel- 
 bourne" wished to see her. Karlene, snatching her 
 boy to her bosom, rained tears and kisses upon his 
 upturned, wondering, astonished little face. " Ah !" 
 she thought, " if my little Barry, the pledge of love 
 and affection which God gave us, should be the 
 means of restoring me to my father and my dear 
 home, how doubly dear he would be and how doubly 
 bles should I be !"
 
 FAIR BUT FALSE. 199 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 FAIR BUT FALSE. 
 
 DEAR reader, we will now take up the broken 
 links of the story and bring again to your notice our 
 character, Hazel Gregory, as it has been some time 
 since we have told you anything concerning her 
 whereabouts. Great heaven ! what a price to pay 
 for happiness and it not yet secured ! We will tell 
 you her sad story. Go back with us to that fateful 
 morning when Karlene read the news that very 
 nearly bereft her of life. When she read of that 
 horrible accident, she only read a portion of it. The 
 next day's paper corrected the report of Barry Glen- 
 more's death, but, fortunately or unfortunately, as 
 you please, named Mrs. Gregory among the wounded. 
 The latter had wandered from place to place since 
 we last heard from her, seeking happiness and not 
 finding it. She was in a manner desperate. Things 
 had not gone with her as she wished them to. She be- 
 lieved Karlene to be as far removed from her as if she 
 were dead, and hoped that Barry would now turn to 
 her for consolation, but she had never seen him face 
 to face but once since he came to interview her con- 
 cerning Karlene's flight; still she loved him none
 
 200 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 the less, though years had passed and brought many 
 changes to her. Hazel was all alone in the world, 
 her sister and aunt having died some time since. 
 She was no longer a society woman. She would 
 often say, "There is nothing in this life; it is all 
 ' vanity and vexation of spirit/ I sigh for some- 
 thing real ;" and she turned away in disgust. She 
 had been to visit a friend, and was returning home 
 when that horrible railway accident occurred. The 
 cars being thrown from the track, Hazel was struck 
 by one of the heavy railings, and when picked up 
 was almost, if not quite, senseless. 
 
 On that bright, beautiful moonlight night what 
 heart-rending scenes were witnessed ! Death had 
 already laid his icy finger on many, and others were 
 fearing the same fate. Many were shrieking with 
 terror and crying aloud in agony ; some were pray- 
 ing iu earnest appeals, and others walked up and 
 down, back and forth, as if demented. Fortunately, 
 there were but few women -and children on board. 
 Some calmly folded their arms and died the death 
 of the righteous, while some met their fate cursing 
 God and the day they were born. " Help ! help !" 
 shrieked others. 
 
 Hazel was aroused from her lethargy by hearing 
 her name called : 
 
 " Hazel, what can I do for you ?" 
 
 Barry Glenmore had reached her with very great 
 difficulty, for he had been rendered insensible by the
 
 FAIR BUT FALSE. 201 
 
 shock, and life was at one time thought by the phy- 
 sician to be extinct, but he was only stunned. 
 
 " How are you hurt?" he asked, in the deepest 
 distress. " Can't I do something for you? You seem 
 to be suffering greatly." 
 
 " Yes, but it is too late now ;" and indeed it was 
 too late, for her mind wandered, and she saw and 
 realized her condition. 
 
 His sympathy was so strong and true that he 
 would have done anything for her. 
 
 " I thank you very much, but let me rest." 
 
 " Can't I bring you some water?" 
 
 " No, I want nothing. Go away and let me end 
 this painful life here as soon as possible," said Hazel. 
 " I loved you as I did my life, and you scorned my 
 love; now I will not have your sympathy." 
 
 " Your words pain me more than I can tell you," 
 answered Barry, and he then hurried off for assist- 
 ance in order to make her more comfortable. , 
 
 " The way of life is closed for me," she said to 
 him, sadly, when he returned. He was very thought- 
 ful and tender of her feelings and kinder than he 
 had ever been to her. 
 
 "Leave me," said she. "I have lived without 
 you these many dreary days, so I will try to finish 
 this miserable remnant without you. But stay. I 
 have only a short time to live and I have something 
 to say. No, go ; I will defer it until some better 
 time if I am spared, and if not, what difference?" 
 
 10
 
 202 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 And then this unfortunate woman fell into a fit of 
 raving which lasted until she was exhausted. If 
 the dying have a supernatural insight, why did not 
 Hazel see that Barry loved no one but Karlene, and 
 tell him all and die in peace? 
 
 " No ! no !" she cried ; " even death has not power 
 to make me divulge my life-long secret. Even if 
 it blisters and burns my very life out, I will keep it !" 
 
 She awoke to consciousness at last, and, on finding 
 Barry still at her bedside, said : 
 
 "Please leave me; I know full well how kind 
 and well meant your intentions are, but they are 
 mockery to me now." 
 
 Hazel's fits of raving became so frequent and so 
 prolonged that her friends became very much 
 alarmed, fearing that her mind might be perma- 
 nently unsettled ; but the peculiar excitement at- 
 tendant upon the horrors of that fearful accident 
 was enough to unseat the mind as well as destroy 
 the body. 
 
 The news of this terrible accident spread rapidly, 
 and as soon as possible help was brought, the suffer- 
 ers relieved, and the dead sent to their homes and 
 friends. 
 
 Hazel had now been removed to her home, and 
 though willing hands and loving hearts administered 
 to her every want, it was soon perceptible to both 
 friends and physician that, though she gained in 
 bodily strength, her mind gradually grew weaker,
 
 FAIR BUT FALSE. 203 
 
 until at last the sad and deplorable truth was forced 
 upon them, that the light of reason had fled forever 
 from her beautiful eyes. How sad it was! But 
 sorrow comes to the happiest homes as well as to the 
 lowliest hovels. Poor woman ! her life was blasted, 
 her prospects for good or evil lost forever. What 
 creatures of circumstance we are! Hazel started 
 out in life with the brightest prospects, the most 
 brilliant promises, and the purest intentions, all of 
 which would have been fully realized had not Kar- 
 lene Hoy crossed her path, thereby changing the 
 whole current of her life. Strange to say, though 
 her mind was impaired and her reasoning faculties 
 almost destroyed, she guarded her secret to the last 
 with the whole strength of her proud, resolute nature. 
 
 " I shall sink down, down," she said, " into the 
 cold depths, but shall take my secret with me." 
 
 Barry Glenmore, being ignorant of the great 
 wrong which this poor unfortunate woman had 
 brought into his life, paid her many kind visits, 
 and when with her he noticed that she seemed at 
 times to have lucid moments, and a quiet, dreamy 
 influence seemed to pervade her mind.
 
 204 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 VIEWING PICTURES OF THE PAST. 
 
 ALLOW us now to direct your attention to the 
 evening of Karlene's flight. You recollect Hazel 
 Gregory was visiting in the house at the time of 
 Karlene's disappearance. Alfred Banking was, if 
 you remember, a friend and confidant of hers ; Kar- 
 lene, though, had only met him a few times before 
 he came to the house. Hazel saw immediately that 
 he admired Karlene extravagantly, and there and 
 then determined that trouble should come of it. 
 Friday evening, Hazel had arranged for a meeting 
 for them to exchange farewells, but visitors arriving 
 prevented Karlene's coming until after the appointed 
 hour, and certainly it was Providence that interfered 
 and kept her at home. Hazel made Banking think 
 and believe, at times, that he had won Karlene's 
 heart, and that after a few more clandestine meetings 
 she could be persuaded to go with him to the utter- 
 most parts of the world. As Karlene was detained 
 at home, Hazel said she would go alone and see Mr. 
 Banking and tell him the circumstances. 
 
 " Yes, to-night, this very night, at twelve o'clock, 
 she leaves her husband and home forever. I do not
 
 VIEWING PICTURES OF THE PAST. 205 
 
 know exactly where she expects to go, but that you 
 can easily learn when she buys her ticket," said 
 Hazel to Banking. 
 
 " Oh, yes, that will be easy enough ; but when we 
 are on the same train together what shall I say in 
 explanation ?" 
 
 " Oh, business, business ! Offer her any courteous 
 assistance in your power, et cetera. Now that I have 
 fulfilled my mission I will bid you adieu, and may 
 you be successful and live long and happily. Mr. 
 Banking, Karlene carne between me and happiness ; 
 take her and begone before I have stained my hands 
 with her blood and before Hazel Gregory is called a 
 ' murderess.' ' 
 
 " Hazel, you have acted well your part and have 
 been my true friend, and I will bless you always, 
 and may your life in the future be one long, lingering 
 summer in which no rain will fall and no clouds 
 overshadow your sky !" 
 
 " Thank you," said she, softly, and he gently raised 
 her hand to his lips, kissed it, and she was gone. 
 
 Banking lurked around the railway station watch- 
 ing every cab that drove up. At last, just at one 
 o'clock, a carriage stopped opposite the ladies' wait- 
 ing-room, and a lady dressed all in black, with a 
 thick black veil drawn closely about her face, stepped 
 out and hurriedly walked to the ticket-office. Bank- 
 ing stood near by waiting to hear the desired news. 
 Her voice was hollow and low, but he knew it was
 
 206 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 certainly Karlene, for there was no mistaking the 
 magnificent figure for that of another. The 1.30 
 train came thundering in and Mr. Banking boarded 
 it, thinking Karlene had done the same, and he did 
 not discover his mistake until he was at a consider- 
 able distance fifty miles, perhaps from the station. 
 He was vexed and worried, and now, after thinking 
 over it, concluded that Karlene had discovered his 
 presence in the depot and had bought her ticket for 
 another point to throw him off her track. He took 
 the next train returning, but, to his sorrow, his in- 
 quiries concerning Karlene met with no success. Mr. 
 Banking's first intention was to see Mrs. Hazel 
 Gregory and ascertain, if possible, where to go to 
 find Karlene, but, to his astonishment, Hazel had 
 some two days since departed for her home in Balti- 
 more. He started immediately to see her, for he felt 
 confident she, if any one, knew of Karlene's where- 
 abouts ; but ere he reached his destination was taken 
 violently ill, and was left at a railway hospital, being 
 given every possible attention. He grew worse from 
 day to day, and it was his great desire to see Hazel 
 Gregory, for he felt and knew that he was about to 
 die. Imagine her astonishment on receiving a tele- 
 gram summoning her to the death-bed of Alfred 
 Banking. She went reluctantly, and was horrified 
 to find him really in a dying condition. When Hazel 
 arrived he had yet strength to talk, and the dying 
 man pleaded with Hazel thus :
 
 VIEWING PICTURES OF THE PAST. 207 
 
 "If you know where Karlene is, tell her husband 
 and heaven will be more merciful to you. I am dying, 
 Hazel, and this is your duty and my last request." 
 
 Morning came and with it the perplexities of 
 Alfred Banking ended, his secret dying with him. 
 A man is far on the road to evil when he loses faith 
 in woman. A kind refusal where no false encour- 
 agement has been given often does him good ; but 
 an experience similar to that of young Banking was 
 like putting into the water of a stream that which 
 would embitter and stain it. At an early age he 
 became what is usually known as a man of the 
 world. It was no light task to drown the memory 
 of his early home and its good influences. Living 
 from place to place, with none of the restraining and 
 purifying influences of an aged mother, home, and 
 friends, he formed intimacies with brilliant but un- 
 scrupulous men. Money became his god, the theatre 
 his church, the club his home. 
 
 As time passed on, however, he admitted to him- 
 self that, though making all things bend to his en- 
 joyment and subservient to his will, he had not 
 secured half the pleasure he thought he should. He 
 very soon wearied of everything, and his ambition to 
 accumulate wealth and become a great land-owner 
 seemed to accord more perfectly with his tastes, and 
 on that he concentrated his life and energies. No one 
 knew what he was now worth financially. His 
 health grew poor, and having been very successful
 
 208 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 in business, he decided to make a change, as his 
 physician thought it necessary. So in New York 
 we first found him, and it was there he met Kar- 
 lene, and near there that Hazel witnessed his sun 
 set and his life fade away, leaving no one the hap- 
 pier for his having lived, but misery untold for two 
 or three people, who, because of his wicked passions 
 and evil machinations, were dragging out a miserable 
 existence, impatiently waiting for the hour when God 
 would release them from their troubles and sorrows. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 HAZEL INSANE. 
 
 MR. ELLIS was taught by Nadine the harmony of 
 noble, unselfish living. He followed her in thought, 
 feeling, and action, and the blight of evil passed out 
 of his life. They were at last happily married and 
 settled in their beautiful home, as happy as two chil- 
 dren playing at hide and seek. Ellis had never real- 
 ized before how it would help old Time, in speeding 
 away the weary length and tedium of the days, to 
 have a bright, busy little housewife constantly by 
 his side. A woman in love thinks of nothing but 
 her love, but it is said a man thinks of his love
 
 HAZEL INSANE. 209 
 
 parenthetically, episodically; he shares it with his 
 dogs, his horses, his books, his dinner. But this 
 foul imputation cannot be applied to Ellis, for his 
 love for his beautiful young wife grew in purity and 
 strength with every day. 
 
 " I am going to try to be a better and nobler man 
 in the future, and my first step will be to ask you to 
 forgive my misdeeds of the past and trust me in the 
 future as your true husband." 
 
 Touched to the heart by his words, she said : 
 
 " Frank, there has never been a shadow between 
 us since our marriage." She raised her lovely eyes 
 to his and continued : " Let us pray that none may 
 ever come; but if it should we will both together 
 drive it away. Teach me how to make you love 
 me more ; teach me how to win your whole heart, 
 affection, and thoughts; teach me to be all you 
 desire, all you love best, in woman." 
 
 "You are all that and more. No man could 
 resist that pleading, lovely face." 
 
 Frank soon learned the lesson of self-control and 
 self-sacrifice and to consider his wife's happiness 
 always before his own, and he loved her, as we have 
 said before, with a passionate devotion he had never 
 given to any one else, and the years that followed 
 were filled with pleasure and happiness. Mr. Ellis 
 was considered one of the wealthiest men in and 
 around Memphis, while his beautiful wife went 
 about gladdening sad, weary hearts, now that she 
 10*
 
 210 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 had all the money she needed. On her own town 
 lot she had erected a handsome building in which to 
 educate the poor, and built cottage after cottage for 
 various charitable purposes until her name was sung 
 far and wide and " God bless you" followed her 
 wherever she went. 
 
 God did bless her, for in a few years he gave to 
 their keeping a baby angel. 
 
 " Mother," said Nadine, "I shall give baby my 
 father's name, and I know Frank will be delighted." 
 
 " Well, my daughter, if he is as great a pleasure 
 to you as you have been to me, you will be blessed 
 in him, and may God grant it!" 
 
 The baby's coming was welcome news, for Mr. 
 Ellis had so longed for a son. The tenants, and in 
 fact the country around, rejoiced that these good 
 people had a son and heir. Mr. Ellis thought their 
 treasure certainly the most wonderful piece of human- 
 ity ever handed down from heaven. The sunshine 
 itself did not seem brighter than the life which now 
 spread out so promisingly before them. 
 
 "Oh!" said Mr. Ellis, "I have good news for 
 you, dear Nadine. Barry Glen more is soon ex- 
 pected home to refit the dear old place for the recep- 
 tion of his long-lost wife. Years have elapsed since 
 her disappearance, as you well know." 
 
 " I am so rejoiced to hear it ! Where has she 
 been all these long years? How I long to see her !" 
 And Mr. Ellis felt the beautiful head nestle more
 
 HAZEL INSANE. 211 
 
 closely to him and the tender arms tighten their 
 clasp. She paused for a moment, for the news had 
 affected her very much; she had always loved Kar- 
 lene, and never believed her to be in the wrong. 
 She raised her lovely face, and her beautiful eyes 
 were filled with tears. 
 
 "Poor Barry! how he must have suffered all 
 these weary years !" 
 
 " You are right, my darling. Barry Glenmore, 
 when here, often spoke to me of his troubles, and 
 they always touched me very deeply." 
 
 Nadine arose and stood before her husband with 
 an earnest expression on her face, her voice betray- 
 ing her deep feeling at this news. 
 
 "Yes, my husband, it is so sad for such loving 
 hearts to be separated so long. All things are well, 
 though, with those who love the Lord, and I have 
 always believed that dear Karlene was a Christian, 
 arid that they would be happy in time to come. 
 Tell me," continued Nadine, "have you heard any- 
 thing concerning poor unfortunate Hazel Gregory ?" 
 
 " The Herald said yesterday that her mind was 
 irretrievably lost," answered Mr. Ellis. 
 
 " How strange and how sad ! It seems to me as 
 if heaven had almost cursed her. With her sur- 
 roundings and opportunities what good she might 
 have done for her fellow-creatures ! but she has 
 spoiled and made miserable three lives. Hazel 
 Gregory did not bring about this trouble blind-
 
 212 KARLENE HOT. 
 
 folded ; she must have known it was wrong to sep- 
 arate man and wife." But still Nadine prayed from 
 the depths of her heart that God would forgive her 
 all, and that she, Hazel, might live, reform, and do 
 much good in this life yet. 
 
 "But, Nadine, you must not take others' troubles 
 so to heart," said Mr. Ellis, reprovingly. " If all 
 women were as true and good as your dear self their 
 lives would not be a curse but a blessing to others." 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 THE CONFESSION. 
 
 BARRY GLENMORE was sitting alone wrapt in 
 deep thought; ailing in body as well as mind, his 
 naturally sanguine spirits were weighed to the earth 
 by gloomy forebodings. He had this day been re- 
 viewing his past, and concluded that his life had 
 had far more in the way of singular coincidences and 
 romance than is depicted in any novel of the present 
 school, and he wondered if everything was just as 
 God had intended it to be. All his life it had per- 
 plexed him to discover where free-will ended and 
 fate began. At the present time life seemed to him 
 a school, and sin and sorrow its teachers. He con-
 
 THE CONFESSION. 213 
 
 soled himself with the thought that all would be 
 made clear to him some day, but now life was as 
 great a mystery to him as death. He wished that 
 he could lie down, close his eyes, and sleep all the 
 weary time away until God, in His never-failing 
 mercy, should unite him and his darling. Ah ! 
 surely no thirsty desert traveller ever longed more 
 for the water of an oasis than did this sad, lonely 
 husband for news of his wife, for he believed that, 
 unless he grew better, a few more months weeks 
 perhaps would end his miserable existence. How 
 he regretted not seeing Hazel Gregory before this 
 horrible accident which had deprived her of mind, 
 almost of life! for he believed that she knew more 
 of Karlene's desertion of her home than she had 
 ever divulged. At last he, with a mighty effort, 
 threw off these gloomy reflections and determined 
 that he would no more give way to them, for they 
 were sapping the foundations of his life, but would 
 be up and doing. Before he could put his good 
 resolutions into practice a telegram was handed him 
 summoning him to Hazel Gregory's dying bedside. 
 He hastened to the train, but was too late; it had 
 gone. This added much to his impatience; he 
 feared she might die with her secret untold, if in- 
 deed she knew anything. 
 
 "Heaven forbid," he prayed, "that she should 
 die ere I reach her ! and oh ! may she be able and 
 willing to lighten this burden of mystery, uncer-
 
 214 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 tainty, and longing which almost threatens to crush 
 out my very life," and great drops of moisture stood 
 upon his brow at the maddening thought that his 
 own harsh and threatening words of divorce from 
 her whom he loved had driven her from him, per- 
 haps forever, and he almost sobbed aloud in his 
 anguish and pain. 
 
 After waiting what seemed to him an interminable 
 length of time, the train came thundering along, and 
 he reached the place at last and was shown to Hazel's 
 room. She was yet alive and conscious just now, and 
 he thanked the great God. She recognized him as 
 soon as he entered and said : 
 
 " I have waited long and patiently for you, and 
 now you are here. Come nearer; I will tell you 
 what I have to say. Barry Glen more, I have loved 
 you better than life," and a shadow of pain passed 
 over her face. "I had thought never to tell you 
 this. Others loved you, but none so fondly, ah ! so 
 madly, as have I !" Hazel attempted to raise her- 
 self, but sank back exhausted. " I have been very 
 miserable and have made others so, therefore I am 
 not sorry to die and end this unhappy life. Barry 
 Glen more, I loved you so much that it was torture 
 to me to see you happy with another," and the whis- 
 pered words grew fainter and weaker. " It was I 
 who brought about this trouble between you and 
 your wife. I taught her to distrust your love; I 
 poisoned her mind against you ; I persuaded her to
 
 THE CONFESSION. 215 
 
 listen to the words of flattery and adulation which 
 Mr. Banking was ever ready to whisper into her un- 
 willing ear. I say unwilling, for her whole heart 
 was so bound up in your love that it was next to im- 
 possible to get her to listen ; but I was unceasing in 
 my efforts. I told her there was nothing wrong in 
 his love and admiration for her, for it was purely 
 platonic. I had to proceed slowly and cautiously, 
 for her innocence coupled with her great love for you 
 almost saved her. If you had at this time controlled 
 your jealous, fiery nature, and asked for an explana- 
 tion of things which you could not understand, she 
 would have flown to your arms like a trembling bird 
 from a storm, and there found refuge from my merci- 
 less, wicked machinations for the dethroning of your 
 household gods. But no ; you listened to the prompt- 
 ings of your evil nature, she to the whisperings of 
 the tempter. It is said that ( virtue is the absence of 
 temptation.' She was tempted, but proved imper- 
 vious to the attacks upon the citadel of her innocence 
 and purity. She was at last persuaded that Mr. 
 Banking was the best friend she had on earth ; that 
 she could trust him, confide to him her troubles, and 
 that he would advise her for the best in all things. 
 I constantly contrasted his watchful care, his kind, 
 caressing ways, with your seeming coolness and neg- 
 lect. I magnified his every act of gallantry; I dis- 
 torted your every seeming want of attention towards 
 her. All this, coupled with your angry words and
 
 216 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 to her the most terrible of all threats of applying 
 through the courts for a separation which would last 
 through all time, almost crazed her, and she left your 
 house a broken-hearted, despairing woman, but as 
 true and pure as on the day she entered it leaning 
 upon your arm, a beautiful, blushing bride. In all 
 this blackness of darkness there is but one little 
 ray of light left to comfort me, and that is, I sup- 
 plied her with sufficient means until she could be- 
 come self-sustaining, as she determined in her own 
 mind to be. How long have I to live? I have a 
 great deal to say. Please raise me up. There, now ! 
 I am afraid my fast-receding strength will not enable 
 me to lay bare my heart of its every secret. Barry 
 Glen more, why do you look at me with that horrified 
 stare upon your face? I am dying, I know. Oh ! 
 pity me ! pity me and forgive !" 
 
 " I do pity you, Hazel, and cannot understand 
 why you, who had position, money, friends, and 
 scores of suitors, could not have been happy and 
 contented and allowed the happiness of others." 
 
 " Ah ! you will never know. But I would have 
 sacrificed my life and everything for one little word 
 of love from your lips." 
 
 " Would to God your love had made you too 
 generous to deliberately plot and plan to destroy my 
 happiness ; but I will not upbraid you now, but 
 thank God you lived to assure me of the purity and 
 innocence of my wife."
 
 THE CONFESSION. 217 
 
 " There is one other incident connected with this un- 
 happy business," continued Hazel. " I met Mr. Bank- 
 ing on the evening of her departure from home. I 
 told him she was going, and as I knew he loved her 
 madly, T suggested that perhaps he could be of some 
 assistance if he would accompany her. He tried to 
 intercept her at the train but missed her in some way. 
 I think she perhaps misled him as well as every one 
 else in regard to her destination, and so another of 
 my well-laid plans for her destruction failed. I 
 have only one excuse to make, one plea to offer, for 
 all these wrongs done you, and that is my uncon- 
 trollable and maddening love. Yes, Barry Glen- 
 more, I have done you much harm, but surely such 
 love as mine should plead and gain its own forgive- 
 ness. I want now to pass out of your life forever. 
 Forget that I ever lived. Find Karlene, and may 
 you be as happy as is allotted to man here on this 
 earth. Ask her to forgive me. She can well afford 
 to grant me absolution for my many sins against 
 her, for you are now hers forever." She fell back 
 upon her pillow. " My life has been a miserable 
 mistake ; there has been but little in "it for me but 
 misery. My story is not yet half told, but I am 
 done, and ere the sun goes down to-night, my life 
 will go out." As the shadows grew darker, the 
 sight faded from her dim eyes, and presently the 
 lips were closed forever. He left her, saying, 
 
 " May heaven forgive you as I do, Hazel Gregory !"
 
 218 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 In the midst of all this sorrow, it was like a gleam 
 of light to him to think that he would so soon see 
 his beautiful wife, for the telegram sent by Mr. Mel- 
 bourne had at last reached him, and the shadows 
 were fast falling away that had so long hovered 
 around him. He would take the next train en route 
 for California after sending this message: u Thank 
 God ! you have found her living and well." 
 
 Barry hastened back to New York to prepare his 
 home for the reception of his long-lost love and heir. 
 There he was the recipient of a second telegram. 
 Oh ! how eagerly he broke the seal of the envelope 
 which contained it ! This was what he read : "Do 
 not come, but rest yourself; we will come to you. 
 Your wife and child both perfectly well." 
 
 "Thank God ! At last! at last!" exclaimed he, 
 overcome with joy. He prayed God to help him 
 possess his soul in patience. Then he fell into deep, 
 happy thought. "God bless her! she is my true 
 and loving wife." And then he remembered the one 
 other he had to love, the little heir of Glendale, and 
 oh! how he would love him! He would be the 
 pride and joy of the Glenmore household.
 
 A DISCLOSURE. 219 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 A DISCLOSTJKE. 
 
 MR. MELBOURNE went directly back to persuade 
 Karlene to hasten home to her husband, " for," he 
 said, " he needs you." 
 
 Miss Paine met Mr. Melbourne and invited him 
 to be seated in the reception-room, saying, " Mrs. 
 Glenmore will be down presently." 
 
 He busied himself looking at the rare pictures, 
 bric-a-brac, and many other evidences of Karlene's 
 handiwork. Presently the door opened and she 
 stepped forward and held out her hands to Mr. Mel- 
 bourne, with a happy smile. The boy sat upon his 
 knee. 
 
 "Sit down, my dear father, for you are always 
 welcome to this humble home." 
 
 " My dear little girl, when can you make your 
 arrangements to go home with me?" said he, when 
 they were alone. 
 
 " I do not know, father ; it will be so very sad to 
 go back and not have my husband." 
 
 " Why, my child, what do you mean ? What can 
 you mean? He is there counting the moments, 
 waiting very impatiently for your coming."
 
 220 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 Karlene raised her troubled eyes to his, and there 
 read the story that made her heart glad ; but still 
 his words were like a blow to her. 
 
 " Was he not killed in that horrible accident some 
 months ago ?" she asked. 
 
 " No ! no !" he answered. " He was dreadfully 
 stunned by a blow, but very soon recovered, and I 
 have just heard from him. He wants to come to take 
 you home." 
 
 Karlene almost sunk under the good news, but for 
 the sake of her dear father she tried to be brave, for 
 he looked so worn and weary, and to lose him would 
 break her heart. 
 
 Then she whispered, amid a rain of tears, " Thank 
 heaven, we may meet again I" 
 
 Mr. Melbourne saw that her strength had forsaken 
 her, and with passionate tears he lifted her in his 
 arms and laid her on a sofa, saying, 
 
 " What answer shall I give your husband, who is 
 waiting in the greatest anxiety to come to you or be 
 with you, my darling child? Karlene," he con- 
 tinued, " would it be too great a sacrifice on your 
 part to go to him ? If so, I will telegraph him to 
 come immediately to you," looking at her with un- 
 utterable tenderness. 
 
 " Yes, my father, it would be a very great sacrifice ; 
 but all these long, weary years I have loved him, only 
 him, and have been true." She was silent for some 
 minutes, then continued : "I would rather have death
 
 A DISCLOSURE. 221 
 
 than life without him. Does he know I still love 
 him ? And of our boy, does he know ?" 
 
 "Yes, my child, he knows all." 
 
 " There certainly is no lack of love here," thought 
 she. " This man, seemingly so true, who has almost 
 worn out his life seeking to find me, could not be one 
 who would deceive me in any way. This honored 
 and noble man, my father?" 
 
 "Karlene, darling, come with me immediately to 
 your home, and let me know before I die that I, too, 
 have had a share in helping to bring about peace and 
 happiness to two congenial hearts and have helped 
 in building up a noble and honored life. At the 
 farthest I cannot live long ; the old must die, you 
 know." 
 
 It was late that evening when they bid each other 
 good-night. 
 
 After thanking God for leading him in the right 
 direction to find his ward, Mr. Melbourne slept more 
 peaceably and comfortably than he had for years. 
 Karlene repaired to her room, but not to sleep, for it 
 was long before she could compose herself ; she was 
 so happy to know that her dear husband's life had 
 been spared through all these years. " Shall I know 
 him? Will he love me? How shall I ever repay 
 him for all these long years of watching and waiting 
 for me? Oh, how truly do I forgive him those 
 harsh words ! Shall I know him ? How could I 
 doubt it, when every dear feature of his face is im-
 
 222 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 pressed so deeply upon my heart; so deeply that 
 neither time, trouble, sorrow, nor separation could 
 erase them. His handsome face may be deeply lined 
 with care ; trouble may have ploughed deep furrows 
 in his noble brow ; he may*, and perhaps does, look 
 aged and worn ; there may be nothing left to remind 
 me of our youth so quickly vanished; still, among 
 ten thousand my heart would recognize him." 
 
 Karlene arose the next morning happier than she 
 had been for years. How this good news, brought 
 by her dear father, shone in her face and sparkled in 
 her eyes! She went forward to meet him when he 
 called, and was again clasped in his loving, fatherly 
 arms. He felt almost as though the dead had given 
 up its own. 
 
 " Well, my daughter, have you made up your 
 mind ? Have you, after having the night to study 
 upon it, come to a decision ?" 
 
 " Yes, my father, I will do just as you think best, 
 in all things will be guided by you, and then I 
 surely cannot go astray." 
 
 "You make me very happy, my dear. Let us 
 use all the despatch possible in making arrangements 
 and leaving here for your home," said Mr. Mel- 
 bourne. 
 
 This ready acquiescence by Karlene to his wishes 
 augured good for the future. He said : 
 
 " Well, we shall be ready to start by to-morrow 
 evening."
 
 THE DEATH OF SORROW. 223 
 
 " But what shall I do with my little home ?" 
 " Leave it with Miss Paine ; she will care for it 
 until further arrangements can be made." 
 
 Karlene loved this little home, the birthplace of 
 her child, the future heir of Gleiidale, but many 
 sad memories clung around it. She had passed some 
 happy hours here, but many, many unhappy ones, 
 too. By strenuous effort her preparations were all 
 concluded by the time appointed, and she bade adieu, 
 with streaming eyes, to her faithful and loving friends, 
 Miss Paine and Tennie, and to her dear little home, 
 which had so securely sheltered her for so many 
 years. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 THE DEATH OF SORROW. 
 
 THE news which Mr. Melbourne had wired across 
 to Barry Glenmore was so sudden, so joyous, that it 
 almost set him beside himself. In a few days, God 
 permitting, he should have his wife and child home. 
 He could not realize that such happiness awaited him. 
 How could he pass the time which must intervene 
 ere he would once more clasp his darling to his heart, 
 gaze into her lovely, speaking eyes, and there read 
 forgiveness forever ? His bright and happy antici-
 
 224 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 pations could not, though, banish entirely from his 
 mind the picture he had so lately looked upon, the 
 white, rigid face and wistful eyes of the woman 
 whose death he had so lately been called upon to 
 witness; the woman who, for love of himself, had 
 brought upon him the trouble of his life, had pre- 
 cipitated him from a pinnacle of happiness which he 
 had gained through the love and possession of the 
 dearest wife ever given into the keeping of man by 
 God. But how poorly had he watched over and 
 guarded this sweet gift ! how poorly had he dis- 
 charged the trust reposed in him ! 
 
 " Oh, my God !" he exclaimed, " if you will be 
 merciful enough to help me regain this trust, if you 
 will place this gift again in my possession, how zeal- 
 ously I will guard it! Neither the hate, love, nor 
 treachery of man or woman shall snatch her from 
 my loving, watchful care again." Ah ! surely there 
 had never been a love-dream so sweet, so passion- 
 ate, or so bright as his, and never one so rudely 
 broken. At last the welcome news came : " We 
 will arrive on the 6.30 train." Everything that 
 good taste could suggest and money procure had 
 been used in the adornment of their already beautiful 
 home. What a pleasure he took and what time he 
 expended in the refurnishing of Karlene's dainty 
 boudoir, which he had never entered or allowed any 
 one else to enter since she left ! When he did cross 
 the sacred precinct of its threshold, he almost imag-
 
 THE DEATH OF SORROW. 225 
 
 ined he could detect that delicate aroma which 
 always betokened her dainty presence. Ah! how 
 everything in this little room reminded him of his 
 dear wife ! There were the faded, withered flowers 
 which she had worn the night she left her home, 
 and which she had cast aside hurriedly, perhaps, 
 never thinking how their dumb presence would 
 some day speak to her husband of her. There were 
 her jewels, the caskets partly open, as if they had 
 been thrown in hurriedly. This seemed to hurt him 
 more than anything else, to think she had thrown 
 away his gifts. He looked carefully among them, 
 fearing she had cast aside her wedding-ring. Ah ! 
 sweet heaven ! if he should find it there, he would 
 feel that she had indeed repudiated him and his love ; 
 but no, it was not there. Thank God ! she had taken 
 that symbol of their unity of heart and life with 
 her. 
 
 As the time approached for their arrival he grew 
 as nervous and impatient as a woman. He awaited 
 them at home ; he wanted no prying eyes to witness 
 his great happiness. When the carriage drove to the 
 door, and he saw the beautiful face of Karlene, he 
 could restrain his impatience no longer. But, reader, 
 we wilr not attempt to portray the happiness of that 
 meeting. His loving welcome left no doubt in her 
 mind of how he had missed her and wanted her, and 
 when he gazed on the beautiful boy his happiness 
 was redoubled ; he felt that he had nothing else to 
 11
 
 226 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 ask of kind heaven. Jinny and all the rest of the 
 old servants were drawn up in line to welcome the 
 long-absent mistress back to her home. When she 
 looked around upon them all how supremely blessed 
 and content she felt ! " What a blessed thing," she 
 thought, " to be loved ! Here am I, the centre of 
 this charming domestic circle, the cynosure of this 
 firmament of peace and love." When Karleue met 
 her husband's eyes resting upon her with unutterable 
 love, a flush of pleasure would steal over her lovely 
 face, her lips would tremble, and her radiant eyes 
 look brighter and clearer. 
 
 Karlene told her husband that she wanted to ex- 
 plain some things which had taken place in the past, 
 and humbly beg his forgiveness ; but he would not 
 listen. He said she had been sinned against more 
 than she had sinned, and that the past should be as 
 a sealed book to them ; so, with mutual forgiveness, 
 love, and contentment, they settled peacefully down 
 to commence their life anew amidst the happiest sur- 
 roundings. She had- her dear husband, her father, 
 her beautiful boy, and Jinny, who had mourned 
 so long for her. Jinny was now doubly happy : 
 she not only had her mistress back, but had another 
 one to love also, little Barry ; and how she wor- 
 shipped him ! He was her constant care night and 
 day. 
 
 Dear reader, you may think we can leave Karlene 
 now in her regained happiness ; but is life ever com-
 
 THE DEATH OF SORROW. 227 
 
 plete ? Is there not always something wanting, as 
 in her life? She had two lovely homes. Her 
 brown-stone front in the city was conceded by all to 
 be the grandest pile that was ever erected ; her home 
 in the country, on the Hudson, was the most beauti- 
 ful that adorned its lovely, flowery banks. Vast 
 grounds laid out in labyrinthine walks surrounded 
 it; conservatories filled with rare exotics were at- 
 tached to each beautiful house. She had opals and 
 diamonds, an opera box and unlimited credit, a large 
 and seemingly inexhaustible bank-account; she had 
 carriages and horses, servants in livery, pictures and 
 statues, cottages at Saratoga and Newport, the hand- 
 somest, kindest husband, the dearest father, the love- 
 liest child ; still, the exultant joy which all these 
 things brought was subdued by the absence of her 
 mother and the thought that she did not know 
 where in this wide, wide world to look for her. 
 She remembered one time in her life to have heard 
 some one say that her mother was an artist ; that she 
 created the most beautiful things upon canvas; so 
 by a process of reasoning she had arrived at the 
 conclusion that her mother would probably go where 
 she could cultivate this heaven-born gift ; she would 
 naturally go where she could visit those studios 
 which contained the works of the old masters. 
 Across the waters her mother certainly must be, else 
 why had she never heard of her? and why should 
 she not inquire again of Mr. Melbourne something
 
 228 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 in regard to her ? and, indeed, why not go in search 
 of her, and if in the land of the living why should 
 she not find her ? This thought took deep root in 
 her heart, and after some happy months at home she 
 approached her husband upon the subject. Her will 
 was thenceforward his law, so of course he imme- 
 diately acquiesced in all she said, telling her that it 
 did not signify where they were so they were always 
 together. After consulting with Mr. Melbourne, 
 they decided that they would sail on the 7th of June. 
 
 Throughout the long winter months Karlene 
 reigned supreme in her beautiful home ; she herself 
 had grown lovelier as well as more tender and con- 
 siderate for the happiness of every one around her. 
 Now spring was upon them and nature had donned her 
 robe of green. Karlene was seated at the escritoire 
 in one of her exquisite rooms, which was brilliantly 
 illuminated ; the hangings were of white and gold, 
 and four large windows gave light and ventilation to 
 this lovely room. The windows were now thrown 
 wide open, and the soft, pale moonlight came in 
 with the evening breeze. After thinking deeply of 
 her life and its many mistakes, she sighed and said : 
 " I wonder why the world of nature is so beautiful 
 and the world of people so stupid and inane ?" 
 
 While she was lost in thought, Barry came in and, 
 bending over her chair, whispered something in her 
 ear which sent a warm, rosy blush over face and 
 neck. How beautiful she was in the eyes of her fond
 
 THE DEATH OF SORROW. 229 
 
 husband this warm spring evening ! Her abundant 
 waves of golden-brown hair, which were wound 
 about the small, shapely head in fluffy waves, made 
 an exquisite setting for the fairest face, surely, which 
 God ever touched into life and beauty. She said to 
 her husband, who was still hovering around her in 
 fond adoration : 
 
 " Barry, you must leave me now ; I am going to 
 work. I am going to peer and peep into every nook 
 and cranny of my esatntoire and try to bring order 
 out of confusion." So dropping on one knee, he 
 raised her dainty hand to his lips and pressed upon 
 it a kiss as lover-like in its ardor as any wife could 
 wish. She then turned to her desk, and after break- 
 ing open many letters which had accumulated during 
 the early part of her absence, she came upon one 
 with the familiar signature of her old friend, Lillie 
 Bently, n6e Parker. She read it, and found that 
 Lillie had lost her dear husband and was anxious to 
 have Karlene come immediately and try to console 
 her for this great bereavement. She also said their 
 
 O 
 
 mutual friend and school-mate, Ruth Porter, was 
 with her. Although a decade of years had expired 
 since this letter was written, her heart ached for 
 Lillie, her dear old school-mate. Her own loss for 
 so many years of him who was so dear made her 
 keenly alive to the bereavement of any wife; so 
 taking up her pen she poured out her heart in sym- 
 pathy to her friend, and in thanksgiving that she
 
 230 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 was at last restored to her home and her dear hus- 
 band and, in fact, to all she loved. She gave Lillie 
 a synopsis of her life for the past eight years, of her 
 troubles and trials, of her final triumph over them 
 all, and wound up with a pressing invitation to 
 Lillie, also Ruth, whom she wrote to later, to 
 come and make her a long visit, saying also to Ruth 
 that her old admirer, Colonel Strange, would be her 
 guest for the next month or six weeks. She asked 
 them not to delay the visit too long, as they ex- 
 pected to sail for Europe on the 7th of June. Before 
 many days elapsed Karlene was handed a telegram 
 with the welcome news that the next incoming train 
 would bring her expected guests, Mrs. Bently and 
 Ruth Porter. It is said that all women are natural 
 match-makers, and that when one has promised to 
 love and obey a man she will forthwith (in her 
 happiness or unhappiness, whichever it may be) pre- 
 vail upon some other woman to bow her head to the 
 yoke; so when Karlene had succeeded in getting 
 her old friends together under her own roof, she 
 began to plot and plan a marriage between Ruth 
 and Colonel Strange. She thought them exactly 
 suited to each other, and by many hints and innuen- 
 does soon brought them to think so too. There is 
 nothing more conducive to courtship and marriage 
 than daily intercourse, and so at the expiration of 
 this most delightful visit to Karlene they were be- 
 trothed to each other, the consummation of their
 
 SETTING SAIL. 231 
 
 vows to take place in the near future. Karlene's 
 guests then bid her an affectionate adieu and bon 
 voyage (as she was soon to cross the big pond) and 
 returned to their respective homes. 
 
 CHAPTEE XL. 
 
 SETTING SAIL. 
 
 THE Cunard line of steamers have for years been 
 considered the safest, the most reliable, and most 
 commodious of the many spacious and beautiful 
 steamers which plough the waters of the mighty 
 deep ; so upon one of the many swiftly-sailing ships 
 belonging to this line our little party engaged passage, 
 and after selecting with the greatest care the state- 
 rooms which they thought would most conduce to 
 their comfort, they proceeded to make them not only 
 habitable but attractive by conveying to them not 
 only the simple necessaries, but many pretty and 
 ornamental things. What a delight it was to Barry 
 to minister to Karlene's wants even in the most 
 trivial way, after being debarred the pleasure of it 
 so long ! So now everything that heart or mind 
 could desire and money procure had been by his 
 orders sent to their rooms on the Neptune, and when
 
 232 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 his final preparations were concluded, those small, 
 plain, cheerless rooms had blossomed out into veri- 
 table bowers of beauty. On the 7th of June they 
 set sail for the " ould country," and as their beautiful 
 " home upon the deep" bore them gracefully away 
 down the harbor and out into the seething, boiling 
 maelstrom of waters, the glittering rays of the fast- 
 declining sun shed a lovely light over sea and land, 
 touching and gilding tree-top and spire with such 
 beauty and brightness that Karlene construed it all 
 into an omen of good for this reunited and happy 
 little family. As their gallant ship sped swiftly on, 
 each revolution of the mighty engine bearing them 
 farther and farther away, and leaving behind them 
 the old home and the land so dear to all true Ameri- 
 cans, she felt also that she was being borne away from 
 the troubles and the sorrows which had so thickly 
 beset her path for the last eight years. 
 
 That there is no true, unalloyed happiness upon 
 this earth ; that there is no sweet without its bitter, 
 was well exemplified in Karlene's case. How true 
 it is that we are never entirely happy in our sur- 
 roundings, no matter how pleasant they may be! 
 You would have thought that if Karlene was ever 
 reunited to her dear husband she would have nothing 
 else to wish for ; but not so. Now that her mind and 
 heart are relieved from that great burden of woe and 
 longing which rested upon them so long, her thoughts 
 are turned intuitively to her mother, and she deter-
 
 SETTING SAIL. 233 
 
 mines, with her husband's assistance, to institute a 
 search which shall be so thoroughly prosecuted that 
 she shall, if yet living, be restored to her loving arms. 
 
 After spending eight days on the briny waters, 
 they were safely landed at Liverpool, their voyage 
 being made without incident worthy of note. If 
 only our vocabulary of words was sufficient to en- 
 able us to portray for your perusal the many happy 
 hours which Karlene spent sitting on deck, her 
 husband beside her, her hand clasped in his. They 
 were in that paradise of love which no other can 
 surpass, in the rapture that comes to those whose 
 souls are mated and interlocked as they walk its 
 streets of pearl and gold together ; and if in time 
 the pearl grows less opalescent, the gold becomes 
 dim, it is still gold, it is still pearl, and though time 
 may sully, eternity will renew their brightness. 
 
 Lamartine says, " The heart is a river and flows 
 where it will;" but surely these two people were 
 made for each other, for there was between them so 
 strange a unity of thought that you would have 
 deemed it impossible before you found it actually 
 to exist. There was a strange correspondence in the 
 views they took of things, in their impressions, in 
 the line in which their minds moved and the issues 
 to which they came in their judgment of what was 
 great and small, and in the manner in which objects 
 affected their feelings. If they talked with others 
 they felt they were not understood, but between 
 11*
 
 234 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 these two loving, united hearts there was one lan- 
 guage. Dear reader, if you are a believer in affinities 
 you will understand us. We know it is rare for 
 twin souls to meet on this earth ; that joy is left for 
 eternity to most of the denizens of the world. But 
 when two such natures are once brought together 
 they cannot be kept apart ; they would find each 
 other if the deserts of Siberia or Sahara were put 
 between them, and would be happier if together in 
 those deserts than in paradise if separated. 
 
 After resting a few days in order to fully restore 
 their equilibrium, which had been thrown from its 
 balance by the unsteady, swaying motion of the ship, 
 they resumed their journey. It was their intention 
 to see all the beauties and antiquities of the Old 
 World, but Karlene at times felt an impatience hard 
 to control ; she felt that it was almost wicked to be 
 so happy when the mystery surrounding her mother 
 was yet unsolved and she so ignorant of her present 
 whereabouts. She often lost herself in sorrowful 
 reveries about this dear mother; then she would 
 shake them off with the consolatory thought that 
 Fate, which is the servant of Providence, would 
 bring them together when God willed. As each day 
 went by she thanked God for His kindness and pro- 
 tection as she would thank a father for a peerless 
 gift. We will not attempt to follow our little party in 
 their journeyings from place to place ; suffice it to 
 say they visited, during the summer and fall, all
 
 SETTING SAIL. 235 
 
 points of interest, all historic places ; and though 
 they did not by any means travel upon the hurry- 
 skurry plan of Cook's tourists, still Karlene was 
 constantly impelled forward by a restlessness she 
 could not control and for which she could assign no 
 reason, unless it was the faint glimmering of hope 
 she had of finding her mother somewhere in her 
 travels, for before leaving home she had made dili- 
 gent inquiries of Mr. Melbourne, Colonel Strange, 
 her teachers, servants, and of every other one whom 
 she thought could throw the least light upon her 
 mother's unhappy life and final separation from her 
 father. Karlene had a settled conviction that her 
 mother had long ago put many miles of land and 
 sea between herself and the scene of her troubles 
 and trials. Mr. Glenmore and Karlene both con- 
 curred in the wish that a great part of their time 
 should be spent in Paris, said to be the brightest, 
 gayest, and most beautiful city in the world, though 
 some true Americans declare that our own New 
 York is not one whit behind it in beauty, brightness, 
 and gayety. Late in the fall, when old Sol had 
 begun to temper his burning rays, they thought it 
 safe to cross over to Italy, the " Mecca of their hopes," 
 the land of flowers, the home of all bright and beau- 
 tiful things. Ah ! who that visited this sunny 
 southern land could think that in every breeze which 
 fanned his cheek, in every flower which regaled his 
 olfactory nerves with its fragrance, there lurked the
 
 236 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 germs of a disease so baleful in its contact, so deadly 
 in its influence, that whole cities were devastated by 
 it, and which to the unacclimated was as fatal as 
 the deadly miasma. 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 THE KEVELATION. 
 
 KAELENE was a daily visitor to places where she 
 was certain of seeing the beautiful in all things dis- 
 played. Some friends told her that on the next 
 Saturday afternoon there would be placed on exhibi- 
 tion some very fine pictures, and a handsome prize 
 awarded for the best ; so she determined to see them, 
 and upon the evening named she, with catalogue in 
 hand, passed from picture to picture drinking in the 
 beauty of each. When she first entered the gallery 
 she noticed a tall, stately woman, robed in black, 
 standing apart from every one ; she seemed to be a 
 stranger to those who frequented the gallery ; still 
 she was always there, always present at these monthly 
 meetings or exhibitions, though it was not known 
 why, and no one seemed to know who she was ; she 
 betrayed no deep interest in anything or anybody. 
 Occasionally her eyes would travel to and rest upon 
 one large picture which had already attracted many
 
 THE REVELATION. 237 
 
 people around it. She would look upon it with an 
 eager, hungry gaze, as if her own life was depicted 
 thereon. At last Karlene, in her rounds, came to 
 this same picture, and was so fascinated that she 
 found it almost impossible to leave it for others. 
 She returned again and again and stood before it in 
 rapt admiration, lost in its artistic beauties, unmind- 
 ful of time and place, until rudely jostled back to 
 every-day life. She brought her husband and father 
 to see it, having already determined in her mind that 
 it should pass into her own possession if possible. 
 Mr. Melbourne and Mr. Glen more were both en- 
 tranced with the picture, and ably seconded Karlene's 
 determination to own it. It would take stronger 
 and more brilliant descriptive powers than are often 
 vouchsafed to we mortals here below to bring before 
 your mind's eye this most beautiful and speaking 
 creation ; the almost tragedy of three human lives 
 was enacted upon this piece of canvas. The ances- 
 tral home of a noble family stood in the background ; 
 stately trees of a century's growth stood like sentinels 
 guarding this peaceful-looking home. Upon the 
 smooth, velvety lawn, plucking daisies from the 
 emerald carpet beneath her feet, was a lovely child. 
 Standing at the foot of this lawn, and just outside of 
 its enclosure, was a lonely, solitary figure looking 
 back upon the peaceful Arcadian view spread out 
 before her. What a sad, wistful face she wore ! as 
 one would look who was turning her back upon all
 
 238 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 of heaven there was upon this earth for her ; as one 
 would look who was being thrust out from paradise 
 and had turned to take a lingering look at its fast- 
 receding shores. Poor woman ! she was banishing 
 herself from her paradise, leaving everything behind 
 that was dear, husband, home, and child. Kar- 
 lene referred to her catalogue and found the number 
 of the picture to be sixty. " By Madame Brevoort, 
 Artist, Mont Aventino, Villa Miblis." Armed with 
 these directions she was driven to the gate of the 
 rose-embowered cottage, situated near the banks of 
 the river Tiber, back from the hum and confusion 
 of the city. When Madame Brevoort entered, Kar- 
 lene was pleased and surprised to find her the sad- 
 faced, gentle woman she had seen so often at the 
 Museo Artistico, and to whom she had felt so at- 
 tracted. From the first she had been drawn to her 
 as if she had known her in some other existence, and 
 from now on felt it impossible to keep away from 
 her, and found numberless pretexts upon which she 
 could visit her. She gave her unlimited orders for 
 the beautiful pictures she could make, and showed 
 her love and admiration in a thousand ways. Ma- 
 dame Brevoort, without betraying herself in any way, 
 felt just as much drawn to and attracted by Karlene. 
 She looked forward to her daily visits with a pleasur- 
 able impatience. If they were delayed beyond the 
 usual time she grew restless and nervous, and could 
 settle'to nothing until she came ; then a restful, cou-
 
 THE REVELATION. 239 
 
 tented feeling, to which she had been a stranger for 
 years, would steal over her beautiful face, and she 
 would sigh to herself that her little child, which she 
 forsook so many years ago, was now just such a 
 lovely woman as Karlene, and happily married, per- 
 haps, to the man of her choice, a noble man like 
 Barry Glenmore, and was the loving mother of as 
 beautiful a boy as little Barry, perhaps, who always 
 accompanied his mother in these visits to Madame 
 Brevoort; and one morning, while leaning on her 
 knee, looking into her face, he said : 
 
 " You look like my mamma ; your eyes are like 
 my mamma's." 
 
 They laughed at the child's remark and nothing 
 further was said j but to Madame Brevoort it occurred 
 again and again ; it haunted her like a nightmare. 
 Karlene repeated the incident to her husband and 
 soon forgot it, but she told him of her singular feel- 
 ing for this woman, this artist, of her irresistible 
 " drawing to" and growing love for her, and that she 
 would endeavor to find out something more definite 
 about her. But though Karlene paid regular morn- 
 ing visits to Madame Brevoort, told her incidents 
 in her own life, and grew very confidential, still she 
 would not or could not reveal anything of her past, 
 but would beg Karlene to come again. She could 
 not resist taking her in her arms and telling her 
 how dear she was to her, while her heart would beat 
 furiously and the blood rush in torrents to her head.
 
 240 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 They had now spent so much time together that 
 Karlene had without reserve told her the whole 
 history of her life, not omitting that sad episode, her 
 desertion of her home for so long, at which Madame 
 Brevoort wept bitterly. She walked the floor and 
 wrung her hands as if in great agony. If it had 
 been the history of her own life or that of her child's 
 she could not have betrayed greater emotion ; but 
 when she heard the happy denouement of Karlene's 
 troubles she laughed and cried simultaneously. 
 
 " Ah ! my child, how delighted am I that your 
 troubles and trials had so happy an ending !" said 
 she. 
 
 But Karlene's time was growing short now, and 
 she knew she would feel keenly the parting from 
 Madame Brevoort. She told her she wished to buy 
 the picture which had been the means of bringing 
 them together. At this Madame Brevoort grew rest- 
 less and confused, and said : 
 
 " My dear, I could not part with that picture ; it 
 
 is a portion of my life " Checking herself here, 
 
 as if she had been betrayed into saying more than 
 was intended, she hesitated, arose, and hastily left 
 the room. When Madame Brevoort returned she 
 was still visibly affected, but begged Karlene to ex- 
 cuse her, as she was not well ; then grew reserved 
 and silent. 
 
 Karlene felt a hesitation in returning to the sub- 
 ject, but her anxiety overcame her scruples, and when
 
 THE REVELATION. 241 
 
 she introduced it again, Madame Brevoort told her 
 that if she would leave her address she would execute 
 and send to her the exact fac-simile of this one. 
 Karlene, glad to get it in any way, consented, stipu- 
 lating that she should pay her as much for the 
 duplicate as she would have asked for the original 
 if it had been for sale. This being settled to their 
 satisfaction, they took an affectionate, lingering fare- 
 well of each other, Karlene leaving her card, with 
 " Karlene Clemont Glenmore" inscribed upon it in 
 her own delicate chirography. Madame Brevoort 
 watched Karlene till she was out of sight, her eyes so 
 dimmed with tears that she could hardly see ; then 
 turning to look at the card she still held in her hand, 
 and seeing for the first time Karlene's middle name, 
 Clemont, she thought she had not read aright. 
 Wiping her tear-dimmed eyes, she read again. 
 Great heaven ! What did it mean ? How strange 
 that Mrs. Glenmore should bear the name which 
 she had once borne ! the dear name which had 
 brought to her so much happiness and love fora 
 time, but ultimately so much untold misery. She 
 fell upon her knees in an agony of doubt and fear 
 and hope ; she pressed the sweet mystic name to her 
 lips and prayed aloud in her distress and doubt, 
 " Dear Jesus, what if she be my own child ! It can 
 be possible, it may be possible !" 
 
 At the thought that she had probably held her 
 own dear daughter in her arms and then let her go
 
 242 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 away from her, she grew almost frantic. She walked 
 the floor up and down, with eyes uplifted to heaven 
 in prayer. 
 
 " Merciful God !" cried she. " Can it be ?" 
 
 When she had once taken the bare possibility of 
 it to her heart she never resigned it ; it seemed more 
 and more possible to her with every passing moment. 
 If a good, kind, tender-hearted mother should ever 
 read these lines, how her gentle motherly bosom will 
 heave in sympathetic throbs for the troubles of this 
 poor desolate mother, always remembering that real 
 life is stranger than fiction. 
 
 She turned the card over and over, looking at it 
 again and again. Yes, that was the dear name. 
 Oh ! what should she do ? This doubt and long-con- 
 tinued suspense could not be endured. She feared 
 to be too sanguine, yet could not afford to doubt. 
 " That way madness lies." 
 
 She at last decided to put her doubts and fears 
 at rest by going straight to Karlene and telling her. 
 But stay ! Had she not heard her call Mr. Mel- 
 bourne her dear father and guardian ? Surely he 
 would know every incident connected with Karlene's 
 past life. Yes ! she would go to him. She knew 
 that the Hotel Bristol had been their temporary 
 home during their stay in Rome. She started im- 
 mediately, though her limbs trembled so she feared 
 she would fall. Upon reaching there and inquiring 
 for Mr. Melbourne, she was shown to his private
 
 THE REVELATION. 243 
 
 parlor, where he sat reading ; but she was so over- 
 come with conflicting emotions hope and fear that 
 she found it difficult to make herself understood. 
 Laying her hand upon her heart to still its throb- 
 bings, and choking down her emotions, she requested 
 permission to ask him some questions in regard to 
 his ward, Mrs. Glenmore. She told him of her 
 meeting with and interest in Karlene, and that she 
 desired to know something of her past, of her 
 antecedents, and that upon his answers there was 
 dependent for her almost life or death. Mr. Mel- 
 bourne was, of course, startled and surprised ; but 
 upon hearing that this lady was the artist of whom 
 he had heard Karlene speak so kindly and so often, 
 he decided to give her the information she desired, 
 to some extent, at least. She begged him not to 
 keep her in suspense, saying, 
 
 " Oh, sir ! you cannot know how much of joy or 
 sorrow for me depends upon your words ; I might 
 almost say, of heaven or of oblivion ; for if I am 
 doomed to disappointment in regard to her it will 
 indeed be oblivion for me to all things good, pure, 
 true, and heavenly. There will be nothing left for 
 me to love, nothing to hope for, nothing to do but to 
 go back to my lonely, unloved life, my hopeless, 
 cheerless existence. Tell me, if you please, Mr. 
 Melbourne, of Karlene's father. You knew him, 
 
 did you not? Was he not the Earl of " but 
 
 here her voice sank to a whisper, and Mr. Melbourne
 
 244 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 thought from the pallor of cheek and lips that she 
 was going to swoon, so he poured out a glass of water 
 and handed it to her, and opened a window. Feeling 
 refreshed and revived, she tried to articulate, but no 
 sound came from her pale lips. Mr. Melbourne saw 
 that she was suffering from some great mental excite- 
 ment, and deciding to relieve her mind, he said : 
 
 " Madame, Mrs. Glenrnore is of noble birth ; she 
 has not adopted the title to which she has so undis- 
 puted a right, but I hope she will do so. Her father 
 was the Earl of Clemout." 
 
 When these confirmatory words fell upon her ear, 
 she sank to her knees, whispering : 
 
 " Thank God ! thank God ! for this mercy, this 
 great blessing, though so long withheld !" Her pos- 
 ture was so humble, her tones so touching, that Mr. 
 Melbourne found it difficult to restrain his own tears ; 
 but he gently raised her and, begging her to be seated, 
 asked the meaning of this great excitement. 
 
 " It means, oh, thank heaven ! that I have found 
 my child ; the dear little babe whom I deserted so 
 many, many years ago is now restored to my arms 
 a beautiful woman. I thought never to see her 
 sweet face again. Ah ! God is merciful !" 
 
 Still, Mr. Melbourne did not understand, and it was 
 some time before she was calm enough to explain 
 to him that she was the wife of the Earl of Clemont 
 and the mother of Karlene Clemont Glen more. It 
 is impossible to depict Mr. Melbourne's astonish-
 
 THE REVELATION. 245 
 
 raent at these words, as well as his incredulity; but 
 Madame Brevoort or Lady Clemont, if you give her 
 her real name (the first one being used as a means 
 of disguise), gave him a full and complete history 
 of her life : first, of her happy marriage to the Earl 
 of Clemont, whom she loved so dearly, of the few 
 happy succeeding years, of the birth of her child, 
 then of the growing coolness of her husband, of his 
 reckless, careless ways, of his debaucheries and ex- 
 cesses in sin of every kind, and, finally, of his in- 
 human cruelty to her^ which at last became so un- 
 bearable that she fled from her home, leaving her 
 child and everything else that was dear behind her, 
 only bringing away her marriage certificate, which 
 she had guarded all these years as she would her life, 
 and now triumphantly producing it, she showed it to 
 Mr. Melbourne, it being proof conclusive to him that 
 she was really the mother whom Karlene had loved 
 and mourned so long as lost to her forever, perhaps. 
 Mr. Melbourne now gave Lady Clemont, alias 
 Madame Brevoort, an account of her husband's life 
 after she left him, which was necessarily very meagre, 
 he also knowing very little of his death, although he 
 witnessed it; of his giving Karlene to him upon his 
 death-bed, begging him to watch over her, guide her 
 in all things, and be a guardian, a father, to her, all 
 which requests he had tried to discharge to the best of 
 his ability. As soon as Lady Clemont was certain- 
 convinced without a doubt that Karlene was indeed
 
 246 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 her own little child, whom she had left playing 
 among the daisies upon the lawn, all unmindful that 
 her mother was passing out of her life for so many 
 years she arose very hastily, her face pale as death, 
 her breath coming in quick, short gasps, and said : 
 
 " I must find my child ; but, oh ! what will she 
 think of me ? Can she ever forgive me for so heart- 
 lessly deserting her and leaving her to the cold 
 mercies of the world, or the cruelty, perhaps, of her 
 father?" But here Mr. Melbourne comforted her 
 with the sweet assurance of Karlene's great love and 
 solicitude for her, and of how often she had talked 
 of her mother, saying her life could never be com- 
 plete and happy until she found her. Mr. Melbourne 
 went in search of Karlene, but came back saying she 
 had gone to the Museo Artistico to spend the morn- 
 ing. Hurrying there, she found Karlene standing 
 before the picture in which she had portrayed the 
 tragedy of her life. 
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 
 BREAD UPON THE WATERS. 
 
 AH! heaven alone gave her the power to resist 
 the pleadings of a mother's love and to refrain from 
 taking her child to her throbbing, aching heart ; but
 
 BREAD UPON THE WATERS. 247 
 
 by an almost superhuman effort she succeeded. 
 Laying her hand upon Karlene's shoulder, she 
 said : " Come home with me. I must see you alone." 
 And Karlene, seeing the pale, set features, the eager, 
 hungry glitter in her eyes, turned and, though much 
 surprised, followed her without a word of remon- 
 strance. Reaching the seclusion of her home, Lady 
 Clernont fell down at the feet of Karlene, crying 
 out: 
 
 " Oh, my child ! my child ! can you ever forgive 
 me? Can you ever love and pardon me for this 
 great wrong I have done in leaving you in your 
 sweet, tender infancy without the guiding hand, the 
 tender touch, the loving care of a mother? Let 
 your tender heart plead for me." Here she raised 
 her eyes to Karlene's and, seeing the look of surprise 
 and wonder upon her face, said : 
 
 " My darling ! my beloved ! does not your own 
 heart tell you who I am ? I am your own loving 
 mother ! Oh, my baby ! my darling daughter ! my 
 sweet Karlene ! your unhappy mother pleads for 
 your love and forgiveness. Does not your heart tell 
 you I am your mother?" 
 
 Here the look of wonder in Karlene's eyes gave 
 way to the most beautiful love-light, and stooping she 
 raised her mother in her arms and, clasping her close, 
 said, with joy unspeakable shining in her eyes : 
 
 " My heart long ago told me you were my own 
 dear mother. Oh, thank heaven ! thank heaven !"
 
 248 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 They clung to each other in loving embrace, Kar- 
 lene repeating the angel name " mother" over and 
 over again. They sat hand in hand talking for 
 hours, never tiring, each one relating to the other 
 almost every incident which had transpired during 
 their long, unhappy separation. The mother led 
 her child to the picture which had so fascinated her 
 and said : 
 
 " My dear, you will never know what mingled 
 feelings of pleasure and pain I experienced in trying 
 to recall your sweet baby face, your infantile features, 
 so as to paint them indelibly, not only upon the can- 
 vas, but in never-fading colors upon my heart. You 
 now understand why I put such value upon this pic- 
 ture, and why you were so attracted to it ; and now 
 this painting of your early home, your father's in- 
 heritance, shall be doubly dear, because it was the 
 means of restoring to me my dear daughter." 
 
 " Dear mother," said Karlene, " let us not be 
 selfish in our happiness. I must go and tell my 
 husband of this great joy which has come to us, of 
 this crowning glory to my already happy life." 
 And as she left her mother to carry the glad tidings 
 to her family she felt that the cup of her happiness 
 was full, pressed down, and running over, while the 
 mother, left alone for a few minutes, fell into happy 
 musings. 
 
 " Can it be possible that love and peaceful content 
 will come to me yet and transform my life from its
 
 BREAD UPON THE WATERS. 249 
 
 joyless, hopeless existence into a miracle of happi- 
 ness, contentment, and love?" She had forgotten 
 the fact that miracles are never effected by mere 
 human agencies. Could she arise Phoenix-like from 
 the dead, bitter ashes of her past, regenerated, with 
 an inexhaustible fund of love and sweet companion- 
 ship for the rest of her days, never to be lonely, 
 friendless, and despairing again? Poor woman! 
 She was creating heaven on earth for herself; she 
 was borrowing the wings of the angels, forgetting 
 the " body of the flesh" which weighs so heavily 
 upon souls that fain would soar. Ah ! how well and 
 how painfully had she learned the lesson that to the 
 end of time it is written in enduring characters that 
 no human lot is free from suffering ; into every life 
 sooner or later some rain must fall, but after the 
 rain had come the rainbow promise of hope ! What 
 if some clouds should envelop her now? What if 
 shadows should fall about her ? Did she not have 
 her own beautiful, affectionate Karlene to help her 
 disperse the clouds and dispel the shadows ? 
 
 The short, mild Italian winter was now past, and 
 spring was upon them in all its sudden glory and 
 splendor. Spring in this sunny land sent forward 
 no advance signals, no premonitory signs, no hints 
 in the forest ; but all at once she was there herself, 
 not a timid, hesitating, faltering spring, turning 
 back and then advancing like the late spring in 
 Karlene's American forests, but came full blooming, 
 12
 
 250 KARL EN E HOY. 
 
 almost summer. So before the weather became too 
 heated they decided to turn their steps homeward. 
 Karlene had from the first, and with her husband's 
 consent, decided to visit her old English home, 
 the place of her birth, the grand old ancestral home 
 which had belonged to the Clements for generations 
 past, and which would now belong to them, and 
 eventually to little Barry, together with the proud 
 title which was his by right of birth, had it not been 
 for the reckless, careless, spendthrift father and hus- 
 band, the Earl of Clemont. It is true, they might 
 purchase the old home which had now passed into 
 the hands of strangers, and restore it to its old-time 
 glory; they could assume the title which noble birth 
 gave them. Yes ! her little Barry was born a peer 
 of the realm ; but they were such loyal American 
 citizens that they cared very little for the honors 
 which a title might confer. She was certain, if she 
 wished it, that her husband would give up his home 
 in the States, which he loved so dearly, and regain 
 possession of the old English home in order that 
 little Barry might have all the advantages that could 
 come from living in the land of his ancestors and 
 bearing the noble title which had been so proudly 
 borne by so many noble Clemonts. But no ! she 
 loved her home across the sea (the only one she had 
 ever known) too well to resign it for any other ; it 
 was as grand and as beautiful as this one which she 
 had lost through sin and recklessness ; she felt the
 
 BREAD UPON THE WATERS. 251 
 
 taint of dishonor still resting upon it ; she did not 
 wish Barry to inherit it, this sin-polluted home. 
 They would go back to the one which had never 
 been desecrated by sinful orgies, and if Barry grew 
 up to be an affectionate, respectful son, a noble, 
 talented man, a brave, true, loyal American citizen, 
 he would be as happy, as great, as good to his 
 mother's way of thinking as if all the honors that 
 all the titled heads of England could give were 
 bestowed upon him. So they decided that the male 
 succession of the honorable house of the Clernonts 
 should cease with him who, before dying, had so 
 dishonored the name and estate. Whether they 
 were right or wrong we leave our readers to decide, 
 feeling assured that our American-born readers will 
 
 O 
 
 concur with us that the purest, truest life is the 
 truest nobility. Although Karlene had been so 
 anxious to visit the home of her fathers, she knew 
 that to her mother it would be the awakening of 
 many bitter-sweet memories, and as she was deter- 
 mined never to be separated from her again on the 
 earth, she gave up all idea of going and began in- 
 stead to conclude her arrangements for starting home. 
 Lady Clemont, after disposing of her little home on 
 the Tiber, was ready also to return with her daugh- 
 ter to make her home across the sea. 
 
 Untrammelled by one remaining fetter of the 
 chains she had once borne, this calmer, happier time 
 which was dawning for her now was to be the be-
 
 252 KARLENE HOY. 
 
 ginning of another life. Bunyan's shepherd boy 
 did not have more of the little flower called hearts- 
 ease in his bosom than did she, this woman. 
 
 They embarked in the early spring days, reaching 
 home in the leafy, flowery, bewitching month of 
 May. May skies were over them ; leaves glistened 
 and danced from early morn to dewy eve ; down in 
 the dell the violets were unclosing their blue eyes, 
 the white lilies and anemones were being kissed into 
 life, the carnations into new beauty, by the frolicsome 
 rays of the sun. 
 
 The beautiful day which found Karlene at home 
 surrounded by her happy little family, together with 
 her dear old friends, Colonel Strange and wife (Ruth 
 Porter), Lillie Bently and son, Marjorie (who was 
 now Mrs. Couch) and her husband, Mr. Ellis and 
 Nadine, and dear old Robert Mauchline, who was 
 still waiting, and I suppose longing, for his unfound 
 mate, all of whom had come to welcome them back 
 from the old world to the new one, was a day 
 whose exceeding beauty and great happiness made 
 it stand out from all other days in her life as an 
 event and not just a division of time. They all 
 forgot the winter, the frosts of grief and disap- 
 pointment, for there was on the earth a brightness 
 that seemed to quiver with gladness, and within 
 their hearts a light born of heaven which seemed to 
 promise that the rest of their lives should be one 
 unending May.
 
 BREAD UPON THE WATERS. 253 
 
 " 'Mid the losses and the gains, 
 'Mid the pleasures and the pains, 
 'Mid the hoping and the fears 
 And the restlessness of years, 
 We repeat this passage o'er, 
 We helieve it more and more : 
 ' Bread upon the waters cast 
 Shall be gathered at the last.' " 
 
 THE END.