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 V
 
 THE HAPPY HOUR LIBRARY 
 
 UNFORG: YEN 
 
 SECOND EDITION ILLUSTRATED 
 
 BY ANNA C. ELLIS-REIFSNIDER 
 
 Author of " Hoio She Earned It," etc., etc. 
 
 Pride hath no glass 
 
 To show itself, but pride." 
 
 Shakespeare 
 
 
 ST. LOUIS MO. 
 
 THE ANNA C. REIFSNIDEB BOOK CO. 
 PUBLISHEttS
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1893, 
 
 BY THE ANNA C. REIFSNIDER BOOK CO., 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at "Washington, D. C.
 
 0f 
 
 2132344
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 " Two long, long years ! " 
 
 A pair of dark eyes swam in tears, and two cherry 
 lips quivered as Juliet Hudson said, or rather sighed, 
 these words. 
 
 She had just completed an exquisite toilet, and 
 stood a moment before a mirror to see if the picture 
 reflected there was adorned with perfec t taste. 
 
 The tears and trembling lips certainly did not 
 please her, for she dried the former upon a lace hand- 
 kerchief, and resolutely compressed the latter. 
 
 " It shall never be said of me, that I hesitated to 
 do anything to please those I love, and who love me, 
 when I know it is the best thing to do. I should only 
 be too glad to go." 
 
 But the tears did not cease to flow so quickly, nor 
 the red lips remain compressed ; and being quite alone 
 and feeling that it was a good opportunity to indulge 
 them, she sank down in a velvet chair and gave way 
 to one of those little showers of tears which come to 
 us like April rains, that freshen and revive, and after 
 which the sun seems to shine more resplendent than 
 before. 
 
 When Juliet stood before her mirror again she was 
 more pleased with her reflected image, for it was a very 
 rainbow in its brightness. 
 
 7
 
 8 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 She was going to Europe to complete her education 
 and finish music and painting. Going away for two 
 years ! It was the first time in her life that she had ever 
 anticipate d a separation from her parents and brother, 
 and was there another whose name came first in her 
 thoughts ? perhaps, but we write it last Constantine 
 Jeffrey. 
 
 Her friends were to come this evening to say good- 
 bye, for the ship would sail in two days, and as Juliet 
 consulted her watch she saw that it was time for the 
 guests to gather in the drawing-room below, and she 
 descended to assist her mother to welcome them. 
 
 " Two years ! " Belle Morton, Juliet's favorite 
 friend, uttered the words as she stood before her 
 mirror, arranging the soft lace a bout her throat in prep- 
 aration to be one of Juliet's guests that evening. Her 
 cold, white fac e wore a look of triumphant joy, and her 
 steel-blue eyes glittered as she uttered the words that 
 had caused Juliet's tears to flow, and her lips to quiver 
 as imagination spread out before her a weary waste of 
 water that would divide her for two long, long years 
 from all that was dear to her on earth. 
 
 Why was it that Belle, Juliet's most devoted friend, 
 should speak the same words in such a different tone ? 
 
 Why ? Why is it that friends are always crossing 
 each other in some cherished plan or purpose in this life? 
 
 Why is it that those who seem so happy to have our 
 love and confidence, and strive so hard to win them, 
 when they succeed would be happier still to have us 
 beyond the sea?
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 9 
 
 Among the friends of Juliet whom she welcomed 
 in the drawing-room that evening were Mr. and Mrs. 
 Morton, Sr., and their daughter Belle ; Mr. and Mrs. 
 Alvah Morton; a young Spaniard, an admirer of Belle's ; 
 Herr von Stein, Juliet's master in drawing and painting, 
 and Mrs. Hellwald, his sister (the latter two of whom 
 were to be Juliet's traveling companions abroad), and 
 last, but not least, the Rev. Constantine Jeffrey, Juliet 
 Hudson's betrothed. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hudson, Abbe and Juliet mingled 
 among their guests with that sincere cordiality and 
 unaffected effort to please that rendered them the most 
 charming hosts in the world. As upon all such occa- 
 sions, by mutual understanding, after the first hour, 
 they were grouped off, each little circle complete in 
 itself, with an occasional conversation that became 
 general. 
 
 Mrs. Morton, Sr., who was a loud-spoken woman 
 affecting much knowledge, and usually monopolizing 
 the conversation wherever she was, and whoever was 
 present, after the first greeting all round, called Mr. 
 Jeffrey to her side, and at once took him to task for 
 something she had heard him say in his sermon the 
 Sabbath before ; and then continued to give him her 
 interpretation of that portion of the Scripture, with 
 many tosses of her head, and affected folding and 
 unfolding of her arms, much to the annoyance of that 
 gentleman, and to the amusement of Abbe Hudson. 
 
 After Mrs. Morton had exhausted the theme upon 
 which she had first addressed Mr. Jeffrey, observing that
 
 10 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 his glance was frequently directed towards Juliet, who 
 was engaged in an animated conversation with Alvah 
 Morton, the Spaniard and Belle, she said : 
 
 " What a bewitching creature Juliet is ! Strange that 
 she is so little spoiled. She makes every one her willing 
 slave. There is Alvah Morton, fo r instance, a perverse, 
 contradictory man, who will differ with, and maintain a 
 point against every living creature except Juliet Hud- 
 son. But from her sarcasm, her scorn, he shrinks like a 
 child ; and a word of approbation from her is worth 
 more to him than that of any learned sage of this 
 century." 
 
 Mr. Jeffrey saw no deeper than the speaker's words, 
 and they pleased him. For, if Juliet could influence a 
 man like Alvah Morton, of unquestionable attainments, 
 it was a surer test of her power than to be able to influ- 
 ence fifty shallow society women. And he observed 
 with pleasure that Mrs. Morton was right. He did not 
 observe, as Mrs. Morton intended he should, that both 
 Juliet and Alvah Morton seemed to strive each to please 
 the other, and that Mrs. Morton, Jr., looked on from her 
 place in the window, with a sad, weary look, that 
 sometimes changed into one of indignation. 
 
 "The time has not come," Mrs. Morton, Sr., whis- 
 pered, " I can wait ! Juliet is going abroad." 
 
 Alvah Morton stood beside the piano, and turned the 
 leaves of music, Juliet played and sang. He praised 
 her execution and her voice. What she loved best he 
 praised most; and for no living being could Juliet 
 Hudson perform so well as for Alvah Morton.
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 11 
 
 Why ? Had you asked her, she would have said : 
 
 " He is my father's friend. He has encouraged me, 
 and aided me, since my childhood, with his knowledge 
 and accomplishments. He is a musicial and art critic, 
 and what he tells me I know is true, and his praise is 
 worth more than that of most of men. He is a literary 
 man, and has done much to develop my taste in that 
 direction. Through him I hope to attain a higher 
 degree of perfection in music, art and literature than I 
 could hope for without such a friend." 
 
 Why? Had you asked Morton, what his answer 
 would have been takes much of this story to reveal. 
 
 Mr. Morton, Sr., was a small, quiet man, who was sel- 
 dom seen in company with his wife and daughter, 
 except at Mr. Hudson's house. 
 
 There never was a married couple more unlike in 
 taste and disposition than Mr. and Mrs. Morton, Sr. 
 They were second cousins, and bore the same name 
 before marriage, which seemed to be her husband's 
 only redeeming trait in Mrs. Morton's eyes. 
 
 Mr. Morton, Sr., was a literary man, and given to the 
 most lofty flights of fancy. The facetious Abbe Hud- 
 son had invented a wonderful story, the only solution, 
 he declared, of this strange marriage, which was : That 
 Mr. Morton, being given to aerial flights of soul, had 
 at one time remained absent from his tenement of clay 
 longer than was good for either soul or body ; for when 
 he returned, he found the present Mrs. Morton in 
 peaceable possession, and that he gradually realized 
 that she had even been married to himself during his
 
 12 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 absence, and that henceforth he was to remain bound 
 to earth. He bowed his neck to the yoke, and had 
 ever since been a meek, obedient husband. But any 
 one who observed him and his wife, could readily see, 
 that how they came to be united was as great a mys- 
 tery to Mr. Morton as it could possibly be to any one 
 else. He habitually wore a doubtful, mysterious ap- 
 pearance, and never seemed to have recovered from 
 the shock his unnatural marriage had given him. 
 
 Abbe Hudson confidently affirmed that his theory 
 of this marriage was correct, an d that if he had written 
 it out and given his manuscript to Washington Irving 
 to embellish, it would have excelled any legend he had 
 written of the Alhambra. 
 
 Mr. Alvah Morton was a journalist of note, and con- 
 nected with one of the leading papers of New York. 
 Things seemed strangely reversed in his family. Mr. 
 Morton, Jr., was the undisputed head of the family ; 
 and his wife, a shy, timid creature, seemed only an 
 echo of himself. 
 
 Just before the guests withdrew Mr. Alvah Morton 
 said to Juliet : 
 
 " Now that I have marked your improvement in 
 music, let us repair to the studio and see what you have 
 been doing there." 
 
 Juliet acquiesced and invited all to accompany them 
 to the studio. M r. Jeffrey, stepping across the room, 
 with a gallant smile offered his arm to Mrs. Alvah 
 Morton, and going out immediately after Juliet and 
 Alvah Morton, they were followed by all in the room.
 
 UNFORQIVEN. 13 
 
 Herr von Stein had preceded them to the studio by 
 an hour, and sat near the window reading, but rose 
 with a pleasant smile when his pupil entered. 
 
 The studio, a long hall-like room, was a most charm- 
 ing place. There were studies from Raphael and 
 from Michael Angelo, original designs, and scenes 
 from Juliet's favorite authors all showing a compe- 
 tent and enthusiastic master, and a gifted, almost 
 inspired pupil. Prominent among them were illustra- 
 tions from David Copperfield. 
 
 David Copperfield making his appearance before 
 his aunt, a ragged, dirty boy, with a face full of sad, 
 tender anxiety, while he notices her look of horror as 
 she surveyed him, when he says : " Please, Aunt, I am 
 your nephew." 
 
 Herr von Stein pointed out the peculiar beauties 
 of each picture. 
 
 Here again is David Copperfield and his Child-wife. 
 A vision of loveliness was Juliet's conception of that 
 sweet child, who took such hold of Copperfield's ad- 
 miration, while the true, earnest, faithful Agnes held 
 his heart. 
 
 " Ha ! " ejaculated Herr von Stein, stroking his long 
 white beard, " I am proud of this." 
 
 " A sweeter face never lay upon canvas than fraii- 
 lein's ideal Dora. See Copperfield's face as he looks 
 upon it ; admiration, tenderness and sympathy beam 
 from. his eyes. But there is something lacking; the 
 expression is almost painful. See how correctly 
 fraiilein read his heart, and put it on his face.
 
 14 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 " But, here " and turning to another picture 
 " here is Copperfield in his glory. He leans over his 
 aunt's chair and presents Agnes after their engage- 
 ment. Such a face is Agnes' ! So pure, so spiritual, 
 so beautiful only in the sublime purity and faith of 
 her love, and yet more beautiful in that than all else 
 could make it, that I believe the same spirit that 
 moved Dickens' pen to portray her character touched 
 fraiilein's brush when she painted that face. See 
 Copperfield now ; the sad, unrestful lines are gone. 
 She has read his heart truly, and painted the effect of 
 this higher, holier, better love in every feature." 
 
 As Herr von Stein spoke his face grew radiant, and 
 he drew, as if accidentally, though really with design, 
 his pupil to himself, and away from Morton, who stood 
 like one entranced before that picture, wondering if 
 any one else traced, as he did, the likeness of Mr. 
 Jeffrey through all these pictures of Copperfield, and 
 the more perfect resemblance to him in the last. 
 
 What strange and different emotions stirred the 
 breasts of each, as they gazed upon the work of the 
 gifted Juliet. 
 
 " What is this we have here ? " said Morton, at last, 
 turning aside, and taking up a manuscript the artist 
 had dropped when he rose to greet them. 
 
 " O ! that is bewunderungswiirdig! I require fraii- 
 lein to write out for me her criticisms of Masters, that 
 is, the peculiar and striking characteristics of each, 
 which are as marked as can be, and which few thor- 
 oughly understand and appreciate. I doubt if you,
 
 UNFORQI YEN. 15 
 
 mein Herr, could draw out more forcibly the subtle 
 change wrought by the softening touch of Raphael's 
 pencil, from the deep, bold stroke of Michael Angelo. 
 Such a future as lies before her! Michael Angelo 
 had four souls, so has fraiilein. If she can do this 
 from the imperfect imitations she has seen only let her 
 soul meet his in the Sistine Chapel ! " 
 
 So the enthusiastic artist continued, while Juliet 
 heard with a smile, and a look of admiration for 
 her master, but with a quiet reserve, as she surveyed 
 her own work (no piece of which had ever reached 
 her aim), as one does who feels " I have made an earn- 
 est effort ; it pleases those who love me, but it is far 
 from perfect." 
 
 Nothing had ever soothed Mr. Jeffrey's feelings 
 in parting with Juliet to go abroad as the artist's 
 words " Let her soul meet Michael Angelo's in the 
 Sistine Chapel." 
 
 Juliet ! his Juliet, meet, comprehend, appreciate, 
 copy, perhaps equal or excel Michael Angelo. 
 
 When the artist was left alone again in the studio 
 he stood before the picture of Copperfield and Agnes. 
 Like Morton he traced the perfect likeness to Jeffrey 
 in David's face, softened perhaps, and more charming 
 than any one's eyes but hers had ever seen it, but 
 surely Jeffrey's face ; and the artist, with arms folded 
 upon his breast, and features white as his floating 
 beard, gazed upon it with glittering eyes. 
 
 " Such a future as is before her ! I said it ; I say 
 it still ! But it is a future of brightest joy or deepest
 
 16" UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 woe ! Do I read her aright ? When this proud, arro- 
 gant heart proves false will she droop and die ? Will 
 she sit down among the colors and brushes with idle 
 hands, never to believe in absolute beauty again 
 to lose her faith in all else when it is lost in him ? 
 Will this wonderful inspiration forsake her ? Will 
 she no longer sound the depths and scale the heights 
 of human woe and joy, and with an inspired hand 
 spread it out before her? Will the heavens be a 
 blank scroll, no longer unfolding visions of glory and 
 lifting her up in spirit to glimpses of the eternal 
 throne ? Oh, if I could only tell this ! Will a 
 long blank mark the period of her life that should 
 accomplish most ; or when she sees the hollow pre- 
 tense of his love when she weighs the dross meas- 
 ured out for her pure gold will she scorn all earthly 
 love and material life, and soar away from it forever ? 
 Tell me, ye gods, who seem to vie in endowing her 
 with gifts tell me, when this battle comes betwixt the 
 spirit and the clay, which shall the victor be ? When 
 her love for him is dead, as it will be when she 
 understands him, will her heart be utterly dead, too ; 
 will the spirit have received so great a shock that, 
 robbed of its anchor love, it will drift about on an 
 uncertain sea, and at last be wrecked upon a rock of 
 infidelity or go down in a whirlpool of despair ? " 
 
 Having given vent to his emotion in burning words, 
 the artist, weary with his own vehemence, paced the 
 long room with a nervous tread, while the shadows of 
 the declining day gathered over the city, and the pict-
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 17 
 
 ures and the statuary in the library began to appear 
 in uncertain shapes. 
 
 Juliet bade her guests good-bye, and for a moment 
 clung to Belle with a long, loving caress that showed 
 plainly how truly and tenderly she loved her. 
 
 2
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Mr. Jeffrey was not only a handsome man, but in 
 every word and gesture betokened something superior, 
 both by birth and education, to the generality of men. 
 He was too unbending and formal in his manner to be 
 in harmony with his handsomely fitting clergyman's 
 suit, yet there was something so bright in his smile, 
 so like a sudden burst of sunlight over a handsome 
 picture, that it surprised and attracted one. 
 
 Juliet was rather tall, with a slender, willowy form, 
 oval face, clear, olive complexion, regular classic feat- 
 ures, bright cherry lips, and great, glowing, dark eyes, 
 shaded by fringes of jet black lashes, and an exquisite 
 brow. Natural and unaffected as a child, every move- 
 ment was full of grace. Upon this occasion she wore 
 a black lace dress. A bunch of pomegranates of brill- 
 iant scarlet hue pinned at her throat heightened the 
 color in her cheeks. Her ebon hair was wound in a 
 heavy coil low upon her shapely neck and held by 
 golden arrows. Her jewels, ear-rings, necklace and 
 bracelets were of pure Etruscan gold and finest work- 
 manship. 
 
 And yet, Juliet's chief beauty did not consist of what 
 has just been described. Her charm was in her pres- 
 ence ; her rich, clear, pure voice, with its perfect mod- 
 ulation ; her sunny smile ; her great, dark eyes, from 
 
 18
 
 UNFORQIVEN. 19 
 
 whose depths a joyous spirit, unconquered and un- 
 stained, beamed forth. The broad, low brow, smooth 
 as polished ivory, seemed never to have been con- 
 tracted by unpleasant thoughts. Her heart was so full 
 of sweet music and gushing happiness that it flowed 
 over, brightening her face with a strange, rare beauty, 
 and filling her voice with a te nder, thrilling melody. 
 
 Mr. Jeffrey remained after the other guests were 
 gone, and had Juliet all to himself for an hour or so. 
 The blinds were closed and the gas turned on. Juliet 
 was now a different creature. The proud light of her 
 eyes softened as they returned his look of love, the 
 warm color stealing over her cheeks as she heard his 
 words of praise and encouragement, showed Juliet 
 Hudson in her most bewitching mood as different a 
 creature from what she appeared in the crowded room 
 as if she were not the same a household angel, a 
 loving, lovely, tender woman. Mr. Jeffrey drew her 
 near to him, called her endearing names, and told her 
 how proud he was of her. 
 
 " How sweet it is to strive, Constantine, for such a 
 precious reward. There is no labor in the effort. God 
 has bestowed these gifts upon me, has given me the 
 grand opportunity of improving them, and has made 
 me so happy in your love, that nothing I can accom- 
 plish can show half my gratitude. If I were poor, I 
 sometimes think, it would be sweet to toil through 
 every difficulty to prove my devotion." 
 
 She folded her hands in a thoughtful, child-like way, 
 and looked up into his face with a worshiping idolatry,
 
 20 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 which so softened and beautified every feature, that his 
 proud heart in answer said : 
 
 "God knows where to bestow His best gifts, and 
 casts not His pearls to swine. There would not be so 
 much merit, darling, if you were poor, and had to strive 
 to win fame and fortune with your God-given talents. 
 Poverty has developed genius that gold would have 
 hidden and suffered to die in its infancy. There is 
 bread and butter in the genius o f the poor. They fight 
 their weary way with the energy with which the wood- 
 man plies his axe in the forest. But you, my love, 
 Fortune's darling, spending your time to brighten 
 heaven's glorious gifts, looking out upon beauty to 
 reproduce it, seeking the higher, purer life through 
 earnest effort and methodical labor, when you have but 
 to wish for the luxurious idleness and ease that money 
 brings and it is yours, is to me far more grand than any 
 achievement Necessity was ever the mother of. Ah, 
 Fortune's darling shall accomplish through love's inspi- 
 ration nobler things than Poverty's haggard sons and 
 daughters have ever dreamed of, in my Juliet ! my love ! 
 my life ! " 
 
 He told her then of places in Europe she must visit, 
 of pictures she must see, scenery she must copy, until 
 Juliet felt glad to know that she was going. How hard 
 she would work how much she would accomplish. 
 
 " Constantine, I will go gladly. Not that I care to 
 accomplish grand things for the world's applause. My 
 life-work is to strengthen my better nature, to exalt and 
 purify my soul, to lift me above the grosser things of
 
 UNFOROIVEN. 21 
 
 life, to make me oh, Constantine to make me 
 dearer to you ; to show my gratitude for the blessing of 
 your love. My work may be sold and the proceeds 
 given to the poor, or treasured up by those who love 
 me ; so that life's rosary tells its prayer each day, turn- 
 ing on in one completed row, with the crucifix ever 
 before me, reminding me of His life of labor and of 
 love." 
 
 Could mortal man possess a greater treasure than the 
 love of such a heart, awakened to the highest, holiest, 
 purest faith in God, and to His image, man ? 
 
 Did Constantine Jeffrey value his treasure rightly; 
 did he even understand what he possessed ? 
 
 The next day was warm and rainy, but Juliet remem- 
 bered an errand that she must attend to, and while in 
 the city went into a restaurant to enjoy an ice-cream. 
 
 When half way down the long room she perceived a 
 drooping figure sitting at a table alone, and, recogniz- 
 ing it as Mr. Morton, Sr., seated herself beside him. It 
 was a gloomy day the rain now pattered, now poured, 
 but never ceased to fall. 
 
 Her cheery voice aroused him from a deep and 
 apparently painful revery. 
 
 " Is it really you, Juliet, or have my thoughts mate- 
 rialized ? " he said, looking up with an effort to smile. 
 
 " Then you were thinking of me ? " 
 
 " Yes ; thinking that, of all the world, this dark day 
 I had rather see your bright face. It is a dark day 
 without and a gloomy day within. I wanted to be 
 alone."
 
 22 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 " Alone ! and come into a public dining room ? " 
 
 " O, yes, here I am alone, for I know none of the 
 faces I see, and no one recognizes me. At home I am 
 surrounded by people I must entertain, but for whom 
 I care nothing, and who care nothing for me. It is 
 strange, but it is true, that in my own house I am 
 more utterly alone than in a public one. But, excuse 
 me, I must not speak of this even to you. You say, 
 in your little German chatter, ' Das Leben ist zu kurz' 
 I say to-day as I have often said before, Life is too 
 long." And his head drooped wearily between his 
 hands. 
 
 " Come, cheer up ! You are not well." Juliet tried 
 to smile, but his words, tone and manner had shocked 
 her. 
 
 " Ah ! I am often not well. I am often weary, and 
 need quiet, peaceful rest. But where on God's great 
 earth am I to find it ? Rest for mind and body ! God 
 pity the man who has a house, and no home ! O, this 
 wretched, wretched world ! " 
 
 Juliet recalled her own morning psalm, when, with 
 elapsed hands and eyes raised in ecstatic joy, she had 
 cried, " O ! the beautiful, beautiful world, that God in 
 His goodness has made !" 
 
 In vain Juliet strove to draw his mind away from 
 some brooding melancholy. When she left him the 
 memory of his sad face haunted her ; and if ever she had 
 questioned the goodness of Belle Morton it was on that 
 day. 
 
 Never had her own parents seemed so dear, or their
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 23 
 
 own parlor so bright, as when they gathered together 
 that night. Shut out from all the great, noisy world, 
 Juliet recalled more than once the drooping figure, the 
 sad face and despairing voice of Belle's father. And 
 then thought of his house, which doubtless at that 
 moment was the scene of a brilliant social gathering, 
 where his wife and daughter mingled with smiles and 
 gossip and all the fashionable small-talk of the season, 
 and to-morrow's paper would contain a glowing ac- 
 count of the even ing at the unhappy husband's and 
 father's house. 
 
 What a sarcasm upon their religion ! 
 
 " God pity the man who has a house and no home! " 
 How often did Mr. Morton's words come with a sad 
 voice to Juliet's heart. And she thought of how 
 many Mr. Mortons there are. How many men have 
 houses and no homes, land and no resting-place. And 
 her great pitying heart cried : 
 
 " God pity the man who has no home, where he may 
 feel, ' here I am safe from every temptation. Here, 
 when all things else have failed me, I may return for 
 love and sympathy ! ' Ah ! God pity the man who has 
 no home ! " 
 
 Juliet looked round upon her own happy home ! 
 Whose heart was so free from desolation as her own 
 dear father's and her manly brother's ? Whose face 
 so beautiful and beloved as her dear mother's, whose 
 life-work had been to beautify home and exalt home- 
 life, and who had taught her to share the task from her 
 earliest childhood. Never in her life had Juliet Hud-
 
 24 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 son kissed them all a more fervent good-night than she 
 did this dark night, so bright within her own home. 
 
 Mr. Hudson's words to Herr von Stein just before 
 their departure were : 
 
 " My daughter is not going abroad with a view of 
 studying any one thing, but to increase her knowl- 
 edge of the literature and art of the Old World ; to 
 study the countries and the people. Therefore, take 
 her everywhere worth seeing, regardless of expense ; 
 aid her with your experience and knowledge to make 
 good use of the time and opportunity." 
 
 " I understand," said the artist. " At first I was 
 under a different impression. I thought she was to 
 go abroad to perfect herself in painting, but I see 
 your view is broader than one art. Fraulein need not 
 be a professional nor a specialist she must excel in 
 all things." 
 
 " She could not be a specialist if she would. My 
 theory is, a liberally educated person excels the spe- 
 cialist in his own specialty. My object in allowing 
 her to go abroad is to give her pleasure, and to fit her 
 for the highest sphere a woman can adorn a home ! 
 She has chosen wisely in the effort to improve her 
 talents in earnest study, rather than waste her life in 
 society and fashion. She can be a better daughter, a 
 better friend, a better sister, and a better wife, with 
 the right kind of culture, and that is the kind she 
 seeks. But, Juliet has been taught that culture is a 
 blessing only when it is the means of raising us to a 
 higher and purer life, and a truer appreciation of our
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 25 
 
 life-work ; but that it can be carried to such an excess 
 as to bring destruction upon nations and individuals. 
 To gain true wisdom, and apply it in our daily life, 
 should be the aim of the wise and good; not to 
 search for knowledge in science or in art as an excuse 
 for neglecting the sacred duties of life. The most 
 useful knowledge has been attained whjle on the post 
 of duty, from observation. Knowledge that is not 
 rightly applied for the promotion of human welfare, 
 and in strict conformity with the Divine command, is 
 a curse. The wife or daughter whose knowledge 
 renders her less fitted to fill the place God assigned 
 her had better be ignorant. The nation that seeks to 
 educate and cultivate her sons and daughters without 
 a true application of knowledge to the great principles 
 of government will fall. 
 
 The ship is on the sea. Juliet having left all that 
 was dear to her on earth behind, with true heroism 
 resolved not to look back. All the energy of her na- 
 ture now was bent upon her journey and its object, 
 and in conversation with Mrs. Hellwald and Herr von 
 Stein she more frequently alluded to her plans and 
 to their travels than to home and friends. 
 
 Mrs. Hellwald was of the highest type of German 
 character. She was naturally intelligent and well 
 read ; an ardent sympathizer with youth, never hav- 
 ing forgotten her own. She was thoroughly American 
 in politics and habits, but had fond memories of her
 
 26 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 Fatherland. Juliet felt proud to be the instrument of 
 giving a fellow-creature so much joy as Mrs. Hellwald 
 felt in the journey, and Mrs. Hellwald seemed deter- 
 mined to repay her kindness with a cheerful face and 
 pleasant words. 
 
 She told Juliet stories of her youth, described her 
 home, and speculated on the changes that had proba- 
 bly taken place in Heidelberg, where she still hoped 
 to find many of her old friends and relatives.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 One year from the time our party left America we 
 find them in the beautiful German city of Heidelberg. 
 They had spent the previous winter in Florence, where 
 Juliet had worked with a new and more powerful inspi- 
 ration. Juliet found Heidelberg a delightful summer 
 resort, and one of the places in Europe which is not 
 overrated. They had engaged four rooms on the 
 Anlage, the popular promenade of the city. 
 
 Juliet and the artist were systematic in their labors, 
 employing the morning hours in music, drawing and 
 painting. She had secured the services of an excellent 
 teacher in vocal and instrumental music, and rented a 
 fine instrument. The afternoon had its pleasures free 
 from any thought of work. The walk over the hills, or 
 drive outside the city, varied occasionally by the rainy 
 day which kept them indoors, when the hours were 
 spent in games or conversation, and the pleasant task 
 of writing to her parents, brother and betrothed ; or the 
 pleasant reunions where Juliet joined Herr von Stein's 
 and his sister's friends, and they formed a happy group 
 of reunited hearts. Here was the home of their child- 
 hood and youth, and Juliet had never enjoyed anything 
 so much as Herr von Stein's and Mrs. Hellwald's 
 delight in everything connected with these reunions. 
 
 27
 
 28 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 Juliet was toasted and flattered and petted by all. 
 " Die kleine Amerikanerin" won their hearts with her 
 pleasant manners and sweet German. Herr von Stein 
 had said to Juliet when they first reached Germany : 
 
 " Now, not one word of English, and I will guar- 
 antee that during this summer, with constant practice, 
 you will become quite an improvement upon the 
 "American-German," or the language as you so often 
 hear it spoken in the United States." 
 
 His words were verified, and she entered now into 
 conversation with them upon all subjects with perfect 
 freedom and ease. 
 
 It would take a large volume to describe these 
 pleasant reunions. They are only mentioned as one 
 of the greatest sources of enjoyment of the artist's and 
 his sister's journey, and a consequent pleasure and 
 diversion for Juliet. There were among them artists, 
 authors and musicians, in whose companionship Juliet 
 learned to appreciate the true worth of the German 
 mind and heart ; and she often questioned which even- 
 ings were fraught with most benefit to herself, those 
 which brought together the educated and cultured, 
 and was a purely intellectual feast, or those evenings 
 when only a few of Mrs. Hellwald's lady friends called, 
 and the time was spent in recalling the past lives of 
 each during the long years of separation, where the 
 heart spoke to heart, as it were for the last time, for it 
 was not probable they would ever meet again. There 
 were many missing, and they must recite to her the last 
 days of the absent ones' earthly pilgrimage. There
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 29 
 
 were new faces, and she heard with interest how many 
 years ago they first appeared. Some had been suc- 
 cessful and happy, others unfortunate and miserable. 
 
 Mrs. Hellwald was a most thorough American in all 
 her views. She recited to her friends incidents of her 
 life ; her sorrows in the death of her husband, and her 
 struggle with poverty. 
 
 "But I was in America," she would add, "where 
 the poor, if honest, are honored with the best, and 
 have a fair show to rise. I found the noblest and 
 best of assistance given me in the shape of work 
 that I could do, and was well paid for it. I lived 
 through it, and here I am in the dear old Fatherland 
 once again." 
 
 There were quite a number of American girls in 
 the city for the purpose of studying the language; 
 but as Juliet had known none of them at home, she 
 did not care to form their acquaintance. 
 
 Adjoining the house in which our party had rooms 
 was a young American girl who watched Juliet, with 
 the deepest interest, and had made up her mind to 
 know her. She, therefore, first formed the acquaint- 
 ance of the artist, and asked him to introduce his 
 young friend. The artist was so pleased with her that 
 he at once said: 
 
 "Yes, I will take you with me right now. You 
 will like Miss Hudson, and she will like you." 
 
 Juliet and Mrs. Hellwald were sitting near a win- 
 dow chatting and recalling the incidents of their 
 journeying when a knock at the door disturbed them.
 
 30 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 To the call " herein" Herr von Stein and his compan- 
 ion entered. 
 
 " Miss Hudson," he said, " this is Miss Johnston,of 
 St. Louis. She wishes to know you and my sister, and 
 will tell you all about how she comes to be so far 
 away from the home she so tenderly loves." 
 
 Mrs. Hellwald and Juliet gave the young girl a warm 
 welcome. She had a bright, sweet face ; but had un- 
 mistakably been indulging in a good cry, which was not 
 completed when the artist presented her to them, for 
 the tears still glistened in her eyes, and in a moment 
 flowed over upon her pretty cheeks. 
 
 "Are you not well? " asked Juliet, taking her hand 
 and gently leading her to a sofa. 
 
 " Yes ; only homesick." 
 
 The artist and his sister thinking it best to leave 
 them alone for a little while, quietly withdrew. 
 
 " Now, let us see ! What shall we talk about ? Ah ? 
 I see, it would be difficult for you to be interested in 
 but one thing. That dear home is in St. Louis ? " said 
 Juliet. 
 
 " Yes ; " trying to dry her tears. 
 
 " And you came to Europe, as all Americans do, to 
 see the sights and learn French and German ?" 
 
 " I came because I thought my uncle and my brother 
 wanted me to come." 
 
 " Then you have no parents ? " 
 
 "No," she said, "I do not remember them at all. 
 My uncle has been everything to me. My brother 
 brought me here ; and he is extending his travels round
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 31 
 
 the world. He took me all through England, France, 
 Italy, and Switzerland." 
 
 " What do you study ? " 
 
 " Music, German, and French." 
 
 " O ! then yours is the beautiful voice we hear every 
 morning. It is strange such a volume of music could 
 burst from such a tiny throat." 
 
 " Uncle loves my voice, and is proud of it, and when 
 I think of him I sing or cry. 
 
 " You read of course ? " 
 
 " I am afraid I do not as much as I should but I 
 am too homesick for anything now." 
 
 "Have you no acquaintance among the American 
 girls here ? " 
 
 " No, my brother introduced me to a few of them 
 who were fresh from a fashionable boarding-school in 
 New York, but they seemed as foreign to me as the 
 natives." 
 
 Juliet readily perceived that this was a petted child 
 of fortune, and also inferred that she had been brought 
 up in comparative seclusion, before she made this 
 remark. 
 
 " My uncle is a lawyer a judge. We lived in New 
 York until five years ago, when a number of English 
 capitalists, who were interested in mines in the West, 
 persuaded uncle to go to St. Louis for a few years to 
 look after their interests. I have not formed many 
 acquaintances there ; but, O ! I have such a dear home, 
 and the kindest, best uncle in all the world." 
 
 " Do you understand German sufficiently to con-
 
 32 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 verse with the people with whom you come in con- 
 tact?" 
 
 " O, yes ! besides my instructor has studied En- 
 glish." 
 
 Here Bertie wiped away her homesick tears, and 
 laughed till tears of merriment stood in her eyes. 
 
 " It is about the only amusement I have had since 
 Alexis left (I don't mean the Grand Duke of Russia, 
 but my brother). This German teacher of mine is one 
 of the kindest-hearted people I ever saw; but O, what 
 English ! He cannot pronounce the th at all, and only 
 knows one synonym in English for a German word. 
 He is a great admirer of our country, and loves to show 
 me how well informed he is in our history and Consti- 
 tution. He said to me one day, when end ing a ludicrous 
 speech on the subject : ' Ach ! fraiilein, George Wash- 
 ington was ein great man ; er hat the greatest ghost 
 von all together ? ' " 
 
 " I see," said Juliet, smiling, " he translates Geist 
 ghost instead of mind. It is very amusing." 
 
 "Again, he told me one day that he knew a man 
 who drank so much that he ' became a nose so grosz ' " ; 
 putting her hand to her face. " If he finds he has made 
 an error, he says he ' didn't go to went to done it.' 
 And one day when I had gone to the library he wrote 
 me a note that read thus: ' Z>^r Fraulein Come home 
 by 3 ; I will meat you then. " 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! what a sweet little morsel he would have 
 had. " 
 
 " I think I never laughed so much over one little
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 33 
 
 mistake. I like the Germans, but, like all other na- 
 tionalities, they are so eingebildet" Bertie fell into 
 the habit of frequently using a foreign word where she 
 knew she was understood. " For instance, each one 
 thinks he alone speaks the language correctly. When 
 we came to Europe, a year ago, my brother, instead of 
 rushing from place to place, remained long enough in 
 one locality to become somewhat familiar with the 
 peculiar characteristics of the inhabitants, and particu- 
 larly in Germany, for the purpose of becoming familiar 
 with the dialects spoken in the different localities 
 the South from the North German, the Berliner from 
 the Darmstadtite, etc., etc and was amused to hear 
 each declare that he only spoke the most correct 
 language, and it somewhat unraveled to us the mystery 
 of German text-books. Oelsehlager and Otto are both 
 standard authorities, and yet, you know, differ so widely 
 in some instances in pronunciation, both claiming to be 
 correct. " 
 
 " Yes, it is a very strange phenomenon to an Amer- 
 ican, since all standard English authorities agree." 
 
 " One day since I have been in this city, I noticed a 
 brother and sister in conversation ; one of them I 
 observed said zee and the other sie; and on remarking 
 upon it, and asking them why, I found they had at- 
 tended different schools, and the different teachers 
 used the conflicting text-books ; but each declared he 
 or she was correct, and that the other did not speak a 
 correct German, and knew nothing about it. After 
 that I gave up all hope of ever learning correctly a 
 
 3
 
 84 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 language where the best authorities could not agree. 
 I made up my mind to try to make myself understood, 
 and to understand them in that I have pretty well 
 succeeded." 
 
 Juliet was glad to see Bertie's mind diverted from 
 her home, and encouraged her to continue relating 
 incidents of her sojourn in Germany. She found her 
 to be a bright, intelligent girl ; a strange mixture of a 
 tender woman and a merry child. Bertie gave evi- 
 dence of the best and most careful home training and 
 instruction ; and Juliet became very much interested in 
 this wonderful Judge and handsome brother who had 
 done so much for the orphan girl. 
 
 " You shall come to see me every day," said Juliet 
 as Bertie rose to go. " You must join us in our drives 
 and walks." 
 
 " Yes," she answered, " while I remain I shall ; but," 
 she said, putting her hand on Juliet's shoulder, " I am 
 going to run away." 
 
 " Run away ! where, child, and with whom ?" 
 
 " To America, to my uncle. I cannot wait until 
 Alexis returns ; I should die." 
 
 Kissing Juliet, and promising to see her the next day 
 Bertie tripped off and disappeared like a fairy. 
 
 Juliet did not mention Bertie's intention of running 
 away to the artist or his sister, but they spoke fre- 
 quently of her during the evening, and each seemed 
 attracted by her charming face and manner, and her 
 devotion to her uncle.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Leaving Juliet to her studies and reflections in 
 Europe, we turn again to her friends in America. 
 
 Mr. Jeffrey had met the Hudsons at Cape May the 
 season before our story opens, and as Mr. Hudson had 
 been a college friend of his father he sought his ac- 
 quaintance was introduced to Juliet, and at once 
 bent all his energies to win her. 
 
 Mr. Jeffrey was ambitious in every signification of 
 the term; he was a journalist of rare promise, but, after 
 studying the surest plan of gratifying his ambition, he 
 believed it to be through the ministry. He believed 
 also, that much of a professional man's success depends 
 upon his wife, and determined to choose wisely. He 
 recognized in Juliet, though scarcely more than a child, 
 all those traits of character so much admired by men, 
 and striven for by women, and yet so rarely possessed, 
 and he determined to make her his wife. He found 
 Juliet the woman whom he sought, being trained just 
 to suit his taste and his profession proud, gifted, intel- 
 lectual, beautiful, accomplished and wealthy. What 
 pleased him more than all was that she knew nothing 
 of so-called fashionable society. He was frank in his 
 avowal to her father; and Mr. Hudson was not dis- 
 pleased, but told him that his plan for Juliet's educa- 
 tion was not to be interfered with, and that, if he won 
 
 35
 
 36 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 her love, he should have his consent, provided he would 
 wait until her education was completed. This, of 
 course, Mr. Jeffrey cheerfully agreed to, since it was 
 in strict accordance with his own views. 
 
 Mr. Hudson knew Juliet to be anything but sus- 
 ceptible to ordinary attraction, and had no fears that 
 his daughter's love could be won by an unworthy 
 object. 
 
 Constantine Jeffrey was of a bold determined na- 
 ture, and in nothing, so far in life, had he been more 
 determined than to win Juliet Hudson's love ; and 
 when our story opens they had been engaged six 
 months. She, too, was ambitious. Not as he was ; 
 but he had imparted something of his nature to her, 
 without letting her see too deeply into his heart, and 
 she, for love of him, whom she idolized, was willing 
 to put forth all the energy of her nature to excel even 
 his fondest hopes. He had only to suggest that she 
 should accomplish a certain thing, and, if it cost her 
 years of labor, she would have joyfully undertaken 
 the task for one smile of approbation. 
 
 The idea of Juliet's going abroad had originated in 
 Belle Morton's mind, but was looked upon so favor- 
 ably by Mr. Jeffrey from the very inception, that 
 Juliet, as we have seen, yielded to his wishes, and went 
 to Europe. 
 
 Since Juliet's absence, Mrs. Morton and her daugh- 
 ter had devoted themselves most assiduously to the 
 task of winning Mr. Jeffrey. His opinion was asked 
 upon every subject, and they were tireless workers in
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 37 
 
 his church. He was the lion of all their entertain- 
 ments ; and Belle arranged to have him as her special 
 escort whenever she chose, for was she not his affi- 
 anced dearest friend, and must she not cheer him 
 while his loved one was absent ? Ah ! she would talk 
 of Juliet no one but Juliet, if it pleased him ; talk of, 
 and praise her, if her own heart burst with jealousy, 
 only to have him near her. 
 
 Mrs. Morton's house, since Juliet's departure, had 
 been a scene of successive entertainments. Abbe 
 Hudson, a young man of twenty, with a handsome face 
 and merry eyes, was generally the life and spirit of all 
 these gatherings. Not boisterous, but always gay, 
 he was a most fascinating addition to any circle, and 
 many bright eyes looked with peculiar interest at the 
 young millionaire. Many people predicted that Belle 
 Morton, the sister's favorite friend, would win the 
 brother's heart. Mrs. Morton might have had such 
 aspirations, so far as Abbe's inheritance was con- 
 cerned, but united to a bigoted Hudson as she in- 
 wardly termed them there was little hope of any 
 woman ever gaining a position in fashionable society. 
 Mr. Hudson's money seemed a barrier to shut him off 
 from the outside world, and only a few chosen friends 
 gained access to his family circle. Mrs. Morton de- 
 sired nothing so much as position, influence, notoriety, 
 though she would have the world believe she sacrificed 
 herself daily for the good of others. 
 
 Having known Mrs. Hudson when a girl, it had 
 served her purpose to court her favor for her fortune's
 
 38 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 sake, and after her marriage to Mr. Hudson (whose 
 position and wealth was unquestionable), Mrs. Morton 
 had clung with great tenacity to Mrs. Hudson, whose 
 liberal hand, when an orphan and an heiress, had 
 lavished luxuries upon her that her own purse could 
 not have purchased. 
 
 Had Abbe not been " a chip from the old block," as 
 she declared, she would have manoeuvered to win him 
 for Belle ; but in doing so she would have defeated, sig- 
 nally, her most cherished plan. "A Hudson sets 
 himself up as a king in his household, and rules abso- 
 lutely every one within his realm. He chooses whom 
 he pleases to enter his fortress, and closes his golden 
 gate against the dazzling world." So she reasoned. 
 
 Mrs. Morton had almost despaired of finding a suita- 
 ble companion for her daughter, through whom alone 
 her hopes could be realized, until she met Mr. Jeffrey. 
 And her plan was scarcely matured when she was in- 
 formed of his engagement to Juliet. Nothing daunted, 
 the good mother set carefully about the task, to impress 
 the minister with the superior charms of Belle. In him 
 she recognized the man through whom she might win 
 the coveted position. He would be a demi-god ! He 
 would win the world to him, and make it subserve his 
 wishes ! From the altar he would grasp the reins ! 
 Having gathered into his fold society, with its wealth 
 and influence, he would rule as master and monarch all 
 around him. " So," she said complacently, " let Abbe 
 learn from his proud father how to rule his little realm 
 of worshiping hearts. Mr. Jeffrey, who can win with
 
 UNFOEOIVEN. 39 
 
 his magnetic smile whomsoever he pleases, must be 
 Belle's husband." 
 
 Ah ! Mr. Jeffrey, secure in Juliet's love, spread his 
 net carefully but confidently out, dragged his admirers 
 close to him, and smiled upon them most benignly. 
 
 Mrs. Morton gloried in the name of being hospitable, 
 and her doors were opened to anybody and everybody, 
 for in this way she would become known throughout 
 the length and breadth of the land ; people would talk 
 of her, of course, after being a guest in her house for 
 several weeks. Indeed, it is safe to affirm that Mrs. 
 Morton, Sr., neglected nobody but her husband. 
 
 Mr. Hudson's family acted upon a different theory, 
 and believed that good perverted is evil ; that hospi- 
 tality is a virtue, but when carried to excess amounts 
 almost to crime. And they who neglect their own for 
 the sake of others, sin against the Divine law ; that the 
 hospitality which renders home obnoxious, and drives 
 any of its inmates to seek quiet and rest elsewhere, is a 
 questionable virtue. 
 
 " Call it what you may," Mr. Hudson would say, " a 
 man's home should be his castle, and nobody but his 
 family has a claim upon it. Bread may be given from 
 its doors, shelter extended until labor is secured for an 
 outcast ; but she who makes hospitality an excuse for 
 idleness, and gives the time and attention to visitors 
 which should be bestowed upon an overworked husband 
 or child, commits a crime ! " 
 
 The Hudsons had never accepted many of Mrs. 
 Morton's religious maxims. For to have believed in
 
 40 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 them would have been to accept a doctrine of fore- 
 ordination, and predestination, which would have 
 destroyed their simple Christian faith of the truth, 
 love, and justice of God. In other words, they must 
 accept a theory which was in substance this : That God 
 had created a family of people, and called them Mor- 
 ton, given them an inheritance of certain lands in the 
 United States of America, and imbued them with a 
 spirit of religious and political tyranny ; had poured 
 into their veins a kind of blood differing in color and 
 quality from that of other mortals ; had built His church 
 upon this rock, and had given to the special care of the 
 present Mrs. Morton the great key thereof, which had 
 for so many years been erroneously supposed by pious 
 Catholics to have been bestowed upon some one else 
 hundreds of years ago ; and that every man, woman or 
 child who refused to accept Mrs. Morton's established 
 views upon any subject was a heretic. 
 
 Mrs. Morton took upon herself the special care of 
 converting the Hudsons from the error of their ways 
 which consisted in refusing to accept her views ; to con- 
 vince Mr. Hudson of the lack of wisdom in his West- 
 ern plan ; to persuade Mrs. Hudson into society, etc., 
 etc. 
 
 Mr. Hudson only replied : 
 
 " People view wealth differently. Some prize it for 
 the power and infl uence it gives. I care for it only as 
 a means of securing independence and seclusion. I do 
 not call the years that I have spent to gain it wasted, 
 since now I can command advantages for my children
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 41 
 
 that they could not otherwise have had ; but the greatest 
 charm of it to me, is that I can take my family away to 
 myself, and spend my remaining days in the enjoyment 
 of their companionship." 
 
 He was immovable. She endeavored to make him 
 understand that he owed a debt to the world that could 
 only be repaid by being an active worker in the vine- 
 yard of the Lord. 
 
 " There shall be no complain t of my lack of generos- 
 ity in the right direction ; indeed my Western scheme is 
 to buy land, and furnish employment for every man who 
 will leave the crowded cities and accept healthful labor. 
 I shall encourage and aid industrial schools, and homes 
 for the helpless ; but shall never countenance associa- 
 tions for breeding pauperism in the land." 
 
 " So the rich always say, and to people of moder- 
 ate means is left the task of devising to aid the 
 indigent." 
 
 "And, I hold, my dear madam, that if people of 
 moderate means in fact, if all classes of people would 
 look well to the interests of their own families, there 
 would not be so many indigent people to look after ; 
 for, it is frequently the case, that while women are from 
 home, looking after jail-birds and paupers (most of 
 whom are able to work), their own children go to the 
 bad. I have kept my eyes open these many years, 
 and, whatever other people may think, I adhere strictly 
 to Channing's doctrine of associations, and practice it. 
 If all parents looked first carefully to the training of 
 their children, and to the comforts and welfare of home
 
 42 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 all evil woul d be diminished more rapidly and effectu- 
 ally than it ever can be by charitable missions." 
 
 Mrs. Morton got little encouragement from Mr. Hud- 
 son and Abbe, who were both lovers of home, and 
 knew that there could be no such thing as a home, 
 without the ruling spirit of a devoted wife and mother 
 there to keep the wheels of the machinery oiled with 
 her own gentle hand, so that its creaking disturb not 
 the household. 
 
 Mrs. Morton invariably, when defeated or contra- 
 dicted in her theories, fell back on her favorite expres- 
 sion of the errors of the people of the present day and 
 the enormity of the task imposed upon her of setting 
 the world aright, and ofttimes rounded off her periods 
 by the wish that Christ would come to relieve her of 
 the task specially assigned her, and which she must 
 perform until He came. 
 
 Nothing Mrs. Morton ever said irritated Abbe Hud- 
 son so much as this favorite expression. It happened 
 once that she had been preaching her favorite doctrine, 
 of looking after the poor, and berating rich people who 
 wrapped themselves in a cloak of selfishness, and at 
 length wound up with : 
 
 " O, dear ! I wish that Christ would come ; I do wish 
 that Christ would come ! " 
 
 Abbe answered, half seriously, half earnestly : 
 
 " I have no doubt, Mrs. Morton, but that you would 
 do your best to entertain Him, if you put Miss Belle in 
 the garret and Mr. Morton on the roof; but I do not 
 believe that He would remain when He saw how much
 
 UNFORQIVEN. 43 
 
 you inconvenienced your family for Him; and when 
 He found you neglected your own for others, I do not 
 believe He would reward you either." 
 
 From that time Mrs. Morton had hated Abbe as 
 only a hypocrite can hate the being who reads his 
 heart. The truth is, Mrs. Morton hated everybody 
 whom she could not control. Not that she did not 
 smile upon him as formerly, but she never forgot that 
 one home-thrust. 
 
 After all, since they could not be managed by her, 
 Mrs. Morton was not sorry when the Hudsons set out 
 for the West. Mr. Jeffrey would be more lonely still, 
 and visit Belle more frequently.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 " Die Flamme lodert, uad die Sonne steigt 
 Ich fiihl's, ich bin erhortl Habt Dank ihr Gotter! 
 
 Nun bin ! Dort an der Liebesgottin Altar 
 Erfiille sich der Liebe dunkles Loos. 
 
 So zahle ich die letzte Schuld des Lebens 
 Ihr Gotter nehmt mich auf ! " 
 
 Juliet repeated these lines from Grillparzer's Sappho, 
 as she contemplated her ideal picture which the poem 
 had suggested. Herr von Stein and Mrs. Hellwald 
 gazed upon it entranced, the former assuring her that 
 it was her greatest success, and added : 
 
 " Only a touch of your skillful brush here and there, 
 and you will have a picture that no living artist could 
 excel." 
 
 It was a fresh, bright morning, and a cool breeze 
 came sweeping down from the hills through the open 
 windows. Inspired by the beauty of the day, Herr von 
 Stein's words of praise, and more gratified with the 
 result of her effort than anything which she had yet 
 produced, Juliet took up her palette and brush and 
 stepped back to see where the first stroke could improve 
 the picture. 
 
 A foaming sea, and frowning rocks ; a solitary figure
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 45 
 
 with upturned face, her dark hair floating on the 
 breeze, her arms thrown up and hands clasped in wild 
 despair, her broken lyre crushed beneath one white 
 foot, skillfully and with wonderfully powerful effect 
 produced, made up a picture of living, breathing, 
 despairing agony that caused Juliet's heart to beat high 
 with hope and pride as she gazed upon it. The spirit 
 of some great master had touched her brush. Aye, it 
 seemed as if a host of spirit artists had suggested and 
 directed those grand, powerful, masterful strokes in sea 
 and sky, in face, in figure and in gesture. 
 
 Bertie Johnston stood still in the open door and gazed 
 silently upon the fair artist and her fine execution 
 several moments before she announced herself. 
 
 Bertie wore a pretty morning suit. Her hair hung 
 in floating curls about her neck and shoulders, and 
 partially concealed her white forehead. She had bright 
 grey eyes, that sometimes seemed blue ; a sweet mouth, 
 and a pure, fair complexion, indicating the most perfect 
 health. And as she stood in the doorway, swinging her 
 hat by the strings, fearful to enter lest she should 
 disturb them, and gazing with wondering admiration 
 upon Juliet and the painting, the artist and his sister 
 thought they had never seen a fairer or sweeter face. 
 
 " Do come in ! " said Juliet, happening to turn her 
 head and see her. 
 
 "I will if you will let me sit beside you and watch 
 you work ; if not, I must go home, for I see you are 
 interested in what you are doing, and I would not dis- 
 turb you."
 
 46 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 " Very well ; " Juliet resumed her seat and made room 
 for Bertie to sit beside her, and allowed her to hold 
 her palette, and hand her brushes. They would sit 
 perfectly silent for minutes Juliet deeply interested 
 in her work, and Bertie almost holding her breath as 
 she watched the effect of Juliet's skillful brush; then 
 Juliet would pause, and ask Bertie questions, and insist 
 that she should answer only in German. 
 
 During that morning they became still better ac- 
 quainted. Bertie repeated little poems from Heine in 
 German, and surprised Juliet by her correct, and some- 
 times beautiful, translation of them. They seemed at- 
 tracted to each other more from the fact that neither 
 had ever met just such a nature as the other. How 
 different she was from Belle ! What different feelings 
 she awoke in Juliet's heart! And Bertie compared 
 Juliet favorably with all the other girls she had ever met. 
 
 Their friendship in a short time ripened into a pure, 
 trusting love, and they were inseparable, except when 
 Bertie studied and recited her lessons. Juliet loved to 
 hear her sing, and often they spent whole days to- 
 gether ; for Bertie would practice in Juliet's room, and 
 sing for the pleasure of Juliet, the artist, and his sister. 
 They walked out over the hills, they drove, and Juliet 
 had hoped that, as the weeks glided by, Bertie had for- 
 gotten to run away, until one morning, with every ap- 
 pearance of having indulged in another bitter cry, she 
 came to her and said : 
 
 " I shall not remain with you this morning ; I have 
 only come to tell you that I am indeed going to run
 
 UNFORQIVEN. 47 
 
 away. I concluded last night that there is no use to 
 try to wear this homesickness off. I determined to tell 
 you, and you can speak to your friends about it, and 
 perhaps save me some trouble. Don't try to dissuade 
 me. If you refuse to help me, then you force me to act 
 for myself. I will surely get sick. Waking or dream- 
 ing, I see my dear uncle sitting alone in that great 
 house, grieving about his Bertie, yet writing me long, 
 cheerful letters, and praising me. I know he has to 
 drink bad coffee and sloppy tea ; I know he has nobody 
 to read his paper for him, or to peel his orange at 
 breakfast, or to bring his slippers and dressing-gown 
 when he returns home, tired out, in the evening. Truth 
 is, he is a most shamefully neglected dear ! No one 
 but servants there." 
 
 She broke down, and after a few more sobs continued : 
 " I know he sits alone evenings, and thinks of me. 
 I know he dreams of me, and wakes up to find that I 
 am far away ; and turns over to sleep, only to dream of 
 me again. Oh ! I can't bear it ! I will run away ! 
 He was so unselfish to let me come, because he thought 
 it best for me ; but he cannot make a brilliant woman 
 of Bertie Johnston." 
 
 Juliet promised to speak to her friends about it and 
 then proposed a walk. They went out into the city, 
 and up over the hills, but Bertie's mind was too full of 
 her plan to return home to be diverted. She could 
 see no beauty in nature. Her uncle's lonely face was 
 reflected in the skies. The trees whispered about it, 
 and the breeze sighed about it.
 
 48 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 "I rather think," said Herr von Stein, "it would be 
 better to humor her. It would be an easy task to find 
 American tourists returning now, and I will at once 
 make it my duty to find a suitable party in whose care 
 to place her." 
 
 It was soon arranged, and one morning they kissed 
 Bertie good-bye, as she stood, with a radiant face, upon 
 
 the steamship A , which sailed from Hamburg, 
 
 whither they had accompanied her. 
 
 " She would have gone alone, " said the artist, wiping 
 his eyes, " bless her heart ! She said to me, ' Ah ! I 
 believe, at times, that I could walk across the ocean 
 dry-shod. ' " 
 
 Bertie said good-bye, with the promise to write to 
 them, and to see them as soon as she heard they had 
 arrived in America. 
 
 The nights were fine, but Juliet's good-bye to Bertie 
 had made her heart ache for home, too. When she 
 retired she could not sleep, and, lured by the moon- 
 light, rose from her bed, and sat beside her window. 
 The* city was wrapped in slumber, while the distant hills, 
 like sentinels, kept vigil over it. It was a habit of hers, 
 if wakeful, to rise and look out upon the night, whether 
 the moon or stars brightened it or whether the street 
 lamps alone pierced the darkness. It was a time to re- 
 flect, to recall the visions of home and friends ; to study 
 herself. She realized that she was undergoing a mys- 
 terious change. She could not understand it. She 
 knew that the artist and his sister perceived it ; she saw 
 it reflected in her mirror, and yet she could not explain
 
 UNFORQIVEN. 49 
 
 it. Somehow life seemed to have taken a deeper hold 
 upon her; the bright, joyous eyes were sometimes 
 thoughtful, and, the artist thought, too earnest in ex- 
 pression. No one was more puzzled than Juliet ; she was 
 not unhappy, she was not sad, but somehow the shadow 
 of a great mysterious change was falling about her, and 
 she seemed to be gathering together all the strongest 
 elements of her nature to resist some awful gloom, 
 some impending evil, that imperceptibly and inevitably 
 was just beginning to close in around her. She did not 
 know from whence it came; she would not have spoken 
 of it lest she should fail to make herself understood ; 
 yet she waited daily for this feeling to be revealed to 
 her in some tangible shape. But the days passed, the 
 nights came in their beauty, and she gazed out upon 
 them; but the twinkling stars and the silver moon 
 whispered naught of the mysterious future that was 
 being woven for her ; whether of silver, or gold, or iron 
 threads, who could tell? 
 
 Her mother had written her that they were living 
 now in their Western home ; had described the house, 
 the furniture, and the grounds. Juliet pictured her 
 loved ones far away, recalled each face and voice, and 
 thought how sweet it would be to be with them 
 once more, and to know that never again while life 
 should last would they be separated so long. 
 
 To be at home with Constantine ! But why was it 
 she felt the mysterious shadow draw nearer to her, and 
 grow darker when she thought of him? Was there 
 some great sorrow in store for her, with which he was
 
 50 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 connected ? Would death rob her of him ? Ah ! surely 
 death only could part them. 
 
 And thus Juliet would muse, looking out upon the 
 sky, the church towers, the hills all seemed peace- 
 fully to sleep beneath Night's sable veil. She thought 
 of how many, like herself, might then be looking out 
 upon the silent city, the distant hills, and moon and 
 stars, pondering some great problem of this life, which 
 grows more mysterious to us year by year as we grow in 
 strength and education, and causes us sometimes, like 
 Euripides, to ask : " Who knows, if life be not death, 
 and death life ?" Are we not dead and buried so long 
 as the spirit is imprisoned ?
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 There was a grandeur in the picturesque hills, and 
 craggy bluffs, the uneven, broken earth, covered with 
 cedars of various sizes, suspended, it seemed, in the 
 frosty mid-air ; the moisture from the rocks seized by 
 the frost and held fast in glittering enchantment ; the 
 stillness, unbroken even by the note of a bird, which 
 made a picture of Nature's beauty that held the mem- 
 bers or the Hudson household mute in admiration. 
 
 The 2Oth day of December, 18 , Hagar walked out 
 upon the observatory ; Abbe stood upon the upper ver- 
 anda, and Mr. and Mrs. Hudson, from the parlor window 
 gazed out upon the scene of white glory glittering 
 in the morning sun. The river lay still and cold 
 in its winding-sheet of death. Indeed, it seemed that 
 the Winter King had exhausted himself in his work of 
 beauty over hills, trees and rocks, and, reaching the 
 valley below, had fallen asleep in the contemplation of 
 his own handiwork, and that Nature was holding her 
 breath till he awoke. 
 
 At length Abbe joined his parents, with a merry 
 " good morning," and said : 
 
 " I wonder if Juliet feasts her eyes upon a grander 
 view this morning than is spread out before us. A 
 kiss, mother mine, for your birthday. Many joyous 
 returns of this blessed day." 
 
 51
 
 52 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 " Hagar says that breakfast is waiting," said Mr. 
 Hudson, " after which we will see who has given your 
 mother most substantial proof of devotion." 
 
 Mrs. Hudson took an arm of her husband and son, 
 and they repaired to the cheerful breakfast-room where 
 a tempting country repast was spread. 
 
 Mrs. Hudson had taken unusual pains with her 
 toilet, though she was always carefully dressed; and 
 the happy memories of this day, forty-five times told, 
 made her face very bright, especially since her husband 
 had just said : 
 
 "Five and twenty years ago to-day, Felicia, you 
 became my queen, and are lovelier this morning and 
 more beloved than on that day." 
 
 Abbe, fair-browed, bright-eyed Abbe, now sports a 
 moustache, and is broad-shouldered and strong. 
 
 The meal was enjoyed, and enlivened by pleasant 
 conversation, after which they returned to the parlor, 
 where the servants were busy opening boxes and pack- 
 ages. 
 
 Neither father nor son were wounded when the fond 
 wife and mother, with trembling fingers, began first to 
 unpack the foreign packages, the box containing which 
 had been opened by the thoughtful Hagar's directions, 
 and there, sure enough, packed carefully, lay the image 
 of their child. 
 
 "Juliet!" burst from the lips of all, in one joyous 
 greeting. Mr. Hudson and Abbe took the portrait 
 from the case, and placing it upon the table they all 
 stood back to gaze upon it. A breathing image of
 
 UNFORQIVEN. 53 
 
 the pride of their hearts. Juliet ! Juliet ! but what a 
 change ! A round, full figure ; an earnest, thoughtful 
 face ; a woman, with faultless features, and great, glow- 
 ing eyes, and cherry lips that seemed half open, as if 
 about to speak. 
 
 "This is Herr von Stein's masterpiece," they cried. 
 
 "What is this?" said Hagar stooping, and lifting 
 another picture from the same box. 
 
 The same form, the same features, but with sightless 
 eyes raised up, and written underneath, in Herr von 
 Stein's writing, the word " Faith." The pictures were 
 placed side by side, and other boxes were opened con- 
 taining specimens from Juliet's own brush. The 
 servants all came in all pronounced the pictures per- 
 fect, and each seemed proud of the beauty of their 
 gifted young mistress. 
 
 When they had been shown everything, and retired, 
 the parents and Abbe again sat down before the glow- 
 ing fire. How perfect that household picture was. 
 The sweet-faced mother; the calm, dignified father; 
 the strong, vigorous son. Each turning his eyes now 
 to see some new charm in that pictured face, so dear 
 to all, and then to her own paintings, with a new com- 
 ment upon her improvement. 
 
 " Please God," said Mr. Hudson, " Felicia, while we 
 live, this is your last birthday that shall find a vacant 
 chair in our midst." 
 
 "I hope so," said Mrs. Hudson; "these have been 
 weary years ; but summer will soon be here again, and 
 with it comes our Juliet."
 
 54 UNFORGIVEN 
 
 Hagar had lowered the crimson curtains, for she de- 
 clared the reflection of the sun on the snow made 
 the light too dazzling to bear. She returned later 
 with a tray of rosy-cheeked apples, and glasses and 
 sweet cider, and putting them before the glowing fire 
 said: 
 
 " Mistress, I wish you much joy, and many returns, 
 as the white folks say. I have been thinking this is 
 just such a day as the one on which you were born. I 
 was eight years old, but I remember it better than 
 other things that have happened many years since ; for 
 I was made nurse to the new baby ; and I know how 
 jealous all the other darkey children were, for each one 
 had expected to be raised to that position of honor. I 
 was called the 'half-breed,' and hated by them on 
 account of my Indian blood. I remember when your 
 grandmother said, ' Hagar is faithful, Hagar is strong, 
 Hagar is careful I rather think it shall be Hagar.' 
 And then I was called in, and had new clothes put on 
 me ; a beautiful white apron, and my straight, coarse 
 hair that told the tale of my Indian blood bound 
 back with a red band. When I was dressed, Mistress 
 (your mother) said : ' Let the child see herself; ' and 
 I was led by your grandmother to a large mirror to see 
 my new self; then they laid in my arms the new baby. 
 Many years have passed, Mistress, since then ! but the 
 half-breed servant loved the little baby, and I hope to- 
 day, when five and forty years have passed, I have 
 proven faithful to my trust." 
 
 She reached out both hands, and tears sparkled in
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 55 
 
 her small, black eyes. Mrs. Hudson took Hagar's 
 hands, and laying them together, put her own fair one 
 upon them and said : 
 
 " God has been very good to me, Hagar, and has 
 blessed me, it seems, in every way in my parents, 
 now up in heaven ; in my husband, the noblest man on 
 earth ; in my children, who are all I would have them 
 be;, and in yourself, no longer slave or servant, but my 
 friend, whose cradle songs have lulled me to sleep 
 whose feet never wearied, before mine were strong 
 enough to walk whose fairy tales are fresh in my 
 memory still whose faithfulness has been to me one 
 of the most beautiful things of my life. I have tried 
 only to be as faithful to you as you have been to me." 
 
 It was only a dark servant bending over the hand of 
 her mistress; but Abbe and Mr. Hudson were silent, 
 with the feeling that it was a sacred tableau upon which 
 they gazed, and wished the dark-eyed portrait whose 
 eyes were fixed upon the scene were indeed the living 
 Juliet, that she might fasten it upon the canvas. 
 
 When the little tableau was over Hagar turned to 
 Mr. Hudson and said : 
 
 " Master, did I ever tell you how I first learned that 
 names had a meaning ? " 
 
 " No, Hagar, I believe not. Let's have it now." 
 
 " Well, no baby ever brought as much joy into one 
 family as your wife. Her mother was an only child; 
 her parents and husband worshiped her, and when this 
 baby came everybody was wild with joy ; of course the 
 baby must have a name, which was talked of for a year,
 
 56 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 and just such a day as this, when she was a year old, 
 her mamma said to the family, who were loading her 
 with presents : ' She has brought us all so much hap- 
 piness, let us call her Felicia.' Afterwards they told 
 me Felicia meant happiness. Since then I have never 
 seen a person whose name was peculiar or unusual, or 
 that I have liked or disliked the person, but I have 
 found out the meaning of his name. But everybody 
 don't seem to have chosen their children's names with 
 regard to their meaning; but many of them suit as 
 though they had ; for instance, yours, master Henry, 
 the head or chief of a house is well chosen. Con- 
 stantine resolute, firm. Alvah Mr. Morton's first 
 name means iniquity. One would not suppose that 
 his mother knew what that name signified ; and I study 
 their verses in the Bible. My mistress' is, " She 
 stretches out her hand to the poor ; yea, she reacheth 
 forth her hand to the needy." 
 
 Hagar had always been a privileged servant. Not 
 more so since her freedom, which had been given her 
 by her young mistress on her wedding-day, than before. 
 She had been taught to read, and many times surprised 
 them with her good sense, and ready application of 
 what she learned. 
 
 The day drew to a close. The fire was replenished, 
 and the curtains drawn closely ; the shadows danced 
 upon the wall, and, moving upon Juliet's picture, seemed 
 to make her bosom heave, and gave the features a living, 
 mobile expression. 
 
 " But why," mused Mrs. Hudson, " should Herr von
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 57 
 
 Stein take Juliet as a model for faith, and paint it sight- 
 less. What has he seen in my child that awoke this 
 vision of a blind faith in his imagination? What ! what ! 
 Is it her love for Mr. Jeffrey ? Does Herr von Stein 
 read him as her father does ? Is his pride stronger than 
 his love ? O, my child ! my child ! " 
 
 The trio sat in the flickering light, each busy with his 
 own thought thoughts of one and the same person, 
 and yet so different. But the book was sealed ! not 
 one could read a page. 
 
 We leave them in that dim, uncertain light, and 
 cross the sea to Juliet. What thoughts now come to 
 her?
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 While in Munich, Herr von Stein said to Juliet : 
 
 " Each city of Europe we visit must be made mem- 
 orable by a gem of your own production. I have a 
 fancy that you may make our stay in Munich particu- 
 larly so by painting your conception of Little Nell. " 
 
 " Oh ! no," she answered ; " what I cannot compre- 
 hend, I can not attempt to produce. Little Nell is a 
 beautiful fancy of the author most of his characters 
 are living creatures ; but I could no more comprehend 
 Little Nell than I could her weak and wicked grand- 
 father. Love to me has been so different a thing 
 those who have loved me have been so earnest to make 
 me happy, so thoughtful and so good ; so anxious to 
 lift me higher and higher, that I cannot call the feeling 
 love that caused the old man, Nell's grandfather, to do 
 what would break the gentle, loving Nell's heart. To 
 drag her hither and thither, heedless of her health and 
 strength, even stealing her money, and so near being 
 the robber of their benefactress. Oh, no ! I can not 
 conceive such an idea no more than I could imagine so 
 pure and noble a child clinging with such a fond attach- 
 ment to such a wretch. " 
 
 Juliet's face paled at the very thought, and Herr von 
 Stein looked at her with a new interest. 
 
 68
 
 UNFORGIVEN 59 
 
 " Then you could not cling to and love one whose 
 very love for you had become a disease (as it undoubt- 
 edly had in this case)? You could not cling to the 
 object who " 
 
 " One moment, mein Herr ; my idea is that love is 
 such a high and holy thing, that even if it were to be- 
 come a disease, as you suggest, it would be a disease 
 of an exalted nature that could never stoop to do a 
 degrading thing. No one who loved another would or 
 could degrade that other by a single act, much less 
 through a long series of years. " 
 
 Herr von Stein turned away for a moment, and then 
 asked : 
 
 " You do not believe that one can love a degraded 
 object ? " 
 
 " Impossible ! I can no more comprehend such a thing 
 than I can comprehend Nell being the grandchild of 
 such a man." 
 
 "Then your love could not outlive shame and dis- 
 grace ? " 
 
 "How?" 
 
 ' I mean, if you loved Mr. Jeffrey, for instance 
 and he should commit a crime, you could care for him 
 no more?" 
 
 " Certainly not ! I might pity him, but I could not 
 love him. Understand me; you say, ' if he committed a 
 crime ' ; you make it absolute." 
 
 " Or, if he were accused? " 
 
 " That is a different thing ; an accusation from all the 
 world could not change me. "
 
 60 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 " Then you have a faith in those you love, strong as 
 the love itself? " 
 
 " My love is born of my faith in them, and could 
 live as long, but no longer, than that faith. We might 
 pity one we no longer love. I might go on performing 
 a sacred duty, with no heart in it, no love, until death 
 released me." 
 
 "Ah! just so. Little Nell, with a high and holy 
 sense of duty, with a pity and tenderness that made 
 her angelic, walked fearlessly in the path of duty, till 
 the Angels, no longer permitting it, came down and 
 took her home." 
 
 Herr von Stein paused, and looking earnestly at 
 Juliet's changing color, repeated : 
 
 " Little Nell, in her purity, too good for earth, was 
 taken home." 
 
 If his words had materialized and spread themselves 
 in floating visions upon the canvas before her, Juliet 
 could not have seen more clearly the artist's wish. 
 
 " I know," he said, looking sadly upon her, " in this 
 bright world, where you have been bathed in heaven's 
 pure sunlight, in love and honor, in true goodness, in 
 the highest aspiration for a purer existence, your 
 young heart has never known and can not yet compre- 
 hend that phase of character, that kind of love ; but 
 the day may come when you can realize it. We may 
 carry wounds to our graves dealt by the hand of one 
 we loved the most, and whom we believed loved us 
 best. The highest, holiest type of love, according to 
 the Christian belief, was born of pity for sinning
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 61 
 
 degraded mankind. Does not your Bible say, that, 
 " He so loved the world " ? I do not say that the 
 word was translated rightly, and should not have been, 
 "for He so pitied the world." 
 
 Juliet was silent, and her thoughts were for once, 
 bewildered and confused ; yet the picture remained so 
 vivid in her mind that she worked with almost a fever 
 of excitement till the fair face and delicate form lay 
 upon the canvas dead, as Dickens describes her, 
 " like a creature fresh from the hand of God, waiting 
 for the breath of life," and angels hovering round her. 
 
 As his pupil worked, Herr von Stein mused upon 
 Juliet's love the love which he knew to be the inspi- 
 ration which moved her brush even now ! the love 
 which made her tireless to prove its strength, and yet 
 the love which she avowed could not endure when she 
 had lost faith in its object the love that could not 
 stoop, but must ever rise higher and higher. He 
 wondered if her love was repaid in kind, and if Mr. 
 Jeffrey even now knew the value of what he possessed. 
 He wondered if pride and ambition were not the 
 names his feelings deserved to be called, rather than 
 love ; if he had ever had any conception of this spiritual 
 feeling that lifted Juliet above all other women in his 
 estimation. And then came the old question, will she 
 go on in this blind faith till her fate is sealed until 
 she is bound irrevocably to him ? He shuddered as he 
 pictured her awakening to such a life when it was too 
 late to remedy it. 
 
 As we perceive, Juliet did not catch Herr von
 
 62 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 Stein's meaning, or, at least, made no personal appli- 
 cation of it, as yet ; but the day came when she 
 recalled his words, when they wore a new and differ- 
 ent meaning, and when she traced in them the wise 
 and prudent way in which he had endeavored to open 
 her eyes. But she was blind now, blind as the sight- 
 less Faith he represented her. 
 
 All unconsciously, though, Juliet's soul was expand- 
 ing, as it were, the grand truths of the artist touched 
 heart and brain, leaving deep and lasting impressions. 
 
 In the meantime Belle and Alvah Morton had many 
 earnest consultations, the character of which furnishes 
 material for several chapters.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 So far Belle's plan had worked admirably. Alvah 
 Morton had sailed for Europe, and she was left to 
 manage the rest of the plot with Mrs. Morton and Mr. 
 Jeffrey. 
 
 She visited Mrs. Alvah Morton, and found her bit- 
 ter against her husband and Juliet. Hitherto she had 
 grieved in silence, telling no one of her husband's 
 neglect of herself and his devotion to Juliet ; but his 
 going to Europe to see her was more than she could, 
 in silence, bear, and she told Belle all her worst fears. 
 
 Mrs. Morton was naturally a weak woman. Perhaps 
 her greatest weakness had been in loving Alvah Mor- 
 ton, and entrusting her entire fortune into his hands. 
 Since her marriage she had been managed by her 
 husband, managed by his aunt, and managed by Belle, 
 until what little courage she might once have had was 
 all managed out of her. Her husband and his family 
 were so strong-minded, so strong-willed, so determined 
 to rule or ruin everybody who came within the circle 
 of their influence, that she, as a timid, shrinking girl, 
 had never opposed them ; and as time passed she lost 
 what strength of character she might have possessed 
 at the time of her marriage, and had been only a tool 
 for the rest of the family to use as suited their purposes 
 best. 
 
 63
 
 64 UNFORGlVEN. 
 
 Did Mrs. Morton, Sr., want to make a trip and find 
 her wardrobe scant, Florine's clothing fitted her and 
 she appropriated them. Were Belle's jewels old style, 
 there was no use of purchasing ; Florine would invest 
 a handsomer sum in the most approved pattern, and 
 Belle could use hers. Was it inconvenient to use a 
 stage or hire a carriage, Alvah Morton's (Florine's) 
 was at their disposal. Thus the young heiress, who 
 came into the family, lavishing her money upon her 
 idolized husband and his family, was slighted, and 
 imposed upon by them all. Belle had always had a 
 powerful influence over her, for Florine hoped through 
 her to learn how to win her husband's love. 
 
 A few days after Morton's departure for Europe, 
 Belle, with her well matured plans, called upon Flo- 
 rine, who received her in her own room, where she was 
 alone, and would not suffer her children even to come 
 near her. Belle found her in a morning wrapper, neg- 
 ligently worn ; her hair not yet arranged, and indeed, 
 her whole appearance indicating the most abject 
 wretchedness. And when Belle kissed and caressed 
 her, she burst into tears, and without explanation 
 knew that her misery was understood. 
 
 " It's a shame ! " said Belle, " indeed, mamma says 
 she will never countenance Alvah again. It was plain 
 to be seen that Juliet was doing everything in her 
 power to win his admiration before she left. But who 
 would have thought she would carry the matter so far 
 as to correspond with him, and persuade him to visit 
 her? But, come, do not grieve so, Florine! Juliet does
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 65 
 
 not really care for Alvah. It is only an inordinate love 
 of admiration from every desirable source, as a tribute 
 to her beauty and her genius, that she craves. It is a 
 kind of fascination that will wear off with him, and when 
 she is married she will care no more, perhaps, even for 
 his admiration we must hope so at least." 
 
 " O ! but you can't imagine how dreadful it is to love 
 one as devotedly as I love Alvah, and to be neglected 
 and slighted for some one else." 
 
 " Yes, I can." 
 
 Had she not realized it long ago did she not feel 
 the pang even now of such bitterness ? 
 
 " But you can not realize it with so terrible a force as 
 I, who am married to him I love, and who I know loves 
 somebody else." 
 
 " Listen to me, Florine ; take my advice, and it will 
 all be well. Of course, Juliet loves Mr. Jeffrey, and 
 will do what he says. He does not suspect things are 
 as we know them to be (although I think mamma has 
 opened his eyes somewhat, lately). So you must send 
 for him. Tell him about these letters ; tell him to warn 
 Juliet of the trouble she will cause us all, if she does 
 not change her course immediately; tell him this, and 
 he will ask her to return. They will be married and 
 mind my word he will then rule her absolutely. Her 
 proud spirit has more than a match in her straight-laced 
 clergyman. Alvah will return again to the true love of 
 your pure heart, that he knows never had a pulse that 
 did not throb for him. This is a mere infatuation on 
 his part. There is no use in your ever allowing Alvah, 
 
 5
 
 66 UNFOROIVEN. 
 
 or anybody else, to know that you spoke to Mr. Jeffrey 
 about this matter. Make him promise secrecy ; he will 
 keep his word, and it will result as I tell you. This is 
 the surest and safest way out of the difficulty. Mr. 
 Jeffrey will thank you for it." 
 
 Mrs. Morton caught at the straw, the first one that 
 had been thrown out since she found herself drowning 
 in the pool of despair. And, as Belle talked on in her 
 soft, flute -like tones, making her believe that this was 
 only a little incident that might occur in any life nowa- 
 days, and that it only required a small amount of tact 
 on her part to manage it, Mrs. Morton's face grew 
 brighter. She ordered her breakfast, which she had 
 refused at the proper time, asked Belle what dress she 
 should wear to receive Mr. Jeffrey, and thanking her 
 for advice, grew cheerful. 
 
 " Dear me ! " she said smiling, " I wish I had been 
 born a Morton instead of only being able to wear the 
 name. You are all so strong, so self-sustained, always 
 know what to say, and when to say it, and what to do 
 and at the proper time. Why Belle, would you have 
 believed it ? I was positively contemplating suicide 
 before you came; now I can laugh at the idea." 
 
 Belle shuddered at the very idea of such a disgrace- 
 ful occurrence in the Morton family. 
 
 " That, Florine, would be a public disgrace ; a stain 
 upon your children. This will never become public^ 
 and there is no need of its becoming so. It would be 
 humiliating to you ; it would anger Alvah beyond all 
 reconciliation if you were to speak openly of this."
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 67 
 
 " I see you are right. You are always so cool, and 
 can calculate so well the cost of all false steps. I shall 
 take your advice, be sure." 
 
 Belle was so well pleased with the success of her 
 scheme that she really did mean what she said as she 
 assisted Florine to dress and promised to stand by her 
 in her trouble. 
 
 " You shall find that Alvah has no sympathy from 
 mamma and me you shall have that, dear ; but bear 
 in mind that publicity will not do. Alvah has an ex- 
 tensive acquaintance, whose respect and confidence are 
 essential to his success ; and you know he is the pride 
 and darling of the Morton family." 
 
 " O, Yes ! " 
 
 The silly little woman ought to have known that too 
 well. Such words had ruled her foolish heart, and 
 gained all their objects in so doing, ever since she had 
 been married. 
 
 Belle knew that in order to gain her object entirely, 
 she must not be suspected as even knowing anything 
 of the matter. Florine must be the tool; Florine must 
 pour the poison drop into Mr. Jeffrey's ear, and she 
 must comfort him if he spoke to her on the subject. 
 
 " Florine," said Belle, watching Mrs. Morton's return- 
 ing cheerfulness and brightening face with some appre- 
 hension, " you must impress Mr. Jeffrey with the 
 importance of this matter to himself as well as to you, 
 and you cannot do that if you are too cheerful. You 
 must look at the matter earnestly and seriously, and 
 tell him that the honor and happiness of us all depend 
 upon the right step being taken at the right time.
 
 68 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 Write him a note to call this evening, and, as I am 
 anxious to hear the result of your interview with 
 him, I will remain in the house, but do not let him 
 know that you have seen me since Alvah's departure. 
 Take the credit of this wisest course to pursue to 
 yourself, and impress him with the fact that you have 
 spoken of this subject to no one but himself. He will 
 enter with his whole heart into your plan. He will 
 hasten his marriage with Juliet, and then, of course, 
 Alvah's allegiance returns to yourself." 
 
 Mrs. Morton dispatched a message to Mr. Jeffrey ; 
 had a glowing fire built in the library, whither she re- 
 paired, and where she paced the floor with nervous 
 excitement, never doubting the wisdom and prudence 
 of following Belle's direction, but endeavoring to con- 
 sider the manner in which to broach the subject wherein 
 her husband's loyalty to herself was questioned, and 
 that of Mr. Jeffrey's affianced to him. It was a delicate 
 subject, and more than once her heart failed her, but her 
 faith in Belle's judgment was paramount, and her words 
 " he will return again to the true love of your pure 
 heart, that he knows never had a pulse that did not 
 throb for him," fully decided her, for if that was ac- 
 complished the wretchedness of this hour would be for- 
 gotten. Mr. Jeffrey would come of that she was 
 confident and promptly, too. 
 
 Belle was elated. She saw her well matured plot 
 about to be executed after all these years. She read, 
 walked the floor, beat tunes upon the window-panes, 
 and watched the clock upon the mantle-piece ; how
 
 UNFORQIVEN. 69 
 
 slow and methodical it was but surely he would 
 come. 
 
 The messenger returned, saying that Mr. Jeffrey was 
 not in, but he had left the note to be handed to him 
 immediately upon his return. 
 
 It was too provoking, they both declared. They had 
 dinner, and then, each disposed to be alone, took her 
 respective place Belle beside the grate in Florine's 
 room ; it was a raw, damp day, and Florine continued 
 her walk in the library. 
 
 As Belle counted the hours, and saw the heavy clouds 
 fall darkly over the city, she dropped the curtains, 
 lighted the gas, and sat down again before the fire, 
 saying softly : 
 
 "If he comes at all, he will be here soon now. If 
 this plan succeeds and it will, for it is only bringing 
 two proud, stubborn natures in opposition to each other, 
 and any simpleton knows the consequence of that 
 he will have his pride and jealousy aroused, and do or 
 say something which will cause Juliet to resent it. The 
 nature that can do what Juliet Hudson has done for 
 love of him, if unappreciated, will turn with a violence 
 in the opposite direction that will take them all by 
 storm. Only a breath of suspicion is all he need give 
 only one word of reproach. He can not mention this 
 subject without insulting her. And I who have studied 
 her, as no one else ever did, know her better than any 
 one else. Yes, I know what she will do. I wish I was 
 only as sure of how he would act after" 
 
 She laid her hand upon her throbbing heart, her face
 
 70 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 pale as marble, and her eyes gleaming, strained her ear 
 to listen. Through the storm and rain and wind rang 
 the clear sound of the door-bell. 
 
 Mrs. Morton walked the long room, pausing only to 
 listen as the hurrying footsteps passed, or to look out 
 of the window, hoping to recognize in the many faces 
 the one she awaited. At half-past seven Mr. Jeffrey 
 was ushered into her presence. The long waiting had 
 made her look anxious and pale, and indeed, Mr. Jeffrey 
 was also quite pale, or else the gas-light fell with won- 
 derful effect upon his features. 
 
 " My dear madam," he said, taking the chair she 
 offered him, " I am sorry not to have received your 
 note earlier ; but I am preparing to go West, and find 
 myself quite busy in arranging my affairs for depart- 
 ure. I hope, however, that I am not too late to serve 
 you." 
 
 " No ; but I have waited anxiously for you, and as 
 my mind was very much disturbed, the day seemed 
 quite long." 
 
 " May I ask in what way I can assist you, or as to 
 the cause of your mental disturbance ? " 
 
 " It is something that concerns us both, materially ; 
 it is in relation to this visit of my husband to your wife." 
 
 Whether it was her tone, or the word with which she 
 closed her sentence, accidently or intentionally, matters 
 not; it had its effect. Mr. Jeffrey started from his 
 chair, pale as marble, and with a look upon his face of 
 one who had carried a terrible secret in his heart, 
 imagining that no one knew it, and was suddenly con-
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 71 
 
 fronted by one who taunted him with it. His breathing 
 was labored, and Mrs. Morton for a few minutes was 
 too much shocked at his appearance to proceed. She 
 had never seen any one, except herself, who seemed so 
 perfectly bereft of self-control. 
 
 " It is not so serious as that," she said, putting her 
 hand gently upon his arm, " I have been, perhaps, 
 foolishly alarmed at my husband's increasing admiration 
 for, and interest in, Juliet Hudson. And, as I did not 
 desire to make either of them the subject of gossip, for 
 the sake of us all, I thought best that you and I, who 
 are the most concerned, should consult, and decide 
 what was best to do for those we love. They have 
 been in correspondence for some time past, and, 
 although I have read none of her letters, I have seen 
 the envelopes addressed in her own writing, and it was, 
 I am sure, with some mutual understanding that Alvah 
 went to Europe. He has reached there by this time, 
 and I do think that, inasmuch as I can not influence 
 Mr. Morton to return, that you should request Juliet to 
 return immediately." 
 
 Not one word escaped Mr. Jeffrey's lips. She only 
 knew that he heard her by the expression of his face. 
 When she had finished, he arose like one in a horrid 
 dream, and, bidding her good-night, left the room and 
 dashed out into the street. It was a wild night. The 
 wind howled like mid-winter, the rain, freezing as it 
 fell, drove down in thick, blinding sheets. Mr. Jeffrey 
 heeded it not. The bitter waters in his heart were 
 stirred to the bottom. He clenched his teeth in impo-
 
 72 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 tent rage, and strode furiously on, and never paused for 
 hack nor stage, until drenched and chilled, he entered 
 
 his own room on avenue. His fire still burned 
 
 brightly. The gas was turned low. He did not heed 
 his damp clothing, but sat down before the fire, and 
 burying his face within his hands, gave way to his 
 misery. Wounded pride, anger, jealousy, hate, all of 
 the baser passions were aroused. There came to him 
 no vision of the dark-eyed girl who for love of him 
 had left father, mother and brother, to go abroad and 
 win honor and fame, for him. No vision of her, far 
 away this wild night, with no familiar face near her but 
 that of the German artist and his faithful sister; or, 
 sitting alone, perhaps thinking of, or writing to him. 
 No picture of tenderness was painted by his jealous 
 and angry imagination. He saw only a vain, proud, 
 unscrupulous woman, who, perhaps, even now was 
 smiling upon his married rival. The very memory of 
 her beauty increased his anger. Her accomplishments ! 
 what were they to him now? The warm room thawed 
 the ice upon his coat, and the water dripped in tiny 
 pools upon the floor. The clock ticked solemnly, the 
 shadows danced upon the walls, the sleet beat upon the 
 windows as if to rouse him from his dark'revery, the 
 wind tore madly on, but unheeded ; it gathered strength, 
 and, whispering sadly, winged its way beyond the sea, 
 carrying strange dreams to Juliet's pillow that dark 
 night. 
 
 Belle Morton heard Mrs. Morton's description of her 
 interview with Mr. Jeffrey.
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 73 
 
 " I shall never forget his face as he left me, never, 
 never ! What I have suffered I know he suffers now ; 
 and I only wonder what he will do." 
 
 " Did he say nothing ? " 
 
 " Not one word. I had expected he would laugh at 
 my fears, or become indignant with me for expressing 
 them ; but what he felt or thought, I could only read 
 in his white face. He was dumb with awful sorrow; 
 and, Belle, it has somehow awakened a kind of name- 
 less horror in my soul ! " 
 
 Poor Mrs. Morton ! If the shadow of that night's 
 work was already beginning to fall so heavily around 
 her, happily for her, she could not penetrate the gloom 
 it was to throw upon the lives of all, from the bowed 
 figure beside his dying fire, to the young head that 
 pressed its soft pillow far away.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Our party was in Paris, and Juliet was counting the 
 days that must elapse before she would return to her 
 native land. The two years had been well spent in 
 point of improvement by her. She had accomplished 
 much in music, drawing and painting. Indeed, Herr 
 von Stein, whose praise in Juliet's estimation was the 
 most gratifying she could have had, pronounced her 
 travels a success in every respect. The change of 
 climate and her regular exercise had developed her 
 physical beauty and strength. Her earnest study and 
 accurate notes had furnished her inexhaustible material 
 for future use in literary pursuit. She was a thorough 
 German and French scholar, both in her appreciation 
 and knowledge of the people and their language. Herr 
 von Stein expressed himself as perfectly satisfied with 
 her attainments, knowing that she had now really ac- 
 quired the taste for study, and procured the necessary 
 implements with which to work. 
 
 It was their second visit to Paris. Juliet desired to 
 replenish her wardrobe, and, of course, fashionable 
 Paris must be consulted. A few days after their ar- 
 rival, Mr. Alvah Morton presented himself, to their 
 surprise, at the hotel at which they were stopping. 
 Juliet was delighted to see him, and plied him with so 
 many questions of home and friends, that almost an 
 74
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 75 
 
 entire day was spent before they were aware of the 
 fleeting hours. He noticed her improvement in every 
 respect, but in nothing so much as in her appearance, 
 which was now stately and elegant, with a dash of 
 hauteur, which was to him most charming ; her exqui- 
 site taste in dress, her brilliant conversation, her keen 
 perception of beauty, her appreciation of all she had 
 seen, heard and read. 
 
 It was remarked in the early part of this story that 
 Juliet Hudson never appeared to better advantage 
 than when in company with Alvah Morton. Whether 
 it was her effort to appear well before him, as the most 
 talented man she had ever known, or his true knowl- 
 edge of her character, and his own power of drawing 
 out the sweetest music of her nature, no one ever 
 knew; but it was a fact noticeable to all, that Juliet 
 Hudson, naturally, and by education a charming 
 woman to all who came within the influence of her 
 magnetic attractions, surpassed even herself in the pres- 
 ence of Alvah Morton. Later in the afternoon, when 
 Juliet had caused a luncheon to be served in their 
 parlor and all the questions of home and friends had 
 been asked and answered, Morton said : 
 
 " Tell me where you have been, what you have seen, 
 and when you sail for the Land of Liberty, since you 
 say your paintings are packed for shipment ? " 
 
 " Oh ! I have been everywhere and seen everything 
 worth seeing. I have nothing to regret in these years 
 of absence from home and friends, now that my trip 
 is almost to a close, because I find that my mind is
 
 76 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 expanded. I can live in America the rest of my life, 
 and yet, by consulting my note book and retiring to 
 my own thoughts, can recall all Europe. For what I 
 have seen is painted upon my heart. What I have 
 learned from observation of the people can never leave 
 me as long as memory lasts. We have remained in 
 each locality long enough to become thoroughly fa- 
 miliar with it; we remained in London long enough 
 to see its smoke clear away, and some of its glories 
 revealed." 
 
 " Herr von Stein and his sister have been, I perceive, 
 the most beneficial companions for you, and you have 
 gained a well-spring of resources against weariness, 
 against all the allurements of society and fashion. In- 
 deed you are a woman now; and have absorbed 
 beauty and granduer enough to be able to live alone, 
 with such thoughts and feelings, all your life." 
 
 "Yes, I have trodden the soil over which Lord 
 Byron sported when a child, and drank in the inspira- 
 tion of his divine gift. I have stood in the church of 
 the Holy Trinity on the banks of the Avon and looked 
 upon the tomb of the immortal Shakespeare. After 
 seeing all in England we cared to see, we went to 
 France, and thence across the Pyrenees to Spain. I 
 will show you, when we return to America, the best 
 sketch I made while in Granada, of the Alhambra, 
 which, at first, bewildered me with its many towers, 
 fountains, baths, courts, gardens, halls, and apartments ; 
 and then the grand old ruin took hold of me with a 
 powerful fascination. Its fine and varied marbles, its
 
 UNFOROIVEN. 77 
 
 carvings and paintings, haunted my dreams. I wan- 
 dered through it evening after evening, listening to 
 the nightingales singing to the soft moonlight, recall- 
 ing all that I had ever read of it, and realizing how 
 powerless the pen is to do it justice, and picturing 
 what it must have been in the days of the Moorish 
 kings. As the result of conversations with Herr vori 
 Stein, and my own dreams and fancies, I have a pict- 
 ure that I prize more than anything I have accom- 
 plished in that line, and memories worth more than 
 those of the Coliseum at Rome." 
 
 " What did you think of the Rhine ? of course you 
 admired it." 
 
 " Certainly ; we traveled down the Rhine and made 
 some sketches of the ivy-covered castles in their grand 
 decay along its shores." 
 
 "Switzerland, your mother told me, you praised 
 most in your letters." 
 
 "I was not disappointed in Switzerland, although 
 my expectations were extravagant. Northern Italy 
 and Switzerland, with their lakes, beautiful sky, and 
 changing shores, and lofty snow-capped mountains, 
 all wore an additional charm for having been 
 praised by Virgil, Voltaire, Goethe, and Byron, and 
 being associated with Rousseau and Gibbon." 
 
 " The waterfalls how did you compare them with 
 our dear old Niagara? " 
 
 " I saw them all. The Staubach spangled in the 
 morning sunlight, with its rainbows that swayed in the 
 breeze, and the Triimlenbach, fed by the glaciers of
 
 78 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 the Jungfrau, tumbling down with a noise like the roar 
 of hundreds of lions, and Giessbach and Reichenbach 
 plunging down in foaming billows ; but none excels 
 our own Niagara. Besides, you know, we have water- 
 falls in America that, in height and grandeur, excel 
 any in the world. You remember our journey through 
 the Yosemite Valley. Do you not recall the rumble 
 and roar of the falls, that at evening seemed to cause 
 the very earth to shake ? O ! yes, we have scenery 
 that compares favorably with any other in the world ; 
 but we need not disparage Europe to praise America. 
 I have enjoyed my travels, and can appreciate both 
 Europe and America better for the contrast." 
 
 " Which place of all that you have seen has had the 
 most pleasant associations ? " 
 
 "Zurich; perhaps it was because I was surfeited 
 with sights of cities, and landscapes, and foaming 
 cataracts; but Zurich was the sweetest resting-place 
 we found, and I promised myself that should I visit 
 Europe again I would stay there and dream those 
 bright dreams and happy hours again." 
 
 "Florence is my favorite European city except 
 Paris." 
 
 " Florence had a charm for me, which grew upon me 
 as we wandered through its imposing churches. I 
 worked systematically in Florence, for my inspiration 
 never left me. I had but to see the art collections in 
 the Ufizzi and Pitti palaces, and then I worked away 
 as though I had taken a draught from some magic 
 spring, whose waters gave me a new perception,
 
 UNFORUIVEN. 79 
 
 opened my eyes to new beauties, and nerved my arm 
 for increased exertion." 
 
 " How was it with Rome ? " 
 
 " I was disappointed at first. I reviewed mythology 
 there, and traced in the symbols of Christianity, 
 but a change of name from heathen gods. I would 
 rather have lived in Rome in the days of the Caesars, 
 when every emblem was an honest symbol, than at the 
 present time. But there I looked upon the work of 
 immortal Angelo and Raphael." 
 
 " You sent us a most charming and vivid letter from 
 Naples." 
 
 " I liked Naples ; it is lively. I made a sketch of 
 Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples. We scaled the 
 summit and viewed the crater, and though the task 
 was a wearisome one, and the sulphurous odor clung 
 to us as though we had made a visit to Pluto, the view 
 of the descending sun flooding the bay and the distant 
 city, and the scenery for miles around, with a golden 
 glory, repaid us ; and no memory will come to me 
 oftener, I imagine, than the splendor that was spread 
 out before us as we stood upon the verge of the 
 gloomy and terrible crater, looking at the gorgeous 
 shadows falling on the vision of beauty below, while 
 the smothered Gehenna boiled beneath our feet. " 
 
 " I see," said Morton, turning to the artist, as Juliet 
 seemed to have wound up her description of their 
 travels, " these two years have been profitably spent, 
 and that our young friend's mind has expanded most 
 wonderfully."
 
 80 UNFORGIVEN, 
 
 " Ich bin uberhaupt zufrieden with fraulein's improve- 
 ment," answered the artist, so abstractedly that he did 
 not perceive that he spoke in German, and walking to 
 the window, as was his favorite custom, he stood looking 
 out, apparently absorbed in watching the passers-by ; 
 but Juliet had learned to know him better, and knew 
 that was his favorite manner of meditating when any- 
 thing specially disturbed him. When Mr. Morton was 
 gone, she drew near him and asked, gently touching 
 his arm : 
 
 " Was denken Sie, mein Herr ? " 
 
 " I could not recall all my thoughts, fraulein ; I was 
 thinking the thoughts that so often come to me, and 
 puzzling again over the problem of life. What a strange 
 play it is ! And I ask what mighty Being constructed 
 this great theatre, and assigned us the parts that we 
 must act for few of us would have chosen the parts 
 we take in the drama of life For whose amusement 
 does it go on, day after day, and night after night ? Is 
 it, indeed, the great God whom you worship, who 
 delights in it?" 
 
 " But, oh, Herr von Stein, is not this world beau- 
 tiful ? Does not Nature, or this theatre, as you call it, 
 furnish us new harmonies, new contrasts, and new 
 combinations, ceaselessly? Do not visions of loveliness 
 come to us in the long, slanting beams of sunlight, and 
 float in clouds of topaz and gold, so that we must in- 
 voluntarily exclaim : O, this beautiful, beautiful world, 
 that God in his goodness has made ; this grand, this 
 glorious world ! How sweet it is to live ! Were not the
 
 UNFOEOIVEN. 81 
 
 skies, the trees, the flowers, put here to give us ever 
 changing joy ? Nature, with her singing birds, and 
 buds and flowers, impresses us with the beauty of life ; 
 now fading, reminds us that we must die ; yet, bloom- 
 ing again tells us of a resurrection ; and faith, looking 
 beyond, catches glimpses of the glory of an eternal life 
 to come. " 
 
 " Ah, my fair one, if after shadows fall, and the storms 
 of life gather, you can look beyond to a brightening 
 day, and exclaim, ' O ! the beautiful world that God in 
 His goodness has made/ then have you, indeed, attained 
 the highest faith. " 
 
 ' Why is it that you so often seem to think of shad- 
 ows? Do you think that the sunshine necessarily casts 
 shadows corresponding to its brightness ; that because 
 its rays are so bright to me, its shadows must be cor- 
 respondingly dark ? You do not speak, dear friend ; 
 but I will tell you what I have learned in studying this 
 matter that with one's face toward the sun, no shadow 
 goes before. So I will live, verifying this scientific 1 truth, 
 and never frighten myself with my own shadow at 
 least, as many people do." 
 
 " May this love of absolute beauty, this faith in the 
 absolute goodness of the unseen King, remain with you 
 and grow stronger with trial. Or, what I would wish 
 more earnestly, may the part assigned you in the great 
 drama of life be adapted to the nature that must act it 
 out. What better wish could I make for you ? " 
 
 And, as the artist spoke, he raised his hand over the 
 head of his young friend, as though he had called a 
 
 6
 
 82 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 blessing down upon it ; and Juliet, thinking best to 
 leave him alone with his thoughts, withdrew. 
 
 The next morning after Mr. Morton's visit, Herr von 
 Stein surprised Juliet and his sister with the announce- 
 ment that he had made arrangements to leave Paris that 
 day, and would go thence immediately to Havre, and 
 take the first steamer for home. 
 
 " These," he said, handing Juliet a couple of letters, 
 " are the last you will receive. I hope soon to restore 
 you to your friends." 
 
 Juliet did not understand why Herr von Stein had 
 so suddenly resolved to leave, taking them back to 
 America at least two months sooner than she had ex- 
 pected ; but there was really no reason why they should 
 remain longer, and she did not question him, as she was 
 only too anxious to go. 
 
 Juliet sat down to read her letters, in the familiar 
 inscription of Mr. Jeffrey and Belle Morton. Herr von 
 Stein ^noticed that it was with a trembling hand that 
 she opened the former, and he grew more and more in- 
 terested in the silent drama that he felt was being 
 enacted on both sides of the ocean ; he understood, he 
 believed, as no one else did, how it was being played, 
 far better than Juliet or her parents; and yet he dared 
 not interfere, but must look calmly on with glittering 
 eyes and indignant heart As Juliet read, her bright 
 face paled, and the long lashes drooped, and the red 
 lips quivered. It seemed only a note, but, turning and 
 seeing the artist's eyes fastened upon her, she said, in 
 German :
 
 UNFOEOIVEN. 83 
 
 " Our friends expect us so soon that they do not write 
 long letters now, only to say that they are awaiting im- 
 patiently our return. Belle, dear girl, has done better ; " 
 she was opening the second letter as she spoke, and now 
 had a closely written page before her in Belle Morton's 
 handwriting. "There must be some mistake," she said 
 softly, and glancing at the beginning read, " My dear 
 
 cousin " but Juliet had seen enough to shock her so 
 
 that the white fingers released their hold upon the deadly 
 tidings, the arms hung limp, and the letter went flutter- 
 ing down to her feet; and Juliet Hudson, for the first time 
 in her life, had swooned. It was a letter from Belle to 
 Alvah Morton, telling him of his wife's and Jeffrey's 
 jealousy about his going abroad telling him of Florine 
 having sent for him, and that since then Mr. Jeffrey was 
 a changed man ; that she had seen him several times, 
 and scarcely recognized him. It was a letter so differ- 
 ent from anything Juliet ever imagined that Belle could 
 write, no wonder the shock had been too great for her. 
 Juliet's first conscious thought was to connect Mr. 
 Jeffrey's short note with the information given in Belle's 
 letter. Its brevity had at first only disappointed her ; 
 now it wounded and insulted her. Ah, let those who 
 have had tKeir faith in one upon whom they have lav- 
 ished a pure and unselfish love shattered by a word, 
 and their hearts laid desolate by such a shock, tell 
 what Juliet Hudson suffered then. While Mrs. Hell- 
 wald had applied the necessary restoratives, Herr von 
 Stein had looked on Juliet's apparently lifeless form, 
 powerless to move. His face was pale, his eyes dilated,
 
 84 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 as if he had suddenly confronted something he had 
 long dreaded to meet. 
 
 At length Juliet opened her eyes and sat up, and 
 declared herself restored, and although her pulse was 
 natural, and she assured them she was well again, the 
 glowing beauty of her face seemed to have utterly died 
 out, never to return. 
 
 They supposed she would tell them what had caused 
 so great a shock to her, but the proud heart refused to 
 humble itself by showing that he, whom her soul had 
 worshiped, doubted her; or, she said to herself, per- 
 haps Belle has wronged him. I will not believe him 
 false till I hear it from his own lips. But, in spite of 
 herself, she felt that this was the storm the mysterious 
 cloud had portrayed. She retired to her room, prom- 
 ising to prepare for the journey, and there glided 
 through her mind the thought that Mr. Morton's ap- 
 pearance had had something to do with the artist's sud- 
 den decision to return. It seemed that all at once the 
 broken links of a chain were woven together, and she 
 could not separate one from the other now, even in her 
 own thoughts, but she was silent. 
 
 When Juliet joined them again it was in her traveling 
 suit, ready for the journey. To the artist she appeared 
 another and different creature. The bright, joyous 
 face was pale ; the proud features encased, as it were, 
 in a marble mask ; her voice was as sweet, her manner 
 as courteous to them, but the old joyous look was 
 gone.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Once more the ship sailed safely over the sea, and 
 
 our travelers arrived in New York on the day of 
 
 June, 18 . 
 
 To Herr von Stein's inquiry of Juliet, if she would 
 visit her friend, Belle Morton, or go to a hotel, she 
 replied : 
 
 " I would rather not wait at all ; if you can arrange 
 to have our baggage forwarded, I will take the first 
 train for the West." 
 
 Whatever Herr von Stein's thoughts were in regard 
 to Juliet's lack of interest in meeting her old friend, 
 and her anxiety to hasten home without so much as 
 even speaking of Mr. Jeffrey, he kept them to himself, 
 and went out and made preparation to carry out her 
 wishes as soon as possible. When he returned to the 
 hotel he was accompanied by old Mr. Morton, whom 
 he had met on the street, and who insisted upon Juliet 
 remaining in New York long enough to see his wife and 
 daughter ; but Juliet was resolute. 
 
 " Your friend, Mr. Jeffrey, is absent now," he said to 
 Juliet soto voce. "I do not know exactly where a letter 
 or telegram would reach him, but be sure I shall ascer- 
 tain his whereabouts and advise him of your arrival as 
 soon as possible." 
 
 The old gentleman seemed to have grown much 
 
 85
 
 86 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 older in the past two years, and was apparently quite 
 feeble. 
 
 " Did you see Alvah Morton ? " he asked as he rose 
 to go. 
 
 " Yes," replied Herr von Stein, " he arrived in Paris 
 just the day before we left, and consequently we only 
 had the pleasure of receiving one call from him." 
 
 " He has been absent some weeks. I rather think 
 he expected to find you in Northern Germany or Ba- 
 varia." 
 
 " Very likely. He would not be apt to find us 
 easily unless he had been in constant communication 
 with us." 
 
 " Congratulate your parents for me, Juliet, upon your 
 safe return. I have grown old fast since they left New 
 York. I have missed those pleasant visits to their 
 happy home." 
 
 If Mr. Morton thought strangely that Juliet sent no 
 message to his wife and daughter, or even speculated 
 upon it at all, he only attributed it to her anxiety to 
 hasten home. 
 
 He surprised Belle and her mother with the an- 
 nouncement of Juliet's arrival ; and when they spoke 
 of hastening to see her, he told them that she had 
 already departed upon the evening train. He invented 
 a courteous message from her to them, that they should 
 visit her soon at her home. And then the old gentle- 
 man, with the memory of Juliet's face, which seemed 
 less joyous than of old, before him, went out to visit 
 some of Mr. Jeffrey's church members, and ascertain
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 87 
 
 where a message could reach him, that he might sur- 
 prise him with the pleasant news of Juliet's return ; and 
 he smiled with satisfaction to know that the roses would 
 bloom in her checks, and the bright eyes beam with joy 
 to see her betrothed once more, and his kind heart was 
 glad that he could be the instrument of hastening that 
 joy. Mr. Jeffrey, he was informed, was spending a few 
 weeks with his mother in their old home on the Hudson 
 and Mr. Morton wrote him there. 
 
 A few days after the arrival of our friends Alvah 
 Morton also appeared in New York, and to Belle's 
 inquiry, if he had seen Juliet, he said : 
 
 " Yes ; but as sure as you live that artist has check- 
 mated us how far I do not know ; but that he led 
 Juliet to believe, and write you, that they would be in 
 Northern Germany or Tyrol when he intended to be 
 in Paris, I am convinced ; and that he hurried her away 
 from there when I arrived, I am also certain, for in my 
 conversation with Juliet she gave me no reason to sup- 
 pose that she would leave there so soon. When I 
 called the second day, they were gone, and from a 
 friend of Mrs. Hellwald I learned that they had left for 
 Havre, and would sail immediately. I followed on the 
 next steamer, and here I am. We must go West with- 
 out delay, at any rate be there when the reverend 
 gentleman makes his first call."
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The pen is powerless to describe the happy reunion of 
 Mr. Hudson's family, and I leave for those who have 
 been separated from loved ones and reunited to imagine 
 the joy of that hour. 
 
 Juliet found her home quite as attractive as her 
 mother had pictured in her letters, and the surround- 
 ings even more picturesque than she had imagined. 
 
 The first few days after their arrival, during the 
 morning hours, Herr von Stein and Juliet superin- 
 tended the hanging of Juliet's pictures, and the parents 
 and Abbe looked on in wondering admiration at the 
 perfection she had attained, and the industry her num- 
 erous pictures displayed, and listened to the artist and 
 Juliet describe the place where this or that picture was 
 painted, and how the leisure hours had been spent 
 these in Rome, those in Florence, the others in Munich, 
 Heidleberg, Naples, and Granada. Besides, packed 
 away among them were many well-chosen parlor orna- 
 ments for mamma, purchased in Pisa, Milan, and 
 Dresden ; and handsome watches for papa and Abbe, 
 purchased in Geneva. When they had finished, the 
 rooms were beautiful indeed, and hallowed even to the 
 fond parents as they gazed upon this labor of love. 
 
 How Juliet's heart fluttered at the question, " what 
 will Constantine say ? " 
 
 88
 
 UNFOROIVEN. 89 
 
 Upon the morning of the fourth day after their 
 arrival, Juliet received a telegram, delivered from the 
 nearest station, dated St. Louis, from Mr. Jeffrey, say- 
 ing that he would be with her that evening. 
 
 Herr von Stein watched the roses stealing again 
 into her cheeks, and the .dark eyes softening with 
 thoughts of him. The cloud for the time was gone, 
 and the bright joyous look returned at intervals, like 
 flashes of light from the dying day. She stood upon 
 the veranda and looked over the green hills and lis- 
 tened to the singing birds, and as her eyes were lifted 
 up to the floating clouds, he knew whose face she 
 pictured in them. 
 
 Ah, Juliet ! Juliet ! 
 
 What cared [she for Belle and her treachery ! she 
 could pity or despise her ; Constantine would be with 
 her in a few short hours. 
 
 Never had Juliet looked so beautiful as when she 
 dressed herself to meet Mr. Jeffrey that evening. She 
 wore a soft, floating mull dress, with flowers Con- 
 stantine's favorites at her bosom and in her hair; 
 and each member of the family, and Mrs. Hellwald, 
 too, wondered what Mr. Jeffrey would think of the 
 change in her from the slender girl, with that joy- 
 ous, childish face, to the magnificent woman she now 
 really was. 
 
 They were all sitting upon the veranda chatting 
 when a carriage rolled up to the gate, dusty, and with 
 tired horses, as though they had come a long journey 
 that day. In a moment the door was thrown open and
 
 90 UNFOROIVEN. 
 
 Alvah Morton leaped out, and assisted his cousin Belle 
 to alight. 
 
 Juliet had, as yet, said nothing to her parents of the 
 misdirected letter she had intended to see Mr. Jeffrey 
 first. Belle was, therefore, received with the usual 
 cordiality by Mr. and Mrs. Hudson, and hurried to 
 Juliet with an affected scream of delight, and half 
 smothered her with kisses. 
 
 As it was near tea time, and Belle said the drive 
 had been a warm, tiresome one, Juliet led her to an 
 upper apartment, and bade Hagar carry thither fresh 
 water, while Abbe attended to the comforts of Mr. 
 Morton. 
 
 With Belle's appearance returned the cloud that had 
 ominously, at times, fallen about Juliet, and a strange 
 presentiment of evil she had never known before seized 
 upon her now. 
 
 Belle was changed, too, and much improved ; her 
 red hair was now a bright blonde, and, as Abbe had 
 declared, made her quite handsome. 
 
 Juliet led Belle to an apartment, separated from her 
 own by a hall, and bade her be seated until Hagar 
 should appear; and, without any demonstrations of 
 pleasure at seeing her again, asked her a few polite 
 questions concerning her health. 
 
 Juliet noticed the dark expression, almost evil look, 
 upon Hagar's face as she entered the room with fresh 
 towels and water, and sullenly deposited them upon 
 the washstand, watching Belle with her keen, black 
 eyes, till she backed herself out of the room.
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 91 
 
 " What a terrible countenance that Hagar has," 
 said Belle, with a shudder, pouring out a bowlful of 
 water. 
 
 Belle was more slender now, and fair as a lily, and 
 her blonde hair suited well her pale blue eyes ; and 
 Juliet, as Abbe had done, pronounced her wonderfully 
 improved. Her arms were white as alabaster. Juliet 
 remembered the delicate, beautiful hand, with its soft, 
 cat-like folding, when she threw aside her dress, and, 
 putting on a sacque, began arranging her hair before a 
 mirror. She recalled the soft, flute-like tones of her 
 voice, the low, insinuating laugh, the studied expres- 
 sion of her face, and wondered how it was ever possible 
 that this woman had once exercised more influence 
 over her than any one else living. The scales had 
 fallen from Juliet's eyes, and she shrank with loathing 
 from the fair wicked face. 
 
 " Why did you not answer my letter, Juliet, love ? it 
 must have reached you in Paris." 
 
 " Exactly ; but it is growing late ; you will please 
 allow me to make an explanation at another time." A 
 cold, sarcastic smile curled Juliet's lips as she uttered 
 these words, and she was about to leave the room when 
 Belle said, with a loving smile. 
 
 " We met Mr. Jeffrey last evening in St. Louis. He 
 will arrive here on the evening train, which is due, I 
 believe, at 7'3O." 
 
 Juliet started, a flush shot across her brow, and a 
 dark ominous feeling took possession of her soul. She 
 sought her own room, locked the door, and threw her-
 
 92 UNFORQIVEN. 
 
 self prone upon a couch. Three long years had she 
 worshiped Constantine Jeffrey. With the great ocean 
 between them, she had in spirit dwelt with him. But 
 for the past few months the tone of his letters had 
 changed. Dark, unshaped shadows haunted her 
 dreams. There was in her mind no idea why he could 
 change towards her, unless he had suffered some one, 
 as Belle's misdirected letter hinted, to prejudice him 
 against her. She had received letters of praise and 
 encouragement from him ; but her heart yearned for 
 words of love and confidence from his own lips. It 
 was growing late, and, after the first struggle with her 
 feelings, Juliet strove to calm herself; but from her 
 face every vestige of color had fled ; her large eyes were 
 bright and luminous, but the rich warm tint was gone, 
 and she was cold and white as marble when Hagar en- 
 tered and announced tea. 
 
 " Goodness mercy ! Miss Juliet, has that viper stung 
 you ? You are white as a tombstone." 
 
 " Hush, Hagar ! I am feeling ill just now ; I am afraid 
 that I am not well." 
 
 Juliet joined Belle in the hall, and they walked down 
 to tea. No one remarked her pallor ; but Belle studied 
 her face, with her cold, glittering eyes, while she ar- 
 ranged the snowy lace upon her own bosom, like a bird 
 dressing its feathers. Purposely Abbe introduced a 
 subject that he knew his sister would become interested 
 in, and presently her cheeks glowed, her eyes dilated, 
 and she was herself again. 
 
 Belle manceuvered to have Morton and Juliet stroll
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 93 
 
 among the shrubbery for a while after tea, but Juliet 
 excused herself to them, and sought her own room to 
 regain complete control over herself before the arrival 
 of Mr. Jeffrey. 
 
 While Belle and Morton strolled among the roses 
 talking softly, Hagar stealthily walked on the other side 
 of the hedge, and listened. 
 
 " He told me last evening that he was really going 
 away. He is coming to tell her good-bye, " said 
 Belle. 
 
 "Do you suppose he will not return ? " 
 
 " No, never ! not for her. If you had not been here 
 to-night there might have been a reconciliation ; as it is, 
 never! He is jealous of you, and feels contempt for 
 her for trying to win your admiration. There is his 
 buggy ; he is pale as a ghost. See, how the parlor 
 glitters ! Wax candles must be cheap out West. " 
 
 A few minutes after the above conversation Hagar 
 carried into Juliet's room a white card " Constantine 
 Jeffrey. " Why should a cold spasm again seize her, 
 and the blood recede from her face and lips at sight 
 of that name ! She rose, and caught a glimpse of her 
 face in the mirror. It was so deadly white that she 
 started back affrighted, then chiding herself, she took 
 a trinket from a jewelry-case, and a fan, and, with a 
 desperate effort at self-control, started down-stairs. 
 When half-way she paused, laid her hand upon her 
 heaving bosom and gasped for breath. In all her life, 
 Juliet Hudson had been a stranger to such emotion, and 
 she was frightened and ashamed. Seeing Morton cross
 
 94 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 the portico, she made a bold effort and succeeded in 
 reaching the parlor door before he saw her face ; pass- * 
 ing quickly into the room, she advanced towards a 
 figure moving slowly across the floor with his chin upon 
 his breast; and the whole form bowed like a proud soul 
 with a great shame. She paused and waited till he 
 turned in his walk, then, reaching forth her hand, spoke 
 his name 
 
 " Constantine ! " 
 
 He raised his head proudly, and in a moment his 
 form was erect. He took her hand, pressed it gently 
 in his own, looked at her face closely, and was startled 
 at its wondrous beauty as the light of fifty candles 
 fell upon it, sighed, drew her hand through his arm, 
 and paced slowly the long room. She could feel the 
 beating of his heart as he pressed her hand within his 
 trembling arm. Finally he led her to a sofa and seated 
 himself beside her. Then she noticed that he was pale, 
 haggard, worn, and indeed so changed that her heart 
 smote her for having even allowed a shadow to flit 
 across her mind against him. 
 
 " You have been ill, have you not ? " she asked, in a 
 sweet, earnest voice that thrilled his soul. " You are 
 so pale. Oh ! I have been so wicked to blame you 
 for not writing me long letters of late. I see plainly 
 that you have been suffering." 
 
 The gentle solicitude she manifested would have 
 awakened his better feelings, but the memory of his 
 hated rival's face came between him and her ; the 
 thought that even now he waited the result of this meet-
 
 A PICTURE OF THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD Page 95.
 
 UNFORQIVEN. 95 
 
 ing with wicked pleasure chilled his heart and fired his 
 brain. And yet Juliet's face was, even in this mood, 
 to him beautiful as an angel's in its sympathy ; her 
 voice trembled slightly with emotion, and she laid her 
 hand lightly upon his shoulder. 
 
 "Yes, Juliet; I am ill indeed, and have been these 
 many months. This meeting has unmanned me. " 
 
 She noticed now that his hand was white and emaci- 
 ated and her heart was smitten again and again at the 
 recollection of bitter thoughts against him for neglect* 
 ing her, when he had so much cause to think of himself. 
 
 "You did not allude to your ill health in your 
 letters, and I was utterly ignorant. Come, tell me all 
 about it, and say that you will go at once to Colorado, 
 or somewhere, not too far away, and recruit." 
 
 " Yes, I fear I must obey my physician's commands, 
 and leave as soon as possible. I would not go before 
 I saw you, for fear I might never return." 
 
 " Oh ! " she pleaded, " do not talk so ! What would 
 I do without you ? " 
 
 He turned very pale at this remark, and rose again 
 and paced the room. A new feeling had come over 
 the impulsive girl. The strange presentiment had 
 vanished before his presence, and in its stead was only 
 love and sympathy. She rose also, and timidly took 
 his arm, and accompanied him in his walk. 
 
 " Come, Constantine, " she said, endeavoring to dis- 
 pel his gloomy mood that she attributed to his failing 
 health ; " look at my paintings, and besides them I 
 have excellent prints of all the old masters here. But
 
 96 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 first, let me beg you to accept this for your birth-day 
 gift; I had it made while in Dresden." 
 
 She extended her open hand, in which lay a heavy 
 ring. He took it, and examined it closely. The set- 
 ting was sapphire, and the initial J. inlaid with 
 diamonds ; his name and age inside. 
 
 "This is very handsome, Juliet, I wonder that you 
 could have remembered me so extravagantly." A 
 faint smile played around his fine mouth, curling his 
 lips with unmistakable sarcasm. 
 
 "Why not?" she asked. She did not lose the ex- 
 pression on his face just then, and it pained and 
 wounded her; she recoiled a step, as though that 
 smile had stung her. 
 
 " Juliet, " he said, while a tremor shook his frame, 
 "you and I must have an explanation. I am pained 
 beyond all measure to have to say what I must tell 
 you. I thought when I came it would be an easy 
 thing to do, but your face, your voice, has awakened a 
 chord in my heart that quivers as old memories touch 
 it. Juliet, a dark shadow has fallen upon your fair name ! 
 Whispers at first but some people speak boldly now. 
 My face tells you that it has broken my heart ! " 
 
 She staggered, and clutched a chair for support, and 
 a low moan broke from her lips. For several minutes 
 she was white and motionless as a statue, and the 
 twitching muscles around her mouth showed that she 
 strove vainly to speak. Then raising her head 
 proudly, she asked in a hoarse unnatural voice : 
 
 " What do you mean ? "
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 97 
 
 " It is scarcely prudent, Juliet, for a young lady to 
 have a married gentleman friend, especially when that 
 man neglects his wife, and sails across the ocean to see 
 that young lady ; moreover, when she corresponds 
 with him; and lastly, when the steamer no sooner 
 lands her in New York than that person follows in her 
 path. Juliet! Juliet! is this not enough with- 
 out adding that even when I come to see you, 
 after this long separation, I find him already here ? " 
 
 A pause, during which Juliet seemed to look for a 
 moment into a yawning gulf at her feet, ensued, and 
 then, at last finding voice for her indignation, she 
 replied : 
 
 " I will take the trouble, for my honor's sake, to 
 make this brief explanation, not for your gratification, 
 since I find you in league with my enemies during my 
 absence to destroy me. I will say in the first place, I 
 have, from my earliest childhood, considered Mr. Morton 
 my true, disinterested friend. He was my father's 
 friend. If he has ever entertained anything more than 
 a friendly interest in me, he has never dared to express 
 it. You know as well as I why I went to Europe it 
 was to gratify your ambition. As I kept an accurate 
 note book, and so informed Belle of all our travels, 
 Mr. Morton wrote to me and desired me to furnish 
 sketches for an American paper with which he was 
 connected. I promised him to do so, and did, from 
 time to time, write letters for publication, and ad- 
 dressed them to him ; he promising to put them in 
 form to do me credit. Mind you ! this explanation is 
 
 7
 
 98 UNFOEGIVEN. 
 
 not to palliate my imagined wrong, not to ask your 
 forgiveness, simply the truth, for my own sake. I had, 
 as you know, loved Belle, and confided to her the fact 
 of our engagement. During my absence, she wrote 
 me long letters of love and encouragement, and I had 
 become more and more attached to her for what I 
 thought her faithfulness and constancy. While in 
 Paris, I received a letter addressed to me, but un- 
 doubtedly intended for her cousin; it proved her 
 treachery; every line breathed the malice of a per- 
 jured soul. Here is that letter," she said, as she drew 
 it from her pocket and handed it to him ; " read it." 
 
 She spoke in an imperative tone, and he silently 
 obeyed ; his countenance changing from surprise to 
 horror. It contained the hope that he would " return 
 improved in health and spirits, after seeing his fair 
 inamorata;" and said "a certain clergyman was 
 growing pale, and would grow paler still as his jeal- 
 ousy wore upon him; that Mrs. Morton was also 
 troubled with visits from the green-eyed monster, and 
 was beginning to express her opinion freely." 
 
 When Mr. Jeffrey had read the letter, without 
 giving him time to comment upon it, Juliet added : 
 
 "Thus you see the perfidy of one who for years has 
 been my sworn friend, who has shared my father's 
 bounty as she has my love and confidence ; who 
 but words fail me. I need not say I shall inform her 
 of her mistake, for certainly she does not suspect it, or 
 even her effrontery would be insufficient to face me 
 after knowing I was aware of so deadly a wrong."
 
 UNFORQIVEN. 99 
 
 For a time an unbroken silence reigned. Mr. Jeffrey, 
 with bowed head, was battling with his feelings. He 
 saw before him the woman who had so truly loved 
 him, changed, in a few minutes, from a tender, confid- 
 ing girl into a Nemesis. And Juliet, knowing now 
 that he had suffered his mind to dwell upon this sub- 
 ject, had listened, and nursed the poison in his heart 
 until he could not easily be led to see her in a true 
 light, no more than he could grasp the deep malicious 
 purpose of her enemy, was sick at heart and disgusted, 
 and she wished to draw the interview to a close. 
 
 Mr. Jeffrey had not known when he set out to visit 
 Juliet what the result would be ; he felt that he had 
 been wronged. He had not studied the matter so 
 unselfishly as to know that she had been most deeply 
 wronged. 
 
 He involuntarily took in all her surroundings ; her 
 paintings, and relics of her travels, etchings, engrav- 
 ings, and statuettes placed artistically around the apart- 
 ment ; the grand piano was open, and upon it a new 
 opera. Everything was refined and cultured, elevated 
 and gifted. She stood proudly before him, a beautiful 
 genius, with a magnetism about her that no other 
 woman possessed for him. One moment he saw the 
 heaving bosom and changing color the next, the 
 cold, white face and flashing eyes, bent upon him in 
 defiant scorn. 
 
 " A picture of the church and the world ! My place 
 in paradise for the brush of Raphael ! and I would paint 
 a picture to excite the envy of artist angels."
 
 100 UNFOROIVEN. 
 
 Alvah Morton said these words softly, as, concealed 
 by a vine near the window, he viewed the scene. Never 
 had Juliet seemed so beautiful, so charming to this 
 wicked man, and his heart beat high with joy as the 
 expression of scorn deepened on her fair, young face. 
 
 " We part," she said : " I little thought, an hour 
 ago, to give you up would be so light a thing." 
 
 She drew from her finger a diamond ring, which 
 sparkled now like a crystallized tear, and handed it to 
 him. 
 
 He hesitated a moment; looked again at the one 
 she had given him, and with a sigh exchanged with 
 her. How many thoughts came crowding up in his 
 mind. The idea that he had wronged her did not yet 
 present itself; for was not evidence so strong against 
 her? Besides, that out of the question, the breath 
 of suspicion and slander had reached her, and how 
 dare he, as a minister of the gospel, take her for his 
 wife? 
 
 "Let us part at once," she said. "Go, save your 
 ninety and nine ! From this hour I will live in open 
 rebellion to the church, or rather to the office you 
 occupy ! Of those who have betrayed me, I name you 
 the chiefest Iscariot. Go ! and may the memory of this 
 hour come to you through life like the trailing serpent 
 in the Garden of Eden, bringing only sorrow and re- 
 morse ! I care not for it, since it has taught me wis- 
 dom since I learn that professions of men of God are 
 naught. Few people, remember, are free from slander, 
 none from envy. Its malicious breath may reach even
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 101 
 
 the sanctity of the pulpit. I hope that some day you 
 may fully realize all that I am so incapable of telling 
 you. Even your name will not be a shield against its 
 blight." 
 
 With a haughty " good evening, sir," she left him, 
 and found her way up stairs. 
 
 Mr. Jeffrey extended his hand, with an imploring 
 gesture, as if to say "good-bye," but her face was 
 turned, she did not see him, and the word died on his 
 lips. 
 
 " A Romeo without a Juliet," said the voice at the 
 window. 
 
 Perhaps she would return ! She could not leave 
 him so coldly, so cruelly. He slowly paced the room. 
 Tenderly now he gazed upon every object to which 
 she had given her own individuality. Before him again 
 rose her face, with its bright, timid eyes, as they first 
 looked up into his, and her voice uttered his name 
 " Constantine ! " Now changed the flashing eyes, 
 the trembling lips, the heightened color that gave place 
 oft to deadly white, the heaving bosom; then the cold 
 look, where all light and look of love died out the 
 cutting, sarcastic tone, the chilling, thrilling "good 
 evening, sir." 
 
 Mr. Jeffrey stood there alone ; and yet her presence 
 was with him still in the faint, subtle perfume of heli- 
 otrope that pervaded the air, in every picture painted 
 by her hand. How often in after-life was that hour 
 recalled by that little purple flower, and his heart stood 
 still, for the very sight or smell of heliotrope unmanned
 
 102 VNFORGIVEN. 
 
 him. He took out his watch, and holding it, counted 
 the minutes. Half an hour was gone. Hagar appeared 
 with an extinguisher, walked straight to the mantel, 
 and slowly began extinguishing the lights. 
 
 "Excuse me, sir," she said, as Mr. Jeffrey continued 
 his walk, " I thought you were already gone ! " 
 
 " All right, Hagar, I will be going ; where is Miss 
 Hudson?" 
 
 " In her room, sir, reading, I think." 
 
 " Will you ask her to come down for a moment ? 
 Say that I will only detain her for a little while ; that 
 I leave for a long absence, to-morrow, and will have no 
 other opportunity to say ' good-bye.' " 
 
 Hagar left the room quickly, and soon returned. 
 
 " My mistress wishes you a pleasant journey, sir, the 
 restoration of your health, and a good-night, sir." 
 
 Stung by the message, Mr. Jeffrey stepped hastily 
 out into the hall, took his hat, and walked slowly down 
 the gravel walk to where his buggy and horse stood. 
 
 The moon shone brightly, and the heavens were 
 spangled with stars ; katydids, locusts and crickets had 
 formed themselves into a grand orchestra, and tuned 
 and sawed their instruments ceaselessly ; the trees and 
 shrubs cast fantastic shadows around ; leaning upon the 
 gate-post was Alvah Morton. 
 
 " Lovely night, sir," he said, swinging the gate open. 
 " I think another spot so wild and romantic is not easily 
 found. See, yonder deep gorge through which the 
 river flows, the hills to the left, the moonlight glancing 
 on the leaves, the shadows playing hide and seek. Aye,
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 103 
 
 faith ! the fair Juliet chose well when she made this the 
 home of the loveliest of women." 
 
 Mr. Jeffrey stalked past him, hearing his words as 
 though with a thousand ears, but heeding them not. A 
 moment more and he sprang into his buggy and was 
 on his drive to the station. 
 
 Juliet had gone immediately to her room when she 
 left Mr. Jeffrey. Her breast was torn with conflicting 
 emotions, and her mind tortured by memories and con- 
 jectures. That Constantine Jeffrey was the falsest man 
 that walked the earth, she doubted not ; that he had 
 suffered his mind to be poisoned against her by Belle 
 Morton and others, must be true ; and that she loathed 
 them all was equally true ; and yet, O, heaven ! how 
 hard to see her idol fall from its throne; how sad 
 to know it could never be re-instated. How memory 
 recalled, in spite of herself, that one deep tone that 
 had first made music in her heart; how she had loved 
 that one in foreign climes it had been her inspiration ; 
 how he had professed to love her ; how utterly and 
 entirely she had trusted in his word, his love, his honor; 
 how could he let malicious tongues breathe ought 
 against her how dare he? She opened a window 
 which led out on an iron porch. In the moonlight, 
 hills, trees, flowers, vines, rocks, and water, made a 
 picturesque scene. She sat there till disturbed by 
 Hagar. She received Mr. Jeffrey's message calmly, 
 and sent the reply coldly. She saw him leave the 
 house and walk away, and soon after hearing his buggy 
 start, she saw Alvah Morton walking leisurely towards
 
 104 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 the house, and heard him whistling softly sketches from 
 his favorite opera. 
 
 " Ah ! " she said, trembling with suppressed indigna- 
 tion, " whatever his object has been, I see he has 
 remained till the latest minute. Belle, too, presses 
 her face upon my pillow ; how her breath poisons it ! 
 Ah, Hagar, what do you want now ? " 
 
 " It grows late ; and, as you ate but little supper, I 
 have brought you a luncheon." 
 
 " Thank you ; now you may go. No come take 
 down my hair and assist me to undress." 
 
 Hagar silently obeyed, and soon had changed her 
 mistress* dress for a cambric gown, and unbraided her 
 long, dark hair. 
 
 " Good-night, Hagar." 
 
 The servant, answering with an humble bow and 
 " good-night," disappeared ; but stopped and tried the 
 lock of Belle's door. She entered noiselessly. A 
 candle burned on the dressing-case, and Belle lay, 
 with her white face bathed in the moonlight, fast asleep. 
 Hagar looked at her, with an evil gleam in her eyes, 
 for a moment, then took up the candle and left the 
 room, muttering as she descended the stairs : 
 
 " How I would love to strangle the white-faced devil ! 
 Ah ! Mr. Morton, I thought you had already gone ? " 
 
 " O, no, Hagar, not yet. A glass of water, please, 
 and then for a drive to the station by the light of the 
 moon." 
 
 " I guess you wanted to make Mr. Jeffrey think you 
 were privileged to stay and have a chat with my mis-
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 105 
 
 tress after he was gone," she said boldly, looking him 
 shrewdly in the face. 
 
 " Exactly ! " 
 
 This had been Morton's design, but why he should 
 acknowledge it to a servant was strange even to 
 Hagar. 
 
 " Master, mistress, Herr von Stein and Mrs. Hellwald 
 are in the library." 
 
 "I have said good night, old girl, an hour ago, to 
 them ; so bring me the water and let me be gone." 
 
 " And may Satan follow in your path ! " muttered 
 the exasperated domestic, as she unwillingly went to 
 execute the order. 
 
 Juliet laid down to rest, trying to fix her thoughts 
 upon a truer Friend than the one she had lost. Silently 
 committing her soul to Him, she finally fell asleep, and 
 that merciful oblivion which brings a calm to all stole 
 over her senses.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Juliet awoke with a heavy heart, and a dim presenti- 
 ment of evil. The absence of her ring recalled the 
 events of the evening before, and, putting both hands 
 to her face, she wept the first tears that had come to 
 her eyes, and then her better feelings were awakened. 
 She thought of Jeffrey, and wondered where he was. 
 Getting up, and looking at her watch, she found the 
 train, which was to bear him away, must have gone. 
 A sight of her pale face in the mirror seemed to anger 
 her, for, in a moment, she chided her tears, and dashed 
 
 them spitefully away. 
 
 " Why should I grieve for him? 
 " O serpent heart, hid with a flow'ring facel 
 Did ever dragon keep so fair a cave? * * * 
 Was ever book, containing such vile matter, 
 So fairly bound? O, that deceit should dwell 
 In such a gorgeous palace! " 
 
 She quoted the words of Juliet of old, as she ran her 
 nimble fingers through her long, dark hair, scattering 
 it about her like a sable veil. How pale and woebe- 
 gone ! " But no one shall see my sorrow. A diamond 
 for this forsaken hand I have one so near like it, no 
 eyes but mine could detect the change. Ah! this 
 
 106
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 107 
 
 white morning wrapper is becoming ! I'll wear cherry- 
 colored ribbons, and these corals will make me brighter. 
 Who would have thought that I should ever have ' to 
 borrow the trappings of mirth.' There was no need 
 while there was sunshine in my heart ! but I am the 
 veriest beggar now, and must court rich colors. Ah ! 
 I wonder if every one who uses these traps of joy is 
 but trying to hide an aching heart? I'll have more 
 pity for such, henceforth, than for those who wear 
 mourning for dear friends. There is but this differ- 
 ence, I see- one desires the world to know of her 
 sorrow, the other seeks to hide it from its cruel ga^e ! 
 Ah, Pride you're all that's left me now ! Oh, serve 
 me well ! " 
 
 After breakfast, Juliet and Belle went into the parlor, 
 where Belle, walking slowly down the long salon par- 
 lors, took minute survey of Juliet's pictures, pausing 
 longest before those where she traced any resemblance 
 to Mr. Jeffrey. 
 
 At length she sat down beside Juliet, put her arm 
 around her, and lavished praise upon them. Juliet 
 said: 
 
 " Belle, it would be wrong for me not to tell you that 
 I understand you thoroughly. You have been so de- 
 ceitful, so treacherous with me, that God, Himself, must 
 have guided your hand to do the deed, that, coming 
 from an angel's pen, He knew, would not have con- 
 vinced me. Belle, that misdirected letter is in my pos- 
 session ; Mr. Jeffrey has read it he understands you 
 as thoroughly as I do and though I scorn him for
 
 108 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 listening to your falsehoods, I wished him to know the 
 serpent heart within you." 
 
 Belle's face betrayed the greatest emotion, and she 
 clutched the side of the sofa. Beside her sat Juliet, a 
 noble presence in her indignation. Belle made a bold 
 effort to regain her self-possession, but signally failed 
 before Juliet's look of scorn. She tried to explain, but 
 Juliet's ears were closed. There was nothing to do but 
 to wait until the arrival of Alvah Morton that evening, 
 and return with him to the city. 
 
 Herr von Stein, who had watched all with deepest 
 interest, knew by Mr. Jeffrey's comparatively short visit 
 that the matter was settled, but he did not know how 
 until he stood in the parlor alone with Juliet the morn- 
 ing he left for the East, when she touched his arm, and, 
 with quivering lips and tears sparkling in her eyes, said 
 softly, pointing to his Blind Faith : 
 
 " If you could open those eyes, and lift them up, 
 would not the picture be more perfect now ? " 
 
 He looked at her, and taking both her hands in his, 
 he said, with a trembling voice : 
 
 " No longer blind." 
 
 " No longer blind, good friend ; " and she raised her 
 hand to him from which her ring was gone. 
 
 " Gott set dank! " he continued ; " and yet, how 
 could that be? and here, too, in the very midst of 
 these " raising his hands, indicating the paintings on 
 the walls. " These ! the labor of two long years of 
 love love, such as woman never gave to man but 
 once on earth. These, where his own image is blended
 
 UNFOROIVEN. 109 
 
 in every face these, where every landscape has 
 dreams of him, mixed in with the very colors. Ah, 
 faithless man ; proud, misguided wretch ! But, frau- 
 lein, bear bravely this deep sorrow, and remember, 
 your revenge will come at last, and be sweet indeed. 
 He shall look at you, as you soar away from him 
 forever, with an awakening sense of what he has lost. 
 What could be more terrible for him to bear ?" 
 
 And that day Herr von Stein wrote in his diary: 
 Blind Faith has received her sight. That which made 
 her face so bright, so unlike all other faces I have ever 
 seen, is dead ; that which will make it more lovely still, 
 is newly born. The glowing eyes which beamed with 
 a joyous fire, and saw love freighted ships in the float- 
 ing clouds, look beyond them now with a steady gaze, 
 striving to pierce the mystic veil that shuts out that 
 Being who in His great wisdom loved us, and taught us 
 how to love. 
 
 Herr von Stein and his sister, after bidding them 
 adieu, then left for New York. 
 
 It was a painful task for Juliet ; and, therefore, she 
 told her parents as briefly as possible of Belle's treach- 
 ery and of her broken engagement, and begged them 
 never to mention the name of either her friend or her 
 betrothed again. 
 
 Late the succeeding night, while everything was still, 
 and the moon-light streamed brightly over the hill-tops 
 and trees, Juliet rose from her bed and glided down 
 stairs. The portico, with its vines and shadows, invited 
 her, and she walked out.
 
 110 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 " Why, papa ! up so late ? " 
 
 " Yes, child, I could not sleep ! There are shadows 
 in the house it is bright here." 
 
 " Why, it was the dancing shadows that lured me. 
 See ! " She pointed to the shadows made by a vine 
 that swayed in the gentle breeze. 
 
 " There is both light and shadow here in there it 
 is all shadow." 
 
 Juliet took a seat beside him, and said, " Father, tell 
 me what troubles you." 
 
 "Nothing definite. I am sorry that you and Jeffrey 
 have become estranged." 
 
 " But the false lover will be a false husband, you say." 
 
 " Yes, but I regret that he was a false lover I fear 
 you do, too." 
 
 " I will outlive the regret. What he was to me, God 
 only knows ! that he could never be the same to me 
 again, my heart tells me too well." 
 
 " You are certain there could be no reconciliation ? " 
 
 " Certain, papa, as that I live. The charm of our 
 love is gone ; for my faith in his love for me is destroyed. 
 There is a love, they say, which, like a violin, is sweet- 
 est when broken and repaired. That was not my kind 
 of love. I rather think, papa, mine was a worshiping 
 idolatry. My idol has fallen from its throne. Papa, be 
 sure, it is shattered, broken, and defaced. I could 
 worship it no more! " 
 
 Alvah Morton was somewhat disconcerted, but not 
 defeated, when Belle told him Juliet and she were done 
 with each other forever.
 
 UNFORQIVEN. Ill 
 
 He told Belle that he would win Juliet Hudson yet, 
 " and wear her, too," he added. 
 
 He hated Jeffrey, envied him as a journalist, and des- 
 pised him because Juliet had loved him. He did not 
 believe that Jeffrey would marry Belle, so he deter- 
 mined to get rid of him some other way, and injure 
 him, too.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Rev. Constantine Jeffrey concluded not to go 
 West for his health but took the first eastward bound 
 train after seeing Juliet, carrying with him a grand, 
 gloomy sorrow, which was increased by his grand, 
 gloomy religion. Several of his acquaintances were in 
 the car, but he drew apart and feigned to read. 
 
 Mr. Jeffrey, as was at first stated, was ambitious ; 
 and he had often congratulated himself upon the fact 
 of winning the love of one so beautiful and accomplished 
 as Juliet. How famous they would be in the time to 
 come Juliet's genius, her literary qualifications ! 
 
 In the paper he held was a graphic pen-painting by 
 her of " Rome, as it is to-day." Mr. Jeffrey, being a 
 journalist of merit, saw that Juliet needed only time and 
 judgment to develop her into a literary star of the first 
 magnitude. In his pocket there was an exquisite pearl 
 painting she had sent him while abroad. In their 
 stormy interview nothing had been said about returning 
 either letters or pictures ; he would, therefore, keep the 
 bright image of his lost love. Brooding over his sor- 
 row, grand, gloomy, heroic, he thought he bore well 
 his fate ; and promised, that in his orisons her sins 
 should ever be remembered. 
 
 When the artist had seen his sister once more com- 
 fortably established in their home in New York, he 
 
 112
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 113 
 
 sought an interview with the Rev. Constantine Jeffrey, 
 who received him in his room, and at first repelled the 
 artist's approaches upon the subject that now absorbed 
 his entire mind ; but the artist was not to be cast aside 
 from his purpose, and he finally said : 
 
 " Sir, I owe it to my pupil ; I owe it to her parents, 
 and you shall hear what I have come to say. I tell 
 you, sir, my pupil has been the victim of a foul plot. 
 I, who had, for reasons best known to myself, doubted 
 human love, and the faithfulness of woman, watched 
 her most keenly. I saw in her the purest and most 
 sublime nature, lifted above material things, and striv- 
 ing for a higher and better life. I learned that this 
 effort was encouraged, if not inspired, by this high and 
 holy love for you. I knew your views on some subjects 
 differed ; but she was liberal, and loved you no less. 
 But I feared I always feared you did not under- 
 stand her, and did not understand the other actors in 
 the little drama. I watched and waited with sealed 
 lips. Her beauty, her genius and intelligence would 
 have made her a welcome addition to any society any- 
 where; but she, during our travels, refused all invita- 
 tions. She worked like one inspired never weary of 
 her labor of love ; and to-day she is the most gifted and 
 accomplished woman I ever met. I watched the joy 
 your letters spread over her face ; I saw the sad change 
 when they grew less frequent ; still she did not doubt 
 you the post was at fault you might not know 
 where to address her in our journeyings you might 
 be ill anything but a doubt of you in any respect. 
 
 8
 
 114 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 Perhaps you can appreciate this matter most thoroughly 
 if you take it home to your own heart. You see, even 
 these wretched creatures understood how superior 
 Juliet's love was to yours, or they would have tried 
 their plan in another direction. Answer me did you 
 ever write a note to Miss Belle ? " 
 
 " Yes; but nothing to amount to anything." 
 
 "However, your handwriting would appear in the 
 address, and that envelope could have been used to 
 prove to Miss Hudson as much as an envelope ad- 
 dressed in her hand could prove to you. But they 
 would not have dared to attempt it. They knew it, 
 and, not doubting her devotion to you, made you the 
 instrument of your own misery." 
 
 " Why did Morton go abroad ? " 
 
 "Ah, why? Perhaps to effect his purpose. Yet, 
 even here, we must not be too severe on him without 
 positive knowledge, for he has made frequent voyages, 
 and we have no right to question his right to go to 
 Europe during the time Miss Hudson was there ; and 
 considering the relation of the two families, it does not, 
 and did not, seem strange to me that he should join us. 
 And, be that as it may, grant that Morton is a villain, 
 that he, for some reason best known to himself, desired 
 to separate Juliet from you, and secure you for his 
 cousin Belle (which was her aim in the matter), was 
 Juliet to blame? I'll venture to say he was careful 
 never to let her imagine his design. Now, can you not 
 see that you have been duped, and she most fearfully 
 wronged ? and by nobody so much as yourself, for
 
 UNFOROIVEN. 115 
 
 no one should have been so far from misjudging 
 her." 
 
 " I see, but I will atone," he answered, looking sadly 
 at the speaker. 
 
 "Ah, Mr. Jeffrey, if that could be; but, as I said at 
 first, take the question home. You could forgive the 
 infidel who doubted the divinity of Christ sooner than 
 one who doubted the piety and honor of Constantine 
 Jeffrey. Juliet has some of that pride. Again, Juliet 
 loved you with a worshiping idolatry ; you were supe- 
 rior to all men, in her imagination not a man A 
 KING. Now you are to her only a man, and she could 
 love you no better than another man. Do you under- 
 stand me? " 
 
 " Yes, but I will believe differently. " 
 
 " My duty," continued the artist, " is to see Mrs. 
 Morton, and disabuse her mind of any wrong on Miss 
 Hudson's part towards hereself ; then my task is done. 
 Alas, Mr. Jeffrey, in losing Juliet Hudson, you have 
 lost more than you can ever gain in this world, and I 
 pity you from my soul. It will be a life-lesson for you 
 teaching you to remember that circumstances may 
 sometimes convict ; but to look well and deeply into 
 any matter where you have any reason to trust, and do 
 not condemn any one for what another may think or say. 
 In other words, follow the teaching of your Bible, and 
 'judge not by appearances, but with a righteous judg- 
 ment. ' " 
 
 Herr von Stein's conversation had opened Mr. 
 Jeffrey's eyes, softening his pride, and giving him
 
 116 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 another gauge by which to measure human nature. In 
 this trouble, he found he had been dealing with it 
 in various forms, from the low, intriguing, designing 
 Belle, the villainous Alvah Morton, his weak, suspicious 
 wife, and the self-righteous mother of Belle, to the true 
 Mrs. Hellwald, the lofty-minded artist, and up to the 
 higher, almost angelic, nature of the proud, loving, 
 noble-hearted Juliet, he was now enabled to analyze, 
 and see the difference. 
 
 He studied himself more thoroughly; and his self- 
 reproach was bitter indeed. That he had wrecked his 
 own life-long happiness, he feared now; but he earn- 
 estly hoped to erase from Juliet's mind and heart the 
 sorrow he had caused her, to devote his life to the task. 
 He could not believe she was lost to him ; he was sure 
 to win her back again. Never had he so thoroughly 
 appreciated her nature as when he recalled Herr von 
 Stein's words, " never was such love lavished upon an 
 earthly object before. " When he recalled her labor 
 of love for him, and its reward, he said : 
 
 " My life-long task must be to atone for my sin. "
 
 CHAPTER XIV, 
 
 Many people can trace the greatest success of their 
 lives to the deepest sorrow, or bitterest disappointment 
 they have ever known. 
 
 Juliet Hudson looked her sorrow in the face ; de- 
 ceived, wounded, insulted by the man she had wor- 
 shiped, a weaker nature would have grown melancholy 
 and pined away and died. But if she had loved Jeffrey 
 most of all the world, there were others, who had loved 
 her better than he she owed them a duty, they should 
 have their reward. The proud, loving parents should 
 never feel that their devotion could be forgotten for one 
 whose love paled like the stars before the sun in compar- 
 ison with theirs. And we affirm that, whatever made her 
 a stronger woman, a better woman, a more successful 
 woman, the ornament of her sex, the pride of all who 
 knew and who loved her, sprang from the heroic resolu- 
 tion she made and kept in that dark hour of bitterness 
 that swept over her soul. The hot fires destroyed the 
 dross, and she came from the furnace of sorrow a nature 
 of burnished gold. 
 
 Whatever the apprehensions of her parents might 
 have been, which were so great that they dared not 
 speak of them, even to each other, they were soon 
 allayed. 
 
 Daily she joined them with the same loving caress. 
 There was no perceptible desire to be alone and brood 
 
 117
 
 118 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 over her sorrow. Though her cheek was paler, and the 
 dark eyes sometimes seemed dreamy with mysterious 
 thoughts, no word fell from her lips to pain them, or 
 even hint that she was sad. 
 
 She could not lose her faith in man, because one had 
 not come up to her ideal. Oh, no ! 
 
 Father, mother, and brother were her companions. 
 She touched up sketches made abroad ; she practiced 
 regularly ; walked miles over hills and through valleys 
 with Abbe, or drove just as suited her fancy. Mr. 
 Hudson, now that Juliet's marriage was broken off, 
 hinted to his wife that he would return to New York 
 for it would be unkind to bury her among those west- 
 ern hills. But no time was spoken of for a change. 
 
 When the leaves began to turn, and the golden 
 glories of autumn returned, Juliet began to think more 
 and more of the sweet child, Bertie Johnston, and sug- 
 gested to her mother that she would send for her to 
 spend the nutting season with them. 
 
 Abbe, as yet, had no defined plans for the future. 
 
 So far he had, since out of college, seemed content 
 to whittle and whistle life away ; but his industry in 
 school had been so gratifying, that his parents seemed 
 to have no fears for the future of their son. 
 
 Abbe had prophesied to Juliet splendid days after 
 the first frosts nutting and gathering wild grapes in 
 the neighboring forests; and Mr. and Mrs. Hudson 
 pictured for themselves one more happy, quiet winter 
 in their rural home, which Abbe declared could not
 
 UNFORQIVEN. 119 
 
 be complete unless they laid by a store of nuts to eat, 
 and recount the incidents that had transpired during 
 their gathering, and tell winter tales by the roaring 
 fire. 
 
 It was after one of these cheerful talks that Juliet 
 gave to Abbe, as he started to the village, a plain, 
 white envelope, containing the most cordial invitation. 
 Abbe read the address : 
 
 " Miss Bertie Johnston. 
 
 Place, 
 
 St. Louis, Mo." 
 
 " Pretty name ! I say, Juliet, if love was like the 
 small-pox, I'd be vaccinated against it before your 
 friend arrives ; but it's a disease worse than all others. 
 Worst is, a fellow can have it dozens of times. He no 
 sooner recovers from one attack from soft, blue eyes, 
 than he is a subject for another from dark eyes." 
 
 Abbe had been very much interested in the lovely 
 child, as Juliet called Bertie, who ran away from school 
 to see her uncle, and imagined she would be a delight- 
 ful bundle of powder, paint, frizzettes, and crinoline, to 
 carry across the little streams when they went out to 
 gather nuts and grapes. 
 
 It was a remarkable fact that Abbe Hudson mailed 
 that letter on the self-same day Juliet gave it to him, 
 when he had never been known to post a letter until it 
 was a week or so out of date his mother always find- 
 ing her letters in his pockets about the time she 
 expected a reply.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Bertie Johnston received and answered Juliet's letter 
 promptly, and named an early day when they might 
 expect her; adding that her uncle would accompany 
 her, as he was anxious to see the dark-eyed girl who 
 had assisted his "Birdie to fly across the ocean," and 
 return to him. 
 
 Upon the appointed day Abbe and Juliet drove over 
 to the depot to meet their guests. 
 
 Bertie's bright face was nestled against the soft 
 laces on Juliet's bosom a moment before she even 
 said "Uncle, this is she, Miss Hudson," and then 
 Bertie was presented to Abbe, who had not expected 
 to see so charming a little fairy wearing a traveling 
 suit. 
 
 Judge Johnston was quite a distinguished looking 
 gentleman of fifty, and seemed at once to understand 
 the tender attachment that might exist between two 
 young ladies of such different natures. 
 
 Abbe and Juliet's welcome to the Judge was most 
 cordial, and the former, in his usual impetuous way, 
 had pictured the glorious times they were to see before 
 they had driven home. He pointed out the beauties of 
 the country to the Judge as they drove along, who 
 seemed delighted with the prospect of a week in so 
 charming a retreat. 
 120
 
 UNFOROIVEN. 121 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hudson stood on the veranda to meet 
 them as the carriage rolled up the graveled drive, and 
 welcomed Bertie and the Judge most cordially, the 
 former of whom entered into their hearts, and took 
 quiet possession, the moment they looked into her 
 sweet face and laughing eyes. 
 
 After a rural tea, the gentlemen took cigars and 
 strolled among the trees and shrubbery, and Juliet and 
 Bertie sat with Mrs. Hudson, recalling events that had 
 transpired during their absence. Bertie described her 
 return trip from Europe, and how that she had reached 
 home one afternoon, and surprised the housekeeper 
 almost into hysteria by her sudden appearance. How 
 she had then entered into Bertie's plan to surprise the 
 Judge how she had dressed herself in his favorite 
 dress which he had kept lying in his room during her 
 absence, and when he walked up and down the room 
 alone, neglecting his tea, which was taken to the 
 library, she had stolen in and sat down, and, pouring 
 out a fragrant cup, had called him to her ; his surprise 
 and joy at seeing her, and how many evenings he had 
 listened to her descriptions of her life in Germany, her 
 meeting with Juliet and the artist, and her promise to 
 visit them. 
 * * ****** 
 
 Never did autumn clothe the earth in grander glory 
 than in 18 , and a few years succeeding the civil war. 
 Never had nature seemed so luxurious in beauty and 
 rich harvests. Farms, that during the war had lain 
 idle, yielded fourfold to the warrior's hand who once
 
 122 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 more became the husbandman. Granaries were filled 
 with grain, orchards yielded plentifully, and the woods 
 were alive with game that had not been disturbed by 
 the sportsman's rifle for four long years. Purple 
 grapes hung in tempting clusters through the rich 
 foliage, while hickory nuts and pecans were most plen- 
 tiful. 
 
 Our party rose early, and with baskets, bags, and a 
 rare hamper packed by the faithful Hagar, drove off 
 for the day's pleasure. 
 
 The Judge seemed a boy again that day, and made 
 swings of long vines for the ladies, and carried grapes 
 in his hat to them. They ate on the grass under a 
 spreading shade tree, and drank water from a spark- 
 ling spring ; they laughed and sang, and Mr. Hudson 
 and the Judge told stories of their boyhood. And 
 when tired out, they returned home in the setting 
 sunlight, each face was brighter as they planned 
 to-morrow's programme. 
 
 "What a sensible man you were, Mr. Hudson, to 
 choose such a home rather than a great noisy city, " 
 said the Judge. " I have found nothing so enchanting 
 since my boyhood." 
 
 There is nothing more charming than a rainy day 
 in a well regulated household, and such Mr. Hudson's 
 certainly was. The machinery moved so smoothly 
 under the magic guidance of Mrs. Hudson and Hagar, 
 that no creaking or jar was ever heard. Every servant 
 seemed to regard herself as filling a post of honor, and 
 resolved to be worthy of the trust.
 
 UNFOROIVEN. 123 
 
 This rainy autumn day our friends were forced to 
 stay indoors, and Mrs. Hudson ordered a fire of light 
 wood to blaze upon the hearth. 
 
 During the forenoon Mr. and Mrs. Hudson were with 
 them, but in the afternoon Mr. Hudson had letters to 
 write, and his wife accompanied him to the library, and 
 Abbe and Bertie were soon sitting alone in the bay 
 window, looking out upon the pattering rain and enter- 
 taining each other, while Judge Johnston improved the 
 opportunity of examining critically Juliet's pictures, 
 none of which seemed to have a greater fascination for 
 him than David Copperfield presenting Agnes to his 
 aunt, after their engagement. 
 
 " What a fine face that is ! What magnificent eyes ! 
 Ah, how lovely your conception of Agnes. Indeed, I 
 find your ideal pictures handsomer than your copies. 
 But all of them show a genius I have never seen 
 excelled, and a most wonderful industry for two years' 
 work." 
 
 " Some of these I painted (this one you admire so 
 much) before I went to Europe." 
 
 " There is a striking resemblance in the brow and 
 eyes of all your male pictures, and when I look closely 
 they all seem to have been taken from the same ideal 
 model, and invested with a new and peculiar charac- 
 teristic, which makes them, after all, very different 
 there is something very wonderful to me in this gift 
 while your female faces are as different as pinks, and 
 roses, and lilies. It seems strange one could paint two 
 ideal pictures, so different, as Dora and Agnes ; and
 
 124 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 again, this wild beauty of despairing Sappho is most 
 fascinating. 
 
 " This Alhambra is superb. Vesuvius could not be 
 excelled, and these scenes from northern Italy and 
 Switzerland are perfect." 
 
 Hours and hours Judge Johnston wandered up and 
 down the room, and Juliet walked beside him. He 
 did not see that she flushed and paled at many of his 
 remarks, and when at last the Judge stood before her 
 own portrait, he said : 
 
 " The artist must have painted this with an electric 
 brush, for who could otherwise have caught the expres- 
 sion, and held it fast on canvas, that seems only to flit 
 across your face. This is not your most natural 
 expression your face is more earnest ; more like 
 yonder Blind Faith if her eyes were open." 
 
 " You see I was somewhat younger then ; and this 
 bright, joyous look was more frequently upon my face 
 than now. This was an excellent picture then." 
 
 " It is now at times. I have seen your face light up 
 a moment, with a look softer than this bright smile, 
 but somehow giving the same expression to your 
 features." 
 
 . Why must a happy day be shorter than a sad one ? 
 Never in Judge Johnston's life had the hours been so 
 short, so sweet, as on that rainy, autumn day, when he 
 seemed to be wandering through fairy land with a 
 nymph so fair beside him, who rather bewildered and 
 puzzled him. She was a strange mixture of ripe 
 ardent thoughts, and budding flowers of knowledge
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 125 
 
 He compared her to an orange tree, and explained to 
 her why : now expressing a thought pure and sweet as 
 the white flowers ; now asking a question that showed 
 the flower was forming into a defined shape ; and again 
 came the pure, golden fruit from her cherry lips. And 
 when the day was done, the Judge sat down beside the 
 window, when they had said good night, hopelessly 
 enamored of the dark-eyed houri, and recalling sadly 
 her sweet voice, and the last strains of the song she 
 had sung to him ; and there seemed floating in his 
 room, even now, wandering strains of music that had 
 surprised and bewildered him as she sat at the piano. 
 
 Her pictures how lovely ! not one of them but 
 showed youth to be her ideal ; and her master-strokes 
 were in dark blue eyes and unwrinkled foreheads, ex- 
 cept her copy of Moses, from Michael Angelo. Ah, and 
 had she not said, " there is something grand, even sub- 
 lime, in the face where Time has chiseled the thoughts, 
 the hopes, the fears, the aspirations of man ; there is 
 something in it that makes a feeling of awe creep over 
 me, and awakens a higher admiration than thejrounded 
 cheek and smooth brow of youth. There is no grander 
 specimen of Angelo's genius than his Moses; and the 
 copying of it was an education in itself! " 
 
 Why did he recall those words and repeat them to 
 himself? Was it because the face of Moses was not 
 young, and fresh and fair, but seamed, and with 
 thoughtful, contracted brow? 
 
 And how was it with Juliet ? As Bertie twined her 
 fair arms about her waist, and laid her soft cheek
 
 126 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 against ner bosom, drinking in Juliet's words and smiles, 
 she would say : 
 
 " You are just the friend, Juliet, uncle always wished 
 me to find. How good of you to think of silly little 
 Bertie." 
 
 " Silly ? you are the brightest sun-beam that ever fell 
 across my path. I often wonder where you ever 
 absorbed so much sunlight." 
 
 " Oh, from uncle, dear uncle. Alexis says he is one 
 of those peculiar natures that has spent his youth in the 
 absorption of sunlight; and, in his manhood, when 
 other natures are dark and gloomy, he seems to scintil- 
 late and throw off rays of brightness to gladden the 
 hearts of all about him. Alexis has grown up to be 
 uncle's counterpart in everything except in appearance. 
 Uncle has been the dearest friend we could have had 
 both father and mother. When other men would have 
 been at the club or elsewhere, he has remained with us 
 in the parlor or library." 
 
 "Did you learn to be unselfish from him?" 
 
 " I learned everything that I know, that is good, from 
 him. He is the noblest, the best of men. What other 
 man would have devoted his life to two orphan chil- 
 dren, as he has to Alexis and me ? And, since I can 
 remember, there is no look, no word, no act of his life 
 that does not exalt all men in my estimation. He is 
 proud ; but what an exalted pride ! He is religious ; 
 but what a pure, humble religion is his ! " 
 
 " Dear child, but did you never miss your mother ! " 
 
 " I do not remember her. Uncle has taught me to
 
 UNFORGIVEX. 127 
 
 believe that her sweet spirit is ever near me, and I be- 
 lieve it is. Nothing has ever grieved me but the 
 separation from uncle while I was in Europe. I could 
 give up Alexis, because uncle talked with me, and told 
 me it was better for him, both physically and mentally, 
 to travel ; but he could not tell me it was best for him- 
 self, dear soul, to give us both up, and be left alone 
 in that great house in St. Louis. He always tells the 
 truth, so he could not tell me that. And you know I 
 thought about it till I made up my mind to run away." 
 Juliet thought it would be a blessing to any girl to 
 have such a friend. She inwardly wished she had such 
 a one one who understood her thoroughly, as Judge 
 Johnston did bright-eyed Bertie, who could convulse a 
 houseful with a description of her stay in Europe, and 
 a recitation in German ; or make every eye swim in 
 tears when she recalled her uncle alone at home, and 
 determined to cross the ocean alone to see him : but in 
 his great, broad heart, what a sacred haven of rest she 
 had found. In questions of doubt, how like an anchor 
 he had been to her soul.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 One morning, a week or ten days after the rainy 
 day, they climbed the neighboring hills to find the 
 source of a stream that trickled in clear drops from 
 the rocks below. 
 
 Juliet and Bertie started in advance, and Abbe soon 
 joined them ; the Judge, taking a different route, came 
 afterwards. Bertie and Abbe had strayed a short dis- 
 tance down the hill to gather some berries, and to start 
 an echo that Abbe had discovered, and the Judge 
 found Juliet alone. Her eyes were turned upward at 
 the floating morning clouds ; her glowing cheeks and 
 fresh, red lips told of rapturous thoughts. Beneath 
 them lay the deep gorge through which flowed the 
 murmuring stream ; around them, the rich foliage of 
 autumn's prodigal beauty ; above them, where her eyes 
 were turned, were those sailing ships of blue and topaz. 
 The spot seemed enchanted, and she, the lovely spirit 
 of the place, all unconscious that human eyes looked 
 lovingly upon her. Her thoughts were far away. 
 Those clouds reminded her of others she had seen 
 when different emotions stirred her heart and flushed 
 her warm dark cheek ; when every floating chariot car- 
 ried the idolized image of one who had now passed out 
 of her life, never, never to return. She had deter- 
 mined, though, that his absence should not make her 
 128
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 129 
 
 desolate. She had resolved to see new charms in 
 Nature's harmonies, and from the picture spread out 
 before her now she drank in a new inspiration. No, 
 no ! the faithlessness of one human being should not 
 rob life of its charm, Nature of her glories; and, yet, 
 had that love remained untarnished, how much more 
 beautiful all earth would have been. But a sweet, pure, 
 holy content was beginning to fill Juliet's soul. The 
 great purpose she had in life was developing rapidly 
 the mind and heart losing hold upon its idol of clay, 
 was laying hold upon grander things from mortal to 
 immortality. She was attaining that higher faith of 
 which the artist had spoken when he said, " if when 
 sorrow and trial came she could look up and still say, 
 ' Oh ! the beautiful, beautiful world that God in His 
 goodness has made. " She had learned the aasthetical 
 philosophy of the German artist, and, without mixing it 
 with her religious faith, it afforded her many fanciful 
 dreams of unparalleled beauty and sweetness. 
 
 Judge Johnston, after contemplating the breathing 
 spirit of the enchanted spot for a moment, followed 
 her upturned eyes to the floating clouds above, at 
 first loth to disturb her reverie, but, taking his hat in his 
 hand, he approached her with a gallant compliment, 
 and she pointed to a huge moss-covered stone near 
 which she sat, and bade him be seated till Abbe and 
 Bertie returned. 
 
 "What a heavenly spot for meditation," said the 
 Judge. " One is as utterly shut out from the toiling, 
 struggling world as if the place were fresh from Na- 
 
 9
 
 130 UNFOEGIVEN. 
 
 ture's hand, and destined for the abode of another 
 order of creatures from those who dwell in the hurrying, 
 busy world not far away. I would not weary here soon." 
 
 " Yes," said Juliet, " it is in a place like this, shut off 
 from the world, that we can think best, and for a 
 moment catch glimpses of our purer selves, for we do 
 have glimpses of* ourselves, our better, more spiritual 
 selves ; and as these visions go floating past, we wish 
 that we might hold them fast, and thus become more 
 thoroughly acquainted with them; but they are only 
 glimpses of what we maybe, when indeed our existence 
 is only spiritual." 
 
 " I have had such feelings as you describe, and I 
 would not give up the sweet memories of those passing 
 visions for all this earth. I believe," continued the 
 Judge, " that our spirits are intended to be as separate 
 from the body as the gold in the setting of this ring is 
 from the gem ; and if we are of the best material, both 
 physically and mentally, they remain separate and dis- 
 tinct ; but, if only common stuff, they mix in and become 
 bound up together. Otherwise, there is the gem and 
 the setting, always clearly defined." 
 
 "The Babe of Bethlehem," answered Juliet, "was 
 the grandest illustration of that theory, for the spirit and 
 the flesh, or master and slave, were always separate and 
 distinct." 
 
 Thus they were soon engaged in a conversation of a 
 speculative nature, and each was surprised to find the 
 other giving expression to his or her own thoughts. 
 
 " Ah ! it seems to me," said the Judge, " we could
 
 UNFOEGIVEN. 131 
 
 readily explain these feelings if we accept the theory 
 that our spirits came from some far off spirit world 
 where they were akin, perhaps one, and lived in sweet 
 communion till summoned to earth, and doomed to be 
 imprisoned in these tenements of clay for a certain 
 period. You understand me, I see, or you would smile 
 at the suggestion, since I am so much older in years. 
 In the spirit world, I maintain, there is no accounting 
 of time, and you and I being spiritually of the same es- 
 sence, differ only in the long separation that has taken 
 place between us ? Let me see, I became an inhabitant 
 of this terrestrial globe thirty years before you left 
 those visions of beauty and brightness. Might we not 
 have known each other there, since our minds are so 
 much alike ? In your memory there is, of course, a 
 fresher picture of the beauty and harmony you have 
 left but comparatively lately a memory so vivid that 
 you can reproduce, as all artists can, visions of beauty 
 that have faded from grosser memories." 
 
 " It appears to me," said Juliet, seeming to under- 
 stand him without explanation, " that there lingers in 
 your mind a fairer picture of those lovely things than 
 any one I ever met. It is a philosophy most people 
 would reject." 
 
 " My memory is good much better than that of 
 most people but my surroundings have been differ- 
 ent. If it is the true philosophy, it is easy to under- 
 stand why I retain impressions of that other world 
 better than most men, for I have had fewer things to 
 tarnish their brightness."
 
 132 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 " If it is joy for two mortals to meet in this world 
 whose spirits are akin, who can remember and recall 
 to each other's mind visions of that spirit world where 
 they once have dwelt, and where again they hope to 
 be, must it not be the very highest ideality of heaven 
 to meet there once again ? " said Juliet earnestly. 
 
 " Certainly ! but could not this earth be a miniature 
 paradise, if those natures we imagine have been kin- 
 dred in that spirit land, when they do meet here, 
 could dwell together during this earthly pilgrimage? 
 What higher joy could earth afford ? " 
 
 " Surely you are right," she returned, with a frank, 
 unaffected smile. These were the only words he had 
 uttered that she did not rightly construe, or at least 
 correctly apply; and before the Judge could give any 
 explanation, there rang from the hills and rocks the 
 sound " Joy ! joy ! joy ! joy ! " 
 
 It was Bertie's clear voice that sent forth the sound, 
 and from the hills, rocks and trees the echo prolonged 
 it; and the Judge and Juliet paused to listen to the 
 magic word, that it seemed some spirit had sung 
 through the air. Bertie and Abbe then soon appeared, 
 with leaves and berries from the neighboring bushes, 
 their merry laugh dispelling the speculative philosophy 
 of Juliet and the Judge. 
 
 The days wore swift wings, and the time allotted by 
 the Judge for his visit had flown away. He consented 
 to Bertie's remaining ; but she declared that she could 
 not trust anybody to make his tea, and, now that it was 
 turning cool, his dressing gown and slippers must be
 
 UNFOROIVEN. 133 
 
 warmed, his very napkin might be moist and give him 
 the neuralgia ; indeed, she could not trust him to any- 
 body else in the world. 
 
 " The Judge seems to be remarkably strong and ac- 
 tive, while any one, to hear your excuses, would take 
 him to be quite old, decrepid, exacting and selfish," 
 said Abbe. 
 
 "O! here, of course, he would be well and strong, 
 with all of us ; but there alone it's another thing ; it 
 would be barbarous in me to stay here and have good 
 times, and leave uncle, like 'Glory McWirk,' to be 
 able to think of 'em and not to be in 'em." 
 
 It was quite evident that merry, laughing Bertie was 
 a trifle imaginative, and pictured to herself the worst 
 results from her uncle being deprived of her care ; and, 
 though Judge Johnston would have appeared anything 
 else in the eyes of the fair Juliet but a cross, rheumatic, 
 neuralgic old man, he felt sure that she understood 
 Bertie quite as well as she did himself, and that the 
 child could have no sweeter fancy than that she was 
 really necessary to ward off from her loving uncle every 
 ill that flesh is heir to. 
 
 They promised that, when old Winter came, and 
 great fires roared and sparks flew up the broad chim- 
 ney, they would come again, and all gather round and 
 recall the happy days of this their first visit. 
 
 During the winter, Saturday frequently brought the 
 Judge and Bertie to remain over Sunday ; and as they 
 all sat around the bright fire, strange fancies came to 
 the Judge fancies that remained with him after he
 
 134 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 was gone, and caused strange dreams to visit his 
 pillow. 
 
 It was not often that he saw Juliet alone. Once or 
 twice he came into the parlor and found her sitting 
 alone, looking thoughtfully into the fire, while Abbe 
 and Bertie walked the veranda. Such a sense of rest, 
 such a peaceful joy stole over him then as would cause 
 him to seat himself beside her, not even speaking lest 
 he should disturb her thoughts, and watch every ex- 
 pression of her, to him, lovely face, that, in contrast, 
 his own home seemed to lack something when he 
 returned which even Bertie's love could not supply. 
 He watched Juliet to see if she enjoyed his compan- 
 ionship, and he felt sure that she trusted him, and was 
 beginning to miss him when he was gone.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 The latter part of February Mr. and Mrs. Hudson 
 returned to New York, leaving Abbe and Juliet to pay 
 a parting visit to Bertie Johnston, where we now find 
 them. 
 
 Bertie's home in St. Louis was all she had pictured it 
 to Juliet ; and she, with several trusty servants kept the 
 mansion in order. 
 
 She presided over the table, and was the sweetest 
 hostess in the world. She knew, to the drop, how much 
 cream would make uncle's tea or coffee just what it 
 should be ; and could measure sugar, to the very grain, 
 to suit his taste. 
 
 She drove out with them every day, or went out 
 shopping ; but must always be home to meet uncle at 
 the door. Indeed, her devotion was so great, without 
 any affectation, that Abbe declared if he was not Abbe 
 Hudson, he would rather be Judge Johnston, than any 
 other man on earth. 
 
 It was the season when every evening offered some 
 new amusement at theatre or opera, and the Judge 
 accompanied Juliet, Abbe, and Bertie. Upon one or 
 two occasions they remained at home, and, to the Judge, 
 these were by far the most pleasant evenings. He did 
 not enjoy the inquisitive gaze that was often fixed upon 
 Juliet's lovely face, and his friends asking him if she 
 
 135
 
 136 UNFOROIVEN. 
 
 were his niece, and where she came from ; but in his 
 own parlor he could close the blinds, and with them 
 close out the curious world. Here he could sit beside 
 her, and listen to her voice, while Abbe and Bertie 
 played and sang. 
 
 Ah, happy, happy days ! and so different from what 
 the Judge had intended, for he had had many struggles 
 with himself, and determined to see her but seldom 
 during her visit, and to give his undivided attention to 
 his business ; to be resigned and to live always as he 
 had thus far alone ; and to try and be happy in the 
 thought that he had never loved but one woman 
 and she most worthy. But her presence disarmed 
 his resolution, and he again harkened to the still, 
 small voice which whispered strange music in his 
 ears. 
 
 She did not dislike him evidently. Might she not 
 even like him in a slight degree ? Yet, would he be 
 satisfied to be loved only in stinted measure in ex- 
 change for his worshiping idolatry ? He could make 
 her very happy. Ah, why not tell her so ? A winter 
 in New York society might rob him of her. All these 
 things were revolved in his mind as the days passed 
 away ; but he sat upon the bench and heard evidence 
 and pleadings, and no one knew of the strange voice 
 in the Judge's ear and yet stranger music in his heart, 
 and that, when he consulted his watch, he counted the 
 hours till he should return again to his parlor to see 
 the fair face in reality a vision of which was ever 
 before him now.
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 137 
 
 The last day of Juliet's visit was yet more trying to 
 nim ; for, after being absent from her all day, they were 
 to attend an oratorio that night, and he must take her 
 where every eye was as free as his own to gaze upon 
 her beauty. But he would be nearest to her, therefore 
 he could bear it. Judge Johnston acted as special 
 escort to Juliet, and Abbe to Bertie. 
 
 The Judge was dressed with care, and though he 
 could never be handsome, even when arrayed in richest 
 cloth and finest linen, he was very distinguished look- 
 ing so Juliet acknowledged, as she turned to answer 
 some remark of his, and met his fine eyes filled with 
 eloquent fire, as he sat beside her in the brilliantly 
 lighted music hall. 
 
 A glow came to her cheek and a throb of pride to her 
 heart for Judge Johnston's admiration was something 
 to be proud of. Then she leaned back in her chair, 
 and gave her whole attention to the music with the air 
 of a connoisseur. A crimson velvet circular, falling 
 carelessly away, revealed her fine form to the best ad- 
 vantage, and a turban, trimmed with graceful white 
 plumes, displayed admirably the lovely face. Judge 
 Johnston had a profile view. 
 
 She sat there listening to the music, as it were spirit- 
 ualized. Roses played hide and seek in her cheeks; 
 her eyes dilated and shone like stars ; the bright lips 
 were slightly parted, and she seemed to drink in the 
 melody. Many opera glasses were turned upon her 
 face. Whispers of " Who can it be ? " " Wer mag es 
 sein f " reached Bertie's ears. In that vast crowd, only
 
 138 U2TFORGIVEN. 
 
 two persons seemed unconscious of the presence of 
 others Juliet and the Judge. 
 
 Presently Abbe, whose attention had been attracted 
 by the universal admiration which his sister won, began 
 stealthily to view the various owners of the fine opera 
 glasses, when with a sudden start of surprise he turned 
 his head, and nervously took a tablet from his pocket, 
 and wrote, " Jeffrey sits not far to the right, and farther 
 back is Morton," and handed it to Juliet. He could 
 not know how quick her heart stood still, nor with 
 what an effort she kept from fainting. 
 
 " You are ill," whispered the Judge. 
 
 " Oh, no, the hall is close and warm, is it not ? " 
 
 " I had not perceived it ; but permit me to fan 
 you." 
 
 He took her fan and used it so vigorously that the 
 tiny toy trembled in his grasp. Then he took a survey 
 of all the windows to see if there was proper ventila- 
 tion, and as he turned to the right, just back of them, 
 his eyes encountered two burning orbs. So fierce was 
 their gaze, that the Judge returned it with one almost 
 as fierce, without knowing what he meant. It was the 
 glare as of two foes who meet and cross each other in 
 a purpose of life. 
 
 There was another who saw the look and interpreted 
 it that other was Morton. 
 
 " Who is he ? " asked the Judge, mentally. " I have 
 seen that face before." 
 
 After he had studied the question with a puzzled ex- 
 pression, he turned his head to see his antagonist again,
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 139 
 
 but the chair was vacant, and the Rev. Constantine 
 Jeffrey was nowhere to be seen. 
 
 As they left the hall, Morton addressed them, and 
 asked permission to visit Juliet the next day, as he was 
 the bearer of messages from her parents ; but she only 
 pressed the Judge's arm, and said, " I have an engage- 
 ment. A letter from home informs me they are well ; 
 I am going home next week Abbe and I." 
 
 It had turned cold and begun to snow. The Judge 
 placed Juliet in the warmest corner of the carriage, and 
 bade the coachman drive rapidly. Bertie and Abbe 
 chatted pleasantly, but the Judge and Juliet were silent. 
 
 The gentlemen bade the ladies good-night in the hall, 
 and sought their respective chambers. 
 
 " I suspect that party, whoever he may be, is, or has 
 been, an admirer of Miss Hudson. He seemed to read 
 my thoughts, and grew furious. Who can he be ? Well, 
 it matters not : let me recur to my own thoughts to 
 the fair Juliet. Aye, but this mirror tells me that I 
 am a sorry Romeo old and gray and wrinkles, too. 
 Youth was not kind to me, and Age seems to have been 
 aggravated with me ; for she has dealt more harshly by 
 me than with most men of my years. But I have 
 fortune I have fame I have an unsullied name 
 and a spotless character. O, for some magic power to 
 turn the wheel of time backward thirty years. Fie, fie ! 
 I am ashamed of myself. Fifty years of age, and more 
 deeply in love than I could have been at twenty-five." 
 
 He stood before a mirror and scanned his image, and 
 condemned himself. Half of his fortune would he have
 
 140 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 given for the form and features of the handsome man 
 whose face, even now, came so vividly before him. 
 Where had he seen it before ? The night waned ; he 
 pondered the question still. 
 
 " She said she would go away next week. I must 
 decide quickly. " And, so saying, he lit another cigar, 
 composed himself in his chair, and began at the begin- 
 ning, and studied the whole subject over again. 
 
 Juliet, tossing upon her uneasy pillow, dreamed of 
 Mr. Jeffrey, Morton, and the Judge. 
 
 At the appointed time, Juliet and Abbe bade the 
 Judge and Bertie adieu, and returned to New York, 
 their future home.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Judge Johnston sat in his comfortable parlor with 
 a thoughtful brow. A feeling of sadness, almost of 
 gloom, had settled upon him that even Bertie's smile 
 could not dispel. Why ? Would he, if he could, blot 
 out that dark-eyed image from his breast, even though 
 a memory of it gave him pain ? Ah ! could he if he 
 would? Why did he dream bright dreams, only to 
 awaken to the sad, sober thought, it can not be ? 
 
 One evening the Judge seemed more than usually 
 depressed, and Bertie, determined to bring back the 
 old smile, seated herself beside him after tea, and 
 offered to read to him. 
 
 " No," he said, " you may talk to me, but do not 
 read." 
 
 She then seated herself upon an ottoman at his feet 
 and looked wistfully up into his face, yet feared to ask 
 him what thought, of late, so often contracted his 
 brow. 
 
 He looked through the archway, down the long 
 room, and then at the fair face, and the hands clasped 
 over his knee. 
 
 " I fear I am dull company for you, Bertie, and that 
 this great house is very lonely." 
 
 How many years had they lived thus, and he had 
 never seemed to think of it ! 
 
 Hi
 
 142 UNFOROIVEN. 
 
 " Oh, no ! dear uncle ; I find enough to do while you 
 are absent to keep me busy ; and when you are here, 
 who can we need to keep us company until Alexis 
 comes ? " 
 
 " He remains a long time. When did you receive 
 the last letter from him." 
 
 " Several weeks ago he was then in Japan ; but, 
 uncle, I received a letter from Juliet to-day ; would you 
 like to read it ? " 
 
 How eagerly he took the delicate missive, and while 
 he read it she read his face the first page, then the 
 second, where Juliet wrote : " I envy you the compan- 
 ionship of your noble uncle so wise, so good. Abbe 
 and I often speak of those pleasant winter days when 
 your presence made our circle brighter. Can you not 
 plan to be with us next summer ? " 
 
 How often he read and re-read that page ; and 
 when it was finished, he took her hand and said : 
 
 " You miss Miss Hudson, Bertie ? " 
 
 " Surely, uncle, you could not doubt it." 
 
 " Do you miss her brother, little rogue ? " 
 
 " Would it displease you if I said yes ? " 
 
 " No, not displease me, Bertie, but perhaps make me 
 sad?" 
 
 " Then I will not say it, uncle, for I believe you are 
 already sad. But why should you feel so if I said yes? " 
 
 " I would want to know first that he missed my 
 Birdie." 
 
 " Uncle, I really believe that he does, and that Juliet 
 misses you."
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 143 
 
 " What makes you think so ? " he asked, raising her 
 hand to his lips. 
 
 " Because we were so happy when we were all 
 together. What a paradise Mr. Hudson's house was 
 when we were all there. O, uncle dear ! could there 
 be any joy on this earth equal to the thought of spending 
 some such happy hours again ? " 
 
 " Ah ! they were blessed hours, but like all other 
 pleasures have left us pain." 
 
 " I don't know, uncle, dear. You taught me to look 
 for the bright side of every picture when I was a child, 
 and I always do it now." 
 
 " Indeed ! I believe you do. Would you tell me 
 what the bright side of this picture is that is divided 
 and broken up ? " 
 
 " You promise not to call me vain or silly ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Well, put your head a little closer I'll whisper 
 it. Oh, no ! " she said, covering her face with her 
 hands. 
 
 " Come, come ! I am quite interested. Tell me 
 what it is that seems so bright in this picture that I 
 had thought rather sombre being separated from our 
 friends." 
 
 " Well, uncle dear, since you promise not to say that 
 I am silly, don't you think they miss us too ? " 
 
 " Yes ; and is that the bright side ? " 
 
 " Yes, oh, yes ! it would be dark indeed too dark 
 to bear without that." 
 
 " Then Misery is content if she has company ! "
 
 144 UNFOROIVEN. 
 
 " O ! what a stupid dear you are ! Must I have to 
 explain a simple thing to the wisest judge in all the 
 land?" 
 
 " I fear you will have to explain this." 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! ha ! Of all the stupid dears in the world, 
 a judge is the most stupid. Why, don't you know that 
 if Abbe misses me as I miss him, he will be coming 
 back soon ? " 
 
 " Oh ! " 
 
 " And don't you know put your ear close ! if he 
 cares for me, as I think he does, he will want to stay 
 when he comes ? Now, of course, you want to call me 
 vain and foolish, for that is what you think of me ; but 
 that is only looking on the bright side of the picture. 
 And, uncle, don't you suppose that Juliet thinks about 
 like I do?" 
 
 " How ? " 
 
 " Judge Silly, only this, and nothing more that if 
 Judge Johnston cares for her and misses her, he will 
 do what Abbe is going to do." 
 
 " Upon my word ! I would give much for your 
 confidence." 
 
 The Judge looked a little disconcerted at the bright 
 face at his knee ; but, strange to say, there was a light 
 upon the picture he had never seen before. 
 
 " But Bertie, she is young and beautiful ; I am growing 
 old." 
 
 " You are not ! and she does care for you more, I 
 know, than she does for any one else." 
 
 "She has never been in society, and "
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 145 
 
 " Never will be. She uncle, will you do what I 
 
 tell you ? " 
 
 "I don't know what?" 
 
 "You just ask her, and find out for yourself; and I 
 believe she will tell you just what I am going to tell 
 Abbe." 
 
 10
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 A brilliant season in New York had passed, but 
 Juliet turned away from every allurement, and enjoyed 
 her library and studio more than she did the dazzling 
 ball-room, or the fascinating play. She was ambi- 
 tious to raise the standard of female life higher; to 
 overcome difficulties that few women ever undertake, 
 and prove that woman may outlive sorrow and heart- 
 ache aye, even slighted love and rise superior to 
 the grosser things of life the follies of fashionable 
 society. She realized that youth is the seed-time, and 
 she resolved to strew along her pathway only seeds 
 whose harvest could bring the richest reward. Though 
 she must work alone, she resolved to accomplish all 
 that she had hoped to do with a wise helper whom she 
 had so truly loved. Her earnest labor assisted Time 
 in slowly, but surely, erasing bitter memories from 
 her mind and an image from her heart. She wrote 
 regularly to Bertie, and enjoyed her long, cheerful 
 answers. She read and re-read them, and always 
 dwelt longest upon those portions where Judge John- 
 ston's name was mentioned. Many times did she stop 
 reading, and recall his image and words ; but why she 
 did so, she did not even question. 
 
 Bertie's words seemed to have a good influence on 
 the Judge's spirits, and determined him to decide with- 
 
 146
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 147 
 
 out delay the question which absorbed his mind, and 
 it was only a few days after Bertie's sage advice that 
 he announced his intention of going to New York for 
 a few days. Bertie was too busy with her dress-maker 
 to leave home just then, and kissed him good-bye, with 
 a whispered wish for his success, and seemed perfectly 
 willing to see him set out alone. She would be ready 
 to congratulate him when he returned, she said, for 
 she never doubted the probability pf any woman's 
 refusing uncle ! The idea was absurd ! Juliet, too, 
 would be the dearest aunt, and the sweetest sister ! 
 What bright smiles played round her pretty mouth 
 when those pleasant thoughts would come ! 
 
 Judge Johnston found Mr. Hudson's family absent 
 from New York when he arrived. Hagar said they 
 were at Cape May, and thither he repaired. He met 
 Abbe soon after his arrival there, and, as Juliet and 
 Mrs. Hudson were not to be found at their hotel, 
 they sought the beach to find them. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hudson were strolling upon the sandy shore when 
 Abbe and Judge Johnston approached them, while 
 Juliet stood apart watching the tide as it came in. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hudson welcomed the Judge with 
 pleasure, and pointing to Juliet, who stood out on the 
 beach, said: 
 
 " She seems to be taking a venture with the waves ; 
 how near they creep to her ; there ! she is driven 
 back ! " 
 
 But, instead of returning to her parents, Juliet sat 
 down to watch the waves, as with ceaseless song they
 
 148 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 came, gathering strength, and mounting higher and 
 higher, and then, breaking at her very feet, receded. 
 
 After a short conversation, Judge Johnston left 
 them, and Abbe watched him with interest as he 
 walked away alone towards Juliet, and saw him pause 
 a few steps behind the bench where she sat. He 
 paused a moment just behind her, and, looking over 
 her head at the ocean, said mentally : 
 
 "How like human hearts and hopes these rolling 
 billows are. They rush towards the sweet and beautiful 
 things in view, but how often a rocky shore of uncon- 
 geniality turns them back again, and they recede, 
 carrying with them it may be, the image of what they 
 cannot obtain. So hearts reach out for what they 
 cannot compass, and our idols shrink away from us, 
 leaving us to wonder if it was really the great un- 
 seen hand of destiny that impelled us towards them by 
 its own law of affinity, or some infatuation, that, 
 will-o-the-wisp-like, leads us on and on until it van- 
 ishes, and leaves us alone with our hearts begloomed 
 and the light all gone out of us." 
 
 How his heart throbbed as these thoughts rushed 
 through his brain, and for a moment he half resolved 
 to turn back. 
 
 Juliet, all unconscious that aught but the waves heard 
 her voice, repeated musingly : 
 
 " Life is a sea as fathomless, 
 As wide, as terrible, and yet sometimes 
 As calm and beautiful. The light of heaven
 
 UNFORGIVEN. U9 
 
 Smiles on it, and 'tis decked with every hue 
 Of glory and of joy. Anon, dark clouds 
 Arise, contending winds of fate go forth 
 ' And Hope sits weeping o'er a general wreck.' " 
 
 Juliet started to her feet, and turned, as the last line 
 was added by a well-remembered voice, and was face 
 to face with Judge Johnston, of whom, in spite of her- 
 self, she had been thinking all day long. 
 
 " Why, you do not seem surprised to see me," he 
 said, taking her hand. 
 
 " But I am glad. Strange to say, but you have not 
 seemed so far away, to-day." 
 
 " Then you have thought of me ? " 
 
 "Yes, oftener than usual but where is Bertie?" 
 
 "She could not leave home just now; she will be 
 with you soon, however." 
 
 They seated themselves upon the bench, and he 
 repeated 
 
 " So I have not seemed so far away to-day? " 
 
 Her own words sounded so strangely, when repeated 
 by him, that Juliet colored. It was the first time that 
 he had ever seen her even slightly embarrassed, and 
 it made him bold. 
 
 "Ah, my fair one, I have been with you in spirit 
 every hour since we parted ; and I have taken this long 
 journey to know if we may not, in spirit and in truth, 
 be forever united." 
 
 Without waiting for a reply, he told her how long he 
 had studied the question ; that he felt keenly the fact
 
 150 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 that he was old and plain, but hoped he might offer her 
 a love as fresh and a name as unsullied as if he were a 
 younger and handsomer man. 
 
 Juliet did not answer him immediately, but, taking 
 a ring from her finger, she bade him examine it, saying: 
 
 " You perceive how plain, yet pure, the gold in that 
 setting is still the gem is the finest I have ever seen. 
 Not a diamond in the Green Vault of Dresden sur- 
 passes it in purity and splendor." 
 
 "It is magnificent," he answered, wondering if he 
 understood her meaning. 
 
 " That ring," Juliet added, " has reminded me always 
 of you, ever since the stormy day we spent together 
 in our western home its pure gold setting, and its 
 rare, bright gem." 
 
 He was answered. 
 
 Old ocean sang in gladness at their feet ; the clouds 
 were floating visions, in whose faces they read unutter- 
 able love. Their spirits were awed by that deep, silent 
 joy that sealed the lips of both. Rapt in still communion 
 that transcends imperfect prayer, they mutually soared 
 in mind and soul up to the Great Spirit, who had united 
 them in wisdom and in truth. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hudson, though somewhat surprised, 
 gave their cheerful consent to the marriage of their 
 daughter to Judge Johnston, for they esteemed him 
 above any gentleman they knew. Quiet but hasty prep- 
 arations were made for the coming nuptials. Judge 
 Johnston took Juliet and her parents, and Abbe to see 
 his residence on Avenue, where he had resided
 
 'COUSIN ALVAH, OUR TIME HAS COMB VENGEANCE IS OURS WILL WE NOT 
 REPAY?" Page 150.
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 151 
 
 before going to St. Louis ; and they consulted upon 
 refurnishing some portions of it. 
 
 Bertie was at once apprised of the result of her sage 
 advice to her uncle, and hastened to Juliet, where she 
 promised to remain until after the wedding, and made 
 herself quite useful. She said that her uncle was so 
 busy and so happy that, for once, she could leave him 
 alone. 
 
 The Judge had many friends and acquaintances in 
 New York who were glad to welcome him again in 
 their midst, especially when he hinted to them of his 
 approaching marriage. 
 
 In her choice, it must not be imagined that Juliet 
 Hudson did not consider the subject of marriage of the 
 greatest importance. She had been taught to do so 
 since she had been old enough to consider it at all; 
 but she had always been so sure that Constantine Jeffrey 
 was her fate that she was a little startled at her own 
 precipitation in her present engagement. She did not 
 once ask herself: " Do I love my future husband ? " 
 yet she acknowledged, every time she thought of him, 
 that she honored and respected him above all men. 
 
 Juliet had been very busy shopping, and the merry 
 Bertie and a dozen dressmakers in the house had kept 
 her mind partially off the great theme. 
 
 A few evenings before her marriage Juliet was 
 troubled. The face or another not Judge John- 
 ston haunted her, and the question, " if I had returned 
 to the parlor the evening when Hagar delivered Mr. 
 Jeffrey's message, would Judge Johnston and I ever
 
 152 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 have been married ? " obtruded itself again and again as 
 she tried on rich dresses, rare laces, and bright ribbons 
 to see their effect ; but it was not till she was alone in 
 her chamber that she faced boldly and answered the 
 voices that had taunted her during the entire day. 
 
 " This question must be decided for once and all 
 do I, poor, miserable creature, still love that treacher- 
 ous man ? Am I capable of so mean an action as to 
 marry an honorable man, and love a dishonorable one ? 
 Can love conquer pride? In his case it did not; in 
 mine, it shall not. " 
 
 With clasped hands and throbbing heart, she sat 
 there. Pictures came and went fancies, dreams 
 and, foremost of all, was the pale face of the proud suf- 
 ferer for whom once she would have died rather than 
 to have caused him one heartache. As often as it ap- 
 peared before her she met it with the same cold disdain 
 that had prompted her words at parting. After a long, 
 bitter struggle she proclaimed pride, resentment and 
 self-respect the conquerors of love. Though the white 
 face rose again and again, and battled with all three, at 
 last it sank down and disappeared to rise no more. 
 
 " How will it be in regard to your husband ? " came 
 the next voice. 
 
 " If he loves me, respects me, trusts me with his whole 
 heart, then I will honor him, reverence him, and be all 
 to him that God has said a wife shall be to her husband." 
 
 After the storm of emotion had subsided, Juliet was 
 calm. With natures such as hers, weighty questions 
 are studied well, and decided in such a manner that
 
 UNFOEQIVEN. 153 
 
 they rarely present themselves for consideration a 
 second time ; and thus, finding herself mistress of her 
 own emotions, she awaited calmly her wedding day. 
 She was a close reader and an ardent admirer of Plato, 
 whose philosophy she considered unerring, whose wis- 
 dom was excelled by none. Thus she consoled herself 
 that this change in her feelings was a natural one, as 
 she quoted his words, " all things which have a soul 
 change, and, in changing, move according to law and 
 the order of destiny."
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Morton had watched Mr. Jeffrey closely to see if 
 there was any danger of reconciliation between him and 
 Juliet ; but, as the days wore on, he began to recall 
 Judge Johnston's attentions, and to wonder if, in her 
 resentment, she would encourage him. He was just 
 beginning to study the subject closely, when he met 
 Judge Johnston a second time in the city of New York. 
 Morton asked the privilege of calling upon him at his 
 hotel, but the Judge informed him that he had an en- 
 gagement in the evening, but would be glad to see him 
 at the Astor House the following day. 
 
 The next morning's paper contained the account of 
 a brilliant wedding in Avenue. 
 
 All that day Morton schemed how he could see 
 Juliet without being seen by her ; for he was afraid to 
 trust himself in her presence. But to see her once 
 more he would almost give his life. " Still, I am not 
 defeated," he said to his own wicked heart. 
 
 There was no other way to see her but to call upon 
 them at the Astor House, from whence they were to 
 leave for a short trip to St. Louis, where the Judge de- 
 sired to wind up his business affairs. Juliet strove 
 to be most fascinating, and almost drove the poor man 
 wild. 
 
 "I'll punish him for his temerity," she said mentally. 
 
 164
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 155 
 
 Abbe understood her, and knew that her smiles were 
 daggers to Morton. 
 
 " She seems perfectly happy, and as utterly lost to 
 me as if she had married Jeffrey," he thought. But he 
 chided his heart for so thinking, and said, " No, this 
 old husband will grow irritable and exacting, and her 
 proud spirit will rebel. She cannot love him so well 
 as she did Jeffrey. My opinion is, she married him 
 from chagrin although he is a grand, old speci- 
 men." 
 
 Thus Morton, like a moth round the gas-light, hov- 
 ered about Juilet, till train time, and then accompanied 
 them to the depot. 
 
 During the time that Morton was at the hotel with 
 the Judge and Juliet, Mrs. Morton had a visitor. 
 
 Belle had been elated since she read of the wedding 
 as she sat at her breakfast, and had kept her room all 
 day to glory in secret over the fact, and to plan how 
 she should yet win Mr. Jeffrey. 
 
 Mrs. Morton dispatched a note to Mr. Jeffrey, which 
 he promptly answered in person at the appointed 
 hour. 
 
 He was ushered into her own room. A few moments 
 after they were seated, and she had dismissed the serv- 
 ant, she inquired : 
 
 " How did this marriage come about ? " 
 
 " I cannot tell. After I heard from Herr von Stein 
 the most noble vindication of Juliet, and after I came 
 to see how much I had wronged her, I left immediately 
 for St. Louis to seek her, and, if possible, effect a recon-
 
 156 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 ciliation, and win her back to me. I arrived in the city 
 late in the afternoon, and was surprised when I registered 
 my name at the Lindell Hotel, to find that your hus- 
 band had arrived that morning. I wished to avoid him. 
 I found out accidentally that Juliet was visiting Miss 
 Bertie Johnston, and concluded to see her at once ; but 
 learning there was to be an Oratorio of the Messiah in 
 the city that evening, and knowing her love for music, 
 I felt sure she would be there. I met a friend who gave 
 me his ticket, which happened to be in close proximity 
 to the seats occupied by Judge Johnston, Juliet, his 
 niece, and Abbe. I never saw her look so beautiful 
 surely our separation has caused her no pain ! I could 
 not keep my gaze off her face ; but she did not see me. 
 Then I observed Judge Johnston closely, and I read in 
 his eyes that he loved Juliet, even as I loved her 
 and, under the circumstances, I believed she would 
 marry him I felt it to be true. I hurried home, 
 buried myself in solitude, and was waiting daily the 
 announcement of their engagement. I feel now there 
 is nothing left for me but to forget her. You will keep 
 your promise, that some day she shall know that I saw 
 my grand mistake, and beg her pardon." 
 
 " Well, I could not understand it. I am sure Belle 
 or Mr. Morton overheard Herr von Stein's vindication 
 of Juliet to me, and he hurried to St. Louis to prevent 
 your seeing her. I know, alas, too well, that though 
 she is innocent, she is the cause of much misery. 
 Belle is miserable, Mr. Morton is miserable, you are mis- 
 erable, and I am most miserable of all. Juliet's pride
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 157 
 
 will sustain her, and the consciousness of her husband's 
 love while I have nothing ! nothing ! nothing ! You 
 will love some one else " 
 
 " Hush ! " he said, rising and pacing the floor; "let 
 this subject drop between us forever. I shall pray for 
 you, and I shall pray for myself; for I have much need 
 of prayer. I must leave you now." 
 
 " Mr. Morton told me that you and Belle were to be 
 married, and I believe, also, that Juliet heard the 
 same " 
 
 Mr. Jeffrey started as though an adder had stung 
 him. He made no remark, but an expression of horror, 
 disgust and amazement came over his face. He bade 
 Mrs. Morton a hasty farewell, and left. 
 
 " So this is the way our clergyman conducts him- 
 self," said Belle, who had listened at the partially opened 
 door communicating with the next room. " Madam 
 sends for him in her husband's absence ; he confides to 
 her the secret of his lost love. Oh, Alvah ! now has 
 our day of vengeance dawned ! " 
 
 She went to her room, and sat down by the fire, and 
 waited till Morton should come, that they might lay 
 their infamous plot to set on foot the most notorious 
 scandal that the world ever knew. 
 
 Mrs. Morton had had many reasons for desiring a 
 reconciliation between Mr. Jeffrey and Juliet. First, 
 because, if Juliet were married, perhaps she could win 
 back her own husband ; and second, because she now 
 hated Belle, who was almost a constant inmate of their 
 house.
 
 158 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 As soon as possible she had joined Mr. Jeffrey's 
 church, which Belle also hastened to do. 
 
 We now understand the state of affairs when Belle 
 joined Morton, after dinner, in the library. He had 
 been reading a reported sermon of Mr. Jeffrey's, and 
 was inwardly cursing the fate which seemed eager to 
 place him upon the pinnacle of fame. His power as a 
 minister was only equaled by his success as a journalist, 
 and, as Morton was also a journalist, he had reason to 
 be envious of him. While in this frame of mind, Belle 
 stole softly into the room, and laid her hand softly upon 
 his shoulder, and said : 
 
 " Cousin Alvah, our time has come vengeance is 
 ours will we not repay ? " 
 
 " Well quoted, my little Christian. What now ? " 
 
 She drew a chair close to him, and turning her white 
 face with its glittering eyes upon him, said : 
 
 " While you were gone this evening, your wife sent 
 for Mr. Jeffrey. He came : I overheard their conversa- 
 tion. He told her how he had hastened to St. Louis 
 after Herr von Stein had exposed our falsehood, as he 
 called it ; how he had intended to beg Juliet's pardon, 
 and ask her to be his wife ; but seeing her at the 
 Oratorio (where you described her as more bewitching 
 than you ever had seen her to him, indeed, was she 
 so), he realized there that Judge Johnston also loved 
 her, and felt that his own cause was hopeless. Now he 
 says he has nothing to do but to pray and forget her. 
 He loves her still. Your wife has forever poisoned his 
 mind against me. Tell me what I can do to serve you
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 159 
 
 in this matter, and whatever it may be, I will do it, so 
 that they suffer." 
 
 After a pause, Morton answered : 
 
 " Ha, I have it, Belle ! In his wounded love and 
 pride he will also need a comforter outside of prayer ; 
 and Florine will also need a comforter. They will 
 each derive comfort in seeing how miserable the other 
 is. Let him come as often as he pleases ; I will give 
 him many opportunities, and then ah, Belle ! " he 
 chuckled, and patted her head, "we will see how fares 
 the wretch who scorns you, and dares to love and be loved 
 by the woman whom I love"
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Juliet is mistress of a great, massive stone house on 
 square, New York a house which had a peculiar 
 
 fascination for her, inasmuch as it was unusually large. 
 She loved to wander through the various apartments 
 that she might become familiar with her own surround- 
 ings. The east wing was darkened and unused, and, 
 on going through it, she found the rooms were furnished 
 with quaint old-fashioned things, dating back two 
 hundred years. Old portraits, with powdered wigs ; and 
 an old clock, taller than herself, stood in the corner 
 of one room. The chairs, the portraits and the clock 
 seemed all to have lived in the same days, and to have 
 hidden away and shut themselves out from the new and 
 fashionable crowds of furniture and pictures that were 
 in portions of the main building. Old mirrors, with 
 heavy gilt frames, reflected the quaint objects ; and the 
 old portraits seemed to watch each other through them. 
 Upon examining the clock, Juliet found that it was in 
 perfect running order, and wound it up, and waited 
 until she had seen the huge pendulum swing back and 
 forth with regularity long enough to know that it would 
 continue to run ; and she promised not to forget it, and 
 to keep the time always there it would keep the pict- 
 ures company. The west wing was modern in all its 
 
 160
 
 'WHY, THE YOUNG MAN WASN'T THE GIRL'S UNCLE WHEN HE FIRST FELL 
 IN LOVE WITH HER." Page 160.
 
 UNFORQIVEN. 161 
 
 appointments ; and Judge Johnston had told her that 
 it had been occupied by Alexis, and remained just as 
 he had left it. She wandered there one morning while 
 Bertie was out. The hall she entered was richly car- 
 peted, and on the rack were the equipments of a 
 fashionable gentleman. She opened. the first door and 
 stepped into a bed-room fit for a king. Beside a deep 
 velvet chair was a cigar stand of costly wood and silver ; 
 near by stood an alabaster table strewn with books and 
 poems ; on the dressing-case, collars, handkerchiefs 
 and neckties; on the floor, a pair of velvet slippers, 
 and, tossed on a chair, a rich dressing-gown. 
 
 "Ah!" said she, "Alexis seems to be a gentleman 
 of taste, but I should say a trifle careless," and passed 
 to another room. There were stained glass windows 
 on one side, of the most beautiful pattern and rich col- 
 ors, that cast a mellow light on every object in the room. 
 It was evident that the young man had given full range 
 to his taste here, for it was perfect. There were books 
 and tables, and paintings and statuary, strewn here and 
 there in enchanting disorder. There was a portrait of 
 his mother and father in heavy gilt frames. The mother, 
 a brunette, with dark eyes and ripe cherry lips a 
 dashing, brilliant beauty, full of fire and passion. The 
 father resembled Judge Johnston, though a much hand- 
 somer man than he ; but there was the same broad, 
 square shoulders, the same marble cast of features, the 
 same look of marked distinction that sat upon the 
 Judge ; the same piercing eyes, the same sweet but 
 firm mouth. Their eyes followed her about the room 
 
 11
 
 162 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 the eyes so unlike, the faces yet more unlike, those two 
 whom she heard had loved each other so well. 
 
 Strange fancies floated through Juliet's mind as she 
 looked again and again at the portraits, who seemed in 
 mute interchange of opinions concerning her, for their 
 faces were turned towards each other as their eyes fol- 
 lowed her. Did they approve her being here ? Did 
 they ask if she loved Judge Johnston as they had loved 
 each other ? Did they ask her what thoughts she had 
 of their roving boy ? They asked so many things with 
 those mute lips and wandering eyes, that she sat down 
 in a velvet chair and tried to answer queer questions to 
 herself. She was rapt in a strange, dreamy pleasure, 
 when she again returned to her own cheerful parlor 
 where Bertie had been waiting. 
 
 She would never be lonely in this house ! There 
 was a nook to shelter each changing thought and mood ; 
 and she sat down, and asked Bertie about her brother, 
 and when he would return. 
 
 Wherever Juliet went, her unusual beauty, her ele- 
 gant and distinguished appearance, made her the object 
 of general admiration. 
 
 Judge Johnston might have had serious misgivings 
 as to his future happiness had not his young wife been 
 so attentive to him, and seemed to appreciate a word of 
 praise from his lips more than all the adulation she 
 could receive from others. 
 
 Juliet was a sensible woman, and determined to
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 163 
 
 have her husband's love and respect. She saw in 
 him new virtues each day, and honored him more and 
 more. Though she knew in her heart that her love 
 for him was not the kind of love she had once known, 
 yet there was something peaceful about it that prom- 
 ised solid happiness, and she felt that her husband 
 was a very anchor to her soul. She knew that he was 
 proud of her, and she strove to please him in all things. 
 If he wished to receive his old friends, she gave them 
 a royal reception, which made quite a stir ; people 
 commented upon it, and for days afterwards the Judge 
 met acquaintances who were full of praise and admi- 
 ration of his young wife, which made him more proud 
 and happy than ever. Every evening she met him at 
 the door with a smile and a kiss that brightened his 
 face like a schoolboy's. She learned from Bertie all 
 those little attentions that he had been accustomed to, 
 and added a thousand of her own. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hudson were better satisfied with 
 their daughter's choice every time they met the Judge. 
 In their estimation, there was no disparity between 
 them, for their suitability of mind and purpose can- 
 celed the disparity of years. 
 
 Juliet occasionally met Belle Morton and her 
 mother, the latter of whom still employed herself in 
 setting the world aright. She still preached the errors 
 of people and the increased wickedness of the world, 
 and forced her opinions upon every one she met, 
 trampling theirs mercilessly under her feet. The world 
 is dreadfully wrong ; for perverse men and women get
 
 164 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 new ideas into their heads every day, and, with un- 
 bridled tongues, speak out. No sooner did Mrs. Mor- 
 ton meet a hydra-headed man or woman than she cut 
 off his or her head, to find, in a week, that two had 
 grown in its stead. She no sooner settled the perverse 
 Jeffrey on one " ism " than he boldly asserted another 
 from his pulpit. And yet Christ would not come. 
 Abbe says He had better not, for Mrs. Morton had laid 
 by for him a story of these days of trial that would put 
 to shame His first earthly pilgrimage. 
 
 Mrs. Morton, Sr., was one of those persons who have 
 blood. You might have influence or position, the 
 Hudsons and Judge Johnston might have money, but 
 she had blood / And it was well for her to make the 
 most of it in her conversation, as she invariably did, 
 because the idea of her having a better quality of blood 
 than her neighbors would never have forced itself upon 
 you. She talked more, and louder, and upon subjects 
 not always suited to the time and place, than a modest 
 woman would have done. For instance, if a charity 
 mission called her to visit one of her lawyer friends, or to 
 call at any business office, she generally spent two -thirds 
 of her time while there discussing scripture or politics. 
 Her blood seemed to make her less womanly than if 
 she had had a poorer quality of it. She did not manifest 
 any superiority in any act or word, and yet she forced 
 the conviction upon you that all of her peculiar char- 
 acteristics were owing to her blood. Indeed she made 
 herself, at times, so disagreeable with her blood that 
 one would secretly wish that she might swoon, and
 
 'BLESS MY SOUL!" EXCLAIMED THE JUDGE, "THIS IS A MOST WONDERFUL 
 PICTURE, YOUNG MAN. ARE YOU THE ARTIST?" Page 165.
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 165 
 
 render it necessary to tap a vein and draw off some of 
 the obnoxious fluid. Mrs. Morton's blood made her 
 very extravagant in her language and very profuse in 
 her adjectives. Her blood made her unjust to her 
 friends and to her enemies, for she overrated the for- 
 mer and underrated the latter. Her friends were grand, 
 glorious ! her enemies, diabolical ! 
 
 She began to discuss the blood question the first 
 time she met Juliet as Mrs. Johnston, and, after a long 
 tirade, Juliet incensed her by asking her how she 
 accounted for members of the same family differing 
 so widely in taste and disposition, and ofttimes veri- 
 fying the Scripture, " The potter can make of the 
 same clay two vessels, one to honor, the other to dis- 
 honor." 
 
 Again she remarked : 
 
 " Although I have nothing but my observation to 
 warrant the assertion, I believe that you might place 
 the blood of a plebeian in a golden goblet and that of a 
 patrician in an earthen vessel, and half the champions 
 of this blood theory would jump at the conclusion that 
 the goblet held the blood of the patrician. I would 
 rather be the bright star of a family who had no blood 
 to speak of, than the dolt of a blooded race." 
 
 " O ! well, tastes will differ," answered Mrs. Morton. 
 " As for my part, give me blood ! Sometimes when I 
 have lamented the fact that my husband was not so 
 energetic as I would like him to be, and a trifle too 
 democratic, I have always congratulated myself with the 
 fact that / knew he had blood"
 
 166 UNFORQIVEN. 
 
 " But, Mrs. Morton, do you not really think that the 
 difference in people consists in qualities of mind, the 
 mental training, etc. ? " Juliet asked. 
 
 " No, it is blood ! the blood has its natural functions 
 to perform upon the brain, and what the brain is the 
 blood makes it ! " 
 
 " I would hate to think I was born with a certain kind 
 of blood that forbade my being anything but what my 
 ancestors had been, strive I never so hard, if they had 
 not been what I would want to be." 
 
 " I would rather accept Herr von Stein's theory of 
 the origin of the soul ; that spirits unseen dwell among 
 us, and enter the new-born babes, pure, gentle ones, 
 seeking the lowly cot to dwell with peace and love, even 
 sometimes preferring toil ; while vain, ambitious spirits 
 hover round the rich man's home, oftentimes taking 
 possession of the heir of fortune, and ruling him for his 
 ruin. It is a broad field, Mrs. Morton too broad for 
 me. If blood is all, I would say give me only pure, 
 healthful blood, free from taint of disease." 
 
 Years afterwards, Juliet looked back over the career 
 of the Morton family, and wondered if indeed Mrs. 
 Morton's blood theory was right, and that the only thing 
 in which Mrs. Morton was mistaken about it, was the 
 quality of the Morton blood. 
 
 Abbe Hudson was a frequent visitor at Judge John- 
 ston's house. Upon one occasion when he called, find- 
 ing Juliet and the Judge out spending the evening 
 with a friend, he walked into the parlor and sat down, 
 and gazed musingly into the fire.
 
 UNPORGIVEN. 167 
 
 Abbe had had strange moods of abstraction since 
 Juliet's marriage. He seemed very glad to be alone just 
 now, and taking up the poker he broke a piece of coal, 
 and, as he watched the gas blaze up, he said impatiently : 
 
 " It's a very uncomfortable position to find one's self 
 in, very. " 
 
 As he pondered some question silently, he became 
 so restless that he got up and walked the floor, repeat- 
 ing at intervals that it was an awkward position, until 
 the door opened and Bertie peered in. 
 
 " Why, Bertie ! I thought you were out with Juliet 
 and the Judge," he said, pausing in his walk. 
 
 " No, they left me to keep house ; but what is the 
 matter, Abbe ? you seem annoyed." 
 
 " So I was saying when you came in, that it is a very 
 unpleasant position to be in," he said abstractedly. 
 
 "I do not understand." 
 
 " Well, it is this, Bertie ; for a man to be in love with 
 a girl and suddenly find himself that girl's uncle." 
 
 " That would be rather unpleasant." 
 
 He walked on and she walked beside him ; he was 
 silent for awhile and then asked abruptly : 
 
 " I say, Bertie, a girl could not marry her uncle ? " 
 
 " Certainly not, Abbe ; but it would seem strange for 
 a man to fall in love with his niece." 
 
 " What if he did not know it at the time ; never sus- 
 pected such a thing possible ?" 
 
 " O! he would be excusable then ; but it would cer- 
 tainly be a very strange circumstance." 
 
 Bertie looked very much puzzled.
 
 168 UNFORQIVEN. 
 
 " Come, Abbe, sit down and tell me about it ; or do 
 you prefer to walk ? very well. Certainly, if a man 
 should fall in love with his niece, and did not know 
 it, but afterwards found it out before they were married, 
 it would be all right, but quite romantic. Do tell me 
 all about it." 
 
 " I am more disposed to call it selfish than 
 romantic." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 " Why, the young man wasn't the girl's uncle when 
 he first fell in love with her." 
 
 " Was not ! then how in the world could he ever 
 become so?" 
 
 " Why, by this incomprehensible thing of matrimony." 
 
 " I do not comprehend." 
 
 " Why, the young lady's uncle is married to the 
 young man's sister." 
 
 " 0-o-oh ! " 
 
 "That's what I say." 
 
 "But how could that make him her uncle? " looking 
 earnestly into his face with laughing eyes. 
 
 " Why, isn't the young man's sister then the young 
 lady's aunt ? " 
 
 " Yes, by marriage." 
 
 "Then wouldn't the aunt's brother be the young 
 lady's uncle ? " 
 
 " I do not see how." 
 
 "Well, let's suppose the young gentleman could 
 marry the young lady ; would not his own sister then 
 be his aunt ? "
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 169 
 
 " I cannot see how." 
 
 " Bless my soul, Bertie, how could it be otherwise ? 
 If this is true about people when they are married being 
 one, wouldn't the young man then sustain the same 
 relation to the Judge that his wife (the young lady) 
 did?" 
 
 The word " Judge " caused Bertie to start, but, per- 
 ceiving that he had not noticed it, she was silent. 
 
 " I say, if they were one, and his sister was married 
 to her uncle, wouldn't it make the sister who married 
 the young lady's uncle her brother's aunt, and the 
 young man his own wife's uncle ? Bless my soul, it is 
 quite dreadful." 
 
 " One means in mind, and purpose and heart, Abbe, 
 don't you think ? " 
 
 "But the Bible says one flesh:' 
 
 This was too much for Bertie. She could not un- 
 dertake to unravel the tangled skein ; but she sat down 
 in a deep chair, and allowed Abbe to resume his walk 
 alone, while she took a quiet little laugh to herself, 
 which might not be so laughable after all, she acknowl- 
 edged inwardly, if he did not get the knotty question 
 answered to his own satisfaction and hers. 
 
 " I say, Bertie," said Abbe, at last stopping short in 
 his walk, and facing her. 
 
 "Well, Abbe?" 
 
 " There is no nonsense about you, is there ? " 
 
 " I don't know, Abbe ; to be frank with you I am 
 afraid there is. But explain what you mean by non- 
 sense."
 
 170 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 " Well ! you don't hold that every word in the Bible 
 is true." 
 
 " Why, I hope so I believe so " 
 
 " But, don't you suppose there may have been a mis- 
 construction in the translation now and then, a wrong 
 word used ; for instance, " 
 
 " Such an error might occur ; yes ! " 
 
 " Well, if there is a mistake in that Good Book, let's 
 you and I agree on that word ; and that Juliet and the 
 Judge are not one flesh, and that I am not your 
 uncle ! " 
 
 He leaned over her, and her curls hid her blushing 
 face. 
 
 " Come, there's a dear ! Juliet and the Judge can not 
 be one flesh ! We have decided that, and therefore I can- 
 not be your uncle." 
 
 "Yes, but Abbe, if Juliet and uncle are not, 
 
 neither could we be, and it would not be a true mar- 
 riage." 
 
 " Why, bless my life (raising himself erect), aren't 
 you the very girl who told me that one meant in thought, 
 in. purpose and in heart / And who in creation would 
 want to be more ? For instance, if I should lose a limb 
 would you want to be crippled ? Come, no nonsense, 
 Bertie." 
 
 And there was no use for two such natures to have 
 any such nonsense about them. So Bertie allowed him 
 to raise her from her chair, and, as she stood beside him, 
 she acknowledged that it would be quite satisfactory to 
 be one in mind and purpose, and in heart.
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Judge Johnston had been very select in the choice 
 of the friends that he introduced into his house, for he 
 knew that society life is hazardous even with power 
 to choose associates. How it was then that Alvah 
 Morton had insinuated himself into the Judge's con- 
 fidence and respect may puzzle one. But Morton was, 
 as we have said, a man of no mean attainments, and 
 moved both in Brooklyn and New York in the very 
 best of society. 
 
 Juliet treated him with reserve, and watched his 
 course of conduct towards her husband with some 
 apprehension. 
 
 No one could know Judge Johnston and not respect 
 him ; Morton felt this, but he envied and hated him. 
 
 Judge Johnston was a man with broad, liberal 
 views, always looking on the best side of human 
 nature, and ever ready to find an excuse for an error 
 of mankind, which was the reverse of the Morton 
 principle. 
 
 Although she refused to be identified with any relig- 
 ious association, Juliet was not slow in seeking out a 
 sure method of doing noble deeds of charity. Soon 
 her name became as well known among the toiling poor 
 as that of Mrs. Morton, Sr., was among church people 
 and society at large. Struggling youths and maidens 
 
 171
 
 172 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 sought her aid, and in no instance was a worthy appli- 
 cant turned from her door without assistance. Nor did 
 she wait always for them to apply to her, but she sought 
 them out. And we will say here, that Juliet did good 
 without thought of a reward ; while Mrs. Morton always 
 saw, or thought she saw, some good result to herself in 
 her charity. 
 
 One evening a young artist was ushered into Juliet's 
 presence, while she sat in the library writing one of 
 those terse articles with which she frequently furnished 
 the public under a no m de plume. 
 
 The young artist handed her a letter of introduction 
 from a prominent lawyer, and a friend of Judge Johnston. 
 After reading the letter, she asked : 
 
 " Have you any specimens with you ? " 
 
 In reply he unrolled some sketches from the Yosemite 
 Valley, and other American scenery. 
 
 " I see you have no figures. Can you paint por- 
 traits ? " 
 
 " O, yes ! I think I am equally proficient in that 
 line. I would like, at least, to try to paint your por- 
 trait." 
 
 " Portraits are such stiff, tiresome things ; but I have 
 a fancy to surprise my husband with a picture of myself 
 after the style of Evangeline." 
 
 " Capital ! your face will adorn that gem of a pict- 
 ure." 
 
 She smiled at his earnest compliment, and told him 
 he should call the next day and begin his work, and if 
 the picture suited her husband she would pay hand-
 
 UNFOROIVEN. 173 
 
 somely for it, and, after buying one of the sketches he 
 produced, dismissed him. 
 
 Every day the young artist came, and worked upon 
 the picture copying the attitude and drapery of the 
 Evangeline, while the features were life-like of Juliet. 
 
 When it was finished, she told him to call some 
 evening and offer to sell the picture to the Judge. 
 
 Wednesday evening the parlors were brilliantly 
 lighted, and Juliet sat down beside her husband to 
 read. 
 
 " What shall it be to-night ? " she said. 
 
 " Give us the sad, sweet story of Evangeline faith- 
 ful, loving Evangeline ! " 
 
 The poem was not yet read when the artist came 
 in, as though for the first time in his life, and, unveiling 
 the picture, placed it before the Judge. 
 
 " Bless my soul ! " exclaimed the old gentleman, 
 shading his eyes with his hand ; " this is a most won- 
 derful picture, young man ! Are you the artist ? " 
 
 " I am, sir." 
 
 " What do you ask for it?" 
 
 " You shall name the price." 
 
 "Why, Juliet, my love, this is like yourself! Call 
 Bertie ! Well ! well ! " 
 
 Bertie uttered an exclamation of surprise also upon 
 seeing the portrait. The Judge seemed positively 
 jealous that the artist should have an inspiration to 
 paint a face so like that of his idol ; and to be offering 
 it for sale was sacrilegious. 
 
 "Come!" said the Judge, "three hundred dollars,
 
 174 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 provided you give me your word never to paint another 
 like it." 
 
 The artist smiled and cast a furtive glance at the 
 original, who seemed well pleased. 
 
 " That will do," he said. 
 
 " Juliet, love, I pay this price because it so closely 
 resembles you; I would pay double the amount if it 
 were your picture." 
 
 " Would you ? then I think I will give this young 
 man a check for that amount, as it was painted from 
 life, as a gift from me to you." 
 
 Judge Johnston was so well pleased that he gave 
 Juliet and Bertie a hearty kiss, and shook hands with 
 the artist a dozen times ; and Juliet wrote him a check 
 for six hundred dollars. 
 
 Judge Johnston became so much interested in the 
 young artist, that he made inquiries of his friend who 
 had sent him to Juliet, to learn something more about 
 him. And when she asked him the result of his 
 inquiries one evening, when they were all sitting in 
 the parlor, and he, never weary of studying the 
 picture which had first surprised him so much, 
 answered : 
 
 " It is the old, old story, Juliet ! One of poverty's 
 gifted sons, with a family of brothers and sisters to 
 support. I find him to be worthy our best support 
 and encouragement. He has taught school, been a 
 brakeman on a railroad in fact, turned his hand to 
 anything where he could make an honest living ; 
 denied himself for the sake of others, and has only
 
 UNFORQIVEN. 175 
 
 occasionally found time and means to improve his 
 artistic taste. Unknown and friendless until my friend 
 met him, encouraged him, and sent him here, he has 
 been too poor to paint pictures unless sure of their 
 sale, and, therefore, has few specimens of his art. 
 
 "He is safe, now," said Juliet, "for I see he has 
 aroused your deepest sympathy. I will interest some 
 of my lady friends in him, and I think we can find 
 room for several more pictures. I had intended to 
 paint Abbe and Bertie's portraits, but he shall have 
 the work." 
 
 Indeed, they all bethought themselves of friends and 
 acquaintances in whom they could awaken an interest 
 in the young artist, and Juliet at once sent her father a 
 note which she said would not fail to result in substan- 
 tial advantage to the young man. 
 
 "Ah ! " said the Judge, "what a pleasure it is to aid 
 such a cause ! No people on this earth do I honor so 
 much as the strong natures that have the self-control to 
 crush down the higher aspirations of the mind and soul, 
 and make them subservient to the good of others to 
 perform faithfully a task imposed only by pride and 
 honor ! to still the voice that cries out for sympathy, 
 leaving idle their best faculties, and, instead of exalting 
 the sublime spirit God gave them, to be only as a ma- 
 chine, all the time conscious of the higher position they 
 might attain with only an opportunity ! They are the 
 spirits most nearly resembling that of the Divine Son 
 of God who can do this thing. And how many there 
 are day after day exhausted by ceaseless toil only
 
 176 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 for shelter and raiment for the body, while the starv- 
 ing soul lives on in silent agony. The reverse of 
 these natures are those who are idle and worthless 
 simply because circumstances do not place in their 
 hands means to do just what they would like most to 
 do for a livelihood. The people who achieve most are 
 those who take hold of that which opposes them, and 
 break down every barrier that rears itself between them 
 and the object they would achieve. These are the peo- 
 ple, Juliet dear, that we must seek out and aid ? Find 
 them where you will; let them be men, women or 
 children, these are they that we must assist ! " 
 
 "But," said Juliet, smiling, "they are the people 
 whom it seems never need assistance ! " 
 
 " Ah, my child ! there is where you err ; these proud 
 natures might refuse to receive any material help, but 
 there is always a way to further their objects, to lighten 
 their burdens, and send them a step nearer their goal 
 than they would be without your aid. There it is 
 where money and influence can best be utilized ; there 
 is where your noble father has done more real good in 
 this world than any other one man I know in assist- 
 ing the worthy and developing genius and talent. His 
 western farms now furnish labor for dozens of men who 
 are out in the fields with the trees, and flowers and birds, 
 to brighten their toil, away from vile associates, and the 
 unwholesome city. He told me that of every thirty 
 applicants to him for assistance, only ten would accept 
 labor on a farm to earn a living. Such he would take, 
 and those who refused and preferred the crowded
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 177 
 
 haunts of the city, with a bare subsistence, rather than 
 earn an honorable living, he had told never again to apply 
 to him for help, that he assisted no vagabonds ! But 
 of that proportion, one-third, who applied to him and ac- 
 cepted his offer of farm labor, he had given employment, 
 and they were all doing well." 
 
 " Yes, papa has always declared that he would only 
 aid the deserving, and those who showed a disposition 
 to aid themselves." 
 
 " He has done much real good ; his life-work is some- 
 thing to be proud of. If there were more Hudsons in 
 the world, and fewer Mortons, I rather think the 
 world would be set to rights quicker and more satis- 
 factorily." 
 
 12
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Mr. Morton was never so well pleased as when he 
 found Judge Johnston alone in his library, and felt 
 himself a privileged guest. Then it was that he paid 
 compliments to Madame, as he called Juliet, averring 
 that he had acquired the habit of calling married ladies 
 Madame in Paris, and could never rid himself of it. 
 (He had spent two years of his life in Paris, and the rest 
 in America.) 
 
 The Judge, at first a little chary of making his wife 
 the subject of conversation, gradually let his pride 
 get the better of his judgment. 
 
 " It is wonderful," he said one day to Morton, " how 
 perfectly harmonious our natures are. Juliet, proud 
 and untamed in spirit, admires my thorough self-com- 
 mand ; while I worship with the enthusiam of a boy her 
 beauty, wit, and grace. She is as thoughtful of me 
 now, she planned the sweet surprise of her picture as 
 Evangeline, with as much joy as if I had been as hand- 
 some and as youthful as Apollo. I have sometimes 
 been puzzled to understand how quickly she adapted 
 herself to the whims of a sedate old man." 
 
 "Ah!" said Morton, "that is not so wonderful 
 when we consider that she had educated herself for the 
 church not the world ! to be a minister's wife in 
 which, happily for her, she was disappointed," 
 178
 
 UNFORQIVEN. 179 
 
 The smile of Morton was bland enough, and the 
 words and tone most choice, perhaps ; but the Judge 
 started and lost color, and the smile faded from his lips. 
 Morton knew the poisoned drop had entered the Judge's 
 ear, and would find its way to his heart. 
 
 Judge Johnston would question no man about his 
 wife. But this was the secret of Juliet's devotion, of 
 which he had been so proud, simply because she had 
 loved another man, in whom she had been disap- 
 pointed, and married him through chagrin. 
 
 As the conversation flagged Morton left. 
 
 " That fellow has a smooth way of saying disagree- 
 able things," said the Judge, when he was alone with 
 his own bitter thoughts. 
 
 But who could the minister have been ? Impossible ! 
 Had he not seen her soon after she returned from 
 Europe ? It could not have been before she left, for 
 she was a very child. So Judge Johnston tried to allay 
 the pain in his heart, and had almost succeeded when, 
 the day after the above conversation, Mrs. Alvah 
 Morton called on Juliet, and during her stay warily 
 brought up Mr. Jeffrey's name, his growing fame, and 
 lastly the fact, that, soon after he had seen her in St. 
 Louis, he had come to her and told her about Herr von 
 Stein's noble vindication of her name, and explained 
 the way in which she had been led to believe that 
 Juliet had corresponded with her husband. She con- 
 fessed to Juliet how ashamed she had been for her 
 unjust suspicion and begged her pardon. She further- 
 more told Juliet that Mr. Jeffrey had made her promise
 
 180 UNFOROIVEN. 
 
 to tell her how bitterly he censured himself ; how mis- 
 erable he was, and how he had hastened to St. Louis 
 to see her to beg forgiveness and effect a reconcilia- 
 tion. She told her that he had seen her at the 
 Oratorio, and there realizing Judge Johnston's devotion, 
 and, believing his own cause hopeless, he had returned 
 without speaking to her ; his despair at her marriage, 
 and his utter denial of ever intending to address Belle. 
 
 Juliet flushed and paled at the recital and even asked 
 her to discontinue it, but Mrs. Morton seemed to feel 
 in honor bound to redeem her pledge to Mr. Jeffrey, 
 as she said, and to secure Juliet's forgiveness for herself. 
 
 So great was her effort to appear calm and indiffer- 
 ent to the above recital, and so abased was she that 
 Mrs. Morton should remember her slighted love, and 
 imagine that she heard the message with pleasure, 
 that Juliet was quite ill and nervous when Judge John- 
 ston returned home. He too was nervous and ill, but 
 the sight of his wife's glittering eyes and feverish cheeks 
 made him forget himself. She had retired to her own 
 room, and was reclining upon a sofa when the Judge 
 entered, and Bertie was bathing her head. 
 
 Bending tenderly over her, the Judge asked many 
 questions concerning her indisposition, relieved Bertie 
 of her task and took her place beside her. 
 
 Juliet tried to smile and expressed her annoyance at 
 not being able to meet him at the front door, when he 
 came, as was her custom. 
 
 The Judge was no better pleased when he found that 
 Mrs. Morton had been there.
 
 UNFOROIVEN. 181 
 
 "These people do us no good. I find Morton has 
 perfectly upset me, and Juliet is thrown into a fever by 
 seeing Mrs. Morton, " he said mentally. 
 
 Judge Johnston sat down beside her, and showed her 
 every gentle attention that love could suggest, although 
 there was a jealous pang at his heart. Finally, Juliet 
 seeing him in this unusual state of mind, sat up, and 
 leaning over him put both arms caressingly around his 
 neck, and laid her hot cheek against his. 
 
 " If I had known it would worry you so, I should 
 have feigned to be quite well. 
 
 ' But you could not deceive me. " 
 
 "You think not?" she said kissing his forehead. 
 
 " You think not ? " once would have meant nothing. 
 Now there came a dreadful thought. 
 
 " Have I not in reality been deceived into believing 
 that she loved me ? " 
 
 Oh ! the bitterness of that moment ! And the bitter- 
 est part to his noble heart was, that such a thought 
 could find entrance to his brain ; and he fought man- 
 fully against it. 
 
 Later in the evening some one called to see Judge 
 Johnston. He promised Juliet not to remain absent 
 long, but in a little while returned and asked her to 
 excuse him for an hour, and Bertie also, as they must 
 both remain with the visitor below ; and begged of her 
 not to read, but to keep very quiet. 
 
 The Judge had left the room only a second, when 
 the door was gently opened, and Hagar stole in. She 
 looked at Juliet lying upon the sofa with her eyes closed
 
 182 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 then took a survey of the elegant room, and gently 
 touching her arm, said : 
 
 " Young mistress ! " 
 
 Juliet started, sat erect, and said : 
 
 " Ah, Hagar ! I am a little nervous." 
 
 "Yes, mistress, so I see, and feverish, too, which 
 only makes your eyes the brighter. I came to you 
 to-night, mistress, to beg you to listen to your old 
 Hagar, though she is only a servant with a colored 
 skin." 
 
 " What is it you would say ? " 
 
 Hagar looked cautiously round the room, and then 
 peered out each door, closed them again, and coming 
 back, crouched down beside her, and began : 
 
 " Mr. Morton has not given up his plot against you 
 yet, mistress don't stop me I must tell you what I 
 have overheard him and Belle say. If he can't make 
 the Judge jealous, and commit suicide, he will divorce 
 his wife and run away with you. Those Mortons have 
 always had a devilish plot afoot. I don't believe any- 
 body ever suspected it, except that old German artist 
 and myself. But they could not live and not be making 
 trouble somewhere. When you thought them friends, 
 I dared not speak; but since you know some of their 
 treachery, I will tell you what more I know of them. 
 This is what brought me here particularly to-night. 
 Morton has told your husband that the reason you 
 made so charming a wife for an old man, is, that you 
 were trained to be a minister's wife." 
 
 Poor Juliet ! she started to her feet, and then fell
 
 UNFOROIVEN. 183 
 
 back. "Why must the curse of that mistaken love 
 for Mr. Jeffrey follow me all my life?" she groaned 
 inwardly. 
 
 "I was listening, and heard him tell Belle how 
 that the Judge turned pale as paper when he said 
 that, and could not praise you for your attention to 
 him any more afterwards. He has forced his wife to 
 tell him what she said to you to day. Child ! child ! 
 Morton must never hear that you are ill to-night! 
 Let me dress you ; brighten up and go down stairs. 
 If Morton should hear that you are ill, he will put his 
 own construction upon it, and tell your husband. 
 You see, dear child, I go there often I took my 
 daughter and hired her to Mrs. Alvah Morton ; I told 
 her to listen and watch them close, and tell me all they 
 say. I go there to see her almost every day. And I 
 listen, too ! Ah, child, I watch as well as pray in this 
 world, and I beg you to watch those people well. 
 Come, honey, you are better now, I see. Let's put on 
 that garnet silk that Mr. Abbe says makes a Juno out 
 of you." 
 
 " Judge Johnston has company ; I may not disturb 
 them." 
 
 " Company he will only be too proud to have you see. 
 I heard the girl say it is Mr. Alexis, Miss Bertie's brother, 
 and that you were ill ; and Judge Johnston would not 
 tell you who it was for fear you would exert yourself to 
 come down." 
 
 " Then I will go ; assist me to dress." 
 
 After a hasty but exquisite toilet, she told Hagar
 
 184 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 good-bye and descended the stairs, at the foot of which 
 Hagar whispered: 
 
 " I'll come again, but you must tell Judge Johnston 
 all about that old courtship ; don't let him hear it first 
 from any one else." 
 
 She stood a moment at the parlor door. Her hus- 
 band sat upon a sofa drawn out near the fire, and Bertie 
 sat near him. Before her own picture a tall, finely 
 formed man stood, gazing upon it like one entranced. 
 
 The Judge's face seemed changed ; she thought he 
 had suddenly grown older and more gray. 
 
 " Why, Juliet ! " cried Bertie. 
 
 Judge Johnston got up and took Juliet's hand, and 
 the tall young man turned slowly round. 
 
 " Juliet, my love, this is my nephew, Alexis." The 
 young man stepped nearer, and took her offered hand, 
 and in the bewilderment of his surprise said : " Uncle, 
 I congratulate you," 
 
 " Congratulate me too, Alexis," she said, with a 
 smile upon her husband. 
 
 " I do, dear aunt ; in my estimation, your husband 
 is the noblest man that walks the earth." 
 
 The remainder of the evening was spent delight- 
 fully, Bertie telling Alexis about her first meeting with 
 Juliet in Germany, and that after she returned her 
 uncle had taken her to see her, and they had fallen in 
 love and married soon after. 
 
 Judge Johnston insisted that Juliet should not keep 
 late hours, and leaving the brother and sister alone 
 together they sought their own apartment.
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 185 
 
 "This is certainly a very strange marriage," said 
 the young man ; " Bertie, are they happy ? " 
 
 "The most congenial couple in all the world, Alexis; 
 he idolizes her, and she looks upon him as more than 
 human." 
 
 Long after the household slept, Alexis stood before 
 the picture of Evangeline, and then paced the floor. 
 
 " Trouble ! nothing but trouble can come of this ! " 
 he said, every time he looked up at the beautiful 
 face, that even when he closed his eyes haunted him 
 still.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 The family circle of Judge Johnston had seemed per- 
 fect before the arrival of Alexis, and yet every one was 
 conscious that he added a new additional charm to their 
 pleasant evenings. He recited interesting incidents of 
 his travels around the world, and Judge Johnston was 
 delighted to find him so improved in health indeed, 
 quite robust now, and thoroughly acquainted with all 
 those useful things one can only learn by traveling. 
 
 Alexis sang well, and, though somewhat averse to 
 making use of this accomplishment for he said large 
 birds never sang, and only made themselves ridiculous 
 in the attempt yet he sometimes joined Juliet, Bertie, 
 and Abbe, and completed a most excellent quartette. 
 Alexis' chief ornamental acquisition consisted in rare 
 elocutionary powers. He would, if in the mood, which 
 came to him oftener than any other mode of entertain- 
 ing them, hold them entranced listeners for hours. He 
 was the reverse of Abbe in looks and disposition, but 
 he was not displeased when Bertie told him of her 
 engagement, and that her wedding had only been 
 postponed until he should come. 
 
 Judge Johnston was proud that his nephew admired 
 Juliet and that she seemed to regard him as superior to 
 other young men. 
 
 Alexis found his apartments unchanged from what 
 
 186
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 187 
 
 he had left them, and Juliet told him the impression her 
 first visit to them had given her, and asked him to order 
 any changes that he desired made. 
 
 "For," she said, smiling, " I suppose it is agreed that 
 this will be your home until you get married and have 
 one of your own. But, even then, you and Bertie must 
 not go too far away ; if you choose some one who can 
 share our love like Abbe's choice, then indeed we will 
 be the happiest and most fortunate family in the world 
 in our matrimonial alliances." 
 
 He assured her that if his home was to be with them 
 until he married, he was afraid that it would be a long 
 time ; for that his uncle had taught him to be so diffi- 
 cult to please that he dared not hope he would ever 
 find the exact ideal he had pictured as the future Mrs. 
 Johnston, junior. 
 
 " Well, well ! so long as you are contented alone 
 with us, we are going to try and please you," said the 
 Judge ; " but when you see how very happy we are, I am 
 afraid when Abbe and Bertie set up an establishment 
 of their own, you will be thinking of doing the same 
 very shortly." 
 
 Alexis strayed through the home of his uncle from 
 room to room of the marble Eden, as he called it, with 
 the eye of a connoisseur. Judge Johnston pointed out 
 with great pride Juliet's own paintings, which Alexis 
 found to be the finest on their walls. The more he 
 studied her and her rare accomplishments, the more 
 puzzled he became and the more frequently intruded 
 his first reflection
 
 188 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 " Nothing but trouble can come of this ! " He 
 had as yet no defined plan for the future, though he 
 had always intended to have a life -purpose. But as he 
 wandered there in a kind of bewildering maze, every- 
 thing so real and yet so unreal, so natural and yet so 
 unnatural, so peaceful and happy, he lost for a time all 
 thought of any plan for himself. It seemed to him as 
 though suddenly he had been transported to a different 
 world, where he was robbed of the old thoughts and 
 aspirations that had once been his, and was forced to live 
 an idle participator in a delicious and intoxicating pleas- 
 ure that to him seemed to pervade the very air of his 
 uncle's dwelling, and to wander among things of beauty 
 with a dreary sense sometimes that he could not always 
 dwell there a keen pain attending the thought that he 
 should be up and doing, and throwing off the spell 
 that seemed to bind up his best faculties. To-morrow, 
 to-morrow! but to-day he would idly wander here 
 down the long hall with its tessellated floor, high 
 columns, its niches and statues, and up the wide marble 
 steps. 
 
 Through the rich salons, with their pictures, en- 
 gravings, etchings and statuary, reflected and multi- 
 plied by magnificent mirrors, he passed for they 
 are all familiar objects in every luxurious dwelling; but 
 he turned always first and last to the great dark eyes 
 of Evangeline, and asked, why they haunted him, 
 waking or sleeping, and, looking down into the very 
 depths of his heart, saw there something that made his 
 head reel to think of, and made him ashamed and
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 189 
 
 abased before himself, and yet rendered him powerless 
 to tear himself away forever. 
 
 The library had the greatest attraction for him, for 
 it was there that every object seemed to wear some- 
 thing of Juliet's own individuality. A table strewn 
 with books, periodicals and magazines he always 
 approached first. Here a translation from the French 
 or German in her own delicate handwriting ; there a 
 criticism or an article for the press, with here and there 
 a word in uncle's writing showing that even in these 
 labors, he was her companion, friend and guide. How 
 near her taste was like his own. For here were 
 certain pictures copies of originals that he had seen 
 abroad ; and he wondered why it was that she should 
 choose the very ones that he had done. One especially 
 attracted his attention, a steel engraving, Die Verban- 
 nung des Satans. 
 
 It hung so that from her accustomed place she 
 could see it whenever she lifted up her eyes. 
 
 " Er floh mit Murren ohne, Zaudern fort, 
 Und mit ihm flohen all' die nachtigen Schatten." 
 
 In his peculiar frame of mind he wondered again 
 and again why this picture was there the sword of 
 the arch-angel pointing, it seemed, not at the fiend 
 in his flight, but at himself; and, as he noticed the 
 features more closely, he fancied the dark angel re- 
 sembled himself. He repeated the words of Milton, 
 first in German and then in English. He turned once
 
 190 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 more towards the table. His glance took in her labor 
 of yesterday. No hour is lost to her. Each day she 
 had a task to perform, while he walked idly about. 
 He passed on down the room, pausing before a case of 
 books, reading the titles of some of them, lingering 
 near a statue here and there in which he traced a 
 likeness to Juliet, as he did in all the most beautiful, 
 whether it be a Juno, a Hebe, the Muses, or the Graces. 
 At the end of the library was a stained glass window 
 that shut out the back view and threw its softened 
 rays in quivering colors over every object. To the right 
 was a door which opened into a hall that communicated 
 with his own apartments. 
 
 The study of chemistry had always been the most 
 fascinating to Alexis. Before he traveled he had spent 
 many hours trying experiments, and telling the result 
 to his uncle and sister. 
 
 He had also classified discoveries already made, and 
 begun to write a useful treatise on the subject which he 
 had intended at some time to publish ; but day after 
 day he put off resuming his old labor, till all at once 
 the thought occurred to him, How surely will this course 
 make her despise me! A few hours later Bertie found him 
 earnestly at work. He had one of his rooms fitted up 
 as a laboratory, and there he worked all day and far 
 into the night.
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Alvah Morton continued to be a frequent visitor! 
 He had formed the acquaintance of Alexis as soon as 
 possible, and had striven to lead him into his circle of 
 friends. Never had Morton been so jealous of the 
 Judge as he was of Alexis ; second to Mr. Jeffrey, he 
 had never met a man whom he feared and hated more ; 
 and he recognized in him every quality that it was evi- 
 dent to him Juliet most admired. 
 
 He would step in upon him at the most inopportune 
 hours ! He never failed to dexterouly introduce the 
 name of Madame ! her beauty, wit and grace. " You 
 work," he said, one day when he had failed to induce 
 him to go out with him, " like one seeking the elixir of 
 life, or the waters of Lethe ! which is it, old boy, that 
 you covet?" 
 
 At such remarks Alexis would frown, and then upon 
 second thought, perhaps, stop his work and talk pleas- 
 antly, or walk out with Morton ; or show and explain 
 to the intruder the result of his last experiment. One 
 thing he could not be influenced to do, and that was, 
 to make his uncle or his uncle's wife the subject of con- 
 versation with Morton. 
 
 Upon one of these visits, some time after Alexis had 
 become deeply interested in his work, Morton entered 
 his laboratory, and after a few remarks, said : 
 
 "By the by, the Judge has been telling me that Abbe 
 
 191
 
 192 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 and Bertie are trying to persuade Madame to have pri- 
 vate theatricals and operas, and he wishes me, in case 
 his lady consents, to become a member of the amateur 
 club. It is a pleasant idea, and will cause the winter 
 to pass as quickly as a dream. Judge Johnston enjoys 
 such things but here is Madame and your sister." 
 
 And he rose from his chair, and placed chairs for the 
 ladies, who refused to be seated. 
 
 " We only came to tell you, Alexis, that auntie has 
 decided to permit the theatricals, provided we write our 
 own plays. She says that will improve me, and keep 
 Abbe out of mischief, and insure fewer entertain- 
 ments." 
 
 "Capital," said Morton, "here in a select circle 
 Madame has honored us but perhaps I am bold." 
 
 " No, no ! " said Bertie, coming to his relief, " you 
 are to be one of our number. Uncle says you have 
 written one or two good plays and brother can, I 
 know, if he will only try ! " 
 
 " I do not think I am more than equal to the task 
 of memorizing a portion of what another writes ; how- 
 ever I am willing to contribute my share to the enjoy- 
 ment of others. By the way, aunt Juliet " (Alexis 
 could not say Juliet or Mrs. Johnston, so he always 
 
 addressed her as aunt), " N is here, and I would 
 
 like to hear Faust to-night. Can you not persuade 
 uncle to go ? " 
 
 " Certainly, if he has no other engagement." 
 
 When evening came, Judge Johnston informed them 
 that he had an engagement to meet a friend at a hotel,
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 193 
 
 and insisted that Juliet should go with Alexis, Abbe 
 and Bertie to the opera, adding : 
 
 " We shall have Faust for our first private opera." 
 
 As usual, Morton occupied the seat just behind 
 that of Juliet at the opera, and busied himself with 
 the study of her and Alexis. How handsome they 
 both were ! How privileged he was to sit beside her, 
 to speak softly, to hold her fan and opera glass aye, 
 would not Alexis enter with his whole soul into his 
 part of that same opera should she play Marguerite ? 
 " We shall see ! I will solve the problem then ! " He 
 revolved such thoughts in his mind during the entire 
 performance. 
 
 Nothing puzzled Alexis more than Juliet's method- 
 ical study. Every day had its hour set apart for 
 mental improvement, and every week the Judge 
 learned with pleasure what she had accomplished, and 
 praised and encouraged her. 
 
 It seemed to him that she was striving to cancel all 
 difference in point of knowledge between herself and 
 her husband, and aiming to raise herself to his stand- 
 ard in all things. 
 
 "The day shall come," he heard her say to the 
 Judge once, "when you shall no longer call me child, 
 but wife." 
 
 How often he recalled those words as he saw her 
 studying or writing. 
 
 One day he found her absorbed in a book on pho- 
 nography, and taking it up he laughed at her for 
 spending her time upon a thing which she never would 
 
 13
 
 194 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 make any practical use of. " Unless," he added, " you 
 do so to discipline your mind ; and it is .Ine for that 
 almost equal to mathematics, or the study of foreign 
 languages." 
 
 "It is the queerest and most fascinating study 
 viewed in the light in which I have been studying it 
 this morning. For instance, here is a page covered 
 with phonographs. A little mark in this position 
 means one thing, there another, and here another. 
 And if you place it on an unruled sheet of paper, it 
 might mean either of a half dozen things that one 
 would choose to make it. The thought occurred to 
 me as I was poring over them, how like human nature 
 it is. The people are phonographs, and these lines 
 circumstances. What different strokes of the pen are 
 in the different positions they are placed, is also true 
 to human nature. Did you never notice that lan- 
 guage itself, the very words we speak, if we consider 
 them, bear resemblance to the human character ? There 
 are some words that are wholly dependent upon others 
 to express the simplest meaning, and are utterly void 
 of sense when taken alone ; and yet, mixed in with 
 other words, they go a great way in making up an in- 
 teresting history or romance ; and we might say the 
 same thing of some people. There are other words 
 that, like a few grand natures, are self-sustained, and 
 express a volume even when written alone. They need 
 no adornment. Each separate and alone, is complete in 
 itself, as Love ! Wisdom ! Hope ! Truth ! Joy ! Honor ! 
 Shame ! Glory ! Despair ! Revenge ! " said Juliet.
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 195 
 
 "There are as few self-sustained natures as there are 
 words, then, " replied Alexis, musingly. " But I had 
 never thought of language in that connection before. 
 Why should you ? " 
 
 " I do not know. These analogies and comparisons 
 force themselves upon my attention as I study books 
 and people. I have had this thought in my mind this 
 morning. When we can see that this is true that we 
 can no more read human nature in different situations 
 than we can tell what these marks are without their lines 
 to define their true position the question came to me, 
 'Why will people judge of others who they are and 
 what they are without a true knowledge of the 
 circumstances which force them to appear what they 
 do to us ? ' " 
 
 "Ah ! I see Uncle has not failed to imprint some of 
 his broad, liberal views upon your mind. " 
 
 " Yes ; all that makes me stronger and more liberal 
 than I might have been I have learned from my 
 husband. "
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 It was decided that the first home opera should be 
 Faust, and from that time on there were rehearsals, 
 which necessarily brought Morton more frequently to 
 the house of Judge Johnston. A young lady friend of 
 Bertie's and the young artist were added to the number 
 and at last the day arrived. A number of choice 
 musicians were to render the orchestral part of the 
 music. 
 
 Juliet having the finest voice was forced to take the 
 part of Marguerite. A number of friends and acquaint- 
 ances were invited. 
 
 Abbe said that he could do himself more honor as 
 Mephistopheles, but that Alvah Morton could still 
 excel him so far in the impersonation of his Satanic 
 Majesty that he must allow him to do so for the benefit 
 of the audience. 
 
 Promptly at 8 o'clock the friends arrived, and were 
 rewarded by a good opera, and excellent refreshments. 
 
 " How much the world has lost in your gain, " said 
 a lawyer friend to the Judge. " Your wife's voice 
 .er than many a one on the stage, and her acting is 
 tfrfect Alexis, too, seems born for the stage ! " 
 
 Who could read the thoughts in Judge Johnston's 
 mind. He had looked on and admired the artistic skill 
 and taste of the amateurs. His thoughts stopped not 
 
 196
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 197 
 
 there. Alexis' manly beauty, his grace, aye, even 
 grandeur, had never asserted themselves so strongly 
 till now. His fine voice ah, well ! he was just the 
 kind of a man to drive men mad with envy, and women 
 with admiration. 
 
 Bertie, Abbe and the artist supported them well; 
 while Morton's rendition of Mephistopheles was inim- 
 itable. 
 
 Before dispersing for their several homes, Morton 
 took occasion to congratulate Alexis upon his perform- 
 ance and voice, in a tone loud enough to be heard by 
 the Judge. 
 
 " I tell you, old boy!" he said, putting his hand on 
 his arm, " there seemed to be something fearfully real 
 in your acting, as though it were given you for the 
 moment to play a tragic part of your own life for the 
 amusement of others. Your words were not the words 
 of the author, but they came up in rich song from the 
 heart that sent them forth. Aye ! I saw the quiver of 
 your arm as you supported Madame in the prison scene. 
 Beware, my friend, how you play Faust ! " 
 
 Alexis was for a moment dumb with indignation, but 
 he knew that he must take the sarcasm kindly, so he 
 returned the thrust with a similar compliment. , 
 
 " Your fortune would have been made if B had 
 
 seen you. So perfect and accomplished a Satanilaa 
 yourself could not be found this side of Hades ! And, 
 truth to tell, you seemed to be acting only your real 
 character or, as you say, there was something 
 fearfully real in your part."
 
 198 UNFORQIVEN. 
 
 A laugh such as Satan himself might indulge in over 
 a lost soul burst from Morton's lips as he turned away 
 with the image of Judge Johnston's troubled face in his 
 mind, and Alexis' struggle to hide his abasement that 
 his secret was no longer his own. 
 
 So wise, so honorable was Alexis, that Juliet had 
 never suspected his secret ; but now that he felt that 
 another had, he was struggling with himself to tear 
 himself away from her forever. Where should he go ? 
 Somewhere to hide himself from the world, that it might 
 never know his shame not to seek forgetfulness amid 
 busy streets and crowded places. He did not want to 
 forget Juliet; he wanted to forget that she was his 
 uncle's wife. He did not wish to forget the face, the 
 voice of her he loved. He would retain the sweet in- 
 fluence of her presence and carry it with him wherever 
 he might go. But he would remember her only as a 
 sweet dream of one who was dead, who came from the 
 angels to soothe his wounded spirit; not as a real, liv- 
 ing woman, his noble uncle's wife that was the 
 thought that humiliated him. He must preserve his 
 manhood ; he must leave his uncle's house. Oh, if he 
 could find the moral courage to go without letting her 
 suspect the secret that must ever darken her memory 
 of him. 
 
 Some persons, who view this subject differently, may 
 imagine that Alexis would have had his love returned 
 and would have loved Juliet more for her sympathy. 
 But in his own heart he honored her more, because she 
 was so far exalted above any suspicion of or desire for
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 199 
 
 his own admiration. He was glad that it was so. It 
 only convinced him of her superiority. He was glad 
 that the trial was his alone. There was no heartache 
 for her no remorse. 
 
 Thus he reasoned with himself, resolving to do his 
 duty and to leave his uncle's house. Alexis Johnston 
 had been the pride and joy of his uncle's life. Upon 
 him he had bestowed a liberal education and a sub- 
 stantial fortune. And it had also been the Judge's aim 
 during his intercourse with Alexis to stamp life-long 
 impressions upon his mind and heart of the noblest 
 virtues of man courage, honor, and truth. As he 
 grew to manhood the Judge saw his fondest hopes 
 realized. 
 
 He had also spoken to him upon the subject of 
 love and marriage, and Alexis' view upon these subjects 
 were molded and fashioned by his uncle. No man that 
 he had ever known had Alexis honored and admired 
 so much as his uncle, therefore he had striven to 
 emulate his example in all things. 
 
 Love he had studied in all its phases religiously 
 and philosophically although no object had ever 
 called forth the most exalted feelings of his nature, 
 which he called love, and he resolved never to marry 
 until he met and was loved by such an one as his heart 
 demanded to satisfy its yearnings. 
 
 She must be beautiful as sinless Eve when Adam 
 first gazed upon her lovely face, and he would accept 
 her from God as bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. 
 
 He studied the Bible for his religious ideas of love,
 
 200 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 and Plato to strengthen his philosophical belief on the 
 same subject. He believed it to be a high, ennobling 
 feeling to be inspired with true love. With all these 
 grand ideas and feelings it was not wonderful that 
 Alexis at twenty-four had not met his ideal, and was 
 fast becoming skeptical on the subject, and deciding 
 to be a bachelor. For his experience had been that 
 beautiful women ofttimes lack intelligence, or are vain 
 and selfish. The truth was, Alexis wanted too many 
 excellent qualities combined. There must be a fair 
 and just proportion of the spiritual and material, he 
 reasoned, to make him happy. He did not want, and 
 never expected to find, an angel wearing women's 
 clothes, and associating with mortals. But she must be 
 beautiful and amiable a real flesh and blood creature, 
 with a proud spirit, and one that could love him even 
 as Alcestis of old loved her husband, so that she was 
 willing to lay down her life for him. 
 
 Without being vain Alexis put a just estimate upon 
 himself, and acknowledged gratefully that he was hand- 
 some and intelligent ; and might reasonably expect 
 favor from the fairest of the land. But, as we say, 
 he had grown skeptical, when news of his uncle's mar- 
 riage reached him while abroad. He had never seen 
 Juliet, and had formed no imaginary picture of her. 
 In answer to his uncle's letter, he said : 
 " I infer from your step that you have either changed 
 your views upon the subject of love and marriage, or 
 else your patience has been rewarded by at last find- 
 ing all the charms you wish for combined in one mortal.
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 201 
 
 If such is the case / will not despair, but hope some 
 day to meet my affinity." 
 
 Alexis was, as we gave our readers cause to know, 
 at once sensible to Juliet's magnetic charms, but 
 hoped in course of time to see something in her nature 
 which would counteract the effect her beauty had upon 
 him ; but as the days passed on, and he studied her 
 more carefully, he grew more deeply interested in her 
 until at last, to his shame and remorse, he found himself 
 hopelessly enamored of his uncle's wife. If she had 
 seemed conscious of it he would then have been safe, 
 for he would have scorned her vanity ; but from her lofty 
 throne she ruled wholly indifferent to the admiration or 
 love she inspired. 
 
 Alexis saw, too, that she was unconsciously being 
 molded by her husband's strong, loving hand, into 
 something even superior to her present self. 
 
 Day after day Alexis struggled with himself; day 
 after day only sealed his fate, and he was tortured by 
 his love, tortured by a consciousness of his baseness in 
 loving her. He watched her closely to see if she really 
 was happy ; if she indeed loved her gray-haired wor- 
 shiper. Only once had he seen her slightly depressed, 
 and fancied that he saw an inward struggle taking 
 place. She had stood quite still for an hour beside the 
 window, looking out in the street at a heavy rain. He 
 wondered whether she and his uncle had had a mis- 
 understanding, and she was waiting for his coming 
 that she might be reconciled. He never knew what 
 hidden feeling was indicated by the smoldering fire
 
 202 UNFORQIVEN. 
 
 in her dark eyes, and the red stains upon her rounded 
 cheek he did know that her husband's step in the 
 hall was the first thing to rouse her ; that she met him 
 half-way and seemed to fly into his arms as a refuge 
 from her bitter thoughts, and to nestle there, as though 
 she was safe from every ill of life. Tortured by the 
 scene, by conscience and jealousy, Alexis went quickly 
 into his room and locked his door, and sat there 
 pondering again the question of leaving his uncle's 
 house. 
 #* * * * * # * 
 
 This is the last incident during Alexis' stay in Judge 
 Johnston's house. 
 
 A cold winter evening - the grate is glowing, and 
 only enough light to be cheerful. The Judge just a 
 little rheumatic, reclines on a crimson couch, and Ber- 
 tie sits on an ottoman at his side. His eyes are upon a 
 tableau of Alexis and Juliet. They have sung his 
 favorite songs, and Alexis has read for them as only 
 he could read ; and now they lean, deeply absorbed in 
 a game of chess, toward each other. He thinks how 
 handsome they are. He watches Alexis follow Juliet's 
 hand as it guides her men over the board. He sees 
 him make an unlucky move, and Juliet looks at him 
 with a smile of triumph. Alexis raises his eyes to her 
 face ; Judge Johnston knows that she reads in them 
 just what he does admiration, love for she pushes 
 the board away, calls him a bad player and smiles at 
 the Judge, who, gloomy and silent, pretends to listen 
 to Bertie.
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 203 
 
 The young man leaves the parlor with an awkward 
 good-night, and a chill frost settles upon the circle. 
 There is no anger in the granite features of the noble 
 Judge, only sorrow seems with invisible chisel to 
 carve lines upon them that will never be erased ; and 
 self-reproach touches the old man's heart. He blames 
 nobody but himself. He sees the genuine look of 
 esteem in Juliet's eyes when they turn upon him, but 
 his heart is sore when she smiles. 
 
 " I must finish my article for the Paris paper," she 
 says after awhile ; " will you go to the library, Judge ? " 
 
 "Not, yet, dear; you can write better if alone." 
 
 " Follow me soon, then," she says, kissing her hand 
 to him. 
 
 She reached the library, and spreading out her 
 writing materials tried to collect her thoughts, but they 
 were scattered like wild birds by the hunter's rifle, and 
 would not come. 
 
 Alexis' face flitted before her as she tried to write ; 
 its expression amazed her ; she could give it no name, 
 and then her husband's sad countenance and gray hair 
 came with a new meaning in his loving eyes. No an- 
 ger, no doubt, no distrust, no reproach but O, so 
 sad ! It troubled her so much that she laid aside her 
 pen and sought her chamber; she found her husband 
 already there, and putting those magic arms about his 
 neck she kissed the throbbing temples till the cloud 
 vanished from them. 
 
 The next morning Alexis sent for his uncle to come 
 to the library, as he was going away and desired to
 
 204 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 speak with him ; and there was a tete-a-tete between 
 them. No one ever knew what passed ; but after break- 
 fast, Alexis announced his intention of going to Canada, 
 and a few hours later bade them farewell. 
 
 Bertie and Abbe appeared in all the diversions of 
 fashionable society. Juliet, who never relished society 
 life, appeared less frequently in public, and her recep- 
 tions, though losing nothing in splendor, were more 
 rare. She devoted herself to her home and to study. 
 Alvah Morton she never saw in her own house now 
 when she could avoid it, though he was a frequent 
 visitor of her husband. 
 
 What their friends thought of Alexis' sudden with- 
 drawal from New York she did not know, but supposed 
 Judge Johnston had explained it to their satisfaction. 
 His name was seldom mentioned except by Bertie, who 
 corresponded with him, and from whom Juliet learned he 
 was residing in St. John, New Brunswick. Juliet hailed 
 the summer with joy, since it scattered city people, 
 and she hoped to find a quiet retreat in the mountains. 
 She consulted her parents, and they all mapped out 
 their summer excursion. Bertie and Abbe liked Sara- 
 toga, Judge Johnston Lake George, and finally they 
 decided to divide the time to please each. It was while 
 at Long Branch that Belle Morton, her mother and 
 Alvah, appeared, the latter, of course, desiring only to 
 keep Juliet in view. But she kept them all at a dis- 
 tance, treating them with the most chilling politeness. 
 
 Judge Johnston and Abbe vied with each other in
 
 UNFORQIVEN. 205 
 
 their dashing turn-outs, the two being by far the 
 handsomest that were driven upon the beach that sea- 
 son. 
 
 Alvah Morton, it was evident, was pre-occupied and in 
 trouble. He was suddenly much changed in appearance, 
 and apparently much depressed, the cause of which was 
 speculated upon by all who knew him. That he had 
 taken Judge Johnston into his confidence was also evi- 
 dent, for he seemed to be in sympathy with him. 
 
 The scene is the parlor in a villa where our friends 
 are boarding. 
 
 Abbe and Bertie and Mr. and Mrs. Hudson are hav- 
 ing a drive over Hoey's grounds, while Judge Johnston 
 reads the morning paper, and Juliet sits beside the win- 
 dow musing. 
 
 She is startled by this ejaculation from her husband : 
 
 " Ha ! this is dreadful ! " 
 
 Juliet thinks it must be a murder or suicide, and 
 muses on. But Judge Johnston appears unusually 
 annoyed, and finally gets up and lays a New York 
 paper in Juliet's lap, drawing her attention to an 
 article which contained a scandal, wherein the Rev. 
 Constantine Jeffrey's name is associated with Mrs. 
 Alvah Morton's and also her confession of guilt, etc., 
 etc. 
 
 Juliet's face burns as she reads the shameful article. 
 
 The Judge withdraws to order his team, and when 
 he returns he says : 
 
 " It is shameful ! Morton is mad, or else he would 
 never have done such a thing ! If he knew these facts,
 
 206 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 why didn't he shoot Jeffrey? Any jury would have 
 cleared him ! But, to use his wife's name in such con- 
 nection publicly, certainly exceeds any piece of villainy 
 I have ever known ! For his own sake, his daughter's 
 sake, heavens ! how could a man do such a deed ? He 
 told me about the affair, but I had no idea he had such 
 intentions as these. But come, we will have a drive and 
 forget the miserable creatures."
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 The Rev. Constantine Jeffrey met Morton's charge 
 boldly, asking the matter to be investigated, appointing 
 a committee of some of the leading citizens of New 
 York and Brooklyn, both of the church and the world, 
 to make a thorough investigation, and report. 
 
 Based upon so slender and unreasonable a founda- 
 tion, it would have been difficult to secure the services 
 of able lawyers in any other case, but it was, indeed, 
 only a war of legal Titans ; and behold Juliet's surprise 
 to see her husband's name among the appearances for 
 the plaintiff. 
 
 Great preparations were being made. Nothing else 
 was thought of or discussed, it seemed, by all classes 
 of people in the United States, to whom the names of 
 both men were familiar ; Jeffrey as a minister and 
 journalist, and Morton as a journalist. 
 
 Juliet was resolved that her husband should not ap- 
 pear for Morton. She debated in her own mind the 
 most proper method of approaching the subject. While 
 revolving it in her thoughts, a circumstance decided for 
 her, in the shape of a prayerful letter from Mrs. Morton, 
 declaring her innocence, and stating that her husband 
 had forced her to make the confession, and adding that 
 she " was incapable of being truthful, or anything but 
 what he desired her to be in his presence." She 
 
 207
 
 208 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 affirmed that the whole publication was false, and 
 wrung from her by threats from her husband. She 
 begged her not to think too hardly of her, but to pity 
 her weakness and misery ; that she had been only the 
 tool of her husband by which he sought to ruin his 
 literary rival, Jeffrey. 
 
 Juliet's scorn for this miserable woman was only 
 deepened upon reading this letter, and as she placed 
 it in her husband's hand she said : 
 
 " Can you assist in the prosecution of any one for so 
 weak, if not base, a creature ? " 
 
 The Judge smiled, and said : 
 
 " She has made half a dozen such statements. I 
 shall take care that this letter does not get into the 
 possession of the defense." 
 
 "The letter is to me," answered Juliet, calmly, "and 
 it shall be read in evidence on the part of the defense, 
 if it goes into court at all." 
 
 "You will be making our fight the harder one," he 
 said. 
 
 " Be it so ! prepare yourself for a battle, strong as it 
 may be." 
 
 She reached forth her hand and the Judge placed the 
 letter in it with a gallant bow. 
 
 " Have you any particular reason, Juliet, for me not 
 aiding in the prosecution of Mr. Jeffrey ? " asked the 
 Judge, after a short silence. 
 
 "Yes, sir," she said (for the truth is the shortest 
 way out of any difficulty). " In the first place, I believe 
 the whole plot and scheme an infamous libel to injure
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 209 
 
 Mr. Jeffrey as a journalist, and to give Morton a chance 
 to divorce his wife." 
 
 " Do you know Mr. Jeffrey ? " 
 
 " Not now ; but when I was quite young, I was en- 
 gaged to be married to him Mr. Morton and his 
 cousin Belle contrived a plot to break the engage- 
 ment." 
 
 Here she gave a true statement of the facts stated 
 in the first chapters, her meeting and parting from 
 Jeffrey, and her words to him when they parted. 
 
 " Heavens above ! " cried the Judge, " and I have 
 been throwing you constantly in contact with this vil- 
 lain. I see I see it now ; Juliet, why did you never 
 tell me this before ? " 
 
 " Because I never had an occasion, and thought it 
 would perhaps be unpleasant for you." 
 
 " Did Mr. Jeffrey never apologize for his treatment 
 of you?" 
 
 "No; Mrs. Morton told me that Herr von Stein 
 cleared the matter up to his satisfaction, and that he 
 hastened to St. Louis to see me, but we did not meet." 
 
 The Judge almost sprang to his feet, but, endeav- 
 oring to calm himself, paced the long room, and as he 
 came to the further end where his favorite picture of 
 Copperfield hung, he stopped, smote his forehea4 with 
 his palm, and almost groaned aloud. Day after day 
 and week after week had he admired that picture. 
 How often had he gazed upon it with the impression 
 that he had seen a face like it before, but where he 
 could never recall. The same features ah! it came 
 
 14
 
 210 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 to him now like a scathing gleam of lightning at the 
 Oratorio ! That was the face that had haunted him 
 for days, and those the eyes that, soft as they lay 
 upon the canvas, painted by her brush, had once glared 
 at him ! Ah ! if Jeffrey had only met Juliet, would 
 not a reconciliation have taken place ? 
 
 Juliet sat where her husband left her, gazing into 
 the fire. What thoughts came to her ! Only once 
 did her pulse quicken and a strange fear steal over 
 her. What if Judge Johnston should imagine she had 
 married him through resentment? It was only a 
 moment. She somehow felt in her soul that Judge 
 Johnston could never wrong her in his thoughts, and 
 she sat there wondering if she should allow him to 
 remain alone and recover from his surprise, or should 
 she join him. She decided in favor of the latter 
 course, and came to him in time to see that he recog- 
 nized the resemblance to Mr. Jeffrey in the picture; 
 but, strong in the consciousness of her truth and honor, 
 she approached him, and laying her hand upon his 
 shoulder, said : 
 
 " My dear husband, I was very, very young then." 
 
 " O, Juliet ! my child, my child, how I have wronged 
 you!" 
 
 " Do not call me child. Have I not striven to profit 
 by your wisdom and example to lift myself up to be 
 worthy the name of wife ? " 
 
 He looked at her her whole face so full of honor, 
 trust, and faith in him that he could but feel she was 
 right, and that he had no right to call her child.
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 211 
 
 " Juliet, dear, this separation must have caused you 
 pain ; and somehow I feel but for me there might have 
 been a reconciliation." 
 
 " Oh ! no ; never, never." 
 
 " But how could you love me after loving so different 
 a man ? " 
 
 " Ah, what does a woman's heart cling to ? Not to 
 men like that though he awoke the first wild music 
 in my heart, and roused all my ambition. I will not 
 deny to you that I loved him then loved him with a 
 different love from that which has bound me to you. 
 But you, my husband, knowing my heart, must judge 
 which love is the best the first impulses of a wayward 
 child, or the heart of the woman that, scorning such a 
 nature as his, turned to you with a faith, trust, and 
 devotion, that has never wavered for a single moment. 
 You have been an anchor to my soul. Oh, my husband ! 
 I honor all men more because of you. Take back that 
 word you called me child and give me the name 
 I have tried so hard to win, and that, before God, no 
 woman more justly merits." 
 
 He reached out his arms, and folded her to his 
 breast. 
 
 " Juliet, my wife, God bless you for those words ; and 
 while I live I shall always bless this hour, the dearest 
 of the many happy ones with which you have brightened 
 my life." 
 
 And then the Judge sank down in his chair, bowed 
 his head upon his hand, and trembled from head to 
 foot.
 
 212 UNFORQIVEN. 
 
 How vividly that night came back to his memory 
 when he gazed into those burning orbs that man 
 was Jeffrey that the man from whom he had won 
 the prize once his own that the man he had concen- 
 trated his whole soul upon ruining, because, forsooth, 
 able lawyers were defending him : he did not believe 
 in his guilt. A long silence, and then he raised his 
 head and said : 
 
 "Juliet, love, come here ; what would you have me 
 do in this matter ? " 
 
 " I would rather you would not assist in the prose- 
 cution." 
 
 "Now I must leave you, and send a note to 
 Morton."
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 In his sanctuary sat Constantine Jeffrey over- 
 whelmed with shame and indignation at the foul 
 attack upon his character. Recalling all his struggles 
 in life, he cried in his heart that this was the bitterest 
 drop in the cup ; and somehow as he sat there a beau- 
 tiful form appeared, wearing the face of Nemesis, and 
 a clear, cold, sarcastic voice said : " Go, sir : you will 
 find that even the sacred pulpit is no shield against 
 vile tongues. Go, and may you live to feel what I 
 cannot tell you." 
 
 Now, for the first time, he realized the agony that 
 proud soul suffered, smarting under his cruel words 
 the injustice of which he knew long ago. Now he 
 realized all too well. 
 
 "God help me," he cried. "Memory makes the 
 blow more cruel, and yet, O God, it is just ! Did I not 
 lend an ear to the vile story and tear her pure image for 
 a time from my vain heart ? I could not think of being 
 wedded to one upon whom the breath of slander had 
 fallen ever so lightly. I could not give her my name 
 but I must wear it now, when it is dragged before the 
 world, and the lowest creatures in the streets laugh at 
 it in scorn." 
 
 A knock at his door roused him from his bitter 
 thoughts. Opening it, he admitted Judge Johnston. 
 
 213
 
 214 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 " May I speak with you a few minutes ? " asked the 
 Judge. 
 
 " Certainly, sir; be seated." 
 
 After a few minutes, during which, perhaps, each re- 
 called the first and last time they had faced each other, 
 the Judge said : 
 
 " I came to offer my services to you, Mr. Jeffrey, in 
 this suit." 
 
 " Sir," said Mr. Jeffrey, with sudden emotion, " I 
 understood you were of counsel for plaintiff." 
 
 "I have withdrawn for the purpose of offering my 
 services to you." 
 
 " I thank you with all my heart, and accept most 
 gladly so able an addition to my counsel." 
 
 A conversation ensued in which the Judge made a 
 note of every time, and the circumstances under which 
 Mr. Jeffrey had ever seen Mrs. Morton. 
 
 They shook hands at parting, and the Judge went 
 home to fortify himself behind these proofs against the 
 enemy. How he succeeded, we shall see. 
 
 The long weary war waged hot and fierce. The 
 papers were filled with the reported proceedings. Jef- 
 frey sat there, day after day, listening to the charges 
 brought against him in silent, wondering horror. At 
 times the veins in his forehead swelled almost to burst- 
 ing, and his friends feared the result of so dreadful a 
 strain upon him. 
 
 Day after day, week after week, and month after 
 month, the plaintiff brought forth new witnesses and 
 new charges; and then came the defense bringing in
 
 UNFOROIVEN. 215 
 
 Mrs. Morton's letter of denial her affidavit that she 
 had lied in every accusation. Belle was made a wit- 
 ness for the defense. 
 
 How well Judge Johnston drew out the dark malice 
 beneath, how he met every point with sharp, sarcastic 
 rebuttal, the public remembers without recital here. 
 Then it was laid before the jury. They retired. With 
 beating hearts they waited the verdict. Not many 
 minutes elapsed until the foreman entered and said, 
 " We agree that the defendant is not guilty." 
 
 Morton's chagrin at the verdict of the jury cannot be 
 described. For the first time he was balked. News- 
 papers, which at first were loud against Mr. Jeffrey, 
 before the trial was over began to change their tone, 
 and now they were more bitter against him than they 
 had ever been against Mr. Jeffrey. 
 
 Belle had hoped in sheer gratitude for her evidence 
 in his behalf, that she would receive some word or 
 message from Mr. Jeffrey, but weeks passed and none 
 came. 
 
 Both Morton and Belle were at sea, tossed by the 
 waves of scorn and contempt. Their bitterest thought 
 was that they had fallen victims of their own malice. 
 Belle hopelessly separated from Jeffrey, and Morton 
 despaired of ever seeing Juliet again, for the Judge 
 passed him unnoticed upon the street ; and Juliet's 
 carriage dashed past them as though her driver took 
 special pains to bespatter them with dust or mud. 
 
 Morton had succeeded in being divorced from his 
 wife, but of what avail was his freedom ? The suit had
 
 216 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 made a sad inroad upon his fortune, and irremediably 
 blighted his character. He was maddened by the 
 reflection that Juliet's immense wealth was as unattain- 
 able as ever, and her contempt for him changed into 
 loathing. Thus he was further from success than when 
 he began to plot. 
 
 Once again the young artist was employed in Judge 
 Johnston's house. Juliet persuaded the Judge to sit 
 for his portrait. The young artist worked with earn- 
 estness and pleasure, well knowing that no mean 
 pittance would reward his effort. He loved to study 
 the fair face with its changing color, which was always 
 near the "haughty old Judge," as he called him; and the 
 proud and happy light that came over his pale features, 
 as her voice with loving cadence pronounced his name, 
 and the quick objection she made to a certain line the 
 artist drew near the mouth of his picture : " That is a 
 legal line does not belong to the home face I 
 won't have it," she said. Both the Judge and the 
 artist laughed heartily at the remonstrance; but the 
 line was erased, and the artist praised her artistic 
 perception, for it materially marred the expression of 
 good nature that the Judge's smile soon spread over 
 his face. 
 
 It was while painting this picture of the Judge with 
 his young wife ever beside him, that the artist conceived 
 his ideal " May and December," which he sold for a 
 fortune. 
 
 When the portrait was finished, Juliet praised the
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 217 
 
 young man's skill, and expressed her gratification 
 more fully than words could do by giving him a check 
 for a handsome amount on her bank. 
 
 " Hang it beside Evangeline," she said ; and when it 
 was there, and the Judge, moved by this token of his 
 young wife's regard, had stepped aside to the further 
 part of the room, Juliet and the artist stood taking 
 another and still another view of the portrait. 
 
 " What a grand, noble face it is you are a fine 
 artist, and study character well," she said. 
 
 " Thank you, madame ; it is a great privilege to study 
 character from two such faces ; one the loveliest and 
 the other the noblest I have ever had the good fortune 
 to copy." With another bow he left her.
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 Spring had come again, and already the people of 
 the cities were planning a change of scene and air. 
 
 Bertie and Abbe were going West with Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hudson, to look after the home they all loved so well, 
 and would then go to Colorado for the summer, and 
 return home by way of Canada and visit Alexis. 
 
 One evening after Juliet and the Judge returned 
 home from Mr. Hudson's, where they had all met and 
 discussed the summer programme, he called her to 
 him, as he sat on a sofa and said : 
 
 " Would my darling mind if I asked a very selfish 
 question ? " 
 
 " She would say it was very unlike you ; but ask 
 it." 
 
 " I have a fancy to have you all to myself this sum- 
 mer ; and we will go away to some quiet place where 
 there are a few people, or where we can be entirely 
 alone." 
 
 He saw that she seemed pleased with the suggestion, 
 and paused for a reply. 
 
 " Nothing would please me more," she said, stroking 
 gently his gray hair. 
 
 "It does seem selfish; you are so young so capa- 
 ble of making other people happy." 
 
 "But who on this earth should I take so much pleas- 
 
 218
 
 UNFOROIVEN. 219 
 
 ure in making happy as yourself? And, besides, I love 
 to know that you can be happy with me alone." 
 
 " Ah, Juliet ! I could be happy in a cave, shut out 
 from God's own sunlight, with you. But in all things 
 I would make your happiness my first object, and you 
 must never doubt this, or ever hestitate to speak your 
 wishes. I have thought all winter of the plan I have 
 just proposed ; but I was afraid it was too selfish to 
 mention, and would not have done so if you had indi- 
 cated any choice in a place for spending the summer." 
 
 She put her arms about his neck, and laid her cheek 
 against his for a moment. 
 
 " Do you know, Judge Johnston, I never anticipated 
 so pleasant a summer as this ? " 
 
 " Why, my own ? Because you know you will make 
 it such a blessed one to me ? 
 
 " Because you have made my life so happy by pre- 
 ferring my companionship to that of any one else." 
 
 He kissed her tenderly, and said : 
 
 " You do enjoy making other people happy, my 
 love." 
 
 " Yes ; I think there is nothing on earth so sweet as 
 making others happy." 
 
 " Then I will give you a grand opportunity, not only 
 to make me supremely happy, but I know a little woman, 
 who, for many years, has been shut off from the world 
 and the companionship of others suited to her tastes, 
 but who has fought a noble battle in life. I know but 
 little of her history, but perhaps all. Years ago she 
 came to me to ask my advice about investing some of
 
 220 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 her earnings. She was a teacher, and also gave private 
 lessons in French and German, and taught English to 
 Germans in this city. By judicious management, her 
 money was made to double, and treble, and quad- 
 ruple. She is now living with a couple of elderly 
 people on a litte farm of mine on the Hudson. I have 
 a fancy to go there this summer ; and it may be, darling, 
 that you can throw some of this God-given joy into 
 her life." 
 
 " Nothing could give me more pleasure ; and I will 
 make immediate preparations for our summer trip." 
 
 " I will write and see if it will be agreeable to her, 
 and but I know it will." 
 
 Judge Johnston and Juliet stood upon the broad, rock 
 
 platform in front of the House, which is built upon 
 
 one of the stone terraces of Pine Orchard Mountain 
 (one of the Katskills), at an elevation of twenty-five 
 hundred feet above the Hudson river. 
 
 Before them fell the mountain in one perpendicular 
 dash to the plain ; to the right, the broad Hudson, 
 winding through the valley; and on the horizon, the 
 Hudson Highlands, the Berkshire Hills, and the Green 
 Mountains, forming one continuous line of misty blue ; 
 and, as the sun came up, tinging everything with a 
 radiant glory, Juliet gave an exclamation of delight. 
 
 " I saw nothing in Europe more beautiful than 
 this." 
 
 " So I thought. Take this glass, and you can descry
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 221 
 
 Albany in the dim distance ; and now," turning to the 
 right, " do you see that old house perched upon a slop- 
 ing hill that seems to run down to the water's edge ? 
 That is where we are going to spend the summer. We 
 will come here often, and, I hope, some time see a 
 thunderstorm, which is the greatest phenomenon of 
 this spot. And then, some foggy morning, we shall 
 also see the apparition which is said to be like the 
 ' Spectre of Brocken.' " 
 
 "It is so charming here, that I would be loth to 
 leave the spot but for anxiety to see the old house 
 where you were born, and the brave little woman who 
 lives there." 
 
 " We will set out immediately after breakfast, and 
 this summer, for once, we will live in Fairy Land ; for 
 this is the only American Fairy Land filled with 
 Indian traditions and abounding in old German super- 
 stition."
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 The birth-place of Judge Johnston was an old farm 
 nouse, whose oaken beams had vibrated with the roar 
 of cannon from the British ships of war, in the Hudson 
 river, during the Revolution. The cows lowed, the 
 birds sang ; it seemed the very sunlight laughed with 
 joy to greet Judge Johnston once again. Surely, the 
 old people could not have looked more pleased, as 
 they met him and Juliet, and almost carried them up 
 the stoop, where stood a sweet-faced woman of perhaps 
 thirty-five years, trembling with her great pleasure. 
 She was not awkward in her timidity ; but came forward 
 with a winning grace, and welcomed Judge Johnston 
 with a hearty hand-shake, and looked kindly at his 
 beautiful young wife. 
 
 " You see," said the Judge, laying his hand lightly 
 on her head, " I wanted my wife to see the old place ; 
 and I knew you would be the better for a sight of her. 
 Juliet, this is Miss Christine Fabian." 
 
 Juliet soon found that the old people rather looked 
 upon Christine as mistress, and treated her with an air 
 of deference ; but that Christine, without assuming any 
 authority, left them to manage everything, and that 
 they were all very happy. 
 
 The best room was very plain, but very neat. There 
 were old pictures, with clinging vines trained over 
 
 222
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 223 
 
 them and flowers in every window, and every nook and 
 corner. 
 
 Christine had a pale face, that had, perhaps, never 
 been handsome ; large, dark blue eyes, and rather a 
 wide but well shaped mouth, and pretty teeth. Her 
 hair was a rich, dark brown, such as art cannot imitate. 
 Her voice was so clear and sweet, her changing ex- 
 pression so winning, that no one could call her plain, 
 although she wore the simplest of lawn dresses, with- 
 out even a bow of ribbon at her throat. 
 
 One thing Juliet noticed quickly, and that was a 
 handsome ring upon the third finger of her left hand, 
 which was unmistakably a genuine ruby. 
 
 " I'll take you first, " said Christine, " to a room 
 up stairs the sunniest room in all the world the 
 room where your noble husband first saw the light. " 
 And she led the way, Judge Johnston and Juliet fol- 
 lowing. 
 
 It was a broad, low room, with a fine view of the 
 Hudson Highlands. The furniture was massive and 
 old. The fresh matting and the pure white bed-spread 
 and pillows were all that seemed new ; but there was an 
 air of sweetness and cleanliness pervading all. 
 
 There were a few portraits, copies of which, in more 
 elegant frames, Juliet had in her stone mansion in New 
 York ; and over the mantle looking down upon them 
 was a fresh boyish face she had never seen before, but 
 knew it was her husband. 
 
 The Judge sat down in a straight-back oaken chair 
 and watched her as she looked at that boyish face. And
 
 224 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 he lived over his life again from the time when he, 
 his widowed mother's darling, had sat for that portrait, 
 until now, when his beautiful young wife stood before 
 it. There was no memory he would erase no hour 
 he would recall ; and he thanked God again and again 
 for the boon of life, and the joys that it had brought 
 to him. 
 
 Christine seemed to grow young again that sum- 
 mer. Her heart went involuntarily out to Juliet, and 
 she treated the Judge with a grateful love that Juliet 
 enjoyed to see. They wandered over the hills and 
 through valleys, and rowed out on the Hudson ; and 
 the old folks who had been in the service of the 
 Judge's parents when he was a boy, gathered the new- 
 laid eggs, and waited for the coming of them all with 
 smiles of pride, as they glanced at the table with its 
 snowy cloth, and thought with pleasure they had pro- 
 vided just what the dear boy (for he was a boy to them 
 still) and his wife and Christine would like. 
 
 If these simple old people looked no further than 
 these " creature comforts, " and provided them with 
 pleasure, who shall say it was not an offering of love 
 acceptable even in the sight of God ? 
 
 Days wore on. Judge Johnston was never weary of 
 the simple pleasures they enjoyed. He smoked his 
 cigar on the stoop, he listened to the old people recall 
 incidents of his boyhood and that of his sainted 
 mother, and watched Juliet and Christine walking in 
 the shubbery, or, when they went into the parlor, and 
 sat down to the old piano, which, like Christine,
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 225 
 
 seemed to have retained all the sweetness of its 
 youth, he listened to them singing the sweet old 
 songs Christine had loved so well, and never could 
 forget. 
 
 To his dying day Judge Johnston held sacred the 
 memory of that summer. 
 
 Juliet failed to draw from Christine the history of 
 her life, or the romance she believed to be connected 
 with the ruby that she wore; but a few days before 
 they left, while Juliet was writing a letter to Hagar to 
 apprise her of their return, Christine stole quietly to 
 her chair, and, leaning over Juliet, when she had fin- 
 ished her letter, stooped and kissed her cheek, and 
 said: 
 
 " I have a manuscript, dear Mrs. Johnston, that may 
 interest you to read not here, but some time in your 
 city home, surrounded by wealth and fashion it may 
 rest you to turn your mind upon the lonely little her- 
 mitess upon the Hudson. It is a life-story, faithful, 
 and true filled with smiles and tears, and joys and 
 sorrows: some of them experienced beyond the sea. 
 I know you'll love me for it when I tell you that your 
 husband's hand has dried those tears, and removed the 
 anxiety that made me old when I was young, and 
 makes me young, now, when I am getting old." 
 
 Juliet returned her kiss and took her manuscript, 
 knowing it to be Christine's own life-history ; and when 
 they parted, it was with the solemn promise that she 
 would spend Christmas with them in the city of New 
 York. 
 
 15
 
 226 UNFOROIVEN. 
 
 " What was the story Christine gave you ? " asked 
 the Judge, one evening, in early winter, as they sat 
 before the parlor fire. 
 
 "Shall I read it, or tell it from memory?" Juliet 
 answered. 
 
 "Tell it to me just as you remember it." 
 
 " It was the story of an English girl, who met in her 
 girlhood, somewhere in Tyrol, a German artist, with 
 whom she fell in love, and who loved her. 
 
 " Several years they were very happy, but could not 
 be married because they were both poor ; and the 
 artist's mother (they were of noble birth) was bitterly 
 opposed to their marriage ; and finally, when the young 
 artist was in England, came to her, and made her be- 
 lieve that all of her son's hopes and aspirations would 
 be crushed if she did not give him up entirely. She 
 so wrought upon the girl's imagination and love for 
 her betrothed, that she promised to give him up, al- 
 though she had promised to be his wife, and he even 
 called her so when they were alone, and in his letters 
 to her when he was absent traveling. 
 
 " She has finely depicted the struggle in the girl's 
 mind about giving up her lover, and whether it was her 
 duty to cling to or give him up. At last she reasoned 
 that if he loved her as she loved him no earthly power 
 could separate them ; but that she would test his 
 love, and would come to America, work, and save her 
 money, and, if he ever sought and found her, she would 
 marry him. She kept his letters, and wore his ring, 
 and worked on. He never came. She has given up
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 227 
 
 the thought of ever seeing him again, and is contented. 
 She says you have made her happy and independent. " 
 
 " Where is her manuscript ? " 
 
 " I gave it to Herr von Stein when he was here the 
 other night, and made him promise to read it and tell 
 me what he thinks of the faithfulness or faithlessness 
 of woman after he reads that."
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 The next event of importance to chronicle is the 
 wedding of Abbe and Bertie. It did not take Abbe 
 long to consummate the matter when he had thoroughly 
 made up his mind that he was not Bertie's uncle, and 
 they could agree with each other in a new relation. 
 He bade his sister make no delay in the preparations, 
 and when Judge Johnston protested against their haste, 
 Abbe slyly reminded him of his own impetuosity on a 
 similar occasion. The Judge smiled good-humoredly 
 and said it should be when they pleased. 
 
 Several weeks had been spent in preparation and to- 
 night the great house is brilliant with gas-light, and the 
 most expert florists have done their part with credit 
 to themselves. 
 
 Juliet and Bertie had had several conversations in 
 regard to the officiating clergyman. Bertie wished to 
 confer the honor upon Mr. Jeffrey, as she had admired 
 him from their first acquaintance, and his persecutions, 
 she said, only made her more anxious to show him 
 this mark of confidence and esteem. Abbe was willing 
 that she and Juliet should decide the matter, and Juliet 
 had referred it to the Judge. It finally rested upon 
 Bertie ; she thanked them, and Abbe had waited upon 
 Mr. Jeffrey. And thus, for the first time in all these 
 
 228
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 229 
 
 years, Juliet and Mr. Jeffrey were to meet. More than 
 one person wondered what the result of that meeting 
 would be Abbe and the Judge most of all. Bertie 
 was ignorant of Juliet's former relation to Mr. Jeffrey. 
 It must be stated for Juliet that the prospect of meet- 
 ing Mr. Jeffrey did not make her so uneasy as she at 
 first feared. His last trouble, she doubted not, had 
 had the effect to erase entirely the remembrance of 
 her from his mind, and she looked forward now to their 
 meeting without any emotion whatever. 
 
 Alexis was the first to arrive a couple of hours 
 before the guests began to assemble. After seeing his 
 sister and presenting his gift, a rare set of pearls, he 
 was urged by his uncle to see Juliet, and entered for 
 the first time their private parlor. Its white carpet 
 with delicate roses crushing beneath his -feet, rich 
 curtains, mirrors, paintings, carvings, chairs, tables and 
 statuary, were lost upon him. In the center of the 
 room, just beneath the chandelier, stood Juliet. She 
 wore a gold-colored satin, with flounces of lace over 
 the sweeping train that lay like sea-foam about her. 
 Enough of her delicate throat was visible among the 
 rich laces to display a diamond necklace, and the 
 rounded arms wore bracelets to match. Her ebon hair, 
 fresh from a French artist's hands, was adorned with a 
 glittering feather of diamonds. 
 
 Juliet turned her head as her husband entered, and 
 saw Alexis towering his six feet two far above him, 
 suffering himself to be led into her presence. 
 
 He saw not the costly lace, the flashing jewels, and
 
 230 UNFORGIVEN, 
 
 sweeping train only a vision of her lovely face, her 
 queenly form, and glorious eyes burst upon him. 
 
 " Alexis ! " 
 
 " Aunt Juliet !" 
 
 " How well he appears," said the Judge, " in these 
 sombre clothes ; " for Alexis was dressed as a clergy- 
 man. 
 
 After a short conversation, maintained principally 
 between Juliet and the Judge, they went down to the 
 parlors to receive the guests. 
 
 It is not necessary to describe the bridal couple 
 more than to say, that a sweeter bride than Bertie 
 never wore white satin, orange flowers, and pearls ; or 
 a handsomer or happier bridegroom was never seen 
 than Abbe Hudson. 
 
 Juliet's meeting with Mr. Jeffrey, which occurred a 
 short time after the ceremony, was even less embar- 
 rassing than she had anticipated. During the course 
 of the evening they had quite a pleasant chat together, 
 in which she found he had been a careful reader of her 
 articles, and admired her style of writing. 
 
 He found her much changed, and knew that her time 
 and opportunities had been improved. Indeed she 
 was the most thoroughly educated woman he had ever 
 met. 
 
 There was a dash of the old hauteur and sarcasm 
 about her still, which was only in keeping with her 
 character. There were only high and noble sentiments 
 expressed, and Mr. Jeffrey saw that the Judge had 
 stamped his own character upon the pure blank pages
 
 UNFOROIVEN. 231 
 
 that he himself had once hoped to write upon in 
 indelible characters. 
 
 " I see," he remarked to her, " that you have pre- 
 served your own individuality, and that society has 
 not impaired the most striking traits of your char- 
 acter." 
 
 " Oh, no, I believe not ; my husband's first lesson 
 to me was : ' Remember, Juliet, your individuality 
 must not be lost even in mine. Every intelligent 
 human being should remember this. There never 
 has been an influence brought to bear upon me,' he 
 has said to me, ' which made me forget this fact. No 
 comrade could persuade me to do a thing if I did not 
 believe it right; not to take one glass of wine more 
 than I felt was good for me not that I did not enjoy 
 wine and love my comrades, but I had a character 
 to maintain separate and distinct from all the world 
 and its influences ; and I would not do what others did 
 simply because it was popular, but have endeavored 
 to do only that which would strengthen the best traits 
 of my character, that my individuality should not be 
 lost among others and I be forgotten when the season 
 was past. ' " 
 
 "Your husband is certainly a most gifted and 
 noble man, and I see your relation to him has per- 
 fected all your charms." 
 
 Juliet bowed her thanks, and when another claimed 
 her attention, she swept on in her majestic way, 
 feeling that there was nothing else in life to dread. 
 The great ordeal had come and past.
 
 232 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 There had been no heart flutterings, no dead love 
 awakened by the music of that voice. She had only 
 turned back in her book of life and re-read a page, 
 all dimmed and tear-stained, and saw that her girlish 
 heart had construed the page wrongly. She was not 
 afraid to let even her husband see that blotted leaf, 
 for, knowing her character as he did, he would feel no 
 jealous pang. 
 
 After all Juliet blessed Bertie's decision, which set- 
 tled forever in her mind this question. Not that the 
 red blood would not surge up at the memory of that 
 parting hour. Pride and resentment paled and flushed 
 her brow and cheek, but that was all UNFORGIVEN, 
 but forgotten. 
 
 She congratulated herself again and again when 
 she recalled that meeting and conversation. She did 
 not speculate upon his feelings ; doubtless they were 
 as her own. She cared no more than to feel the proud 
 assurance that her heart still beat the word UNFOR- 
 GIVEN, UNFORGIVEN.
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 We know that Christmas has come when every face 
 is bright. When, for a time, selfishness is forgotten, 
 and every one seems to be planning how to make others 
 happy. 
 
 Juliet and Bertie and Mrs. Hudson were busy with 
 preparations for the holidays. 
 
 " I can scarcely wait," said Juliet, one day, to the 
 Judge, " for Christmas to come ; I have never prepared 
 to receive a fashionable crowd with the pride and 
 pleasure that fills my heart to receive that little her- 
 mitess on the Hudson." 
 
 They would stand beside the window of evenings, 
 looking out at the passers-by, and each remarking upon 
 the change in every face that old Christmas brought, 
 and thinking how much a better world it would be if 
 Christmas would come oftener. 
 
 Whether it is or not the anniversary of our Savior's 
 birth, we know nor care but little ; yet we do know, 
 or believe, rather, that the world is better for the 
 observance of that day, in the way in which it is 
 observed. 
 
 " Herr von Stein and Mrs. Hellwald will be here 
 too," she said to her husband. 
 
 It came at last, Christmas eve, bright, clear and 
 cold. Juliet's carriage called at the depot for Miss 
 
 233
 
 234 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 Christine Fabian, and Juliet herself took off Christine's 
 warm furs before the glowing fire, and put her feet upon 
 the fender. 
 
 Judge Johnston watched with pleasure Juliet's tender 
 attentions, and when something called him away after 
 tea, and they were left alone, Juliet sat down on the 
 sofa beside her. 
 
 " I read the manuscript with much interest," she said, 
 " and saw as much between the lines, and in some tear- 
 stained pages, as I have read in many books. I take it 
 from what you said when you gave it to me, to be the 
 history of your own life." 
 
 " Well, yes, dear," said Christine, " it is. I could not 
 tell you, and somehow I thought it would please you to 
 know that, though I am a recluse, I am not a stranger 
 to human feelings and human sympathies ; and that little 
 story might tell you what caused me to lead this lonely 
 life." 
 
 " You have given up your old love as dead ! " 
 
 " Dead to me ; and with him died every hope of earthly 
 love and happiness; but I am content." 
 
 " You do not believe your lover was false ? " 
 
 " I do not believe anything now, dear friend. The 
 questions that tortured me long ago, never trouble me 
 again. All dreams and fancies, with me, are over." 
 
 " If he should be alive, would you love to meet 
 him?" 
 
 " Ah, it is hardly possible that could be." 
 
 " There is no bitterness in your memories of him 
 nothing to forgive nothing to resent ? "
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 235 
 
 " No, no ; we were happy in our love and parted 
 friends. His mother, through pride and other mistaken 
 
 impulses, separated us ; and but God forgive me, 
 
 for she is dead ! She may have prejudiced him against 
 me. I believe she would have thought nothing she 
 could do was wrong to attain her object." 
 
 " Excuse me for pressing the question are you sure 
 you have forgotten him ? " 
 
 " I am quite sure I have not" 
 
 " I meant that you had not ceased to love him." 
 
 " All the love I ever had for any man, I gave to him. 
 His place in my heart could never be filled or shared 
 by another." 
 
 " Is this your engagement ring ? " 
 
 " Yes ; and inside is inscribed ' Tiens ta foi I have 
 kept the faith. ' " 
 
 " Have you a picture of that man ? " 
 
 Christine drew from her bosom a medallion, and 
 Juliet after looking at it with a smile of satisfaction, 
 almost joy, excused herself and withdrew from the room, 
 and left Christine to nestle down on the velvet cushion 
 and to dream. 
 
 In the library, Juliet met Herr von Stein. 
 
 "Ah, mein Herr what do you think of the manu- 
 script ? " she asked in German. 
 
 He trembled so, as she laid her hand on his shoulder 
 and looked into his eyes, that she felt the tremor of his 
 frame. 
 
 " Where did you get it? Tell me for I know the 
 handwriting."
 
 236 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 " I got it, mein Herr, from the hand that wrote it." 
 
 He clasped his hands with a spasmodic gesture, and 
 said : " Tell me all you know of her." 
 
 " I know but little, except what you have read in 
 that. But come, go with me to the parlor." 
 
 She took his arm and led him into the room. 
 
 Christine was gazing still into the fire. 
 
 " Miss Christine Fabian, this is Herr von Stein." 
 
 " Christine ! my long lost darling." 
 
 He opened his arms, and Christine staggered to her 
 feet, and then, pale as death, fell forward in his open 
 arms ; and Juliet heard a word whispered that sounded 
 like " little wife," and she went out and left them alone. 
 And when the Judge came, she told him the story that 
 had filled her mind a long time, and made the approach 
 of Christmas promise so much joy. 
 
 They were reunited. How they had been separated 
 matters not to them now, so that each had been faith- 
 ful; and as his mother was the cause, little was ever 
 said on the subject; but he told Christine how he had 
 sought her, and despaired ever finding her, and how he 
 had grown old and gray in one short year. 
 
 They were married on New Year's day, at Judge 
 Johnston's house, and went back together to Christine'; 
 home on the Hudson.
 
 CHRISTINE WAS GAZING STILL INTO THE FIRE Page 236.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 Suddenly it was perceived by his friends, and realized 
 with dismay by Juliet, that Judge Johnston's health 
 was rapidly giving way. And as the tiny worm enters 
 the heart of the mighty oak and saps the fountain of 
 its life, so disease had crept upon the grand old Judge, 
 and before he was aware of danger he was almost 
 prostrate in its grasp. 
 
 Change of scene and climate was urged by his medi- 
 cal adviser, and Juliet made hasty preparations for a 
 voyage across the ocean. No one would accompany 
 them but the faithful Hagar. 
 
 The fond solicitude, the prompt preparations of his 
 young wife to take the journey alone with him al- 
 though he knew she dreaded it were appreciated by 
 the Judge. 
 
 When they sailed all their friends were on ship- 
 board, to say farewell and wish them a prosperous jour- 
 ney and a safe return. 
 
 While Juliet was the center of a group, composed 
 of her parents, Abbe and Bertie, Mr. Jeffrey, who had 
 also come on board the ship to take leave of them, 
 stood on the deck near enough to the Judge and Alexis, 
 who had returned to say farewell to them, to hear the 
 former say : 
 
 " Alexis, promise me that, should the time come 
 
 237
 
 238 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 when I wish you to join us abroad, you will be prepared 
 to do so." 
 
 With his hand clasped in his uncle's, Alexis prom- 
 ised. 
 
 Our party reached Europe, and during the first few 
 weeks of travel Juliet fancied that her husband im- 
 proved. After visiting the principal cities of the Old 
 World, and making such collections of art and litera- 
 ture as he desired, the Judge said, while they were at 
 Lucerne : 
 
 "Now, love, that I have finished traveling, let us 
 turn our faces towards Zurich, where we will have a 
 long rest." 
 
 Having reached Zurich, they took rooms at a hotel 
 on the banks of the lake, which was almost surrounded 
 by beautiful gardens, one of which ran down to the 
 water's edge, from which they had a magnificent view 
 of the lake and the Alps. 
 
 Juliet found that in his choice of a resting-place 
 her husband's loving thoughtfulness had considered 
 her tastes. 
 
 There were row and sail boats for pleasure and fish- 
 ing excursions to be had at all times. 
 
 The sunset, the twilight, the evenings, were the most 
 delightful that she had ever found. Hour after hour 
 she sat beside the Judge in this garden, reading or con- 
 versing with him, or recalling her first visit there, while 
 Hagar, at a distance, strolled within call.
 
 UNFOEGIVEN. 239 
 
 The music, vocal and instrumental, on the water 
 the air, loaded with the perfume of flowers made it 
 an enchanting place. 
 
 The orchards, vineyards, and villages, and, beyond, 
 the towering, snowy Alps, made up the picture which 
 day after day charmed the invalid, whom Juliet, to her 
 dismay, now perceived grew daily weaker, till at last he 
 was confined to his rooms, and she went out alone for 
 a breath of fresh air. 
 
 A dreary sense of loneliness was creeping over her, 
 and the shadow of death seemed very near. 
 
 " Juliet, love, " said the Judge one day, " you are 
 growing pale and have left off jewels and flowers, till 
 you scarcely seem yourself why have you done so ?" 
 
 " I have no heart for such things," she said sadly, 
 while the great tears came into her dark eyes. 
 
 " Do you wish to return home?" 
 
 " No, not till you wish." 
 
 " Come, dear, do not be sad. Let your face, bright 
 as when I first loved it, beam upon me to the last. Wear 
 the gems that I have loved to see you wear, and in no 
 way grieve my heart by showing that you are sad. 
 These have been blissful years to me, and when you re- 
 turn home, gather round you the gifts my love has chosen 
 for you. My fortune is unconditionally yours ; and all 
 your life you can have the sweet assurance that no 
 woman ever made her husband more happy and blest 
 in her love." 
 
 "You speak, " she said in a frightened tone, "as if 
 you do not expect to return home."
 
 240 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 "Juliet, I feel certain that when my poor body returns 
 to America, it will be in a casket. But, darling, take me 
 back to America and bury me where you may come to 
 my grave. Do not weep so, my sweet one. It would 
 be cruel for you to make this journey with no one but 
 Hagar, therefore I will send for Alexis." 
 
 Juliet was not prepared for this intelligence, and her 
 heart sank heavy within her breast. 
 
 In due time Alexis arrived, and shared Juliet's hours 
 of watching beside the sick man, who, without much 
 pain, was nearing rapidly the final dissolution. 
 
 Soon after Alexis came his uncle had a long private 
 talk with him, after which the old gentleman seemed 
 very peaceful. 
 
 A week after Alexis' arrival Judge Johnston died 
 calmly with Juliet's and Alexis" hands elapsed in his, 
 and his blessing upon them both.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 Juliet arrived in New York, and after the interment 
 of her husband's remains in Greenwood Cemetery, 
 went to her own home. Her parents had hoped to 
 have her with them again, but she answered : 
 
 " No, our home shall not be rented out ; I will live 
 there. I can see you twice a week, and you can visit 
 me often." 
 
 Alexis returned to Canada. 
 
 The first few weeks Juliet devoted to unpacking and 
 arranging the last gifts of her husband. They should 
 be distributed in the rooms he loved best, and as she 
 proposed to spend most of the time in her private par- 
 lor, a large front room on the second floor, and in the 
 library, it was here his last tokens of love should be 
 kept sacred to his memory. Hagar assisted her in the 
 sad task. First, his portrait must be removed and 
 occupy the place over the mantelpiece, where it was 
 ever present with her in these dark days of grief, with 
 nothing to comfort her but the memory of his noble 
 love. 
 
 The months rolled on, and still Judge Johnston's 
 chair sat where he had occupied it last, and seemed sad 
 to be so vacant. And when the shades of evening 
 
 16 241
 
 242 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 gathered, his dressing gown was laid tenderly upon it, 
 his slippers near, and upon a mosaic table beside it 
 lay his favorite books. Then Hagar would bring in her 
 mistress' tea, after which she sat down on a stool on the 
 left side of the mantel, with her knitting. Juliet would 
 oftentimes take up one of the books, and with her face 
 turned towards the empty chair, read aloud, as she had 
 been wont to do, his favorites. 
 
 Thus the room became a sacred place hallowed 
 by the vacant chair, dressing gown and slippers, and 
 the books that he had loved. 
 
 Juliet did not mope and grow morbid, though she 
 was, indeed, bowed down by a great sorrow, which she 
 felt had come too suddenly upon her. After a few 
 weeks she devoted herself again to her studies, spend- 
 ing most of the forenoon in the library. She remem- 
 bered how glad he had been to see her there ; and she 
 resolved to live as nearly as she could as she would 
 have done had he been spared to her. In spirit, he 
 seemed ever near her, and she was guided by his 
 influence still. Weekly visits she paid to his grave, 
 where she had caused a handsome monument to be 
 erected. 
 
 Perhaps the death of no one private citizen ever 
 caused more universal regret than that of Judge John- 
 ston. Newspapers, East and West, spoke in the 
 highest terms of him, and expressed deep sympathy 
 with his young widow. They gave him the title of 
 "the Just Judge." Could mortal man have higher? 
 
 Juliet turned her thoughts again to the poor. Ha-
 
 UNFORQIVEN. 243 
 
 gar many times sought out those who needed help, 
 knowing that nothing gave her mistress more pleasure 
 than to aid deserving persons. 
 
 But in all these years Juliet had never entered a 
 church. She had kept the vow so rashly made. 
 
 Her fashionable friends wondered that the marble 
 mansion remained so long closed, and the widow clad 
 in her sable dress, emerged therefrom only to drive out 
 for her health, visit her husband's grave, or to do deeds 
 of mercy. 
 
 Hagar had prevailed upon a son of hers to come 
 to New York and act as coachman for her mistress ; 
 and Juliet was glad of the opportunity of making 
 Hagar so happy, and at the same time securing the 
 services of so good a servant. 
 
 " You must be very lonely indeed," said Bertie one 
 day. 
 
 " O, no, not at all ; I read, practice, and write, and 
 have my own thoughts for company." 
 
 Juliet heard from Bertie that Alexis visited her at 
 long intervals, and that she and Abbe expected to 
 visit him soon in his hermitage, as she called his 
 house. She wished her to accompany them, but Juliet 
 quietly declined. 
 
 This happened nearly a year after Judge John- 
 ston's death, when the wounded heart was beginning 
 to heal. Not that Juliet did not mourn daily for the 
 loving voice, and miss his coming every evening. 
 But now she realized fully that his chair must remain 
 vacant forever, and the empty slippers grow old and
 
 244 UNFOROIVEN. 
 
 faded, waiting beside it; that all that was left to her of 
 the loved, lost friend, was the luxurious home, that, 
 turn where she would, gave evidences of his mighty 
 love, and his portrait, before which she would stand for 
 hours recalling their past life. There seemed nothing 
 strange to her that she had loved him and been his 
 wife, though few people had not wondered at it. She 
 would not have had it otherwise for all this earth. She 
 did not wish, and never had, that he had been a younger 
 and handsomer man. His love had filled her heart 
 with sweet content, and she had honored the ground 
 upon which he trod ; and his companionship had made 
 her a wiser and better woman. 
 
 And yet, how different was the home of Abbe and 
 Bertie, and how different their love gushing, spark- 
 ling, and, O, so bright ! " 
 
 Perhaps, indeed, there were misunderstandings be- 
 tween them, such as she and Judge Johnston had 
 never known; but there was more than sweet, holy 
 content there it was happiness in purest, highest 
 form mortals ever know.
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 In their own joy> Abbe and Bertie did not forget 
 Alexis, whose withdrawal from their midst had been a 
 source of deep sorrow to his gentle sister, and, conse- 
 quently, to Abbe, who sympathized with his little wife 
 in everything. 
 
 When they had consulted over the matter, they 
 resolved not to attempt to dissuade him from his pur- 
 pose, whatever it might be, since their faith in his judg- 
 ment was sufficient to convince them that he knew best 
 what to do, as he understood the circumstances which 
 had led him to take so decided a step, and they were 
 in total ignorance of them. However, nothing should 
 cause them to seem to forget him, or to appear to lose 
 faith in him. 
 
 So it was, that, as often as practicable, Bertie and 
 Abbe had set out to see the bachelor in his quiet quar- 
 ters at St. John, she carrying with her all those thought- 
 ful little things that make up the great comforts of 
 home ; and thus it was that several months after the 
 death of Judge Johnston, Abbe and Bertie stepped in 
 upon Alexis one evening in September. 
 
 " How sweet it is," said Alexis, folding her in his 
 arms the next morning, as she wished him good morn- 
 ing in the parlor, "to have you come, Birdie. You 
 
 245
 
 246 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 brighten and cheer the silent rooms; when you are 
 gone, everything wears something of your individuality, 
 dearest little sister." 
 
 " Nothing attending these visits is more comfortable, 
 old boy," said Abbe, laying his hand on his shoulder, 
 " than her persistence in overhauling your clothing, to 
 assure herself when we set out for home that there is 
 not a loose or missing button, nor a broken stitch to be 
 found in your entire wardrobe; that everything not 
 needed is neatly brushed and put away with the 
 inevitable tar-paper." 
 
 " We do appreciate those little, thoughtful attentions, 
 Abbe, all of us ; they say so much in their mute, com- 
 fortable way, of love and tenderness." 
 
 " Every man don't appreciate them rightly," said 
 bright eyed Birdie ; "some men accept them as atten- 
 tions specially due them because they are men, and 
 thoje wlio perform those little tasks of love for such 
 people get no words of encouragement and praise. 
 How I do pity those poor women ! I love to sew the 
 buttons on, for I know that you and Abbe remember 
 that they came off, and know that Birdie will find it out 
 without being told, and put them on again, thinking all 
 the while of the dear hearts that love her, and the dear 
 kisses she will get; and just like dear uncle, who used 
 to say, ' darling, I owe you five kisses, or three kisses,' 
 and in that way I knew he counted the buttons ; and 
 one day " 
 
 " Yes, one day she sewed a rent for me, and declared 
 there were five hundred stitches, and demanded pay-
 
 UNFORQIVEN. 247 
 
 ment in so many kisses. Was that just before or just 
 after our marriage, Bertie ? " 
 
 " Oh, you wicked man ; it was at least a week 
 afterwards." 
 
 " At least a week ? then he tore it intentionally, 
 just to get to pay you," said a joyous voice at the 
 door, and Dr. Provine joined the merry laugh that 
 followed. 
 
 He had come to breakfast with them ; and when 
 Bertie had taken his hand and hat at the same time, 
 still blushing at the thought of those five hundred 
 kisses, knowing that Abbe had multiplied the actual 
 number by the largest figure that he thought would 
 be credited, and knowing, too, that if she denied it 
 he would straightway remember that it was a thousand 
 instead of five hundred, she said nothing, but led them 
 all out to the table, where she presided with that queer 
 mixture of childishness and dignity that Abbe said 
 never failed to make him drink more coffee than was 
 good for him, just to see her pour it out. 
 
 Dr. Provine was Alexis* most intimate friend, the 
 minister with whom he studied theology, and always 
 breakfasted with him when his sister and brother-in-law 
 were there. He declared it the most charming break- 
 fast-room in St. John, and they planned their drives and 
 amusements, always counting him as one of their party ; 
 for he, like Alexis, was a bachelor. 
 
 One day during this visit, when Abbe remarked 
 upon Alexis' changing manner and the return of his 
 old cheerfulness which seemed so long to have for-
 
 248 IjNFORQIVEN. 
 
 saken him, Dr. Provine said that he was quite right, 
 and that he often noticed that his old nature was re- 
 turning as remarkably as it had seemed to have 
 deserted him. 
 
 Bertie, looking up from her task of making Alexis a 
 pincushion, said : 
 
 " You are both right. Alexis is well, I can only 
 explain it this way: He seemed for a time to have lost 
 himself on the high seas of life. He was like one who 
 stands at the helm, with his eyes fixed upon some ap- 
 proaching or vanishing shore, upon which his goal 
 lies, heedless of all else. I never knew which it was, 
 for he never told me ; but I know now, for the object 
 is nearing his view, and he is more confident of surely 
 winning his prize." 
 
 Their eyes turned upon Alexis with a quick, pene- 
 trating glance. Bertie laughing, merry Bertie read 
 without knowing it what Alexis himself could not 
 have told so well. 
 
 He looked at her a moment, wondering if her words 
 implied a deeper penetration that he would have had 
 her fathom, and then with a smile said : 
 
 " If there is a man living who could wrap himself up 
 in gloom or sorrow, or any far away object as you sug- 
 gest, and see nothing but his own object in life while 
 you were around, I am not that man." 
 
 But after the gentlemen went out and left her for 
 awhile alone, Bertie sang softly to herself and paused 
 now and then to smile and shake her curly head doubt- 
 fully at the chair where her brother had sat.
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 249 
 
 " Bertie Hudson is not deep oh, no, Mr. Johnston ! 
 but she sees things plainly when they come near the 
 surface of a clear stream as well as another. Eyes 
 do not brighten, and words grow more tender, and life 
 wear a new charm, because a sister sews on your but- 
 tons. Oh, you naughty, naughty man to tell me such 
 a fib ! There is another, not your sister, mixed up in 
 this affair; the one who stood a year ago upon that 
 far off shore. Who can she be ? 
 
 So Bertie sewed on buttons, rocked herself, and 
 shook her pretty head at Alexis' chair till Abbe came 
 in, and then she told him the thoughts that had floated 
 through her brain. 
 
 Abbe walked the floor and strove to solve the 
 riddle, and then after a long time said : 
 
 " Birdie, it is not likely that any person ever dis- 
 appointed Alexis. Just think over that winter we 
 were all together ; whom could he have cared for ? " 
 
 And on he walked. Not one person could he recall 
 whom Alexis had seemed to notice particularly, nor 
 could Bertie, and yet it must have been that which 
 caused his abrupt departure, and this lonely life since 
 then. 
 
 " Dear brother, what if he had loved somebody even 
 as I loved Abbe, and that somebody had not loved him!" 
 
 " Ah, ha ! I have it ! Bertie, feel my pulse. I'm 
 not feverish, but what a wild dream it is." 
 
 " What, darling ? " 
 
 " Your face was a mirror, and I looked into it and 
 saw only my own image reflected there. He loved a
 
 250 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 woman into whose eyes he dare not look for the pict- 
 ure he would have loved to see." 
 
 "Who, Abbe?" 
 
 " This, Bertie, must be true. I say it to you as I 
 think it in my soul ; " and although Abbe tried to 
 smile, his face was pale as he said, " Little wife, your 
 brother, although, perhaps, a wiser man than you a 
 woman, did what you did." 
 
 "What?" 
 
 " You loved your uncle, he his aunt." 
 
 "Juliet?" 
 
 " Aye, so sure as that I love you." 
 
 Dear brother! How little had she imagined his 
 sufferings were so great; for well she knew it was 
 deepest, because it brought with it the sense of shame, 
 perhaps, or wrong, towards their uncle. Dear uncle ! 
 Had he too suspected it, and been unhappy because 
 he knew his loved ones were ? Juliet ! Had she 
 known it too? Had a thought flitted through her 
 brain or a pang through her heart that Alexis would 
 have been a more suitable companion for her? No, 
 no! Juliet had never thought of that. She was a 
 nobler woman, a better woman, by having had dear 
 uncle's love ! for his love was something to lift any 
 woman, as it had lifted Juliet, up above the ordinary 
 things of life. 
 
 Bertie's work slipped from her hands, and it lay idle 
 in her lap. She recalled those visits long ago, when 
 uncle grew young again, and she had first loved Abbe. 
 Ah ! back, back, old Time ! let me see clearly how it 
 all was, and how it might have been ! Had uncle
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 251 
 
 waited till Alexis returned, how much sorrow it would 
 have saved dear brother. Would it, though ? Uncle, 
 dear uncle, up in heaven, then would have known no 
 sweeter joy on earth than his little Birdie's love. Juliet, 
 somehow, would have been a different creature but for 
 uncle's love ; and Alexis, even he was grander, nobler, 
 better now. On, on the moments fled, and the clock 
 pointed the fleeting hours while bright-eyed Bertie 
 mused, living over her bright life, with all that had 
 brightened it; and when the revery was over, she 
 whispered, " I would not have had it otherwise." 
 
 When Alexis joined her she was so lost in thought 
 that she did not perceive him enter the room, nor had 
 she observed that Abbe was gone, and she alone, with 
 those slender fingers idle. 
 
 She raised her face as Alexis bent over her, and 
 touched his hair lightly with her loving hand, and look- 
 ing into his deep, quiet eyes read her brother's soul 
 silently putting her arm about his neck, as he kneeled 
 down beside her, she laid her pretty head against his 
 dark hair, and they knew, without words, that each read 
 the other's thoughts. 
 
 "Alexis! noble brother! How deep, how awful 
 must have been that sorrow how heavy that great 
 cross ! But you have borne it bravely, and my heart 
 tells me it is best. " 
 
 He said nothing, but his whole frame quivered a 
 moment ; then kissing her, he rose and left the room, 
 and it was hours before she saw him again. 
 
 Their visit was over, and when they departed Alexis 
 set out with them.
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 Alexis visited Juliet soon after his arrival in New 
 York and received a most cordial welcome. 
 
 " You are pale, " he said, as he bade her good-bye, 
 " do you not study too closely ? " 
 
 "Perhaps; at any rate I have just written Herr von 
 Stein a letter accepting an invitation to spend a few 
 weeks with them, " 
 
 Alexis brightened. 
 
 " I am glad and I am sorry, too ; for I came to the 
 city to spend a few weeks, and hoped to see you fre- 
 quently. Why may I not accompany you ? I need a 
 . short vacation, too. " 
 
 "Certainly; perhaps Abbe and Bertie will go, and 
 there will be quite a party of us. You have never met 
 my old master ? " 
 
 " No; I always happened to be out when he called." 
 
 Thus it was their little plan was made and almost 
 immediately executed, and as Bertie and Abbe could 
 not accompany them they set out alone. 
 
 Although the memory of her first and last visit to her 
 husband's old home brought the same aching pain to 
 her heart that seemed never to die out, Juliet was 
 too brave and tender to show her emotions before those 
 two dear friends whose joy at receiving her was so 
 unfeigned and so rapturous. 
 
 Alexis, too, entered straight into their hearts, and 
 
 252
 
 UNFORQIVEN. 253 
 
 after tea the gentlemen strayed out among the shrub- 
 bery and down the sloping hill to the river, while 
 Christine took Juliet all over the old house, which was 
 even sweeter than of yore ; for the shadow of the lonely 
 little woman's sorrow was gone now, and every nook 
 and corner bloomed with her smiles and flowers. 
 
 Juliet had set out without question or thought, only 
 to enjoy a view of the dear old place, and to see her 
 friends. One bright morning, when she sat on the 
 stoop alone, Alexis joined her, and, as their host and 
 hostess and the old servants were engaged in some 
 household duties, they were sure of a long talk to- 
 gether undisturbed. She was fresh and bright, and her 
 countenance wore the old look of peaceful content that 
 Alexis had always worshiped. 
 
 " Aunt Juliet," he said, seating himself in the chair 
 that Christine had recently occupied, "you are improv- 
 ing rapidly, the roses are blooming again in your 
 cheeks, and, instead of asking you to climb those bar- 
 barous hills with me this morning, I shall ask permis- 
 sion to sit beside you here." 
 
 The expression of Alexis' face as he said this was 
 one to make any woman proud and happy. 
 
 Herr von Stein looked at them through the partly 
 open curtains casually at first, but grew more interested 
 in the tableau as he gazed upon them conversing like 
 two handsome statues. There was no affected toss of 
 her head, or effort to attract or to please him. She 
 talked to Alexis as to any one else whom she esteemed 
 so highly. The artist smiled complacently as he looked
 
 254 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 at them ; Alexis in spotless linen and faultlessly fitting 
 cloth, his noble, intellectual features, his majestic form 
 bending slightly towards Juliet to catch her reply. 
 She wore a soft muslin that fell in graceful folds about 
 her, with delicate lace about the neck, and at her throat 
 flowers arranged by Christine. Her loose sleeves 
 displayed a portion of her rounded arms that was fair, 
 and fine and smooth in texture as a child's. Her hair 
 was wound in a simple coil low on her neck, and over 
 her left shoulder two long silken ringlets floated, while 
 a light breeze tossed a shower of tiny curls over her 
 forehead. 
 
 Knowing her many noble traits, Alexis looked upon 
 her now as the embodiment of every good gift a woman 
 can possess. Not that voluptuous beauty that attracts 
 every common eye, but a beauty of that grand type 
 which awakens admiration only in the purest and best 
 of hearts. 
 
 Alexis was living the sweetest chapter of his life 
 during these few days. The spirit that rules the world, 
 which shapes the life and destiny of every man, ruled 
 him entirely now. That powerful love, born of respect, 
 strengthened by daily association, and made tender by 
 sympathy, was master of him, and the eagerness with 
 which he watched for a smile, or drank in her silvery 
 tones, surprised even himself. 
 
 Those evenings in the old parlor, when she and 
 Christine sang and played, and he and Herr von Stein 
 listened or talked low that they might not disturb 
 them what peaceful, blessed hours !
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 255 
 
 During conversations about his uncle, he noticed 
 that sometimes Juliet bowed her head as if in a strug- 
 gle for self-control, and then went on in her praises of 
 him. 
 
 Herr von Stein had a light boat which he placed at 
 Alexis' command, and as he was a fine oarsman he had 
 several times taken the ladies out. 
 
 One morning he joined Juliet as she sat alone under 
 a spreading tree, with an open book upon her lap. 
 She had soared upon the wings of thought away 
 up among the floating clouds, with the imprint of 
 past years upon her memory. They ever remained 
 with her. What a strange fate had led her to 
 this hour where the past blended with the pres- 
 ent, and a phantom hand beckoned her from the 
 clouds! 
 
 Alexis' words recalled her : 
 
 " Will you go out in the boat with me alone ? " 
 
 " Certainly." 
 
 Without another word, she rose, and, calling to 
 Christine, who stood at the window, and, apprising her 
 of her intention, walked on towards the river. 
 
 Once in the boat on the picturesque Hudson, Alexis 
 rowed for a little while as though he was out on a 
 trial regatta, but suddenly stopped, and the boat, con- 
 tinuing only by its momentum, glided along guided by 
 one oar. 
 
 They had not conversed at all. Juliet, at first, watched 
 Alexis' impetuosity with an amused expression, and 
 then drawing down her hat to shade her eyes, watched
 
 256 UNFORQIVEN. 
 
 the receding shores and farm house as they turned a 
 point in the river. 
 
 " Those are happy people," Alexis said, alluding to 
 Herr von Stein and his wife, and following her gaze. 
 
 " Yes ; it makes one glad to look at them, or to think 
 of them." 
 
 " Quite a little romance is connected with their lives 
 the artist tells me." 
 
 "Oh, yes! they were separated a long time, but 
 loved each other all the while. A woman could not 
 help loving a man who had proved as faithful as he," 
 she answered. 
 
 " Nor could a man help worshiping a woman who was 
 so constant as she." 
 
 " I believe that is true of a good man." 
 
 Juliet had removed her gloves, and now drew one 
 bare hand through the clear water. 
 
 " Do you believe a person can love more than once," 
 he asked. 
 
 " Yes, it is possible for some hearts to love more than 
 once, I believe. Their love may vary in degree or 
 quality, but it is love still." 
 
 " It is wonderful she never loved and married before 
 she found her old lover," he continued. 
 
 "Not at all; she lived in such seclusion, it was 
 not possible for her to meet any one she could care for, 
 and she was not the woman to marry only for a home," 
 said Juliet. 
 
 " If love differs in degree and quality I would like 
 you to describe the degree and quality you think is
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 257 
 
 the truest and the purest," he said, glancing at her and 
 then looking down into the water . 
 
 " There are so many degrees and qualities of what is 
 popularly called love, that I would be afraid to define 
 my ideal." 
 
 She raised her hand it was the left one, and the 
 water dripped off in sparkling drops, and her wedding 
 ring blazed up in the sunlight so that Alexis started at 
 its brightness only its brightness. 
 
 " For instance," she continued, " your uncle's love 
 for me and mine for him was a different love from that 
 of my brother and your sister. Again, Herr von Stein 
 and his wife love each other with another and different 
 love." 
 
 " What do you think of a love that makes up the 
 most of a man's being is light and life, and air and 
 sky, and robbed of which he is nothing ? " 
 
 " If that love is wisely bestowed and freely returned 
 it is the best." 
 
 On glided the boat, and her answer seemed to cause 
 him to be more disposed to reflect than to converse ; 
 and she, thinking of something that wholly absorbed 
 her, drew her fair hand through the water, and, raising 
 it, let the memory of his dead uncle's idolatry flash 
 ever and anon before him. 
 
 How fast the days glided as they watched the flow- 
 ing river, bearing them on, on ! whither ? 
 
 Juliet loved to sit in that old oaken chair where the 
 Judge had sat and recalled his life. She loved to look 
 at the boyish face turned earnestly upon her. She 
 
 17
 
 258 UNFORQIVEN. 
 
 loved to wander through all those rooms where his 
 little feet had trod. 
 
 The artist and Christine loved to watch those two, 
 and wove a little romance of these bright days. 
 
 Herr von Stein had not forgotten how to read char- 
 acter, and he read Alexis aright, and with every mute 
 glance blessed his old pupil in her dawning joy which 
 would not, he knew, awaken her till it burst upon her 
 in a glorious day, flooding her life with a light her 
 wildest dream had not pictured. 
 
 Another chapter in their life was lived in that short 
 visit, and when it was over Alexis took Juliet to her 
 home, assuring her of the pleasure her companionship 
 had given him. And when he was gone, she was alone 
 in that great house once more. Among the old things 
 and the new she strayed again; and oftentimes sat 
 down in the rooms that Alexis had once occupied to 
 muse, and thus the days wore on until the anniversary 
 of her husband's death. 
 
 The anniversary of Judge Johnston's death came, 
 upon which day Juliet was to open a sealed letter that 
 he had given her, with the request to read it then for 
 the first time. There had been no request made about 
 what time during the day it should be done, and 
 although as eager to read it as if it had been a voice 
 from the solemn grave, she repressed the feeling and 
 determined she would wait till evening. 
 
 Ordering her carriage, she took Hagar and sought
 
 UNFORQIVEN. 259 
 
 Judge Johnston's grave early, and found a fresh wreath 
 of flowers already upon it and a crown of oak leaves. 
 To her mother or to Bertie Juliet attributed this token 
 of love. 
 
 She kneeled down beside the grassy mound and 
 strewed her flowers upon it, and buried her face among 
 them and bedewed them with her tears. 
 
 " Mr. Alexis was there first," said Hagar, when again 
 on their way home. 
 
 " How do you know ? " 
 
 " Because I saw him standing at another tomb not 
 far away, that, Miss Bertie once told me, is their 
 mother's." 
 
 " Yes, their mother's grave is near that spot ; but I 
 saw no one there."
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 Later in the evening Hagar entered Juliet's parlor 
 with a card. Juliet had been very thoughtful and sad 
 to-day, and when the card came she was so confident 
 that it was Alexis' that she did not read it, for in her 
 thoughts his face had come. In that last dark hour 
 he was with them, and the truest earthly friend she 
 had ever known passed away with one hand in his. 
 She said : 
 
 " Hagar, ask him to come up here." 
 
 How great was her surprise when Hagar ushered 
 into her presence, not Alexis, but Mr. Jeffrey. " Ah," 
 she said, rising quickly, and extending her hand : 
 
 " I was so sure it was my husband's nephew that I 
 bade you come here without reading the card perhaps 
 you will prefer the parlor Hagar, go down and draw 
 the curtains but, no ! that cannot be to-day." 
 
 " I beg of you to allow me to remain here." 
 
 Mr. Jeffrey took the chair that Hagar placed for him. 
 
 Nothing was lost upon him. He read here the his- 
 tory of Juliet's life the past year better than he could 
 have done in all the other rooms of that great house. 
 And when, after some conversation, she remarked that 
 it was the anniversary of her husband's death, be beg- 
 ged pardon for the intrusion, and would have left her 
 immediately, but she insisted kindly that he should 
 
 260
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 261, 
 
 remain, and gradually their conversation turned upon 
 her last voyage, and ended by Mr. Jeffrey and Juliet 
 rising to examine the last purchases of her husband. 
 
 It was a sacred place, he considered, and surely the 
 most sacred feelings of the heart might be uttered here. 
 
 When at last they stood before the window, the soft" 
 light falling upon her lovely face, chastened by sorrow 
 to a sublime purity, Mr. Jeffrey reached forth his hand 
 and took hers. 
 
 " Juliet, after all these years of silence may I speak, 
 if only to ask forgiveness ? " 
 
 She withdrew her hand quietly, but firmly, and 
 asked : 
 
 " What have you to say, Mr. Jeffrey ? " 
 
 There was not the slightest cadence in the clear tone 
 that had once pervaded the old, loving one, in which 
 she had once called his name " Constantine ! " 
 
 " First of all, to implore your forgiveness for the great 
 wrong my jealous heart did you in listening to words 
 against you." 
 
 " Ah ! Mr. Jeffrey, it took you a long time to repent, 
 not until Herr von Stein, as Mrs. Morton informed me, 
 had justified me. Your faith in my honor and inno- 
 cence was not strong enough to close your ears to the 
 first breath of scandal " 
 
 "Juliet! Juliet! it was selfishness, jealousy, every- 
 thing but a Christian spirit that ruled me then ! Forgive 
 me ! by the memory of our early love ; by the long 
 years of sorrow that have come to me ! Alone in my 
 bitterness has the time been spent, and now I am more
 
 262 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 fit to love you, and to be loved by you, than ever in my 
 life." 
 
 Her position before him reminded her of that part- 
 ing. She trembled violently; he could not fail to see 
 she was deeply affected, and thought the words just 
 uttered had had the desired result ; his heart gave one 
 joyful bound. She paled, and her bosom heaved and 
 her proud lips quivered. Thus she stood for a moment 
 battling with herself and the memory of that hour ; then 
 regaining her composure she stood firmly. 
 
 " Mr. Jeffrey," said she, " do you believe it lies in the 
 heart of a true woman to forgive one she has loved and 
 trusted, when he proves false to the extent you did ? 
 Had you listened calmly and heard my enemies plan- 
 ning to murder me and had taken no active steps to 
 deliver me from them, I could have forgiven you. But, 
 considering the relation which we bore to each other 
 then, and that when I was absent and could not protect 
 myself you listened, and therefore became a party to a 
 scandal which had no foundation save in the wicked 
 minds that created it " 
 
 " But, Juliet, I hastened to St. Louis and saw you when 
 I believed it was too late to speak. And, oh ! I was so 
 weak. I believed, because I had no hope that I could 
 win you then, that I should not see you. Later, I 
 wished that I had sought you out and begged your par- 
 don even on your wedding day." 
 
 " It is better as it is," she said. " We are both wiser 
 now. You can the more fully appreciate my feelings, 
 and I understand myself. I accept your apology."
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 263 
 
 "Accept my apology! Oh, Juliet! Won't you 
 forgive me, and let this long deferred union take 
 place ? " 
 
 " Mr. Jeffrey, it would be more possible for yonder 
 chair to hold its former occupant in his bodily form 
 again than that I could forgive and marry you who 
 stood before me, looking into my tortured face wit- 
 nessing the agony of my bleeding heart in its effort 
 to wring your image from it and then and there, 
 when I stood before you more dead than alive, reject 
 the love I had lavished upon you from my earliest 
 girlhood. No ! no ! a thousand times no ! To no 
 living man would I give the love he once has scorned, 
 were that man a crowned monarch who had power to 
 rule the world ! " 
 
 Mr. Jeffrey bowed his head. A thrill of pain for a 
 moment made him tremble from crown to sole, and 
 then he was immovable as a statue. For many min- 
 utes he did not speak. At last, gaining strength to 
 move, he took her hand, kissed it reverently with his 
 pale, cold lips, drew from his breast pocket her pict- 
 ure, and handed it to her, and turned slowly and 
 walked sadly away, feeling for the first time in his 
 life that she was indeed forever lost to him ; and as he 
 walked away, he murmured : " After all these years, 
 still UNFORGIVEN ! " 
 
 An hour later Hagar brought her mistress tea and 
 scanned her features closely, but read nothing unusual 
 there. 
 
 When the tray was removed and the light turned
 
 264 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 on and the curtains lowered, alone in the sacred pres- 
 ence of her dead husband's portrait, she read the letter 
 his noble hand had penned : 
 
 MY PRECIOUS LOVE: 
 When you read this I hope my spirit may be near you. 
 
 [She looked at the vacant chair, and then closed her 
 eyes. Had she indeed expected to see it occupied?] 
 
 Since I have been confirmed in the knowledge that death is near 
 me and threatens almost daily to separate us, I have concluded to 
 write for you (to read at a time I shall indicate to you verbally) 
 something that has been in my mind this long time. 
 
 Juliet, angel of my life ! I will not recall the past, nor speak of 
 the unutterable sorrow of the present, when I feel the dark veil 
 shutting in around me. Death's sting is parting from you! I 
 have wondered how this first long year would be spent by you ; I 
 doubt not in loyal remembrance of me. No! Juliet, I doubt it 
 not. Where, and how you will read this letter when the hand that 
 traced it is dust and ashes? My darling, my heart is full of love 
 and confidence to overflowing. But my death must not darken for 
 a long time my darling's brow ; and lest my precious one knows 
 not wholly how to forget me, I would say that my spirit would 
 grieve could it know that you will not grow bright and happy again. 
 
 The world is beautiful, my sweet one! and God has been lavish 
 in His blessings upon you youth, beauty, fortune and friends.
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 265 
 
 And you must again turn your thoughts from the dead unto the 
 living. Understanding your disposition as I do, and knowing my 
 influence over you was ever for good, I want you to consider, 
 from the hour you read this, a new future : that of entering upon 
 a new and holy relation with a grand and noble companion, who 
 loves you with all the intensity of a refined and exalted nature 
 one into whose hands you need not fear to trust your precious 
 life. 
 
 The sweet content that crowned your life with me will then 
 bloom into happiness. Dreams will change into realities, and life 
 will each day be adding a new joy. I know that voice will stir the 
 deepest music in your heart, and awaken an echo that will never 
 cease. Juliet, love ! be not afraid ; act according to the dictates 
 of your heart. I need not tell you, the one of whom I speak is he 
 whose face is near you when I die. 
 
 Trembling and weeping, Juliet leaned over and put 
 her arms lovingly about the vacant chair and buried her 
 face in the folds of the dressing-gown, and when Hagar 
 again entered she found her mistress sobbing as though 
 her heart would break, and the eyes of the portrait 
 looking mournfully down upon her. 
 
 True to the wish of her husband, Juliet allowed the 
 subject to be presented to her mind and carefully con- 
 sidered it. 
 
 Had it only been content that she had enjoyed ? 
 Was there really a great earthly happiness, such as 
 fancy had whispered to her in her first love, yet in store
 
 266 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 for her ? Was the green leaf in her heart really not 
 withered, and were songs to be sung there ? Was the 
 companion who could bring this earthly joy Alexis? 
 
 Every time she had ever seen him rose to her 
 memory, from the first time when she saw him standing 
 entranced before her portrait, then at her husband's 
 grave, last to those happy days on the Hudson, and now 
 a great desire to see him rushed upon her. She folded 
 the letter and locked it in a small ebony box. She 
 looked now for the first time upon the picture that Mr. 
 Jeffrey had returned, an exquisite pearl painting, and 
 then at herself in a pier glass, and studied the change 
 that time had wrought upon her ; as the flood of 
 memory rushed over her she grew quite unconscious of 
 the present, and was still rapt in mazy thoughts, when 
 a tall form bent over her. 
 
 " Alexis ! " she cried joyfully. Then after a moment 
 she said: "How silly I must have appeared to you 
 standing before a mirror with my own picture in my 
 hand, studying myself. " 
 
 " No," he answered, " not silly ; for whom else 
 should we study so much, and try so hard to under- 
 stand, as ourselves ? but let me see the picture. " 
 
 After a few minutes he asked : 
 
 "And what conclusion did you arrive at? 
 
 " None at all when you surprised me. The more 
 one studies one's self the more puzzled one becomes." 
 
 " Shall I read the difference between the two faces," 
 he added. 
 
 " Yes."
 
 UNFOROIVEN. 267 
 
 "The picture reminds me of a joyous song bursting 
 from a young and untried heart, and making radiant 
 every feature with a brightness that fascinates and be- 
 wilders. Your face, now, reminds me of a glorious 
 psalm, that follows in grand music upon that rapturous 
 song, and casts over the radiant light it has thrown, a 
 purer, stronger ray, and lifts the eyes up from a beau- 
 teous world to the more sublime beauty that faith alone 
 can see, and hears the hymn resounding ceaselessly, ' I 
 know that my Redeemer liveth. ' Ah ! I could read on, 
 on a long time, only to your praise and advantage." 
 
 " That is pleasant, and I hope true. But come, be 
 seated. The evenings are cool now, and Hagar has 
 made a little fire in the grate to make the room more 
 cheerful." 
 
 Alexis observed everything in the room without 
 appearing to see anything, and then took the chair 
 Juliet had lately occupied beside that of his dead uncle. 
 
 The hours flew on golden wings. They spoke of the 
 books they had read, and of the places which they had 
 seen in Europe, of the pleasant days on the Hudson, 
 of the noble traits of character of Judge Johnston, and 
 his favorite books. And now for the first time Juliet 
 studied and understood Alexis. 
 
 In form and feature, in thought and feeling, how 
 entirely he filled her ideas of the noblest work of God ! 
 Time and sorrow had chastened him. The calm dignity 
 that sat upon his pale brow, the subdued light of his 
 fine eyes, went to make up a face that is seen only once 
 in a life-time there was something so brave, so heroic
 
 268 UXFORGIVEN. 
 
 in its every line, and in his majestic form something so 
 grand and god-like ! It would have been a sad thing 
 for Juliet had she read her companion thus before that 
 hour ! 
 
 Alexis went away, and came again for many, many 
 days. 
 
 Who can describe his joy when one evening he 
 visited her, after studying the great question so long, 
 and hoping and doubting, his love made him so bold as 
 to turn his face upon the fair creature at his side and 
 their eyes met. 
 
 With a joyful cry he reached out both arms, and 
 the beautiful face was buried in his bosom. He 
 clasped his arms about her and looked up at the por- 
 trait. It seemed to smile upon them, and in all the 
 broad universe there beat not two happier hearts that 
 night. 
 
 There, in their loving confidence, Alexis told her 
 that his uncle, though he deprived him of his fortune, 
 had left him his treasure, and bade him seek zealously 
 her love, and to wear her with honor to both. And 
 Juliet told him how all at once a knowledge of her love 
 had burst upon her soul, flooding it with sunlight after 
 she had read her dead husband's letter. 
 
 Alexis further informed Juliet that he was a clergy- 
 man. She promised to be a loving and faithful helper 
 in the field of labor, thus canceling the rash vow she 
 made long years before.
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 A month after the above chapter, Juliet and Alexis 
 were married by the minister with whom Alexis had 
 studied. They promised to visit him in his home at 
 St. John once every year, and he was to spend the 
 anniversary of their wedding day with them. 
 
 Our story is finished. Soon after Juliet and Alexis 
 were married, Alvah Morton put an end to his wicked 
 life by his own hand, and Belle was known to be 
 hopelessly insane. Physicians attributed her malady 
 to the chemicals used in the process of bleaching her 
 hair before applying the blondine, others to disappoint- 
 ment ; but Juliet, sitting beside her grate, looking at 
 the dying fire and recalling all the incidents of her 
 momentous life, assigned perhaps the right cause for 
 the unhappy fate of the maniac and suicide: That 
 looking back upon their wasted lives, spent in intrigue 
 and treachery, betraying every trust that had been 
 reposed in them, digging pit-falls for others only to find 
 themselves at last entrapped, scorned by all good 
 people, feared and hated by the bad, they for one 
 moment had paused to take a retrospective glance of 
 their lives ; and Belle, facing the demons of her own 
 creation, with wild eyes paused to look at the horrid 
 ghosts of the past, and, when they were gone, reason 
 
 269
 
 270 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 too had fled ; and Morton, too cowardly to undo the 
 past so far as his weak wife and wronged children 
 were concerned, risked the leap that landed him upon 
 the "other side," unprepared. 
 
 Mrs. Morton, Sr., still berates the wicked unappre- 
 ciative world, and calls for Christ to come; but it 
 grows no better, and deaf ears are turned against her 
 bold hypocrisy. 
 
 Old Mr. Morton has laid down the burden of life. 
 
 Mrs. Alvah Morton returned to her friends, and the 
 world knows nothing of her ; she is remembered only 
 as the weakest and most degraded of all the miserable 
 tools who work their own destruction. 
 
 Mrs. Hellwald is well and happy, and has just re- 
 turned to her brother from another visit to Germany. 
 
 Mr. Jeffrey is doing a good work, and building up 
 a great reputation. Abbe and Bertie are very happy. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hudson live on in the noble life-work of 
 assisting the deserving, and are blest in their own and 
 their children's happiness. But it may be truly 
 affirmed that in the union of Alexis and Juliet is 
 shown 
 
 " Two souls with but a single thought, 
 Two hearts that beat as one." 
 
 As they stand, this evening, his arm encircling her 
 in a loving, protecting way, before the portrait of the 
 "Just Judge," old Hagar peers through the half-open 
 door, and watches them and prays by turns.
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 271 
 
 So may their lives ever be happy in the faith of 
 their own love, and in the truth of the 
 
 "Divinity that shapes our ends, 
 Kough-hew them how we will." 
 
 FINIS.
 
 nforgiven. 
 
 By ANNA C. ELLIS-REIFSNIDER, 
 Author of "How She Earned It," Etc. 
 
 Second Edition. Illustrated, 
 
 [St. Louis Republican, on First Edition.] 
 
 The word has a grim, relentless look, but it just happens to be the title of a genial, 
 sunshiny book. Under the covers, while there are clouds, there are also rainbows, and 
 after tears blooms more divinely the rosy radiance of youth, forecasting a coming brighter 
 life. 
 
 "Unforgiven" is a novel by Anna C. Ellis-Reifsnider, of this city, and is just issued. 
 It is an out-and-out home production, and although tlje book is a beauty, that is the least 
 of its recommendations. There is genius in its conception and contents, and that is its 
 greatest claim to public attention. The author is unknown in what is called the "literary 
 world." This volume is her first offering upon the altar of that temple where ambition is 
 worship and intellect incense. Will she get a hearing? All that can be said in advance 
 is that many less worthy efforts have been enrolled as accepted achievements and conse- 
 crated as literature by the high priest of criticism. 
 
 This gifted woman evidently does not merely write to make a book. She is seized 
 by a subject that has been nursed by both heart and brain, until it has taken form and is 
 embodied in a mental result a book which must appeal to every reader as a conviction 
 of the author. While the evolution was compulsory the serious purpose is not obtrusive 
 in its pages, and the current of the simple story flows on, rippling in the alternate sun- 
 shine and shadow of necessity. Of plot, as usually constructed, it has none; but there is 
 full compensation for the absence of it in the direct course of narrative and the natural 
 surprises of incident. There is no mystery set darkly in the beginning, and artfully con- 
 cealed till the end. The story is too busy with its absorbing theme for episodes of "hide 
 and seek." The interest springs from a different source, is fed and abundantly satisfied 
 by several inevitable climaxes and denouments. There are evidences of afterthoughts, 
 but they are gracefully introduced in pleasant by-ways and do not disturb the harmony of 
 the main design. 
 
 The author introduces just enough people in her pages to serve the various threads of 
 purpose and develop the design, and no more than absolutely needed. She follows her 
 characters where they naturally go, with a true instinct of human motives and, skillfully 
 grouping them, makes contrast do the work of description, thus avoiding verbosity. Her 
 style is fluent, and her method is full of surprises, and though -she sometimes dallies a lit- 
 tle with sentiment, it sparkles with gems of thought, and no reader can afford to skip 
 a page. 
 
 The theme of the story is the development of the true life through loving, conscien- 
 tious work. The author has strong convictions on this subject, and by a very ingeniously 
 contrived social situation, proposes a difficult problem, which is solved as conclusively as 
 the fiat of destiny. Life is not living without the right work, by and through which alone 
 men and women truly live. That is the result attained through the story telling argu- 
 ment, and in the treatment, doctrines and theories are not conspicuous, while the poetry 
 and philosophy of sentiment shine like guiding stars lighting the way to truth. 
 
 No serious effort of character-drawing is made it is rather character- showing by 
 position, situation, occupation and contrast. No words are wasted and no time is lost in
 
 UNFORGIVEN. 
 
 pen-picturing. Character portraits come like shadows cast in the camera by the sun. 
 Juliet Hudson is an exceptional girl the germ of the ideal woman who does not weakly 
 grow in a hot-bed of wealth and luxury, but recreates herself by the work she is best 
 qualified to do under the inspiration of her literary and artistic tastes and longings. She 
 does not aim at impossible things or calculate improbable results. Women have done, 
 and there are women still who can do all she is represented as doing. She is a genius 
 not especially because she writes and paints and plays and sings, and charms in all but 
 because she loves, and lives in effort. She has a genius for life, and art culture is a 
 necessity of her individual being. Thus she blooms and grows, and develops the true 
 life the ideal of womanhood. So may every girl create the woman, according to her 
 tastes and abilities. Advantages of birth and early education are not allowed by this 
 author. In her view Juliet's wealth was a positive obstacle to her growth by work, and 
 therefore the advantage is on the side of the lowly born and poor, who are compelled to 
 struggle with hard fortune for bread. Here chance developments of genius may come; 
 with Juliet, the higher life of love and duty is a struggle through the quicksands and 
 swamps of luxury. This is the lesson of Juliet Hudson's example, and the moral of the 
 book which thus reveals a noble purpose. 
 
 The other characters revolve around Juliet Hudson not as servile satellites for all 
 have a certain independence and influence in their several spheres, some of happy and 
 some of baleful light; but she is the central figure and social magnet, whose power per- 
 vades her entire circle, and gives the motive to the whole movement. Any outline or hint 
 of the story itself does not come within the purview of this notice intended simply as an 
 analysis of the author's design and methods which prove her a true artist. She is orig- 
 inal, she has something to say, she says it in a new way, and hence the book. She has 
 certainly seen, and evidently been a part of some of the scenes she portrays. She has cer- 
 tainly felt the truths she utters, and no one save a woman who has suffered could depict, 
 as she has done, three different growths and qualities of love in one true woman's heart. 
 
 Anna C. Ellis- Reif snider, whatever may be her personal history, is evidently a lady 
 of high culture and varied accomplishments, who knows from observation and experience 
 every person and everything she describes ; and, morever, she has a cheerful philosophy, 
 which she knows how to apply to everyday life, not for ostentatious display, but for prac- 
 tical good. Knowledge of foreign countries from travel also seems to be among her 
 acquisitions, and the scene moves easily and gracefully from America to Europe, and 
 among the art treasures of Germany, France and Italy; back to New York, along the pic- 
 turesque Hudson, and west to St. Louis, where several of the important events take place. 
 There are two or three ministers in the story, and as many journalists, but this book, pic- 
 turing how to live, is better than all the sermons they ever preached or creeds they may 
 have written on human duties and the arts of life, and there is also a "just judge." May 
 the public, into whose hands this volume is about to fall, be as just to the unknown author, 
 and "Unforgiven." Once read the book will be often taken up again. 
 
 Paper, 50 Cents; Cloth, $1.00. 
 
 FOR SALE BY ALL BOOK SELLERS. 
 
 Published by 
 
 The Anna C. Reifsnider Book Company, 
 
 ST. LOUIS.
 
 HowShe Earned It 
 
 OR 
 
 $25,000 in Eleven Years. 
 
 By THE WOMAN WHO DID IT. 
 
 Author of "Unforgiven," etc. 
 
 Third Edition. Illustrated. 
 
 Rev. David Swing, Chicago. 
 
 MRS. ANNA C. REIFSNIDER: Dear Friend The book, which in its first manuscript 
 seemed so good, now, in print, impresses me even more deeply. I not only like the book, 
 but I thank you for living such a life. Your energy and wisdom would inspire me were I 
 young. You are a leader of the doubting ones. I wish all hearts might read your story. 
 Should they not all reach the same money they would reach a better character and a rich 
 self-consciousness. Always yours, 
 
 January 21, '93. 66 Lake Shore Drive. 
 
 The Seattle Post= Intelligencer, Sunday, January 29, 1893. 
 
 The Anna C. Reifsnider Book Co., St. Louis, publish "How She Earned It, or $25,- 
 ooo in Eleven Years," by The Woman Who Did It. The story of a woman's struggles and 
 success. She tells how and why some people succeed while others fail, and points out 
 the stumbling blocks. Paper, 204 pages, 50 cents. 
 
 Cincinnati Enquirer, Sunday, January 29, 1893. 
 
 The Anna C. Reifsnider Book Co., St. Louis, brings out in paper covers, "How She 
 Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven Years," by The Woman Who Did It. The author was 
 one of the first, if not the very first, lady stenographer in the West. When she entered 
 the business lady stenographers were thought out of place. But the book tells her strug- 
 gles and her success. 
 
 The Houston (Tex.) Daily Post, Monday, January 30, 1893. 
 
 "How She Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven Years," is the title of an interesting and 
 suggestive book by The Woman Who Did It. It is the story of a struggle, a hard one, 
 and of resolute effort crowned with success, and while the reader may not, and probably 
 will not, coincide with the writer in all she says, and even this progressive age can hardly 
 turn out self-supporting boys and girls at as early an age as the author proposes to do, 
 and it would certainly be a very remarkable child that would be able to read at the tender 
 age of three and a half years, yet she holds out a light, and if only one boy or girl will 
 take advantage of it, much good will be accomplished. The book teaches courage, reso- 
 lution and perseverance. Paper cover, 50 cents. The Anna C. Reifsnider Book Co., 
 publishers, St. Louis. 
 
 Children's New Church Messenger, Vineland, N. J., February, 1893. 
 
 We have received from the Anna C. Reifsnider Book Co., St. Louis, Mo., a new 
 novel, entitled : "How She Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven Years." By The Woman Who 
 Did It. It is a sensible book, written by a sensible woman, whose purpose is use and 
 whose practical insight into the fields of labor open to women will make the book profit- 
 able reading for many who are beginning the heavier problems of vital mathematics. 
 Paper 50 cents, cloth $100.
 
 HOW SHE EARNED IT. 
 
 Rocky Hountain News, Denver, Col., January 29, 1893. 
 
 "How She Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven Years," by The Woman Who Did It. 
 The Anna C. Reifsnider Book Co., St. Louis. This volume may not be able to endow 
 its readers with the abilities of its author, but it is written in a kindly spirit and certainly 
 does contain many helpful hints and much useful advice. Price 50 cents. 
 
 New Haven (Conn.) Palladium, Thursday, January 26, 1893. 
 
 "How She Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven Years," tells how an earnest but inex- 
 perienced little woman thrown on her own resources, with others dependent upon her, 
 took up the battle, fought her own way, in new fields, to victory and a competency. It 
 was written and is published to show other willing but unguided mortals, of whom the 
 world is full, how to get into paths of peace and prosperity. If it does this and becomes 
 a guide to wavering wanderers who now grope their ways through the darkness and doubt 
 of inexperience, there will be abundant excuse for its innovation upon the paths of lighter 
 literature so abundant in this day and age of books and books. Its author was one of the 
 first, if not the very first, lady stenographer in the West. The Anna C. Reifsnider Book 
 Co., St. Louis. 
 
 Bos-ton Daily Traveller, January 28, 1893. 
 
 "How She Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven Years," by The Woman W T ho Did It 
 just brought out by the Anna C. Reifsnider Book Co., St. Louis, is a remarkable book. 
 It is not a record of "hard trials and great tribulations," told with tears for sympathetic 
 ends. It tells how an earnest but inexperienced little woman, thrown on her own resources, 
 with others dependent upon her, took up the battle, fought her own way in new fields, to 
 victory and a competency. It was written and is published to show other willing, but 
 unguided mortals, of whom the world is full, how to get into paths of peace and prosper- 
 ity. If it does this, and becomes a guide to wavering wanderers, who now grope their 
 ways through the darkness and doubt of inexperience, there will be abundant excuse for 
 its innovation upon the flowing paths of lighter literature, so abundant in this day and age 
 of books and books. 
 
 The Evening Item, Phaladelphia, Monday, January 30, 1893. 
 
 "How She Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven Years." Anonymous. The Anna C. 
 Reifsnider Book Co., St. Louis. This is a work which might be placed with advantage 
 in the hands of every young woman who is compelled to depend on her own exertions for 
 a living. It tells how a woman, unassisted, earned a sum of $25,000 in eleven years, and 
 at the same time supported and educated two children. It is a common sense and thor- 
 oughly interesting effort on the part of its author to solve some of the questions with which 
 the young woman who is compelled to support herself is confronted at every step. The 
 author tells us how she applied herself to the study of stenography and exerted herself to 
 become proficient in her art ; how she contented herself with little, dressed simply and 
 plainly, and found a higher pleasure in saving her money than in clothing herself in silk. 
 The writer's style is graphic, forcible and direct a true index to the character which we 
 may reasonably suppose her to possess. Her pages are full of sound, common-sense 
 maxims, conveyed in plain and occasionally epigrammatic English, and a careful perusal 
 of them cannot fail to be of advantage to any young woman who may be inclined to imi- 
 tate the author's independent exertions. The book, however, appeals to all sorts of 
 readers, not only from its literary merit, which is unquestionably great, but from the fact 
 that it is a record of woman's ability to achieve success when urged to the effort by the 
 combined forces of ambition and maternal affection. The latter sentiment, which is such 
 a powerful influence in shaping a woman's conduct, shows throughout the volume here and 
 there, and gives it an interest of a peculiarly pleasing character. It is to be hoped that 
 the work will receive a large circulation among the self-dependent young women of the 
 United States. The lesson which it conveys in difficulties encountered and overcome, and 
 in self-denial patiently practiced, is one which if carefully studied, will exercise a useful 
 influence in encouraging those women who are obliged to depend on themselves in the 
 great struggle for life.
 
 HOW SHE EARNED IT. 
 
 The Appeal-Avalanche, flemphis, Sunday, January 29, 1893. 
 
 "How She Earned, or $25,000 in Eleven Years." This book is by the woman who 
 earned this money. There has not been written a book containing more good advice, 
 or more encouragement to the wage- earning public, than this little volume. It is written 
 out of the full experience of the author, therefore the beautiful sentiments are more than 
 skin deep. Heart and hope speak on every page. The author takes her stand squarely 
 on the old saying that "what is worth doing at all is worth doing well," and shows the 
 wage-earners that the cause, largely, of hard times and poor pay is poor labor. She 
 recognizes the fact that all workers cannot become experts, because of the lack of oppor- 
 tunity or capacity. But she wisely points out that the majority may become proficient, and 
 by so doing better, not only their own condition, but that of their less skillful co-laborers, 
 for, rising to a higher plane themselves, they thereby decrease the number of drudges and 
 increase the chances of better pay. Not only does this author insist on good work, but 
 she advocates the following of those avocations for which one is naturally fitted. Thus 
 she decries the idea of spoiling a good cook to make a poor type-writer; she believes 
 that all labor is good, and that this principle should be instilled into our boys and girls. 
 She writes from experience and observation, and her conclusion is that people not only 
 accomplish more in those pursuits for which they are fitted by talent and intellect, but that 
 they are happier and more hopeful. This book appeals to all classes of women wage- 
 earners, stenographers, dress-makers, shop-girls, cooks and servants. There is also a 
 strong appeal to parents to educate their children for some profession, and well it will be 
 for those who heed the advice. The book is bound in two styles, cloth and paper, by the 
 Anna C. Reif snider Book Co., St. Louis. Mrs. Reif snider "is the woman who earned 
 it" the author of this book. 
 
 Pittsburg Times, Saturday, February n, 1893. 
 
 A book which women ought to read is "How She Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven 
 Years." If they are strong and hopeful it will make them stronger and more hopeful; if 
 they are despairing in the struggle of life it will give them courage and cheer. The author 
 says: "I do not believe that I have done more than any other woman can do." She is 
 a Missourian by birth, was about fifteen years old when the war closed, and when her 
 father, having lost his slaves by emancipation, was to endure further loss by becoming 
 security for a friend, and so she had to think of providing for herself. In the Fall of that 
 year she became a teacher at a salary of $95.00 a month, and at the end of the collegiate 
 year found herself $18.00 in debt. This was her first lesson. It taught her the impor- 
 tance of using her money wisely. She was married before she was eighteen years old, 
 and at twenty-two was left alone in the world with two little children to support. How 
 she supported them, gave them a start, and meanwhile earned $25,000 as a stenographer 
 is the burden of the book. The Anna C. Reifsnider Book Co., St. Louis. J. R. Weldin 
 & Co., Pittsburg. Paper, price 50 cents. 
 
 Omaha Daily Bee, Honday, February 20, 1893. 
 
 Mrs. Anna C. Reifsnider, in her book, "How She Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven 
 Years," makes an earnest appeal to all working women to be earnest and conscientious 
 in their work, and to never be satisfied short of the top round in the ladder. The Anna 
 C. Reifsnider Book Co., St. Louis. 
 
 Qalveston (Tex.) Daily News, Thursday, January 26, 1893. 
 
 "How She Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven Years," is the business-like name of a 
 book by The Woman Who Did It. The author was a young Southern woman, educated 
 and refined, happily married and left a destitute widow with two children to support. 
 She tells how she went to work by learning short-hand, how she economized and man- 
 aged, how she saved and how she trained her children to earn their own living. It is a 
 homely and straightforward narrative that teaches the advantages of practical education. 
 The Anna C. Reifsnider Book Co., St. Louis, Mo.
 
 HOW SHE EARNED IT. 
 
 Philadelphia Evening Herald, Thursday, January 24, 1893. 
 
 ''How She Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven Years," is a new publication which tells 
 how an honest, but inexperienced little woman, thrown on her own resources, with others 
 dependent upon her, took up the battle of life, fought her own way in new fields, to vic- 
 tory and a competency. There is room for other such publications, and this little book 
 should meet with a wide sale. The Anna C. Reifsnider Book Co., St. Louis. 
 
 The Florida Times=Union, Jacksonville, Monday, Januajy 30, 1893. 
 
 "How She Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven Years," by The Woman Who Did It. 
 The Anna C. Reifsnider Book Co., St. Louis. To an ambitious girl or woman this book 
 can hardly fail to be an inspiration. It is written for the encouragement of women who 
 are from necessity or choice breadearners. The author was left a young widow with 
 two dependent children, and by her energy, perseverance and attention to business, sup- 
 ported and educated them, as well as earned a competence. What she did others may 
 do perhaps not all. Her advice is sound and sensible, and every girl, and boy, too, for 
 that matter, should make it a point to learn her views. 
 
 The Chicago Daily Sun, Saturday, January 21, 1893. 
 
 "How She Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven Years," by The Woman Who Did It, 
 comes from the press of the Anna C. Reifsnider Book Co. of St. Louis. It demonstrates 
 in a simple and practical form what man has done man can do, and woman too. It is an 
 interesting volume, written in everyday language, and is not a story of trials and suffer- 
 ings, but a bright narrative of facts culled from experience and observation, showing why 
 some succeed and others fail. 
 
 Savannah (Ga.) Morning News, Monday, January 23, 1893. 
 "How She Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven Years," by The Woman Who Did It. 
 The Anna C. Reifsnider Book Co., publisher, St. Louis. Paper, 50 cents. This is a very 
 readable story, and possesses unusual interest for those who are seeking to make their 
 way in the world. 
 
 Pittsburg Commercial Gazette, Saturday, January 21, 1893. 
 
 "How She Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven Years," is the title of a new book issued 
 by Anna C. Reifsnider, the well known woman publisher of St. Louis, which book will no 
 doubt find ready sale among ambitions young womanhood. It is not a record of hard 
 trials and great tribulations, but rather tells of how an earnest, inexperienced little woman, 
 thrown upon her own resources, with others dependent upon her, took up the battle and 
 fought her own way to victory and competency. It was written, the author states, and is 
 published to show other willing but unguided mortals, how to get into paths of peace and 
 prosperity. The author was one of the first women stenographers in the West, and began 
 long before the days of typewriting. 
 
 Albany (N. Y.) Times-Union, Wednesday, January 25, 1893. 
 
 "How She Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven Years," by The Woman Who Did It 
 (Anna C. Reifsnider). This is not a record of great trials, the telling accompanied by 
 tears, but is a story of how an energetic woman, thrown upon her resources, with others 
 depending on her, took up the battle and fought her own way to victory and a competency. 
 St. Louis: The Anna C. Reifsnider Book Co. Happy Hour Library, $2.00 a year. 
 
 New York Daily News, Friday, February 3, 1893. 
 
 "How She Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven Years," is written by The Woman Who 
 Did It, and published by her own company, under her own directions. It is not a record 
 of "hard trials and great tribulations," told with tears, for sympathetic ends. It tells 
 how a woman, thrown on her own resources, with others dependent upon her, took up 
 the battle, fought her own way in new fields to victory and a competency as a stenogra- 
 pher. It is published by the Anna C. Reifsnider Book Co., St. Louis, price 50 cents.
 
 HOW SHE EARNED IT. 
 
 Columbus (O.) Evening Dispatch, Saturday, January 28, 1893. 
 
 "How She Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven Years," is the attractive title of a book 
 written by Anna C. Reifsnider, who was one of the first, if not the very first, lady stenog- 
 rapher in the West. The book details the experience of one woman in carving out a for- 
 tune, and as it is a live story it should appeal to a much larger class than the brave women 
 who are now trying to follow in the successful leader's footsteps. In every way the story, 
 if such the plain recital can be called, is worthy of attention. Published by the Anna C. 
 Reifsnider Book Co., St. Louis, the Happy Hour Library. 
 
 Baltimore- American, Thursday, January 26, 1893. 
 
 "How She Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven Years," by The Woman Who Did It, is 
 Mrs. AnnaC. Reifsnider's entertaining account of how she succeeded in stenography. It 
 is illustrated. The Anna C. Reifsnider Book Co., St. Louis. 
 
 The Sunday Tribune, flinneapolis, January 29, 1893. 
 
 "How She Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven Years," is an odd sort of narrative detail- 
 ing the process by which a St. Louis woman, Anna C. Riefsnider, gained wealth by sten- 
 ography. The account is interesting, since it is the story of a plucky fight against adver- 
 sity and the chances of self-maintenance. She was left a widow with children to support 
 and helpless in every way save a determination to get ahead. In her case, fortune smiled 
 upon resolution, and through the aid of a lawyer's clerk she acquired short-hand to such 
 perfection of accuracy and rapidity tkat after a time she filled a position paying $2,500 per 
 year. For the benefit of other women engaged the continent over in just such enterprise, 
 it would be valuable to know just how she managed her children while away from home 
 so much. Her task seems to have been an Herculean one, yet she accomplished it. To 
 read her story is instructive and helpful. She gives some good advice and appears to 
 know what she is talking about. The Anna C. Reifsnider Book Co., St. Louis. 
 
 The Philadelphia Record, Monday, January 30, 1893. 
 
 The Anna C. Reifsnider Book Co., St. Louis, has published a book entitled "How 
 She Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven Years," by The Woman W T ho Did It. It is a record 
 of struggles, perseverance and success which shows what a woman can and may do. Mrs. 
 Reifsnider, who tells her own story, was left a widow when only twenty-two years of age, 
 with two small children to support. How she fought life's battle unaided, how she began 
 as an amanuensis, then became an official stenographer and reporter in the courts, and 
 private secretary to a railroad president, all this is told in a simple, modest and direct way 
 that not only attracts, but carries conviction. Outside, however, of the charm which sur- 
 rounds Mrs. Reifsnider's story, the book is valuable because of the shrewd and kindly 
 advice which the author gives to young men and women as to their dress, their pursuits 
 and their companionships, and as to the dignity which attaches to all kinds of labor. Any 
 young person who reads the book will find it as fascinating as a novel, and no one can 
 fail to be impressed with the sunny spirit which it breathes and the lesson which it leaches. 
 
 The Evening Star, Washington, D. C., Saturday, February n, 1893. 
 
 "How She Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven Years," by The Woman Who Did It. 
 Illustrated. St. Louis : The Anna C. Reifsnider Book Co. 
 
 The Cleveland World, Sunday, February 12, 1893. 
 
 "How She Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven Years." By The Woman Who Did It. 
 St. Louis : The Anna C. Reifsnider Book Co. This book contains any amount of good 
 advice to young men and young women, both real and anticipatory. It is hardly prob- 
 able that very many young women will meet with such success in a monetary way'as that 
 which crowned her labors, for the women are conspicuous by their fewness who command 
 the wages that she did ; however, she writes in a very sensible manner, and it would be 
 well for us all to follow her advice. "The Woman Who Did It" is Mrs. Anna C. Reif- 
 snider, the head of the publishing house that produces the book.
 
 HOW SHE EARNED IT. 
 
 Ohio State Journal, Columbus, O., March 5, 1893. 
 
 "How She Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven Years," is a book that will give aid and 
 strength to many thousands, whether of those who are just embarking on a life of effort, 
 or those who are almost despairingly inquiring as to how they are to begin the work of 
 making a living for themselves in the world. The author of the book, Mrs. AnnaC. Reif- 
 snider, details therein her own experience, tells how her mind was bent on making her 
 way to comfort and a competency, shows how she overcame the difficulties that confronted 
 her, and how, spite of all back-sets and discouragements, she came out triumphant. The 
 reader must not expect to find the book a story of trials and tribulations and sufferings 
 M'ritten for the purpose of exciting sympathy. Not at all. Had she been a woman ready 
 to dissolve in tears over every obstacle that came in her way she would never have sur- 
 mounted obstacles. It is the record of how a brave, hopeful and energetic spirit, thrown 
 upon her own resources and with others dependent upon her, took up the battle of life 
 and conquered, because she saw that efforts and not tears were the means of winning suc- 
 cess. Not all persons who read the book will be able to do as much as Mrs. Reifsnider 
 has done, but no woman will rea.d it without being stimulated thereby to do at least her 
 best. Price, paper 50 cents, cloth $1.00. St. Louis: Anna C. Reifsnider Book Co. 
 
 The Toledo (O.) Commercial, Monday, February 27, 1893. 
 
 "How She Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven Years," is the title of a very interesting 
 number of the "Happy Hour Library," and it details the struggles and success of a bright, 
 energetic woman, who was left a widow at an early age, encumbered by much unprofit- 
 able "book learning" and two little children. She turned her attention to stenography, 
 and as at that time the field was not so much occupied as at present, she won prompt 
 recognition, and soon was a noted law reporter. From this position she was invited into 
 a responsible post in the office of a railroad president, at a salary which permitted the 
 saving of a very respectable sum each year, which was wisely invested in land. Her 
 secret is soon told, and will apply to any other business ; it was simply thoroughness and 
 system. Published by the Anna C. Reifsnider Book Co., St. Louis. 
 
 Delaware (O.) Daily Gazette, flarch 30, 1893. 
 
 "How She Earned It, or $25,000 in Eleven Years," by The Woman Who Did It, 
 Anna C. Reifsnider Book Co., of St. Louis, is a book remarkable in the great practical 
 value it holds, especially to young women ambitious to win an honest success in life. The 
 story itself is most charming, told in so simple a way, of a plucky fight against adversity, 
 and over against which was so resolutely held a mother's tender love for two little chil- 
 dren, coupled with a woman's laudable ambition to conquer success. This book has 
 interest for all classes of readers. It has unquestioned literary merit shows to the young 
 wbat may be done, by what has been accomplished by woman unaided in life's battle. 
 It is full, too, of shrewd and most valuable advice to both young men and women as to 
 dress, companionship and habits of life, while the author with most graceful and ingen- 
 ious pen, through all its pages dignifies labor, and throws round all kinds of honest'work 
 the attractive glamor of a success attainable by all who are willing to pay the price of sin- 
 cere and honest effort. And especially in the wholesome lessons it conveys of self-denial 
 practiced and difficulties overcome, is this book a healthy innovation on the flood of 
 lighter literature now sweeping our land, and we can with Prof. Swing most heartily 
 thank this brave little woman "for living such a life." Another interest attaches to the 
 canvass of our city for this book in the bright little canvasser "Carrie Gorgas," who in 
 this brave starting out, has no doubt caught her inspiration from the book she is acting 
 agent for. % 
 
 PAPER, 50 CENTS. CLOTH, $1.00. 
 
 By all Book Sellers, or Prepaid on Receipt of Price. 
 
 The Anna C. Reifsnider Book Co. 
 
 ST. LOUIS, MO.

 
 A 000125046 
 
 
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