CORNELIA LINGERED IN THE GARDEN. 
 
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 A LOVE STORY 
 
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 AMELIA E. BARR 
 
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 1900 
 
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 Copyright, 1900 
 
 by 
 AMELIA E. BARR 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 I. THE HOME OF CORNELIA MORAN I 
 
 II. THIS is THE WAY OF LOVE 12 
 
 III. HYDE AND ARENTA 33 
 
 IV. THROWING THINGS INTO CONFUSION 55 
 
 V. TURNING OVER A NEW LEAF 90 
 
 VI. AUNT ANGELICA 113 
 
 VII. ARENTA s MARRIAGE 139 
 
 VIII. Two PROPOSALS 160 
 
 IX. MISDIRECTED LETTERS 185 
 
 X. LIFE TIED IN A KNOT .... 208 
 
 XI. WE HAVE DONE WITH TEARS AND TREASONS . . 241 
 
 XII. A HEART THAT WAITS 271 
 
 XIII. THE NEW DAYS COME 295 
 
 XIV. HUSH! LOVE is HERE! 316 
 
 M174936 
 
The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE HOME OF CORNELIA MORAN 
 
 NEVER, in all its history, was the proud and 
 opulent city of New York more glad and gay than 
 in the bright spring days of Seventeen-Hun- 
 dred-and-Ninety-One. It had put out of sight 
 every trace of British rule and occupancy, all its 
 homes had been restored and re-furnished, and its 
 sacred places re-consecrated and adorned. Like a 
 young giant ready to run a race, it stood on tiptoe, 
 eager for adventure and discovery sending ships to 
 the ends of the world, and round the world, on 
 messages of commerce and friendship, and encour 
 aging with applause and rewards that wonderful 
 spirit of scientific invention, which was the Epic of 
 the youthful nation. The skies of Italy were not 
 bluer than the skies above it ; the sunshine of Arca 
 dia not brighter or more genial. It was a city of 
 beautiful, and even splendid, homes ; and all the 
 length and breadth of its streets were shaded by 
 trees, in whose green shadows dwelt and walked 
 some of the greatest men of the century. 
 
2 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 These gracious days of Seventeen-Hundred-and- 
 Ninety-One were also the early days of the French 
 Revolution, and fugitives from the French court 
 princes and nobles, statesmen and generals, suffi 
 cient /or a new Iliad, loitered about the pleasant 
 places of Broadway and Wall Street, Broad Street, 
 and Maiden Lane. They were received with 
 courtesy, and even with hospitality, although 
 America at that date almost universally sympathized 
 with the French Republicans, whom they believed 
 to be the pioneers of political freedom on the aged 
 side of the Atlantic. The merchants on Exchange, 
 the Legislators in their Council Chambers, the 
 working men on the wharves and streets, the love 
 liest women in their homes, and walks, and drives, 
 alike wore the red cockade. The Marseillaise 
 was sung with The Star Spangled Banner; and the 
 notorious Carmagnole could be heard every hour of 
 the day on stated days, officially, at the Belvedere 
 Club. Love for France, hatred for England, was 
 the spirit of the age ; it effected the trend of com 
 merce, it dominated politics, it was the keynote of 
 conversation wherever men and women congregated. 
 
 Yet the most pronounced public feeling always 
 carries with it a note of dissent, and it was just at 
 this day that dissenting opinion began to make it 
 self heard. The horrors of Avignon, and of Paris, 
 the brutality with which the royal family had been 
 treated, and the abolition of all religious ties and 
 duties, had many and bitter opponents. The 
 
The Home of Cornelia Moran 3 
 
 clergy generally declared that " men had better be 
 without liberty, than without God," and a promi 
 nent judge had ventured to say publicly that " Rev 
 olution was a dangerous chief justice." 
 
 In these days of wonderful hopes and fears there 
 was, in Maiden Lane, a very handsome residence 
 an old house even in the days of Washington, 
 for Peter Van Clyffe had built it early in the cen 
 tury as a bridal present to his daughter when she 
 married Philip Moran, a lawyer who grew to emi 
 nence among colonial judges. The great linden 
 trees which shaded the garden had been planted by 
 Van Clyffe; so also had the high hedges of cut 
 boxwood, and the wonderful sweet briar, which 
 covered the porch and framed all the windows rill 
 ing the open rooms in summer time with the airs 
 of Paradise. On all these lovely things the old 
 Dutchman had stamped his memory, so that, even 
 to the third generation, he was remembered with 
 an affection, that every springtime renewed. 
 
 One afternoon in April, 1791, two men were 
 standing talking opposite to the entrance gates of 
 this pleasant place. They were Captain Joris Van 
 Heemskirk, a member of the Congress then sitting 
 in Federal Hall, Broad Street, and Jacobus Van 
 Ariens, a wealthy citizen, and a deacon in the 
 Dutch Church. Van Heemskirk had helped to 
 free his own country and was now eager to force 
 the centuries and abolish all monarchies. Con 
 sequently, he believed in France ; the tragedies she 
 
4 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 had been enacting in the holy name of Liberty, 
 though they had saddened, had, hitherto, not dis 
 couraged him. He only pitied the more men who 
 were trying to work out their social salvation, 
 without faith in either God or man. But the news 
 received that morning had almost killed his hopes 
 for the spread of republican ideas in Europe. 
 
 " Van Ariens," he said warmly, " this treatment 
 of King Louis and his family is hardly to be be 
 lieved. It is too much, and too far. If King 
 George had been our prisoner we should have be 
 haved towards him with humanity. After this, no 
 one can foresee what may happen in France." 
 
 " That is the truth, my friend," answered Van 
 Ariens. " The good Domine thinks that any one 
 who can do so might also understand the Revela 
 tions. The French have gone mad. They are 
 tigers, sir, and I care not whether tigers walk on 
 four feet or on two. We won our freedom without 
 massacres." 
 
 u We had Washington and Franklin, and other 
 good and wise leaders who feared God and loved 
 men." 
 
 " So I said to the Count de Moustier but one 
 hour ago. But I did not speak to him of the Al 
 mighty, because he is an atheist. Yet if we were 
 prudent and merciful it was because we are religious. 
 When men are irreligious, the Lord forsakes them ; 
 and if bloodshed and bankruptcy follow it is not to 
 be wondered at." 
 
The Home of Cornelia Moran y 
 
 44 That is true, Van Ariens ; and it is also the 
 policy of England to let France destroy her 
 self." 
 
 u Well, then, if France likes the policy of Eng 
 land, it is her own affair. But I am angry at 
 France ; she has stabbed Liberty in Europe for one 
 thousand years. A French Republic ! Bah ! 
 France is yet fit for nothing but a despotism. I 
 wish the Assembly had more control " 
 
 " The Assembly ! " cried Van Heemskirk 
 scornfully. " I wish that Catherine of Russia 
 were now Queen of France in the place of that 
 poor Marie Antoinette. Catherine would make 
 Frenchmen write a different page in history. As 
 to Paris, I think, then, the devil never sowed a 
 million crimes in more fruitful ground." 
 
 "Look now, Captain, I am but a tanner and 
 currier, as you know, but I have had experiences ; 
 and I do not believe in the future of a people who 
 are without a God and without a religion." 
 
 " Well, so it is, Van Ariens. I will now be 
 silent, and wait for the echo ; but I fear that God 
 has not yet said Let there be peace/ I saw you 
 last night at Mr. Hamilton s with your son and 
 daughter. You made a noble entrance." 
 
 " Well, then, the truth is the truth. My Arenta 
 is worth looking at ; and as for Rem, he was not 
 made in a day. There are generations of Zealand 
 sailors behind him ; and, to be sure, you may see 
 the ocean in his grey eyes and fresh open face. 
 
6 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 God is good, who gives us boys and girls to sit so 
 near our hearts." 
 
 " And such a fair, free city for a home ! " said 
 Van Heemskirk as he looked up and down the 
 sunshiny street. New York is not perfect, but we 
 love her. Right or wrong, we love her ; just as 
 we love our moder, and our little children." 
 
 " That, also, is what the Domine says," an 
 swered Van Ariens j u and yet, he likes not that 
 New York favours the French so much. When 
 Liberty has no God, and no Sabbath day, and no 
 heaven, and no hell, the Domine is not in favour 
 of Liberty. He is uneasy for the country, and for 
 his church ; and if he could take his whole flock to 
 heaven at once, that would please him most of 
 all." 
 
 " He is a good man. With you, last night, was 
 a little maid a great beauty I thought her but I 
 knew her not. Is she then a stranger r " 
 
 " A stranger ! Come, come ! The little one 
 is a very child of New York. She is the daughter 
 of Dr. Moran Dr. John, as we all call him." 
 
 " Well, look now, I thought in her face there 
 was something that went to my heart and 
 memory." 
 
 " And, as you know, that is his house across the 
 street from us, and it was his father s house, and 
 his grandfather s house ; and before that, the 
 Morans lived in Winckle Street ; and before that, 
 in the Lady s Valley ; so, then, when Van Clyffe 
 
The Home of Cornelia Moran 7 
 
 built this house for them, they only came back to 
 their first home. Yes, it is so. The Morans 
 have seen the birth of this city. Who, then, can 
 be less of a stranger in it than the little beauty, 
 Cornelia ? " 
 
 "As you say, Van Artens." 
 
 " And yet, in one way, she is a stranger. Such 
 a little one she was, when the coming of the 
 English sent the family apart and away. To the 
 army went the Doctor, and there he stayed, till the 
 war was over. Mrs. Moran took her child, and 
 went to her father s home in Philadelphia. When 
 those redcoats went away forever from New York, 
 the Morans came back here, but the little girl they 
 left in the school at Bethlehem, where those good 
 Moravian Sisters have made her so sweet as them 
 selves ; so pure ! so honest-hearted ! so clever ! It 
 was only last month she came back to New York, 
 and few people have seen her ; and yet this is the 
 truth she is the sweetest maid in Maiden Lane ; 
 though up this side, and down that side, are some 
 beauties the daughters of Peter Sylvester ; and of 
 Jacob Beckley ; and of Claes Vandolsom. Oh, 
 yes ! and many others. I speak not of my Arenta. 
 But look now ! It is the little maid herself, that 
 is coming down the street." 
 
 "And it is my grandson who is at her side. 
 The rascal ! He ought now to be reading his law 
 books in Mr. Hamilton s office. But what will 
 you ? The race of young men with old heads on 
 
8 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 their shoulders is not yet born a God s mercy it 
 is not ! " 
 
 " We also have been young, Van Heemskirk." 
 
 " I forget not, my friend. My Joris sees not 
 me, and I will not see him." Then the two old 
 men were silent, but their eyes were fixed on the 
 youth and maiden, who were slowly advancing 
 towards them ; the sun s westering rays making a 
 kind of glory for them to walk in. 
 
 She might have stepped out of the folded leaves 
 of a rosebud, so lovely was her face, framed in 
 its dark curls, and shaded by a gypsy bonnet of 
 straw tied under her chin with primrose-coloured 
 ribbons. Her dress was of some soft, green ma 
 terial j and she carried in her hand a bunch of 
 daffodils. She was small, but exquisitely formed, 
 and she walked with fearlessness and distinction. 
 Yet there was around her an angelic gravity, and 
 that indefinable air of solitude, which she had 
 brought from innocent studies and long seclusion 
 from the tumult and follies of life. 
 
 Of all this charming womanhood the young man 
 at her side was profoundly conscious. He was the 
 gallant gentleman of his day, hardly touching the 
 tips of her fingers, but quite ready to fall on his 
 knees before her. A tall, sunbrowned, military- 
 looking young man, as handsome as a Greek god, 
 with eyes of heroic form ; lustrous, and richly 
 fringed ; and a beautiful mouth, at once sensitive 
 and seductive. He was also very finely dressed, in 
 
The Home of Cornelia Moran 9 
 
 the best and highest mode; and he wore his sword 
 as if it were a part of himself. It was no more in 
 his way than if it were his right arm. Indeed, all 
 his movements were full of confidence and ease ; 
 and yet it was the vivacity, vitality, and ready 
 response of his face that was most attractive. 
 
 His wonderful eyes were bent upon the maid at 
 his side ; he saw no other earthly thing. With a 
 respectful eagerness, full of admiration, he talked 
 to her; and she answered his words whatever 
 they were with a smile that might have moved 
 mountains. They passed the two old men with 
 out any consciousness of their presence, and Van 
 Heemskirk smiled, and then sighed, and then said 
 softly 
 
 " So much youth, and beauty, and happiness ! 
 It is a benediction to have seen it ! I shall not re 
 prove Joris at this time. But now I must go back 
 to Federal Hall ; the question of the Capital makes 
 me very anxious. Every man of standing must 
 feel so." 
 
 " And I must go to my tan pits, for it is the eye 
 of the master that makes the good servant. You 
 will vote for New York, Van Heemskirk ? that 
 is a question I need not to ask ? " 
 
 " Where else should the capital of our nation 
 be ? I think that Philadelphia has great presump 
 tions to propose herself against New York : this 
 beautiful city between the two rivers, with the 
 Atlantic Ocean at her feet ! " 
 
lo The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 " You say what is true, Van Heemskirk. God 
 has made New York the capital, and the capital 
 she will be ; and no man can prevent it. It was 
 only yesterday that Senator Greyson from Virginia 
 told me that the Southern States are against Phila 
 delphia. She is very troublesome to the Southern 
 States, day by day dogging them with her schemes 
 for emancipation. It is the way to make us un 
 friends." 
 
 " I think this, Van Ariens : Philadelphia may 
 win the vote at this time ; she has the numbers, 
 and she has persuasions ; but look you ! New 
 York has the ships and the commerce, and the sea will 
 crown ner / The harvest of the rivers is her 
 revenue ; and she is the mart of nations. That 
 is what Domine Kunz said in the House this 
 morning, and you may find the words in the 
 prophecy of Isaiah, the twenty-third chapter." 
 
 During this conversation they had forgotten all 
 else, and when their eyes turned to the Moran 
 house the vision of youth and beauty had dissolved. 
 Van Heemskirk s grandson, Lieutenant Hyde, 
 was hastening towards Broadway ; and the lovely 
 Cornelia Moran was sauntering up the garden of 
 her home, stooping occasionally to examine the 
 pearl-powdered auriculas or to twine around its 
 support some vine, straggling out of its proper 
 place. 
 
 Then Van Ariens hurried down to his tanning 
 pits in the swamp ; and Van Heemskirk went 
 
The Home of Cornelia Moran 1 1 
 
 thoughtfully to Broad Street; walking slowly, with 
 his left arm laid across his back, and his broad, 
 calm countenance beaming with that triumph 
 which he foresaw for the city he loved. When 
 he reached Federal Hall, he stood a minute in the 
 doorway ; and with inspired eyes looked at the 
 splendid, moving picture ; then he walked proudly 
 toward the Hall of Representatives, saying to him 
 self, with silent exultation as he went : 
 
 " The Seat of Government ! Let who will, 
 have it ; New York is the Crowning City. Her 
 merchants shall be princes, her traffickers the hon 
 ourable of the earth ; the harvest of her rivers shall 
 be her royal revenue, and the marts of all nations 
 shall be in her streets." 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THIS IS THE WAY OF LOVE 
 
 CORNELIA lingered in the garden, because she 
 had suddenly, and as yet unconsciously, entered 
 into that tender mystery, so common and so sov 
 ereign, which we call Love. In Hyde s presence 
 she had been suffused with a bewildering, profound 
 emotion, which had fallen on her as the gentle 
 showers fall, to make the flowers of spring. A 
 shy happiness, a trembling delightful feeling never 
 known before, rilled her heart. This handsome 
 youth, whom she had only seen twice, and in the 
 most formal manner, affected her as no other mor 
 tal had ever done. She was a little afraid ; some 
 thing, she knew not what, of mystery and danger 
 and delight, was between them ; and she did not 
 feel that she could speak of it. It seemed, indeed, 
 as if she would need a special language to do so. 
 
 " I have met him but twice," she thought ; 
 " and it is as if I had a new, strange, exquisite life. 
 Ought I tell my mother ? But how can I ? I 
 have no words to explain I do not understand I 
 thought it would break my heart to leave the good 
 Sisters and my studies, and the days so calm and 
 holy ; and now I do not even wish to go back. 
 12 
 
This is the Way of Love 13 
 
 Sister Langaard told me it would be so if I let the 
 
 world come into my soul Alas ! if I should 
 
 be growing wicked ! " 
 
 The thought made her start ; she hastened her 
 steps towards the large entrance door, and as she 
 approached it a negro in a fine livery of blue and 
 white threw the door wide open for her. Answer 
 ing his bow with a kind word, she turned quickly 
 out of the hall, into a parlour full of sunshine. A 
 lady sat there hemstitching a damask napkin ; a 
 lady of dainty plainness, with a face full of graven 
 experiences and mellowed character. Purity was 
 the first, and the last, impression she gave. And 
 when her eyes were dropped this idea was empha 
 sized by their beautiful lids; for nowhere is the 
 flesh so divine as in the eyelids. And Ava 
 Moran s eyelids were full of holy secrets; they 
 gave the impression of a spiritual background which 
 was not seen, but which could be felt. As Corne 
 lia entered she looked up with a smile, and said, as 
 she slightly raised her work, " it is the last of the 
 dozen, Cornelia." 
 
 " You make me ashamed of my idleness, 
 mother. Have I been a long time away ? " 
 
 " Longer than was unnecessary, I think." 
 
 u I went to Embree s for the linen thread, and 
 he had just opened some English gauzes and lute 
 strings. Mrs. Willets was choosing a piece for a 
 new gown, for she is to dine with the President 
 next week, and she was so polite as to ask my 
 
14 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 opinion about the goods. Afterwards, I walked to 
 Wall Street with her ; and coming back I met, on 
 Broadway, Lieutenant Hyde and he gave me these 
 flowers they came from Prince s nursery gardens 
 and, then, he walked home with me. Was it 
 wrong ? I mean was it polite I mean the proper 
 thing to permit ? I knew not how to prevent it." 
 
 u How often have you met Lieutenant Hyde ? " 
 
 " I met him for the first time last night. He 
 was at the Sylvesters , and I danced three times 
 with him." 
 
 "That was too often." 
 
 " He talked with father, and father did not 
 oppose my dancing." 
 
 "Your father thinks of nothing, now, but the 
 Capital question. I dare say, after he had asked 
 Lieutenant Hyde how he felt on that subject he 
 never thought of the young man again. And pray 
 what did Lieutenant Hyde say to you this after 
 noon ? " 
 
 " He gave me the flowers, and he told me about a 
 beautiful opera, of which I have never before heard. 
 It is called Figaro. He says, in Europe, nothing is 
 played, or sung, or whistled, but Figaro ; that no 
 body goes to any opera but Figaro ; and that I do 
 not know the most charming music in the world if 
 I do not know Figaro. He asked permission to 
 bring me some of the airs to-night, and I said some 
 civilities. I think they meant Yes/ Did I do 
 wrong, mother ? " 
 
This is the Way of Love 15 
 
 " I will say no, my dear ; as you have given the 
 invitation. But to prevent an appearance of too 
 exclusive intimacy, write to Arenta, and ask her 
 and Rem to take tea with us. Balthazar will carry 
 the note at once." 
 
 " Mother, Arenta has bought a blue lutestring. 
 Shall I not also have a new gown / The gauzes 
 are very sweet and genteel, and I think Mrs. Jay 
 will not forget to ask me to her dance next week. 
 Mr. Jefferson is sure to be there, and I wish to 
 walk a minuet with him." 
 
 u Your father does not approve of Mr. Jefferson. 
 He has not spoken to him since his return from 
 France. He goes too far in bis words" 
 
 " But all the ladies of distinction are proud to be 
 seen in his company ; and pray what is there against 
 him ? " 
 
 " Only his politics, Cornelia. I think New 
 York has gone mad on that subject. Madame 
 Barens will not speak to her son, because he is a 
 Federalist ; and Madame Lefferts will not speak to 
 her son, because he is not a Federalist. Mr. Jeffer 
 son, also, is thought to favour Philadelphia for the 
 capital ; and your father is as hot on this subject as 
 he was on the Constitution. My dear, you will 
 find that society is torn in two by politics." 
 
 " But women have nothing to do with politics." 
 
 "They have everything to do with politics. 
 They always have had. You are not now in a 
 Moravian school, Cornelia ; and Bethlehem is not 
 
16 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 New York. The two places look at life from dif 
 ferent standpoints." 
 
 " Then, as I am to live in New York, why was 
 I sent to Bethlehem ? " 
 
 u You were sent to Bethlehem to learn how to 
 live in New York, or in any other place. Where 
 have you seen Mr. Jefferson ? " 
 
 " I saw him this afternoon, in Cedar Street. He 
 wore his red coat and breeches; and it was then I 
 formed the audacious intention of dancing with 
 him. I told Mrs. Willets of it; and she said, Mr. 
 Jefferson carried the Declaration on his shoulders, 
 and would not dare to bow ; and then with such a 
 queer little laugh she asked me c if his red breeches 
 did not make me think of the guillotine ? I do 
 not think Mrs. Willets likes Mr. Jefferson very 
 much ; but, all the same, I wish to dance once 
 with him. I think it will be something to talk 
 about when I am an old woman." 
 
 " My dear one, that is so far off. Go now, and 
 write to Arenta. Young Mr. Hyde and Figaro 
 will doubtless bring her here." 
 
 " I hope so ; for Arenta has an agreeableness 
 that fits every occasion." She had been folding 
 up, with deliberate neatness, the strings of her bon 
 net, as she talked, and she rose with these words 
 and went out of the parlour; but she went slowly, 
 with a kind of hesitation, as if something had been 
 left unsaid. 
 
 About six o clock Arenta Van Ariens made a 
 
This is the Way of Love 17 
 
 personal response to her friend s message. She was 
 all excitement and expectation. " What a delight 
 ful surprise ! " she cried. " To-day has been a day 
 to be praised. It has ticked itself away to wonders 
 and astonishments. Who do you think called on 
 me this afternoon ? " 
 
 " Tell me plainly, Arenta. I never could guess 
 for an answer." 
 
 " No less a person than Madame Kippon. Ger 
 trude Kippon is going to be married ! She is going 
 to marry a French count ! And madame is beside 
 herself with the great alliance." 
 
 " I heard my father say that Madame Kippon 
 had the French disease in a dangerous form." 
 
 " Indeed, that is certain. She has put the Sab 
 bath day out of her calendar; and her daughter s 
 marriage is to be a legal one only. I wonder what 
 good Dr. Kunz will say to that ! As for me, I 
 lost all patience with madame s rigmarole of phi 
 losophies for I am not inclined to philosophy 
 and indeed I had some difficulty to keep my temper; 
 you know that it is occasionally quite unmanage 
 able." 
 
 Cornelia smiled understandingly, and answered 
 with a smile, " I hope, however, that you did not 
 put her to death, Arenta." 
 
 " I have, at least, buried her, as far as I am con 
 cerned. And my father says I am not to go to the 
 marriage; that I am not even to drink a cup of tea 
 with her again. If my father had been at home 
 
l8 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 or even Rem she would not have left our house 
 with all her colours flying ; but I am good-natured, 
 I have no tongue worth speaking of." 
 
 u Come, come, Arenta ! I shall be indeed as 
 tonished if you did not say one or two provoking 
 words." 
 
 " I said only three, Cornelia. When madame 
 finally declared c she really must go home/ I did 
 answer, as sweetly as possible, Thank you, ma- 
 dame ! That was something I could say with 
 becoming politeness." 
 
 Cornelia was tying the scarlet ribbon which held 
 back her flowing hair, but she turned and looked at 
 Arenta, and asked, " Did madame boast any after 
 wards ? " 
 
 " No ; she went away very modestly, and I was 
 not sorry to see the angry surprise on her face. 
 Gertrude Kippon a countess ! Only imagine it ! 
 Well, then, I have no doubt the Frenchman will 
 make of Gertrude whatever can be made of 
 her." 
 
 " Our drawing-rooms, and even our streets, are 
 full of titles," said Cornelia; "I think it is a dis 
 tinction to be plain master and mistress." 
 
 " That is the truth ; even this handsome dandy, 
 Joris Hyde, is a lieutenant." 
 
 " He was in the field two years. He told me so 
 this afternoon. I dare say, he has earned his title, 
 even if he is a lieutenant." 
 
 " Don t be so highty-tighty, Cornelia. I have 
 
This is the Way of Love 19 
 
 no objections to military titles. They mean some 
 thing ; for they at least imply, that a man is willing 
 to fight if his country will find him a quarrel to 
 fight in. In fact, I rather lean to official titles of 
 every kind. * 
 
 " I have not thought of them at all." 
 " But I have. They affect me like the feathers 
 in a cock s tail ; of course the bird would be as 
 good without them, but fancy him ! " and Arenta 
 laughed mirthfully at her supposition. " As for 
 women," she continued, " lady, or countess, or 
 Marquise, what an air it gives ! It finishes a 
 woman like a lace ruff round her neck. Every 
 woman ought to have a title I mean every woman 
 of respectability. I have a fancy to be a marquise, 
 and Aunt Jacobus says I look Frenchy enough. I 
 have heard that there is a title in the Hyde family. 
 I must ask Aunt Jacobus. She knows everything 
 about everybody. Lieutenant Hyde ! I do won 
 der what he is coming for ! " 
 
 The words dropped slowly, one by one, from 
 her lips ; and with a kind of fateful import ; but 
 neither of the girls divined the significance of the 
 inquiry. Both were too intent on those last little 
 touches to the toilet, which make its effectiveness, 
 to take into consideration reflections without form ; 
 and probably, at that time, without personal inten 
 tion. 
 
 Then Arenta, having arranged her ringlets, tied 
 her sash, and her sandals, began to talk of her own 
 
2O The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 affairs ; for she was a young lady who found it im 
 possible to be sufficient for herself. There had 
 been trouble with the slaves in the Van Ariens 
 household, and she told Cornelia every particular. 
 Also, she had very near had an offer of marriage 
 from George Van Berckel ; and she went into ex 
 planations about her diplomacies in avoiding it. 
 
 u Poor George ! " she sighed, and then, looking 
 up, was a trifle dismayed at the expression upon 
 Cornelia s face. For Cornelia was as reticent, as 
 Arenta was garrulous ; and the girls were incom 
 prehensible to each other in their deepest natures, 
 though, superficially, they were much on the same 
 plane, and really thought themselves to be distinctly 
 sympathetic friends. 
 
 u Why do you look so strangely at me, Cor 
 nelia ? " asked Arenta. " Am I not properly 
 dressed ? " 
 
 " You are perfectly dressed, Arenta. Women 
 as fair as you are, know instinctively how to dress. * 
 And then Arenta stood up before the mirror and 
 put her hand upon Cornelia s shoulder, and they 
 both looked at the reflection in it. 
 
 A very pretty reflection it was ! a slender girl 
 with a round, fair face, and a long, white throat, and 
 sloping shoulders. Her pale brown hair fell in 
 ripples and curls around her until they touched a 
 robe of heavenly blue, and half hid a singular neck 
 lace of large pearls : pearls taken from some 
 Spanish ship and strung in old Zierikzee, and worn 
 
This is the Way of Love 21 
 
 for centuries by the maids and dames of the house 
 of Van Ariens. 
 
 " It is the necklace ! " said Cornelia after a pause. 
 " It is the pearl necklace, which gives you such an 
 air of mystery and romance, and changes you from 
 an everyday maiden into an old-time princess. " 
 
 " No doubt, it is the necklace, " answered 
 Arenta. " It is my Aunt Angelica s, but she per 
 mits me to wear it. When she was young, she 
 called every pearl after one of her lovers ; and she 
 had a lover for every pearl. She was near to forty 
 years old when she married ; and she had many 
 lovers, even then." 
 
 u It would have been better if she had married 
 before she was near to forty years old that is, if 
 she had taken a good husband." 
 
 " Perhaps that ; but good husbands come not on 
 every day in the week. I have three beads named 
 already one for George Van Berckel one for 
 Fred De Lancey and one for Willie Nichols. 
 What do you think of that ? " 
 
 " I think, if you copy your Aunt Angelica, you 
 will not marry any of your lovers till you are forty 
 years old. Come, let us go downstairs." 
 
 She spoke a little peremptorily indeed, she was 
 in the habit, quite unconsciously of using this tone 
 with her companion, consequently it was not noticed 
 by her. And it was further remarkable, that the 
 girls did not walk down the broad stairs together, 
 but Cornelia went first, and Arenta followed her. 
 
22 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 There was no intention or consideration in this 
 procedure ; it was the natural expression of under 
 lying qualities, as yet not realized. 
 
 Cornelia s self-contained, independent nature 
 was further revealed by the erect dignity of her 
 carriage down the centre of the stairway, one hand 
 slightly lifting her silk robe, the other laid against 
 the daffodils at her breast. Her face was happy 
 and serene, her steps light, and without hesitation 
 or hurry. Arenta was a little behind her friend. 
 She stepped idly and irresolutely, with one hand 
 slipping along the baluster, and the other restlessly 
 busy with her curls, her ribbons, the lace that par 
 tially hid her bosom, and the pearls that made a 
 moonlight radiance on her snowy throat. At the 
 foot of the staircase Cornelia had to wait for her, 
 and they went into the parlour together. 
 
 Doctor Moran, Rem Van Ariens, and Lieuten 
 ant Hyde were present. The girls had a momen 
 tary glance at the latter ere he assumed the manner 
 he thought suitable for youth and beauty. He was 
 talking seriously to the Doctor and playing with an 
 ivory paper knife as he did so, but whatever remark 
 he was making he cut it in two, and stood up, 
 pleased and expectant, to receive Beauty so fresh 
 and so conspicuous. 
 
 He was handsomely dressed in a dark-blue vel 
 vet coat, silver-laced, a long white satin vest and 
 black satin breeches. His hair was thrown back 
 wards and tied with the customary black ribbon, and 
 
This is the Way of Love 23 
 
 his linen and laces were of the finest quality. He 
 met Cornelia as he might have met a princess -, 
 and he flashed into Arenta s eyes a glance of ad 
 miration which turned her senses upside down, and 
 made her feel, for a moment or two, as if she 
 could hardly breathe. 
 
 Upon Arenta s brother he had not produced a 
 pleasant impression. Without intention, he had 
 treated young Van Ariens with that negative po 
 liteness which dashes a sensitive man and makes 
 him resentfully conscious that he has been rendered 
 incapable of doing himself justice. And Rem 
 could neither define the sense of humiliation he 
 felt, nor yet ruffle the courteous urbanity of Hyde ; 
 though he tried in various ways to introduce some 
 conversation which would afford him the pleasure 
 of contradiction. Equally he failed to consider 
 that his barely veiled antagonism compelled from 
 the Doctor, and even from Cornelia and Arenta, 
 attentions he might not otherwise have received. 
 The Doctor was indeed much annoyed that Rem 
 did not better respect the position of guest ; while 
 Mrs. Moran was keenly sensitive to the false note 
 in the evening s harmony, and anxious to atone for 
 it by many little extra courtesies. So Hyde easily 
 became the hero of the hour ; he was permitted to 
 teach the girls the charming old-world step of the 
 Pas de hiatre, and afterwards to sing with them 
 merry airs from Figaro, and sentimental airs from 
 Lodoiska, and to make Rem s heart burn with an- 
 
24 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 ger at the expression he threw into the famous 
 ballad " My Heart and Lute " which the trio sang 
 twice over with great feeling. 
 
 Fortunately, some of Doctor Moran s neighbours 
 called early in the evening. Then whist parties 
 were formed ; and while the tables were being ar 
 ranged Cornelia found an opportunity to reason 
 with Rem. " I never could have believed you 
 would behave so unlike yourself," she said ; and 
 Rem answered bluntly 
 
 u That Englishman has insulted me ever since 
 he came into the room." 
 
 " He is not an Englishman," said Cornelia. 
 
 " His father is an Englishman, and the man 
 himself was born in England. The way he looks 
 at me, the way he speaks to me, is insulting." 
 
 U I have seen nothing but courtesy to you, 
 Rem." 
 
 u You have not the key to his impertinences. 
 To-morrow, I will tell you something about Lieu 
 tenant Hyde." 
 
 " I shall not permit you to talk evil of him. I 
 have no wish to hear ill reports about my acquaint 
 ances. Their behaviour is their own affair; at 
 any rate, it is not mine. Be good-tempered, Rem ; 
 you are to be my partner, and we must win in 
 every game." 
 
 But though Cornelia was all sweetness and gra- 
 ciousness ; though Rem played well, and Lieuten 
 ant Hyde played badly ; though Rem had the sat- 
 
This is the Way of Love 25 
 
 isfaction of watching Hyde depart in his chair, 
 while he stood with a confident friendship by Cor 
 nelia s side, he was not satisfied. There was an 
 air of weariness and constraint in the room, and 
 the little stir of departing visitors did not hide it. 
 Doctor Moran had been at an unusual social ten 
 sion ; he was tired, and not pleased at Rem for 
 keeping him on the watch. Cornelia was silent. 
 Rem then approached his sister and said, " it is 
 time to go home." Arenta looked at her friend ; 
 she expected to be asked to remain, and she was 
 offended when Cornelia did not give her the invi 
 tation. 
 
 On the contrary, Cornelia went with her for her 
 cloak and bonnet, and said not a word as they trod 
 the long stairway but " Oh dear ! How warm the 
 evening is ! " 
 
 " I expected you would ask me to stay with 
 you, Cornelia." Arenta was tying her bonnet 
 strings as she made this remark, and her fingers 
 trembled, and her voice was full of hurt feeling. 
 
 " Rem behaved so badly, Arenta." 
 
 " I think that is not so. Did I also behave 
 badly ? " 
 
 " You were charming every moment of the 
 evening ; but Rem was on the point of quarrelling 
 with Lieutenant Hyde. You must have seen it. 
 In my father s house, this was not proper." 
 
 " I never saw Rem behave badly in my life. 
 Suppose he does quarrel with that dandy English- 
 
26 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 man, Rem would not get the worst of it. I have 
 no fear for my brother Rem ! No, indeed ! " 
 
 41 Bulk does not stand for much in a sword 
 game." 
 
 " Do you mean they might fight a duel ? " 
 
 " I think it is best for you to go home with 
 Rem. Otherwise, he might, in his present temper, 
 find himself near Becker s ; and if a man is quar 
 relsome he may always get principals and seconds 
 there. You have told me this yourself. In the 
 morning Rem will, I hope, be reasonable." 
 
 " I thought you and I would talk things over 
 to-night. I like to talk over a new pleasure." 
 
 " Dear Arenta, we shall have so much more time, 
 to-morrow. Come to-morrow." 
 
 But Arenta was not pleased. She left her friend 
 with an air of repressed injury, and afterwards 
 made little remarks about Cornelia to her brother, 
 which exactly fitted his sense of wounded pride. 
 Indeed, they stood a few minutes in the Van 
 Ariens parlour to exchange their opinions still fur 
 ther 
 
 " I think Cornelia was jealous of me, Rem. 
 That, in plain Dutch, is what it all means. Does 
 she imagine that I desire the attentions of a man 
 who is neither an American nor a Dutchman ? I 
 do not. I speak the truth always, for I love the 
 truth." 
 
 " Cornelia does desire them ; I think that and 
 it makes me wretched." 
 
This is the Way of Love 27 
 
 " Oh, indeed, it is plain to see that she has fallen 
 in love with that black-eyed man of many songs 
 and dances. Well, then, we must admit that he 
 danced to perfection. One may dislike the 
 creature, and yet tell the truth." 
 
 " Do you truly believe that Cornelia is in love 
 with him ? " 
 
 " Rem, there are things a woman observes. 
 Cornelia is changed to-night. She did not wish me 
 to stay and talk about this man Hyde she pre 
 ferred thinking about him such reveries are sus 
 picious. I have felt the symptom. But, however, 
 I may be wrong. Perhaps Cornelia was angry at 
 
 Hyde, and anxious about you Do you think 
 
 that ? " 
 
 Rem would not admit any such explanation ; 
 and, indeed, Arenta only made such suppositions to 
 render more poignant those entirely contrary. 
 
 " Ever since she was a little girl, twelve, eleven 
 years old, I have loved her," said Rem ; u and she 
 knows it." 
 
 " She knows it ; that is so. When I was at 
 Bethlehem, I read her all your letters ; and many a 
 time you spoke in them of her as your c little wife. 
 To be sure, it was a joke; but she understood that 
 you, at least, put your heart in it. Girls do not 
 need to have such things explained. Come, come, 
 we must go to our rooms ; for that is our father I 
 hear moving about. In a few minutes he will be 
 angry, and then " 
 
28 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 She did not finish the sentence ; there was no 
 necessity ; Rem knew what unpleasantness the 
 threat implied, and he slipped off his shoes and 
 stole quietly upstairs. Arenta was not disinclined 
 to a few words if her father wished them ; so she 
 did not hurry, though the great Flemish clock on 
 the stair-landing chimed eleven as she entered her 
 room. It was an extraordinarily late hour, but 
 she only smiled, as she struck her pretty fore 
 fingers together in time with it. She was not dis 
 posed to curtail the day ; it was her method, 
 always, to take the full flavour of every event that 
 was not disagreeable. 
 
 " And, after all," she mused, " the evening was 
 a possibility. It was a door on the latch I may 
 push it open and go in who can tell ? I saw how 
 amazed he was at my beauty when I first entered 
 the parlour and he is but a man and a young 
 man who likes his own way so much is evident." 
 She was meanwhile unclasping her pearl necklace, 
 and at this point she held it in her hands taking the 
 fourth bead between her fingers, and smiled specu- 
 latively. 
 
 Then she heard her brother moving about the 
 floor of the room above her, and a shadow darkened 
 her face. She had strong family affections, and 
 she was angry that Rem should be troubled by any 
 man or woman, living : 
 
 " I have always thought Cornelia a very saint," 
 she muttered ; " but Love is the great revealer. I 
 
This is the Way of Love 29 
 
 wonder if she is in love to tell the truth, she was 
 past finding out. I cannot say that I saw the 
 least sign of it and between me and myself, Rem 
 was unreasonable ; however, I am not pleased that 
 Rem felt himself to be badly used. * 
 
 It was to this touch of resentment in her drifting 
 thoughts that she performed her last duties. She 
 did not hurry them. u Very soon there will be the 
 noise of chairmen and carriages to disturb me," she 
 thought ; " and I may as well think a little, and put 
 my things away." 
 
 So she folded each dainty blue morocco slipper 
 in its separate piece of fine paper, and straightened 
 out her ribbons, and wrapped her pale blue robe in 
 its holland covering, and put every comb and pin 
 in its proper place, all the time treading as softly as 
 a mouse. And by and by the street was dark and 
 still, and her room in the most perfect order. 
 These things gave her the comfort of a good con 
 science ; and she said her prayers, and fell calmly 
 asleep, to the flattering thought, "I would not 
 much wonder if, at this moment, Lieutenant Hyde 
 is thinking about me." 
 
 In reality, Lieutenant Hyde was at that moment 
 in the Belvedere Club, singing the Marseillaise^ and 
 listening to a very inflammatory speech from the 
 French Minister. But a couple of hours later, 
 Arenta s " wonder " would have touched the truth. 
 He was then alone, and very ill satisfied ; for, after 
 some restless reflections, he said impatiently 
 
30 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 " I have again made a fool of myself. I have 
 now all kinds of unpleasant feelings ; and when I 
 left that good Doctor s house I was well satisfied. 
 His daughter is an angel. I praise myself for find 
 ing that out. She made me believe in all good 
 ness ; yes, even in patriotism ! I, that have seen it 
 sold a dozen times ! Oh, how divinely shy and 
 proud she is ! I could not get her one step beyond 
 the first civilities ; even my eyes failed me to-night 
 her calm glances killed their fire and she barely 
 touched my hand, though I offered it with a re 
 spectful ardour, she must have understood : " 
 then he looked admiringly at the long, white hand 
 and thoroughbred wrist which lay idly on the 
 velvet cushion of his armchair; an exquisite ruffle 
 of lace just touched it, and his eyes wandered from 
 the rufHe to the velvet and silver embroidery of his 
 coat; and the delicate laced lawn of his cravat. 
 
 " I have the reputation of beauty," he con 
 tinued ; " and I am perfectly dressed, and yet 
 yet this little Beauty seemed unconscious of my 
 advantages. But I cannot accept failure in this 
 case. The girl is unparagoned. I am in love with 
 her ; sincerely in love. She fills my thoughts, and 
 has done so, ever since I first saw her. It is a 
 pure delight to think of her." 
 
 Then he rose, threw off his velvet and lace, and 
 designedly let his thoughts turn to Arenta. u She 
 is pretty beyond all prettiness," he said softly as 
 he moved about. " She dances well, talks from 
 
This is the Way of Love 31 
 
 hand to mouth, and she gave me one sweet glance ; 
 and I think if she has gone so far she might go 
 further." At this reflection he smiled again, and 
 lifting a decanter slowly poured into a goblet some 
 amber-coloured sherry ; saying 
 
 41 1 dare not yet drink to the unapproachable 
 Cornelia ; but I may at least pour the wine to the 
 blue-eyed goddess, with the pearl necklace, and the 
 golden hair-, " and as he lifted the glass, a memory 
 from some past mirthful hour came into his re 
 membrance ; and he began to hum a strain of the 
 song it brought to his mind 
 
 " Let the toast pass. 
 
 Drink to the lass 
 I ll warrant, she ll prove an excuse for the glass." 
 
 It was remarkable that he did not take Arenta s 
 brother into his speculations at all, and yet Rem 
 Van Ariens was at that very hour chafing restlessly 
 and sleeplessly under insults he conceived himself 
 to have received, in such fashion and under such 
 circumstances as made reprisal impossible. In 
 reality, however, Van Ariens had not been inten 
 tionally wounded by Hyde. The situation was 
 the natural result of incipient jealousy and sensi 
 tive pride on Rem s part ; and of that calm in 
 difference and complaisance on Hyde s part, which 
 appeared tacitly to assert its own superiority and 
 expect its recognition as a matter of course. In 
 deed, at their introduction, Rem had affected Hyde 
 rather pleasantly ; and when the young Dutch 
 
32 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 gentleman s opposition became evident, Hyde had 
 simply ignored it. For as yet the thought of Rem 
 as a rival had not entered his mind. 
 
 But this is the way of Love ; its filmiest threads 
 easily spin themselves further ; and a man once en 
 tangled is bound by that unseen chain which links 
 the soul to its destiny, 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 HYDE AND ARENTA 
 
 SELDOM is Love ushered into any life with any 
 pomp of circumstance or ceremony ; there is no 
 overture to our opera, no prologue to our play, and 
 the most momentous meetings occur as if by mere 
 accident. A friend delayed Cornelia a while on 
 the street ; and turning, she met Hyde face to 
 face ; a moment more, or less, and the meeting 
 had not been. Ah, but some Power had set that 
 moment for their meeting, and the delay had been 
 intended, and the consequences foreseen ! 
 
 In a dim kind of way Hyde realized this fact as 
 he sat the next day with an open book before him. 
 He was not reading it ; he was thinking of Cornelia 
 of her pure, fresh beauty ; and of that adorable 
 air of reserve, which enhanced, even while it veiled 
 her charms. u For her love I could resign all ad 
 ventures and prison myself in a law book," he said. 
 " I could forget all other beauties ; in a word, I 
 could marry, and live in the country. Oh how 
 exquisite she is ! I lose my speech when I think 
 of her ! " 
 
 Then he closed his book with impatience, and 
 went to Prince s and bought a little rush basket 
 33 
 
34 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 filled with sweet violets. Into their midst he 
 slipped his visiting card, and saw the boy on his 
 way with the flowers to Cornelia ere he was satis 
 fied they would reach her quickly enough. This 
 finished, he began to consider what he should do 
 with his day. Study was impossible ; and he could 
 think of nothing that was possible. " It is the 
 most miserable thing," he muttered, " to be in love, 
 unless you can go to the adored one, every hour, 
 and tell her so," then turning aimlessly into 
 Pearl Street, he saw Cornelia. 
 
 She was dressed only in a little morning gown 
 of Indian chintz, but in such simple toilet had still 
 more distinctively that air of youthful modesty 
 which he had found so charmingly tantalizing. 
 He hasted to her side. He blessed his good angel 
 for sending him such an enchanting surprise. He 
 said the most extravagant things, in the most 
 truthful manner, as he watched the blushes of 
 pleasure come and go on her lovely face, and saw 
 by glimpses, under the veiling eyelids, that tender 
 light that never was on sea or land, but only on a 
 woman s face when her soul is awakening to Love. 
 
 Cornelia was going to the " Universal Store " 
 of Gerardus Duyckinck, and Hyde begged to go 
 with her. He said he was used to shopping ; that 
 he always went with his mother, and with Lady 
 Christina Griffin, and Mrs. White, and many 
 others ; that he had good taste, and could tell the 
 value of laces, and knew how to choose a piece of 
 
Hyde and Arenta 35 
 
 silk, or match the crewels for her embroidery ; and, 
 indeed, pleaded his case so merrily, that there was 
 no refusing his offer. And how it happened lovers 
 can tell, but after the shopping was finished they 
 found themselves walking towards the Battery, 
 with the fresh sea wind, and the bright sunshine, 
 and the joy of each other s presence all around 
 them. 
 
 " Such a miraculous piece of happiness ! " the 
 young fellow ejaculated ; and his joy was so 
 evident that Cornelia could not bear to spoil it with 
 any reluctances, or with half-way graciousness. 
 She fell into his joyous mood, and as star to star 
 vibrates light, so his soul touched her soul, through 
 some finer element than ordinary life is conscious 
 of. A delightsome gladness was between them, 
 and their words had such heart gaiety, that they 
 seemed to dance as they spoke ; while the wind 
 blowing Cornelia s curls, and scarf, and drapery, 
 was like a merry playfellow. 
 
 Now Love has always something in it of the 
 sea; and the murmur of the tide against the pier, 
 the hoarse voices of the sailor men, the scent of 
 the salt water, and all the occult unrecognized, but 
 keenly felt life of the ocean, were ministers to 
 their love, and forever and ever blended in the 
 heart and memory of the youth and maid who had 
 set their early dream of each other to its potent 
 witchery. Time went swiftly, and suddenly Cor 
 nelia remembered that she \vas subject to hours 
 
36 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 and minutes. A little fear came into her heart, 
 and closed it, and she said, with a troubled air, 
 " My mother will be anxious. I had forgotten. I 
 must go home." So they turned northward again, 
 and Cornelia was silent, and the ardour of her 
 lover was a little chilled ; but yet never before had 
 Cornelia heard simple conversation which seemed 
 so eloquent, and so full of meanings only, now 
 and then, a few brief words ; but oh ! what long, 
 long thoughts, they carried with them ! 
 
 At the gates of her home they stood a moment, 
 and there Hyde touched her hand, and said, u I 
 have never, in all my life, been so happy. It has 
 been a walk beyond hope, and beyond expression ! " 
 And she lifted her face, and the smile on her lips 
 and the light in her eyes answered him. Then 
 the great white door shut her from his sight, and 
 he walked rapidly away, saying to his impetuous 
 sieps 
 
 " An enchanting creature ! An adorable girl ! 
 I have given her my heart ; and lost, is lost ; and 
 gone, is gone forever. That I am sure of. But, 
 by St. George ! every man has his fate, and I re 
 joice that mine is so sweet and fair ! so sweet ! so 
 sweet ! so fair ! " 
 
 Cornelia trembled as she opened the parlour 
 door, she feared to look into her mother s face, but 
 it was as serene as usual, and she met her daugh 
 ter s glance with one of infinite affection and some 
 little expectancy. This was a critical moment, 
 
Hyde and Arenta 37 
 
 and Cornelia hesitated slightly. Some little false 
 sprite put a ready excuse into her heart, but she 
 banished it at once, and with the courage of one 
 who fears lest they are not truthful enough, she 
 said with a blunt directness which put all subter 
 fuge out of the question 
 
 " Mother, I have been a long time, but I met 
 Lieutenant Hyde, and we walked down to the Bat 
 tery ; and I think I have stayed beyond the hour I 
 ought to have stayed but the weather was so de 
 lightful." 
 
 "The weather is very delightful, and Lieutenant 
 Hyde is very polite. Did he speak of the violets 
 he sent you ? " 
 
 " I suppose he forgot them. Ah, there they 
 are ! How beautiful ! How fragrant ! I will 
 give them to you, mother." 
 
 " They are your own, my dear. I would not 
 give them away." 
 
 Then Cornelia lifted them, and shyly buried her 
 face in their beauty and sweetness ; and afterwards 
 took the card in her hand and read " Lieutenant 
 George Hyde." " But, mother," she said, 
 " Arenta called him Joris." 
 
 "Joris is George, my dear." 
 
 " Certainly, I had forgotten. Joris is the Dutch, 
 George is the English form. I think I like George 
 better." 
 
 " As you have neither right nor occasion to call 
 him by either name, it is of no consequence. 
 
38 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 Take away your flowers and put them in water 
 the young man is very extravagant, I think. Do 
 you know that it is quite noon, and your father 
 will be home in a little while ? " 
 
 And there was such kind intent, such a divining 
 sympathy in the simple words, that Cornelia s 
 heart grew warm with pleasure ; and she felt that 
 her mother understood, and did not much blame 
 her. At the same time she was glad to escape all 
 questioning, and with the violets pressed to her 
 heart, and her shining eyes dropped to them, she 
 went with some haste to her room. There she 
 kissed the flowers, one by one, as she put them in 
 the refreshing water ; and then, forgetting all else, 
 sat down and permitted herself to enter the deli 
 cious land of Reverie. She let the thought of Hyde 
 repossess her ; and present again and again to her 
 imagination his form, his face, his voice, and those 
 long caressing looks she had seen and felt, without 
 seeming to be aware of them. 
 
 A short time after Cornelia came home, Doctor 
 Moran returned from his professional visits. As 
 he entered the room, his wife looked at him with 
 a curious interest. In the first place, the tenor of 
 her thoughts led her to this observation. She 
 wished to assure herself again that the man for 
 whom she had given up everything previously dear 
 to her was worthy of such sacrifice. A momen 
 tary glance satisfied her. Nature had left the im 
 press of her nobility on his finely-formed fore- 
 
Hyde and Arenta 39 
 
 head ; nothing but truth and kindness looked from 
 his candid eyes ; and his manner, if a little dog 
 matic, had also an unmistakable air of that distinc 
 tion which comes from long and honourable an 
 cestry and a recognized position. He had also 
 this morning an air of unusual solemnity, and on 
 entering the room, he drew his wife close to his 
 heart and kissed her affectionately, a token of love 
 he was not apt to give without thought, or under 
 every circumstance. 
 
 u You are a little earlier to day," she said. " I 
 am glad of it." 
 
 " I have had a morning full of feeling. There 
 is no familiarity with Death, however often you 
 meet him." 
 
 " And you have met Death this morning, I see 
 that, John ? " 
 
 " As soon as I went out, I heard of the death 
 of Franklin. We have truly been expecting the 
 news, but who can prepare for the final c He is 
 gone. Congress will wear mourning for two 
 months, I hear, and all good citizens who can pos 
 sibly do so will follow their example. The flags 
 are at half-mast, and there is sorrow everywhere." 
 
 " And yet, John, why ? " asked Mrs. Moran. 
 " Franklin has quite finished his work ; and has 
 also seen the fruit of all his labours. Not many 
 men are so happy. I, for one, shall rejoice with 
 him, and not weep for him." 
 
 " You are right, Ava. I must now tell you that 
 
4-O The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 Elder Semple died this morning. He has been 
 long sick, but the end came suddenly at last." 
 
 u The dear old man ! He has been sick and 
 sorrowful, ever since his wife died. Were any of 
 his sons present ? " 
 
 u None of them. The two eldest have been 
 long away. Neil was obliged to leave New York 
 when the Act forbidding Tory lawyers to practice 
 was passed. But he was not quite alone, his old 
 friend Joris Van Heemskirk was with him to the 
 last moment. The love of these old men for each 
 other was a very beautiful thing. " 
 
 u He was once rich. Did he lose everything in 
 the war ? " 
 
 " Very near all. His home was saved by Van 
 Heemskirk, and he had a little money enough to 
 die wi he said one day to me ; and then he con 
 tinued, c there s compensations, Doctor, in having 
 naething to leave. My lads will find no bone to 
 quarrel over. I met a messenger coming for me 
 this morning, and when I went to his bedside, he 
 said, with a pleasant smile, I ll be awa in an hour 
 or twa now, Doctor ; and then I ll hae no mair 
 worrying anent rebellion and democrats ; I ll be 
 under the dominion o the King o kings and His 
 throned Powers and Principalities; and after a this 
 weary voting, and confiscations, and guillotining, it 
 will be Peace Peace Peace : and with that 
 word on his lips, the c flitting as he called it was 
 accomplished." 
 
Hyde and Arcnta 41 
 
 " There is nothing to mourn in such a death, 
 John." 
 
 " Indeed, no. It was just as he said a flitting/ 
 And it was strange that, standing watching what he 
 so fitly called the * flitting, I thought of some lines 
 I have not consciously remembered for many years. 
 They reflect only the old Greek spirit, with its 
 calm acceptance of death and its untroubled resig 
 nation, but they seemed to me very applicable to 
 the elder s departure : 
 
 Not otherwise to the hall of Hades dim 
 He fares, than if some summer eventide 
 
 A Message, not unlocked for, came to him ; 
 Bidding him rise up presently, and ride 
 
 Some few hours journey, to a friendly home. " 
 
 "There is nothing to fear in such a death." 
 
 " Nothing at all. Last week when Cornelia and 
 I passed his house, he was leaning on the garden 
 gate, and he spoke pleasantly to her and told her 
 she was a bonnie lassie/ Where is Cornelia ? " 
 
 " In her room. John, she went to Duyckinck s 
 this morning for me, and George Hyde met her 
 again, and they took a walk together on the Bat 
 tery. It was near the noon hour when she re 
 turned." 
 
 " She told you about it ? " 
 
 " Oh yes, and without inquiry." 
 
 " Very good. I must look after that young fel 
 low." But he said the words without much care, 
 and Mrs. Moran was not satisfied. 
 
42 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 " Then you do not disapprove the meeting, 
 John ? " she asked. 
 
 " Yes, I do. I disapprove of any young man 
 meeting my daughter every time she goes out. 
 Cornelia is too young for lovers, and it is not de 
 sirable that she should have attentions from young 
 men who have no intentions. I do not want her 
 to be what is called a belle. Certainly not." 
 
 u But the young men do not think her too young 
 to be loved. I can see that Rem Van Ariens is 
 very fond of her." 
 
 " Rem is a very fine young man. If Cornelia 
 was old enough to marry, I should make no ob 
 jections to Rem. He has some money. He prom 
 ises to be a good lawyer. I like the family. It is 
 as pure Dutch as any in the country. There is no 
 objection to Rem Van Ariens." 
 
 " And George Hyde ? " 
 
 " Has too many objectionable qualities to be 
 worth considering." 
 
 " Such as ? " 
 
 " Well, Ava, I will only name one, and one for 
 which he is not responsible ; but yet it would be 
 insuperable, as far as I am concerned. His father 
 is an Englishman of the most pronounced type, and 
 this young man is quite like him. I want no Eng 
 lishman in my family." 
 
 " My family are of English descent." 
 
 " Thoroughly Americanized. They are longer 
 in this country than the Washingtons." 
 
Hyde and Arenta 43 
 
 u There have been many Dutch marriages 
 among the Morans." 
 
 " That is a different thing. The Dutch, as a 
 race, have every desirable quality. The English 
 are natural despots. Rem was quite right last 
 night. I saw and felt, as much as he did, the quiet 
 but sovereign arrogance of young Hyde. His calm 
 assumption of superiority was in reality insufferable. 
 The young man s faults are racial; they are in the 
 blood. Cornelia shall not have anything to do 
 with him. Why do you speak of such disagree 
 able things, Ava ? " 
 
 " It is well to look forward, John." 
 
 " No. It is time enough to meet annoyances 
 when they arrive. But this is one not even to be 
 thought of to tell the last truth, Ava, I dislike his 
 father, General Hyde, very much indeed." 
 
 " Why ? " 
 
 u I cannot tell you why. Yes, I will be hon 
 est and acknowledge that he always gives me a 
 sense of hostility. He arrogates himself too much. 
 When I was in the army, a good many were angry 
 at General Washington, for making so close a 
 friend of him but Washington has much of the 
 
 O 
 
 same exclusive air. I hope it is no treason to say 
 that much, for a good deal of dignity is permis 
 sible, even peremptory, when a man fills great 
 positions. As for the Hydes, father and son, I 
 would prefer to hear no more about them. When 
 the youth was my guest, I was civil to him; but 
 
/[/I The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 I hope Cornelia will not impose the duty on me 
 again." 
 
 Nothing further was said on the subject, but the 
 Doctor looked more attentively at his daughter than 
 was usual with him. He was struck with her 
 beauty, by some rare quality in it which he had never 
 before noticed ; some interior quality, which he did 
 not understand, but whose reflection was beyond 
 doubt or dispute. It gave him a sense of trouble, 
 and of indeterminate trouble, that he could not 
 meet and conquer. And this feeling of insufficiency 
 irritated him. He was more silent than ordinary ; 
 and as he went out, told Cornelia, she would do 
 well not to appear in public. 
 
 " The city is in mourning," he said, " and re 
 spectable women who have no real business or duty 
 to take them from their homes will pay the reverence 
 of seclusion in them until after Franklin s funeral." 
 
 He was glad to see that Cornelia evinced neither 
 displeasure nor disappointment at the request. " It 
 is all right, Ava," he said softly to his wife, as he 
 stood with his hat in his hand ready himself to go 
 abroad ; " she was not in the least annoyed by the 
 idea of seclusion. There has been no future ap 
 pointment made ; consequently, no understanding. 
 Boys and girls will look, and love, and tell each 
 other the reason why, but of course in Cornelia s 
 case, it is to be prevented if possible. You must 
 keep on guard, Ava; though really I think the 
 little girl is very honest and straightforward." 
 
Hyde and Arenta 45 
 
 A couple of hours later Cornelia was sitting at 
 her tambour-frame, passing her needle slowly 
 through and through the delicate muslin. The 
 long, long thoughts of love kept her happy com 
 pany. She was desiring no other companionship, 
 when Arenta entered with her usual little flurry and 
 rustle. She stood at the door with an air of in 
 jury, and asked u if she might come in ? " 
 
 " Do not be absurd, Arenta. You know that I 
 am glad to see you." 
 
 Then Arenta kissed her friend, and took off her 
 hat and cloak, saying, as she did so 
 
 " I have been at Aunt Angelica s all morning ; 
 and we had a delicious cup of chocolate together 
 aunt always has chocolate and cake and bonbons 
 and we talked a great many people over that is, 
 Aunt Angelica talked ; as for me, it is my principle 
 to hear, and see, and say nothing." 
 
 " Oh, indeed, Arenta, you are not dumb ; for 
 instance, you said some things last night that were 
 unpleasant " 
 
 " Never mind, Cornelia, what I said last night. 
 This morning, I look at the bright side of things, 
 which, you know, is always my way. They who 
 do not do so, are, I think, very foolish people. I 
 suppose that you have heard of the death of Frank 
 lin ? Aunt Angelica knew him ; she has known 
 all the great men of her generation ; and what do 
 you think she said of them ? " 
 
 " I cannot even imagine your aunt s opinions, 
 
46 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 Arenta. You know that I have never seen 
 her." 
 
 "That is the truth. I had forgotten. Well, 
 then, I went to her with the news ; and she rubbed 
 her chin, and called to her man Govert, to get a 
 bow of crape and put it on the front door. It is 
 moral, and proper, and respectable, Arenta/ she 
 said, 4 and I advise you to do the same. But then 
 she laughed and added, Shall I tell you, niece, 
 what I think of the great men I have met ? They 
 are disagreeable, conceited creatures ; and ought, 
 all of them, to have died before they were born ; 
 and for my part, I am satisfied not to have had the 
 fate to marry one of them. As for Benjamin 
 Franklin/ she continued, c he was a particularly 
 great man, and I am particularly grateful that I 
 never saw him but once. I formed my opinion of 
 him then; for I only need to see a person once, to 
 form an opinion and he is dead ! Well, then, 
 every one dies at their own time. 
 
 " My father says Congress goes into mourning 
 for him." 
 
 " Does it ? " asked Arenta, with indifference. 
 " Aunt was beginning to tell me something about 
 him when he was in France, but I just put a stop 
 to talk like that, and said, Now, aunt, for a little 
 of my own affairs. So I told her about George 
 Berckel, and asked her if she thought I might 
 marry George ; and she answered, l If you are tired 
 of easy days, Arenta, go, and take a husband/ 
 
Hyde and Arenta 47 
 
 After a while I spoke to her about Lieutenant 
 Hyde, and she said, she had seen the little coclcrel 
 strutting about Pearl Street. 
 
 " That was not a proper thing to say. Lieuten 
 ant Hyde carries himself in the most distinguished 
 manner." 
 
 " Well, then, that is exactly so ; but Aunt An 
 gelica has her own way of saying things. She in 
 tended nothing unkind or disrespectful. She told 
 me that she had frequently danced with his father 
 when she was a girl and a beauty j and she added 
 with a laugh, I can assure you, Arenta, that in 
 those days he was no saint ; although he is now, I 
 hear, the very pink of propriety/ 
 
 " Is not that as it should be, Arenta ? We 
 ought surely to grow better as we grow older." 
 
 " That is not to be denied, Cornelia. Now I 
 can tell you something worth hearing about Gen 
 eral Hyde." 
 
 " If it is anything wrong, or unkind, I will not 
 listen to it, Arenta. Have you forgotten that the 
 good Sisters always forbid us to listen to an evil 
 report ? " 
 
 " Then one must shut one s ears if one lives in 
 New York. But, indeed, it is nothing wrong 
 only something romantic and delightful, and quite 
 as good as a story book. Shall I tell you ? " 
 
 u As you wish." 
 
 " As you wish." 
 
 " Then I would like to hear it." 
 
48 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 " Listen ! When Madame Hyde was Katherine 
 Van Heemskirk, and younger than you are, she had 
 two lovers ; one, Captain Dick Hyde, and the other 
 a young man called Neil Semple ; and they fought a 
 duel about her, and nearly cut each other to pieces." 
 
 " Arenta ! " 
 
 " Oh, it is the truth ! It is the very truth, I 
 assure you ! And while Hyde still lay between 
 life and death, Miss Van Heemskirk married him ; 
 and as soon as he was able, he carried her off at 
 midnight to England ; and there they lived in a 
 fine old house until the war. Then they came 
 back to New York, and Hyde went into the Con 
 tinental army and did great things, I suppose, for 
 as we all knew, he was made a general. You 
 should have heard Aunt Angelica tell the story. 
 She remembered the whole affair. It was a de 
 lightful story to listen to, as we drank our choco 
 late. And will you please only try to imagine it 
 of Mrs. General Hyde ! A woman so lofty ! So 
 calm ! So afar off from every impropriety that 
 you always feel it impossible in her presence to 
 commit the least bit of innocent folly. Will you 
 imagine her as Katherine Van Heemskirk in a 
 short, quilted petticoat, with her hair hanging in 
 two braids down her back, running away at mid 
 night with General Hyde ! " 
 
 " He was her husband. She committed no 
 fault." 
 
 " I was thinking of the quilted petticoat, and the 
 
Hyde and Arenta 49 
 
 two braids ; for who now dresses so extravagantly 
 and so magnificently as Madame Hyde * She has 
 an Indian shawl that cost two hundred pounds. 
 Aunt Angelica says John Embree told her that 
 much, at the very least * and as for the General ! 
 is there any man in New York so proud, and so 
 full of dignity and morality ? He is in St. Paul s 
 Chapel every Sunday, and when you see him there, 
 how could you imagine that he had fought half-a- 
 dozen duels, for haif-a-dozen beauties ? " 
 
 " Half-a-dozen duels ! Oh, Arenta ! " 
 
 " About that number more or less before and 
 after the Van Heemskirk incident. Look at him 
 next Sunday, and then try and believe that he was 
 the topmost leader in all the fashionable follies, un 
 til he went to the war. People say it is General 
 Washington " 
 
 " General Washington ? " 
 
 "That has changed him so much. They have 
 been a great deal together, and I do believe the 
 proprieties are catching. If evil is to be taken in 
 bad company, why not good in the presence of all 
 that is moral and respectable ? At any rate, who 
 is now more proper than General Hyde ? Indeed, 
 as Aunt Angelica says, we must all pay our re 
 spects to the Hydes, if we desire our own caps to 
 set straight. Cornelia, shall I tell you why you are 
 working so close to the window this afternoon ? " 
 
 " You are going to say something I would rather 
 not hear, Arenta/ 
 
50 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 " Truth is wholesome, if not agreeable ; and the 
 truth is, you expect Lieutenant Hyde to pass. 
 But he will not do so. I saw him booted and 
 spurred, on a swift horse, going up the river road. 
 He was bound for Hyde Manor, I am sure. Now, 
 Cornelia, you need not move your frame ; for no 
 one will disturb you, and I wish to tell you some of 
 my affairs." 
 
 "About your lovers ? " 
 
 "Yes. I have met a certain French marquis, 
 who is attached to the Count de Moustier s em 
 bassy. I met him at intervals all last winter, and 
 to-day, I have a love letter from him a real love 
 letter and he desires to ask my father for my 
 hand. I shall now have something to say to 
 Madame Kippon." 
 
 " But you would not marry a Frenchman ? 
 That is an impossible thought, Arenta." 
 
 " No more so than an Englishman. In fact, 
 Englishmen are not to be thought of at all ; while 
 Frenchmen are the fashion. Just consider the 
 drawing-rooms of our great American ladies ; they 
 are full of French nobles." 
 
 " But they are exiles, for the most part very 
 poor, and devoted to the idea of monarchy." 
 
 " Ah, but my Frenchman is different. He is 
 rich, he is in the confidence of the present French 
 government, and he adores republican principles. 
 Indeed he wore at Lady Grffin s, last week, his red 
 cap of Liberty, and looked quite distinguished in it." 
 
Hyde and Arenta jfl 
 
 " I am astonished that Lady Griffin permitted 
 such a spectacle. I am sure it was a vulgar thing 
 to do. Only the sans-culottes, make such exhi 
 bitions of their private feelings." 
 
 " I think it was a very brave thing to do and 
 Lady Griffin, with her English prejudices and aris 
 tocratic notions, had to tolerate it. He is very 
 tall and dark, and he was dressed in scarlet, with a 
 long black satin vest ; and you may believe that 
 the scarlet cap on his black curling hair was very 
 imposing/* 
 
 " Imposing ! How could it possibly be that ? 
 It is only associated with mobs, and mob law 
 and guillotining." 
 
 " I shall not contradict you though I could do 
 so easily. I will say, then, that it was very pic 
 turesque. He asked me to dance a minuet with 
 him, and when I did not refuse he was beside him 
 self with pleasure and gratitude. And after I had 
 opened the way, several of the best ladies in the 
 town followed. After all, it was a matter of po 
 litical opinion ; and it is against our American 
 ideas to send any man to Jersey for his politics. 
 Mr. Jefferson was in red also." 
 
 " I wish to dance with Mr. Jefferson, but I now 
 think of waiting till he gets a new suit." 
 
 " I am sure that no one ever made a finer figure 
 in a dance than I, in my white satin and pearls, 
 and the Marquis Athanase de Tounnerre in his 
 scarlet dress and Liberty cap. Every one regarded 
 
52 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 us. He tells me, to-day, that the emotion I raised 
 in his soul that hour has not been stilled for a 
 moment." 
 
 " Have you thought of your father ? He would 
 never consent to such a marriage and what will 
 Rem say ? " 
 
 " My father will storm, and speak words he 
 should not speak ; but I am not afraid of words. 
 Rem is more to be dreaded. He will not talk his 
 anger away. Yes, I should be afraid of Rem." 
 
 "But you have not really decided to accept the 
 Marquis Tounnerre ? " 
 
 " No. I have not quite decided. I like to stand 
 between Yes and No. I like to be entreated to 
 marry, and then again, to be entreated not to marry. 
 I like to hesitate between the French and the 
 Dutch. I am not in the least sure on which side 
 I shall finally range myself." 
 
 " Then do not decide in a hurry." 
 
 " Have I not told you I like to waver, and 
 vacillate, and oscillate, and make scruples ? These 
 are things a woman can do, both with privilege 
 and inclination. I think myself to be very clever 
 in such ways." 
 
 "I would not care, nor dare, to venture " 
 
 " You are a very baby yet. I am two years 
 older than you. But indeed you are progressing 
 with some rapidity. What about George Hyde ? " 
 
 " You said he had gone out of town." 
 
 " And I am glad of it. He will not now be in- 
 
* l WISH TO DANCK WITH MR. JKFFKRSON. 
 
Hyde and Arenta 53 
 
 sinuating himself with violets, and compelling you 
 to take walks with him on the Battery. Oh, 
 Cornelia ! you see I am not to be put out of your 
 confidence. Why did you not tell me ? " 
 
 " You have given me no opportunity ; and, as 
 you know all, why should I say any more about 
 it ? " 
 
 u Cornelia, my dear companion, I fear you are 
 inclined to concealment and to reticence, qualities 
 a young girl should not cultivate I am now speak 
 ing for dear Sister Maria Beroth and I hope you 
 will carefully consider the advantages you will de 
 rive from cultivating a more open disposition." 
 
 u You are making a mockery of the good 
 Sisters ; and I do not wish to hear you commit 
 such a great fault. Indeed, I would be pleased to 
 return to their peaceful care again." 
 
 " And wear the little linen cap and collar, and 
 all the other simplicities ? Cornelia ! Cornelia ! 
 You are as fond as I am of French fashions and 
 fripperies. Let us be honest, if we die for it. 
 And you may as well tell me all your little co 
 quetries with George Hyde ; for I shall be sure to 
 find them out. Now I am going home ; for I 
 must look after the tea-table. But you will not be 
 sorry, for it will leave you free to think of " 
 
 " Please, Arenta ! " 
 
 " Very well. I will have c considerations.* Good 
 bye ! " 
 
 Then the door closed, and Cornelia ivas left 
 
54 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 alone. But the atmosphere of the room was 
 charged with Arenta s unrest, and a feeling of dis 
 appointment was added to it. She suddenly 
 realized that her lover s absence from the city left 
 a great vacancy. What were all the thousands in 
 its streets, if he was not there ? She might now 
 indeed remove her frame from the window ; if 
 Hyde was an impossibility, there was no one else 
 she wished to see pass. And her heart told her 
 the report was a true one ; she did not doubt for a 
 moment Arenta s supposition, that he had gone to 
 Hyde Manor. But the thought made her lonely. 
 Something, she knew not what, had altered her 
 life. She had a new strange happiness, new hopes, 
 new fears and new wishes ; but they were not an 
 unmixed delight ; for she was also aware of a vague 
 trouble, a want that nothing in her usual duties 
 satisfied : in a word, she had crossed the threshold 
 of womanhood and was no longer a girl, 
 
 " Singing alone in the morning of life, 
 In the happy morning of life, and May." 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THROWING THINGS INTO CONFUSION 
 
 PRUDENCE declares that whenever a person is in 
 that disagreeable situation which compels him to 
 ask " what shall I do? " that the wisest answer is, 
 " nothing." But such answer did not satisfy 
 George Hyde. He was too young, too sure of his 
 own good fortune, too restless and impulsive, to ac 
 cept Prudence as a councillor. He might have 
 considered, that, hitherto, affairs had happened 
 precisely as he wished them ; and that it would be 
 good policy to trust to his future opportunities. 
 But he was so much in earnest, so honestly in love, 
 that he felt his doubts and anxieties could only be 
 relieved by action. Sympathy, at least, he must 
 have ; and he knew no man, to whom he would 
 willingly talk of Cornelia. The little jests and 
 innuendoes sure to follow his confidence would be 
 intolerable if associated with a creature so pure 
 and so ingenuous. 
 
 " I will go to my mother ! " he thought. And 
 this resolution satisfied him so well, that he carried 
 it out at once. But it was after dark when he 
 reached the tall stone portals of Hyde Manor 
 House. The ride, however, had given him back 
 his best self. For when we leave society and come 
 55 
 
56 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 into the presence of Nature, we become children 
 again ; and the fictions of thought and action as 
 sumed among men drop off like a garment. The 
 beauty of the pale green hills, and the flowing 
 river, and the budding trees, and the melody of 
 birds singing as if they never would grow old, were 
 all but charming accessories and horizons to his 
 constant pictures of Cornelia. It was she who 
 gave life and beauty to all he saw ; for as a rule, if 
 men notice nature at all, it is ever through some 
 painted window of their own souls. Few indeed 
 are those who hear 
 
 " The Ancient Word, 
 That walked among the silent trees." 
 
 Yet Hyde was keenly conscious of some mystical 
 sympathy between himself and the lovely scenes 
 through which he passed conscious still more of 
 it when the sun had set and the moon rose dim 
 and inscrutable over the lonely way, and filled the 
 narrow glen which was at the entrance to the 
 Manor House full of brooding power. 
 
 The great building loomed up dark and silent ; 
 there was but one light visible. It was in his 
 mother s usual sitting-room, and as soon as he saw 
 it, he began to whistle. She heard him afar off, 
 and was at the door to give him a welcome. 
 
 " Joris, my dear one, we were talking of you ! " 
 she cried, as he leaped from the saddle to her arms. 
 " So glad are we ! Come in quickly ! Such a good 
 
Throwing Things into Confusion 57 
 
 surprise ! It is our hearts wish granted ! Well, 
 are you ? Quite well ? Now, then, I am happy. 
 Happy as can be! Look now, Richard!" she 
 called, as she flung the door open, and entered with 
 the handsome, smiling youth at her side. 
 
 In his way the father was just as much pleased. 
 He pushed some papers he had been busy with im 
 patiently aside, and stood up with outstretched 
 hand to meet his son. 
 
 u Kate, my dear heart," he cried, " let us have 
 something to eat. The boy will be hungry as a 
 hunter after his ride. And George, what brings 
 you home ? We were just telling each other 
 your mother and I that you were in the height of 
 the city s follies." 
 
 " Indeed, sir, there will be few follies for some 
 days. Mr. Franklin is dead, and the city goes into 
 mourning." 
 
 " Tis a fate that all must meet," said the Gen 
 eral ; " but death and Franklin would look each 
 
 other in the face as friends He had a work to 
 
 do, he did it well, and it is finished. That is all. 
 What other news do you bring ? " 
 
 a It is said that Mirabeau is arrested somewhere, 
 for something. I did not hear the particulars." 
 
 "Probably, for the very least of his crimes. 
 Marat hates him ; and Marat represents the fury 
 of the Revolution. The monster wished to erect 
 eight hundred gibbets, and hang Mirabeau first." 
 
 " And the deputies are returning to the Provinces, 
 
58 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 drunk with their own importance. They have 
 abolished titles, and coats of arms, and liveries; 
 and published a list of the names the nobles are to 
 assume as if people did not know their own 
 names. Mr. Hamilton says l Revolution in France 
 has gone raving mad, and converted twenty-four 
 millions of people into savages. 
 
 u I hate the French ! " said the General passion 
 ately. " It is a natural instinct with me, just as 
 tame animals are born with an antipathy to wild 
 beasts. If I thought I had one drop of French 
 blood in me, I would let it out with a dagger." 
 
 George winced a little. He remembered that 
 the Morans were of French extraction ; and he an 
 swered 
 
 " After all, father, we must judge people indi 
 vidually. Mere race is not much." 
 
 " George Hyde ! What are you saying ? Race 
 is everything. It is the strongest and deepest of 
 all human feelings. Nothing conquers its preju 
 dices." 
 
 " Except love. I have heard, father, that Love 
 never asks 4 of what race art thou ? or even 
 whose son, or daughter, art thou ? 
 
 " You have heard many foolish things, George ; 
 that is one of them. Men and women marry out 
 of their own nationality, at their peril. I took my 
 life in my hand for your mother s love." 
 
 " She was worthy of the peril." 
 
 " God knows it." 
 
Throwing Things into Confusion 59 
 
 At this moment Mrs. Hyde entered the room, 
 her fair face alight with love. A servant carrying 
 a tray full of good things to eat, followed her; and 
 it was delightful to watch her eager happiness as 
 she arranged meats, and sweetmeats, in tempting 
 order for the hungry young man. He thoroughly 
 enjoyed this provision for his comfort ; and as he 
 ate, he talked to his father of those things interest 
 ing to him, answering all questions with that com 
 plaisant positiveness of youth which decides every 
 thing at once, and without reservation. No one 
 understood this better than General Hyde, but it 
 pleased him to draw out his son s opinions ; and it 
 also pleased him to watch the pride of the fond 
 mother, who evidently considered her boy a para 
 gon of youthful judgment. 
 
 u And pray," he asked, u what can you tell me 
 about the seat of government ? Will New York 
 be chosen ? " 
 
 " I am sure it will be Philadelphia ; and, indeed, 
 I care not. It would, however, amuse you to hear 
 some of the opinions on the matter ; for every one 
 hangs his judgment on the peg of his own little in 
 terests or likings. Young De Witt says New York 
 wants no government departments ; that she is far 
 too busy a city, to endure government idlers hang 
 ing around her best streets. Doctor Rush says the 
 government is making our city a sink of political 
 vice. Mr. Wolcott says honesty is the fashion in 
 New York. Some of the clergy think Wall Street 
 
60 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 as wicked as the most fashionable streets in Tyre 
 and Sodom ; and the street-singers thanks to Mr. 
 Freneau have each, and all, their little audiences 
 on the subject. As I came up Broadway, a man 
 was shouting a rhyme advising the Philadelphians 
 to get ready their dishcloths and brooms, and be 
 gin scouring their knockers, and scrubbing their 
 rooms. Perhaps the most sensible thing on the 
 subject came from one of the New England sena 
 tors. He thought the seat of government ought to 
 be c in some wilderness, where there would be no 
 social attractions, where members could go and at 
 tend strictly to business/ Upon my word, sir, the 
 opinions are endless in number and variety ; but, in 
 truth, Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Morris are arranging 
 the matter. This is without doubt. There is to 
 be some sort of compromise with the Southern 
 senators, who are promised the capital on the 
 Potomac, finally, if they no longer oppose the as 
 sumption of the State debts. I hear that Mr. Jef 
 ferson has been brought to agree to this under 
 standing. And Mr. Morris doubtless thinks, if the 
 government offices are once opened in Philadelphia, 
 they will remain there." 
 
 " And Joris, the ladies ? What say they on the 
 subject ? " asked Mrs. Hyde. 
 
 u Indeed, mother, some of them are lamenting, 
 and some looking forward to the change. All are 
 talking of the social deposition of the beautiful 
 Mrs. Bingham. She will have to abate herself a 
 
Throwing Things into Confusion 61 
 
 little before Mrs. Washington, I heard one lady 
 say ; while others declare, that her association with 
 our Republican Court will be harmonious and ad 
 vantageous ; especially, as she is beloved in the 
 home of the President." 
 
 u Our Republican Court! The definition is ab 
 surd ! " said General Hyde, with both scorn and 
 temper. u A court pre-supposes both royalty and 
 nobility ! " 
 
 u We have both of them intrinsically, father." 
 
 " In faith, George ! you will find, that intrinsic 
 qualities have no social value. What people re 
 quire is their external evidence." 
 
 u And their external evidence would be ex 
 tremely offensive here, sir. For my part, I think, 
 the sneaking hankering after titles and ceremonies, 
 among our wealthy men and women is a very great 
 weakness. Every one knows that nothing would 
 please fussy Mr. Adams better than to be a duke, 
 or even a lord and he is by no means alone in 
 such desires." 
 
 " They may be yet realized." 
 
 " They will not, sir not, at least, while Thomas 
 Jefferson lives. He is the bulldog of Democracy, 
 and he would be at the throat of any such pre 
 tences as soon as they were suggested." 
 
 " Very well, George ! I have no objections." 
 
 u I knew, sir, that you were a thorough Demo 
 crat." 
 
 " Do not go too far, George. I love Democ- 
 
62 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 racy ; but I hate Democrats ! Now I am sleepy, 
 and as Mr. Jefferson is on the watch, I may go to 
 sleep comfortably. I will talk to you more on 
 these subjects in the morning. Good-night ! " 
 He put his hand on his son s shoulder, and looked 
 with a proud confidence into the bright face, lifted 
 to the touch. 
 
 Then George was alone with his mother; but 
 she was full of little household affairs ; and he could 
 not bring into them a subject so close, and so sa 
 cred to his heart. He listened a little wearily to 
 her plans, and was glad when she recollected the 
 late hour and hurried him away to his chamber a 
 large, lofty room in the front of the house, on 
 which she had realized all the ideas that her great 
 love, and her really exquisite taste suggested. He 
 entered it with a sense of delight, and readily sur 
 rendered himself to its dreamy air of sleep and 
 rest. " I will speak to my mother in the morn 
 ing," he thought. " To-night, her mind is full of 
 other things." 
 
 But in the morning Mrs. Hyde was still more 
 interested in "other things." She had an archi 
 tect with her, her servants were to order, her house 
 to look after ; and George readily felt that his hour 
 was certainly not in the early morning. He had 
 slept a little late, and his mother did not approve 
 of sleep beyond the normal hour. He saw that he 
 had delayed household matters, and made an en 
 vironment not quite harmonious. So he ate his 
 
Throwing Things into Confusion 63 
 
 breakfast rapidly, and went out to the new stables. 
 He expected to find the General there, and he 
 was not disappointed. He had, however, finished 
 his inspection of the horses, and he proposed a 
 walk to the upper end of the Glen, where a great 
 pond was being dug for Mrs. Hyde s swans, and 
 other aquatic birds. 
 
 There was much to interest them as they 
 walked : men were busy draining, and building 
 stone walls ; ploughing and sowing, and digging, 
 and planting. Yet, in the midst of all this busy 
 life, George detected in his father s manner an air 
 of melancholy. He looked into his son s face 
 with affection, and pointed out to him with an ap 
 parent interest, the improvements in progress, but 
 George knew though he could not have explained 
 why he knew that his father s heart was not 
 really in these things. Presently he asked, " How 
 goes it with your law books, George ? " 
 
 " Faith, sir, I must confess, very indifferently. 
 I have no senses that way ; and tis only your de 
 sire that keeps my books open. I would far rather 
 read my Plutarch, or write with my sword." 
 
 " Let me tell you, soberly, that it is a matter of 
 personal interest to you. There is now no ques 
 tion of the law as a profession, for since your 
 cousin s death your prospects have entirely changed. 
 But consider, George, that not only this estate, 
 but also the estate of your Grandfather Van Heems- 
 kirk must eventually come to you. Much of 
 
64 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 both has been bought from confiscated properties, 
 and it is not improbable that claimants may arise 
 who will cause you trouble. How necessary, then, 
 that you should know something of the laws af 
 fecting land and property in this country." 
 
 " My grandfather is in trouble. I forgot to tell 
 you last night, that his friend, Elder Semple, is 
 dead." 
 
 " Dead ! " 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 For a few minutes General Hyde remained si 
 lent ; then he said with much feeling, " Peace to 
 the old Tory ! He was once very kind to me and 
 to my family. Ah, George, I have again defrauded 
 myself of a satisfaction ! For a long time I have 
 intended to go and see him it is now too late ! 
 But I will return to the city with you and pay him 
 the last respect possible. Who told you this 
 news ? " 
 
 " I was walking on Broadway with young Mc 
 Allister, and Doctor Moran stopped us and sent 
 word to Elder McAllister of the death of his 
 friend. I think, indeed, they were relatives." 
 
 " Was Doctor Moran his physician ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir. A very good physician, I believe ; 
 I know, that he is a very courteous and entertain 
 ing gentleman." 
 
 " And pray, George, how do you come by such 
 an opinion ? " 
 
 " I had the honour of spending an evening at 
 
Throwing Things into Confusion 65 
 
 Doctor Moran s house this week ; and if you will 
 believe me, sir, he has a daughter that shames 
 every other beauty. Such bewildering loveliness ! 
 Such entrancing freshness and purity I never saw 
 before ! " 
 
 " In love again, George. Faith, you make me 
 ashamed of my own youth ! But this enchanting 
 creature cannot make of her father anything but 
 what he is." 
 
 "This time I am desperately, and really, in 
 love." 
 
 " So you were with Mollie Trefuses, with Sarah 
 Talbot, with Eliza Capel, with Matilda Howard 
 and a galaxy of minor beauties." 
 
 " But it has come to this I wish to marry Miss 
 Moran ; and I never wished to marry any other 
 woman." 
 
 u You have forgotten And by Heaven ! you 
 
 must forget Miss Moran. She is not to be thought 
 of as a wife for one moment." 
 
 u Sir, you are not so unjust as to make such a 
 statement without giving me a reason for it." 
 
 " Giving you a reason ! My reason ought to 
 have sprung up voluntary in your own heart. It 
 is an incredible thing if you are not already familiar 
 with it." 
 
 a Simply, sir, I profess my ignorance." 
 
 u Look around you. Look east, and west, and 
 north, and south, all these rich lands were bought 
 with your Uncle William s money. He made 
 
66 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 himself poor, to make me rich ; because, having 
 brought me up as his heir, he thought his marriage 
 late in life had in a manner defrauded me. You 
 know that the death of his two sons has again 
 made me the heir to the Hyde earldom ; and that 
 after me, the succession is yours. Tell me now 
 what child is left to your uncle ? " 
 
 " Only his daughter Annie, a girl of fourteen or 
 fifteen years." 
 
 " What will become of her when her father 
 dies ? " 
 
 " Sir, how can I divine her future ? " 
 
 " It is your duty to divine her future. Her 
 father has no gold to leave her he gave it to me 
 and the land he cannot leave her ; yet she has a 
 natural right, beyond either mine or yours." 
 
 u I give her my right, cheerfully." 
 
 "You cannot give it to her unless you outlaw 
 yourself from your native country strip yourself 
 of your citizenship declare yourself unworthy to 
 be a son of the land that gave you birth. Even if 
 you perpetrated such a civil crime, you would 
 render no service to Annie. Your right would 
 simply lapse to the son of Herbert Hyde the 
 young man you met at Oxford " 
 
 "Surely, sir, we need not talk of that fellow. I 
 have already told you what a very sycophant he is. 
 He licks the dust before any man of wealth or 
 authority ; his tongue hangs down to his shoe- 
 buckles." 
 
Throwing Things into Confusion 67 
 
 " Well then, sir, what is your duty to Annie 
 Hyde?" 
 
 " I do not conceive myself to have any special 
 duty to Annie Hyde." 
 
 " Upon my honour, you are then perversely 
 stupid ! But it is impossible that you do not realize 
 what justice, honour, gratitude and generosity de 
 mand from you ! When your uncle wrote me 
 that pitiful letter which informed me of the death 
 of his last son, my first thought was that his 
 daughter must be assured her right in the suc 
 cession. There is one way to compass this. You 
 know what that way is. Why do you not 
 speak ? " 
 
 " Because, sir, if I confess your evident opinion 
 to be just, I bind myself to carry it out, because of 
 its justice." 
 
 u Is it not just ? " 
 
 " It might be just to Annie and very unjust to 
 me." 
 
 " No, sir. Justice is a thing absolute ; it is not 
 altered by circumstances, especially for a circum 
 stance so trivial as a young man s idle fancy." 
 
 " Tis no idle fancy. I love Cornelia Moran." 
 
 "You have already loved a score of beauties 
 and forgotten them." 
 
 " I have admired, and forgot. If I had loved, I 
 should not have forgotten. Now, I love." 
 
 " Then, sir, be a man, a noble man, and put your 
 personal gratification below justice, honour, and 
 
68 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 gratitude. This is the first real trial of your life, 
 George, are you going to play the coward in it ? " 
 
 u If you could only see Miss Moran ! " 
 
 " I should find it difficult to be civil to her. 
 George, I put before you a duty that no gentleman 
 can by any possibility evade." 
 
 " If this arrangement is so important, why was 
 I not told of it, ere this ? " 
 
 " It is scarcely a year since your Cousin Harry s 
 death. Annie is not fifteen years old. I did not 
 wish to force matters. I intended you to go to 
 England next year, and I hoped that a marriage 
 might come without my advice or my interference. 
 It seemed to me that Annie s position would itself 
 open your heart to her." 
 
 " I have no heart to give her." 
 
 " Then you must at least give her your hand. I 
 myself proposed this arrangement, and your uncle s 
 pleasure and gratitude were of the most touching 
 kind. Further, if you will have the very truth, 
 then know, that under no circumstances, will I 
 sanction a marriage with Doctor Moran s daugh 
 ter." 
 
 " You cannot possibly object to her, sir. She is 
 perfection itself." 
 
 " I object to her in-toto. I detest Doctor Moran, 
 personally. I know not why, nor care wherefore. 
 I detest him still more sincerely as a man of 
 French extraction. I was brought very much in 
 contact with him for three years, and if we had 
 
Throwing Things into Confusion 69 
 
 not been in camp, and under arms, I would have 
 challenged him a score of times. He is the most 
 offensive of men. He brought his race prejudices 
 continually to the front. When Lafayette was 
 wounded, with some of his bragging company, 
 nothing would do but Doctor Moran must go with 
 them to the hospital at Bethlehem ; yes, and stay 
 there, until the precious marquis was out of 
 danger. I ll swear that he would not have done 
 this for Washington he would have blustered 
 about the poor fellows lying sick in camp. Moran 
 talks about being an American, and the Frenchman 
 crops out at every corner. But he is neither here, 
 nor there, in our affairs ; what I wish you to re 
 member is, that rank has its duties as well as its 
 privileges; and you would be a poltroon to accept 
 one and ignore the other. What are you going to 
 do ? " 
 
 " I know not. I must think " 
 
 " I am ashamed of you ! In the name of all 
 that is honourable, what is there to think about ? 
 Have you told this Miss Moran that you love 
 her ? " 
 
 " Not in precise words. I have only seen her 
 three or four times. * 
 
 "Then, sir, you have only yourself to think 
 about. Have I a son with so little proper feeling 
 that he needs to think a moment when the case is 
 between honour and himself? George, it is high 
 time that you set out to travel. In the neighbour- 
 
70 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 hood of your mother, and your grandparents, and 
 your flatterers in the city, you never get beyond 
 the atmosphere of your own whims and fancies. 
 This conversation has come sooner than I wished ; 
 but after it, there is nothing worth talking about." 
 
 " Sir, you are more cruel and unreasonable than 
 I could believe possible." 
 
 "The railings of a losing lover are not worth 
 answering. Give your anger sway, and when you 
 are reasonable again, tell me. A man mad in love 
 has some title to my pity." 
 
 u And, sir, if you were any other man but my 
 father, I would say c Confound your pity ! I am 
 not sensible of deserving it, except as the result of 
 
 your own unreasonable demands on me Our 
 
 conversation is extremely unpleasant, and I desire 
 to put an end to it. Permit me to return to the 
 house." 
 
 u With all my heart. But let me advise you to 
 say nothing to your mother, at present, on this sub 
 ject :" then with an air of dejection he added 
 " What is past, must go ; and whatever is to come 
 is very sure to happen." 
 
 " Sir, nothing past, present, or future, can change 
 me. I shall obey the wishes of my heart, and be 
 true to its love." 
 
 " Let me tell you, George, that Love is now 
 grown wise. He follows Fortune." 
 
 " Good-morning, sir." 
 
 " Let it be so. I will see you to-morrow in 
 
Throwing Things into Confusion 71 
 
 town. Ten to one, you will be more reasonable 
 then." 
 
 He stood in the centre of the roadway watching 
 his son s angry carriage. The poise of his head, 
 and his rapid, uneven steps, were symptoms the 
 anxious father understood very well. " He is in a 
 naked temper, without even civil disguise," he 
 muttered ; " and I hope his own company will sat 
 isfy him until the first fever is past. Do I not 
 know that to be in love is to be possessed ? It is in 
 the head the heart the blood it is indeed an 
 uncontrollable fever ! I hope, first and foremost, 
 that he will keep away from his mother in his pres 
 ent unreason." 
 
 His mother was, however, George s first desire. 
 He did not believe she would sanction his sacrifice 
 to Annie Hyde. Justice, honour, gratitude ! these 
 were fine names of his father s invention to adorn 
 a ceremony which would celebrate his life-long 
 misery, and he rebelled against such an immolation 
 of his youth and happiness. When he reached 
 the house, he found that his mother had gone to 
 the pond to feed her swans ; and he decided to ride 
 a little out of his way in order to see her there. 
 Presently he came to a spot where tall, shadowing 
 pines surrounded a large sheet of water, dipping 
 their lowest branches into it. Mrs. Hyde stood 
 among them, and the white, stately birds were 
 crowding to her very feet. He reined in his horse 
 to watch her, and though accustomed to her beauty, 
 
72 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 he marvelled again at it. Like a sylvan goddess 
 she stood, divinely tall, and divinely fair ; her whole 
 presence suffused with a heavenly serenity and hap 
 piness ! Upon the soft earth the hoofs of his horse 
 had not been audible, but when he came within her 
 sight, it was wonderful to watch the transformation 
 on her countenance. A great love, a great joy, 
 swept away like a gust of wind, the peace on its 
 surface; and a glowing, loving intelligence made 
 her instantly restless. She called him with sweet 
 imperiousness, " George ! Joris ! Joris ! My dear 
 one ! " and he answered her with the one word 
 ever near, and ever dear, to a woman s heart 
 " Mother / " 
 
 " I thought you were with your father. Where 
 have you left him ? " 
 
 u In the wilderness. There is need for me to 
 go to the city. My father will tell you why. I 
 come only to see you to kiss you " 
 
 "Joris, I see that you are angry. Well then, 
 my dear one, what is it ? What has your father 
 been saying to you ? " 
 
 " He will tell you." 
 
 "&/ Whatever it is, your part I shall take. 
 Right or wrong, your part I shall take." 
 
 " There is nothing wrong, dear mother." 
 
 " Money, is it ? " 
 
 " It is not money. My father is generous to 
 me." 
 
 " Then, some woman it is ? " 
 
Throwing Things into Confusion 73 
 
 " Kiss me, mother. After all, there is no woman 
 like unto you." 
 
 She drew close to him, and he stooped his hand 
 some face to hers, and kissed her many times. 
 Her smile comforted him, for it was full of confi 
 dence, as she said 
 
 " Trouble not yourself, Joris. At the last, your 
 father sees through my eyes. Must you go ? Well 
 th.en, the Best of Beings go with you ! " 
 
 u When are you coming to town, mother ? " 
 
 "Next week. There is a dinner party at the 
 President s, and your father will not be absent 
 nor I nor you ? " 
 
 "If I am invited, I shall go, just that I may see 
 you enter the room. Let me tell you, that sight 
 always fills my heart with a tumultuous pride and 
 love." 
 
 " A great flatterer are you, Joris ! " but she lifted 
 her face again, and George kissed it, and then rode 
 rapidly away. 
 
 He hardly drew rein until he reached his grand 
 father s house, a handsome Dutch residence, built 
 of yellow brick, and standing in a garden that was, 
 at this season, a glory of tulips and daffodils, hya 
 cinths and narcisses the splendid colouring of the 
 beds being wonderfully increased by their border- 
 ings of clipped box. An air of sunshiny peace 
 was over the place, and as the upper-half of the 
 side-door stood open he tied his horse and went in. 
 The ticking of the tall house-clock was the only 
 
74 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 sound he heard at first, but as he stood irresolute, a 
 sweet, thin voice in an adjoining room began to 
 sing a hymn. 
 
 " Grandmother ! Grandmother ! ! Grand 
 mother ! ! ! " he called, and before the last ap 
 peal was echoed the old lady appeared. She 
 came forward rapidly, her knitting in her hand. 
 She was singularly bright and alert, with rosy 
 cheeks, and snow-white hair under a snow-white 
 cap of clear-starched lace. A snow-white kerchief 
 of lawn was crossed over her breast, and the rest 
 of her dress was so perfectly Dutch that she might 
 have stepped out of one of Tenier s pictures. 
 
 " Oh, my Joris ! " she cried, " Joris ! Joris ! I 
 am so happy to see thee. But what, then, is the 
 matter ? Thy eyes are full of trouble." 
 
 "I will tell you, grandmother." And he sat 
 down by her side and went over the conversation 
 he had had with his father. She never interrupted 
 him, but he knew by the rapid clicking of her 
 knitting needles that she was moved far beyond 
 her usual quietude. When he ceased speaking, 
 she answered 
 
 " To sell thee, Joris, is a great shame, and for 
 nothing to sell thee is still worse. This is what I 
 think : Let half of the income from the earldom go 
 to the poor young lady, but thyself into the bargain, 
 is beyond all reason. And if with Cornelia Moran 
 thou art in love, a good thing it is ; so I say." 
 
 " Do you know Cornelia, grandmother ? " 
 
Throwing Things into Confusion 75 
 
 " Well, then, I have seen her ; more than once. 
 A great beauty I think her ; and Doctor John has 
 money plenty of money and a very good family 
 are the Morans. I remember his father a very 
 fine gentleman." 
 
 " But my father hates Doctor Moran." 
 
 "Very wicked is he to hate any one. Why, 
 then ? " 
 
 u He gave me only one reason that his family 
 is French." 
 
 "So! Thy mother was Dutch. Every one 
 cannot be English a God s mercy they cannot ! 
 Now, then, thy grandfather is coming ; thy trouble 
 tell to him. Good advice he will give thee." 
 
 Senator Van Heemskirk however went first into 
 his garden and gathering great handfuls of white 
 narcisses and golden daffodils, he called a slave 
 woman and bade her carry them to the Semple 
 house, and lay them in, and around, his friend s 
 coffin. One white lily he kept in his hand as he 
 came towards his wife and grandson, with eyes 
 fixed on its beauty. 
 
 " Lysbet," he said, but he clasped George s 
 hand as he spoke " My Lysbet, if in the Dead 
 Valley of this earth grow such heavenly flowers as 
 this, we will not fear the grave. It is only to 
 sleep on the breast that gives us the lily and the 
 rose, and the wheat, and the corn. Oh, how sweet 
 is this flower! It has the scent of Paradise." 
 
 He laid it gently down while he put off his fine 
 
76 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 broadcloth coat and lace ruffles and assumed the 
 long vest and silk skull cap, which was his home 
 dress ; then he put it in a buttonhole of his vest, 
 and seemed to joy himself in its delicate fragrance. 
 With these preliminaries neither Jons nor Lysbet 
 interfered ; but when he had lit his long pipe and 
 seated himself comfortably in his chair, Lysbet 
 said 
 
 " Where hast thou been all this afternoon ? " 
 
 " I have been sealing up my friend s desk and 
 drawers until his sons arrive. Very happy he 
 looks. He is now one of those that know" 
 
 "Well, then, after the long strife, c He Rests. " 
 
 " Men have written it. What know they about 
 it ? Rest would not be heaven to my friend 
 Alexander Semple. To work, to be up and doing 
 His Will, that would be his delight." 
 
 " I wonder, Joris, if in the next life we shall 
 know each other ? " 
 
 " My Lysbet, in this life do we know each 
 other ? " 
 
 u I think not. Here has come our dear Joris 
 full of trouble to thee, for his father has said such 
 things as I could not have believed. Joris, tell 
 thy grandfather what they are." 
 
 And this time George, being very sure of hearty 
 sympathy, told his tale with great feeling perhaps 
 even with a little anger. His grandfather listened 
 patiently to the youth s impatience, but he did not 
 answer exactly to his expectations. 
 
Throwing Things into Confusion 77 
 
 " My Joris," he said, " so hard it is to accept 
 what goes against our wishes. If Cornelia Moran 
 you had not met, would your father s desires be so 
 impossible to you ? Noble and generous would 
 they not seem " 
 
 " But I have seen Cornelia, and I love her." 
 
 u Two or three times you have seen her. How 
 can you be sure that you love her ? " 
 
 " In the first hour I was sure." 
 
 " Of nothing are we quite sure. In too great a 
 hurry are you. Miss Moran may not love you. 
 She may refuse ever to love you. Her mind you 
 have not asked. Beside this, in his family her 
 father may not wish you. A very proud man is 
 Doctor John." 
 
 " Grandfather, I may be an earl some day." 
 
 " An English earl. Doctor John may not endure 
 to think of his only child living in that far-off 
 country. I, myself, know how this thought can 
 work a father to madness. And, again, your 
 Cousin Annie may not wish to marry you." 
 
 " Faith, sir, I had not thought of myself as so 
 very disagreeable." 
 
 u No. Vain and self-confident is a young man. 
 See, then, how many things may work this way, 
 that way, and if wise you are you will be quiet and 
 wait for events. One thing, move not in your 
 anger ; it is like putting to sea in a tempest. Now 
 I shall just say a word or two on the other side. 
 If your father is so set in his mind about the 
 
78 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 Hydes, let him do the justice to them he wishes to 
 do ; but it is not right that he should make you do 
 it for him." 
 
 " He says that only I can give Annie justice." 
 
 " But that is not good sense. When the pres 
 ent Earl dies, and she is left an orphan, who shall 
 prevent your father from adopting her as his own 
 daughter, and leaving her a daughter s portion of 
 the estate ? In such case, she would be in exactly 
 the same position as if her brother had lived and 
 become earl. Is not that so ? " 
 
 " My dear, dear grandfather, you carry wisdom 
 with you ! Now I shall have the pleasure to pro 
 pose to my father that he do his own justice ! 
 O wise, wise grandfather ! You have made me 
 happy to a degree ! " 
 
 " Very well, but say not that / gave you such 
 counsel. When your father speaks to me, as he 
 is certain to do, then I will say such and such 
 words to him ; but my words in your mouth will 
 be a great offence ; and very justly so, for it is 
 hard to carry words, and carry nothing else. Your 
 dear mother how is she ? " 
 
 " Well and happy. She builds, and she plants, 
 and the days are too short for her. But my father 
 is not so happy. I can see that he is wearied of 
 everything." 
 
 " Not here, is his heart. It is in England. And 
 no longer has he great hopes to keep him young. 
 If of Liberty I now speak to him, he has a smile 
 
Throwing Things into Confusion 79 
 
 so hopeless that both sad and angry it makes me. 
 No faith has he left in any man, except Washing 
 ton ; and I think, also, he is disappointed that Wash 
 ington was not crowned King George the First." 
 
 u I can assure you, sir, that others share his dis 
 appointment. Mr. Adams would not object to be 
 Duke of New York, and even little Burr would 
 like a lordship." 
 
 " I have heard ; my ears are not dull, nor my 
 eyes blind. But too much out of the world lives 
 your father ; men who do so grow unfit to live in 
 the world. He dreams dreams impossible to us 
 impossible to France and then he says Liberty 
 is a dream. Well, well, Life also is a dream 
 when we awake " 
 
 Then he ceased speaking, and there was silence 
 until Lysbet Van Heemskirk said, softly, " When 
 we awake, we shall be satisfied" 
 
 Van Heemskirk smiled at his wife s cheerful as 
 surance, and continued, " It is true, Lysbet, what 
 you say ; and even here, in our dreaming, what 
 satisfaction ! As for me, I expect not too much. 
 The old order and the new order fight yet for the 
 victory ; and what passes now will be worth talk 
 ing about fifty years hence." 
 
 " It is said, grandfather, that the Dutch church 
 is anti-Federal to a man." 
 
 " Not true are such sayings. The church will 
 be very like old Van Steenwyck, who boasts of 
 his impartiality, and who votes for the Federals 
 
80 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 once, and for the anti-Federals once, and the third 
 time does not vote at all. If taken was the vote of 
 the Church, it would be six for the Federals and 
 half-a-dozen for the anti-Federals." 
 
 "Mr. Burr " 
 
 " Of Mr. Burr I will not talk. I like not his 
 little dirty politics." 
 
 " He is very clever." 
 
 " Well, then, you have to praise him for being 
 clever ; for being honest you cannot praise him." 
 
 " Tis a monstrous pity that Right can only be 
 on one side; yet sometimes Right and Mr. Burr 
 may happen to be on the same side." 
 
 " The right way is too straight for Aaron Burr. 
 If into it he wanders tis for a wrong reason." 
 
 u My dear grandfather, how your words bite ! " 
 
 " I wish not to say biting things ; but Aaron 
 Burr stands for those politicians who turn patriot 
 ism into shopkeeping and their own interest men 
 who care far more for who governs us than for bow 
 we are governed. And what will be the end of 
 such ways ? I will tell you. We shall have a 
 Democracy that will be the reign of those who 
 know the least and talk the loudest." 
 
 At this point in the conversation Van Heems- 
 kirk was called to the door about some business 
 matter and George was left alone with his grand 
 mother. She was setting the tea-table, and her 
 hands were full of china ; but she put the cups 
 quickly down, and going to George s side, said 
 
Throwing Things into Confusion 81 
 
 " Cornelia Moran spends this evening with her 
 friend Arenta Van Ariens. Well then, would thou 
 like an excuse to call on Arenta ? " 
 
 u Oh, grandmother ! Do you indeed know 
 Arenta ? Can you send me there ? " 
 
 u Since she was one month old I have known 
 Arenta. This morning, she came here to borrow 
 for her Aunt Jacobus my ivory winders. Now 
 then, I did not wish to lend Angelica Jacobus my 
 winders ; and I said to Arenta that by and by I 
 would look for them. Not far are they to seek ; 
 and for thy pleasure I will get them, and thou canst 
 take them this evening to Arenta." 
 
 " O you dear, dear grandmother ! " and he stood 
 up, and lifted her rosy face between his hands and 
 kissed her. 
 
 " I am so fond of thee," she continued. " I love 
 thee so much ; and thy pleasure is my pleasure ; 
 and I see no harm no harm at all in thy love 
 for the beautiful Cornelia. I think, with thee, she 
 is a girl worth any man s heart ; and if thou 
 canst win her, I, for one, will be joyful with thee. 
 Perhaps, though, I am a selfish old woman it is 
 so easy to be selfish." 
 
 " Let me tell you, grandmother, you know not 
 how to be selfish." 
 
 " Let me tell thee, Joris, I was thinking of my 
 self, as well as of thee. For while thy grand 
 father talked of Aaron Burr, this thought came 
 into my mind if to Annie Hyde my Joris is 
 
82 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 married, he will live in England, and I shall see 
 him no more in this world. But if to Cornelia 
 Moran he is married, when his father goes to Eng 
 land, then here he will stay ; he will live at Hyde 
 Manor, and I shall go to see him, and he will call 
 here to see me ; and then, many good days came 
 into my thoughts. Yes, yes, in every kind thing, 
 in every good thing, somewhere there is hid a 
 little bit of our own will and way. Always, if I 
 look with straight eyes, I can find it." 
 
 u Get me the winders, grandmother j for now 
 you have given me a reason to hurry." 
 
 " But why so quickly must you go ? " 
 
 " Look at me ! It will take me two hours to 
 dress. 1 have had no dinner I want to think 
 you understand, grandmother ? " 
 
 Then she went into the best parlour, and open 
 ing one of the shutters let in sufficient light to find 
 in the drawer of a little Chinese cabinet some ivory 
 winders of very curious design and workmanship. 
 She folded them in soft tissue paper and handed 
 them to her grandson with a pleasant nod ; and the 
 young man slipped them into his waistcoat pocket, 
 and then went hurriedly away. 
 
 He had spoken of his dinner, but though some 
 what hungry, he made but a light meal. His dress 
 seemed to him the most vitally important thing of 
 the hour ; and no girl choosing her first ball gown 
 could have felt more anxious and critical on the 
 subject. His call was to be considered an acci- 
 
Throwing Things into Confusion 83 
 
 dental one ; and he could not therefore dress as 
 splendidly as if it were a ceremonious or expected 
 visit. After much hesitation, he selected a coat 
 and breeches of black velvet, a pearl-coloured vest, 
 and cravat and ruffles of fine English bone lace. 
 Yet when his toilet was completed, he was dissat 
 isfied. He felt sure more splendid apparel set off 
 his dark beauty to greater advantage ; and yet he 
 was equally sure that more splendid apparel would 
 not on this occasion be as suitable. 
 
 Doubting and hoping, he reached the Van 
 Ariens house soon after seven o clock. It was 
 not quite dark, and Jacob Van Ariens stood on the 
 stoop, smoking his pipe and talking to a man who 
 had the appearance of a workman ; and who was, 
 in fact, the foreman of his business quarters in the 
 Swamp. 
 
 " Good-evening, sir," said George with smiling 
 politeness. " Is Miss Van Ariens within ? " 
 
 " Within ? Yes. But company she has to 
 night," said the watchful father, as he stood sus 
 picious and immovable in the entrance. 
 
 It did not seem to George as if it would be an 
 easy thing to pass such a porter at the door, but he 
 continued, 
 
 14 1 have come with a message to Miss Van 
 Ariens." 
 
 44 A very fine messenger ! " answered Van Ariens, 
 slightly smiling. 
 
 44 A fine lady deserves a fine messenger. But, 
 
84 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 sir, if you will do my errand for me, I am content. 
 Tis from Madame Van Heemskirk " 
 
 " So then ? That is good." 
 
 " I am George Hyde, her grandson, you know." 
 
 u Well then, I did not know. Tis near dark, 
 and I see not as well as once I did." 
 
 " I have brought from Madame Van Heemskirk 
 some ivory winders for Madame Jacobus." 
 
 " Come in, come in, and tell my Arenta the 
 message thyself. I know nothing of such things. 
 Come in, I did not think of thee as my friend Van 
 Heemskirk s grandson. Welcome art thou ! " and 
 Van Ariens himself opened the parlour door, 
 saying, 
 
 " Arenta, here is George Hyde. A message he 
 brings for thy Aunt Angelica." 
 
 And while these words were being uttered, 
 George delighted his eyes with the vision of Cor 
 nelia, who sat at a small table with some needle 
 work in her hand. Arenta s tatting was over her 
 foot, and she had to remove it in order to rise and 
 meet Hyde. Rem sat idly fingering a pack of play 
 ing cards and talking to Cornelia. This situation 
 George took in at a glance ; though his sense of 
 sight was quite satisfied when it rested on the lovely 
 girl who dropped her needle as he entered, for he 
 saw the bright flush which overspread her face and 
 throat, and the light of pleasure which so filled her 
 eyes that they seemed to make her whole face 
 luminous. 
 
Throwing Things into Confusion 85 
 
 In a few moments, Arenta s pretty enthusiasms 
 and welcomes dissipated all constraint, and Hyde 
 placed his chair among the happy group and fell 
 easily into his most charming mood. Even Rem 
 could not resist the atmosphere of gaiety and real 
 enjoyment that soon pervaded the room. They 
 sang, they played, they had a game at whist, and 
 everything that happened was in some subtle, secret 
 way, a vehicle for Hyde s love to express itself. 
 Yet it was to Arenta he appeared to be most at 
 tentive , and Rem was good-naturedly inclined to 
 permit his sister to be appropriated, if only he was 
 first in the service of Cornelia. 
 
 But though Hyde s attentions were so little ob 
 vious, Cornelia was satisfied. It would have been 
 a poor lover who could not have said under such 
 circumstances u I love you " a hundred times over; 
 and George Hyde was not a poor lover. He had 
 naturally the ardent confidence and daring which 
 delight women, and he had not passed several sea 
 sons in the highest London society without learn 
 ing all those sweet, occult ways of making known 
 admiration, which the presence of others renders 
 both necessary and possible. 
 
 About half-past nine, a negro woman came with 
 Cornelia s cloak and hood. George took them 
 from Arenta s hand and folded the warm circular 
 round Cornelia s slight figure ; and then watched her 
 tie her pretty pink hood, managing amid the pleas 
 ant stir of leave-taking to whisper some words that 
 
86 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 sang all night like sweetest music in her heart. It 
 was Rem, however, that gave her his arm and es 
 corted her to her own door ; and with this rightful 
 privilege to his guest young Hyde was far too gen 
 tlemanly and just to interfere. However, even in 
 this moment of seeming secondary consideration, 
 he heard a few words which gave him a delightful 
 assurance of coming satisfaction. For as the two 
 girls stood in the hall, Arenta said 
 
 u You will come over in the morning, Cor 
 nelia ? " 
 
 " I cannot," answered Cornelia. u After 
 breakfast, I have to go to Richmond Hill with a 
 message from my mother to Mrs. Adams; and 
 though father will drive me there I shall most 
 likely have to walk home. But I will come to you 
 in the afternoon." 
 
 u Very well. Then in the morning I will go to 
 Aunt Angelica s with the winders. I shall then 
 have some news to tell you in the afternoon that 
 is, if the town makes us any/ 
 
 And George, hearing these words, could hardly 
 control his delight. For he was one of Mrs. 
 Adams favourites, and so much at home in her 
 house that he could visit her at any hour of the 
 day without a ceremonious invitation. And it im 
 mediately struck him that his mother had often de 
 sired to know how Mrs. Adams fed her swans, and 
 also that she had wished for some seeds from her 
 laburnum trees. These things would make a 
 

 
 GEORGE FOLDED THE WARM CIRCULAR AROUND CORNELIA S 
 SLIGHT FIGURE." 
 
Throwing Things into Confusion 87 
 
 valid excuse for an early call, as Mrs. Adams 
 might naturally suppose he was on his way to 
 Hyde Manor. 
 
 He took a merry leave of Arenta, and with his 
 mind full of this plan, went directly to his rooms. 
 The Belvedere Club was this night, impossible to 
 him. After the angelic Cornelia, he could not 
 take into his consciousness the hideous Marat, and 
 the savage orgies of the French Revolution. Such 
 a thought transference would be an impossible 
 profanation. Indeed, he could consider no other 
 thing, but the miraculous fact, that Cornelia was 
 going to Mrs. Adams ; and that it was quite within 
 his power to meet her there. 
 
 14 Tis my destiny ! Tis my happy destiny to 
 love her ! " he said softly to himself. u Such an 
 adorable girl ! Such a ravishing beauty is not else 
 where on this earth ! " And he was not conscious 
 of any exaggeration in such language. Nor was 
 there. He was young, he was rich, he had no 
 business to consider, no sorrow to sober him, no 
 care of any kind to mingle with the rapturous 
 thoughts which his transported imagination and his 
 captivated heart blended with the image of Cor 
 nelia. 
 
 " I shall tell Mrs. Adams how far gone in love I 
 am," he continued. "She is herself set on that 
 clever little husband of hers ; and tis said, theirs 
 was a love match, beyond all speculation. I shall 
 say to her, c Help me, madame, to an opportunity ; 
 
88 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 and I think she will not refuse. As for my father, 
 I heard him this morning with as much patience as 
 any Christian could do; but I am resolved to 
 marry Cornelia. I will not give her up ; not for 
 an earldom ! not for a dukedom ! not for the crown 
 of England ! " 
 
 And to these thoughts he flung off, with a kind 
 of passion, his coat and vest. The action was but 
 the affirmation of his resolve, a materialization of 
 his will. To have used an oath in connection 
 with Cornelia would have offended him ; but this 
 passionate action asserted with equal emphasis his 
 unalterable resolve. A tender, gallant, courageous 
 spirit possessed him. He was carried away by the 
 feelings it inspired : and nobly so, for alas for that 
 man who professes to be in love and is not carried 
 away by his feelings ; in such case, he has no feel 
 ings worth speaking of! 
 
 Joris Hyde allowed the sweet emotions Cornelia 
 had inspired to have, and to hold, and to occupy 
 his whole being. His heart burned within him; 
 memories of Cornelia closed his eyes, and then 
 filled them with adorable visions of her pure, fresh 
 loveliness ; his pulses bounded ; his blood ran 
 warm and free as the ethereal ichor of the gods. 
 Sleep was a thousand leagues away ; he was so 
 vivid, that the room felt hot ; and he flung open 
 the casement and sat in a beatitude of blissful hopes 
 and imaginations. 
 
 And after midnight, when dreams fall, the moon 
 
Throwing Things into Confusion 89 
 
 came up over Nassau and Cedar Streets and threw 
 poetic glamours over the antique churches, and 
 grassy graveyards, and the pretty houses, covered 
 with vines and budding rosebushes ; and this soft 
 shadow of light calmed and charmed him. In it, 
 he could believe all his dreams possible. He 
 leaned forward and watched the silvery disc, strug 
 gling in soft, white clouds ; parting them, as with 
 hands, when they formed in baffling, airy masses in 
 her way. And the heavenly traveller was not 
 silent ; she had a language he understood ; for as 
 he watched the sweet, strong miracle, he said softly 
 to himself 
 
 " It is a sign to me ! It is a sign ! So will I 
 put away every baffling hindrance between Cornelia 
 and myself. Barriers will only be as those 
 vaporous clouds. I shall part them with my strong 
 resolves I shall I shall I " and he fell 
 asleep with this sense of victory thrilling his whole 
 being. Then the moon rose higher, and soon 
 came in broad white bars through the window and 
 lay on his young, handsome, smiling face, with the 
 same sweet radiance that in the days of the gods 
 glorified the beautiful shepherd, sleeping on the 
 Ephesian plains. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 TURNING OVER A NEW LEAF 
 
 WHEN Hyde awakened, he was in that border 
 land between dreams and day which we call dawn. 
 And as the ear is the last sense to go to sleep, and 
 the first sense to throw off its lethargy, the voices 
 of men calling " Milk Ho ! " and the shrill childish 
 cries of " Sweep Ho ! " were the first intruders into 
 that pleasant condition between sleeping and 
 waking, so hard for any of us to leave without a 
 sigh of regret. These sounds were quickly supple 
 mented by the roll of the heavy carts which pur 
 veyed the only water suitable for drinking and culi 
 nary purposes ; and by the sounds of wood-sawing 
 and wood-chopping before the doors of the ad 
 jacent houses sounds quickly blending themselves 
 with the shuffling feet of the slaves cleaning the 
 doorsteps and sidewalks, and chattering, singing, 
 quarrelling the while with their neighbours, or with 
 other early ministers to the city s domestic wants. 
 
 These noises had never before made any impres 
 sion on him. " I am more alive than ever I was 
 in my life," he said ; and he laughed gayly, and 
 went to the window. " It is a lovely day ; and 
 that is so much in my favour," he added, " for if 
 it were raining, Cornelia would not leave the 
 90 
 
Turning Over a New Leaf 91 
 
 house." Then a big man, with a voice like a bull 
 of Bashan, went down the opposite side of the 
 street, shouting as he went u Milk Ho ! " and 
 Hyde considered him. He had a heavy wooden 
 yoke across his shoulders; and large tin pails, full 
 of milk, hanging from it. 
 
 u How English we are ! " he exclaimed, with a 
 touch of irony. "We have not thrown off the 
 yoke, by any means at Mr. Adams , for instance, 
 I could believe myself in England. How exclu 
 sive is the pompous little Minister ! What respect 
 for office ! What adoration for landed gentry ! 
 What supercilious tolerance for tradesmen ! Oh, 
 indeed, it confounds me ! But why should I trou 
 ble myself? I, who have the most adorable mis 
 tress in the world to think about ! What are the 
 kings, presidents, ministers, knaves of the world to 
 me ? Let Destiny shuffle them back and forth. I 
 am indifferent to whichever is trumps." 
 
 Then he fell into a reverie about his proposed 
 visit to Mrs. Adams. Last night it had appeared 
 to him an easy and natural thing to do. He was 
 not so sure of his position this morning. Mr. 
 Adams might be present; he was punctilious in 
 the extreme, and a call without an invitation at 
 that early hour might be considered an imperti 
 nence especially if he had no opportunity to en 
 lighten Mrs. Adams about his love for Miss 
 Moran, and so ask her assistance. Then he be 
 gan to doubt whether his mother was on sufficient 
 
gi The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 terms of intimacy to warrant his speaking about 
 the swans and laburnum seeds in short, the visit 
 that had seemed so natural and proper when he 
 first conceived it, assumed, on reflection, an aspect 
 of difficulty and almost of impropriety. 
 
 But there are times when laissez-aller carries all 
 before it, and Hyde was in just such a mood. 
 " I ll run the chance," he said. " I ll risk it. I ll 
 let things take their course." Then he began to 
 dress, and as doubt of any kind is best ended by 
 action, he gathered confidence as he did so. For 
 tunately, there was no hesitation this morning in 
 his mind about his dress. He was going to ride 
 to Richmond Hill, and he was quite satisfied with 
 his riding suit. He knew that it was the next 
 thing to a becoming uniform. He knew that he 
 looked well in it ; and he remembered with com 
 plaisance that it was old enough to be individual 5 
 and new enough to be handsome and striking. 
 
 And, after all, when a man is in love, to be rea 
 sonable is often to be cowardly. But Hyde was 
 no coward ; so then, it was not long ere he put all 
 fears and doubts behind him and set his musings 
 to the assertion : " I said to my heart, last night, 
 that I would meet Cornelia at Richmond Hill this 
 morning. I will not go back on my word. Such 
 fluctuability is only fit for failure." 
 
 When he was dressed he went to his hotel and 
 breakfasted there ; for the " cup of coffee " he had 
 intended to ask of Mrs. Adams appeared, now, a 
 
Turning Over a New Leaf 93 
 
 little presumptuous. In the enthusiasm of the 
 previous night, with Cornelia s smiles warming his 
 imagination and her words thrilling his heart, 
 everything had seemed possible and natural; but 
 last night and this morning were different epochs. 
 Last night, he had been better, stronger than him 
 self; this morning, he felt all the limitations of 
 social conveniences and tyrannies. Early as it 
 was, there were many members and senators pres 
 ent eating, drinking coffee, and talking of Frank 
 lin, or of the question of the Senate sitting with 
 closed doors, or of some other of the great little 
 subjects then agitating society. Hyde took no no 
 tice of any of these disputes until a man evi 
 dently an Englishman called Franklin u a beggar- 
 on-horseback-Yankee." Then he put down his 
 knife and fork, and looked steadily at the speaker, 
 saying with the utmost coolness and firmness 
 
 u You are mistaken, sir. The beggar-on-horse- 
 back is generally supposed to ride to the devil. 
 Franklin rode to the highest posts of political hon 
 our and to the esteem and affection of worthy men 
 in all the civilized world." 
 
 " 1 understand, I understand, sir," was the re 
 ply. " The infatuation of a nation for some par 
 ticular genius or leader is very like that of a man 
 for an ugly woman. When they do get their eyes 
 opened, they wonder what bewitched them." 
 
 " Sir, what is unreasonable is irrefutable." 
 With these words he rose, pushed aside his chair 
 
94 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 with a little temper, and, turning, met Jefferson 
 face to face. The great man smiled, and put his 
 hand affectionately on Hyde s shoulder. He had 
 evidently heard the conversation, for when he had 
 made the usual greetings, he added 
 
 " You spoke well, my young friend. Now, I 
 will give you a piece of advice when any one 
 abuses a great man in your presence, ask them 
 what kind of people, they admire. You will cer 
 tainly be consoled." With these words he took 
 Hyde s chair j and Hyde, casting his eyes a mo 
 ment on this tall, loose-limbed man, whose cold 
 blue eyes and red hair emphasized the stern anger 
 of his whole appearance, was well disposed to 
 leave the scurrilous Englishman to his power of 
 reproof. Besides, the badge of mourning which 
 Jefferson wore had reminded him of his own neg 
 lect. Probably, it was the want of this badge that 
 had made the stranger believe he was speaking to 
 one who would sympathize with his views. 
 
 So he went at once to his tailor s and procured 
 the necessary band of crape for his arm. But 
 these events took time, and though he rode hard 
 afterwards, it was quite half-past nine when he 
 drew rein at the door of Richmond Hill. A slave 
 in a fine livery was lounging there ; and he gave 
 him his card. In a few moments the man returned 
 with an invitation to dismount and come into the 
 breakfast-room. Thus far, he had suffered himself 
 to be carried forward by the impulse of his heart ; 
 
Turning Over a New Leaf 95 
 
 and he still put firmly down any wonder as to what 
 he should say or do. 
 
 He was shown into a bright little parlour with 
 open windows. A table, elegantly and plentifully 
 spread, occupied the centre of the room ; and sit 
 ting at it were the Vice-President and Mrs. Adams ; 
 and also their only daughter, the beautiful, but not 
 very intellectual, Mrs. Smith. It was easy to see 
 that the meal was really over, and that the trio had 
 been simply lingering over the table because of 
 some interesting discussion j and it was quite as 
 easy to understand that his entrance had put an end 
 to the conversation. Mrs. Adams met him with 
 genuine, though formal, kindness ; Mrs. Smith 
 with courtesy ; and the Vice-President rose, bowed 
 handsomely, hoped he was well, and then after a 
 minute s reflection said 
 
 " We were talking about the official title proper 
 for General Washington. What do you think, 
 Lieutenant ? Or have you heard General Hyde 
 express any opinion on the subject ? " 
 
 " Sir, I do not presume to understand the cere 
 monials of government. My father is of the opin 
 ion, that c The President of the United States 
 has a Roman and republican simplicity, and that 
 any addition to it would be derogatory and child 
 ish." 
 
 " My dear young man, the eyes of the world are 
 upon us. To give a title to our leaders and rulers 
 belongs to history. In the Roman republic great 
 
96 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 conquerors assumed even distinctive titles, as well 
 as national ones." 
 
 "Then our Washington is superior to them. 
 Let us be grateful that he has not yet called him 
 self Americanus. I like Doctor Kunz s idea of 
 Washington best, but I see not how it could be 
 put into a civil title." 
 
 " Doctor Kunz ! Doctor Kunz ! Oh yes, of 
 the Dutch congregation. Pray what is it ? " 
 
 " And there came up a lion out of Judah* My 
 grandfather is an elder in that church, and he said 
 the verse and the sermon on it lifted the people to 
 their feet." 
 
 u That might do very well for one side of a state 
 seal ; but it is a proper prefix we need. I don t 
 think we can say Your Majesty the President/ 
 
 " I should think not," replied Mrs. Adams with 
 an air of decision. 
 
 " Chief Justice McKean thinks c His Serene 
 Highness the President of the United States is 
 very suitable. Roger Sherman is of the opinion 
 that neither His Highness nor c His Excellency 
 are novel and dignified enough ; and General Muh- 
 lenberg says Washington himself is in favour of 
 1 High Mightiness/ the title used by the Stadt- 
 holder of Holland." 
 
 " That would please the Dutch-Americans," said 
 Mrs. Adams " if a title at all is necessary, which 
 I confess I cannot understand. Is it to be c High 
 Mightiness then ? " she asked with a little laugh. 
 
Turning Over a New Leaf 97 
 
 " I think not. Muhlenberg, however, has seri 
 ously offended the President by making a joke of 
 the proposition ; and I must say, it was ill-timed 
 of Muhlenberg, and not what I should have ex 
 pected of him." 
 
 " But what was the joke ? " 
 
 u Something to the effect that if the office was 
 certain to be held by men as large as Washington, 
 the title of High Mightiness would not be amiss ; 
 but that if a little man say like Aaron Burr 
 should be elected, the title would be a ridiculous 
 one. The fact is, Muhlenberg is against any title 
 whatever but that of 4 President of the United 
 States/ " 
 
 " And how will you vote, John ? " 
 
 " In favour of a title. Certainly, I shall. Your 
 Majesty is a very good prefix. It would draw the 
 attention of England, and show her that we were 
 not afraid to assume the majesty of our conquest." 
 
 " And if you wish to please France," continued 
 Mrs. Adams " which seems the thing in fashion 
 you might have the prefix c Citizen. l Citizen 
 Washington is not bad." 
 
 u It is execrable, Mrs. Adams ; and I am ashamed 
 that you should make it, even as a pleasantry." 
 
 " Indeed, my friend, there is no foretelling what 
 may be. The French fever is rising every day. 
 I even may be compelled to drop the offensive 
 4 Mistress and call myself Citoyenne Adams. 
 And, after all, I do believe that the President re- 
 
98 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 gards his citizenship far above his office. What 
 say you, Lieutenant ? " 
 
 " I think, madame, that fifty, one hundred, one 
 thousand years after this day, it will be of little im 
 portance what prefix is put before the name of the 
 President. He will be simply George Washington 
 in every heart and on every page." 
 
 " That is true," said Mrs. Adams. " Fame 
 uses no prefixes. It is Pompey, Julius Caesar, 
 Pericles, Alfred, Hampden, Oliver Cromwell. Or 
 it is a suffix like Alexander the Great ; or Richard 
 Goeur-de-Lion. I have no objection to Washington 
 the Great, or Washington Caeur-de-Lion" 
 
 u Washington will do for love and for fame," 
 continued Hyde. " The next generation may say 
 Mr. Madison, or Mr. Monroe, or Mr. Jay ; but 
 they will want neither prefix nor suffix to Wash 
 ington, Jefferson, Franklin, and, if you permit 
 me, sir Adams." 
 
 The Vice-President was much pleased. He said 
 " Pooh ! Pooh ! " and stood up and stepped loftily 
 across the hearth-rug, but the subtle compliment 
 went warm to his heart, and the real worth of the 
 man s nature came straight to the front, as he 
 looked, under its influence, the honest, positive, 
 honourable gentleman that every great occasion 
 found him to be. 
 
 " Well, well," he answered ; " heartily, and 
 from our souls, we must do our best, and then trust 
 to Truth and Time, our name and our memory. 
 
Turning Over a New Leaf 99 
 
 But I must now go to town our affairs give us no 
 holidays." And then instantly the room was in a 
 fuss and a flurry. No Englishman could have 
 made a more bustling exit ; and, indeed, even in 
 his physical aspect, John Adams was a perfect pic 
 ture of the traditional John Bull. His natural 
 temperament carried out this likeness : high-met 
 tled as a game-cock during the Revolutionary war, 
 he was, in politics, passionate, dogmatic and un- 
 conciliating, and in social life ceremonious and 
 showy as any Englishman could be. 
 
 After he had gone, Mrs. Adams proposed a walk 
 in the lovely garden ; and Hyde hoped then to ob 
 tain a few words with her. But Mrs. Smith ac 
 companied them, and introduced immediately a 
 grievance she had evidently been previously dis 
 cussing. With a provoking petulance she told 
 and re-told some slight which Sir John Temple had 
 offered Mr. Smith : adding always " Lady Temple 
 is very civil to me ; but I cannot, and I will not, 
 exchange visits with any lady who does not pay 
 my William an equal civility." Enlarging and en 
 larging on this text, Hyde found no opportunity 
 to get a word in on his own affairs ; and then, sud 
 denly, as they turned into the main avenue, Doctor 
 Moran and Cornelia appeared. 
 
 Quite as suddenly, Mrs. Adams divined the mo 
 tive of Hyde s early visit ; she opened her eyes 
 wide, and looked at him with a comprehension so 
 clear and real that Hyde was compelled to answer, 
 
loo The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 and acknowledge her suspicion by a look and move 
 ment quite as unequivocal. Yet this instantaneous 
 understanding contained neither promise nor sym 
 pathy ; and he could not tell whether he had gained 
 a friend or simply made a confession. 
 
 Doctor Moran was evidently both astonished and 
 annoyed. He stepped out of his carriage and 
 joined Mrs. Adams but kept Cornelia by his side, 
 so that Hyde was compelled to escort Mrs. Smith. 
 And Cornelia, beyond a very civil " Good-morning, 
 sir," gave him no sign. He could watch her slight, 
 virginal figure, and the bend of her head in answer 
 ing Mrs. Adams gave him transient glimpses of her 
 fair face; but there was no message in all its 
 changes for him. In fact, in spite of Mrs. Smith s 
 little rill of social complaining, he felt quite u out " 
 of the inner circle of the company s interests, and 
 he was also deeply mortified at Cornelia s apparent 
 indifference. 
 
 When the party reached the steps before the 
 house door, though Mrs. Adams certainly invited 
 him to remain, he had come to the conclusion that 
 he was just the one person not wanted at that time ; 
 yet as he had plenty of self-command he com 
 pletely hid beneath a gay and charming manner the 
 chagrin and disappointment that were really tor 
 menting him. For one moment he caught Cor 
 nelia s eyes, but his glance was too rapid and in 
 quisitive. She was embarrassed, and a little fright 
 ened by it ; and with a deep blush turned towards 
 
Turning Over a New Leaf 101 
 
 Mrs. Smith and said something trivial about the 
 weather and the fine view. He could not under 
 stand this attitude. Feelings of tenderness, anger, 
 mortification, feelings strong and threefold 
 crowded his beating heart and vivid brain. He 
 longed to set his restless thoughts to rapid move 
 ment to gallop to ejaculate to do any foolish 
 thing that would relieve his sense of vexation and 
 defeat. But until he was out of sight and hearing 
 he rode slowly, with the easy air of a man who 
 was only sensitive to the beauty of his surround 
 ings, and thoroughly enjoying them. 
 
 He kept this pace till quite outside the precincts 
 of Richmond Hill, then he struck his horse with a 
 passion that astonished the animal and the next 
 moment shamed himself. He stooped instantly 
 and apologized to the quivering creature ; and was 
 as instantly forgiven. Then he began to talk to 
 himself in those elliptical, unfinished sentences, 
 which the inner man understands, and so thor 
 oughly finishes " If I were not morally sure 
 
 It is as plain as can be How in the name of 
 
 wonder? I ll say so much for myself 
 
 I am sorry that I went there A couple of 
 
 uninteresting women This for you, sir ! 
 
 Whistled myself up this morning on a fool s er 
 rand No more ! no more to save my life ! 
 
 Grant me patience Mrs. Smith giving her 
 self a parcel of airs Oh, adorable Cornelia ! " 
 
 Such reflections, blended with pet names and 
 
1O2 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 apologies to his horse, brought him in sight of the 
 Van Heemskirk house, and he instantly felt how 
 good his grandmother s sympathy would be. He 
 saw her at the door, leaning over the upper-half 
 and watching his approach. 
 
 " I knew it was thee ! " she cried; " always, the 
 clatter of thy horse s hoofs says plainly to me, 
 1 Grand-moth-er ! grand-moth-er ! grand-moth-er ! 
 Now, then, what is the matter with thee ? Disap 
 pointed, wert thou last night ? " 
 
 " No but this morning I have been badly used ; 
 and I am angry at it." Then he told her all the 
 circumstances of his visit to Richmond Hill, and 
 she listened patiently, as was her way with all com- 
 plainers. 
 
 " In too great haste art thou," were her first 
 words. " No worse I think of Cornelia, because 
 a little she draws back. To want, and to have thy 
 want, that has been the way with thee all thy life 
 long. Even thy sword and the battlefield were not 
 denied thee ; but a woman s love ! that is to be 
 won. Little wouldst thou value it, lightly wouldst 
 thou hold it, if it were thine for the wishing. Thy 
 mother has taught thee to expect too much." 
 
 "And my grandmother? " 
 
 " That is so. A very foolish old woman is thy 
 grandmother. Too much she loves thee, or she 
 had not sent thee to Arenta s last night with her 
 best ivory winders." 
 
 " Oh, Arenta is a very darling ! Had she been 
 
Turning Over a New Leaf 103 
 
 present this morning, she had taken the starch out 
 of all our fine talk and fine manners. We should 
 have chattered like the swallows about pleasant 
 homely things ; and left title-making to graver 
 fools." 
 
 " If, now, thou had fallen in love with Arenta, 
 it had been a good thing." 
 
 u If I had not seen Cornelia, I might have adored 
 Arenta but, then, Arenta has already a lover." 
 
 u So ? And pray who is it ? " 
 
 " Of all men in the world, the gay, handsome 
 Frenchman, Athanase Tounnerre, a member of the 
 French embassy. How a girl so plainly Dutch 
 can endure the creature confounds me." 
 
 " Stop a little. The grandmother of Arenta 
 was French. Very well I remember her a girl 
 all alive, from head to foot; never still. Thy 
 grandfather used to say, In her veins is quick 
 silver, not blood. And, too soon, she wore away 
 her life ; Arenta s mother was but a baby, when she 
 died." 
 
 u Ah ! So it is ! We are the past, as well as 
 the present. As for myself " 
 
 u Thou art thy father over again ; only sweeter, 
 and better that is the Dutch in thee the happy, 
 easy-going Dutch if only thou wert not so lazy." 
 
 u That is the English in me the self-indulgent, 
 masterful English. So then, Arenta, being partly 
 French, back to the French she goes. Tis pass 
 ing strange." 
 
104 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 " Of this, art thou sure ? " 
 
 " I have listened to the man. Every one has. 
 He wears Arenta s name on his sleeve. He drinks 
 her health in all companies. He will talk to any 
 stranger he meets, for an hour at a time, about his 
 fair Arenta. I can but wonder at the fellow. 
 It is inconceivable to me; for though I am pas 
 sionately taken with Cornelia Moran, I hide her 
 close in my heart. I should want to strike any 
 man who breathed her name. Yet it is said of 
 Athanase de Tounnerre that he paid a visit to every 
 one he knew, in order to tell them of his felicity." 
 
 " And her father ? To such a marriage what 
 will he say ? " 
 
 Hyde stretched out his legs and struck them 
 lightly with his riding whip. Then, with a smile, 
 he answered, " He will be proud enough in his 
 heart. Arenta would certainly leave him soon, and 
 the Dutch are very sensible to the charm of a 
 title. His daughter, the Marquise de Tounnerre, 
 will be a very great woman in his eyes." 
 
 " That is the truth. I was glad for thy mother 
 to be a lady, and go to Court, and see the Queen. 
 Yes, indeed ! in my heart I was proud of it. 
 Twas about that very thing poor Janet Semple 
 and I became unfriends." 
 
 " Indeed, it is the common failing ; and at pres 
 ent, there is no one like the French. I will ex 
 cept the President, and Mr. Adams, and Mr. Ham 
 ilton, and say the rest of us are French mad." 
 
Turning Over a New Leaf 105 
 
 " Thy grandfather, and thy grandmother too, 
 thou may except. And as for thy father, with a 
 great hatred he names them." 
 
 " My father is English ; and the English and 
 French are natural and salutary enemies. I once 
 heard Lord Exmouth say that France was to Eng 
 land all that Carthage was to Rome the natural 
 outlet for the temper of a people so quarrelsome 
 that they would fight each other if they had not the 
 French to fight." 
 
 " Listen ! That is thy father s gallop. Far 
 off, I know it. So early in the morning, what is 
 he coming for ? " 
 
 " He had an intention to go to Mr. Semple s 
 funeral." 
 
 " That is good. Thy grandfather is already 
 gone "and she looked so pointedly down at her 
 black petticoat and bodice, that Hyde an 
 swered 
 
 " Yes ; I see that you are in mourning. Is it 
 for Mr. Franklin, or for Mr. Semple ? " 
 
 " Franklin was far off; by my fireside Alexan 
 der Semple often sat; and at my table often he ate. 
 Good friends were we once good friends are we 
 now ; for all but Love, Death buries." 
 
 At this moment General Hyde entered the room. 
 Hurry and excitement were in his face, though they 
 were well controlled. He gave his hand to 
 Madame Van Heemskirk, saying 
 
 u Good-morning, mother ! You look well, as 
 
106 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 you always do : " then turning to his son and 
 regarding the young man s easy, smiling indiffer 
 ence, he said with some temper, u What the 
 devil, George, are you doing here, so early in the day ? 
 I have been through the town seeking you every 
 where even at that abominable Club, where 
 Frenchmen and vagabonds of all kinds congre 
 gate." 
 
 " I was at the Vice-President s, sir," answered 
 George, with a comical assumption of the Vice- 
 President s manner. 
 
 " You were where ? " 
 
 " At Richmond Hill. I made an early call on 
 Mrs. Adams." 
 
 Then General Hyde laughed heartily. " You 
 swaggering dandy ! " he replied. u Did you take 
 a bet at the Belvedere to intrude on His Loftiness ? 
 And have you a guinea or two on supping a cup of 
 coffee with him ? Upon my honour, you must 
 now be nearly at the end of your follies. Mother, 
 where is the Colonel ? " 
 
 " He has gone to Elder Semple s house. You 
 know " 
 
 " I know well. For a long time I have pur 
 posed to call on the old gentleman, and what I 
 have neglected I am now justly denied. I meant, 
 at least, to pay him the last respect ; but even that 
 is to-day impossible. For I must leave for Eng 
 land this afternoon at five o clock, and I have more 
 to do than I can well accomplish." 
 
Turning Over a New Leaf 107 
 
 George leaped to his feet at these words. Noth 
 ing could have been more unexpected ; but that is 
 the way with Destiny, her movements are ever un 
 foreseen and inevitable. "Sir," he cried, "what 
 has happened ? " 
 
 "Your uncle is dying perhaps dead. I re 
 ceived a letter this morning urging me to take the 
 first packet. The North Star sails this after 
 noon, and I do not wish to miss her, for she flies 
 English colours, and they are the only ones the 
 Barbary pirates pretend to respect. Now, George, 
 you must come with me to Mr. Hamilton s office ; 
 we have much business to arrange there ; then, 
 while I pay a farewell visit to the President, you 
 can purchase for me the things I shall require for 
 the voyage." 
 
 So far his manner had been peremptory and de 
 cided, but, suddenly, a sweet and marvellous change 
 occurred. He went close to Madame Van Heems- 
 kirk, and taking both her hands, said in a voice 
 full of those tones that captivate women s 
 hearts 
 
 " Mother ! mother ! I bid you a loving, grate 
 ful farewell ! You have ever been to me good, 
 and gentle, and wise the very best of mothers. 
 God bless you ! " Then he kissed her with a 
 solemn tenderness, and Lysbet understood that he 
 believed their parting to be a final one. She sat 
 down, weeping, and Hyde with an authoritative 
 motion of the head, commanding his son s attend- 
 
io8 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 ance, went hastily out. It was then eleven 
 o clock, and there was business that kept both men 
 hurrying here and there until almost the last hour. 
 It had been agreed that they were to meet at the 
 City Hotel at four o clock ; and soon after that 
 hour General Hyde joined his son. He looked 
 weary and sad, and began immediately to charge 
 George concerning his mother. 
 
 " We parted with kisses and smiles this morn 
 ing," he said ; " and I am glad of it ; if I went 
 back, we should both weep ; and a wet parting is 
 not a lucky one. I leave her in your charge, 
 George ; and when I send her word to come to 
 England, look well to her comfort. And be sure 
 to come with her. Do you hear me ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 " On no account even if she wishes it permit 
 her to come alone. Promise me." 
 
 " I promise you, sir. What is there that I 
 would not do for my mother ? What is there I 
 would not do to please you, sir ? " 
 
 " Let me tell you, George, such words are very 
 sweet to me. As to yourself, I do not fear for 
 you. It is above, and below reason, that you 
 should do anything to shame your kindred, living 
 or dead the living indeed, you might reconcile ; 
 the dead are implacable ; and their vengeance is to 
 be feared." 
 
 " I fear not the dead, and I love the living. The 
 honour of Hyde is safe in my keeping. If you 
 
Turning Over a New Leaf 109 
 
 have any advice to give me, sir, pray speak 
 plainly." 
 
 " With all my soul. I ask you, then, to play 
 with some moderation. I ask you to avoid 
 any entanglement with women. I ask you to with 
 draw yourself, as soon as possible, from those 
 blusterers for French liberty or rather French 
 license, robbery, and assassination I tell you there 
 is going to be a fierce national fracas on the sub 
 ject. Stand by the President, and every word he 
 says. Every word is sure to be wise and right." 
 
 " Father, I learnt the word Liberty from your 
 lips. I drew my sword under your command for 
 * Liberty. I know not how to discard an idea that 
 has grown into my nature as the veining grows into 
 the wood." 
 
 " Liberty ! Yes ; cherish it with your life-blood. 
 But France has polluted the name and outraged the 
 idea. Neither you nor I can wish to be swept into 
 the common sewers, being by birth, nobles and 
 aristocrats. Earl Stanhope, who was heart and 
 soul with the French Revolution while it was a 
 movement for liberty, has just scratched his name 
 with his own hand from the revolutionary Club. 
 And Burke, who was once its most enthusiastic de 
 fender, has now written a pamphlet which has given 
 it, in England, a fatal blow. This news came in 
 my letters to-day." Then taking out his watch, 
 he rose, saying, " Come, it is time to go to the 
 ship My dear George ! " 
 
no The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 George could not speak. He clasped his father s 
 hand, and then walked by his side to Coffee House 
 Slip, where the North Star was lying. There was 
 no time to spare, and the General was glad of it ; 
 for oh, these last moments ! Youth may prolong 
 them, but age has lost youth s rebound, and will 
 ingly escapes their disintegrating emotion. Before 
 either realized the fact, the General had crossed 
 the narrow plank; it was quickly withdrawn; the 
 anchor was lifted to the chanty of " Homeward 
 bound boys," and the North Star, with wind and tide 
 in her favour, was facing the great separating ocean. 
 
 George turned from the ship in a maze. He 
 felt as if his life had been cut sharply asunder; at 
 any rate, its continuity was broken, and what other 
 changes this change might bring it was impossible 
 to foresee. In any extremity, however, there is 
 generally some duty to do ; and the doing of that 
 duty is the first right step onward. Without rea 
 soning on the matter, George followed this plan. 
 He had a letter to deliver to his mother; it was 
 right that it should be delivered as soon as possible ; 
 and indeed he felt as if her voice and presence 
 would be the best of all comfort at that hour ; so 
 late as it was, he rode out to Hyde Manor. His 
 mother, with a lighted candle in her hand, opened 
 the door for him. 
 
 u I thought it was thy father, Joris," she said ; 
 " but what ? Is there anything wrong ? Why art 
 thou alone ? " 
 
Turning Over a New Leaf 1 1 1 
 
 " There is nothing wrong, dear mother. Come, 
 I will tell you what has happened." 
 
 Then she locked the door carefully, and fol 
 lowed her son into the small parlour, where she had 
 been sitting. He gave her his father s letter, and 
 assumed for her sake, the air of one who has 
 brought good tidings. She silently read, and folded 
 it ; and George said, " It was the most fortunate 
 thing, the North Star being ready for sea. Father 
 could hardly have had a better boat; and they 
 started with wind and tide in their favour. We 
 shall hear in a few weeks from him. Are you not 
 pleased, mother ? " 
 
 " It is too late, Joris ; twenty years too late. 
 And I wish not to go to England. Very unhappy 
 was I in that cold, grey country. Very happy am 
 I here." 
 
 " But you must have expected this change ? " 
 
 "Not until your cousin died was there any 
 thought of such a thing. And long before that, 
 we had built and begun to love dearly this home. 
 I wish, then, it had been God s will that your 
 cousin had not died." 
 
 "My father " 
 
 " Ah, Joris, your father has always longed in his 
 heart for England. Like a weaning babe that 
 never could be weaned was he. In many ways, he 
 has lately shown me that he felt himself to be a 
 future English earl. And thou too ? Wilt thou 
 become an Englishman ? Then this fair home I 
 
112 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 have made for thee will forget thy voice and thy 
 footstep. Woe is me ! I have planted and 
 planned, for whom I know not." 
 
 " You have planned and planted for your Joris. 
 I swear to you that I like England as little as you 
 do. I despise the tomfoolery of courts and cere 
 monies. I count an earl no better than any other 
 honourable gentleman. I desire most of all to 
 marry the woman I love, and live here in the home 
 that reminds me of you wherever I turn. I want 
 your likeness on the great stairway, and in all the 
 rooms ; so that those who may never see your face 
 may love you ; and say, * How good she looks ! 
 How beautiful she is ! " 
 
 " So true art thou ! So loving ! So dear to me ! 
 Even in England I can be happy if I think of thee 
 here filling these big rooms with good company ; 
 riding, shooting, over thine own land, fishing in 
 thy own waters, telling thy boys and girls how dear 
 grandmother had this pond dug this hedge planted 
 these woods filled with game these streams set 
 with willows these summerhouses built for pleas 
 ure. Oh, I have thought ever as I worked, I shall 
 leave my memory here and here and here again 
 for never, Joris, never, dear Joris, while thou art 
 in this world, must thou forget me ! " 
 
 " Never ! Never, oh never, dear, dear mother ! " 
 
 And that night they said no more. Both felt there 
 would be plenty of time in the future to consider 
 whatever changes it might have in store for them. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 AUNT ANGELICA 
 
 THE first changes referred especially to Hyde s 
 life, and were not altogether approved by him. 
 His pretence of reading law had to be abandoned, 
 for he had promised to remain at home with his 
 mother, and it would not therefore be possible for 
 him to dawdle about Pearl Street and Maiden Lane 
 watching for Cornelia. But he had that happy 
 and fortunate temper that trusts to events; and 
 also, he soon began to realize that if circumstances 
 alter cases, they also alter feelings. 
 
 For, looking upon Hyde Manor as the future 
 home of himself and his wife and that wife, 
 happily, Cornelia he found it very easy to take an 
 almost eager interest in all that concerned its wel 
 fare and beauty. " How good ! How unselfish 
 he is ! " thought his mother. " Never before has 
 he been so ready to listen and so willing to please 
 me." But, really, the work soon became delight 
 ful to him. The passion for land and for its im 
 provement the ruling passion of an Englishman 
 was not absent in George ; it was only latent, 
 and the idea of home, of his own personal home, 
 developed it with amazing rapidity. He was soon 
 able to make excellent suggestions to his mother; 
 113 
 
114 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 for her ideas, beautiful enough in the cultivation 
 of flat surfaces, did not embody the grander possi 
 bilities of the higher lands near the river. But 
 George saw every advantage, and with great ability 
 directed his little gang of labourers among the rocks 
 and woody crags of the yet unplanted wilderness. 
 
 In spite of their anxiety about the General, in 
 spite of George s longing to see Cornelia, these 
 early summer days, with their glory of sunshine 
 and shade and their miracles of growth, were very 
 happy days ; though madame reached her happiness 
 by putting the future quite out of her thoughts, and 
 George reached his by anticipating the future as 
 the fruition of the present. Never since his early 
 boyhood had madame and her son been so near 
 and so dear to each other ; for her brother-in-law s 
 probable death and her husband s dangerous jour 
 neying released her from social engagements, and 
 permitted her to spend her time in the employ 
 ments and the companionship she loved best of all. 
 
 George, while accepting for himself the same 
 partial seclusion, had more freedom. He rode 
 into town three or four times every week ; got the 
 news of the clubs and the streets ; loitered about 
 Maiden Lane and the shopping district ; and when 
 disappointed and vexed at events went to his 
 Grandmother Van Heemskirk for sympathy. For, 
 as yet, he hesitated about naming Cornelia to his 
 mother. He was sure she was aware of his pas 
 sion, and her reticence on the subject made him 
 
Aunt Angelica 1 15 
 
 fear she was going to advocate the fulfilment of his 
 father s promise. And he had such a singular del 
 icacy about the girl he loved that he could not en 
 dure the thought of bandying her name about in an 
 angry discussion. Added to this fine sense was an 
 adoring love for his mother. She was in anxiety 
 enough, and would be, until she heard of her hus 
 band s safety ; why, then, should he add his 
 anxiety to hers ? 
 
 Yet he was not happy about Cornelia. Since 
 that unfortunate morning at Richmond Hill they 
 had never met. If she saw him go up or down 
 Maiden Lane, she made no sign. Several times 
 Arenta s face at her parlour window had given 
 him a passing hope ; but Arenta s own love affairs 
 were just then at a very interesting point ; and, be 
 sides, she regarded the young Lieutenant s ad 
 miration for her friend as only one of his many 
 transient enthusiasms. 
 
 " If there was anything real in it," she reflected, 
 " Cornelia would have talked about him ; and that 
 she has never done." Then she began to re 
 member, with pride, the very sensible behaviour of 
 her own lover. " My Athanase," she reflected, 
 " did not give me an hour s rest until we were en 
 gaged. He insisted on talking to father about our 
 marriage settlements and our future in fact, he 
 made of love a thing possible and practical. A 
 lover like Joris Hyde is not, I think, very fortu 
 nate." 
 
ll6 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 She did not understand that the quality of love 
 in its finest revelation desires, after its first sweet 
 inception, a little period of withdrawal it wonders 
 at its strange happiness broods over it is fearful 
 of disturbing emotions so exquisite prefers the 
 certainty of its delicious suspense to a more defi 
 nite understanding, and finds a keen strange delight 
 in its own poignant anxieties and hopes. These 
 are the birth pangs of an immortal love of a love 
 that knows within itself, that it is born for Eternity, 
 and need not to hurry the three-score-and-ten 
 years of time to a consummation. 
 
 Of such noble lineage was the love of Cornelia 
 for Joris Hyde. His gracious, beautiful youth, 
 seemed a part of her own youth ; his ardent, tender 
 glances had filled her heart with a sweet trouble 
 that she did not understand. It was the most 
 natural thing in the world that she should wish to 
 be apart ; that she should desire to brood over feel 
 ings so strangely happy; and that in this very 
 brooding they should grow to the perfect stature of 
 a luminous and unquenchable affection. 
 
 Joris was moved by a sentiment of the same 
 kind, though in a lesser degree. The masculine 
 desire to obtain, and the delightful consciousness 
 that he possessed, at least, the tremendous ad 
 vantage of asking for the love he craved, roused 
 him from the sweet torpor to which delicious, 
 dreamy love had inclined him. 
 
 U I have thought of Cornelia long enough," he 
 
Aunt Angelica 117 
 
 said one delightful summer morning ; " with all my 
 soul I now long to see her. And it is not an im 
 possible thing I desire. In short, there is some 
 way to compass it. * Then a sudden, invincible 
 persuasion of success came to him ; he believed in 
 his own good fortune ; he had a conviction that 
 the very stars connived with a true lover to work 
 his will. And under this enthusiasm he galloped 
 into town, took his horse to a stable, and then 
 walked towards Maiden Lane. 
 
 In a few moments he saw Arenta Van Ariens. 
 She was in a mist of blue and white, with flowing 
 curls, and fluttering ribbons ; and a general air of 
 happiness. He placed himself directly in her path, 
 and doffed his beaver to the ground as she ap 
 proached. 
 
 u Well, then," she cried, with an affected air of 
 astonishment, " who would have thought of seeing 
 you ? Your retirement is the talk of the town." 
 
 u And pray what does the town say ? " 
 
 " Some part of it says you have lost your fortune 
 at cards ; another part says you have lost your 
 heart and got no compensation for it. Tis strange 
 to see the folly of young people of this age," she 
 added, with a little pretended sigh of superior wis 
 dom. 
 
 " As if you, also, had not lost your heart ! " ex 
 claimed Hyde. 
 
 " No, sir ! I have exchanged mine for its full 
 value. Where are you going ? " 
 
ii8 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 "With you." 
 
 " In a word, no. For I am going to Aunt An 
 gelica s." 
 
 " Upon my honour, it is to your Aunt Angelica s 
 I desire to go most of all ! " 
 
 " Now I understand. You have found out that 
 Cornelia Moran is going there. Are you still 
 harping on that string ? And Cornelia never said 
 one word to me. I do not approve of such deceit. 
 In my love affairs I have always been open as the 
 day." 
 
 " I assure you that I did not know Miss Moran 
 was going there. I had not a thought of Madame 
 Jacobus until we met. To tell the very truth, I 
 came into town to look for you." 
 
 " For me ? And why, pray ? " 
 
 u I want to see Miss Moran. If I cannot see 
 her, then I want to hear about her. I thought 
 you, of all people, could tell me the most and the 
 best. I assured myself that you had infinite good 
 temper. Now, pray do not disappoint me." 
 
 " Listen ! We meet this afternoon at my aunt s, 
 to discuss the dresses and ceremonies proper for a 
 very fine wedding." 
 
 " For your own wedding, in fact Is not 
 
 that so ? " 
 
 " Well, then ? " 
 
 " Well, then, who knows more on that subject 
 than Joris Hyde ? Was I not, last year, at Lady 
 Betty Somer s splendid nuptials; and at Fanny 
 
Aunt Angelica 1 19 
 
 Paget s, and the Countess of Carlisle s ? Indeed, 
 I maintain that in such a discussion / am an abso 
 lute necessity. And I wish to know Madame 
 Jacobus. I have long wished to know her. Upon 
 my honour, I think her to be one of the most in 
 teresting women in New York ! " 
 
 " I will advise you a little. Save your com 
 pliments until you can say them to my aunt. I 
 never carry a word to any one." 
 
 u Then take me with you, and I will repeat 
 them to her face." 
 
 " So ? Well, then, here we are, at her very 
 door. I know not what she will say you must 
 make your own excuses, sir." 
 
 As she was speaking, they ascended the white 
 steps leading to a very handsome brick house on the 
 west side of Broadway. It had wide iron piazzas 
 and a fine shady garden at the back, sloping down 
 to the river bank; and had altogether, on the out 
 side, the very similitude of a wealthy and fashion 
 able residence. The door was opened by a very 
 dark man, who was not a negro, and who was 
 dressed in a splendid and outlandish manner a 
 scarlet turban above his straight black hair, and 
 gold-hooped earrings, and a long coat or tunic, 
 heavily embroidered in strange devices. 
 
 " He was an Algerine pirate," whispered Arenta. 
 41 My Uncle Jacob brought him here and my aunt 
 trusts him I would not, not for a moment." 
 
 As soon as the front door closed, Joris perceived 
 
no The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 that he was in an unusual house. The scents and 
 odours of strange countries floated about it. The 
 hall contained many tall jars, full of pungent gums 
 and roots ; and upon its walls the weapons of sav 
 age nations were crossed in idle and harmless fash 
 ion. They went slowly up the highly polished 
 stairway into a large, low parlour, facing the vivid, 
 everyday business drama of Broadway ; but the 
 room itself was like an Arabian Night s dream, for 
 the Eastern atmosphere was supplemented by di 
 vans and sofas covered with rare cashmere shawls, 
 and rugs of Turkestan, and with cushions of all 
 kinds of oriental splendour. Strange tables of 
 wonderful mosaic work held ivory carvings of 
 priceless worth; and porcelain from unknown 
 lands. Gods and goddesses from the yellow 
 Gehenna of China and the utterable idolatry of 
 India, looked out with brute cruelty, or sempiternal 
 smiles from every odd corner ; or gazed with a 
 fascinating prescience from the high chimney-piece 
 upon all who entered. 
 
 The effect upon Hyde was instantaneous and 
 uncanny. His Saxon-Dutch nature was in instant 
 revolt against influences so foreign and unnatural. 
 Arenta was unconsciously in sympathy with him ; 
 for she said with a shrug of her pretty shoulders, 
 as she looked around, " I have always bad dreams 
 after a visit to this room. Do these things have a 
 life of their own ? Look at the creature on that 
 corner shelf! What a serene disdain is in his 
 
Aunt Angelica 121 
 
 smile ! He seems to gaze into the very depths of 
 your soul. I see that there is a curtain to his 
 shrine ; and I shall take leave to draw it." With 
 these words she went to the scornful divinity, and 
 shut his offending eyes behind the folds of his gold- 
 embroidered curtain. 
 
 Hyde watched her flitting about the strange 
 room, and thought of a little brown wren among 
 the poisonous, vivid splendours of tropical swamp 
 flowers. So out of place the pretty, thoughtless 
 Dutch girl looked among the spoils of far India, 
 and Central America, and of Arabian and African 
 worship and workmanship. But when the door 
 opened, and Madame Jacobus, with soft, gliding 
 footsteps entered, Hyde understood how truly the 
 soul, if given the wherewithal, builds the habitation 
 it likes best. Once possessed of marvellous beauty, 
 and yet extraordinarily interesting, she seemed the 
 very genius of the room and its strange, suggestive 
 belongings. She was unusually tall, and her figure 
 had kept its undulating, stately grace. Her hair, 
 dazzlingly white, was piled high above her ample 
 brow, held in place with jewelled combs and glit 
 tering pins. Her face had lost its fine oval and 
 youthful freshness, but who of any feeling or in 
 telligence would not have far preferred the worn 
 countenance, expressing in a thousand sensitive 
 shades and emotions the story of her life and love ? 
 And if every other beauty had failed, Angelica s 
 eyes would have atoned for the loss. They were 
 
122 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 large, softly-black, slow-moving, or again, in a 
 moment, flashing with the fire that lay hidden in 
 the dark pit of the iris. 
 
 It was said that her slaves adored her, and that 
 no man who came within her influence had been 
 able to resist her power no man, perhaps, but 
 Captain Jacobus ; and he had not resisted, he had 
 been content to exercise over her a power greater 
 than her own. He had made her his wife ; he had 
 lavished on her for ten years the spoils of the four 
 quarters of the world ; and his worship of her had 
 only been equalled by her passionate attachment to 
 him. Ten years of love, and then parting and si 
 lence unbroken silence. Yet she still insisted 
 that he was alive, and would certainly come back 
 to her. With this faith in her heart, she had re 
 fused to put on any symbol of loss or mourning. 
 She kept his fine house open, his room ready, and 
 herself constantly adorned for his home-coming. 
 Society, which insists on uniformity, did not ap 
 prove of this unreasonable hope. It expected her 
 to adopt the garments of widowhood for a time, 
 and then make a match in accordance with the 
 great fortune Captain Jacobus had left her. But 
 Angelica Jacobus was a law unto herself; and so 
 ciety was compelled to take her with those apolo 
 gizing shrugs it gives to whatever is original and 
 individual. 
 
 She came in with a smile of welcome. She 
 was always pleased that her fine home should be 
 
Aunt Angelica 123 
 
 seen by those strange to it ; and perhaps was par 
 ticularly pleased that General Hyde s son should 
 be her visitor. And as Joris was determined to 
 win her favour, there was an almost instantaneous 
 birth of good-will. 
 
 " Let me kiss your hand, madame," said the 
 handsome young fellow, lifting the jewelled fingers 
 in his own. u I have heard that my father had 
 once that honour. Do not put me below him ; " 
 and with the words he touched with his warm lips 
 the long white fingers. 
 
 Her laugh rang merrily through the dim room, 
 and she answered " You are Dick Hyde s own 
 son nothing else. I see that " and she drew 
 the young man towards the light and looked with a 
 steady pleasure into his smiling face as she asked 
 
 u What brought you here this morning, sir ? " 
 
 " Madame, I have heard my father speak of you ; 
 I have seen you ; can you wonder that I desired 
 to know you ? This morning I met Miss Van 
 Ariens, and when she said she was coming here, I 
 found myself unable to resist the temptation of 
 coming with her." 
 
 " Let me tell you something, aunt. I think 
 Lieutenant Hyde can be of great service to us. 
 He took part in several noble English weddings 
 last year, and he offers his advice in our consulta 
 tion to-day." 
 
 41 But where is Cornelia ? I thought she would 
 come with you." 
 
124 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 " She will be here in a few minutes. I saw her 
 half-an-hour ago." 
 
 " What a beautiful girl she has become ! " said 
 madame. 
 
 " She is an angel," said Hyde. 
 
 Angelica laughed. " The man who calls a 
 woman an angel has never had any sisters," she 
 answered ; " but, however, she has beauty enough 
 to set young hearts ablaze. I like the girl, and I 
 wonder not that others do the same." 
 
 Even as she spoke Cornelia entered. There 
 was a little flush and hurry on her face ; but oh, 
 how innocent and joyous it was ! Quick-glanc 
 ing, sweetly smiling, she entered the musky, 
 scented parlour, and in her white robe and white 
 hat stood like a lily in its light and gloom, And 
 when she turned to Hyde an ineffable charm and 
 beauty illumed her countenance. " How glad I 
 am to see you ! " she said, and the very ring of 
 gladness was in her voice. " And how strange 
 that we should meet here ! " 
 
 " That is so," replied Madame Jacobus. " One 
 can never see where the second little bird comes 
 from." 
 
 " Am I late, madame ? Surely your clock is 
 wrong." 
 
 " My clock is never wrong, Cornelia. A Dutch 
 clock will always go just about so. Come, now, 
 sit down, and let us talk of such follies as wed 
 dings and wedding gowns." 
 
Aunt Angelica 125 
 
 In this conversation Hyde triumphantly re 
 deemed his promise of assistance. He could de 
 scribe with a delightful accuracy or inaccuracy 
 the lovely toilets and pretty accessories of the high 
 English wedding feasts of the previous year. And 
 in some subtle way he threw into these descriptions 
 such a glamour of romance, such backgrounds of 
 old castles and chiming bells, of noble dames glit 
 tering with gems, and village maids scattering 
 roses, of martial heroes, and rejoicing lovers, all 
 moving in an atmosphere of song and sunshine, 
 that the little party sat listening, entranced, with 
 sympathetic eyes drinking in his wonderful descrip 
 tions. 
 
 Madame Jacobus was the first to interrupt these 
 pretty reminiscences. " All this is very fine," she 
 said, "but the most of it is no good for us. The 
 satin and the lace and even the gems, we can have ; 
 the music can be somehow managed, and we shall 
 not make a bad show as to love and beauty. But 
 castles and lords and military pomp, and old cathe 
 drals hung with battle flags Such things are 
 
 not to be had here, and, in plain truth, they are 
 not necessary for the wedding of a simple maid 
 like our Arenta." 
 
 " You forget, then, that my Athanase is of almost 
 royal descent," said Arenta. u A very old family 
 are the Tounnerres older, indeed, than the royal 
 Capets." 
 
 " No one is to-day so poor as to envy the royal 
 
126 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 Capets; and as for an ancient family, Captain 
 Jacobus used to speak of his forefathers as the 
 old fellows whom the flood could not wash away. 
 Jacobus always put his ideas in such clear, forcible 
 words. What I want to know is this where is 
 the ceremony to be performed r " 
 
 u The civil ceremony is to be at the French 
 Embassy," answered Arenta with some pride. 
 
 " Is that all there is to it ? " 
 
 " Aunt ! How could you imagine that I should 
 be satisfied with a civil ceremony ? My father 
 also insists upon a religious ceremony ; and my 
 Athanase told him he was willing to marry me in 
 every church in America. I am not Gertrude 
 Kippon ! No, indeed ! I insist on everything be 
 ing done in a moral and respectable manner. My 
 father spoke of Doctor Kunz for the religious part." 
 
 u I like not Doctor Kunz," answered madame. 
 " Bishop Provoost and the Episcopal service is the 
 proper thing. Doctor Kunz will be sure to say 
 some sharp words his tongue is full of them he 
 stands too stiff he does not use his hands grace 
 fully his walk and carriage is not dignified and 
 he looks at you through spectacles and I, for one, 
 do not like to be looked at through spectacles. 
 We must decide for the Episcopal church." 
 
 " And the little trip after it," continued Arenta. 
 u Lieutenant Hyde says that, in England, it is now 
 the proper thing." 
 
 " But in America it is not the proper thing. It 
 
Aunt Angelica 127 
 
 is a rude unmannerly way to run off with a bride. 
 We are not red Indians, nor is the Marquis carry 
 ing you by force from some hostile tribe. The 
 nuptial trip is a barbarism. I am now weary. 
 Lieutenant, take Miss Moran and show her my 
 garden. I tell you, it is worth walking through ; 
 and when you have seen the flowers, Arenta and I 
 will give you a cup of tea." 
 
 Arenta would gladly have gone into the garden 
 also, but her aunt detained her. "Can you not 
 see," she asked, u that those two are in love with 
 each other ? Give love its hour. They do not 
 want your company." 
 
 " And for that very reason I wish to go with 
 them. My brother is in love with Cornelia, and 
 I am for Rem, and not for a stranger also, my 
 father and Cornelia s father are both for Rem ; and, 
 besides, Doctor Moran hates the Hydes. He will 
 not let Cornelia marry the man." 
 
 " He will not let ! When did Doctor John be 
 come omnipotent ? Love laughs at fathers, as well 
 as at locksmiths. And if Doctor John is against 
 young Hyde, then I shall the more cheerfully be 
 for him a pleasant, handsome youth as ever I 
 saw, is he ; and Doctor John well, he is neither 
 pleasant nor handsome." 
 
 " Aunt Angelica ! I am astonished at you ! 
 Every one will contradict what you say." 
 
 " For that reason, I will maintain it. It is not 
 my way to shout with the multitude." 
 
128 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 With some hesitation, yet quite carried away by 
 Hyde s personal longing and impulse, Cornelia 
 went into the garden with her lover. It was a 
 green, shady place, full of great maple-trees and 
 flowering vines and shrubs, and patches of green 
 grass. All kinds of sweet old-fashioned flowers 
 grew there, mingling their scent with the straw 
 berries perfume and the woody odours of the ripen 
 ing cherries. They were alone in this lovely 
 place ; the high privet hedges hid them from the 
 outside world, and the babble and rumble of Broad 
 way came to them only as the murmur of noise in 
 a dream. Speechless with joy, Hyde clasped Cor 
 nelia s slender fingers, and they went together 
 down the few broad low steps which led them into 
 the green shadows of the trees. How soft was the 
 grassy turf ! How exquisite the westering sunlight, 
 sifting through the maple leaves ! They looked 
 into each other s eyes and smiled, but were too 
 happy to speak. For they had suddenly come into 
 that land, which is east of the sun, and west of the 
 moon ; that land not laid down on any chart, but 
 which we feel to be our rightful heritage. 
 
 Slowly, as they stepped, they came at length to 
 a little summerhouse. It was covered with a 
 thick jessamin vine ; and the mysterious, lan 
 guorous perfume of its starlike flowers filled the 
 narrow resting-place with the very atmosphere of 
 love. They sat down there, and in a few moments 
 the seal was broken and Hyde s heart found out all 
 
Aunt Angelica 129 
 
 the sweetest words that love could speak. Cor 
 nelia trembled ; she blushed, she smiled, she suf 
 fered herself to be diawn close to his side; and, at 
 last, in some sweet, untranslatable way, she gave him 
 the assurance of her love. Then they found in 
 delicious silence the eloquence that words were in 
 competent to translate ; time was forgotten, and on 
 earth there was once more an interlude of heavenly 
 harmony in which two souls became one and Para 
 dise was regained. 
 
 Arenta s voice, petulant and not pleasant, broke 
 the charm. With a sigh they rose, dropped each 
 other s hand, and went out of their heaven on earth 
 to meet her. 
 
 " Tea is waiting," she said, " and Rem is wait 
 ing, and my aunt is tired, and you two have for 
 gotten that the clock moves." Then they laughed, 
 and laughter is always fatal to feeling , the magical 
 land of love was suddenly far away, and there was 
 the sound of china, and the heavy tones of Rem s 
 voice dissatisfied, if not angry and Arenta s 
 lighter fret ; and they stood once more among fetishes 
 and forms so foreign, fabulous and fantastical, that it 
 was difficult to pass from the land of love, and all 
 its pure delights, iiito their atmosphere. 
 
 It would have been harder but for Madame 
 Jacobus. She understood ; and she sympathized ; 
 and there was a kindly element in her nature which 
 disposed her to side with the lovers. Her smile, 
 quick and short as a flash of the eyes revealed to 
 
130 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 Hyde her intention of favour, and without one 
 spoken word, these two knew themselves to be of 
 the same mind. And, in parting, she held his 
 hand while she talked, saying at last the very words 
 he longed to hear 
 
 " We shall expect you again on Thursday, Lieu 
 tenant. Everything is yet undecided, and the 
 work you have begun, it is right that you should 
 finish." 
 
 He answered only, u Thank you, madame ! " 
 but he accompanied the words with a look which 
 asked so much, and confessed so much, that 
 madame felt herself to be a silent confidante and a 
 not unwilling accomplice. And when she had 
 closed the door on her guests, she acknowledged it. 
 " But then," she whispered, " I always did dearly 
 love a lover ; and this promises to be a love affair 
 that will need my help plenty of good honest 
 hatred for it to combat and wealth and rank and 
 all sorts of conflicting conditions to get the better of 
 
 Well, then, my help is ready. In plain truth, 
 
 I don t like such perfection as Doctor John ; and 
 my nephew Rem is not interesting. He is sulky, 
 and Hyde is good-tempered, just like his father, 
 too ; and there never was a more fascinating man 
 than Dick Hyde. He-bo ! I remember! I re 
 member! and yet I dare say Dick has forgotten 
 my very name this is a marriage that will exactly 
 suit me I don t care who is against it ! " Then 
 she said softly to herself 
 
"IN SOME S \VKKT I NTKANSLATABLE WAV SHE GAVE HIM THE 
 ASSURANCE OF HER LOVE." 
 
Aunt Angelica 131 
 
 "Rem went to Cornelia as they were about to 
 leave, and he reminded her that, by her permission, 
 he had come to walk home with her. 
 
 " Cornelia turned to Hyde, excused herself, and, 
 cool and silent, took her place by Rem s side. 
 
 u Hyde accepted the position with a smile, and a 
 gracious bow, and then joined Arenta. 
 
 "Arenta was far less agreeable than she ought to 
 have been ; for both she and her brother had a 
 kind of divination. They knew, in spite of ap 
 pearances, that Rem had not got the best of Joris 
 Hyde. I am quick in my observations, and I 
 know this is so. Well then, it is a very interest 
 ing affair as it stands and it is like to grow far 
 more interesting. I am not opposed to that. I 
 shall enjoy it. Hyde and Cornelia ought to marry 
 and they have my good wishes." 
 
 As for Hyde, no thought that could mar the 
 sweetness and joy of this fortunate hour came into 
 his mind. Neither Rem s evident hatred, nor 
 Arenta s disapproval, nor yet Cornelia s silence, 
 troubled him. He had within his heart a talisman 
 that made everything propitious. And he was. so 
 joyous that the people whom he passed on the 
 street caught happiness from him. Men and 
 women alike turned to look after the youth, for 
 they felt the virtue of his passing presence, and 
 wondered what it might mean. Even the neces 
 sary parting from Cornelia was only a phase of 
 this wonderful gladness ; for Love never fails of 
 
132 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 his token, and, though Arenta s sharp eyes could 
 not discover it, Hyde received the silent message 
 that was meant for him, and for him only. That 
 one thought made his heart bound and falter with 
 its exquisite delight for him only for him only, 
 was that swift but certain assurance ; that in 
 stantaneous bright flash of love that held in it all 
 heaven and earth, and left him, as he told himself 
 again and again, the happiest man in all the world. 
 
 He was hardly responsible for his actions at this 
 hour; for when a swift gallop brought him to the 
 Van Heemskirk house, he quite unconsciously 
 struck the door some rapid, forceful blows, with 
 his riding whip. His grandfather opened it with 
 an angry face. 
 
 " I thought it was thee," he said. " Now, then, 
 in such lordly fashion, whom didst thou summon ? 
 dog or slave, was it ? " 
 
 " Oh, grandfather, I intended no harm. Did I 
 strike so hard ? Upon my word, I meant it not." 
 
 At this moment Madame Van Heemskirk came 
 quickly forward. She turned a face of disapproval 
 on her husband, and asked sharply, " Why dost 
 thou complain ? " 
 
 " I like not my house-door struck so rudely, 
 Lysbet. No man in all America, but Joris Hyde, 
 would dare to do it." 
 
 At these words Joris flung himself from his 
 horse and clasped his grandfather s hand. " I did 
 wrong," he said warmly ; " but I am beside my- 
 
Aunt Angelica 133 
 
 self with happiness ; and I thought of nothing but 
 telling you. My heart was in such a hurry that 
 my hands forgot how to behave themselves." 
 
 " So happy as that, art thou ? Good ! Come 
 in, and tell us what has happened to thee." 
 
 But Lysbet divined the joy in her grandson s 
 face ; and she said softly as he seated himself at the 
 open window where his grandfather s chair was 
 placed 
 
 " It is Cornelia ? " 
 
 " Yes, it is Cornelia. She loves me ! The 
 most charming girl the sun ever shone upon loves 
 me. It is incredible ! It is amazing ! I can 
 not believe in my good fortune. Will you assure 
 me it is possible ? I want to hear some one say so 
 and who is there but my grandfather and you ? 
 I do not like to tell my mother, just yet. What 
 do you say ? " 
 
 " I say that thou hast chosen a good girl for a 
 wife. God bless thee," answered Lysbet with 
 great emotion. 
 
 Van Heemskirk smiled, but was silent ; and 
 Hyde stooped forward, gently moved his long pipe 
 away from his lips, and said, " Grandfather, speak. 
 You know Cornelia Moran ? " 
 
 " I have seen her. With thee I saw her 
 walking with thee dancing with thee. A great 
 beauty I thought her. Thy grandmother says she 
 is good. Well, then, the love of a good, beautiful 
 girl, is something to be glad over. Not twice in a 
 
134 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 lifetime comes such great fortune. But make up 
 thy mind to expect much opposition. Doctor 
 John and thy father were ever unfriends. Thy 
 father has other plans for thee ; Cornelia s father 
 has doubtless other plans for her. Few men can 
 stand against Doctor John ; he has the word, and 
 the way, to carry all before him. I know not 
 how the little Cornelia can dare to disobey him." 
 
 " She has said yes to me ; and, before heaven 
 and earth, she will stand by it." 
 
 " Say that much. And of thyself, art thou sure ? " 
 
 " Why art thou throwing cold water on such 
 sweet hopes ? " said Lysbet to her husband. 
 
 " Because, when love flames beyond duty and 
 honour and all expediences, Lysbet, some one a 
 little cold water ought to throw. And thou will 
 not do it. No ! Rather, would thou add fuel to 
 the flame." 
 
 " I know not what you mean, sir," said Hyde, 
 vaguely troubled by his grandfather s words. 
 
 u I think thou knowest well what I mean. Thy 
 father has told thee that thy duty and thy honour 
 are pledged to Annie Hyde." 
 
 " I never pledged ! Never ! " 
 
 " But, as in thy baptism thy father made vows 
 for thee, so also for thy marriage he made promises. 
 Noble birth has responsibility, as well as privilege. 
 For thyself alone it is not permitted thee to live, 
 from both the past and the future there are de 
 mands on thee." 
 
Aunt Angelica 135 
 
 u Grandfather, this living for the future is the 
 curse of the English land-owners. They enjoy 
 not the present, for they are busy taking care of 
 the years they will never see. Their sons are in 
 their way ; it is their grandsons and their great- 
 grandsons that interest them. Why should my 
 father plan for my marriage ? He may be Earl 
 Hyde for twenty years and I hope he will. For 
 twenty years Cornelia and I can be happy here in 
 America ; and twenty years is a great opportunity. 
 Everything can happen in twenty years. Of one 
 thing I am sure I will marry Cornelia Moran, even 
 if I run away with her to the ends of the earth." 
 
 " l Run away with her. To be sure ! That is 
 in the blood ; " and the old man looked sternly 
 back to the days when Hyde s father ran away 
 with his own little daughter. 
 
 With some anger Lysbet answered his thoughts. 
 u What art thou talking about ? What art thou 
 thinking of? Many good men have run away 
 with their wives. This almighty Doctor John ran 
 away with his wife. Did not Ava Willing leave 
 her father s house and her friends and her faith for 
 him ? And did not the Quakers read her out of 
 their Meeting for her marriage ? and I blame them 
 not. Doctor John was no match for Ava Willing. 
 More, too, if thou must look back ; remember one 
 May night, when thou and I sat by the Collect in 
 the moonlight, and thou gave me this ring. What 
 did thou say to me that night ? " 
 
136 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 " Tis years ago, Lysbet, and if I have for 
 gotten " 
 
 u Forgotten ! Well, then, men do forget j but 
 they may be thankful that God has so made women 
 that they do not forget. The words thou said that 
 night have been singing in my heart for fifty years ; 
 and yet, if thou must be told, some of those words 
 were about running away with thee ; for, at the 
 first, my father liked thee not." 
 
 " Lysbet ! My sweet Lysbet ! I have not for 
 gotten. For thy dear sake I will stand by Joris, 
 though in doing so I am sure I shall make some 
 unfriends. * 
 
 u Good, my husband. I take leave to say that 
 thou art doing right." 
 
 "Well, then," said Hyde, "if my grandmother 
 stand by me, and you also, sir; and also Madame 
 Jacobus " 
 
 " Madame Jacobus ! " cried Lysbet. 
 
 " Yes, indeed ! " answered Hyde. " Tis to her 
 understanding and kindness I owe my opportunity ; 
 and she gave me, also, one look which I cannot 
 pretend to misunderstand a look of clear sym 
 pathy a look that promised help." 
 
 " She is a clever woman," said Van Heemskirk. 
 " If Joris has her good will it is not to be thrown 
 away." 
 
 "I like her not," said Lysbet. "With my 
 grandson, with my affairs, why should she meddle ? 
 Pray, now, what took thee, Joris, to her house ? It 
 
Aunt Angelica 137 
 
 is full of idolatries and graven images. Doctor 
 Kunz once wrote to her a letter about them. He 
 said she ought to remember the Second Command 
 ment. And she wrote to him a letter, and told 
 him to trouble himself with his own business. 
 Much anger and shame there might have been out 
 of this, but Angelica Jacobus is rich, and she is 
 generous to the church, and to the poor; and Doc 
 tor Kunz said to the elders, c Let her alone, for 
 there is a savour of righteousness in her ; and 
 when she heard of that, she was pleased with the 
 Doctor, and sent him one hundred dollars for the 
 Indian Mission. But, Joris, she is no good to 
 thee. I hear many queer stories of her." 
 
 44 Downright lies, all of them," replied Hyde. 
 Then he rose, saying, u I must ride onward. My 
 mother will not sleep until she sees me." 
 
 u It is nearly dark," said Van Heemskirk, " and 
 to-night thou art in the clouds. The land and the 
 water will be alike to thee. Rest until the morn- 
 ing." 
 
 44 1 fear not the dark. I know the road by night 
 or by day." 
 
 u Yet, even so, mind what I tell thee if thou 
 ride in the dark, be not wiser than thy beast." 
 
 Then they walked with him to the door, and 
 watched him leap to his saddle and ride into the 
 twilight trembling over the misty meadows, trink- 
 ling with dews. And a great melancholy fell over 
 them, and they could not resume the conversation. 
 
138 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 Joris re-lit his pipe, and Lysbet went softly and 
 thoughtfully about her household duties. It was 
 one of those hours in which Life distills for us her 
 vague melancholy wine; and Joris and Lysbet 
 drank deeply of it. 
 
 The moon was in its third day, and the silent 
 crescent has no calmer and sweeter time ; yet Joris 
 it inclined to a sad presentiment. " In my heart 
 there is a fear, Lysbet/ he said softly. " I think 
 our boy has gone a road he will dearly rue. I fore 
 see disputing, and wounded hearts, and lives made 
 barren by many disappointed hopes." 
 
 " Nothing of the kind," answered Lysbet cheer 
 fully. " Our little Joris is so happy to-night, why 
 wilt thou think evil for him ? To think evil is to 
 bring evil. Out of foolishness or perchance such 
 a great love has not come. No, indeed ! That it 
 comes from heaven I am sure ; and to heaven I 
 will leave its good fortune." 
 
 " Pleasant are thy hopes, Lysbet ; but, too often, 
 vain and foolish." 
 
 " Thy reasoning, is it any wiser ? No. Often I 
 have found it wrong. One thing the years have 
 said to me, it is this c Lysbet put not thy judg 
 ment in the place of Providence. If thou trust 
 Providence, thou hast the easy heart of a child of 
 God ; if thou trust to thine own judgment, thou 
 hast the troubled heart of an anxious woman/ " 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 ARENTA S MARRIAGE 
 
 FOR a few weeks, Hyde s belief that the very 
 stars would connive with a true lover seemed a re 
 liable one. Madame Jacobus, attracted at their 
 first meeting to the youth, soon gave him an aston 
 ishing affection. And yet this warm love of an old 
 woman for youth and beauty was a very natural 
 one a late development of the maternal instinct 
 leading her even to what seemed an abnormal pref 
 erence. For she put aside her nephew s claims 
 with hardly a thought, and pleased herself day by 
 day in so managing and arranging events that Hyde 
 and Cornelia met, as a matter of course. Arenta 
 was not, however, deceived ; she understood every 
 maneuvre, but the success of her own affairs de 
 pended very much on her aunt s cooperation and 
 generosity, and so she could not afford, at this time, 
 to interfere for her brother. 
 
 " But I shall alter things a little as soon as I am 
 married," she told herself. " I will take care of 
 that. At this time I must see, and hear, and say 
 nothing. I must act politely for I am always 
 polite and Athanase also is in favour of politeness 
 but I take leave to say that Joris Hyde shall not 
 carry so much sail when a few weeks are gone by. 
 139 
 
140 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 So happy he looks ! So pleased with himself ! So 
 sure of all he says and does ! I am angry at him 
 all the time. Well, then, it will be a satisfaction 
 to abate a little the confidence of this cock-sure 
 young man." 
 
 Arenta s feelings were in kind and measure 
 shared by several other people ; Doctor Moran held 
 them in a far bitterer mood ; but he, also, envi 
 roned by circumstances he could neither alter nor 
 command, was compelled to satisfy his disapproval 
 with promises of a future change. For the wed 
 ding of Arenta Van Ariens had assumed a great 
 social importance. Arenta herself had talked about 
 the affair until all classes were on the tiptoe of ex 
 pectation. The wealthy Dutch families, the ex 
 clusive American set, the home and foreign diplo 
 matic circles, were alike looking forward to the 
 splendid ceremony, and to the great breakfast at 
 Peter Van Ariens house, and to the ball which 
 Madame Jacobus was to give in the evening. None 
 of the younger people had ever been in madame s 
 fantastic ballroom, and they were eager for this 
 entry into her wonderful house. For their mothers 
 seeing things through the mists of Time had, 
 innocently enough, exaggerated the marvels of the 
 Chinese lanterns, the feather flowers and gor 
 geously plumed birds, the cases of tropical butterflies 
 and beetles, and the fascination of the pagan deities, 
 until they were ready to listen to any tale about 
 Madame Jacobus and to swallow it like cream. 
 
Arenta s Marriage 141 
 
 So Doctor Moran, being physician and family 
 friend to most of the invited guests, had to listen to 
 such reminiscences and anticipations wherever he 
 went. He knew that he could not talk against the 
 great public current, and that in the excited state 
 of social feeling it would be a kind of treason even 
 to hint disapproval of Arenta, or of any of her 
 friends or doings. But he suffered. He was 
 questioned by some, he was enlightened by others ; 
 his opinion was asked about dresses and ceremonies, 
 he was constantly congratulated on his daughter s 
 prominence as bridesmaid, and he was sent for 
 professionally, that he might be talked to socially. 
 Yet if he ventured to hint dissatisfaction, or to ex 
 press himself by a scornful " Pooh ! Pooh ! " he was 
 answered by looks of such astonishment, of such 
 sjuick-springing womanly suspicions, that he could 
 not doubt the kind of conversation which followed 
 his exit : 
 
 " Do you think Doctor Moran very clever ? " 
 
 " Most people think so." 
 
 " He is so unsympathetic. Doctor Moore knows 
 everything Madame Jacobus is going to have, and 
 to do. I think doctors ought to be chatty. It is 
 so good for their patients to be cheered up a little." 
 
 Doctor Moran divined perfectly this taste for 
 gossip and medicinal sympathy combined, and to 
 administer it was, to him, more nauseous than his 
 own bitterest drugs. So in these days he was not 
 a cheerful man to live with, and Cornelia s beauty 
 
142 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 and radiant happiness affected him very much as 
 Hyde s pronounced satisfaction aifected Arenta. 
 One morning, as he was returning home after a 
 round of disagreeable visits, he saw Cornelia and 
 Hyde coming up Broadway together. They were 
 sauntering side by side in all the lazy happiness of 
 perfect love ; and as he looked at them the sorrow of 
 an immense disillusion filled him to the lips. He 
 had believed himself, as yet, to be the first and the 
 dearest in his child s love ; but in that moment his 
 eyes were opened, and he felt as if he had been 
 suddenly thrust out from it and the door closed 
 upon him. 
 
 He did the wisest thing possible : he went home 
 to his wife. She heard him ride with clattering 
 haste into the stone court, and soon after enter the 
 house from the back, banging every door after 
 him. She knew then that something had angered 
 him that he was in that temper which makes a 
 woman cry, but which a man can only relieve by 
 noisy or emphatic movement of some kind. A 
 resolute look came into her face and she said to 
 herself, u John has always had his own way and 
 my way also ; but Cornelia s way the child must 
 surely have something to say about that." 
 
 "Where is Cornelia, Ava ? " He asked the 
 question with a quick glance round the room, as if 
 he expected to find her present. 
 
 " Cornelia is not at home to-day." 
 
 " Is she ever at home now ? " 
 
Arenta s Marriage 143 
 
 " You know that Arenta s wedding " 
 
 " Arenta s wedding ! I am tired to death of it : 
 I have heard nothing this morning but Arenta s 
 wedding. Why the deuce ! should my house be 
 turned upside down and inside out for Arenta s 
 wedding ? Women have been married before 
 Arenta Van Ariens, and women will be married 
 after her. What is all this fuss about ? " 
 
 " You know " 
 
 " Bless my soul ! of course I know. I know 
 one thing at least, that I have just met Cornelia 
 and that young fop George Hyde coming up the 
 street together, as if they two alone were in the 
 world. They never saw me, they could see noth 
 ing but themselves." 
 
 " Men and women have done such a thing be 
 fore, John, and they will do it again. Cornelia is 
 a beautiful girl ; it is natural that she should have 
 a lover. " 
 
 " It is very unnatural that she should choose for 
 her lover the son of my worst enemy." 
 
 " I am sure you wrong General Hyde. When 
 was he your enemy ? How could he be your 
 enemy ? " 
 
 " When was he my enemy ? Ever since the 
 first hour we met. Often he tried to injure me 
 with General Washington ; often he accused me 
 of showing partiality to certain officers in the 
 army ; only last year he prevented my election to 
 the Senate by using all his influence in favour of 
 
144 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 Joris Van Heemskirk. If he has not done me 
 more injury and more injustice, tis because he has 
 not had the opportunity. And you want me to 
 give Cornelia to his son ! Yes, you do, Ava ! I 
 see it on your face. You stretch my patience too 
 far. Can I not see " 
 
 " Can an angry man ever see ? No, he cannot. 
 You feed your own suspicions, John. You might 
 just as well link Cornelia s name with Rem Van 
 Ariens as with Joris Hyde. She is continually in 
 Rem s company. He is devoted to her. She can 
 not possibly misunderstand his looks and words, 
 she must perceive that he is her ardent lover. 
 You might have seen them the last three evenings 
 sitting together at that table preparing the invita 
 tions for the wedding breakfast and ball ; arranging 
 the cards and favours. So happy ! So pleasantly 
 familiar ! So confidential ! I think Rem Van 
 Ariens has as much of Cornelia s liking as George 
 Hyde ; and perhaps neither of them have enough 
 of it to win her hand. All lovers do not grow to 
 husbands." 
 
 "Thank God, they do not ! But what you say 
 about Rem is only cobweb stuff. She is too 
 friendly, too pleasantly familiar, I would like to 
 see her more shy and silent with him. Every one 
 has already given my daughter to Hyde, and, say 
 what you will, common fame is seldom to blame." 
 
 " Dinner is waiting, John, and whether you eat 
 it or not Destiny will go straight to her mark. 
 
Arenta s Marriage 145 
 
 Love is destiny ; and the heart is its own fate. 
 There are those to whom we are spiritually related, 
 and the tie is kinder than flesh and blood. Can 
 you, or I, count such kindred ? No ; but souls 
 see each other at a glance. Did I not know thee, 
 John, the very moment that we met ? " 
 
 She spoke softly, with a voice sweeter than 
 music, and her husband was touched and calmed. 
 He took the hand she stretched out to him and 
 kissed it, and she added 
 
 " Let us be patient. Love has reasons that rea 
 son does not understand ; and if Cornelia is Hyde s 
 by predestination, as well as by choice, vainly we 
 shall worry and fret ; all our opposition will come 
 to nothing. Give Cornelia this interval, and tithe 
 it not , in a few days Arenta will have gone away ; 
 and as for Hyde, any hour may summon him to 
 join his father in England ; and this summons, as 
 it will include his mother, he can neither evade nor 
 put off. Then Rem will have his opportunity." 
 
 " To be patient to wait to say nothing it is 
 to give opportunity too much scope. I must tell 
 that young fellow a little of my mind " 
 
 " You must not make yourself a town s talk, 
 John. Just now New York is all for lovers. If 
 you interfere between Hyde and Cornelia while it 
 is in this temper, every one will cry out, Oh, the 
 pity of it ! and you will be bayed into doing some 
 mad thing or other. Do I not know you, dear 
 one ? " 
 
146 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 " God s precious ! " and he took her in his arms, 
 saying, " the man who learns nothing from his 
 wife will never learn anything from anybody. 
 Come, then, and we will eat our meal. I had 
 forgotten Rem, and as you say, Hyde may have to 
 go to England to-morrow ; putting-off has broken 
 up many an ill marriage." 
 
 " Time and absence against any love affair that 
 is not destiny ! And if it be destiny, there is only 
 submission, nothing else. But life has a maybe* 
 in everything dear ; a maybe that is just as likely 
 to please us as not." 
 
 Then Doctor John looked up with a smile. 
 " You are right, Ava," he said cheerfully. " I 
 will take the maybe. Maybes have a deal to do 
 with life. When you come to think of it, there 
 is not a victory of any kind gained, nor a good 
 deed done except on a maybe. So maybe all I 
 fear may pass like a summer cloud. Yet, take my 
 word for it, there is, I think, no maybe in Rem s 
 chances with Cornelia." 
 
 " We shall see. I think there is." 
 
 Certainly Rem was of this opinion. The past 
 few weeks had been very favourable to him. In 
 them he had been continually associated with Cor 
 nelia, and her manner towards him had been so 
 frankly kind and familiar, so confidential and sym 
 pathetic, that he could not help but contrast it 
 with their previous intercourse, when she had ap 
 peared to withdraw herself from all his approaches 
 
Arenta s Marriage 147 
 
 and to forbid by her retiring manner even the 
 courtesies to which his long acquaintance with her 
 entitled him. 
 
 If he had known more of women he would not 
 have given himself any hope on this change of at 
 titude. It simply meant that Cornelia had arrived 
 at that certainty with regard to her own affections 
 which permitted her a more general latitude. She 
 knew that she loved Hyde, and she knew that 
 Hyde loved her. They had a most complete con 
 fidence in each other; and she was not afraid, 
 either for his sake or her own, to give to Rem that 
 friendship which the circumstances warranted. 
 That this friendship could ever grow to love on her 
 part was an impossible thing ; and if she thought 
 of Rem s feelings, it was to suppose that he must 
 understand this position as well as she did herself. 
 
 Rem, however, was quite aware of his rival, and 
 with the blunt directness of his nature watched 
 with jealous dislike, and often with rude impa 
 tience, the familiar intercourse which his aunt s 
 partiality permitted Hyde. He was, indeed, often 
 so rude that a less sweet-tempered, a less just youth 
 than George Hyde would have pointedly resented 
 many offences that he passed by with that " noble 
 not caring " which is often the truest courage. 
 
 Still the situation was one of great tension, and 
 it required not only the wise forbearance of Hyde 
 and Cornelia, but the domineering selfishness of 
 Arenta and the suave clever diplomacies of Madame 
 
148 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 Jacobus to preserve at times the merely decent 
 conventionalities of polite life. To keep the 
 peace until the wedding was over that was all 
 that Rem promised himself; then ! He often gave 
 voice to this last word, though he had no distinct 
 idea as to what measures he included in those four 
 letters. 
 
 He told himself, however, that it would be well 
 for George Hyde to be in England, and that if he 
 were there, the General might be trusted to look 
 after the marriage of his son. For he knew that 
 an English noble would be of necessity bound by 
 his caste and his connections, and that Hyde would 
 have to face obligations he would not be able to 
 shirk. " Then, then, his opportunity to win Cor 
 nelia would come ! " And it was at this point the 
 hopeful u maybe " entered into Rem s desires and 
 anticipations. 
 
 But wrath covered carries fate. Every one was 
 in some measure conscious of this danger and glad 
 when the wedding day approached. Even Arenta 
 had grown a little weary of the prolonged excite 
 ment she had provoked, for everything had gone 
 so well with her that she had taken the public very 
 much into her confidence. There had been fre 
 quent little notices in the Gazette and ^Journal of 
 the approaching day of the wedding presents, the 
 wedding favours, the wedding guests, and the wed 
 ding garments. And, as if to add the last touch 
 of glory to the event, just a week before Arenta s 
 
Arenta s Marriage 149 
 
 nuptials a French armed frigate came to New 
 York bearing despatches for the Count de Mous- 
 tier ; and the Marquis de Tounnerre was selected 
 to bear back to France the Minister s Message. 
 So the marriage was put forward a few days for 
 this end, and Arenta in the most unexpected way 
 obtained the bridal journey which she desired ; and 
 also with it the advantage of entering France in a 
 semi-public and stately manner. 
 
 " I am the luckiest girl in the world," she said 
 to Cornelia and her brother when this point had 
 been decided. They were tying up "dream-cake " 
 for the wedding guests in madame s queer, uncanny 
 drawing-room as she spoke, and the words were 
 yet on her lips when madame entered with a sandal 
 wood box in her hands. 
 
 "Rem," she said, "go with Cornelia into the 
 dining-room a few minutes. I have something to 
 say to Arenta that concerns no one else." 
 
 As soon as they were alone madame opened the 
 box and upon a white velvet cushion lay the string 
 of oriental pearls which Arenta on certain occa 
 sions had been permitted to wear. Arenta s eyes 
 flashed with delight. She had longed for them to 
 complete her wedding costume, but having a very 
 strong hope that her aunt would offer her this fa 
 vour, she had resolved to wait for her generosity 
 until the last hour. Now she was going to receive 
 the reward of her prudent patience, and she said to 
 herself, " How good it is to be discreet ! " With 
 
150 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 an intense desire and interest she looked at the 
 beautiful beads, but madame s face was troubled 
 and sombre, and she said almost reluctantly 
 
 " Arenta, I am going to make you an offer. 
 This necklace will be yours when I die, at any 
 rate ; but I think there is in your heart a wish to 
 have it now. Is this so ? " 
 
 "Aunt, I should like oh, indeed I long to 
 wear the beads at my marriage. I shall only be 
 half-dressed without them." 
 
 " You shall wear the necklace. And as you are 
 going to what is left of the French Court, I will give 
 it to you now, if the gift will be to your mind." 
 
 " There is nothing that could be more to my 
 mind, dear aunt. I would rather have the neck 
 lace, than twice its money s worth. Thank you, 
 aunt. You always know what is in a young girl s 
 heart." 
 
 " First, listen to what I say. No woman of our 
 family has escaped calamity of some kind, if they 
 owned these beads. My mother lost her husband 
 the year she received them. My Aunt Hildegarde 
 lost her fortune as soon as they were hers. As for 
 myself, on the very day they became mine your 
 Uncle Jacobus sailed away, and he has never come 
 back. Are you not afraid of such fatality ? " 
 
 " No, I am not. Things just happen that way. 
 What power can a few beads have over human life 
 or happiness ? To say so, to think so, is foolish- 
 
Arenta s Marriage 151 
 
 "I know not. Yet I have heard that both 
 pearls and opals have the power to attract to them 
 selves the ill fortune of their wearers. If they 
 happen to be maiden pearls or gems that would be 
 good ; but would you wish to inherit the evil 
 fortune of all the women who have possessed be 
 fore you ? " 
 
 " Poor pearls ! It is they who are the unfortu 
 nates." 
 
 " Yes, but a time comes when they have taken 
 all of misfortune they can take ; then the pearls 
 grow black and die, really die. Yes, indeed ! I 
 have seen dead pearls. And if the necklace were 
 of opals, when that time came for them the gems 
 would lose their fire and colour, grow ashy grey, 
 fall apart and become dust, nothing but dust. * 
 
 " Do you believe such tales, aunt ? I do not. 
 And your pearls are yet as white as moonlight. I 
 do not fear them. Give them to me, aunt. I 
 snap my fingers at such fables." 
 
 " Give them to you, I will not, Arenta ; but you 
 may take them from the box with your own hands." 
 
 " I am delighted to take them. I have always 
 longed for them." 
 
 " Perhaps then they longed for you, for what is 
 another s yearns for its owner." 
 
 Then madame left the room and Arenta lifted 
 the box and carried it nearer to the light. And a 
 little shiver crept through her heart and she closed 
 the lid quickly and said irritably 
 
152 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 " It is my aunt s words. She is always speaking 
 dark and doubtful things. However, the pearls are 
 mine at last ! " and she carried them with her 
 downstairs, throwing back her head as if they were 
 round her white throat and as was her way 
 spreading herself as she went. 
 
 All fine weddings are much alike. It was only 
 in such accidentals as costume that Arenta s 
 differed from the fine weddings of to-day. There 
 was the same crush of gayly attired women, of men 
 in full dress, or military dress, or distinguished by 
 diplomatic insignia: the same low flutter of silk, 
 and stir of whispered words, and suppressed ex 
 citement the same eager crowd along the streets 
 and around the church to watch the advent of the 
 bride and bridegroom. All of the guests had seen 
 them very often before, yet they too looked at the 
 dazzling girl in white as if they expected an en 
 tirely different person. The murmur of pleasure, 
 the indefinable stir of human emotion, the solemn 
 mystical words at the altar that were making two 
 one, the triumphant peal of music when they 
 ceased, and the quick crescendo of rising con 
 gratulation all these things were present then, as 
 now. And then, as now, all these things failed to 
 conceal from sensitive minds that odour of human 
 sacrifice, not to be disguised with the scent of 
 bridal flowers that immolation of youth and beauty 
 and charming girlhood upon the altar of an un 
 known and an untried love. 
 
Arenta s Marriage 153 
 
 New York was not then too busy making money 
 to take an interest in such a wedding, and Arenta s 
 drive through its pleasant streets was a kind of 
 public invitation. For Jacob Van Ariens was one 
 of a guild of wealthy merchants, and they were at 
 their shop doors to express their sympathy by lifted 
 hats and smiling faces; while the women looked 
 from every window, and the little children followed, 
 their treble voices heralding and acclaiming the 
 beautiful bride. Then came the breakfast and the 
 health-drinking and the speech-making and the 
 rather sadder drive to the wharf at which lay La 
 Belle France. And even Arenta was by this time 
 weary of the excitement, so that it was almost with 
 a sense of relief she stepped across the little carpeted 
 gangway to her deck. Then the anchor was 
 lifted, the cable loosened, and with every sail set 
 La Belle France went dancing down the river on 
 the tide-top to the open sea. 
 
 Van Ariens and his son Rem turned silently 
 away. A great and evident depression had sud 
 denly taken the place of their assumed satisfaction. 
 u I am going to the Swamp office," said Rem after 
 a few moments* silence, " there is something to be 
 done there." 
 
 " That is well," answered Peter. " To my 
 Cousin Deborah I will give some charges about the 
 silver, and then I will follow you." 
 
 Both men were glad to be alone. They had 
 outworn emotion and knew instinctively that some 
 
154 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 common duty was the best restorer. The same feel 
 ing affected, in one way or another, all the watchers 
 of this destiny. Women whose household work 
 was belated, whose children were strayed, who had 
 used up their nervous strength in waiting and feel 
 ing, were now cross and inclined to belittle the 
 affair and to be angry at Arenta and themselves for 
 their lost day. And men, young and old, all went 
 back to their ledgers and counters and manufactur 
 ing with a sense of lassitude and dejection. 
 
 Peter had nearly reached his own house when he 
 met Doctor Moran. The doctor was more ir 
 ritable than depressed. He looked at his friend 
 and said sharply, " You have a fever, Van Ariens. 
 Go to bed and sleep. * 
 
 " To work I will go. That is the best thing to 
 do. My house has no comfort in it. Like a 
 milliner s or a mercer s store it has been for many 
 weeks. Well, then, my Cousin Deborah is at 
 work there, and in a little while a little while 
 
 " He suddenly stopped and looked at the 
 
 doctor with brimming eyes. In that moment he 
 understood that no putting to rights could ever 
 make his home the same. His little saucy, selfish, 
 but dearly loved Arenta would come there no more ; 
 and he found not one word that could express the 
 tide of sorrow rising in his heart. Doctor John 
 understood. He remained quiet, silent, clasping 
 Van Ariens hand until the desolate father with a 
 great effort blurted out 
 
Arenta s Marriage 155 
 
 " She is gone ! and smiling, also, she went." 
 
 " It is the curse of Adam," answered Doctor 
 Moran bitterly " to bring up daughters, to love 
 them, to toil and save and deny ourselves for them, 
 and then to see some strange man, of whom we 
 have no certain knowledge, carry them off captive 
 to his destiny and his desires. Tis a thankless 
 portion to be a father a bitter pleasure." 
 
 " Well, then, to be a mother is worse." 
 
 u Who can tell that ? Women take for com 
 pensations things that do not deceive a father. 
 And, also, they have one grand promise to help 
 them bear loss and disappointment the assurance 
 of the Holy Scripture that they shall have salva 
 tion through child-bearing. And I, who have 
 seen so much of family love and life, can tell you 
 that this promise is all many a mother has for her 
 travail and sorrowful love." 
 
 " It is enough. Pray God that we miss not of 
 that reward some share," and with a motion of 
 adieu he turned into his house. Very thoughtfully 
 the Doctor went on to William Street where he 
 had a patient, a young girl of about Arenta s age 
 very ill. A woman opened the door a woman 
 weeping bitterly. 
 
 " She is gone, Doctor." 
 
 " At what hour ? " 
 
 " The clock was striking three she went smil- 
 
 ing." 
 
 Then he bowed his head and turned away. 
 
156 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 There was nothing more that he could do ; but he 
 remembered that Arenta had stepped on board the 
 La Belle France as the clock struck three, arid 
 that she also had gone smiling to her unknown 
 destiny. 
 
 u Two emigrants," he thought, u pilgrims of 
 Love and Death, and both went smiling ! " An un 
 wonted tenderness came into his heart ; he thought 
 of the bright, lovely bride clinging so trustfully to 
 her husband s arm, and he voiced this gentle feeling 
 to his wife in very sincere wishes for the safety and 
 happiness of the little emigrant for Love. He had 
 a singular reluctance to name her he knew not 
 why with the other little maid who also had left 
 smiling at three o clock, an emigrant for whom 
 Death had opened eternal vistas of delight. 
 
 " I do not know," said Mrs. Moran, " how Van 
 Ariens could suffer his daughter to go to a country 
 full of turmoil and bloodshed." 
 
 u He was very unhappy to do so, Ava. But 
 when things have gone a certain length they 
 have fatality. The Marquis had promised to be 
 come eventually a citizen of this Republic, and 
 Van Ariens had no idea in sanctioning the marriage 
 that his daughter would leave New York. It was 
 even supposed the Marquis would remain here in 
 the Count de Moustier s place, and the sudden 
 turn of events which sent de Tounnerre to France 
 was a severe blow to Van Ariens. But what 
 could he do ? " 
 
Arenta s Marriage 157 
 
 " He might have delayed the marriage until the 
 return of de Tounnerre." 
 
 " Ah, Ava ! you are counting without consider 
 ation. He could not have detained Arenta against 
 her will, and if he had, a miserable life would have 
 been before both of th?m domestic discomfort, 
 public queries and suspicions, questions, doubts, 
 offending sympathies all the griefs and vexations 
 that are sure to follow a Fate that is crossed. He 
 did the best thing possible when he let the wilful 
 girl go as pleasantly as he could. Arenta needs a 
 wide horizon." 
 
 " Is she in any danger from the state of affairs 
 in Paris ? " 
 
 " Mr. Jefferson says in no danger whatever. 
 Our Minister is living there in safety. Arenta 
 will have his friendship and protection ; and her 
 husband has many friends in the most powerful 
 party. She will have a brilliant visit and be very 
 happy." 
 
 " How can she be very happy with the guillotine 
 daily enacting such murders ? " 
 
 " She need not be present at such murders. 
 And Mr. Jefferson may be right, and we outsid 
 ers may make too much of circumstances that 
 France, and France alone, can properly estimate. 
 He says that the God that made iron wished not 
 slaves to exist, and thinks there is a profound and 
 eternal justice in this desolation and retribution of 
 aristocrats who have committed unmentionable 
 
158 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 oppressions. I know not ; good and evil are so 
 interwoven in life that every good, traced up far 
 enough, is found to involve evil. This is the 
 great mystery of life. However, Ava, I am a 
 great believer in sequences ; there are few events 
 that break off absolutely. In Arenta s life there 
 will be sequences ; let us hope that they will be 
 happy ones. Where is Cornelia ? " 
 
 " I know not. She is asleep. The ball to 
 night is to be fairy-land and love-land, an Arabian 
 night s dream and a midsummer night s dream all 
 in one. I told her to rest, for she was weary and 
 nervous with expectation." 
 
 " I dare say. But what is the good of being 
 young if it is not to expect miracles ? " 
 
 " George Hyde calls for her at eight o clock. I 
 shall let her sleep until seven, give her some re 
 freshment, and then assist her to dress." 
 
 " George Hyde ! So you still believe in trust 
 ing the cat with the cream ? " 
 
 " 1 still believe in Cornelia. Come, now, and 
 drink a cup of tea. To-morrow the Van Ariens* 
 excitement will be over, and we shall have rest." 
 
 " I think not. The town is now ready to move 
 to Philadelphia. I hear that Mrs. Adams is pre 
 paring to leave Richmond Hill. Washington has 
 already gone, and Congress is to meet in Decem 
 ber. Even the Quakers are intending all sorts of 
 social festivities." 
 
 " But this will not concern us." 
 
Arenta s Marriage 159 
 
 " It may. If George Hyde does not go very 
 soon to England, we shall go to Philadelphia. I 
 wish to rid myself and Cornelia of his airs and 
 graces and wearisome good temper, his singing and 
 reciting and tringham-trangham poetry. This story 
 has been long enough ; we will turn over and 
 end it." 
 
 " It will be a great trial to Cornelia." 
 
 " It may, or it may not there is Rem Rem is 
 your own suggestion. However, we have all to 
 sing the hymn of Renunciation at some time ; it is 
 well to sing it in youth." 
 
 Mrs. Moran did not answer. When answering 
 was likely to provoke anger, she kept silence and 
 talked the matter over with herself. A very wise 
 plan. For where shall we find a friend so inti 
 mate, so discreet, so conciliating as self? Who 
 can speak to us so well ? without obscurity, with 
 out words, without passion. Yes, indeed : " I will 
 talk to myself" is a very significant phrase. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 TWO PROPOSALS 
 
 THE ruling idea of any mind assumes the fore 
 ground of thought ; and after Arenta s marriage 
 the dominant desire of George Hyde was to have 
 his betrothal to Cornelia recognized and assured. 
 He was in haste to light his own nuptial torch, and 
 afraid every day of that summons to England which 
 would delay the event. Hitherto, both had been 
 satisfied with the delicious certainty of their own 
 hearts. To bring Love to discussion and catechism, 
 to talk of Love in connection with house and money 
 matters, to put him into bonds, however light those 
 bonds might be, was indeed a safe and prudent 
 thing for their future happiness ; but, so far, the 
 present with its sweet freedom and uncertainty had 
 been more charming to their imagination. Sud 
 denly, however, Hyde felt the danger and stress of 
 this uncertainty and the fear of losing what he 
 appeared to hold so lightly. 
 
 u I may have to go away with mother at any 
 time I may be detained by events I cannot help 
 and I have not bound Cornelia to me by any per 
 sonal recognized tie and Rem Van Ariens will be 
 ever near her. Oh, indeed, this state of affairs 
 will never do ! I will write to Cornelia this very 
 moment and tell her I must see her father this 
 160 
 
Two Proposals 161 
 
 evening. I cannot possibly delay it longer. I 
 have been a fool a careless, happy fool too long. 
 There is not now a day to lose. I have already 
 wasted more time than was reasonable over the 
 love affairs of other people ; now I must look after 
 my own. Safe bind, safe find ; I will bind Cor 
 nelia to me before I leave her, then I have a good 
 right to find her safe when I return to claim her." 
 
 While such thoughts were passing through his 
 mind he had risen hastily from the chair in which 
 he had been musing. He opened his secretary and 
 sitting resolutely down, began a letter to Doctor 
 Moran. He poured out his heart and desires, and 
 then he read what he had written. It would not 
 do at all. It was a love letter and not a business 
 letter. He wrote another, and then another. The 
 first was too long, it left nothing in the inkstand ; 
 the last was not to be thought of. When he had 
 finished reading them over, he was in a passion 
 with himself. 
 
 u A fool in your teeth twice over, Joris Hyde ! " 
 he cried, " yes, sir, three times, and far too good 
 for you ! Since you cannot write a decent business 
 letter, write, then, to the adorable Cornelia; the 
 words will be at your finger ends for that letter, 
 and will slip from your pen as if they were dancing : 
 
 u MY SWEET CORNELIA : 
 
 " I have not seen you for two days, and 
 tis a miracle that I have endured it. I can tell 
 you, beloved, that I am much concerned about our 
 
162 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 affairs, and now that I have begun to talk wisely I 
 may talk a little more without wearying you. You 
 know that I may have to go to England soon, 
 and go I will not until I have asked your father 
 what favour he will show us. On the street, he 
 gets out of my way as if I had the plague. Tell 
 me at what hour I may call and see him in his 
 house. I will then ask him point blank for your 
 hand, and he is so candid that I shall have in a 
 word Yes or No on the matter. Do not keep me 
 waiting longer than seven this very night. I have 
 a fever of anxiety, and I shall not grow better, but 
 worse, until I settle our engagement. Oh, my 
 peerless Cornelia, pearl and flower of womanhood, 
 I speak your speech, I think your thought ; you are 
 the noblest thing in my life, and to remember you 
 is to remember the hours when I was the very best 
 and the very happiest. Your image has become 
 part of me, your memory is a perfume which 
 makes sweet my heart. I wish this moment to 
 give you thousands and thousands of kisses. Bid 
 me come to you soon, very soon, sooner than seven, 
 if possible, for your love is my life. Send your 
 answer to my city lodging. I shall follow this 
 letter and be impatiently waiting for it. Oh, Cor 
 nelia, am I not ever and entirely yours ? 
 
 " GEORGE HYDE." 
 
 It was not more than eight o clock in the morn 
 ing when he wrote this letter, and as soon as pos 
 sible he despatched a swift messenger with it to 
 Cornelia. He hoped that she would receive it soon 
 after the Doctor had left his home for his usual 
 round of professional visits , then she might pos- 
 
Two Proposals 163 
 
 sibly write to him at once, and if so, he would get 
 the letter very soon after he reached the city. 
 
 Probably Madame Hyde divined something of 
 the importance and tenor of a missive sent in such 
 a hurry of anxious love, so early in the day, but 
 she showed neither annoyance nor curiosity regard 
 ing it. In the first place, she knew that opposition 
 would only strengthen whatever resolve her son 
 had made ; in the second place, she was conscious 
 of a singular restlessness of her own spirit. She 
 was apprehending change, and she could think of 
 no change but that call to leave her home and her 
 native land which she so much dreaded. If this 
 event happened, then the affairs of Joris would as 
 sume an entirely different aspect. He would be 
 obliged to leave everything which now interested 
 him, and he could not live without interests ; very 
 well, then, he would be compelled to accept such 
 as a new Fate thrown into his new life. She had a 
 great faith in circumstances. She knew that in 
 the long run every one wrote beneath that potent 
 word, " Your obedient servant." Circumstances 
 would either positively deny all her son s hopes, or 
 they would so powerfully aid them that opposition 
 would be useless ; and she mentally bowed herself 
 to an influence so powerful and perhaps so favour 
 able. 
 
 " Joris, my dear one," she said, as they rose 
 from the breakfast table, u Joris, I think there is a 
 letter from your father. To the city you must go 
 
164 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 as soon as you can, for I have had a restless night, 
 full of feeling it has been." 
 
 "You should not go to bed to feel, mother. 
 Night is the time for sleep." 
 
 u And for dreams, and for many good things to 
 come, that come not in the day. Yes, indeed, the 
 nighttime of the body is the daytime of the soul." 
 
 Then Joris smiled and kissing her, said, " I am 
 going at once. If there is a letter I will send a 
 quick rider with it." 
 
 " But come thyself." 
 
 " That I cannot." 
 
 " But why, then ? " 
 
 " To-morrow, I will tell you." 
 
 u That is well. Into thy mother s heart drop all 
 thy joys and sorrows. Thine are mine." And 
 she kissed him, and he went away glad and hopeful 
 and full of tender love for the mother who under 
 stood him so sympathetically. He stood up in his 
 stirrups to wave her a last adieu, and then he said 
 to himself, " How fortunate I am about women ! 
 Could I have a sweeter, lovelier mistress ? No ! 
 Mother ? No ! Grandmother ? No ! Friend ? No ! 
 Cornelia, mother, grandmother, Madame Jacobus, 
 all of them just what I love and need, sweet 
 souls between me and the angels." 
 
 It happened but doubtless happened because so 
 ordered that the very hour in which Joris left 
 Hyde Manor, Peter Van Ariens received a letter 
 that made him very anxious. He left his office and 
 
Two Proposals 165 
 
 went to see his son. " Rem," he said, " there is 
 now an opportunity for thee. Here has come a 
 letter from Boston, and some one must go there ; 
 and that too in a great hurry. The house of 
 Blume and Otis is likely to fail, and in it we have 
 some great interests. A lawyer we must have to 
 look after them ; go thyself, and it shall be well for 
 both of us." 
 
 " I am ready to go that is, I can be ready in 
 one or two days." 
 
 " There are not one or two days to spare. Ge 
 rard will take care of thy work here. To-day is 
 the best time of all." 
 
 " I cannot go with a happy mind to-day. I will 
 tell you, father. I think now my case with Cor 
 nelia will bear putting to the question. As you 
 know, it has been step with step between Joris 
 Hyde and myself in that affair, and if I go away 
 now without securing the ground I have gained, 
 what can hinder Hyde from taking advantage over 
 me ? He too must go soon, but he will try and se 
 cure his position before he leaves. To do the same 
 thing is my only way. I wish, then, the time to 
 give myself this security." 
 
 " That is fair. A man is not a man till he has 
 won a wife. Cornelia Moran is much to my 
 mind. Tell her my home is thine, and she will be 
 a mistress dearly loved and honoured. And if a 
 thing is to be done, there is no time like the hour 
 that has not struck. Go and see her now. She 
 
166 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 was in the garden gathering asters when I left home 
 this morning." 
 
 u I will write to her. I will tell her what is in my 
 heart though she knows it well and ask her for 
 her love and her hand. If she is kind to my offer 
 she will tell me to come and see her to-night, then 
 I can go to Boston with a free heart and look after 
 your money and your business." 
 
 " If things be this way, thou art reasonable. A 
 good wife must not be lost for the peril of some 
 gold sovereigns. At once write to the maid ; such 
 letters are best done at the first thought, some pru 
 dences or some fears may come with the second 
 thoughts." 
 
 " I have no fear but Joris Hyde. That Eng 
 lishman I hate. His calm confidence, his smiling 
 insolent air is intolerable." 
 
 " It is the English way. But Cornelia is 
 American as thou art." 
 
 " She thinks much of that, but yet " 
 
 " Be not afraid. The brave either find, or make, 
 a way to success. What is in a girl s heart no 
 man can tell, if she be cold and shy that should not 
 cause thee to doubt. When water is ice, who 
 would suspect what great heat is stored away in it ? 
 Write thy letter at once. Put thy heart into thy 
 pen. Not always prudent is this way, but once in 
 a man s life it is wisdom." 
 
 u My pen is too small for my heart." 
 
 " My opinion is that thou hast wavered too 
 
Two Proposals 167 
 
 long. It is a great foolishness to let the cherry 
 knock against the lips too often or too long. A 
 pretty pastime, perhaps, to will, and not will, to 
 dare, and not dare ; but at last the knock comes 
 that drops the cherry it may be into some other 
 mouth." 
 
 " I fear no one but that rascal, Joris Hyde." 
 
 " A rascal he is not, because the same woman he 
 loves as thyself. Such words weaken any cause. 
 No wrong have I seen or known of Lieutenant 
 Hyde." 
 
 " I will call him a rascal, and I will give him no 
 other title, though his father leave him an earl." 
 
 " Now, then, I shall go. I like not ill words. 
 Write thy letter, but put out of thy mind all bad 
 thoughts first. A love letter from a bitter heart is 
 not lucky. And of all thy wit thou wilt have 
 great need if to a woman thou write." 
 
 " Oh, they are intolerable, aching joys ! A man 
 who dares to love a woman, or dares to believe in 
 her, dares to be mad." 
 
 u Come, come ! No evil must thou speak of 
 good women. I swear that I was never out of it 
 yet, when I judged men as they judged women. 
 The art of loving a woman is the art of trusting 
 her yes, though the heavens fall. Now, then, 
 haste with thy letter. Thou may have Yes to 
 it ere thou sleep to-night." 
 
 "And I may have No. " 
 
 "To be sure, if thou think l no. But, even 
 
i68 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 so, if thou lose the wedding ring, the hand is still 
 left; another ring may be found." 
 
 " No, would be a deathblow to me." 
 
 "It will not. While a man has meat and drink 
 love will not starve him ; with world s business 
 and world s pleasure an unkind love he makes shift 
 to forget. Bring to me word of thy good fortune 
 this night, and in the morning there is the Boston 
 business. Longer it can hardly wait." 
 
 But the letter to Cornelia which Hyde found to 
 slip off his pen like dancing was a much more diffi 
 cult matter to Rem. He wrote and destroyed, and 
 wrote again and destroyed, and this so often that 
 he finally resolved to go to Maiden Lane for his 
 inspiration. " I may see Cornelia in the garden, 
 or at the window, and when I see what I desire, 
 surely I shall have the wit to ask for it." 
 
 So he thought, and with the thought he locked 
 his desk and went towards his home in Maiden 
 Lane. He met George Hyde sauntering up the 
 street looking unhappy and restless, and he sus 
 pected at once that he had been walking past 
 Doctor Moran s house in the hope of seeing Cor 
 nelia and had been disappointed. The thought de 
 lighted him. He was willing to bear disappoint 
 ment himself, if by doing so some of Hyde s smil 
 ing confidence was changed to that unhappy un 
 easiness which he detected in his rival s face and 
 manner. The young men bowed to each other 
 but did not speak. In some occult way they di- 
 
Two Proposals 169 
 
 vined a more positive antagonism than they had 
 ever before been conscious of. 
 
 " I cannot go out of the house," thought Rem, 
 " without meeting that fop. He is in at one door, 
 and out at another ; this way, that way, up street, 
 and down street the devil take the fellow ! " 
 
 u What a mere sullen creature that Rem Van 
 Ariens is ! " thought Hyde, "and with all the good 
 temper in the world I affirm it. I wonder what he 
 is on the street for at this hour ! Shall I watch 
 him ? No, that would be vile work. I will let 
 him alone ; he may as well play the ill-natured 
 fool OK the street as in the house better, indeed, 
 for some one may have a title to tell him so. But 
 I may assure myself of one thing, when I met 
 him he was building castles in the future, for he 
 was looking straight before him ; and if he had 
 been thinking of the past, he would have been 
 looking down. I should not wonder if it was 
 Cornelia that filled his dreams. Faith, we have 
 blockheads of all ages ; but on that road he will 
 never overtake his thought " then with a move 
 ment of impatience he added, 
 
 "Why should I let him into my mind ? for he 
 is the least welcome of all intruders. Good gra 
 cious ! how long the minutes are ! It is plain to 
 me that Cornelia is not at home, and my letter 
 may not even have touched her hands yet. How 
 shall I endure another hour ? perhaps many hours. 
 Where can she have gone ? Not unlikely to 
 
I jo The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 Madame Jacobus. Why did I not think of this 
 before ? For who can help me to bear suspense 
 better than madame ? I will go to her at once." 
 
 He hastened his steps and soon arrived at the 
 well-known residence of his friend. He was 
 amazed as soon as the door was opened to find 
 preparations of the most evident kind for some 
 change. The corded trunk in the hall, the dis 
 placed furniture, all things he saw were full of the 
 sad hurry of parting. " What is the matter ? " he 
 asked in a voice of fear. 
 
 " I am going away for a time, Joris, my good 
 friend," answered madame, coming out of a 
 shrouded and darkened parlour as she spoke. She 
 had on her cloak and bonnet, and before Joris 
 could ask her another question a coach drove to 
 the door. " I think it is a piece of good fortune," 
 she continued, " to see you before I go." 
 
 " But where are you going ? " 
 
 " To Charleston." 
 
 " But why ? " 
 
 " I am going because my sister Sabrina is sick 
 dying ; and there is no one so near to her as I am." 
 
 " I knew not you had a sister." 
 
 " She is the sister of my husband. So, then, 
 she is twice my sister. When Jacobus comes 
 home he will thank me for going to his dear Sa 
 brina. But what brings you here so early ? Yes 
 terday I asked for you, and I was told that you 
 were waiting on your good mother." 
 
Two Proposals 171 
 
 " My mother felt sure there was a letter from 
 father, and I came at once to get it for her." 
 
 "Was there one ? " 
 
 " There was none." 
 
 " It will come in good time. Now, I must go. 
 I have not one moment to lose. Good-bye, dear 
 Joris ! " 
 
 " For how long, my friend ? " 
 
 u I know not. Sabrina is incurably ill. I shall 
 stay with her till she departs." She said these 
 words as they went down the steps together, and 
 with eyes full of tears he placed her carefully in 
 the coach and then turned sorrowfully to his own 
 rooms. He could not speak of his own affairs at 
 such a moment, and he realized that there was 
 nothing for him to do but wait as patiently as pos 
 sible for Cornelia s answer. 
 
 In the meantime Rem was writing his proposal. 
 He was not assisted in the effort by any sight of 
 his mistress. It was evident Cornelia was not in 
 her home, and he looked in vain for any shadow 
 of the sweet face that he was certain would have 
 made his words come easily. Finally, after many 
 trials, he desisted with the following, though it was 
 the least affective of any form he had written : 
 
 To Miss MORAN, 
 
 Honoured and Beloved Friend : 
 
 Twenty times this day I have tried to write 
 a letter worthy to come into your hands and 
 worthy to tell you how beyond all words I love 
 
172 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 you. But what can I say more than that I love 
 you ? This you know. It has been no secret to 
 you since ever you were a little girl. Many years 
 I have sought your love, pardon me if now I ask 
 you to tell me I have not sought in vain. To 
 morrow I must leave New York, and I may be 
 away for some time. Pray, then, give me some 
 hope to-night to take with me. Say but one word 
 to make me the proudest and happiest lover in the 
 world. Give me the permission to come and show 
 to your father that I am able to maintain you in 
 every comfort that is your right ; and all my life 
 long I will prove to you the devotion that attests 
 my undying affection and gratitude. I am sick 
 with longing for the promise of your love. May 
 I presume to hope so great a blessing ? O dearest 
 Cornelia, I am, as you know well, your humble 
 servant, REMBRANDT VAN ARIENS. 
 
 When he had finished this letter, he folded and 
 sealed it, and walked to the window with it in his 
 hand. Then he saw Cornelia returning home 
 from some shopping or social errand, and hastily 
 calling a servant, ordered him to deliver the letter at 
 once to Miss Moran. And as Cornelia lingered a 
 little among the aster beds, the man put it into her 
 own hands. She bowed and smiled as she accepted 
 it, but Rem, watching with his heart in his eyes, 
 could see that it awakened no special interest. She 
 kept it unopened as she wandered among the purple 
 and pink, and gold and white flowers, until Mrs. 
 Moran came to the door to hurry her movements ; 
 then she followed her mother hastily into the house. 
 
Two Proposals 173 
 
 " Do you know how late it is, Cornelia ? Dinner 
 is nearly ready. There is a letter on your dressing 
 table that came by Lieutenant Hyde s servant two 
 or three hours ago.* 
 
 "And Tobias has just brought me a letter from 
 Rem at least the direction is in Rem s handwrit 
 ing." 
 
 " Some farewell dance I suppose, before our 
 dancers go to gay Philadelphia." 
 
 " I dare say it is." She made the supposition 
 as she went up the stairs, and did not for a moment 
 anticipate any more important information. As 
 she entered her room an imposing looking letter 
 met her eyes a letter written upon the finest 
 paper, squarely folded, and closed with a large seal 
 of scarlet wax carrying the Hyde arms. Poor 
 Rem s message lost instantly whatever interest it 
 possessed ; she let it fall from her hand, and lifting 
 Hyde s, opened it with that marvellous womanly 
 impetuosity which love teaches. Then all the 
 sweet intimate ardour and passionate disquietude of 
 her lover took possession of her. In a moment 
 she felt all that he felt ; all the ecstasy and tumult 
 of a great affection not sure. For this letter was 
 the " little more " in Hyde s love, and, oh, how 
 much it was ! 
 
 She pondered it until she was called to dinner. 
 There was then no time to read Rem s letter, but 
 she broke the seal and glanced at its tenor, and an 
 expression of pity and annoyance came into her 
 
174 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 eyes. Hastily she locked both letters away in a 
 drawer of her desk, and as she did so, smilingly 
 said to herself, " I wonder if papers are sensitive ! 
 Shut close together in one little drawer will they 
 like it ? I hope they will lie peaceably and not 
 quarrel." 
 
 Doctor Moran was not at home, nor was he ex 
 pected until sundown, so mother and daughter en 
 joyed together the confidence which Hyde s letter 
 induced. Mrs. Moran thought the young man 
 was right, and promised, to a certain extent, to 
 favour his proposal. " However, Cornelia," she 
 added, " unless your father is perfectly agreeable 
 and satisfied, I would not advise you to make any 
 engagement. Clandestine engagements come to 
 grief in some way or other, and if your marriage 
 with Joris Hyde is prearranged by those who know 
 what is best for your good, then, my dear, it is as 
 sure to take place as the sun is sure to rise to 
 morrow. It is only waiting for the appointed 
 hour, and you may as well wait in a happy home 
 as in one you make wretched by the fret and com 
 plaining which a secret in any life is certain to 
 produce." 
 
 Now, it is not often that a girl has to answer in 
 one hour two such epistles as those received by 
 Cornelia. Yet perhaps such an event occurs more 
 frequently than is suspected, for Love like other 
 things has its critical moment j and when that 
 moment arrives it finds a voice as surely as the 
 
Two Proposals 
 
 flower ready to bloom opens its petals. And if 
 there be two lovers equally sincere, both are likely 
 to feel at the same moment the same impetus to 
 revelation. Besides which, Fate of any kind seeks 
 the unusual and the unexpected ; it desires to startle, 
 and to force events by surprises. 
 
 The answering of these letters was naturally 
 Cornelia s first afternoon thought. It troubled her 
 to remember that Joris had already been waiting 
 some hours for a reply, for she had no hesitation 
 as to what that reply should be. To write to Joris 
 was a delightful thing, an unusual pleasure, and 
 she sat down, smiling, to pen the lines which she 
 thought would bring her much happiness, but 
 which were doomed to bring her a great sorrow. 
 
 MY JORIS ! My dear Friend : 
 
 Tis scarce an hour since I received your let 
 ter, but I have read it over four times. And what 
 ever you desire, that also is my desire ; and I am 
 deceived as much as you, if you think I do not 
 love you as much as I am loved by you. You 
 know my heart, and from you I shall never hide 
 it ; and I think if I were asleep, I should tell you 
 how much I love you ; for, indeed, I often dream 
 that I do so. Come, then, this very night as soon 
 as you think convenient. If my father is in a suit 
 able temper it will be well to speak plainly to him, 
 and I am sure that my mother will say in our favour 
 all that is wise. 
 
 Our love, with no recognition but our own, has 
 been so strangely sweet that I could be content 
 never to alter that condition ; and yet I fear no 
 
176 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 bond, and am ready to put it all to the trial. For 
 if our love is not such as will uphold an engage 
 ment, it will sink of itself; and if it is true as we 
 believe it to be, then it may last eternally. What 
 more is to say I will keep for your ear, for you 
 are enough in my heart to know all my thoughts, 
 and to know better than I can tell you how dearly, 
 how constantly, how entirely I love you. 
 
 Yours forever, 
 CORNELIA. 
 
 Without a pause, without an erasure this letter 
 had transcribed itself from Cornelia s heart to the 
 small gilt-edged note paper ; but she found it a 
 much more difficult thing to answer the request of 
 Rem Van Ariens. She was angry at him for 
 putting her in such a dilemma. She thought that 
 she had made plain as possible to him the fact that 
 she was pleased to be a companion, a friend, a 
 sister, if he so desired, but that love between 
 them was not to be thought of. She had told 
 Arenta this many times, and she had done so be 
 cause she was certain Arenta would make this po 
 sition clear to her brother. And under ordinary 
 circumstances Arenta would have been frank and 
 free enough with Rem, but while her own marriage 
 was such an important question she was not in 
 clined to embarrass or shadow its arrangements by 
 suggesting things to Rem likely to cause disagree 
 ments when she wished all to be harmonious and 
 cheerful. So Arenta had encouraged, rather than 
 dashed, Rem s hopes, for she did not doubt that 
 
Two Proposals 177 
 
 Cornelia would finally undo very thoroughly what 
 she had done. 
 
 u A little love experience will be a good 
 thing for Rem," she said to herself "it will 
 make a man of him; and I do hope he has 
 more self-respect and courage than to die of her 
 denial." 
 
 It is easy, then, to understand how Cornelia, re 
 lying on Arenta s usually ready advice and confi 
 dences, was sure that Rem had accepted the friend 
 ship that was all in her power to give him, and 
 that this belief gave to their intercourse a frank 
 and kindly intimacy that it would not otherwise 
 have obtained. This state of things was desirable 
 and comfortable for Arenta, and Cornelia also had 
 found a great satisfaction in a friendship which 
 she trusted had fully recognized and accepted its 
 limitations. Now, all these pleasant moderate 
 emotions were stirred into uncomfortable agitation 
 by Rem s unlooked-for and unreasonable request. 
 She was hurt and agitated and withal a little sorry 
 for Rem, and she was also in a hurry, for the letter 
 for Joris was waiting, as she wished to send both 
 by the same messenger. Finally she wrote the fol 
 lowing words, not noticing at the time, but remem 
 bering afterwards, what a singular soul reluctance 
 she experienced ; how some uncertain presenti 
 ment, vague and dark and drear, stifled her 
 thoughts and tried to make her understand, or at 
 least pause. But alas ! the doom that walks side 
 
178 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 by side with us, never warns ; it seems rather to 
 stand sarcastic at our ignorance, and to watch 
 speculatively the cloud of trouble coming coming 
 on purpose because we foolishly or carelessly call 
 it to us. 
 
 MY DEAR AND HONOURED FRIEND : 
 
 Your letter has given me very great sorrow. 
 You must have known for many weeks, even 
 months, that marriage between us was impossible. 
 It has always been so, it always will be so. Why 
 could you not be content ? We have been so 
 happy ! So happy ! and now you will end all. 
 But Fortune, though often cruel, cannot call back 
 times that are past, and I shall never forget our 
 friendship. I grieve at your going away ; I pray 
 that your absence may bring you some consolation. 
 Do not, I beg you, attempt to call on my father. 
 Without explanations, I tell you very sincerely, 
 such a call will cause me great trouble ; for you 
 know well a girl must trust somewhat to others 
 judgment in her disposal. It gives me more pain 
 than I can say to write in this mood, but necessity 
 permits me no kinder words. I want you to be 
 sure that the wrench, the " No " here is absolute. 
 My dear friend, pity rather than blame me ; and I 
 will be so unselfish as to hope you may not think 
 so kindly of me as to be cruel to yourself. Please 
 to consider your letter as never written, it is the 
 greatest kindness you can do me ; and, above all, 
 I beg you will not take my father into your confi 
 dence. With a sad sense of the pain my words 
 must cause you, I remain for all time your faithful 
 friend and obedient servant, 
 
 CORNELIA MORAN. 
 
Two Proposals 179 
 
 Then she rang for a lighted candle, and while 
 waiting for its arrival neatly folded her letters. 
 Her white wax and seal were at hand, and she de 
 layed the servant until she had closed and addressed 
 them. 
 
 " You will take Lieutenant Hyde s letter first," 
 she said ; " and make no delay about it, for it is 
 very important. Mr. Van Ariens* note you can 
 deliver as you return." 
 
 As soon as this business was quite out of her 
 hands, she sank with a happy sigh into a large 
 comfortable chair; let her arms drop gently, and 
 closed her eyes to think over what she had done. 
 She was quite satisfied. She was sure that no 
 length of reflection could have made her decide 
 differently. She had Hyde s letter in her bosom, 
 and she pressed her hand against it, and vowed to 
 her heart that he was worthy of her love, and that 
 he only should have it. As for Rem, she had a 
 decided feeling of annoyance, almost of fear, as he 
 entered her mind. She was angry that he had 
 chosen that day to urge his unwelcome suit, and 
 thus thrust his personality into Hyde s special 
 hour. 
 
 " He always makes himself unwelcome," she 
 thought, " he ever has the way to come when he 
 was least wanted ; but Joris ! Oh there is nothing 
 I would alter in him, even at the cost of a wish ! 
 Joris ! Joris ! " and she let the dear name sweeten 
 her lips, while the light of love brightened and 
 
i8o The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 lengthened her eyes, and spread over her lovely face 
 a blushing glow. 
 
 After a while she rose up and adorned herself for 
 her lover s visit. And when she entered the 
 parlor Mrs. Moran looked at her with a little 
 wonder. For she had put on with her loveliest 
 gown a kind of bewildering prettiness. There was 
 no cloud in her eyes, only a glow of soft dark fire. 
 Her soul was in her face, it spoke in her bright 
 glances, her sweet smiles, and her light step ; it 
 softened her speech to music, it made her altogether 
 so delightful that her mother thought " Fortune 
 must give her all she wishes, she is so charming." 
 
 The tea tray was brought in at five o clock, but 
 Doctor Moran had not returned, and there was in 
 both women s hearts a little sense of disappoint 
 ment. Mrs. Moran was wondering at his unusual 
 delay, Cornelia feared he would be too weary and 
 perhaps, too much interested in other matters to 
 permit her lover to speak. " But even so," she 
 thought, u Joris can come again. To-night is not 
 the only opportunity." 
 
 It was nearly seven o clock when the doctor 
 came, and Cornelia was sure her lover would not 
 be much behind that hour ; but tea time was ever a 
 good time to her father, he was always amiable and 
 gracious with a cup in his hand, and the hour after 
 it when his pipe kept him company, was his best 
 hour. She told her heart that things had fallen out 
 better than if she had planned them so j and she 
 
Two Proposals 181 
 
 was so thoughtful for the weary man s comfort, so 
 attentive and so amusing, that he found it easy to 
 respond to the happy atmosphere surrounding him. 
 He had a score of pleasant things to tell about the 
 fashionable exodus to Philadelphia, about the hand 
 some dresses that had been shown him, and the 
 funny household dilemmas that had been told him. 
 And he was much pleased because Harry De 
 Lancey had been a great part of the day with him, 
 and was very eloquent indeed about the young 
 man s good sense and good disposition, and the un 
 necessary, and almost cruel, confiscation of prop 
 erty his family had suffered, for their Tory princi 
 ples. 
 
 And in the midst of the De Lancey lamentation, 
 seven o clock struck and Cornelia began to listen 
 for the shutting of the garden gate, and the sound 
 of Hyde s step upon the flagged walk. It did not 
 come as soon as she hoped it would, and the 
 minutes went slowly on until eight struck. Then 
 the doctor was slooming and nodding, and waking 
 up and saying a word or two, and relapsing again into 
 semi-unconsciousness. She felt that the favourable 
 hour had passed, and now the minutes went far 
 too quickly. Why did he not come ? With her 
 work in her hand making laborious stitches by a 
 drawn thread she sat listening with all her being. 
 The street itself was strangely silent, no one 
 passed, and the fitful talk at the fireside seemed full 
 of fatality ; she could feel the influence, though 
 
182 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 she did not inquire of her heart what it was, or 
 what it might signify. 
 
 Half-past eight ! She looked up and caught her 
 mother s eyes, and the trouble and question in 
 them, and the needle going through the fine muslin, 
 seemed to go through her heart. At nine the 
 watching became unbearable. She said softly " I 
 must go to bed. I am tired ; " but she put away 
 with her usual neatness her work, and her spools 
 of thread, her thimble and her scissors. Her 
 movement in the room roused the doctor thoroughly. 
 He stood up, stretched his arms outward and up 
 ward, and said " he believed he had been sleeping, 
 and must ask their pardon for his indifference." 
 And then he walked to the window and looking 
 out added " It is a lovely night but the moon looks 
 like storm. Oh ! " and he turned quickly with 
 the exclamation " I forgot to tell you that I heard 
 a strange report to-day, nothing less than that 
 General Hyde returned on the Mary Pell this 
 morning, bringing with him a child." 
 
 " A child ! " said Mrs. Moran. 
 
 "A girl, then, a little mite of a creature. Mrs. 
 Davy told me the Captain carried her in his arms 
 to the carriage which took them to Hyde Manor." 
 
 " And how should Mrs. Davy know ? " 
 
 " The Davys live next door to the Pells, and 
 the servants of one house carried the news to the 
 other house. She said the General sent to his 
 son s lodging to see if he was in town, but he was 
 
Two Proposals 183 
 
 not. It was then only eight o clock in the morn 
 ing." 
 
 " How unlikely such a story is ! Do you believe 
 it ? " 
 
 " Ask to-morrow. As for me, I neither know 
 nor care. That is the report. Who can tell what 
 the Hydes will do ? " 
 
 Then Cornelia said a hasty " good-night " and 
 went to her room. She was sick at heart ; she 
 trembled, something in her life had lost its foot 
 hold, and a sudden bewildering terror she knew 
 not how to explain took possession of her. For 
 once she forgot her habitual order and neatness ; 
 her pretty dress was thrown heedlessly across a 
 chair, and she fell upon her knees weeping, and 
 yet she could not pray. 
 
 Still the very posture and the sweet sense of help 
 and strength it implied, brought her the power to 
 take into consideration such unexpected news, and 
 such unexplained neglect on her lover s part. 
 u General Hyde has returned ; that much I feel 
 certain of," she thought, " and Joris must have left 
 Hyde Manor about the time his father reached 
 New York. Joris would take the river road, being 
 the shortest, his father would take the highway as 
 the best for the carriage. Consequently, they 
 passed each other and did not know it. Then 
 Joris has been sent for, and it was right and 
 natural that he should go but oh, he might have 
 written ! ten words would have been enough 
 
184 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 It was right he should go but he might have 
 written ! he might have written ! " and she buried 
 her face in her pillow and wept bitterly. Alas ! 
 Alas ! Love wounds as cruelly when he fails, as 
 when he strikes ; and even when Cornelia had out 
 worn thought and feeling, and fallen into a sorrow 
 ful sleep, she was conscious of this failure, and her 
 soul sighed all night long u He might have 
 written ! " 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 MISDIRECTED LETTERS 
 
 THE night so unhappy to Cornelia was very 
 much more unhappy to Hyde. He had sent his 
 letter to her before eleven in the morning, and if 
 Fortune were kind to him, he expected an answer 
 soon after leaving Madame Jacobus. Her de 
 parture from New York depressed him very much. 
 She had been the good genius of his love, but he 
 told himself that it had now "grown to perfection, 
 and could, he hoped, stand in its own strength." 
 Restlessly he watched the hours away, now blam 
 ing, now excusing, anon dreaming of his coming 
 bliss, then fidgeting and fearing disappointment 
 from being too forward in its demanding. When 
 noon passed, and one o clock struck, he rang for 
 some refreshment ; for he guessed very accurately 
 the reason of delay. 
 
 " Cornelia has been visiting or shopping," he 
 thought ; " and if it were visiting, no one would 
 part with her until the last moment ; so then if she 
 get home by dinner-time it is as much as I can ex 
 pect. I may as well eat, and then wait in what 
 patience I can, another hour or two yes, it will be 
 two hours. I will give her two hours for she 
 185 
 
i86 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 will be obliged to serve others before me. Well, 
 well, patience is my penance." 
 
 But in truth he expected the letter to be in ad 
 vance of three o clock. " Twenty words will an 
 swer me," he thought ; " yes, ten words ; and she 
 will find or make, the time to write them ; " and 
 between this hope and the certainty of three o clock, 
 he worried the minutes away until three struck. 
 Then there was a knock at his door and he went 
 hastily to answer it. Balthazar stood there with 
 the longed-for letter in his hand. He felt first of 
 all that he must be quite alone with it. So he 
 turned the key and then stood a moment to exam 
 ine the outside. A letter from Cornelia ! It was 
 a joy to see his own name written by her hand. 
 He kissed the superscription, and kissed the white 
 seal, and sank into his chair with a sigh of delight 
 to read it. 
 
 In a few moments a change beyond all expres 
 sion came over his face perplexity, anger, despair 
 cruelly assailed him. It was evident that some 
 irreparable thing had ruined all his hopes. He was 
 for some moments dumb. He felt what he could 
 not express, for a great calamity had opened a 
 chamber of feeling, which required new words to 
 explain it. This trance of grief was followed by 
 passionate imprecations and reproaches, wearing 
 themselves away to an utter amazement and in 
 credulity. He had flung the letter to the floor, 
 but he lifted it again and went over the cruel 
 
Misdirected Letters 187 
 
 words, forcing himself to read them slowly and 
 aloud. Every period was like a fresh sentence of 
 death. 
 
 " Tour letter has given me very great sorrow ; 
 let me die if that is not what she says ; c very great 
 sorrow. You must have known for weeks, even months, 
 that marriage between us was impossible ; am I per 
 fectly in my senses ? * // always has been and al 
 ways will be ; why, tis heart treason of the worst 
 kind ! Can I bear it ? Can I bear it ? Can I 
 bear it ? Oh Cornelia ! Cornelia ! ^We have heen 
 so happy. Oh it is piteous, sad. So young, so fair, 
 so false ! and she c grieves at my going away, 9 and 
 bids me on 4 no account call on her father and 
 takes pains to tell me the No is absolute and I 
 am not to l blame her. Oh this is the vilest treach 
 ery ! She might as well have played the coquette 
 in speech as writing. It is Rem Van Ariens who 
 is at the bottom of it. May the devil take the 
 fellow ! I shall need some heavenly power to keep 
 my hands off him. This is a grief beyond all 
 griefs I believed she loved me so entirely. Fool ! 
 a thousand times fool ! Have I not found all 
 women of a piece ? Did not Molly Trefuses 
 throw me over for a duke ? and Sarah Talbot tell 
 me my love was only calf-love and had to be 
 weaned ? and Eliza Capel regret that I was too 
 young to guide a wife, and so marry a cabinet min 
 ister old enough for her grandfather ? Women are 
 all just so, not a cherry stone to choose between 
 
i88 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 them I will never wonder again at anything 
 
 a woman does Was ever a lover so betrayed ? 
 
 Oh Cornelia ! your ink should have frozen in your 
 pen, ere you wrote such words to me." 
 
 Thus his passionate grief and anger tortured him 
 until midnight. Then he had a high fever and a 
 distracting headache, and, the physical torment be 
 ing the most insistent and distressing, he gave way 
 before it. With such agonizing tears as spring 
 from despairing wounded love he threw himself 
 upon his bed, and his craving, suffering heart at 
 length found rest in sleep from the terrible egotism 
 of its sorrow. 
 
 Never for one instant did he imagine this sorrow 
 to be a mistaken and quite unnecessary one. In 
 deed it was almost impossible for him to conceive 
 of a series of events, which though apparently ac 
 cidental, had a fatality more pronounced than any 
 thing that could have been arranged. Not taking 
 Rem Van Ariens seriously into his consideration, 
 and not fearing his rival in any way, it was beyond 
 all his suspicions that Rem should write to Cor 
 nelia in the same hour, and for the same purpose as 
 himself. He had no knowledge of Rem s inten 
 tion to go to Boston, and could not therefore imag 
 ine Cornelia " grieving " at any journey but his 
 own impending one to England. And that she 
 should be forced by circumstances to answer both 
 Rem and himself in the same hour, and in the very 
 stress and hurry of her great love and anxiety 
 
Misdirected Letters 189 
 
 should misdirect the letters, were likelihoods out 
 side his consciousness. 
 
 It was far otherwise with Rem. The moment 
 he opened the letter brought him by Cornelia s 
 messenger, in that very moment he knew that it 
 was not his letter. He understood at once the 
 position, and perceived that he held in his hand 
 an instrument, which if affairs went as he desired, 
 was likely to make trouble he could perchance turn 
 to his own advantage. The fate that had favoured 
 him so far would doubtless go further if he let it 
 alone. These thoughts sprang at once into his re 
 flection, but were barely entertained before nobler 
 ones displaced them. As a Christian gentleman he 
 knew what he ought to do without cavil and with 
 out delay, and he rose to follow the benignant jus 
 tice of his conscience. Into this obedience, how 
 ever, there entered an hesitation of a second of 
 time, and that infinitesimal period was sufficient for 
 his evil genius. 
 
 " Why will you meddle ? " it asked. " This is 
 a very dubious matter, and common prudence sug 
 gests a little consideration. It will be far wiser to 
 let Hyde take the first step. If the letter he has 
 received is so worded, that he knows it is your let 
 ter, it is his place to make the transfer and he 
 will be sure to do it. Why should you continue 
 the chase ? let the favoured one look after his own 
 affairs being a lawyer, you may well tell yourself, 
 that it is not your interest to move the question." 
 
190 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 And he hesitated and then sat down, and as there 
 is wickedness even in hesitating about a wicked 
 act, Rem easily drifted from the negative to the 
 positive of the crime contemplated. 
 
 " I had better keep it," he mused, " and see what 
 will come of the keeping. All things are fair in 
 love and war " a stupid and slanderous assertion, 
 as far as love is concerned, for love that is noble 
 and true, will not justify anything which Christian 
 ethics do not justify. 
 
 He suffered in this decision, suffered in his own 
 way quite as much as Hyde did. Cornelia had 
 been his dream from his youth up, and Hyde had 
 been his aversion from the moment he first saw 
 him. The words were not to seek with which he 
 expressed himself, and they were such words as do 
 not bear repeating. But of all revelations, the 
 revelation of grief is the plainest. He saw clearly 
 in that hour that Cornelia had never loved him, 
 that his hopes had always been vain, and he expe 
 rienced all the bitterness of being slighted and 
 humbled for an enemy. 
 
 After a little while he remembered that Hyde 
 might possibly do the thing which he had resolved 
 not to do. Involuntarily he did Hyde this justice, 
 and he said to himself, " if there is anything in the 
 letter intended for me, which determines its owner 
 ship, Hyde will bring it. He will understand that 
 I have the answer to his proposal, and demand it 
 from me and whether I shall feel in a mood to 
 
Misdirected Letters 191 
 
 give it to him, will depend on the manner in which 
 the demand is made. If he is in one of his lordly 
 ways he will get no satisfaction from me. I am 
 not apt to give myself, nor anything I have, away ; 
 in fact it will be best not to see him if he holds 
 a letter of mine he may keep it. I know its tenor 
 and I am not eager to know the very words in 
 which my lady says No. Ho ! Ho ! Ho ! " he 
 laughed, " I will go to the Swamp ; my scented 
 rival in his perfumed clothing, will hardly wish the 
 smell of the tanning pits to come between him and 
 his gentility." 
 
 The thought of Hyde s probable visit and this 
 way of escaping it made him laugh again ; but it 
 was a laughter that had that something terrible in 
 it which makes the laughter of the insane and 
 drunken and cruel, worse than the bitterest lamen 
 tation. He felt a sudden haste to escape himself, 
 and seizing his hat walked rapidly to his father s 
 office. Peter looked up as he entered, and the 
 question in his eyes hardly needed the simple in- 
 terrogotary 
 
 "Well then?" 
 
 " It is No. I shall go to Boston early in the 
 morning. I wish to go over the business with 
 Blume and Otis, and to possess myself of all par 
 ticulars." 
 
 " I have just heard that General Hyde came 
 back this morning. He is now the Right Honour 
 able the Earl of Hyde, and his son is, as you 
 
192 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 know, Lord George Hyde. Has this made a dif 
 ference ? " 
 
 " It has not. Let us count up what is owing to 
 us. After all there is a certain good in gold/ 
 
 "That is the truth. I am an old man and I 
 have seen what altitudes the want of gold can 
 abase, and what impossible things it makes possi 
 ble. In any adversity gold can find friends." 
 
 " I shall count every half-penny after Blume and 
 Otis." 
 
 u Be not too strict too far east is west. You 
 may lose all by demanding all." 
 
 Then the two men spent several hours in going 
 over their accounts, and during this time no one 
 called on Rem and he received no message. When 
 he returned home he found affairs just as he had 
 left them. u So far good," he thought, " I will let 
 sleeping dogs lie. Why should I set them baying 
 about my affairs? I will not do it" and with 
 this determination in his heart he fell asleep. 
 
 But Rem s sleep was the sleep of pure matter; 
 his soul never knew the expansion and enlighten 
 ment and discipline of the oracles that speak in 
 darkness. The winged dreams had no message or 
 comfort for him, and he took no counsel from his 
 pillow. His sleep was the sleep of tired flesh and 
 blood, and heavy as lead. But the waking from 
 such sleep if there is trouble to meet is like be 
 ing awakened with a blow. He leaped to his feet, 
 and the thought of his loss and the shame of it, 
 
Misdirected Letters 193 
 
 and the horror of the dishonourable thing he had 
 done, assailed him with a brutal force and swift 
 ness. He was stunned by the suddenness and the 
 inexorable character of his trouble. And he told 
 himself it was " best to run away from what he 
 could not fight." He had no fear of Hyde s in 
 terference so early in the morning, and once in 
 Boston all attacks would lose much of their hostile 
 virulence, by the mere influence of distance. He 
 knew these were cowardly thoughts, but when a 
 man knows he is in the wrong, he does not chal 
 lenge his thoughts, he excuses them. And as soon 
 as he was well on the road to Boston, he even be 
 gan to assume that Hyde, full of the glory of his 
 new position, would doubtless be well disposed to 
 let all old affairs drop quietly u and if so," he 
 mused, u Cornelia will not be so dainty, and I may 
 get l Yes where I got c No. " 
 
 He was of course arguing from altogether wrong 
 premises, for Hyde at that hour was unconscious 
 of his new dignity, and if he had been aware of it, 
 would have been indifferent to its small honour. 
 He had spent a miserable night, and a sense of al 
 most intolerable desertion and injury awoke with 
 him. His soul had been in desolate places, wan 
 dering in immense woods, vaguely apprehended as 
 stretches of time before this life. He had called 
 the lost Cornelia through all their loneliness, and 
 answers faint as the faintest echo, had come back 
 to that sense of spiritual hearing attuned in other 
 
194 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 worlds than this. But sad as such experience was, 
 the sole effort had strengthened him. He was in 
 deed in better case mentally than physically. 
 
 " I must get into the fresh air," he said. " I 
 am faint and weak. I must have movement. I 
 must see my mother. I will tell her everything." 
 Then he went to his mirror, and looked with a 
 grim smile at its reflection. " I have the face of a 
 lover kicked out of doors," he continued scorn 
 fully. He took but small pains with his toilet, and 
 calling for some breakfast sat down to eat it. Then 
 for the first time in his life, he was conscious of 
 that soul sickness which turns from all physical 
 comfort; and of that singular obstruction in the 
 throat which is the heart s sob, and which would 
 not suffer him to swallow. 
 
 " I am most wretched," he said mournfully ; 
 " and no trouble comes alone. Of all the days in 
 all the years, why should Madame Jacobus have to 
 take herself out of town yesterday ? It is almost 
 incredible, and she could, and would have helped 
 me. She would have sent for Cornelia. I might 
 have pleaded my cause face to face with her." Then 
 angrily " Faith ! can I yet care for a girl so cruel 
 and so false ? I am not to be pitied if I do. I will 
 go to my dear mother. Mother-love is always 
 sure, and always young. Whatever befalls, it 
 keeps constant truth. I will go to my mother." 
 
 He rode rapidly through the city and spoke to 
 no one, but when he reached his Grandfather Van 
 
Misdirected Letters 
 
 Heemskirk s house, he saw him leaning over the 
 half-door smoking his pipe. He drew rein then, 
 and the old gentleman came to his side : 
 
 " Why art thou here ? " he asked. u Is thy 
 father, or Lady Annie sick ? " 
 
 " I know nothing new. There was no letter 
 yesterday." 
 
 " Yesterday ! Surely thou must know that they 
 are now at home ? Yesterday, very early in the 
 morning, they landed. * 
 
 " My father at home ! " 
 
 " That is the truth. Where wert thou, not to 
 know this ? " 
 
 u 1 came to town yesterday morning. I had a 
 great trouble. I was sick and kept my room." 
 
 " And sick thou art now, I can see that," said 
 Madame Van Heemskirk coming forward " What 
 is the matter with thee, my Joris ? " 
 
 u Cornelia has refused me. I know not how it 
 is, that no woman will love me. Am I so very 
 disagreeable ? " 
 
 " Thou art as handsome and as charming as can 
 be ; and it is not Cornelia that has said * no to 
 thee, it is her father. Now he will be sorry, for 
 thy uncle is dead and thy father is Earl Hyde, and 
 thou thyself art a lord." 
 
 " I care not for such things. I am a poor lord, 
 if Cornelia be not my lady." 
 
 " I wonder they sent not after thee ! " 
 
 " They would be expecting me every hour. If 
 
196 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 there had been a letter I should have gone directly 
 back with it, but it was beyond all surmising, that 
 my father should return. Grandfather, will you 
 see Doctor Moran for me ? You can speak a 
 word that will prevail." 
 
 " I will not, my Joris. If thy father were not 
 here, that would be different. He is the right 
 man to move in the matter. Ever thou art in too 
 much of a hurry. Think now of thy life as a book 
 of uncut leaves, and do not turn a page till thou 
 hast read it to the very last word." 
 
 " / will see Cornelia for thee," said Madame 
 Van Heemskirk. " / will ask the girl what she 
 means. Very often she passes here, sometimes 
 she comes in. I will say to her why did thou 
 throw my grandson s love away like an old shoe ? 
 Art thou not ashamed to be so light of love, for I 
 know well thou said to my Joris, thou loved him. 
 And she will tell me the truth. Yes, indeed, if 
 into my house she comes, out of it she goes not, 
 until I have the why, and the wherefore." 
 
 " Do not be unkind to her, grandmother per 
 haps it is not her fault if she had only said a few 
 sorrowful words Let me show you her letter." 
 
 u No," said Van Heemskirk. " One thing at a 
 time, Joris. Now it is the time to go and welcome 
 thy father and thy cousin too long has been the 
 delay already." 
 
 " Then good-bye ! Grandmother, you will speak 
 for me ? " And she smiled and nodded, and stood 
 
Misdirected Letters 197 
 
 on her tiptoe while Joris stooped and kissed her 
 " Fret not thyself at all. I will see Cornelia and 
 speak for thee." And then he kissed her again 
 and rode away. 
 
 Very near the great entrance gates of Hyde 
 Manor he met his father and mother walking. 
 Madame, the Right Honourable the Countess of 
 Hyde, was pointing out the many improvements 
 she had made ; and the Earl looked pleased and 
 happy. George threw himself off his horse with a 
 loving impetuosity, and his mother questioned him 
 about his manner of spending the previous day. 
 u How could thou help knowing thy father had 
 landed ? " she asked. " Was not the whole city 
 talking of the circumstance ? " 
 
 " I was not in the city, mother. I went to the 
 post office and from there to Madame Jacobus. 
 She was just leaving for Charleston, and I went 
 with her to the boat." 
 
 " What an incredible thing ! Madame Jacobus 
 leaving New York ! For what ? For why ? " 
 
 " She has gone to nurse her sister-in-law, who is 
 dying. That is of all things the most likely for 
 she has a great heart." 
 
 u You say that I know not." 
 
 " It is the truth itself. Afterwards I had my 
 lunch and then came on a fever and a distracting 
 headache, and I was compelled to keep my room ; 
 and so heard nothing at all until my grandfather 
 told me the good news this morning." 
 
198 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 " Madame Kippon was on the dock and saw thy 
 father and cousin land. The news would be a hot 
 coal in her mouth till she told it, and I am amazed 
 she did not call at thy lodging. Now go forward ; 
 when thy father and I have been round the land, 
 we will come to thee. Thy cousin Annie is 
 here." 
 
 " That confounds me. I could hardly believe 
 it true." 
 
 u She is frail, and her physicians thought the sea 
 voyage might give her the vitality she needs. It was 
 at least a chance, and she was determined to take 
 it. Then thy father put all his own desires be 
 hind him, and came with her. We will talk more 
 in a little while. I see thy dress is untidy, and I 
 dare say thou art hungry. Go, eat and dress, by 
 that time we shall be home." 
 
 But though his mother gave him a final charge 
 u to make haste," he went slowly. The thought of 
 Cornelia had returned to his memory with a sweet, 
 strong insistance that carried all before it. He 
 wondered what she was doing how she was dressed 
 
 what she was thinking what she was feeling 
 
 He wondered if she was suffering if she thought 
 
 he was suffering if she was sorry for him He 
 
 made himself as wretched as possible, and then some 
 voice of comfort anteceding all reasoning, told him 
 to be of good cheer ; for if Cornelia had ever loved 
 him, she must love him still ; and if she had only 
 been amusing herself with his devotion, then what 
 
Misdirected Letters 199 
 
 folly to break his heart for a girl who had no heart 
 worth talking about. 
 
 Poor Cornelia ! She was at that moment the 
 most unhappy woman in New York. She had ex 
 cused the " ten words " he might have written yes 
 terday. She had found in the unexpected return 
 of his father and cousin reason sufficient for his 
 neglect ; but it was now past ten o clock of another 
 day, and there was yet no word from him. Per 
 haps then he was coming. She sat at her tambour 
 frame listening till all her senses and emotions 
 seemed to have fled to her ear. And the ear has 
 memory, it watches for an accustomed sound, it 
 will not suffer us to forget the voice, the step of 
 those we love. Many footsteps passed, but none 
 stopped at the gate ; none came up the garden path, 
 and no one lifted the knocker. The house itself 
 was painfully still ; there was no sound but the faint 
 noise made by Mrs. Moran as she put down her 
 bobbin or her scissors. The tension became dis 
 tressing. She longed for her father for a caller 
 for any one to break this unbearable pause in life. 
 
 Yet she could not give up hope. A score of ex 
 cuses came into her mind ; she was sure he would 
 come in the afternoon. He must come. She read 
 and reread his letter. She dressed herself with 
 delightful care and sat down to watch for him. 
 He came not. He sent no word, no token, and as 
 hour after hour slipped away, she was compelled to 
 drop her needle. 
 
2oo The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 " Mother," she said, " I am not well. I must 
 go upstairs." She had been holding despair at bay 
 so many hours she could bear it no longer. For 
 she was so young, and this was the first time she 
 had been yoke-fellow with sorrow. She was 
 amazed at her own suffering. It seemed so im 
 possible. It had come upon her so swiftly, so sud 
 denly, and as yet she was not able to seek any com 
 fort or sympathy from. God or man. For to do so, 
 was to admit the impossibility of things yet turning 
 out right ; and this conclusion she would not ad 
 mit ; she was angry at a word or a look that sug 
 gested such a termination. 
 
 The next morning she called Balthazar to her 
 and closely questioned him. It had struck her in 
 the night, that the slave might have lost the letter, 
 and be afraid to confess the accident. But Bal 
 thazar s manner and frank speech was beyond sus 
 picion. He told her exactly what clothing Lieu 
 tenant Hyde was wearing, how he looked, what 
 words he said, and then with a little hesitation took 
 a silver crown piece from his pocket and added " he 
 gave it to me. When he took the letter in his 
 hand he looked down at it and laughed like he was 
 very happy ; and he gave me the money for bring 
 ing it to him ; that is the truth, sure, Miss Cor 
 nelia/ 
 
 She could not doubt it. There was then noth 
 ing to be done but wait in patience for the explana 
 tion she was certain would yet come. But oh 
 
Misdirected Letters 201 
 
 with what leaden motion the hours went by ! For 
 a few days she made a pretence of her usual em 
 ployments, but at the end of a week her embroidery 
 frame stood uncovered, her books were unopened, 
 her music silent, and she declared herself unable to 
 take her customary walk. Her mother watched 
 her with unspeakable sympathy, but Cornelia s 
 grief was dumb; it made no audible moan, and 
 preserved an attitude which repelled all discussion. 
 As yet she would not acknowledge a doubt of her 
 lover s faith ; his conduct was certainly a mystery, 
 but she told her heart with a passionate iteration 
 that it would positively be cleared up. 
 
 Now and then the Doctor, or a visitor, made a 
 remark which might have broken this implicit trust, 
 and probably did facilitate that end ; for it was 
 evident from them, that Hyde was in health, and 
 that he was taking his share in the usual routine of 
 daily life : thus, one day Mrs. Wiley while mak 
 ing a call said 
 
 " I met the new Countess and the Lady Annie 
 Hyde, and I can tell you the new Countess is 
 very much of a Countess. As for the Lady Annie," 
 she added, " she was wrapped to her nose in furs, 
 and you could see nothing of her but two large 
 black eyes, that even at a distance made you feel 
 sad and uncomfortable. However Lord George 
 Hyde appeared to be very much her servant." 
 
 "There has been talk of a marriage between 
 them, " answered Mrs. Moran, for she was anx- 
 
2O2 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 ious to put her daughter out of all question. u I 
 should think it would be a very proper marriage." 
 
 u Oh, indeed, proper marriages seldom come 
 off. Love marriages are the fashion at present. * 
 
 " Are they not the most proper of all ? " 
 
 u On the contrary, is there anything more in 
 discreet ? Of a thousand couples who marry for 
 love, hardly one will convince us that the thing 
 can be done, and not repented of afterwards." 
 
 "I think you are mistaken," said Mrs. Moran 
 coldly. " Love should always seek its match, and 
 that is love or nothing." 
 
 u Oh indeed ! It is you are mistaken," con 
 tinued Mrs. Wiley. " As the times go, Cupid has 
 grown to cupidity, and seeks his match in money 
 or station, or such things." 
 
 " Money, or station, or such things find their 
 match in money, or station, or such things. They 
 are not love." 
 
 u Well then the three may go together in this 
 case. But the girl has an uncanny, unworldlike 
 face. Captain Wiley says he has seen mermaids 
 with the same long look in their eyes. Do you 
 know that Rem Van Ariens has gone to Boston ? " 
 
 " We have heard so ; " and then the Doctor 
 entered, and after the usual formalities said, " I have 
 just met Earl Hyde and his Countess parading 
 themselves in the fine carriage he brought with 
 him. Tis a thousand pities the President did not 
 wait in New York to see the sight." 
 
Misdirected Letters 203 
 
 u Was Lady Annie with them ? " asked Mrs. 
 Wiley, " we were just talking about her." 
 
 " Yes, but one forgets that she is there or any 
 where. She seems as if she were an accident." 
 
 u And the young lord ? " 
 
 " The young lord affects the democratic." 
 
 Such conversations were not uncommon, and 
 Mrs. Moran could not with any prudence put a 
 sudden stop to them. They kept Cornelia full of 
 wondering irritation, and gradually drove the doubt 
 into her soul the doubt of her lover s sincerity 
 which was the one thing she could not fight against. 
 It loosened all the props of life ; she ceased to strug 
 gle and to hope. The world went on, but Corne 
 lia s heart stood still ; and at the end of the third 
 week things came to this her father looked at her 
 keenly one morning and sent her instantly to bed. 
 At the last the breakdown had come in a night, 
 but it had found all ready for it. 
 
 " She has typhoid, or I am much mistaken," 
 he said to the anxious mother. " Why have you 
 said nothing to me ? How has it come about ? I 
 have heard no complaining. To have let things 
 go thus far without help is dreadful it is almost 
 murder." 
 
 " John ! John ! What could I do ? She could 
 not bear me to ask after her health. She said al 
 ways that she was not sick. She would not hear 
 of my speaking to you. I thought it was only 
 sorrow and heart-ache." 
 
204 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 " Only sorrow and heart-ache. Is not that 
 enough to call typhoid or any other death ? What 
 is the trouble ? Oh I need not ask, I know it is 
 that young Hyde. I feel it. I saw this trouble 
 coming ; now let me know the whole truth." 
 
 He listened to it with angry amazement. He 
 said he ought to have been told at the time he 
 threw aside all excuses for being a man how 
 could he understand why women put off, and hope, 
 and suffer ? He was sure the rascal ought to have 
 been brought to explanation the very first day : 
 and then he broke down and wept his wife s tears, 
 and echoed all her piteous moan for her daughter s 
 wronged love and breaking heart. 
 
 " What is left us now, is to try and save her 
 dear life," said the miserable father. u Suffering 
 we cannot spare her. She must pass alone through 
 the Valley of the Shadow ; but it may be she will 
 lose this sorrow in its dreadful paths. I have 
 known this to happen often ; for there the soul has 
 to strip itself of all encumbrances, and fight for 
 life, and life only." 
 
 This was the battle waged in Doctor Moran s 
 house for many awful weeks. The girl lay at 
 Death s door, and her father and mother watched 
 every breath she drew. One day, while she was 
 in extremity, the Doctor went himself to the 
 apothecary s for medicine. This medicine was his 
 last hope and he desired to prepare it himself. As 
 he came out of the store with it in his hand, Hyde 
 
Misdirected Letters 205" 
 
 looked at him with a steady imploration. He had 
 evidently been waiting his exit. 
 
 " Sir ! " he said, " I have heard a report that I 
 cannot, I dare not believe." 
 
 " Believe the worst and stand aside, sir. I 
 have neither patience nor words for you." 
 
 " I beseech you, sir " 
 
 u Touch me not ! Out of my sight ! Broad 
 way is not wide enough for us two, unless you 
 take the other side." 
 
 u Your daughter ? Oh sir, have some pity ! " 
 
 " My daughter is dying." 
 
 " Then sir, let me tell you, that your behaviour 
 has been so brutal to her, and to me, that the Al 
 mighty shows both kindness and intelligence in tak 
 ing her away : " and with these words uttered in 
 a blazing passion of indignation and pity, the 
 young lord crossed to the other side of the street, 
 leaving the Doctor confounded by his words and 
 manner. 
 
 " There is something strange here," he said to 
 himself; "the fellow may be as bad as bad can 
 be, but he neither looked nor spoke as if he had 
 wronged Cornelia. If she lives I must get to the 
 bottom of this affair. I should not wonder if it is 
 the work of Dick Hyde earl or general as de 
 testable a man as ever crossed my path." 
 
 With this admission and wonder, the thought of 
 Hyde passed from his mind ; for at that hour the 
 issue he had to consider was one of life or death. 
 
206 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 And although it was beyond all hope or expecta 
 tion, Cornelia came back to life ; came back very 
 slowly, but yet with a solemn calm and a certain 
 air of conscious dignity, as of one victorious over 
 death and the grave. But she was perilously deli 
 cate, and the Doctor began to consider the dangers 
 of her convalescence. 
 
 u Ava," he said one evening when Cornelia had 
 been downstairs awhile "it will not do for the 
 child to run the risk of meeting that man. I see 
 him on the street frequently. The apothecary 
 says he comes to his store to ask after her recovery 
 nearly every day. He has not given her up, I am 
 sure of that. He spoke to me once about her, and 
 was outrageously impudent. There is something 
 strange in the affair, but how can I move in it ? " 
 
 " It is impossible. Can you quarrel with a man 
 because he has deceived Cornelia ? How cruel 
 that would be to the child ! You must bear and I 
 must bear. Anything must be borne, rather than 
 set the town wondering and talking. " 
 
 " It is a terrible position. I see not how I can 
 endure it." 
 
 " Put Cornelia before everything." 
 
 " The best plan is to remove Cornelia out of 
 danger. Why not take her to visit your brother 
 Joseph ? He has long desired you to do so." 
 
 " Go to Philadelphia now I Joseph tells me 
 Congress is in session, and the city gone mad over 
 its new dignity. Nothing but balls and dinners are 
 
Misdirected Letters 207 
 
 thought of ; even the Quakers are to be seen in the 
 finest modes and materials at entertainments ; and 
 Cornelia will hardly escape the fever of fashion and 
 social gaiety. She has many acquaintances there." 
 
 " I do not wish her to escape it. A change of 
 human beings is as necessary as a change of air, or 
 diet. She has had too much of George Hyde, and 
 Madame Jacobus, and Rem Van Ariens." 
 
 44 I hear that Rem is greatly taken with Boston, 
 and thinks of opening an office there." 
 
 41 Very prudent of Rem. What chance has he 
 in New York with Hamilton and Burr, to carry off 
 all the big prey ? Make your arrangements as soon 
 as possible to leave New York." 
 
 44 You are sure that you are right in choosing 
 Philadelphia ? " 
 
 44 Yes while Hyde is in New York. Write to 
 your brother to-day ; and as soon as Cornelia is a 
 little stronger, I will go with you to Philadelphia." 
 
 44 And stay with us ? " 
 
 44 That is not to be expected. I have too much 
 to do here." 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 LIFE TIED IN A KNOT 
 
 ONE morning soon after the New Year, Hyde 
 was returning to the Manor House from New 
 York. It was a day to oppress thought, and 
 tighten the heart, and kill all hope and energy. 
 There was a monotonous rain and a sky like that 
 of a past age solemn and leaden and the mud of 
 the roads was unspeakable. He was compelled to 
 ride slowly and to feel in its full force, as it were, 
 the hostility of Nature. As he reached his home 
 the rain ceased, and a thick mist, with noiseless 
 entrance, pervaded all the environment; but no 
 life, or sound of life, broke the melancholy sense 
 of his utter desolation. 
 
 He took the road by the lake because it was the 
 nearest road to the stables, where he wished to 
 alight ; but the sight of the livid water, and of the 
 herons standing motionless under the huge cedars 
 by its frozen edges, brought to speech and expres 
 sion that stifled grief, which Nature this morning 
 had intensified, not relieved. 
 
 " Those unearthly birds ! " he said petulantly, 
 
 " they look as if they had escaped the deluge by 
 
 some mistake. Oh if I could forget ! If I could 
 
 only forget ! And now she has gone ! She has 
 
 208 
 
Life Tied in a Knot 209 
 
 gone ! I shall never see her again ! " Grief feels 
 it a kind of luxury to repeat some supreme cry of 
 misery, and this lamentation for his lost love had 
 this poignant satisfaction. He felt New York to be 
 empty and void and dreary, and the Manor House 
 with its physical cheer and comfort, and its store 
 of affection, could not lift the stone from his heart. 
 
 In spite of the chilling mist the Earl had gone to 
 see a neighbour about some land and local affairs, 
 and his mother oblivious of the coronet of a count 
 ess was helping her housekeeper to make out the 
 list of all household property at the beginning of 
 the year 1792. She seemed a little annoyed at his 
 intrusion, and recommended to him a change of 
 apparel. Then he smiled at his forlorn, draggled 
 condition, and went to his room. 
 
 Now it is a fact that in extreme dejection some 
 thing good to eat, and something nice to wear, 
 will often restore the inner man to his normal 
 complacency ; and when Hyde s valet had seen to 
 his master s refreshment in every possible way, 
 Hyde was at least reconciled to the idea of living a 
 little longer. The mud-stained garments had dis 
 appeared, and as he walked up and down the luxu 
 rious room, brightened by the blazing oak logs, he 
 caught reflections of his handsome person in the 
 mirror, and he began to be comforted. For it is 
 not in normal youth to disdain the smaller joys of 
 life ; and Hyde was thinking as his servant dressed 
 him in satin and velvet, that at least there was 
 
2io The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 Annie. Annie was always glad to see him, and he 
 had a great respect for Annie s opinions. Indeed 
 during the past few weeks they had been brought 
 into daily companionship, they had become very good 
 friends. So then the absence of the Earl and the 
 preoccupation of his mother was not beyond comfort, 
 if Annie was able to receive him. In spite of his 
 grief for Cornelia s removal from New York, he was 
 not insensible to the pleasure of Annie s approval. 
 He liked to show himself to her when he knew he 
 could appear to advantage ; and there was nothing 
 more in this desire, than that healthy wish for ap 
 probation that is natural to self-respecting youth. 
 
 He heard her singing as he approached the draw 
 ing-room, and he opened the door noiselessly and 
 went in. If she was conscious of his entrance she 
 made no sign of it, and Hyde did not seem to ex 
 pect it. He glanced at her as he might have 
 glanced at a priest by the altar, and went softly to 
 the fireside and sat down. At this moment she had 
 a solemn, saintly beauty ; her small pale face was 
 luminous with spiritual joy, her eyes glowing with 
 rapture, and her hands moving among the ivory 
 keys of the piano made enchanting melody to her 
 inspired longing : 
 
 Jerusalem the golden, 
 
 With milk and honey blest, 
 Beneath thy contemplation 
 
 Sink heart and voice oppressed. 
 O one, O only mansion, 
 
Life Tied in a Knot 211 
 
 O paradise of joy ! 
 Where tears are ever banished 
 
 And smiles have no alloy. 
 O sweet and blessed country ! 
 
 Shall I ever see thy face ? 
 O sweet and blessed country ! 
 
 Shall I ever win thy grace ? 
 
 and as these eager impassioned words rose heaven 
 ward, it seemed to Hyde that her innocent, longing 
 soul was half-way out of her frail little body. He 
 did not in any way disturb her. She ceased when 
 the hymn was finished and sat still a few moments, 
 realizing, as far as she could, the glory which doth 
 not yet appear. As her eyes dropped, the light 
 faded from her face ; she smiled at Hyde, a smile 
 that seemed to light all the space between them. 
 Then he stood up and she came towards him. No 
 wonder that strangers spoke of her as a child ; she 
 had the size and face and figure of a child, and her 
 look of extreme youth was much accentuated by 
 the simple black gown she wore, and by her carriage, 
 for she leaned slightly forward as she walked, her 
 feet appearing to take no hold upon the floor ; a 
 movement springing interiorly from the soul eager 
 ness which dominated her. Hyde placed her in a 
 chair before the fire, and then drew his own chair 
 to her side. 
 
 " Cousin," she said, " I am most glad to see 
 you. Everybody has some work to do to-day. * 
 
 " And you, Annie ? " 
 
212 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 " In this world I have no work to do," she an 
 swered. " My soul is here for a purchase ; when 
 I have made it I shall go home again." And 
 Hyde looked at her with such curious interest that 
 she added " I am buying Patience." 
 
 u O indeed, that is a commodity not in the 
 market." 
 
 " I assure you it is. I buy it daily. Once I 
 used to wonder what for I had come to earth. I 
 had no strength, no beauty, nothing at all to buy 
 Earth s good things with. Three years ago I 
 found out that I had come to buy for my soul, the 
 grace of Patience. Do you remember what an im 
 perious, restless, hard-to-please, hard-to-serve girl I 
 was ? Now it is different. If people do not come 
 on the instant I call them, I rock my soul to rest, 
 and say to it anon, anon, be quiet, soul. If I 
 suffer much pain and that is very often I say 
 Soul, it is His Will, you must not cry out against 
 it. If I do not get my own way, I say, Soul, His 
 Way is best ; and thus, day by day, I am buying 
 Patience." 
 
 " But it is not possible this can content you. 
 You must have some other hope and desire, 
 Annie ? " 
 
 " Perhaps I once had and to-day is a good 
 time to speak of it to you, because now it troubles 
 me no longer. You know what my father desired, 
 and what your father promised, for us both ? " 
 
 " Yes. Did you desire it, Annie ? " 
 
Life Tied in a Knot 213 
 
 " I do not desire it now. You were ever against 
 it ? " 
 
 "Oh Annie! " 
 
 " It makes no matter, George. I shall never 
 marry you." 
 
 " Do you dislike me so much ? " 
 
 u I am very fond of you. You are of my race 
 and my kindred, and I love every soul of the 
 Hydes that has ever tarried on this earth." 
 
 "Well then?" 
 
 " I shall marry no one. I will show you the 
 better way. Few can walk in it, but Doctor 
 Roslyn says, he thinks it may be my part my 
 happy part to do so : " and as she spoke she took 
 from the little pocket at her side a small copy of 
 the gospels, and it opened of its own account at 
 the twentieth chapter of St. Luke. " See ! " she 
 said, " and read it for yourself, George " 
 
 " The children of this world marry and are 
 given in marriage. But they which shall be ac 
 counted worthy to obtain that world, and the resur 
 rection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given 
 in marriage. 
 
 " Neither can they die any more ; for they are 
 equal unto the angels, and are the children of God, 
 being the children of the resurrection." l 
 
 " To die no more ! To be like unto the angels ! 
 To be the children of God ! This is the end 
 
 1 St. Luke, chap. xx. 34-36. 
 
214 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 and aim of my desires, to be among the children 
 of God ! " 
 
 u Dear Annie, I cannot understand this." 
 " Not yet. It is not your time. My soul, I 
 think, is ages older than yours. It takes ages of 
 schooling to get into that class that may leave Earth 
 forever, and be as the angels. Even now I know, 
 I am sure that you are fretting and miserable for 
 the love of some woman. For whose love, George ? 
 Tell me/ 
 
 Then Hyde plunged with headlong precipitancy 
 into the story of his love for Cornelia, and of the 
 inexplicably cruel way in which it had been brought 
 to a close. " And yesterday," he continued with 
 a sob in his voice "yesterday I heard that her 
 father had taken her to Philadelphia. I shall see her 
 no more. He will marry her to Rem Van Anens, 
 or to one of her Quaker cousins, and the taste is 
 taken out of my life, and I am only a walking 
 misery." 
 
 " I do not believe it is Cornelia s fault." 
 " Here is her letter. Read it." Then Annie 
 took the letter and after reading it said, " If she be 
 all you say, I will vow she wrote this in her sleep. 
 I should like to see her. Why do you think 
 wrong of her ? What is love without faith in the 
 one you love ? Do you know first and finally 
 what true love is ? It is thinking kindly and nobly. 
 For if we give all we have, and do all we can do, 
 and yet think unkindly, it profits us nothing. 
 
Life Tied in a Knot 215 
 
 Doctor Roslyn told me so. You remember him ? " 
 
 " Your teacher ? " 
 
 u My teacher, my friend, my father after the 
 spirit. He told me that our thoughts moulded our 
 fate, because thought and life are one. So then, if 
 you really love Cornelia, you must think good of 
 her, and then good will come/ 
 
 " If thought and life are one, Annie, if doing 
 good, and giving good, are nothing to thinking 
 good, and we are to be judged by our quality of 
 thinking, there will be a greater score against all of 
 us, than we can imagine. I, for one, should not 
 like to be brought face to face with what I think, 
 and have thought about people ; it would be an ac 
 counting beyond my power to settle." 
 
 " There is no accounting. If all the priests in 
 Christendom tell you so, believe them not. Do 
 you think God keeps a score against you ? Do 
 you think the future is some torture chamber, or 
 condemned cell ? Oh, how you wrong God ! " 
 
 " But we are taught, Annie, that the future must 
 correct the past. * 
 
 "True, but the future, like the present, is a 
 school only a school. And the Great Master is 
 so compassionate, so ready to help, so ready to en 
 lighten, so sure to make out of our foolishness 
 some wise thing. If we learn the lesson we came 
 here to learn, He will say to us Well done and 
 then we shall go higher." 
 
 u If we do not learn it ? " 
 
216 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 " Ah then, we are turned back to try it over 
 again ! I should not like to be turned back 
 would you ? " 
 
 " But He will punish us for failure." 
 
 " Our earthly fathers are often impatient with 
 us ; His compassions fail not. Oh this good 
 God ! " she cried in an ecstasy " Oh that I 
 knew where I might find Him ! Oh that I could 
 come into His presence ! " and her eyes dilated, 
 and were full of an incomparable joy, as if they 
 were gazing upon some glorious vision, and glad 
 with the gladness of the angels. 
 
 Hyde looked at her with an intense interest. 
 He wondered if this angelic little creature had ever 
 known the frailties and temptations of mortal life, 
 and she answered his thought as if he had spoken 
 it aloud. 
 
 "Yes, cousin, I have known all temptations, and 
 come through all tribulations. My soul has 
 wandered and lost its way, and been brought back 
 many and many a time, and bought every grace 
 with much suffering. But God is always present 
 to help, while quest followed quest, and lesson fol 
 lowed lesson, and goal succeeded goal ; ever leaving 
 some evil behind, and carrying forward some of 
 those gains which are eternal/ 
 
 " If Adam had not fallen ! " sighed George, 
 " things might have been so different." 
 
 u But the angels fell before Adam," she an 
 swered. "I wonder if Adam knew about the 
 
Life Tied in a Knot 217 
 
 fallen angels ? Did he know about death before he 
 saw Abel dead ? He was all day in the garden of 
 Eden after eating of the fruit of sin and death, and 
 yet he did not put out his hand to take of the Tree 
 of Life. Did he know that he was already im 
 mortal ? Was he and are we fallen angels, 
 working our way back to our first estate through 
 many trials and much suffering ? Doctor Roslyn 
 talked to me of these things till I thought I felt 
 wings stirring within me. Wings ! Wings ! 
 Wings to fly away and be at rest. Wings ! they 
 have been the dream of every race and every age. 
 Are they a memory of our past greatness, for they 
 haunt us, and draw us on and on, and higher and 
 higher ? but why do you look so troubled and re 
 luctant ? " 
 
 Before Hyde could answer, the Earl came into 
 the room and the young man was glad to see his 
 father. A conversation so unusual, so suggestive 
 and cleaving made him unhappy. It took him up 
 the high places that indeed gave him a startling 
 outlook of life, but he was not comfortable at such 
 altitude. He rose with something of this strange 
 air about him, and the Earl understood what the 
 trend of the conversation had been. For Annie 
 had talked much to him on such subjects, and he 
 had been sensibly moved and impressed by the 
 wisdom which the little maid had learned from her 
 venerable teacher. He lifted her head in passing, 
 and kissed her brow with that reverent affection we 
 
2i8 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 feel for those who bring out what is noblest and 
 best in our character, and who lead us higher than 
 our daily walk. 
 
 " My dear George," he said, " I am delighted to 
 see you. I was afraid you would stay in the city 
 this dreadful weather. Is there any news ? " 
 
 " A great deal, sir. I have brought you English 
 and French papers." 
 
 " I will read them at my leisure. Give me the 
 English news first. What is it in substance ? " 
 
 " The conquest of Mysore and Madras. 
 Seringapatam has fallen ; and Tippoo has ceded to 
 England one half his dominions and three millions 
 of pounds. The French have not now a foothold 
 left in India, and Citizen Tippoo can no longer 
 help the agents of the French Republic. Faith, sir ! 
 Cornwallis has given England in the east, a com 
 pensation for what she lost in the west." 
 
 " To make nations of free men, is the destiny 
 of our race," replied the Earl. 
 
 " Perhaps so ; for it seems the new colony 
 planted at Sydney Cove, Australia, is doing 
 wonderfully ; and that would mean an English 
 empire in the south." 
 
 "Yet, I have just read a proclamation of the 
 French Assembly, calling on the people of France 
 4 to annihilate at once, the white, clay-footed colossus 
 of English power and diplomacy. Anything 
 else ? " 
 
 " Mr. Fox and Mr. Burke are quarrelling as 
 
Life Tied in a Knot 219 
 
 usual, and Mr. Pitt is making the excesses of 
 France the excuse for keeping back reform in 
 England. It is the old story. I did not care to 
 read it. The French papers tell their side of it. 
 They call Burke a madman, and Pitt a monster, 
 and the Moniteur accuses them of having misrepre 
 sented the great French nation, and says, they will 
 soon be laid prostrate before the statue of Liberty, 
 from which they shall only rise to mount the scaf 
 fold, etc., etc. " 
 
 u What bombastic nonsense ! " 
 
 " Minister Morris is in the midst of horrors un 
 mentionable. The other foreign ministers have 
 left France, and the French government is deserted 
 by all the world ; yet Mr. Morris remains at his 
 post, though he was lately arrested in the street, 
 and his house searched by armed men." 
 
 u But this is an insult to the American nation ! 
 Why does he endure it ? He ought to return 
 home." 
 
 " Because he will not abandon his duty in the 
 hour of peril and difficulty. Neither has the Pres 
 ident given him permission to do so. How could 
 he desert American citizens unlawfully imprisoned, 
 American vessels unlawfully seized by French pri 
 vateers, and American captains detained in French 
 ports on all kinds of pretences. I think Minister 
 Morris is precisely where he should be, saving the 
 lives of American citizens ; many of whom are 
 trembling to-day in the shadow of the guillotine." 
 
220 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 " It is to be hoped that Jefferson is now con 
 vinced of the execrable nature of these brutal rev 
 olutionists." 
 
 " I can assure you, sir, he is not. He still ex 
 cuses all their abominations and says Minister 
 Morris is a high-flying monarchy man, and not to 
 be taken without great allowance. I hear that 
 Madame Kippon s daughter, whom Mr. Morris 
 rescued at the last hour, has arrived in New York ; 
 and yesterday I met Mr. Van Ariens, who is ex 
 ceedingly anxious concerning his daughter, the 
 Marquise de Tounnerre." 
 
 " Is she in danger ? I thought her husband was 
 a leader in the new National Assembly." 
 
 " He is among the Girondists. They are giving 
 themselves airs and making fine speeches at present 
 _but " 
 
 " But what ? " 
 
 " Their day will be short." 
 
 "What of the king?" 
 
 u The royal family are all prisoners in the Temple 
 Tower. I do not dare to read the particulars ; but 
 not a single protest against their barbarity is made. 
 Frenchmen who silently saw the Abbaye, the 
 Force, and the Carmes turned into human shambles 
 three months ago, now hold their peace while mur 
 ders no less horrible are being slowly done in the 
 Temple." 
 
 " They are inconceivable monsters. Poor little 
 Arenta ! What will she do ? " 
 
Life Tied in a Knot 221 
 
 u I am not very uneasy for her ; she has wit 
 enough to save her life if put to such extremes; 
 her father is much to be pitied ; and it is incredible, 
 though true, that the great majority of our people 
 are still singing the Marseillaise, though every letter 
 of it is washed in blood and tears." 
 
 " I am troubled about that pretty little Marquise." 
 
 " She is clever and full of resource. I have had 
 only one letter from her since her marriage, and it 
 was written to the word glories ! She seemed to 
 be living in a blaze of triumph and very happy. 
 But change is the order of the day in France." 
 
 " Say of the hour, and you are nearer the truth." 
 
 " If Arenta is in trouble she will cry out, and 
 call for help on every hand. I never knew her to 
 make a mistake where her own interests were con 
 cerned. I told her father yesterday that it would 
 be very difficult to corner Arenta, and comforted 
 him beyond my hope." 
 
 During this conversation Annie was in a reverie 
 which it in no way touched. She had the faculty 
 of shutting her ears to sounds she did not wish to 
 take into her consciousness, and the French Revo 
 lution did not exist for her. She was thinking all 
 the time of her Cousin George, and of the singular 
 abruptness with which his love life had been cut 
 short; and it was this train of thought which led 
 her when the murmur of voices ceased for a mo 
 ment to say impulsively : 
 
 " Uncle, it is my desire to go to Philadelphia." 
 
222 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 The Earl looked at her with incredulity. " What 
 nonsense, Annie ! " he exclaimed. " The thing is 
 impossible." 
 
 " Why impossible ? " 
 
 " For you, I mean. You would be very ill be 
 fore the journey was half-finished. The roads, as 
 George will tell you, are nearly impassable ; and 
 the weather after this fog may be intensely cold. 
 For you a journey to Philadelphia would be an 
 arduous undertaking, and one without any reason 
 able motive." 
 
 u Oh, indeed ! Do you call George Washing 
 ton an unreasonable motive ? I wish to see him. 
 Imagine me within one hundred miles of this su 
 preme hero, and turning back to England without 
 kissing his hand. I should be laughed at I should 
 deserve to be laughed at." 
 
 " Yes, if the journey were an easier one." 
 
 u To be sure, the roads and the cold will be 
 trials ; but then my uncle, you can give them to 
 me, as God gives trials to His Beloved. He breaks 
 them up into small portions, and puts a night s sleep 
 between the portions. Can you not also do this ? " 
 
 " You little Methodist ! " answered the Earl, 
 with a tender gleam in his eyes. "I see that I 
 shall have to give you your own way. Will you 
 go with us, George ? " 
 
 " It will be a relief. New York is in the dumps. 
 Little Burr having beaten the Schuyler faction, 
 thinks himself omnipotent ; and this quarrel be- 
 
Life Tied in a Knot 223 
 
 twcen Mr. Jay and Governor Clinton keeps every 
 one else on the edge of ill-humour. All the danc 
 ing part of the town are gone to Philadelphia ; I 
 have scarcely a partner left ; and there is no con 
 versation now in New York that is not political. 
 Burr, Schuyler, Jay, Clinton ! even the clergy have 
 gone horse and foot into these disputes." 
 
 " Burr has a kind of cleverness ; one must ad 
 mit that." 
 
 " He is under the curse of knowing everything." 
 
 " Nevertheless his opinions will not alter the 
 axis of the earth. It is however a dangerous thing 
 to live in a community where politics are the staple 
 of talk, quarrels spring full armed from a word in 
 such an atmosphere." 
 
 " I have accommodated my politics, sir, to my 
 own satisfaction ; and I make shift to answer peo 
 ple according to their idols. I vow, I am so weary 
 of the words 4 honour and honesty that they beat 
 a tattoo on my brain." 
 
 " When you are as old as I am, George, you 
 will understand that these words are the coin, with 
 which men buy office. The corruption of cour 
 tiers is a general article of faith, but the impudence 
 of patriots going to market with their honesty, 
 beats courtly corruption to nothing. However, let 
 us go to Philadelphia and see the play. That is 
 what Annie desires." 
 
 " I desire to see Washington. I wish to see the 
 greatest of Americans." 
 
224 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 "Let me tell you, Annie," said the Earl, "that 
 there never was a man in America less American 
 in character and habits, than Washington." 
 
 " For all that," interrupted George, " there will 
 never come a man after him, that will be able to 
 rob Washington of the first place in the hearts of 
 the American nation." 
 
 " Nor at this day can we judge him as he de 
 serves," added the Earl ; " for he is cramped and 
 hustled by the crowd of nobodies around him." 
 
 "I shall look at him, and I shall know him," 
 said Annie. " George tells me that he is good 
 and handsome to look at." 
 
 " On horseback," continued the Earl, " there is 
 none like him ; he is the ideally perfect cavalier 
 graceful, dignified, commanding. Indeed so superb 
 a man comes not twice in a generation. At Mon- 
 mouth, where I commanded a division, I remem 
 ber him flying along the lines, cheering the men 
 and restoring by his tremendous enthusiasm the 
 fortunes of the fight to our standard. The grand 
 est of men ! You are right, Annie, it would be a 
 stupidity to go back to England without seeing 
 him." 
 
 This was the initial conversation which after 
 some opposition, and a little temper from madame 
 the Countess, resulted in the Hyde family visiting 
 Philadelphia. It was a great trial to the Countess 
 to leave her own well ordered, comfortable home 
 for apartments in an hotel ; and she was never 
 
Life Tied in a Knot 225 
 
 done asserting it to be a great imprudence, as far 
 as Annie was concerned. But the girl was im 
 movable, and as she was supported by her uncle 
 and cousin, the Countess was compelled to acquiesce. 
 But really she was so ready to find her pleasure in 
 the pleasure of those she loved, that this acquies 
 cence was not an unmitigated trial. She suspected 
 the motive for her son s eager desire for Philadel 
 phia, and as she had abandoned without much re 
 gret the hope of his marriage with Annie Hyde, 
 she was far from being disinclined to Cornelia. 
 She had accustomed herself to the idea of Cor 
 nelia as mistress of the beautiful home she had 
 made. She was an American, and madame loved 
 her country and wished her daughter-in-law to be 
 of American lineage. She was aware that some 
 trouble had come between the lovers, and she 
 trusted that this visit might be the ground of a rec 
 onciliation. Without question, or plan, or even 
 strong desire, she felt the wisdom of making op 
 portunities, and then leaving the improvement of 
 them to circumstances. 
 
 So about the beginning of February the Hydes 
 were settled in Philadelphia more comfortably than 
 could have been expected. A handsome house, 
 handsomely furnished, had been found ; and ma- 
 dame had brought with her the servants necessary 
 to care for it, and for the family s comfort. And 
 she was glad, when the weariness of the journey 
 was over, to see how naturally and pleasantly her 
 
226 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 husband and son took their places in the gay world 
 around them. She watched the latter constantly, 
 being sure she would be able to read on his face, 
 and by his manner and temper, whether affairs re 
 lating to Cornelia were favourable. 
 
 In a week she had come to the conclusion that 
 he was disappointed ; which indeed was very much 
 the case. He could hear nothing of Cornelia. 
 He had never once got a glimpse of her lovely 
 countenance, and no scrutiny had revealed to him 
 the place of her abode. Every house inhabited by 
 a person of the name of Willing, had been the 
 object of his observation ; but no form that by 
 any possibility could be mistaken for hers, had 
 passed in or out of their doors. He became 
 ashamed of haunting particular streets, and fancied 
 the ladies of certain houses watched him; and 
 that the maids and menservants chattered and 
 speculated about his motives. 
 
 Every day when he went out Annie gave him 
 an assuring smile, every day when he returned, she 
 opened her eyes on him with the question in them 
 she did not care to formulate; and every day she 
 received in an answer an almost imperceptible neg 
 ative shake of the head, that slight as it was, said 
 despairingly, " I have not seen her." 
 
 A month passed in this unfruitful searching 
 misery, and Hyde was almost hopeless. The jour 
 ney appeared to be altogether a failure ; and he 
 said to Annie, " I am to be blamed for my selfish- 
 
Life Tied in a Knot 227 
 
 ness in permitting you to come here. I see that 
 you have tired yourself to death for nothing at all." 
 
 She gave her head a resolute little shake and an 
 swered, " Wait and see. Something is coming. 
 You have no patience." 
 
 " I assure you, Annie, I ought to have. I have 
 been buying it every day since we came to this 
 detestable place." 
 
 " The place is not to blame. Do you know 
 that I am going to Mrs. Washington s reception 
 to-morrow evening ? I shall see the President. 
 He may even speak to me ; for my uncle says he 
 appears there, only as a private gentleman. Cousin, 
 you are to be my cavalier if it please you ; and my 
 uncle and aunt will attend us." 
 
 " I am devotedly at your service, Annie ; and I 
 will at least point out to you some of the dazzling 
 beauties of our court the splendid Mrs. Bingham, 
 the Miss Aliens, and Miss Chews, and the brilliant 
 Sally McKean." 
 
 " And the lovely Cornelia Moran ? " 
 
 " She will not be there." 
 
 " My aunt says I must wear a white gown, and 
 I shall do you all the justice it is in my power to 
 do." 
 
 " I am always proud of you, Annie. There is 
 no one like you." 
 
 " Do not say that, George ! " The few words 
 were almost a cry ; and she closed her eyes, and 
 clasped her small hands tightly. 
 
228 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 " What have I said, Annie ? " 
 
 " Nothing nothing only do not flatter me." 
 
 " It is the very truth." 
 
 " Let it pass it is nothing." She was silent 
 afterwards, like a person in pain ; all her childlike 
 gaiety gone ; and Hyde having a full share of a 
 man s stupidity about matters of pure feeling, did 
 not for one moment suspect why his praise should 
 give her pain. He thought her objection must 
 come from some religious scruple. 
 
 The next evening however he had every reason 
 to feel proud of his cousin. She was really an ex 
 quisite little creature ; angels would have given her 
 all she wished, she was so charming. The touch 
 of phantasy and flame in her nature illumined her 
 face, and no one could look at her without feeling 
 that a fervent and transparent soul gazed from eyes, 
 so lambent with soft spiritual fire. This impres 
 sion was enhanced by her childlike gown of white 
 crape over soft white silk ; it suggested her sweet 
 fretless life, and also something unknown and un 
 seen in her very simplicity. 
 
 Hyde, who was dressed in the very finest mode, 
 was proud to take her on his arm ; and the Earl 
 watched them with a fond and faithful hope that 
 all would soon fall out as he desired it. He could 
 not indeed imagine a man remaining unimpressed 
 by a beauty so captivating to the highest senses. 
 u It will be as we wish," he said to his Countess as 
 they watched them entering the waiting coach; 
 
Life Tied in a Knot 229 
 
 and she answered with that smile of admission, 
 which has always its reserved opinion. 
 
 Mrs. Washington s parlours were crowded when 
 they entered them, but the splendid throng gave 
 the highest expression of their approval possible, 
 by that involuntary silence which indicates a pleased 
 astonishment. The Earl at once presented his 
 niece to Mrs. Washington, and afterwards to the 
 President, who as a guest of Mrs. Washington was 
 walking about the rooms talking to the ladies pres 
 ent. Resplendent in purple and white satin and 
 the finest of laces, the august man captivated Lady 
 Annie at the first glance. She curtsied with in 
 imitable grace, and would have kissed the hand he 
 held out to her, had he permitted the homage. 
 For a few minutes he remained in conversation 
 with the party, then he went forward, and Hyde 
 turning with his beautiful charge, met Cornelia face 
 to face. 
 
 They looked at each other as two disembodied 
 souls might meet and look after death reproach 
 ing, questioning, entreating, longing. Hyde flushed 
 and paled, and could not for his very life make the 
 slightest effort at recognition or speech. Not a 
 word would come. He knew not what word to 
 say. Cornelia who had seen his entry was more 
 prepared. She gave him one long look of tender 
 reproach as she passed, but she made no movement 
 of recognition. If she had said one syllable if 
 she had paused one moment if she had shown in 
 
230 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 any way the least desire for a renewal of their ac 
 quaintance, Hyde was sure his heart would have 
 instantly responded. As it was, they had met and 
 parted in a moment, and every circumstance had 
 been against him. For it was the most natural 
 thing in life, that he should, after his cousin s in 
 terview with Washington, stoop to her words with 
 delight and interest ; and it was equally natural for 
 Cornelia to put the construction on his attentions 
 which every one else did. Then being angry at 
 her apparent indifference, he made these attentions 
 still more prominent ; and Cornelia heard on every 
 hand the confirmation of her own suspicions : 
 
 " They are to be married at Easter. What a 
 delightful little creature ! " 
 
 " They have loved each other all their lives." 
 " The Earl is delighted with the marriage." 
 " He is the most devoted of lovers." 
 And there was not a word of dissent from this 
 opinion until pretty Sally McKean said, " A fig for 
 your prophecies ! George Hyde has loved and 
 galloped away a score of times. I would not pay 
 any more attention to his proposals and promises, 
 than I would pay to the wind that blows where it 
 listeth; here to-day, and somewhere else to-mor 
 row." 
 
 To all these speculations Cornelia forced herself 
 to listen with a calm unalterable ; and Hyde and 
 Annie watched her from a distance. " So that is 
 the marvellous beauty ! " said Annie. 
 
Life Tied in a Knot 231 
 
 " Is she not marvellously beautiful ? " asked Hyde. 
 
 " Yes. I will say that much. But why did she 
 look at you with so much of reproach ? What 
 have you done to her ? " 
 
 "That is it. What have I done ? Or left un 
 done ? " 
 
 " Who is the gentleman with her ? " 
 
 "I know not. She has many relatives here; 
 wealthy Quakers, and some of them doubtless of 
 the new order, who do not disdain the frivolity of 
 fine clothing." 
 
 " Indeed, I assure you the Quakers were ever 
 nice in their taste for silks and velvets and laces. 
 The man is handsome enough even to be her es 
 cort. And to judge by appearances he is her devoted 
 servant. Will you regard them, cousin ? " 
 
 " I do. Alas, I see nothing else ! She is more 
 lovely then ever. * 
 
 " She is wonderfully dressed. That gown of 
 pale blue and silver would make any woman look 
 like an angel but indeed she is lovely beyond com 
 parison. There are none like her in this room. It 
 will be a thousand pities if you lose her." 
 
 "I shall be inconsolable." 
 
 " You may have another opportunity even to 
 night. I see that my aunt is approaching with a 
 young lady, if you do not wish to make a new ac 
 quaintance, go and try to meet Cornelia again." 
 
 "Thank you, Annie. You can tell me what I 
 have missed afterwards." 
 
232 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 He wandered through the parlours speaking to one 
 and another but ever on the watch for Cornelia. 
 He saw her no more that night. She had with 
 drawn as soon as possible after meeting Hyde, and 
 he was so miserably disappointed, so angry at the 
 unpropitious circumstances which had dominated 
 their casual meeting, that he hardly spoke to any 
 one as they returned home ; and was indeed so lit 
 tle interested in other affairs that he forgot until the 
 next day to ask Annie whose acquaintance he had 
 rather palpably refused. 
 
 " You cannot guess who it was," said Annie in 
 answer to his query ; " so I will make a favour of 
 telling you. Do you remember the Rev. Mr. 
 Darner, rector of Downhill Market ? " 
 
 " Very well. He preached very tiresome ser 
 mons." 
 
 " The young lady was his daughter Mary." 
 
 " Tis a miracle ! What is Mary Damer doing 
 in America ? " 
 
 " She is on a visit to her cousin, who is mar 
 ried to the Governor of Massachusetts. He is 
 here on some state matter, and as Miss Damer 
 also wished to see Washington, he brought her 
 with him." 
 
 " Mary Damer ! We went nutting together one 
 autumn. She came often to Hyde Court when I 
 was a lad." 
 
 "And she promises to come often to see me 
 when I return to England. I wonder what we 
 
Life Tied in a Knot 233 
 
 have been brought together for. There must be a 
 
 reason for a meeting so unlikely Can it be 
 
 Cornelia ? " 
 
 u Tis the most improbable of suppositions. I 
 do not suppose she ever saw Cornelia." 
 
 " She had not even heard of her and yet my 
 mind will connect them." 
 
 " You have no reason to do so ; and it is beyond 
 all likelihood. I am sorry I went away from 
 Mary." 
 
 " She took no notice of your desertion." 
 
 " That is, as maybe. I was a mere lad when I 
 saw her last. Is she passable ? " 
 
 " She is extremely handsome. My aunt heard 
 that she is to marry a Boston gentleman of good 
 promise and estate. I dare say it is true." 
 
 It was so true that even while they were speak 
 ing of the matter Mary was writing these words to 
 her betrothed : " Yesterday I met the Hydes. You 
 know my father has the living of Downhill Market 
 from them, and I had a constraint on me to be 
 agreeable. The young Lord got out of my way. 
 Did he imagine I had designs on him ? I look for 
 a better man. What fate brought us together in 
 Philadelphia, I know not. I may see a great deal 
 of them in the coming summer, and then I may 
 find out. At present I will dismiss the Hydes. I 
 have met pleasanter company." 
 
 Annie dismissed the subject with the same sort 
 of impatience. It seemed to no one a matter of 
 
234 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 any importance, and even Annie that day had none 
 of the penetrative insight which belongs to 
 
 " that finer atmosphere, 
 
 Where footfalls of appointed things, 
 
 Reverberent of days to be, 
 Are heard in forecast echoings, 
 
 Like wave beats from a viewless sea." 
 
 As for Hyde, he was shaken, confused, lifted off 
 his feet, as it were; but after another day had 
 passed, he had come to one steady resolution he 
 would speak to Cornelia when next he met her, no mat 
 ter where it was, or who was with her. And that 
 passionate stress of spirit which induced this re 
 solve, led him also to go out and seek for this op 
 portunity. 
 
 For nearly a week he kept this conscious, con 
 stant watch. Its insisting sorrowful longing was 
 like a cry from Love s watch towers, but it did not 
 reach the beloved one ; or else she did not answer it. 
 One bright morning he resolved to walk throught the 
 great dry goods stores Whiteside s, Guest s, and 
 the famous Mrs. Holland s, where the beauties of 
 the "gay Quakers" bought their choicest fabrics 
 in foreign chintzes, lawns, and Indian muslins. 
 All along Front, Arch, and Walnut Streets, the 
 pavements were lumbered with boxes and bales of 
 fine imported goods, and he was getting impatient 
 of the bustle and pushing, when he saw Anthony 
 Clymer approaching him. The young man was 
 
Life Tied in a Knot 235 
 
 driving a new and very spirited team, and as he 
 with some difficulty held them, he called to Hyde 
 to come and drive with him. Hyde was just in the 
 weary mood that welcomed change, and he leaped to 
 his friend s side, and felt a sudden exhilaration in the 
 rapid motion of the buoyant, active animals. After 
 an hour s driving they came to a famous hostelry, 
 and Clymer said, " Let us give ourselves lunch, and 
 the horses bait and a rest, then we will make them 
 show their mettle home again." 
 
 The proposal met with a hearty response, and 
 the young men had a luxurious meal and more 
 good wine than they ought to have taken. But 
 Hyde had at last found some one who could talk 
 of Cornelia ; rave of her face and figure, and vow 
 she was the topmost beauty in Philadelphia. He 
 listened, and finally asked where she dwelt, and 
 learned that she was staying with Mr. Theodore 
 Willing, a wealthy gentleman of the strictest 
 Quaker principles, but whose son was one of the 
 " feeble men or wet Quakers " who wore powder 
 and ruffles and dressed like a person of fashion. 
 
 " He dangles around the bewitching Miss 
 Moran, and gives no other man a chance," said 
 Clymer spitefully. " It is the talk from east to 
 west, and tis said, he is so enamoured of the 
 beauty, that he will have her, if he buy her." 
 
 " Do you talk in your sleep ? Or do you tell 
 your dreams for truth ? " asked Hyde angrily. 
 " Tis not to be believed that a girl so lovely can 
 
236 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 be bought by mere pounds sterling. A woman s 
 heart lies not so near her hand God s mercy for 
 it ! or any fool might seize it." 
 
 " What are you raging at ? She is not your 
 mistress." 
 
 " Let us talk of horses or politics or the last 
 play or anything but women. They breed quar 
 rels, if you do but name them." 
 
 " Content. I will tell you a good story about 
 Tom Herring." 
 
 The story was evidently a good one, for Hyde 
 laughed at the recital with a noisy merriment very 
 unusual to him. The champ and gallop of the 
 horses, and Clymer s vociferous enjoyment of his 
 own wit, blended with it ; and for a moment or 
 two Hyde was under a physical exhilaration as in 
 toxicating as the foam of the champagne they had 
 been drinking. In the height of this meretricious 
 gaiety, a carriage, driving at a rather rapid rate 
 turned into the road ; and Cornelia suddenly raised 
 her eyes to the festive young men, and then 
 dropped them with an abrupt, even angry ex 
 pression. 
 
 Hyde became silent and speechless, and Clymer 
 was quickly infected by the very force and potency 
 of his companion s agitation and distressed sur 
 prise. He heard him mutter, " Oh this is intoler 
 able ! " and then, it was, as if a cold sense of dis 
 like had sprung up between them. Both were 
 glad to escape the other s company, and Hyde fled 
 
Life Tied in a Knot 237 
 
 to the privacy of his own room, that he might 
 hide there the almost unbearable chagrin and 
 misery this unfortunate meeting had caused him. 
 
 u Where shall I run to avoid myself ? " he 
 cried as he paced the floor in an agony of shame. 
 " She will never respect me again. She ought not. 
 I am the most wretched of lovers. Such a tom 
 fool to betray me as Anthony Clymer ! A man 
 like a piece of glass, that I have seen through a 
 dozen times ! " Then he threw himself into a 
 chair and covered his face with his hands, and wept 
 tears full of anger and shameful distress. 
 
 For some days sorrow, and confusion, and dis 
 traction bound his senses ; he refused all com 
 pany, would neither eat, nor sleep, nor talk, and 
 he looked as white and wan as a spectre. A 
 stupid weight, a dismal sullen stillness succeeded 
 the storm of shame and grief; and he felt himself 
 to be the most forlorn of human beings. If it 
 had been only possible to undo things done ! he 
 would have bought the privilege with years. At 
 length, however, the first misery of that wretched 
 meeting passed away, and then he resolved to for 
 get. 
 
 " It is all past ! " he said despairingly. " She is 
 lost to me forever ! Her memory breaks my 
 heart ! I will not remember any longer ! I will 
 forfeit all to forgetfulness. Alas, alas, Cornelia ! 
 Though you would not believe me, it was the per- 
 fectest love that I gave you ! " 
 
238 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 Cornelia s sorrow, though quite as profound, was 
 different in character. Her sex and various other 
 considerations taught her more restraint ; but she 
 also felt the situation to be altogether unendurable, 
 and after a few moments of bitterly eloquent 
 silence, she said 
 
 " Mother, let us go home. I can bear this 
 place no longer. Let us go home to-morrow. 
 Twice this past week I have been made to suffer 
 more than you can imagine. The man is appar 
 ently worthless but I love him." 
 
 " You say c apparently Cornelia ? " 
 
 " Oh, how can I tell ? There may be excuses 
 compulsions I do not know what. I am only 
 sure of one thing, that I love and suffer. * 
 
 For despite all reason, despite even the evidence 
 of her own eyes, Cornelia kept a reserve. And in 
 that pitiful last meeting, there had been a flash 
 from Hyde s eyes, that said to her she knew not 
 what of unconquerable love and wrong and sorrow 
 a flash swifter than lightning and equally po 
 tential. It had stirred into tumult and revolt all 
 the platitudes with which she had tried to quiet her 
 restless heart; made her doubtful, pitiful and uncer 
 tain of all things, even while her lover s reckless gaiety 
 seemed to confirm her worst suspicions. And she 
 felt unable to face constantly this distressing dubi 
 ous questioning, so that it was with almost irritable 
 entreaty she said, " Let us go home, mother." 
 
 " I have desired to do so for two weeks, Cor- 
 
Life Tied in a Knot 239 
 
 nelia," answered Mrs. Moran. " I think our 
 visit has already been too long." 
 
 " My Cousin Silas has now begun to make love 
 to me ; and his mother and sisters like it no better 
 than I do. I hate this town with its rampant, af 
 fected fashion and frivolities ! It is all a pretence ! 
 The people are naturally saints, and they are ab 
 surd and detestable, scheming to make the most of 
 both worlds going to meeting and quoting texts 
 and then playing that they are men and women of 
 fashion. Mother, let us go home at once. Lucinda 
 can pack our trunks to-day, and we will leave in 
 the morning." 
 
 " Can we go without an escort ? " 
 
 " Oh yes, we can. Lucinda will wait on us 
 she too is longing for New York and who can 
 drive us more carefully than Cato ? And my dear 
 mother, if Silas wants to escort us, do not permit 
 him. Please be very positive. I am at the end 
 of my patience. I am like to cry out ! I am so 
 unhappy, mother ! " 
 
 " My dear, we will go home to-morrow. We 
 can make the journey in short stages. Do not 
 break down now, Cornelia. It is only a little 
 longer." 
 
 " I shall not break down if we go home." And 
 as the struggle to resist sorrow proves the capacity 
 to resist it, Cornelia kept her promise. As they 
 reached New York her cheerfulness increased, and 
 when they turned into Maiden Lane, she clapped 
 
240 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 her hands for very joy. And oh, how delightful 
 was the pleasant sunny street, the familiar houses, 
 the brisk wind blowing, the alert cheerful looking 
 men and women that greeted each other in passing 
 with lively words, and bright smiles ! O how de 
 lightful the fresh brown garden, in which the 
 crocuses were just beginning to peep, the bright 
 looking home, the dear father running with glad 
 surprise to greet them, the handsome, pleasant 
 rooms, the refreshing tea, the thousand small name 
 less joys that belong to the little darling word 
 "Home." 
 
 She ran upstairs to her own dear room, laid her 
 head on her pillow, sat down in her favourite chair, 
 opened her desk, let in all the sunshine she could, 
 and then fell with holy gratitude on her knees and 
 thanked God for her sweet home, and for the full 
 cup of mercies He had given her to drink in it. 
 
 When she went downstairs the mail had just 
 come in, and the Doctor sat before a desk covered 
 with newspapers and letters. u Cornelia," he cried 
 in a voice full of interest, " here is a letter for you 
 a long letter. It is from Paris." 
 
 " It is from Arenta ! " she exclaimed, as she ex 
 amined the large sheets closed with a great splash 
 of red wax, bearing the de Tounnerre crest. It 
 had indeed come from Paris, the city of dreadful 
 slaughter, yet Cornelia opened it with a smiling ex 
 citement, as she said again : 
 
 " It is from Arenta ! " 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 WE HAVE DONE WITH TEARS AND TREASONS 
 
 u HERE is a letter from Arenta ! " repeated the 
 Doctor to his wife, who was just entering the room. 
 " Come, Ava, and listen to what she has to say. I 
 have no doubt it will be interesting." Then Cor 
 nelia read aloud the following words : 
 
 MY DEAR FRIEND CORNELIA : 
 
 If to-day I could walk down Maiden 
 Lane, if to-day I could see you and talk to you, I 
 should imagine myself in heaven. For as to this 
 city, I think that in hell the name of " Paris " must 
 have spread itself far and wide. Indeed I often 
 wonder if I am yet on the earth, or if I have gone 
 away in my sleep to the country of the devil and 
 his angels. Even as I am writing to you, my pen 
 is shaking with terror, for I hear the tumbril come 
 jolting along, and I know that it is loaded with 
 innocent men and women who are going to the 
 guillotine; and I know also that it is accompanied 
 by a mob of dreadful creatures mostly women 
 for I hear them singing no, screaming in a kind 
 of rage, 
 
 " fa ira les aristocrates d la lanterne ! " 
 
 Do you remember our learning in those happy 
 
 days at Bethlehem of the slaughter of Christians 
 
 by Nero ? Very well ; right here in the Paris of 
 
 Marat and Robespierre, you may hear constantly 
 
 241 
 
242 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 the same brutal cry that filled the Rome of the 
 Caesars " Death to the Christians ! " Famine, an 
 archy, murder, are everywhere ; and I live from 
 moment to moment, trembling if a step comes 
 near me. For Athanase is imprudence itself. His 
 opinions will be the death of him. He will not 
 desert the Girondists, though Mr. Morris tells him 
 their doom is certain. Marat is against them, and 
 the Jacobins who are deliriously wicked are 
 against them, and the mob of the Faubourgs is 
 against them ; and this mob is always of one mind, 
 always on the spot, and always hungry and ready 
 for anarchy and blood. Besides which, they are 
 already accused of having sold themselves to Mr. 
 Pitt. Very often I have heard my dear father talk 
 ing of universal suffrage as the bulwark of liberty ; 
 well then, we have now, and here, an universal suf 
 frage that is neither a fraud nor a fiction ; and as 
 Athanase says, " it is expressing itself every min 
 ute, in the crimes of the Holy Guillotine." 
 
 And yet Paris makes a pretence of being gay and 
 of enjoying itself. We go to the theatre and the 
 opera, and we dance, as it were, red, wet-shod to 
 the hideous strains of the Carmagnole. It is in 
 deed a dance of death. The other night we were 
 at a reception given by Madame Talma to the vic 
 torious General Dumouriez. All the Brissot party 
 were there. Your father will remember Brissot de 
 Warville very well. He was greatly petted by 
 Mrs. Jay and the aristocracy of New York and 
 Philadelphia. Jefferson made a friend of him, and 
 even Washington talked with him about his book 
 on our country. Then he passed himself off as a 
 noble, but he is really the son of an innkeeper. I 
 had so often heard of him, that I regarded with in 
 terest his pale face and grave, melancholy manner. 
 
Done With Tears and Treasons 243 
 
 He was accompanied by Camilla Desmoulins, and 
 by Danton ; the latter a man almost terrible in his 
 ugliness. David, the painter of Socrates, was there ; 
 he had his hair frizzed, and was dressed splendidly ; 
 and with him was Chenier, more tragic looking 
 than any of his plays. The salons were filled with 
 flowers and beautiful women ; among them the 
 majestic Madame Vestris, and the lovely Mademoi 
 selle Candeille, who was singing a song when there 
 arose a sudden indescribable noise, growing louder 
 and louder, and then the cry of Marat ! Marat! 
 and the " Friend of the People " entered. Now I 
 shall spare a few minutes to tell you, that no one 
 has made frightful enough his large bony face, his 
 thin lips and his livid complexion. He wore an 
 old carmagnole, a dirty handkerchief twisted about 
 his neck, leather breeches, shoes without stockings, 
 and a piece of red cotton round his head, from 
 which there hung a few locks of greasy hair. A 
 nervous twitching keeps him constantly moving, 
 and he has the leprosy : this is well known. He 
 walked straight to Dumouriez, who said disdain 
 fully, "Ah! are you the man they call Marat?" 
 Marat immediately demanded from him an account 
 of military measures he had taken. They had some 
 sharp conversation which I did not hear, and Marat 
 finally went away uttering the most insulting threats, 
 and leaving every one in a state of mortal terror. 
 The next day the newsboys were shouting u the 
 discovery of a great plot by Marat, the Friend of 
 the People ! Great meeting of Aristocrats at Tal 
 mas, etc." 
 
 This is the kind of pleasure we have ; as to 
 religion, there is no longer any religion. Every 
 where the Almighty is spoken of as the " soi-disant 
 God." The monarchy is abolished, and yet so 
 
244 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 ignorant are the leaders of the people, that when 
 Brissot mentioned the word Republic in Petion s 
 house, Robespierre said with a grin, " Republic ! 
 Republic ! what s a republic ? " Spying, and fear, 
 and death penetrate into the most private houses ; 
 above all, fear, constant fear of every one with 
 whom you come in contact. This feeling is so 
 universal, that some one has conjugated it thus 
 I am afraid Thou art afraid He is afraid We 
 are afraid You are afraid They are afraid For 
 as death has been officially declared " an endless 
 sleep " any crime is possible ; the mob have no fear 
 of hell, and as for the guillotine, it is their opera 
 and their perpetual comedy. Very soon these 
 things must bring on France the chastisement of 
 the Lord ; and I shall not be sorry for it. 
 
 I have told you the truth about our condition, 
 because I have just had a letter from my father, 
 and he talks of leaving his business in Claos 
 Bergen s care, and coming here to look after me. 
 You must convince him, that he could do me no 
 good whatever, and that he might do me much 
 harm. He is outspoken as a Zealander, and what 
 is in his head and his heart, would come to his lips ; 
 also, if it should come to flight, he would em 
 barrass me very much. Tell him not to fear; 
 Arenta says, not to fear. I may indeed have to 
 take a seat in " the terrible armchair " I but I shall 
 not go to the guillotine ; I know that. While 
 Minister Morris is here I have a friend that can do 
 all that can be done. I have had a few letters from 
 Rem, but they do not satisfy me. He is in love, 
 and not with you. Will you please inform me what 
 
 1 The chair in which the accused sat before the Revolutionary 
 Tribunal and from which they usually went to the guillotine. 
 
Done With Tears and Treasons 249 
 
 that means ? Say to Aunt Angelica that I am 
 astonished at her silence ; and ask our good 
 Domine to pray that I may soon return to a 
 country where God reigns. Never again do I 
 wish to spend one minute in a place where there is 
 no God ; for whatever they may call that place, its 
 real name is hell. Write me a long letter and tell 
 me all the news of New York, and with my 
 respectful remembrance to your dear father and 
 mother, I am always your loving friend, 
 
 ARENTA, MARQUISE DE TOUNNERRE. 
 
 " Poor Arenta ! " said the Doctor when Cornelia 
 had finished the wretched epistle. u She is however 
 showing the mettle of the race from which she 
 sprang. The spirit of the men who fought Alva is 
 in her, and I think she will be a match for Marat, 
 if it comes to that. Suppose you go and see Van 
 Ariens, and give him all the comfort you can. 
 Are you too weary ? " 
 
 " I should like to see him. I am not tired now. 
 Home is such a good doctor." 
 
 " I think you will find him in his house. He 
 comes from his office very early these days." 
 
 Cornelia crossed the street and was going to 
 knock at the door, when Van Ariens hastily opened 
 it. His broad face shone with pleasure, and when 
 Cornelia told him her errand, he was in a hurry of 
 loving anxiety to hear what his child had written. 
 
 " I understand," he said, when he had heard the 
 letter. " She is frightened, the poor little one ! 
 but she will smile and say 4 it is nothing. That is 
 
246 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 her way. However, I yet think I must go to 
 her." 
 
 " Do not," urged Cornelia. " France is now at 
 war with Holland, and you would be recognized as 
 a Dutchman." 
 
 "That is so. My tongue would tell tales on 
 me ; and to go even to heaven by the guillotine, 
 is not what a good man would wish. No 
 indeed ! " 
 
 " And you may see by Arenta s letter, that she 
 does not fear the guillotine. Come over to-night 
 and talk to my father and mother, and I will tell 
 you what I saw in Philadelphia." 
 
 "Well then, I will come." 
 
 " Is Madame Jacobus back in New York yet ? " 
 
 " She is in London." 
 
 " But why in London r " 
 
 " That, I know not. Two reasons I can sup 
 pose, but which is right, or if either be right, that 
 is beyond my certainty." 
 
 u Is her sister-in-law dead ? " 
 
 " She is dead. Her husband was an English 
 man ; perhaps then it is about some property in 
 England she has gone. If it is not that, of nothing 
 else can I think but Captain Jacobus. But my 
 sister Angelica had ever two ways nothing at all 
 she would say about her money or her business; 
 but constantly, to every one, she would talk of her 
 husband. I think then it is money or property 
 that has taken her to England. For if it had been 
 
Done With Tears and Treasons 247 
 
 Jacobus, to the whole town she would have told it." 
 Then he took both Cornelia s hands in his, and 
 looking at her earnestly said 
 
 u Poor Rem ! Impossible is it ? " 
 
 " Quite impossible, sir," she answered. 
 
 " When he got thy letter refusing his love and 
 offer, he went to Boston. I think he will not 
 come back to me. I am very sorry," he said 
 simply, and he let her hands drop. 
 
 " I am sorry also for your sake. I hear how 
 ever that Rem is doing well in Boston." 
 
 u Better than his hopes. Very good fortune has 
 come to him." 
 
 "And you, sir?" 
 
 11 1 am not doing much at present but Smith 
 and Warren do less. In an hour or two to your 
 house I will come. There is plenty to talk 
 about." 
 
 The next day Cornelia walked down Broadway 
 to Madame Jacobus house. It was closed and 
 desolate looking, and she sighed as she compared 
 its old bright spotless comfort, with its present 
 empty forlornness. The change typified the 
 change in her heart and love, but ere she could 
 entertain the thought, her eyes fell upon the trees 
 in the garden, full of the pale crinkled leaves of 
 spring, and she saw the early flowers breaking 
 through the dark earth, and the early shrubs burst 
 ing into white and golden blooms. In some way 
 they had a message for her; and she went home 
 
248 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 with hope budding in her heart. Soon after Mrs. 
 Moran heard her singing at her work, 
 
 " The far east glows, 
 The morning wind blows fresh and free ; 
 Should not the hour that wakes the rose 
 Awaken thee ? 
 
 No longer sleep 
 
 Oh listen now ! 
 I wait and weep, 
 
 But where art thou?" 
 
 From one to another song she went, simple melo 
 dies all of them, delightful little warblings of love, 
 which except for their gladness and loyalty, had 
 nothing in them to charm. 
 
 She was a deserted maiden. Her lover had 
 palpably and with extreme cruelty deceived her; 
 but she had grieved, and forgiven. And love 
 brings its reward, even if unrequited. Those who 
 love, and have loved, are the better for the revela 
 tion ; for love for love s sake enriches and blesses 
 the lover to the very end of life. She did not for 
 get, for love has everlasting remembrance ; and 
 she did not wish to forget, for a great affection is a 
 great happiness, and the whole soul can find shelter 
 in it. 
 
 Neither were her days monotonous or unhappy. 
 All the real pleasures of life lie in narrow compass ; 
 and she found herself very often a little hurried for 
 want of time. She had not, it is true, the resources 
 of the woman of to-day no literary, musical, so- 
 
Done With Tears and Treasons 249 
 
 cial, or sporting clubs existed for Cornelia ; but 
 she had duties and devices that made every mo 
 ment pleasant or profitable. Many hours daily 
 were given to fine needlework calm quiet hours 
 full of thought as well as work ; she had her music 
 to practice, new books and papers to read, calls to 
 make, mantua makers and milliners to interview, 
 dinners and dances and tea-parties to attend, 
 shopping to look after, delicate bits of darning and 
 mending to exercise her skill on, creams and pasties 
 and cakes to prepare, visitors to welcome and en 
 tertain, and many other duties which sprang up 
 as extras do unexpectedly, and yet which opened 
 the door for very pleasant surprises and events. 
 
 Besides which, there was her father. After her 
 return from school she had always driven with him 
 to some extent ; but his claim on her now was 
 often a little exacting. He said the fresh spring 
 winds were good for her, and that she stayed in 
 the house too much, and there was no evading the 
 dictum that came with both parental and medical 
 authority. Perhaps this demand upon her time 
 would not have been made if the Hydes had been 
 in New York ; but Doctor Moran by frequent in 
 quiries satisfied himself that they were yet in 
 Philadelphia; and for his daughter s satisfaction 
 he frequently said as they drove up Maiden Lane, 
 " We will take the Greenwich Road, there is no 
 fear of our meeting any one we do not wish to 
 see." She understood the allusion, and was satis- 
 
250 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 fied to escape meetings that promised her nothing 
 but pain. 
 
 In the month of May there occurred one of 
 those wet spells which are so irritating "growing 
 weather " of course, but very tiresome to those 
 who felt the joy of spring escaping them. Week 
 after week it was too damp, or the winds were too 
 sharp, or the roads too heavy for quick driving, and 
 thus the month of all months went out of the cal 
 endar with few red letter days to brighten it. Then 
 June came in royally, and Cornelia was glad of the 
 sunshine and the breeze and the rapid canter ; and 
 for a week or two she was much out with her 
 father. But he was now ever on the watch, and 
 she judged from the circumstance that the Hydes 
 were back in New York. Besides which, he did 
 not any longer give her the assurance of not meet 
 ing any one they did not wish to see. 
 
 One exquisite day as they went up Maiden Lane 
 the Doctor said " My friend General Hewitt sails 
 for England to-day, and we will go and wish him a 
 good voyage." So to the pier they went, and the 
 Doctor left his carriage, and taking Cornelia on 
 his arm walked down to where the English packet 
 was lying. They were a little too late to go on 
 board, for the shoremen were taking away the 
 gang-plank, and the sailors preparing to lift the 
 anchor; but the General stood leaning over the 
 side of the vessel, and exchanged some last words 
 with his friend. 
 
Done With Tears and Treasons 251 
 
 While Cornelia listened, she became suddenly 
 conscious of the powerful magnetism of some 
 human eye, and obeying its irresistible attraction 
 she saw George Hyde steadily regarding her. He 
 stood by the side of his father, as handsome as on 
 that May morning when he had first looked love 
 into her heart. She was enthralled again by his 
 glance, and never for one moment thought of re 
 sisting the appeal it made to her. With a con 
 scious tenderness she waved him an adieu whose 
 spirit he could not but feel. In the same moment 
 he lifted his hat and stood bareheaded looking at 
 her with a pathetic inquiry, which made her in 
 wardly cry out, " Oh, what does he mean ? " The 
 packet was moving the wind filled the blowing 
 sails the hoarse crying of the sailormen blended 
 with the " good-byes " of the passengers and the 
 Earl, aware of the sad and silent parting within his 
 sight moved away as Cornelia again waved a mute 
 farewell to her lost lover. Then the Doctor 
 touched her 
 
 " Why do you do that ? " he asked angrily. 
 
 " Because I must do it, father ; I cannot help it. 
 I desire to do it." 
 
 " I am in a hurry ; let us go home." 
 
 Filling her eyes with the beauty of the splendid 
 looking youth still standing bareheaded watching 
 her, seeing even such trivial things as his long cloak 
 thrown backward over his shoulder, his white hand 
 holding his lifted hat, and the wind-tossed curls of 
 
The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 his handsome head, she turned away with a sigh. 
 The Doctor drove rapidly to Maiden Lane and did 
 not on the way speak a word j and Cornelia was 
 glad of it. That image of her lover standing on 
 the moving ship watching her with his heart in his 
 eyes, rilled her whole consciousness. Never would 
 it be possible for her to forget it, or to put any 
 other image in its place. She thanked her good 
 angel for giving her such a comforting memory ; 
 it seemed as if the sting had been taken out of her 
 sorrow. Henceforward she was resolved to love 
 without a doubt. She would believe in Joris, no 
 matter what she had seen, or what she had heard. 
 There were places in life to which alas ! truth 
 could not come ; and this might be one of them. 
 Though all the world blamed her lover, she would 
 excuse him. Her heart might ache, her eyes might 
 weep, but in that aching heart and in those weep 
 ing eyes, his splendid image would live in that 
 radiant dimness which makes the unseen face, often 
 more real than the present one. 
 
 Doctor Moran divined something of this reso 
 lute temper, and it made him silent. He felt that 
 his daughter had come to a place where she had 
 put reason firmly aside, and given her whole assent 
 to the assurances of her intuition. He had no ar 
 guments for an antagonism of this kind. What 
 could he say to a soul that presaged a something, 
 and then believed it ? His instinctive sagacity told 
 him that silence was now the part of wisdom. 
 
SHE \VAVKD HIM AN ADIEU." 
 
Done With Tears and Treasons 253 
 
 But though he took her silently home he was con 
 scious of a great relief. His watch was over. 
 
 Now a woman s intuition is like a leopard s 
 spring, it seizes the truth if it seize it at all at 
 the first bound ; and it was by this unaccountable 
 mental agility Cornelia had arrived at the convic 
 tion of her lover s fidelity. At any rate, she felt 
 confident, that if circumstances had compelled 
 him to be false to her, the wrong had been sin 
 cerely mourned ; and she was able to forgive the 
 offence that was blotted out with tears. She re 
 flected also, that now he was so far away, it would 
 be possible for her to call upon Madame Van Heem- 
 skirk, and also upon Madame Jacobus as soon as 
 she returned ; but if Hyde had remained in New 
 York, these houses would necessarily be closed to 
 her, for he was a constant visitor at both. 
 
 She resolved therefore to call upon Madame 
 Van Heemskirk the following week. She ex 
 pected the old lady might treat her a little form 
 ally, perhaps even with some coldness, but she 
 thought it worth while to test her kindness. Joris 
 had once told her that his grandfather and grand 
 mother both approved their love, and they must 
 know of his desertion, and also of the reason for 
 it. Yet there was in her heart such a reluctance 
 to take any step that had the appearance of seek 
 ing her lost lover, that she put off this visit day 
 after day, finding in the weather or in some house- 
 
2_J4 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 hold duty always a fair excuse for doing so, until 
 one morning the Doctor said at breakfast : 
 
 " Councillor De Vrees died yesterday, and there 
 is to be a great funeral. Every Dutchman in town 
 will be there, and many others beside. He has 
 left an immense fortune." 
 
 " Who told you this ? " asked Mrs. Moran. 
 
 "I met Van Heemskirk and his wife going 
 there. Madame De Vrees is their daughter. Now 
 you will see great changes take place." 
 
 " What do you mean, John ? " 
 
 " Madame De Vrees has long wanted to build a 
 mansion equal to their wealth, but the Councillor 
 would never leave the house he built at their mar 
 riage. Madame will now build, and her children 
 take their places among the great ones of the city. 
 De Vrees was an oddity ; very few people will be 
 sorry to lose him. He had no good quality but 
 money, and he was the most unhappy of men 
 about its future disposal. I never understood un 
 til I knew him, how wretched a thing it is to be 
 merely rich." 
 
 This conversation again put off Cornelia s visit, 
 and she virtually abandoned the idea. Then one 
 morning Mrs. Moran said, " Cornelia, I wish you 
 to go to William Irvin s for some hosiery and 
 Kendal cottons. It is a new store down the Lane 
 at number ninety, and I hear his cloths are strangely 
 cheap. Go and examine them for me." 
 
 " Very well, mother. I will also look in at 
 
Done With Tears and Treasons 255 
 
 Fisher s; " and it was at Fisher s that she saw Ma 
 dame Van Heemskirk. She was talking to Mr. 
 Henry Fisher as they advanced from the back of 
 the store, and Cornelia had time to observe that 
 madame was in deep mourning, and that she had 
 grown older looking since she had last seen her. 
 As they came forward madame raised her eyes and 
 saw Cornelia, and then hastily leaving the mer 
 chant, she approached her. 
 
 u Good-morning, madame," said Cornelia, with 
 a cheerful smile. 
 
 "Good-morning, miss. Step aside once with 
 me. A few words I have to say to you ; " and as 
 she spoke she drew Cornelia a little apart from the 
 crowd at the counter, and looking at her sternly, 
 said 
 
 "One question only why then did you treat 
 my grandson so badly ? A shameful thing it is to 
 be a flirt." 
 
 " I am not a flirt, madame. And I did not treat 
 your grandson badly. No, indeed ! " 
 
 "Yes, indeed ! He told me so himself." 
 
 " He told you so ? " 
 
 " He told me so. Surely he did." 
 
 " That I treated him badly ? " 
 
 " Pray then what else ? You let a young man 
 love you you let him tell you so you tell him 
 yes, I love you and then when he says marry 
 me, you say, no/ Such ways I call bad, very 
 
256 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 bad ! Not worthy of my Joris are you, and so 
 then, I am glad you said no. 
 
 " I do not understand you." 
 
 " Neither did you understand my Joris a great 
 mistake he made and he did not understand you ; 
 and I do not understand such ways of the girls of 
 this day. They are shameless, and I am ashamed 
 for you." 
 
 " Madame, you are very rude." 
 
 " And very false are you." 
 
 " I am not false." 
 
 " My Joris told me so. Truth itself is Joris. 
 He would not lie. He would not deceive." 
 
 "If your grandson told you I had deceived him, 
 and refused to marry him, let it be so. I have no 
 wish to contradict your grandson." 
 
 "That you cannot do. I am ashamed " 
 
 " Madame, I wish you good morning ; " and 
 with these words Cornelia left the store. Her 
 cheeks were burning; the old lady s angry voice 
 was in her ears, she felt the eyes of every one in 
 the store upon her, and she was indignant and 
 mortified at a meeting so inopportune. Her heart 
 had also received a new stab ; and she had not at 
 the moment any philosophy to meet it. Joris had 
 evidently told his grandmother exactly what the 
 old lady affirmed. She had not a doubt of that, but 
 why ? Why had he lied about her ? Was there 
 no other way out of his entanglement with her ? 
 She walked home in a hurry, and as soon as pos- 
 
Done With Tears and Treasons 257 
 
 sible shut herself in her room to consider this fresh 
 wrong and injustice. 
 
 She could arrive at only one conclusion 
 Annie s most unexpected appearance had happened 
 immediately after his proposal to herself. He was 
 pressed for time, his grandparents would be es 
 pecially likely to embarrass him concerning her 
 claims, and of course the quickest and surest way 
 to prevent questioning on the matter, was to tell 
 them that she had refused him. That fact would 
 close their mouths in sympathy for his disappoint 
 ment, and there would be no further circumstances 
 to clear up. It was the only explanation of 
 madame s attitude that was possible, and she was 
 compelled to accept it, much as it humiliated her. 
 And then after it had been accepted and sorrowed 
 over, there came back to her those deeper as 
 surances, those soul assertions, which she could 
 not either examine or define, but which she felt 
 
 compelled to receive He loves me ! I feel it ! 
 
 It is not his fault ! I must not think wrong of 
 him. 
 
 There was still Madame Jacobus to hope for. 
 She was so shrewd and so kindly, that Cornelia felt 
 certain of her sympathy and wise advice. But 
 month after month passed away and madame s 
 house remained empty and forlorn-looking. Now 
 and then there came short fateful letters from 
 Arenta, and Van Ariens utterly miserable visited 
 them frequently that he might be comforted with 
 
258 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 their assurances of his child s ability to manage the 
 very worst circumstances in which she could be 
 placed. 
 
 And so the long summer days passed and the 
 winter approached again ; but before that time 
 Cornelia had at least attained to the wisest of all 
 the virtues that calm, hushed contentment, which 
 is only another name for happiness that content 
 ment which accepts the fact that there is a chain 
 of causes linked to effects by an invincible ne 
 cessity ; and that whatever is, could not have 
 wisely been but so. And if this was fatalism, it 
 was at least a brighter thing than the languid pes 
 simism, which would have led her life among 
 quicksands, to end it in wreck. 
 
 One day at the close of October she put down 
 her needlework with a little impatience. " I am 
 tired of sewing, mother, * she said, " and I will 
 walk down to the Battery and get a breath of the 
 sea. I shall not stay long." 
 
 On her way to the Battery she was thinking of 
 Hyde, and of their frequent walks together there ; 
 and for once she passed the house of Madame 
 Jacobus without a glance at its long-closed 
 windows. It was growing dark as she returned, 
 and ere she quite reached it she was aware of a 
 glow of fire light and candle light from the 
 windows. She quickened her steps, and saw a 
 servant well known to her standing at the open 
 door directing two men who were carrying in 
 
Done With Tears and Treasons 259 
 
 trunks and packages. She immediately accosted 
 him. 
 
 " Has madame returned at last, Ameer ? " she 
 asked joyfully. 
 
 " Madame has returned home," he answered. 
 " She is weary she is not alone she will not re 
 ceive to-night." 
 
 u Surely not. I did not think of such a thing. 
 Tell her only that I am glad, and will call as soon 
 as she can see me." 
 
 The man s manner usually so friendly was 
 shy and peculiar, and Cornelia felt saddened and 
 disappointed. " And yet why ? " she asked her 
 self. " Madame has but reached home I did not 
 wish to intrude upon her Ameer need not have 
 thought so however I am glad she is back again " 
 and she walked rapidly home to the thoughts 
 which this unexpected arrival induced. They 
 were hopeful thoughts, leaning however she di 
 rected them towards her absent lover. She felt 
 sure madame would see clearly to the very bottom 
 of what she could not understand. She went into 
 her mother s presence full of renewed expecta 
 tions, and met her smile with one of unusual bright 
 ness. 
 
 " Madame Jacobus is at home," said Mrs. 
 Moran, before Cornelia could speak. " She sent 
 for your father just after you left the house, and I 
 suppose that he is still there." 
 
 " Is she sick ? " 
 
260 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 u I do not know. I fear so, for the visit is a 
 long one." 
 
 It continued so much longer that the two 
 ladies took their tea alone, nor could they talk of 
 any other subject than madame, and her most un 
 expected call for Doctor Moran s services. " It 
 was always the Dutch Doctor Gansvoort she had 
 before," said Mrs. Moran; "and she was ever 
 ready to scoff at all others, as pretenders. I do 
 wonder what keeps your father so long ? " 
 
 It was near ten o clock when Doctor Moran 
 returned, and his face was sombre and thoughtful 
 the face of a man who had been listening for 
 hours to grave matters, and who had not been able 
 to throw off their physical reflection. 
 
 " Have you had tea, John ? " asked Mrs. Moran. 
 
 " No. Give me a good strong cup, Ava. I am 
 tired with listening and feeling." 
 
 She poured it out quickly, and after he had taken 
 the refreshing drink, Cornelia asked 
 
 " Is madame very ill ? " 
 
 " She is wonderfully well. It is her husband." 
 
 " Captain Jacobus ? " 
 
 " Who else ? She has brought him home, and I 
 doubt if she has done wisely." 
 
 " What has happened, John ? Surely you will 
 tell us ! " 
 
 u There is nothing to conceal. I have heard the 
 whole story a very pitiful story but yet like 
 enough to end well. Madame told me that the day af- 
 
Done With Tears and Treasons 261 
 
 ter her sister-in-law s burial, James Lauder, a Scotch 
 man who had often sailed with Captain Jacobus, 
 came down to Charleston to see her. He had 
 sought her in New York, and been directed by her 
 lawyer to Charleston. He declared that having 
 had occasion to go to Guy s Hospital in London 
 to visit a sick comrade, he saw there Captain Jaco 
 bus. He would not admit any doubt of his iden 
 tity, but said the Captain had forgotten his name, 
 and everything in connection with his past life ; 
 and was hanging about the premises by favour of the 
 physicians, holding their horses, and doing various 
 little services for them." 
 
 " Oh how well I can imagine madame s hurry 
 and distress," said Cornelia. 
 
 " She hardly knew how to reach London quickly 
 enough. She said thought would have been too 
 slow for her. But Lauder s tale proved to be true. 
 Her first action was to take possession of the de 
 mented man, and surround him with every comfort. 
 He appeared quite indifferent to her care, and she 
 obtained no shadow of recognition from him. She 
 then brought to his case all the medical skill money 
 could procure, and in the consultation which fol 
 lowed, the physicians decided to perform the opera 
 tion of trepanning." 
 
 " But why ? Had he been injured, John ? " 
 
 "Very badly. The hospital books showed that 
 he had been brought there by two sailors, who said 
 he had been struck in a gale by a falling mast. 
 
262 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 The wound healed, but left him mentally a wreck. 
 The physicians decided that the brain was suffering 
 from pressure, and that trepanning would relieve, 
 if it did not cure." 
 
 u Then why was it not done at first ? " 
 " Whose interest was it to inquire ? No money 
 was left with the injured man. The sailors who 
 took him to the hospital gave false names, and ad 
 dress, and he received only such treatment as a 
 pauper patient was likely to receive. But he made 
 friends, and was supported about the place. 
 Imagine now what a trial was before madame ! 
 It was a difficult matter to perform the operation, 
 for the patient could not be made to understand its 
 necessity ; and he was very hard to manage. Then 
 picture to yourselves, the terrible strain of nursing 
 which followed; though madame says it was soon 
 brightened and lightened by her husband s recogni 
 tion of her. After that event all weariness was 
 rest, and suffering ease ; and as soon as he was able 
 to travel both were determined to return at once to 
 their own home. He is yet however a sick man, and 
 may never quite recover a slight paralysis of the 
 lower limbs." 
 
 " Does he remember how he was hurt ? " 
 " He declares his men mutinied, because instead 
 of returning to New York, he had taken on a cargo 
 for the East India Company ; and that the blow 
 was given him either by his first, or second mate. 
 He thinks they sailed his ship out of the Thames, 
 
Done With Tears and Treasons 263 
 
 for her papers were all made out, and she was 
 ready to drop down the river with the next tide. 
 He vows he will get well and find his ship and the 
 rascals that stole her ; and I should not wonder if 
 he does. He has will enough for anything. 
 Madame desires to see you, Cornelia. Can you 
 go there with me in the morning ? " 
 
 " I shall be glad to go. Madame is like no one 
 else." 
 
 " She is not like herself at present. I think you 
 may be a little disappointed in her. She has but 
 one thought, one care, one end and aim in life 
 her husband." 
 
 The Doctor had judged correctly. Cornelia was 
 disappointed from the first moment. She was taken 
 to the dim uncanny drawing-room by Ameer, and 
 left among its ill-omened gods, and odd treasure- 
 trove for nearly half an hour before madame came 
 to her. The rudely graven faces, so marvellously 
 instinct with life, made her miserable ; she fancied 
 a thousand mockeries and scorns in them ; and no 
 thought of Hyde, or Arenta, or of the happy hours 
 spent in that ill-boding room, could charm away 
 its sinister influence. 
 
 When madame at length came to her, she ap 
 peared like the very genius of the place. The ex 
 periences of the past year had left traces which no 
 after experience would be able to obliterate. She 
 looked ten years older. Her wonderful dark eyes, 
 glowing with a soft tender fire alone remained un- 
 
264 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 touched by the withering hand of anxious love. 
 They were as vital as ever they had been, and 
 when Cornelia said so, she answered, u That is be 
 cause my soul dwells in them, and my soul is al 
 ways young. I have had a year, Cornelia, to 
 crumble the body to dust ; but my soul made light 
 of it for love s sake. Did your father tell you how 
 much Captain Jacobus had suffered ? " 
 
 " Yes, madame." 
 
 But in spite of this assurance, madame went 
 over the whole story in detail, and Cornelia could 
 not help but remember that Mr. Van Ariens had 
 said " about her husband she will talk constantly, 
 and to the whole town." For however far the 
 conversation diverged for a moment, madame al 
 ways brought it sharply back to the one subject 
 that interested her. Even Arenta s peculiarly dan 
 gerous position could not detain her thoughts and 
 interest for many minutes. 
 
 " I am sorry for Arenta," she said ; " no greater 
 hell can there be, than to live in constant fear. But 
 she has the gift of a clever tongue, and every one 
 has not the like talent ; and also if a woman with 
 the decency of her sex may be a scholar, Arenta 
 has learning enough to compass the fools who 
 might injure her." 
 
 " Marat and Robespierre are both against her 
 husband, and she may share his fate." 
 
 "Marat and Robespierre!" she cried. "Both 
 of the creatures have a devil. I wish them to go 
 
Done With Tears and Treasons 265 
 
 to the guillotine together, and I would bury them 
 together with their faces downwards. Let them 
 pass out of your memory. Poor Jacobus was in a 
 worse case than Arenta. Till I be key-cold dead, 
 I shall never forget my first sight of him in that 
 dreadful place " and then she described again her 
 overwhelming emotions when she perceived he 
 was alike apathetic to his pauper condition, and to 
 her love and presence. There never came a mo 
 ment during the whole visit when it was possible to 
 speak of Hyde. Madame seemed to have quite 
 forgotten her liking for the handsome youth ; it had 
 been swallowed up in her adoring affection for her 
 restored husband. 
 
 Cornelia would not force the memory upon her. 
 Some day she might remember ; but for a little 
 while madame had more than enough of fresh ma 
 terial for her conversation. Every one who had 
 known Captain Jacobus or herself, called with con 
 gratulations for their happy return ; and when Cor 
 nelia made a nearly daily visit with her father, 
 madame had these calls to talk over with her. 
 
 One morning, however, the long-looked-for topic 
 was introduced. " I had a visit from Madame 
 Van Heemskirk yesterday afternoon," she said ; 
 u and the dear old Senator came with her to see 
 Captain Jacobus. While they talked, madame told 
 me that you had refused that handsome young fel 
 low, her grandson. What could you mean by such 
 a stupidity, Miss Moran ? " 
 
266 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 Her voice had just that tone of indifference, 
 mingled with sarcastic disapproval, that hurt and 
 offended Cornelia. She felt that it was not worth 
 while to explain herself, for madame had evidently 
 accepted the offended grandmother s opinion ; and 
 the memory of the young Lord was lively enough 
 to make her sympathize with his supposed wrong. 
 
 " I never considered you to be a flirt," she con 
 tinued, " and I am astonished. If, now, it had 
 been Arenta, I could have understood it. I told 
 Madame Van Heemskirk that I had not the least 
 doubt Doctor Moran dictated the refusal." 
 
 " Oh, indeed," answered Cornelia, with a good 
 deal of spirit and some anger, " you shall not blame 
 my father. He knew nothing whatever of Lord 
 Hyde s offer, until I had been subjected to such in 
 sult and wrong as drove me to the grave s mouth. 
 Only the mercy of God, and my father s skill, 
 brought me back to life." 
 
 " Yes, I think your father to be wonderfully 
 skilful. He has done Jacobus a great deal of good, 
 and he now gives him hope of a perfect recovery. 
 Doctor Moran is a fine physician ; Jacobus says so." 
 
 Cornelia remained silent. If madame did not 
 feel interest sufficient in her affairs to ask for the 
 particulars of one so nearly fatal to her, she deter 
 mined not to force the subject on her. Then Ja 
 cobus rang his bell, and madame flew to his room 
 to see whether his want had received proper atten 
 tion. Cornelia sat still a few moments, her heart 
 
Done With Tears and Treasons 267 
 
 swelling, her eyes filling with the sense of that in 
 justice, harder to bear than any other form of 
 wrong. She was going away, when madame re 
 turned to her, and something in her eyes went to 
 the heart of the older woman. She turned her 
 back, with a kind but peremptory word, and taking 
 her hand, said 
 
 " I have been thoughtless, Cornelia, selfish, I 
 dare say ; but I do not wish to be so. Tell me, 
 my dear, what has happened. Did you quarrel 
 with George Hyde ? And pray what was it about ?" 
 
 " We never had one word of any kind, but words 
 of affection. He wrote and asked me if he could 
 come and see my father about our marriage, on a 
 certain night. I answered his letter with all the 
 love that was in my heart for him, and told him to 
 come and see my father that very night. He never 
 came. He never sent me the least explanation. 
 He never wrote to me, or spoke to me again." 
 
 u Oh, but this is a different story ! His grand 
 mother told me that you refused him." 
 
 "That is not the truth. Lady Annie Hyde 
 came most unexpectedly that very day, and I sup 
 pose the easiest way to stop all inquiries about Miss 
 Moran, was to say she refused me. 
 
 "And after Lady Annie s arrival, what hap 
 pened ? " 
 
 " I was absolutely deserted. That is the truth. 
 I may as well admit it. Perhaps you think it im 
 possible for a young man so good-natured to behave 
 
268 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 in a manner so cruel and dishonourable ; but I as 
 sure you it is the truth." 
 
 " My dear, I have lived to see it almost impos 
 sible to think worse of people than they are; and 
 if you can bear to hear more on this subject, I will 
 tell it to you myself." 
 
 " I can always bear the truth. If I have lost 
 my heart, I have not lost my head ; nor will I sur 
 render to useless grief the happiness which I can 
 yet make for others, and for myself." 
 
 u If what you have told me be so and I believe 
 it is then I say Lord George Hyde is an intoler 
 able scoundrel." 
 
 " I would rather not hear him spoken of in that 
 way." 
 
 " I ask your pardon, but I must give myself a 
 little Christian liberty of railing. The man is false 
 clean through. He was evidently engaged to Lady 
 Annie when he first sought your love, and there 
 fore as soon as she came here, he deserted you. I 
 will tell you plainly that I saw him last summer 
 very frequently, and he was always with her al 
 ways listening with ears and heart to what she said 
 always watching her with all his soul in his eyes 
 ever on the lookout to see that not a breath of 
 wind ruffled her soft wraps, or blew too strongly on 
 her little white face." 
 
 u That was his way, madame. I have seen him 
 devoting himself to you in the same manner; yes, 
 and to Madame Griffin, and Miss White, and a 
 
Done With Tears and Treasons 269 
 
 score of other ladies old and young. You know 
 how good-natured he was. When did you hear 
 him say a wrong word of any one ? even of Rem 
 Van Ariens who was often intolerably rude." 
 
 41 Very well ! I would rather have a man in 
 tolerably rude like my nephew Rem, than one 
 like Lord Hyde who speaks well of everybody. 
 Upon my word, I think that is the worst kind of 
 slander!" 
 
 u I think not." 
 
 " It is ; for it takes away the reputation of good 
 men, by making all men alike. But this, that, or 
 the other, I saw Lord Hyde in devoted attendance 
 on Lady Annie. Give him up totally. He is in 
 his kingdom when he has a pretty woman to make 
 a fool of. As for marriage, these young men who 
 have the world, or the better part of it, they marry 
 where Cupidity, not Cupid leads them. Give him 
 up entirely." 
 
 " I have done so," answered Cornelia. And 
 then she felt a sudden anger at herself, so much 
 so, that as she walked home, she kept assuring her 
 heart with an almost passionate insistence, u I have 
 not given him up ! I will not give him up ! I 
 believe in him yet." 
 
 Madame s advice might be wise, but there are 
 counsels of perfection that cannot be followed ; 
 because they are utterly at variance with that in 
 tuitive knowledge, which the soul has of old ; and 
 which it will not surrender; and whose wisdom it 
 
270 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 is interiorly sure of. And after this confidence 
 Cornelia did not go so often to madame s. Some 
 thing jarred between them. We know that a sin 
 gle drop taken from a glass of water changes the 
 water level swift as thought, and the same law is 
 certain in all human relations. Madame was not 
 quite the same ; something had been taken away ; 
 the level of their friendship was changed ; and when 
 Doctor Moran could not but perceive this fact, he 
 said 
 
 " Go less frequently to madame s, Cornelia. 
 You do not enjoy your visits ; dissolve a friendship 
 that begins to be incomplete. It is the best plan." 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 A HEART THAT WAITS 
 
 LATE summer on the Norfolk Broads ! And 
 where on earth can the lover of boats find a more 
 charming resort ? How alluring are the mysterious 
 entrances to these Broads ! where a boat seems to 
 make an insane dive into a hopeless cul de sac of a 
 ditch, and then suddenly emerges on a wide ex 
 panse of water, teeming with pike and bream and 
 eels ; and fringed with a border of plashy ground, 
 full of reeds and willows and flowering flags ; and 
 alive with water fowl. 
 
 Now close to the Manor of Hyde, the country 
 home of Earl Hyde in Norfolk, there was one of 
 these delightful Broads flat as a billiard table, and 
 hidden by the tall reeds which bordered it. But 
 Annie Hyde lying at the open window of her room 
 in the Manor House could see its silvery waters, 
 and the black-sailed wherry floating on them, and 
 the young man sitting at the prow fishing, and 
 idling, among the lilies and languors of these hot 
 summer days. Her hands were folded, her lips 
 moved, she was asking of some intelligence among 
 the angels, grace and favour for one who was dearer 
 to her than her own life or happiness. 
 
 An aged man sat silently by her, a man of noble 
 271 
 
272 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 beauty, whose soul was in every part of his body, 
 expressive and impressive a fiery particle not al 
 ways at its window, but when there, infecting and 
 going through observers, whether they would or 
 not. He was dressed altogether in black, and 
 had fine small hands, a thin austere face and clean 
 sensitive lips which seemed to say, u He hath made 
 us kings and priests " a man of celestial race, 
 valuing things at their eternal, not at their temporal 
 worth. 
 
 There had been silence for some time between 
 them, and he did not appear disposed to break it ; 
 but Annie longed for him to do so, because she 
 had a mystical appetite for sacred things, and was 
 never so happy and so much at rest as when he 
 was talking to her of them. For she loved God, 
 and had been led to the love of God by a kind of 
 thirst for God. 
 
 " Dear father," she said finally, " I have been 
 thinking of the past years, in which you have 
 taught me so much." 
 
 " It is better to look forward, Annie," he an 
 swered. " The traveller to Eternity must not con 
 tinually turn back to count his steps ; for if God 
 be leading him, no matter how dangerous or lonely 
 the road, He will pluck thy feet out of the net. " 
 
 " Even in the valley of death ? " 
 
 " c Be not afraid ! Nothing of thee will die ! 
 Take these sweet compassionate words of Jesus, 
 as He wept by the dying bed of Joseph, His father, 
 
A Heart That Waits 273 
 
 into thy heart. Blessed are the homesick, Annie ! 
 for they shall get home." 
 
 "All my life I have loved God, and His love 
 has been over me." 
 
 " Date not God s love from thy nativity ; look 
 far, far back of it to the everlasting love." 
 
 " After death, I shall know." 
 
 " Death ! " he repeated, " Death that deceitful 
 word. What is it ? A dream, that wakes us at 
 the end of the night. This is the great saying 
 that men forget Death is Life ! " 
 
 " Yet life ceases." 
 
 u It does not, Annie. Death, is like the setting 
 of the sun. The sun never sets; life never 
 ceases. Certain phenomena occur which deceive 
 us, because human vision is so feeble we think 
 the sun sets, and it never ceases shining ; we think 
 our friends die, and they never cease living." 
 
 As he spoke these words Mary Damer entered, 
 and she laid her hand .on his shoulder and said, 
 " My dear Doctor Roslyn, after death what then ? 
 we are not all good what then ? " 
 
 He looked at her wistfully and answered, " I will 
 give you one thought, Mary, to ponder the bless 
 edness of heaven, is it not an eternity older than 
 the misery of hell ? Let your soul fearlessly fol 
 low where this fact leads it ; for there is no limit to 
 God s mercy. Do you think it is His way to 
 worry a wandering sheep eternally ? Jesus Christ 
 thought better of His father. He told us that the 
 
274 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 Great Shepherd of souls followed such sheep into 
 the wilderness, and brought them home in His arms, 
 or on His shoulder, and then called on the angels 
 of heaven to rejoice because they were found 
 Find out what that parable means, Mary. He 
 whose name is 4 Love can teach you. * 
 
 Then he rose and went away, and Mary sat down 
 in his place, and Annie gradually came back to the 
 material plane of everyday life and duty. Indeed 
 Mary brought this element in a very decided form 
 with her ; for she had a letter in her hand from an 
 old lover, and she was much excited by its advent, 
 and eager to discuss the particulars with Annie. 
 
 u It is from Captain Seabright, who is now in 
 Pondicherry," she explained. u He loves me, 
 Annie. He loved me long ago, and went to India 
 to make money ; now he says he has enough and 
 to spare ; and he asks me if I have forgotten." 
 
 " There is Mr. Van Ariens to consider. You 
 have promised to marry him, Mary. It is not 
 hard to find the right way on this road, I think." 
 
 " Of course. I would scorn to do a dishonour 
 able or unhandsome thing. But is it not very 
 strange Willie Seabright should write to me at this 
 time ? How contradictory life is ! I had also a 
 letter from Mr. Van Ariens by the same mail, and 
 I shall answer them both this evening." Then 
 she laughed a little, and added, " I must take care 
 and not make the mistake an American girl made, 
 under much the same circumstances." 
 
A Heart That Waits 275 
 
 "What was it?" inquired Annie languidly. 
 
 " She misdirected her letters and thus sent No 
 to the man whom of all others, she wished to marry." 
 
 As Mary spoke a soft brightness seemed to per 
 vade Annie s brain cells, and she could hardly re 
 strain the exclamation of sudden enlightenment 
 that rose to her lips. She raised herself slightly, 
 and in so doing, her eyes fell upon the tall figure 
 of Hyde standing clearly out in the intense, white 
 sunshine of the Broads ; and perhaps her soul may 
 have whispered to his soul, for he turned his face 
 to the house, and lifted the little red fishing cap 
 from his head. The action stimulated to the ut 
 most Annie s intuitive powers. 
 
 " Mary," she said, " what a strange incident ! 
 Did you know the girl ? " 
 
 "I saw her once in Philadelphia. Mr. Van 
 Ariens told me about her. She is the friend of his 
 sister the Marquise de Tounnerre." 
 
 u How did Mr. Van Ariens know of such an 
 event?" 
 
 u I suppose the Marquise told him of it." 
 
 " I am interested. Is she pretty ? Who, and 
 what is her father ? Did she lose her lover through 
 the mistake ? " 
 
 " You are more interested in this American girl, 
 than in me. I think you might ask a little con 
 cerning my love affair with Captain Seabright." 
 
 " I always ask you about Mr. Van Ariens. A 
 girl cannot have two lovers." 
 
276 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 41 But if one is gone away ? " 
 
 " Then he has gone away ; and that is the end 
 of him. He must not trouble the one who has 
 come to stay, eh, Mary ? " 
 
 "You are right, Annie. But one s first lover 
 has always a charm above reason ; and Willie Sea- 
 bright was once very dear to me." 
 
 " I am sorry for that unfortunate American 
 girl." 
 
 " So am I. She is a great beauty. Her name 
 is Cornelia Moran; and her father is a famous 
 physician in New York." 
 
 " And this beauty had two lovers ? " 
 
 " Yes ; an Englishman of noble birth ; and an 
 American. They both loved her, and she loved 
 the Englishman. They must have both asked her 
 hand on the same day, and she must have answered 
 both letters in the same hour ; and the letter she 
 intended for the man she loved, went to the man 
 she did not love. Presumably, the man she loved 
 got the refusal she intended for the other, for he 
 never sought her society again ; and Mr. Van 
 Ariens told me she nearly died in consequence. I 
 know not as to this part of the story ; when I saw 
 her in Philadelphia, she had no more of fragility 
 than gave delicacy to all her charms." 
 
 " And what became of the two lovers, Mary ? " 
 
 " The Englishman went back to England ; and 
 the American found another girl more kind to 
 him." 
 
A Heart That Waits 277 
 
 U I wonder what made Mr. Van Ariens tell you 
 this story ? " 
 
 " He talked much of his sister, and this young 
 lady was her chief friend and confidante." 
 
 " When did it happen ? " 
 
 u A few days after his sister s marriage. * 
 
 " Then the Marquise could not know of it ; and 
 so she could not have told her brother. However 
 in the world could he have found out the mistake ? 
 Do you think the girl herself found it out ? " 
 
 " That is inconceivable," answered Mary. 
 " She would have written to her lover and ex 
 plained the affair." 
 
 " Certainly. It is a very singular incident. I 
 want to think it over how did Mr. Van 
 Ariens find it out, I wonder ! " 
 
 u Perhaps the rejected lover confided in him." 
 
 " But why did not the rejected lover send the 
 letter he received and which he must have known 
 he had no right to retain to Miss Moran, or to 
 the Englishman for whom it was intended ? A 
 man who could keep a letter like that, must have 
 some envious sneaking devil in his body. A bad 
 man, Mary, a bad man the air must be unclean 
 in any room he comes into." 
 
 " Why Annie ! How angry you are. Let us 
 drop the subject. I really do want to tell you 
 something about Willie Seabright." 
 
 " What did Mr. Van Ariens say about the mat 
 ter ? What did he think ? Why did he tell you ? " 
 
278 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 " We were talking of the Marquise. The story 
 came up quite naturally. I think Mr. Van Ariens 
 felt very sorry for Miss Moran. Of course he 
 did. Will you listen to Captain Seabright s letter ? 
 I had no idea it could affect me so much." 
 
 " But you loved him once ? " 
 
 u Very dearly." 
 
 " Well then, Mary, I think no one has a double 
 in love or friendship. If the loved one dies, or 
 goes away, his place remains empty forever. We 
 have lost feelings that he, and he only, could call 
 up." 
 
 At this point in the conversation Hyde entered, 
 brown and wind-blown, the scent of the sedgy 
 water and the flowery woods about him. 
 
 " Your servant, ladies," he said gayly, " I have 
 bream enough for a dozen families, Mary ; and I 
 have sent a string to the rectory." 
 
 " Poor little fish ! " answered Annie. " They 
 could not cry out, or plead with you, or beg for 
 their lives, and because they were dumb and 
 opened not their mouths, they were wounded and 
 strangled to death." 
 
 " Don t say such things, Annie. How can I 
 enjoy my sport if you do ? " 
 
 " I don t think you ought to enjoy sport which 
 is murder. You have your wherry to sail, is not 
 that sport enough ? I have heard you say nothing 
 that floats on fresh water, can beat a Norfolk 
 wherry." 
 
A Heart That Waits 279 
 
 u I vow it is the truth. With her fine lines and 
 strong sails she can lie closer to the wind than any 
 other craft. She is safe, and fast, and handy to 
 manage. Three feet of water will do her, though 
 she be sixty tons burden ; and I will sail her 
 where nothing but a row boat can follow me." 
 
 " Is not that sport enough ? " 
 
 " I must have something to get. I would have 
 brought you armfuls of flowers, but you do not like 
 me to cut them." 
 
 " I like my flowers alive, George. You must 
 be dull indeed if you make no difference between 
 the scent of growing flowers, and cut ones. To 
 morrow Mary is going to Ranforth, you must go 
 with her, and you may bring me some peaches 
 from the Hall, if you please to do so." 
 
 Then Hyde and Mary had a game of battledore, 
 and she watched them tossing the gayly painted 
 corks, until amid their light laughter and merry 
 talk she fell asleep. And when she awakened it 
 was sunset, and there was no one in her room but 
 her maid. She had slept long, but in spite of its 
 refreshment, she had a sense of something uneasy. 
 Then she recalled the story Mary Damer had told 
 her, and because she comprehended the truth, she 
 was instantly at rest. The whole secret was clear 
 as daylight to her. She knew now every turn of 
 an event so full of sorrow. She was positive Rem 
 Van Ariens was himself the thief of her cousin s 
 love and happiness, and the bringer of grief 
 
280 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 almost of death to Cornelia. All the facts she 
 did not have, but facts are little ; intuition is every 
 thing. She said to herself, u I shall not be long 
 here, and before I go away, I must put right love s 
 wrong." 
 
 She considered then what she ought to do, and 
 gradually the plan that pleased her best, grew dis 
 tinctly just, and even-handed in her mind. She 
 would write to Cornelia. Her word would be in 
 disputable. Then she would dismiss the subject 
 from her conversations with Mary, until Cornelia s 
 answer arrived ; nor until that time would she say 
 a word of her suspicions to Hyde. In pursuance 
 of these resolutions the following letter to Cornelia 
 left Hyde Manor for New York the next mail : 
 
 To Miss CORNELIA MORAN : 
 
 Because you are very dear to one of my 
 dear kindred, and because I feel that you are worthy 
 of his great love, I also love you. Will you trust 
 me now ? There has been a sad mistake. I be 
 lieve I can put it right. You must recollect the 
 day on which George Hyde wrote asking you to fix 
 an hour when he could call on Doctor Moran 
 about your marriage. Did any other lover ask you 
 on that day to marry him ? Was that other lover 
 Mr. Van Ariens ? Did you write to both about 
 the same time ? If so, you misdirected your 
 letters ; and the one intended for Lord Hyde went 
 to Mr. Van Ariens ; and the one intended for Mr. 
 Van Ariens, went to Lord Hyde. Now you will 
 understand many things. I found out this mistake 
 through the young lady Mr. Van Ariens is intend- 
 
A Heart That Waits 281 
 
 ing to marry. Can you send to me, for Lord 
 Hyde, a copy of the letter you intended for him. 
 When I receive it, you may content your heart. I 
 may never see you again, but I would like you to 
 remember me by this act of loving kindness ; and 
 I wish you all the joy in your love, that I could 
 wish myself. The shadows will soon flee away, 
 and when your wedding bells ring, I shall know ; 
 and rejoice with you, and with my dear cousin. 
 Delay not to answer this, why should you delay 
 your happiness ? I send you as love gifts my 
 thoughts, desires, prayers, all that is best in me, all 
 that I give to one high in my esteem, and whom I 
 wish to place high in my affection. This to your 
 hand and heart, with all sincerity, 
 
 ANNIE HYDE. 
 
 When she had signed her name she was full of 
 content, her face was transfigured with the joy she 
 foresaw for others, and she thought not of her own 
 gain, though it was great even the riches of that 
 divine self-culture, that comes only through self- 
 sacrifice. She calculated her letter would reach 
 Cornelia about the end of September, and she 
 thought how pleasantly the hope it brought, would 
 brighten her life. And without permitting Hyde 
 to suspect any change in his love affair, she very 
 often led the conversation to Cornelia, and to the 
 circumstances of her life. Hyde was always will 
 ing to talk on this subject, and thus she learned so 
 much about Arenta, and Madame Jacobus, and 
 Rem Van Ariens, that the people became her famil 
 iars. Arenta particularly interested her, and she 
 
282 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 spoke and thought continually of the gay little 
 Dutch girl among the human tigers of Paris. And 
 the thought of her ended ever in a silent prayer 
 for her safety. " I must ask some strong angel to 
 go and help her," she said to Hyde, " a city full of 
 blood, must be a city full of evil spirits, and she 
 will need the wings of angels round her like a 
 pavilion so when she comes into my mind I say 
 * angels of deliverance go to her. And I think she 
 must be in a great strait now, or I should not feel 
 so constrained to pray for her." 
 
 " And you believe such prayer avails for deliver 
 ance, Annie ? " 
 
 " I am sure it avails. When we invoke ear 
 nestly and sincerely the help of any higher and 
 stronger intelligence than ourselves, the angels are 
 with us. They come when the heart calls them ; 
 for they are appointed to be ministers unto those 
 who shall inherit eternal life." And Hyde listened 
 silently, yet the words fell into his deepest con 
 sciousness, and after many years brought him 
 strength and consolation when he needed it. Thus 
 it is, that a good woman is a priestess standing by 
 the altar of the heart, thus it is, that the very 
 noblest education any man ever gets is what some 
 woman mother, wife, sister, friend gives him. 
 
 Certainly the letter sent to Cornelia sped on its 
 way all the more rapidly and joyfully for the good 
 wishes and unselfish prayers accompanying it. 
 The very ship might have known it was the bearer 
 
A Heart That Waits 283 
 
 of good tidings ; for if there had been one of the 
 mighty angels whose charge is on the great deep at 
 the helm of the Good Intent she could not have gone 
 more swiftly and surely to her haven. One morn 
 ing, nearly a week in advance of Annie s calcula 
 tion, the wonderful letter was put into Cornelia s 
 hand. She was passing through the hall on her 
 way to her room, when Balthazar brought in the 
 mail, and she took the little white messenger with 
 out any feeling but one of curiosity concerning it. 
 The handwriting was strange, it was an English 
 letter, what could it mean ? 
 
 Let any one who has loved and been parted from 
 the beloved by some misunderstanding, try to real 
 ize what it meant to Cornelia. She read it through 
 in an indescribable hurry and emotion, and then in 
 the most natural and womanly way, began to cry. 
 No one could have loved her the less for that sin 
 cere overflow of emotions she could not separate 
 or define, and which indeed she never tried to un 
 derstand. It was only one wonderful thought she 
 could entertain // was not the fault of yoris. 
 This was the assurance that turned her joyful tears 
 into gladder smiles, and that made her step light as 
 a bird on the wing, as she ran down the stairs to 
 find her mother ; for her happiness was not perfect 
 till she shared it with the heart that had borne her 
 sorrow, and carried her grief through many weary 
 months, with her. 
 
 Oh, how glad were these two women ! They 
 
284 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 were almost too glad to speak. Sitting still was 
 impossible to Cornelia, but as she stepped swiftly 
 to-and-fro across the parlour floor, she stopped fre 
 quently at her mother s chair and kissed her. She 
 kissed Annie s letter just as frequently. It was 
 such a gracious, noble letter. It was such a de 
 light to know that friendship so unselfish was wait 
 ing for her. It was altogether such a marvellous 
 thing that had come to her, that she could not be 
 have as a superior woman ought to have done. 
 But then she was not a superior woman, she was 
 only lovable and loving, and therefore restless and 
 inconsequent. 
 
 In the first hours of her recovered gladness she 
 did not even remember Rem s great fault, nor yet 
 her own carelessness. These things were only 
 accidentals, not worthy to be taken into account 
 while the great sweet hope that had come to her, 
 flooded like a springtide every nook and corner of 
 her heart. In such a mood how easy it was to 
 answer Annie s letter. She recollected every word 
 she had written to Hyde that fateful day, and she 
 wrote them again with a tenfold joy. She told 
 Annie every particular, and she forgot to say a 
 word of reproach concerning the dishonourable re 
 tention of her letter by Rem. " It is altogether 
 my own fault," she confessed. 
 
 Even when this letter was on its way to Annie 
 she was under such excitement that her whole body 
 appeared to think and to feel ; her beautiful hair had 
 
A Heart That Waits 285 
 
 an unusual freedom, as if some happy wind blew it 
 into exquisite unrestraint ; her eyes shone like stars ; 
 her garments fluttered ; her steps were like danc 
 ing ; and every now and then, a bar or two of love 
 music warbled in her throat. And oh with what 
 joy the mother watched the return of happiness to 
 her dear child ! With her own milk she had fed 
 her. In her own bosoms he had carried and tended 
 her. Night and day for nearly twenty years, like 
 a bird, she had feverishly, prayfully, tenderly hov 
 ered over her; so there was great joy in the Doc 
 tor s home and though he would say little, his heart 
 grew lighter in his wife s and daughter s cheerful 
 ness ; for the women in any house make the moral 
 and mental atmosphere of that house just as de 
 cidedly, as the sunshine or rain affect the natural 
 atmosphere outside of it. 
 
 Now it is very noticeable that when unusual 
 events begin to happen in any life, there is a suc 
 cession of such events, and not unfrequently they 
 arrive in similar ways. At any rate about ten days 
 after the receipt of Annie s letter, Cornelia was 
 almost equally amazed by the receipt of another 
 letter. It came one day about noon, and a slave 
 of Van Ariens brought it a piece of paper twisted 
 carelessly but containing these few pregnant words : 
 
 Cornelia, dear, come to me. Bring me some 
 thing to wear. I have just arrived, saved by the 
 skin of my teeth, and I have not a decent garment 
 of any kind to put on. ARENTA. 
 
286 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 A thunderbolt from a clear sky could hardly 
 have caused such surprise, but Cornelia did not 
 wait to talk about the wonder. She loaded a maid 
 with clothing of every description, and ran across 
 the street to her friend. Arenta saw her coming, 
 and met her with a cry of joy, and as Van Ariens 
 was sick and trembling with the sight of his daugh 
 ter, and the tale of her sufferings, Cornelia per 
 suaded him to go to sleep, and leave Arenta to her 
 care. Poor Arenta, she was ill with the privations 
 she had suffered, she was half-starved, and nearly 
 without clothing, but she did not complain much 
 until she had been fed, and bathed, and " dressed " 
 as she said " like a New York woman ought to 
 be." 
 
 "You know what trunks and trunks full of 
 beautiful things I took away with me, Cornelia," 
 she complained ; " well I have not a rag left. I 
 have nothing left at all." 
 
 " Your husband, Arenta ? " 
 
 u He was guillotined." 
 
 " Oh, my dear Arenta ! " 
 
 u Guillotined. I told him to be quiet. I begged 
 him to go over to Marat, but no ! his nobility 
 obliged him to stand by his order and his king. So 
 for them, he died. Poor Athanase ! He expected 
 me to follow him, but I could not make up my 
 mind to the knife. Oh how terrible it was ! " 
 Then she began to sob bitterly, and Cornelia let 
 her talk of her sufferings until she fell into a sleep 
 
A Heart That Waits 287 
 
 a sleep easy to see, still haunted by the furies 
 and terrors through which she had passed. 
 
 For a week Cornelia remained with her friend, 
 and Madame Jacobus joined them as often as pos 
 sible, and gradually the half-distraught woman re 
 covered something of her natural spirits and reso 
 lution. In this week she talked out all her fright 
 ful experiences in the great prison of La Force, 
 and was completely overwhelmed at their remem 
 brance. But the trouble which has been removed, 
 soon grows far off; and Arenta quickly took her 
 place in her home, and resumed her old life. Of 
 course with many differences. She could not be 
 the same Arenta, she had outlived many of her 
 illusions. She took but little interest for a while 
 in the life around her ; her thoughts and conversa 
 tion were still in Paris, and this was evident from 
 the fact, that during the whole week of Cornelia s 
 stay with her, she never once named Cornelia s 
 love, or life, or prospects. Rem she did talk 
 about, but chiefly because he was going to marry 
 an English girl, an intention she angrily de 
 plored. 
 
 " I am sure," she said, " Rem might have learned 
 a lesson from my sad fortune. What does he want 
 to marry a foreigner for ? He ought to have pre 
 vented me from doing so, instead of following my 
 foolish example." 
 
 "No one could have prevented you, Arenta. 
 You would not listen even to your father." 
 
288 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 " Oh indeed, it was my fate. We must all sub 
 mit to fate. Why did you refuse Rem ? " 
 
 " He was not my fate, Arenta." 
 
 " Well then, neither is George Hyde your fate. 
 Aunt Jacobus has told me some things about him. 
 She says he is to marry his cousin. You ought to 
 marry Rem." 
 
 As she said these words Van Ariens, accom 
 panied by Joris Van Heemskirk entered the room, 
 and Cornelia was glad to escape. She knew that 
 Arenta would again relate all her experiences, and 
 she disliked to mingle them with her renewed 
 dreams of love and her lover. 
 
 " She will talk and talk, * said Cornelia to her 
 mother, u and then there will be tea and chocolate 
 and more talk, and I have heard all I wish to hear 
 about that dreadful city, and the demons who walk 
 in blood." 
 
 " Arenta has made a great sensation, Cornelia," 
 answered Mrs. Moran. "She has received half 
 the town. Gertrude Kippon stole quietly home 
 and has hardly been seen, or heard tell of." 
 
 " But mother, Arenta has far more genius than 
 Gertrude. She has made of her misfortunes a 
 great drama, and wherever you go, it is of the 
 Marquise de Tounnerre people are talking. Sena 
 tor Van Heemskirk came in with her father as I 
 left." 
 
 " I hope he treated you more civilly than ma- 
 dame did." 
 
A Heart That Waits 289 
 
 u He was delightful. I courtesied to him, and 
 he lifted my hand and kissed it, and said, c I grew 
 lovelier every day/ and I kissed his cheek and said, 
 4 1 wished alway to be lovely in his sight. Then 
 I came home, because I would not, just yet, speak 
 of George to him." 
 
 " Arenta would hardly have given you any op 
 portunity. I wonder at what hour she will release 
 Joris Van Heemskirk ! " 
 
 u It will be later than it ought to be." 
 
 Indeed it was so late that Madame Van Heems 
 kirk had locked up her house for the night, and 
 was troubled at her husband s delay even a little 
 cross : 
 
 " An old man like you, Joris," she said in a 
 tone of vexation " sitting till nine o clock with 
 the last runaway from Paris ; a cold you have al 
 ready, and all for a girl that threw her senses be 
 hind her, to marry a Frenchman." 
 
 " Much she has suffered, Lysbet." 
 
 " Much she ought to suffer. And I believe not 
 in Arenta Van Ariens suffering. In some way, by 
 hook or crook, by word or deed, she would out of 
 any trouble work her way." 
 
 " I will sit a little by the fire, Lysbet. Sit down 
 by me. My mind is full of her story." 
 
 "That is it. And sleep you will not, and to 
 morrow sick you will be; and anxious and tired I 
 shall be ; and who for ? The Marquise de Toun- 
 nerre ! Well then, Joris, in thy old age it is late 
 
290 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 for thee to bow down to the Marquise de Toun- 
 nerre ! " 
 
 " To God Almighty only I bow down, Lysbet, 
 and as for titles what care of them has Joris Van 
 Hcemskirk ? Think you, when God calls me He 
 will say Councillor or * Senator ? No, He will 
 say c Joris Van Heemskirk ! and I shall answer to 
 that name. But you know well, Lysbet, this 
 bloody trial of liberty in Paris touches all the world 
 beside." 
 
 " Forgive me, Joris ! A shame it is to be cross 
 with thee, nor am I cross even with that poor 
 Arenta. A child, a very child she is." 
 
 "But bitter fears and suffering she has come 
 through. Her husband was guillotined last May, 
 and from her home she was taken no time to 
 write to a friend no time to save anything she 
 had, except a string of pearls, which round her 
 waist for many weeks, she had worn. From 
 prison to prison she was sent, until at last she was 
 ordered before the Revolutionary Tribunal. From 
 that tribunal to the guillotine is only a step, and 
 she would surely have taken it but for " 
 
 " Minister Morris ? " 
 
 " No. Twenty miles outside the city, Minister 
 Morris now lives ; and no time was there to send 
 him word of her strait. Hungry and sick upon 
 the floor of her prison she was sitting, when her 
 name was called ; for bead after bead of her pearl 
 necklace had gone to her jailor, only for a little 
 
A Heart That Waits 291 
 
 black bread and a cup of milk twice a day ; and 
 this morning for twenty-four hours she had been 
 without food or milk." 
 
 " The poor little one ! What did she do ? " 
 " This is what she did, and blame her I will not. 
 When in that terrible iron armchair before those 
 bloody judges, she says she forgot then to be afraid. 
 She looked at Fouquier-Tinville the public prose 
 cutor, and at the fifteen jurymen, and flinched not. 
 She had no dress to help her beauty, but she de 
 clares she never felt more beautiful, and well I can 
 believe it. They asked her name, and my Lysbet, 
 think of this child s answer ! I am called Arenta 
 JEFFERSON de Tounnerre/ she said ; and at the 
 name of c Jefferson there were exclamations, and 
 one of the jurymen rose to his feet and asked ex 
 citedly, 4 What is it you mean ? Jefferson ! The 
 great Jefferson ! The great Thomas Jefferson ! 
 The great American who loves France and Liberty? 
 * It is the same, she answered, and then she sat si 
 lent, asking no favour, so wise was she, and Fouquier- 
 Tinville looked at the President and said among 
 my friends I count this great American ! and a 
 juryman added, when I was very poor and hungry 
 he fed and helped me/ and he bowed to Arenta as 
 he spoke. And after that Fouquier-Tinville asked 
 who would certify to her claim, and she answered 
 boldly, l Minister Morris. When questioned fur 
 ther she answered, * I adore Liberty, I believe in 
 France, I married a Frenchman, for Thomas Jef- 
 
292 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 ferson told me I was coming to a great nation and 
 might trust both its government and its generosity. 
 They asked her then if she had been used kindly 
 in prison, and she told them her jailor had been to 
 her very unkind, and that he had taken from her 
 the pearl necklace which was her wedding gift, and 
 if you can believe Arenta, they were all extremely 
 polite to her, and gave her at once the papers which 
 permitted her to leave France. The next day a 
 little money she got from Minister Morris, but a 
 very hard passage she had home. And listen now, 
 her jailor was guillotined before she left, and she 
 declares it was the necklace very unfortunate beads 
 they were, and Madame Jacobus said when she 
 heard of their fate, c let them go ! With blood 
 and death they came, it is fit they should go as they 
 came ! Arenta thinks as soon as Fouquier-Tin- 
 ville heard of them, he doomed the man, for she 
 saw in his eyes that he meant to have them for 
 himself. Well, then, she is also sure that they 
 will take Fouquier-Tinville to the guillotine." 
 " After all, it was a lie she told, Joris." 
 " That is so, but I think her life was worth a 
 few words. And Thomas Jefferson says she was 
 ten thousand times welcome to the protection his 
 name gave her. I thank my God I have never 
 had such temptation. I will say one thing though, 
 Lysbet, that if coming home some night, a thief 
 should say to me l your money I must have and 
 if in my pocket I had some false money, as well 
 
"AREXTA ISKKOKK THK REVOLUTIONARY 
 
A Heart That Waits 293 
 
 as true money, the false money I would give the 
 thief and think no shame to do it. Overly right 
 eous we must not be, Lysbet." 
 
 " I am astonished also. I thought Arenta would 
 cry out and that only." 
 
 " What a man or a woman will do and suffer, 
 and how they will do and suffer, no one knows till 
 comes some great occasion. When the water is 
 ice, who could believe that it would boil, unless 
 they had seen ice become boiling water ? All the 
 human heart wants, is the chance." 
 
 " As men and women have in Paris to live, I 
 wonder me, that they can wish to live at all ! 
 Welcome to them must be death." 
 
 u So wrong are you, Lysbet. Trouble and 
 hardship make us love life. A zest they give to it. 
 It is when we have too much money, too much 
 good food and wine, too much pleasure of all 
 kinds, that we grow melancholy and sad, and say 
 all is vanity and vexation. You may see that it is 
 always so, if you look in the Holy Scriptures. It 
 was not from the Jews in exile and captivity, but 
 from the Jews of Solomon s glory came the only 
 dissatisfied, hopeless words in the Bible. Yes, in 
 deed ! it is the souls that have too much, who cry 
 out vanity, vanity, all is vanity ! For myself, I 
 like not the petty prudencies of Solomon. There 
 is better reading in Isaiah, and in the Psalms, and 
 in the blessed Gospels." 
 
 u To-morrow, Joris, I will go and see Arenta. 
 
294 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 She is fair, and she knows it ; witty, and she knows 
 it ; of good courage, and she knows it ; the fashion, 
 and she knows it ; and when she speaks, she 
 speaks oracles that one must believe, even though 
 one does not understand them. To Aurelia Van 
 Zandt she said, my heart will ache forever for my 
 beloved Athanase, and Aurelia says, that her old 
 lover Willie Nicholls is at her feet sitting all the 
 day long yet for all these things, she is a brave 
 woman and I will go and see her." 
 
 u Willie Nicholls is a good young man, and he 
 is rich also ; but of him I saw nothing at all. 
 Cornelia Moran was there and no flower of Para 
 dise is so sweet, so fair ! " 
 
 " A very proud girl ! I am glad she said no 
 to my Joris." 
 
 " Come, my Lysbet, we will now pray and sleep. 
 There is so much not to say." 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 THE NEW DAYS COME 
 
 ONE afternoon in the late autumn Annie was 
 sitting watching Hyde playing with his dog, a big 
 mastiff of noble birth and character. The creature 
 sat erect with his head leaning against Hyde, and 
 Hyde s arm was thrown around his neck as he 
 talked to him of their adventures on the Broad that 
 day. Annie s small face, though delicate and 
 fragile looking was full of peace, and her eyes, soft, 
 deep and heavenly, held thoughts that linked her 
 with heaven. 
 
 Outside there was in the air that November 
 feeling which chills like the passing breath of 
 death, the deserted garden looked sad and closed-in, 
 and everywhere there was a sense of the languish 
 ing end of the year, of the fading and dropping of 
 all living things. But in the house Annie and 
 Hyde and the dog sat within the circle of warmth 
 and light made by the blazing ash logs, and in that 
 circle there was at least an atmosphere of sweet 
 content. Suddenly George looked up and his eyes 
 caught those of Annie watching him. " What 
 have you been reading, Annie ? " he asked, as he 
 stooped forward and took a thin volume from her 
 295 
 
296 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 lap. " Why ! " he cried, " tis Paul and Virginia. 
 Do you indeed read love stories ? " 
 
 "Yes. The mystery of a love affair pleases 
 every one ; and I think we shall not tire of love 
 stories till we tire of the mystery of spring, or of 
 primroses and daffodils. Every one I know takes 
 their tale of love to be quite a new tale." 
 
 " Love has been cruel to me. It has made a 
 cloud on my life that will help to cover me in my 
 grave. * 
 
 " You still love Cornelia ? " 
 
 u I cannot cure myself of a passion so hopeless. 
 However, as I see no end to my unhappiness, I try 
 to submit to what I cannot avoid. What is the 
 use of longing for that which I have no hope to 
 get?" 
 
 " My uncle grows anxious for you to marry. 
 He would be glad to see the succession of Hyde 
 assured." 
 
 " Oh, indeed, I have no mind to take a wife. I 
 hear every day that some of my acquaintance 
 have married, I hear of none that have done 
 worse." 
 
 " You believe nothing of what you say. My 
 uncle was much pleased with Sarah Capel. What 
 did you think of the beauty ? " 
 
 u Cornelia has made all other women so in 
 different to me, that if I cannot marry her, my 
 father may dispose of me as he chooses." 
 
 " Cannot you forget Cornelia ? " 
 
The New Days Come 297 
 
 " It is impossible. Every day I resolve to think 
 of her no more, and then I continue thinking j 
 and every day I am more and more in love with 
 her. Her very name moves me beyond words." 
 
 " There is no name, George, however sweet and 
 dear, however lovingly spoken, whose echo does 
 not at last grow faint." 
 
 " Cornelia will echo in my heart as long as my 
 heart beats." 
 
 Then they were silent, and Hyde drew his dog 
 closer and watched the blaze among some lighter 
 branches, which a servant had just brought in. At 
 his entrance he had also given Annie a letter, 
 which she was eagerly reading. Hyde had no 
 speculation about it; and even when he found 
 Annie regarding him with her whole soul in her 
 face, he failed to understand, as he always had 
 done, the noble love which had been so long and 
 so faithfully his a love holding itself above en 
 dearments ; self-repressed, self-sacrificing, kept 
 down in the inmost heart-chamber a dignified 
 prisoner behind very real bars. Yet he was con 
 scious that the letter was of more than usual 
 interest, and when the servant had closed the door 
 behind him, he asked, " Whom is your letter from, 
 Annie ? It seems to please you very much." 
 
 She leaned forward to him with the paper in her 
 little trembling hand, and said, 
 
 " It is from Cornelia." 
 
 " My God ! " he ejaculated ; and the words 
 
298 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 were fraught with such feeling, as could have found 
 no other vehicle of expression. 
 
 " She has sent you, dear George, a copy of the 
 letter you ought to have received more than two 
 years ago. Read it." 
 
 His eyes ran rapidly over the sweet words, his 
 face flamed, his hands trembled, he cried out im 
 petuously 
 
 " But what does it mean ? Am I quite in my 
 senses ? How has this letter been delayed ? Why 
 do I get only a copy ? " 
 
 " Because Mr. Van Ariens has the original." 
 
 "It is all incredible. What do you mean, 
 Annie ? Do not keep me in such torturing sus 
 pense." 
 
 " It means that Mr. Van Ariens asked Cornelia 
 to marry him on the same day that you wrote to 
 her about your marriage. She answered both let 
 ters in the same hour, and misdirected them." 
 
 " God s death ! How can I punish so mean a 
 scoundrel ? I will have my letter from him, if I 
 follow him round the world for it." 
 
 "You have your letter now. I asked Cornelia 
 to write it again for you ; and you see she has done 
 it gladly." 
 
 " Angel of goodness ! But I will have my first 
 letter." 
 
 " It has been in that man s keeping for more than 
 two years. I would not touch it. Twould infect 
 a gentleman, and make of him a rascal just as base." 
 
The New Days Come 299 
 
 " He shall write me then an apology in his own 
 blood. I will make him do it, at the point of my 
 sword.* 
 
 " If I were you, I would scorn to wet my sword 
 in blood so base." 
 
 u Remember, Annie, what this darling girl suf 
 fered. For his treachery she nearly died. I speak 
 not of my own wrong it is as nothing to hers." 
 
 " However, she might have been more careful." 
 
 " Annie, she was in the happy hurry of love. 
 Your calm soul knows not what a confusing thing 
 that is she made a mistake, and that sneaking 
 villain turned her mistake into a crime. By a 
 God s mercy, it is found out but how ? Annie ! 
 Annie, how much I owe you ! What can I say ? 
 What can I do?" 
 
 "Be reasonable. Mary Damer really found it 
 out. His guilty restless conscience forced him to 
 tell her the story, though to be sure he put the 
 wrong on people he did not name. But I knew 
 so much of the mystery of your love sorrow, as to 
 put the two stories together, and find them fit. 
 Then I wrote to Cornelia." 
 
 u How long ago ? " 
 
 " About two months." 
 
 " Why then did you not give me hope ere this ? " 
 
 " I would not give you hope, till hope was cer 
 tain. Two years is a long time in a girl s life. It 
 was a possible thing for Cornelia to have forgotten 
 to have changed." 
 
300 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 " Impossible ! Quite impossible ! She could 
 not forget. She could not change. Why did you 
 not tell me ? I should have known her heart by 
 mine own." 
 
 " I wished to be sure," repeated Annie, a little 
 sadly. 
 
 " Forgive me, dear Annie. But this news throws 
 me into an unspeakable condition. You see that I 
 must leave for America at once." 
 
 " No. I do not see that, George." 
 
 "But if you consider " 
 
 " I have been considering for two months. Let 
 me decide for you now, for you are not able to do 
 so wisely. Write at once to Cornelia, that is your 
 duty as well as your pleasure. But before you go 
 to her, there are things indispensable to be done. 
 Will you ask Doctor Moran for his child, and not 
 be able to show him that you can care for her as 
 she deserves to be cared for ? Lawyers will not be 
 hurried, there will be consultations, and engross- 
 ings, and signings, and love in your case will 
 have to wait upon law." 
 
 " Tis hard for love, and harder perhaps for 
 anger to wait. For I am in a passion of wrath at 
 Van Ariens. I long to be near him. Oh what 
 suffering his envy and hatred have caused others ! " 
 
 " And himself also. Be sure of that, or he had 
 not tried to find some ease in a kind of confession. 
 Doctor Roslyn will tell you that it is an eternal 
 law, that wherever sin is, sorrow will answer it." 
 
The New Days Come 301 
 
 " The man is hateful to me." 
 
 " He has done a thing that makes him hateful ; 
 but perhaps for all that, he has been so miserable 
 about it, as to have the pity of the Uncondemning 
 One. I hear your father coming. I am sure you 
 will have his sympathy in all things." 
 
 She left the room as the Earl entered it. He 
 was in unusually high spirits. Some political news 
 had delighted him, and without noticing his son s 
 excitement he said 
 
 " The Commons have taken things in their own 
 hands, George. I said they would. They listen 
 to the King and the Lords very respectfully, and 
 then obey themselves. Most of the men in the 
 Lower House are unfit to enter it." 
 
 " Well, sir, the Lords as a rule send them there 
 you have sent three of them yourself and unfit 
 men in public places, suppose prior unfitness in 
 those who have the places to dispose of. But the 
 government is not interesting. I have something 
 else, father, to think about." 
 
 " Indeed, I think the government is extremely 
 interesting. It is very like three horses arranged 
 in tandem fashion first, you know, the King, a 
 little out of the reach of the whip; then the Lords 
 follow the King, and the Commons are in the shafts, 
 a more ignoble position, but yet as we see to-day, 
 possessing a special power of upsetting the coach." 
 
 " Father, I have very important news from 
 America. Will you listen to it ? " 
 
302 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 " Yes, if you will tell it to me straight, and not 
 blunder about your meaning." 
 
 " Sir, I have just discovered that a letter sent to 
 me more than two years ago, has been knowingly 
 and purposely detained from me." 
 
 " By whom ? " 
 
 u A man into whose hands it fell by misdirec 
 tion." 
 
 " Did the letter contain means of identifying it, 
 as belonging to you ? " 
 
 "Ample means." 
 
 " Then the man is outside your recognition. 
 You might as well go to the Bridewell, and seek a 
 second among its rifF-raff of scoundrels. Tell me 
 shortly whom it concerns." 
 
 " Miss Moran." 
 
 " Oh indeed ! Are we to have that subject 
 opened again ? " 
 
 His face darkened, and George, with an im 
 petuosity that permitted no interruption, told the 
 whole story. As he proceeded the Earl became in 
 terested, then sympathetic. He looked with moist 
 eyes at the youth so dear to him, and saw that his heart 
 was filled with the energy and tenderness of his love. 
 His handsome face, his piercingly bright eyes, his 
 courteous, but obstinately masterful manner, his al 
 most boyish passion of anger and impatience, his 
 tall, serious figure, erect, as if ready for opposition ; 
 even that sentiment of deadly steel, of being im 
 patient to toss his sheath from his sword, pleased 
 
The New Days Come 303 
 
 very much the elder man ; and won both his re 
 spect and his admiration. He felt that his son had 
 rights all his own, and that he must cheerfully and 
 generously allow them. 
 
 " George, " he answered, " you have won my 
 approval. You have shown me that you can suffer 
 and be faithful, and the girl able to inspire such an 
 affection, must be worthy of it. What do you 
 wish to do ? " 
 
 " I am going to America by the next packet." 
 
 " Sit down, then we can talk without feeling that 
 every word is a last word, and full of hurry and 
 therefore of unreason. You desire to see Miss 
 Moran without delay, that is very natural." 
 
 u Yes, sir. I am impatient also to get my let 
 ter." 
 
 " I think that of no importance." 
 
 " What would you have done in my case, and 
 at my age, father ? " 
 
 " Something extremely foolish. I should have 
 killed the man, or been killed by him. I hope that 
 you have more sense. Society does not now com 
 pel you to answer insult with murder. The noble 
 not caring of the spirit, is beyond the mere passion 
 of the animal. What does Annie say ? " 
 
 "Annie is an angel. I walk far below her 
 and I hate the man who has so wronged Cor 
 nelia. I think, sir, you must also hate him." 
 
 " I hate nobody. God send, that I may be 
 treated the same. George, you have flashed your 
 
304 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 sword only in a noble quarrel, will you now stain 
 it with the blood of a man below your anger or 
 consideration ? You have had your follies, and I 
 have smiled at them ; knowing well, that a man 
 who has no follies in his youth, will have in his 
 maturity no power. But now you have come of 
 age, not only in years but in suffering cheerfully 
 endured and well outlived ; so I may talk to you as 
 a man, and not command you as a father." 
 
 " What do you wish me to do, sir ? " 
 
 " I advise you to write to Miss Moran at once. 
 Tell her you are more anxious now to redeem your 
 promise, than ever you were before. Say to her 
 that I already look upon her as a dear daughter, 
 and am taking immediate steps to settle upon you 
 the American Manor, and also such New York 
 property as will provide for the maintenance of 
 your family in the state becoming your order and 
 your expectations. Tell her that my lawyers will 
 go to this business to-morrow, and that as soon as 
 the deeds are in your hand, you will come and ask 
 for the interview with Doctor Moran, so long and 
 cruelly delayed." 
 
 " My dear father ! How wise and kind you 
 are ! " 
 
 " It is my desire to be so, George. You cannot, 
 after this unfortunate delay, go to Doctor Moran 
 without the proofs of your ability to take care of 
 his daughter s future." 
 
 " How soon can this business be accomplished ? " 
 
The New Days Come 305 
 
 u In about three weeks, I should think. But 
 wait your full time, and do not go without the 
 credentials of your position. This three or four 
 weeks is necessary to bring to perfection the wait 
 ing of two years." 
 
 " I will take your advice, sir. I thank you for 
 your generosity." 
 
 " All that I have is yours, George. And you 
 can write to this dear girl every day in the interim. 
 Go now and tell her what I say. I had other 
 dreams for you as you know they are over now 
 I have awakened." 
 
 " Dear Annie ! " ejaculated George. 
 
 " Dear Annie ! " replied the Earl with a sigh. 
 " She is one of the daughters of God, I am not 
 worthy to call her mine; but I have sat at her feet, 
 and learned how to love, and how to forgive, and 
 how to bear disappointment. I will tell you, that 
 when Colonel Saye insulted me last year, and I 
 felt for my sword and would have sent him a letter 
 on its point Annie stepped before him. l Forget, 
 and go on, dear uncle, she said ; and I did so with 
 a proud, sore heart at first, but quite cheerfully in a 
 week or two ; and at the last Hunt dinner he came 
 to me with open hand, and we ate and drank to 
 gether, and are now firm friends. Yet, but for 
 Annie, one of us might be dead ; and the other 
 flying like Cain exiled and miserable. Think of 
 these things, George. The good of being a son, is 
 to be able to profit from your father s mistakes." 
 
306 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 They parted with a handclasp that went to both 
 hearts, and as Hyde passed his mother s room, he 
 went in, and told her all that happened to him. 
 She listened with a smile and a heartache. She 
 knew now that the time had come to say " farewell " 
 to the boy who had made her life for twenty-seven 
 years. u He must marry like the rest of the world, 
 and go away from her," and only mothers know 
 what supreme self-sacrifice a pleasant acquiescence 
 in this event implies. But she bravely put down 
 all the clamouring selfishness of her long sweet care 
 and affection, and said cheerfully 
 
 " Very much to my liking is Cornelia Moran. 
 She is world-like and heaven-like, and her good 
 heart and sweet nature every one knows. A lov 
 ing wife and a noble mother she will make, and if 
 I must lose thee, my Jons, there is no girl in 
 America that I like better to have thee." 
 
 " Never will you lose me, mother." 
 
 " Ah then ! that is what all sons say. The 
 common lot, I look for nothing better. But see 
 now ! I give thee up cheerfully. If God please, I 
 shall see thy sons and daughters ; and thy father 
 has been anxious about the Hydes. He would not 
 have a stranger here nor would I. Our hope is 
 in thee and thy sweet wife, and very glad am I that 
 thy wife is to be Cornelia Moran." 
 
 And even after Joris had left her she smiled, 
 though the tears dropped down upon her work. 
 She thought of the presents she would send her 
 
The New Days Come 307 
 
 daughter, and she told herself that Cornelia was an 
 American, and that she had made for her, with her 
 own hands and brain, a lovely home wherein her 
 memory must always dwell. Indeed she let her 
 thoughts go far forward to see, and to listen to 
 the happy boys and girls who might run and shout 
 gleefully through the fair large rooms, and the 
 sweet shady gardens her skill and taste had ordered 
 and planted. Thus her generosity made her a 
 partaker of her children s happiness, and whoever 
 partakes of a pleasure has his share of it, and 
 comes into contact not only with the happiness 
 but with the other partakers of that happiness a 
 divine kind of interest for generous deeds, which 
 we may all appropriate. 
 
 Nothing is more contagious than joy, and Hyde 
 was now a living joy through all the house. His 
 voice had caught a new tone, his feet a more buoy 
 ant step, he carried himself like a man expectant 
 of some glorious heritage. So eager, so ardent, so 
 ready to be happy, he inspired every one with his 
 buoyant gladness of heart. He could at least talk 
 to Cornelia with his pen every day, yes, every hour 
 if he desired ; and if it had been possible to trans 
 fer in a letter his own light-heartedness, the words 
 he wrote would have shone upon the paper. 
 
 The next morning Mary Damer called. She 
 knew that a letter from Cornelia was possible, and 
 she knew also that it would really be as fateful to 
 herself, as to Hyde. If, as she suspected, it was 
 
308 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 Rem Van Ariens who had detained the misdirected 
 letter, there was only one conceivable result as re 
 garded herself. She, an upright, honourable Eng 
 lish girl, loving truth with all her heart, and de 
 spising whatever was underhand and disloyal, had 
 but one course to take she must break off her en 
 gagement with a man so far below her standard of 
 simple morality. She could not trust his honour, 
 and what security has love in a heart without hon 
 our ? 
 
 So she looked anxiously at Annie as she entered, 
 and Annie would not keep her in suspense. 
 " There was a letter from Miss Moran last night," 
 she said. " She loves George yet. She re-wrote 
 the unfortunate letter, and this time it found its 
 owner. I think he has it next his heart at this 
 very moment." 
 
 u I am glad of that, Annie. But who has the 
 first letter ? " 
 
 " I think you know, Mary." 
 
 "You mean Mr. Van Ariens ?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Then there is no more to be said. I shall 
 write to him as soon as possible." 
 
 "I am sorry " 
 
 " No, no ! Be content, Annie. The right 
 must always come right. Neither you nor I could 
 desire any other end, even to our own love story." 
 
 " But you must suffer." 
 
 " Not much. None of us weep if we lose what 
 
The New Days Come 309 
 
 is of no value. And I have noticed that the hap 
 piness of any one is always conditioned by the 
 unhappiness of some one else. Love usually 
 builds his home out of the wrecks of other homes. 
 Your cousin and Cornelia will be happy, but there 
 are others that must suffer, that they may be so. 
 I will go now, Annie, because until I have written 
 to Mr. Van Ariens, I shall not feel free. And 
 also, I do not wish him to come here, and in his 
 last letter he spoke of such an intention." 
 
 So the two letters that of Hyde to Cornelia, 
 and that of Mary Darner to Van Ariens, left Eng 
 land for America in the same packet ; and though 
 Mary Damer undoubtedly had some suffering and 
 disappointment to conquer, the fight was all within 
 her. To her friends at the Manor she was just 
 the same bright, courageous girl ; ready for every 
 emergency, and equally ready to make the most of 
 every pleasure. 
 
 And the tone of the Manor House was now set 
 to a key of the highest joy and expectation. 
 Hyde unconsciously struck the note, for he was 
 happily busy from morning to night about affairs 
 relating either to his marriage, or to his future as 
 the head of a great household. All his old exigent, 
 extravagant liking for rich clothing returned to 
 him. He had constant visits from his London 
 tailor, a dapper little artist, who brought with him 
 a profusion of rich cloth, silk and satin, and who 
 firmly believed that the tailor made the man. 
 
310 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 There were also endless interviews with the family 
 lawyer, endless readings of law papers, and end 
 less consultations about rights and successions, 
 which Hyde was glad and grateful to leave very 
 much to his father s wisdom and generosity. 
 
 At the beginning of this happy period, Hyde 
 had been sure that the business of his preparations 
 would be arranged in three weeks ; a month had 
 appeared to be a quite unreasonable and impossible 
 delay ; but the month passed, and it was nearly the 
 middle of November when all things were ready 
 for his voyage. His mother would then have 
 urged a postponement until spring, but she knew 
 that George would brook no further delay ; and 
 she was wise enough to accept the inevitable cheer 
 fully. And thus by letting her will lead her, in 
 the very road necessity drove her, she preserved 
 not only her liberty, but her desire. 
 
 Some of these last days were occupied in select 
 ing from her jewels presents for Cornelia, with 
 webs of gold and silver tissues, and Spitalfields 
 silks so rich and heavy, that no mortal woman 
 might hope to outwear them. To these Annie 
 added from her own store of lace, many very val 
 uable pieces ; and the happy bridegroom was proud 
 to see that love was going to send him away, with 
 both arms full for the beloved. 
 
 The best gift however came last, and it was 
 from the Earl. It was not gold or land, though he 
 gave generously of both these ; but one which 
 
The New Days Come 3 1 1 
 
 Hyde felt made his way straight before him, and 
 which he knew must have cost his father much 
 self-abnegation. It was the following letter to 
 Dr. John Moran. 
 
 MY DEAR SIR : 
 
 It seems then, that our dear children love 
 each other so well, that it is beyond our right, even 
 as parents, to forbid their marriage. I ask from 
 you, for my son, who is a humble and ardent suitor 
 for Miss Moran s hand, all the favour his sincere de 
 votion to her deserves. We have both been 
 young, we have both loved, accept then his affec 
 tion as some atonement for any grievance or in 
 justice you remember against myself. Had we 
 known each other better, we should doubtless have 
 loved each other better; but now that marriage 
 will make us kin, I offer you my hand, with all it 
 implies of regret for the past, and of respect for the 
 future. Your servant to command, 
 
 RICHARD HYDE. 
 
 u It is the greatest proof of my love I can give 
 you, George," said the Earl, when the letter had 
 been read ; " and it is Annie you must thank for it. 
 She dropped the thought into my heart, and if the 
 thought has silently grown to these written words, 
 it is because she had put many other good thoughts 
 there, and that these helped this one to come to 
 perfection. * 
 
 " Have you noticed, father, how small and 
 fragile-looking she is ? Can she really be slowly 
 dying ? " 
 
312 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 " No, she is not dying ; she is only going a little 
 further away a little further away, every hour. 
 Some hour she will be called, and she will answer, 
 and we shall see her no more here. But I do not 
 call that dying, and if it be dying, Annie will go as 
 calmly and simply, as if she were fulfilling some 
 religious rite or duty. She loves God, and she will 
 go to Him." 
 
 The next morning Hyde left his father s home 
 forever. It was impossible that such a parting 
 should be happy. No hopes, no dreams of future 
 joy, could make him forget the wealth of love he 
 was leaving. Nor did he wish to forget. And 
 woe to the man or woman who would buy com 
 posure and contentment by forgetting ! by really 
 forfeiting a portion of their existence by being a 
 suicide of their own moral nature. 
 
 The day was a black winter day, with a mo 
 notonous rain and a dark sky troubled by a ghostly 
 wind. Inside the house the silence fell on the 
 heart like a weight. The Earl and Countess 
 watched their son s carriage turn from the door, 
 and then looked silently into each other s face. 
 The Earl s lips were firmly set, and his eyes full of 
 tears ; the Countess was weeping bitterly. He 
 went with her to her room, and with all his old 
 charm and tenderness comforted her for her great 
 loss. 
 
 At that moment Annie was forgotten, yet no one 
 was suffering more than she was. Hyde had knelt 
 
The New Days Come 313 
 
 by her sofa, and taken her in his arms, and covered 
 her face with tears and kisses, and she had not been 
 able to oppose a parting so heart-breaking and so 
 final. The last tears she was ever to shed dropped 
 from her closed eyes, as she listened to his depart 
 ing steps ; and the roll of the carriage carrying him 
 away forever, seemed to roll over her shrinking 
 heart. She cried out feebly a pitiful little shrill 
 cry, that she hushed with a sob still more full of 
 anguish. Then she began to cast over her suffer 
 ing soul the balm of prayer, and prostrate with 
 closed eyes, and hands feebly hanging down, Doctor 
 Roslyn found her. He did not need to ask a 
 question, he had long known the brave self-sacrifice 
 that was consecrating the child-heart suffering so 
 sharply that day ; and he said only 
 
 u We are made perfect through suffering, Annie." 
 
 " I know, dear father." 
 
 "And you have found before this, that the 
 sorrow well borne is full of strange joys joys, 
 whose long lasting perfumes, show that they were 
 grown in heaven and not on earth." 
 
 " This is the last sorrow that can come to me, 
 father." 
 
 " And my dear Annie, you would have been a 
 loser without it. Every grief has its meaning, and 
 the web of life could not be better woven, if only 
 love touched it." 
 
 " I have been praying, father." 
 
 " Nay, but God Himself prayed in you, while 
 
314 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 your soul waited in deep resignation. God gave 
 you both the resignation and the answer." 
 
 u My heart failed me at the last then I prayed 
 as well as I could." 
 
 "And then, visited by the not yourself in you, 
 your head was lifted up. Do not be frightened at 
 what you want. Strive for it little by little. All 
 that is bitter in outward things, or in interior 
 things, all that befalls you in the course of a day, is 
 your daily bread if you will take it from His hand." 
 
 Then she was silent and quite still, and he sat 
 and watched the gradual lifting of the spirit s cloud 
 watched, until the pallor of her face grew lu 
 minous with the inner light, and her wide open 
 eyes saw, as in a vision, things invisible to mortal 
 sight ; but open to the spirit on that dazzling line 
 where mortal and immortal verge. 
 
 And as he went home, stepping slowly through 
 the misty world, he himself hardly knew whether 
 he was in the body or out of it. He felt not the 
 dripping rain, he was not conscious of the encom 
 passing earthly vapours, he had passed within the 
 veil and was worshipping 
 
 " In dazzling temples opened straight to Him, 
 Where One who had great lightnings for His crown 
 Was suddenly made present ; vast and dim 
 Through crowded pinions of the Cherubim." 
 
 And his feet stumbled not, nor was he aware of 
 anything around, until the Earl met him at the 
 park gates and touching him said reverently 
 
The New Days Come 315 
 
 tl Father, you are close to the highway. Have 
 you seen Annie ? " 
 
 " I have just left her." 
 
 u She is further from us than ever." 
 
 " Richard Hyde," he answered, u she is on her 
 way to God, and she can rest nothing short of 
 that." 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 " HUSH ! LOVE IS HERE ! " 
 
 ON the morning that Hyde sailed for America, 
 Cornelia received the letter he had written her on 
 the discovery of Rem s dishonourable conduct. So 
 much love, so much joy, sent to her in the secret 
 foldings of a sheet of paper ! In a hurry of de 
 light and expectation she opened it, and her beam 
 ing eyes ran all over the joyful words it brought 
 her sweet fluttering pages, that his breath had 
 moved, and his face been aware of. How he 
 would have rejoiced to see her pressing them to her 
 bosom, at some word of fonder memory or desire. 
 
 There was much in this letter which it was nec 
 essary her father and mother should hear the 
 Earl s message to them Hyde s own proposition 
 for an immediate marriage, and various necessities 
 referring to this event. But she was proud and 
 happy to read words of such noble, straightforward 
 affection ; and the Doctor was especially pleased 
 by the deference expressed for his wishes. When 
 he left the house that day he kissed his daughter 
 with pride and tenderness, and said to Mrs. Moran 
 u Ava, there will be much to get, and much to 
 do in a short time, but money manages all things, 
 316 
 
"Hush! Love is Here!" 317 
 
 Do not spare where it is necessary." And then 
 what important and interesting consultations fol 
 lowed ! what lists of lovely garments became im 
 perative, which an hour before had not been 
 dreamed of ! what discussions as to mantua makers 
 and milliners ! as to guests and ceremonies ! as to 
 all the details of a life unknown, but invested by 
 love and youth, with a delightfully overwhelming 
 importance. 
 
 Cornelia was so happy that her ordinary dress of 
 grey camelot did not express her; she felt con 
 strained to add to it some bows of bright scarlet 
 ribbon, and then she looked round about her room, 
 and went through her drawers, to find something 
 else to be a visible witness to the light heart sing 
 ing within her. And she came across some coral 
 combs that Madame Jacobus had given her, and 
 felt their vivid colouring in the shining masses of 
 her dark hair, to be one of the right ways of say 
 ing to herself, and all she loved, u See how happy 
 I am ! " 
 
 In the afternoon, when the shopping for the day 
 had been accomplished, she went to Captain Ja 
 cobus, to play with him the game of backgammon 
 which had become an almost daily duty, and to 
 which the Captain attached a great importance. 
 Indeed, for many weeks it had been the event of 
 every day to him ; and if he was no longer de 
 pendent on it, he was grateful enough to acknowl 
 edge all the good it had done him. " I owe your 
 
318 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 daughter as much as I owe you, sir," he would say 
 to Doctor Moran, " and I owe both of you a big 
 ger debt than I can clear myself of." 
 
 This afternoon he looked at his visitor with a 
 wondering speculation. There was something in 
 her face, and manner, and voice, he had never be 
 fore seen or heard, and madame who watched 
 every expression of her husband was easily led 
 to the same observation. She observed Cornelia 
 closely, and her gay laugh especially revealed some 
 change. It was like the burst of bird song in early 
 spring, and she followed the happy girl to the front 
 door, and called her back when she had gone down 
 the steps, and said, as she looked earnestly in her 
 face 
 
 " You have heard from Joris Hyde ? I know 
 you have ! " and Cornelia nodded her head, and 
 blushed, and smiled, and ran away from further 
 question. 
 
 When she reached home she found Madame 
 Van Heemskirk sitting with her mother, and the 
 sweet old lady rose to meet her, and said before 
 Cornelia could utter a word : 
 
 " Come to me, Cornelia. This morning a letter 
 we have had from my Joris, and sorry am I that I 
 did thee so much wrong." 
 
 u Madame, I have long ago forgotten it ; and 
 there was a mistake all round," answered Cornelia, 
 cheerfully. 
 
 " That is so and thy mistake first of all. Hurry 
 
"Hush! Love is Here!" 319 
 
 is misfortune j even to be happy, it is not wise to 
 hurry. Listen now ! Joris has written to his 
 grandfather, and also to me, and very busy he will 
 keep us both. His grandfather is to look after the 
 stables and the horses, and to buy more horses, and 
 to hire serving men of all kinds. And a long let 
 ter also I have had from my daughter Katherine, 
 and she tells me to make her duty to thee my duty. 
 That is my pleasure also, and I have been talking 
 with thy mother about the house. Now I shall go 
 there, and a very pleasant home I shall make it. 
 Many things Joris will bring with him two new 
 carnages and much fine furniture and I know not 
 what else beside." 
 
 Then Cornelia kissed madame, and afterwards 
 removed her bonnet; and madame looked at her 
 smiling. The vivid coral in her dark hair, the 
 modest grey dress with its knots of colour, and 
 above all the lovely face alight with love and hope, 
 delighted her. 
 
 " Very pretty art thou, very pretty indeed ! " she 
 said, impulsively ; and then she added, " Many 
 other girls are very pretty also, but my Joris loves 
 thee, and I am glad that it is thee, and very wel 
 come art thou to me, and very proud is my hus 
 band of thee. And now I must go, because there 
 is much to do, and little time to do it in." 
 
 For nearly a week Cornelia was too busy to take 
 Arenta into her consideration. She did not care to 
 tell her about Rem s cruel and dishonourable con- 
 
320 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 duct, and she was afraid the shrewd little Marquise 
 would divine some change, and get the secret out 
 of her. Indeed, Arenta was not long in suspect 
 ing something unusual in the Doctor s household 
 the number of parcels and of work people aston 
 ished her; and she was not a little offended at 
 Madame Van Heemskirk spending a whole after 
 noon so near to her, and " never even," as she 
 said to her father, "turning her head this way." 
 For Arenta had drunk a rather long draught of 
 popular interest, and she could not bear to be 
 lieve it was declining. Was she not the Amer 
 ican heroine of 1793 ? It was almost a want 
 of patriotism in Madame Van Heemskirk to ne 
 glect her. 
 
 After a week had elapsed Cornelia went over 
 one morning to see her friend. But by this time 
 Arenta knew everything. Her brother Rem had 
 been with her and confessed all to his sister. It 
 had not been a pleasant meeting by any means. 
 She heard the story with indignation, but contrived 
 to feel that somehow Rem was not so much to 
 blame as Cornelia, and other people. 
 
 u You are right served," she said to her brother, 
 " for meddling with foreigners, and especially for 
 mixing your love affairs up with an English girl. 
 Proud, haughty creatures all of them ! And you 
 are a very fool to tell any woman such a crime. 
 Yes, it is a crime. I won t say less. That girl 
 over the way nearly died, and you would have let 
 
"Hush! Love is Here!" 321 
 
 her die. It was a shame. I don t love Cornelia 
 but it was a shame." 
 
 " The letter was addressed to me, Arenta." 
 
 " Fiddlesticks ! You knew it was not yours. 
 You knew it was Hyde s. Where is it now ? " 
 
 She asked the question in her usual dominant 
 way, and Rem did not feel able to resist it. He 
 looked for a moment at the angry woman, and was 
 subdued by her air of authority. He opened his 
 pocketbook and from a receptacle in it, took the 
 fateful letter. She seized and read it, and then 
 without a word, or a moment s hesitation threw it 
 into the fire. 
 
 Rem blustered and fumed, and she stood smiling 
 defiantly at him. "You are like all criminals," 
 she said; "you must keep something to accuse 
 yourself with. I love you too well to permit you 
 to carry that bit of paper about you. It has worked 
 you harm enough. What are you going to do ? 
 Is Miss Darner s refusal quite final ? " 
 
 " Quite. It was even scornful." 
 
 " Plenty of nice girls in Boston." 
 
 " I cannot go back to Boston." 
 
 " Why then ? " 
 
 " Because Mary s cousin has told the whole 
 affair." 
 
 " Nonsense ! " 
 
 "She has. I know it. Men, whom I had been 
 friendly with, got out of my way ; women excused 
 themselves at their homes, and did not see me on 
 
322 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 the streets. I have no doubt all Boston is talking 
 of the affair." 
 
 " Then come back to New York. New York 
 ers attend strictly to their own love affairs. Father 
 will stand by you ; and I will." 
 
 u Father will not. He called me a scoundrel, 
 when I told him last night, and advised me to go 
 to the frontier. Joris Van Heemskirk will not 
 talk, but madame will chatter for him, and I could 
 not bear to meet Doctor Moran. As for Captain 
 Jacobus, he would invent new words and oaths to 
 abuse me with, and Aunt Angelica would, of course, 
 say amen to all he says ; and there are others." 
 
 "Yes, there is Lord Hyde." 
 
 u Curse him ! But I intended to give him his 
 letter now you have burnt it." 
 
 " You intended nothing of the kind, Rem. Go 
 away as soon as you can. I don t want to know 
 where you go just yet. New York is impossible, 
 and Boston is impossible. Father says go to the 
 frontier, I say go South. What you have done, 
 you have done ; and it cannot be undone ; so don t 
 carry it about with you. And I would let women 
 alone they are beyond you go in for politics." 
 
 That day Rem lingered with his sister, seeing 
 no one else ; and in the evening shadows he slipped 
 quietly away. He was very wretched, for he really 
 loved Mary Darner, and his disappointment was 
 bitterly keen and humiliating. Besides which, he 
 felt that his business efforts for two years were for- 
 
"Hush! Love is Here!" 323 
 
 felted, and that he had the world to begin over 
 again. Without a friend to wish him a Godspeed 
 the wretched man went on board the Southern 
 packet, and in her dim lonely cabin sat silent and 
 despondent, while she fought her way through 
 swaying curtains of rain to the open sea. Its great 
 complaining came up through the darkness to him, 
 and seemed to be the very voice of the miserable 
 circumstances, that had separated and estranged his 
 life from all he loved and desired. 
 
 This sudden destruction of all her hopes for her 
 brother distressed Arenta. Her own marriage had 
 been a most unfortunate one, but its misfortunes 
 had the importance of national tragedy. She had 
 even plucked honour to herself from the bloody 
 tumbril and guillotine. But Rem s matrimonial 
 failure had not one redeeming quality ; it was alto 
 gether a shameful and well-deserved retribution. 
 And she had boasted to her friends not a little of 
 the great marriage her brother was soon to make, 
 and even spoken of Miss Damer, as if a sisterly 
 affection already existed between them. She could 
 anticipate very well the smiles and shrugs, the ex 
 clamations and condolences she might have to en 
 counter, and she was not pleased with her brother 
 for putting her in a position likely to make her dis 
 agreeable to people. 
 
 But the heart of her anger was Cornelia u but 
 for that girl," Rem would have married Mary 
 Damer, and his home in Boston might have been 
 
324 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 full of opportunities for her, as well as a desirable 
 change when she wearied of New York. Alto 
 gether it was a hard thing for her, as well as a 
 dreadful sorrow for Rem ; and she could not think 
 of Cornelia without anger, "Just for her," she kept 
 saying as she dressed herself with an elaborate sim 
 plicity, " Just for her ! Very much she intruded 
 herself into my affairs; my marriage was her op 
 portunity with Lord Hyde, and now all she can do 
 is to break up poor Rem s marriage." 
 
 When Cornelia entered the Van Ariens parlour 
 Arenta was already there. She was dressed in a 
 gown of the blackest and softest bombazine and 
 crape. It had a distinguishing want of all orna 
 ment, but it was for that reason singularly effective 
 against her delicate complexion and pale golden 
 hair. She looked offended, and hardly spoke to 
 her old friend, but Cornelia was prepared for some 
 exhibition of anger. She had not been to see 
 Arenta for a whole week, and she did not doubt 
 she had been well aware of something unusual in 
 progress. But that Rem had accused himself did 
 not occur to her; therefore she was hardly prepared 
 for the passionate accusations with which Arenta 
 assailed her. 
 
 " I think," she said, " you have behaved dis 
 gracefully to poor Rem ! You would not have 
 him yourself, and yet you prevent another girl 
 whom he loves far better than ever he loved you 
 from marrying him. He has gone away 4 out of 
 
"Hush! Love is Here!" 325 
 
 the world, he says, and indeed I should not won 
 der if he kills himself. It is most certain you have 
 done all you can to drive him to it." 
 
 "Arenta! I have no idea what you mean. I 
 have not seen Rem, nor written to Rem, for more 
 than two years." 
 
 u Very likely, but you have written about him. 
 You wrote to Miss Darner, and told her Rem pur 
 posely kept a letter, which you had sent to Lord 
 Hyde." 
 
 " I did not write to Miss Damer. I do not 
 know the lady. But Rem did keep a letter that 
 belonged to Lord Hyde." 
 
 Then anger gave falsehood the bit and she an 
 swered, " Rem did not keep any letter that belonged 
 to Lord Hyde. Prove that he did so, before you 
 accuse him. You cannot." 
 
 " I unfortunately directed Lord Hyde s letter to 
 Rem, and Rem s letter to Lord Hyde. Rem knew 
 that he had Lord Hyde s letter, and he should have 
 taken it at once to him." 
 
 " Lord Hyde had Rem s letter ; he ought to 
 have taken it at once to Rem." 
 
 u There was not a word in Rem s letter to iden 
 tify it as belonging to him." 
 
 " Then you ought to be ashamed to write love 
 letters that would do for any man that received 
 them. A poor hand you must be, to blunder over 
 two love letters. I have had eight, and ten, at 
 once to answer, and I never failed to distinguish 
 
326 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 each; and while rivers run into the sea I never 
 shall misdirect my love letters. I do not believe 
 Rem ever got your letter, and I will not believe it, 
 either now or ever. I dare be bound, Balthazar 
 lost it on the way. Prove to me he did not." 
 
 " Oh, indeed ! I think you know better." 
 
 " Very clever is Lord Hyde to excuse himself 
 by throwing the blame on poor Rem. Very mean 
 indeed to accuse him to the girl he was going to 
 marry. To be sure, any one with an ounce of 
 common sense to guide them, must see through 
 the whole affair." 
 
 " Arenta, I have the most firm conviction of 
 Rem s guilt, and the greatest concern for his dis 
 appointment. I assure you I have." 
 
 " Kindly reserve your concern, Miss Moran, till 
 Rem Van Ariens asks for it. As for his guilt, 
 there is no guilt in question. Even supposing that 
 Rem did keep Lord Hyde s letter, what then ? All 
 things are fair in love and war. Willie Nicholls 
 told me last night, he would keep a hundred letters, 
 if he thought he could win me by doing so. Any 
 man of sense would." 
 
 " All I blame Rem for is " 
 
 u All I blame Rem for is, that he asked you to 
 marry him. So much for that ! I hope if he 
 meddles with women again, he will seek an all- 
 round common-sense Dutch girl, who will know 
 how to direct her letters or else be content with 
 one lover." 
 
"Hush! Love is Here!" 327 
 
 " Arenta, I shall go now. I have given you an 
 opportunity to be rude and unkind. You cannot 
 expect me to do that again." 
 
 She watched Cornelia across the street, and then 
 turned to the mirror, and wound her ringlets over 
 her fingers. " I don t care," she muttered. u It 
 was her fault to begin with. She tempted Rem, 
 and he fell. Men always fall when women tempt 
 them ; it is their nature to. I am going to stand 
 by Rem, right or wrong, and I only wish I could 
 tell Mary Damer what I think of her. She has 
 another lover, of course she has or she would 
 not have talked about her honour to Rem." 
 
 To such thoughts she was raging, when Peter 
 Van Ariens came home to dinner, and she could 
 not restrain them. He listened for a minute or 
 two, and then struck the table no gentle blow 
 
 " In my house, Arenta," he said, " I will have 
 no such words. What you think, you think ; but 
 such thoughts must be shut close in your mind. 
 In keeping that letter, I say Rem behaved like a 
 scoundrel; he was cruel, and he was a coward. 
 Because he is my son I will not excuse him. No 
 indeed ! For that very reason, the more angry am 
 I at such a deed. Now then, he shall acknowledge 
 to George Hyde and Cornelia Moran the wrong 
 he did them, ere in my home and my heart, he 
 rights himself." 
 
 " Is Cornelia going to be married ? " 
 
 u That is what I hear." 
 
328 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 "To Lord Hyde?" 
 
 " That also, is what I hear." 
 
 " Well, as I am in mourning, I cannot go to the 
 wedding ; so then I am delighted to have told her 
 a little of my mind." 
 
 " It is a great marriage for the Doctor s daugh 
 ter; a countess she will be." 
 
 "And a marquise I am. And will you please 
 say, if either countess or marquise is better than 
 mistress or madame ? Thank all the powers that 
 be ! I have learned the value of a title, and I 
 shall change marquise for mistress, as soon as I 
 can do so." 
 
 " If always you had thought thus, a great deal 
 of sorrow we had both been spared." 
 
 " Well, then, a girl cannot get her share of wis 
 dom, till she comes to it. After all, I am now 
 sorry I have quarrelled with Cornelia. In New 
 York and Philadelphia she will be a great 
 woman." 
 
 " To take offence is a great folly, and to give 
 offence is a great folly I know not which is the 
 greater, Arenta." 
 
 " Oh, indeed, father," she answered, " if I am 
 hurt and angry, I shall take the liberty to say so. 
 Anger that is hidden cannot be gratified; and if 
 people use me badly, it is my way to tell them I 
 am aware of it. One may be obliged to eat brown 
 bread, but I, for one, will say it is brown bread, 
 and not white." 
 
"Hush! Love is Here!" 329 
 
 " Your own way you will take, until into some 
 great trouble you stumble." 
 
 u And then my own way I shall take, until out 
 of it I stumble.* 
 
 " I have told Rem what he must do. Like a 
 man he must say, c I did wrong, and I am sorry for 
 it, and so well I think of those he has wronged, as 
 to be sure they will answer, It is forgiven. 
 
 " And forgotten." 
 
 " That is different. To forgive freely, is what 
 we owe to our enemy ; to forget not, is what we 
 owe to ourselves." 
 
 " But if Rem s fault is forgiven, and not for 
 gotten, what good will it do him ? I have seen 
 that every one forgives much in themselves that 
 they find unpardonable in other people." 
 
 " In so far, Arenta, we are all at fault." 
 
 " I think it is cruel, father, to ask Rem to speak 
 truth to his own injury. Even the law is kinder 
 than you, it asks no man to accuse himself." 
 
 " Right wrongs no man. Till others move in 
 this matter, you be quiet. If you talk, evil words 
 you will say ; and mind this, Arenta, the evil that 
 comes out of your lips, into your own bosom will 
 fall. All my life I have seen this." 
 
 But Arenta could not be quiet. She would sow 
 thorns, though she had to walk unshod ; and her 
 father s advice moved her no more than a breath 
 moves a mountain. In the same afternoon she saw 
 Madame Jacobus going to Doctor Moran s, and the 
 
330 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 hour she remained there, was full of misery to 
 her impetuous self-adoring heart. She was sure 
 they were talking of Rem and herself; and as she 
 had all their conversation to imagine, she came to 
 conclusions in accord with her suspicions. 
 
 But she met her aunt at the door and brought 
 her eagerly into the parlour. She had had no visitors 
 that day, and was bored and restless and longing 
 for conversation. u I saw you go to the Doctor s 
 an hour ago, aunt," she said. " I hope the Cap 
 tain is well." 
 
 "Jacobus is quite well, thank God and Doctor 
 Moran and Cornelia. I have been looking at 
 some of her wedding gowns. A girl so happy, and 
 who deserves to be so happy, I never saw. What 
 a darling she is ! " 
 
 " It is now the fashion to rave about her. I 
 suppose they found time enough to abuse poor 
 Rem. And you could listen to them ! I would 
 not have done so ! No ! not if listening had meant 
 salvation for the whole Moran family." 
 
 " You are a remarkably foolish young woman. 
 They never named Rem. People so happy, do not 
 remember the bringer of sorrow. He has been 
 shut out in the darkness and cold. But I heard 
 from Madame Van Heemskirk why Cornelia and 
 that delightful young man were not married two 
 years ago. I am ashamed of Rem. I can never 
 forgive him. He is a disgrace to the family. And 
 that is why I came here to-day. I wish you to 
 
"Hush! Love is Here!" 331 
 
 make Rem understand that he must not come near 
 his Uncle Jacobus. When Jacobus is angry, he 
 will call heaven and earth and hell to help him 
 speak his mind, and I have nearly cured him of a 
 habit which is so distressing to me, and such a 
 great wrong to his own soul. The very sight of 
 Rem would break every barrier down, and let a 
 flood of words loose, that would make him suffer 
 afterwards. I will not have Jacobus led into such 
 temptation. I have not heard an oath from him 
 for six months." 
 
 " I suppose you would never forgive Jacobus, 
 if you did hear one ? " 
 
 " That is another matter. I hope I have a heart 
 to forgive whatever Jacobus does, or says he is 
 my husband." 
 
 " It is then less wicked to blaspheme Almighty 
 God, than to keep one of Lord Hyde s love letters. 
 One fault may be forgiven, the other is unpardon 
 able. Dear me ! how religiously ignorant I am. 
 As for my uncle swearing and the passions that 
 thus express themselves everybody knows that 
 anything that distantly resembles good temper, 
 will suit Captain Jacobus." 
 
 u You look extremely handsome when you are 
 scornful, Arenta ; but it is not worth while wasting 
 your charms on me. I am doing what I can to 
 help Jacobus to keep his tongue clean, and I will 
 not have Rem lead him into temptation. As for 
 Rem, he is guilty of a great wrong ; and he must 
 
The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 now do what his father told him to do work day 
 and night, as men work, when a bridge is broken 
 down. The ruin must be got out of the way, and 
 the bridge rebuilt, then it will be possible to open 
 some pleasant and profitable traffic with human be 
 ings again not to speak of heaven." 
 
 " You are right not to speak of heaven. I 
 think heaven would be more charitable. Rem will 
 not trouble Captain Jacobus. For my part I think 
 a man that cannot bear temptation is very poorly 
 reformed. If my uncle could see Rem, and yet 
 keep his big and little oaths under bonds, I should 
 believe in his clean tongue." 
 
 u Arenta, you are tormenting yourself with an 
 ger and ill-will, and above all with jealousy. In 
 this way you are going to miss a deal of pleasure. I 
 advise you not to quarrel with Cornelia. She will 
 be a great resource. I myself am looking forward 
 to the delightful change Jacobus may have at 
 Hyde Manor. It will make a new life for him, 
 and also for me. This afternoon something is 
 vexing you. I shall take no offence. You will 
 regret your bad temper to-morrow." 
 
 To-morrow Arenta did regret ; but people do 
 not always say they are sorry, when they feel so. 
 She sat in the shadow of her window curtains and 
 watched the almost constant stream of visitors, and 
 messengers, and tradespeople at Doctor Moran s 
 house ; and she longed to have her hands among 
 the lovely things, and to give her opinion about the 
 
"Hush! Love is Here!" 333 
 
 delightful events sure to make the next few weeks 
 full of interest and pleasure. And after she had 
 received a letter from Rem, she resolved to humble 
 herself that she might be exalted. 
 
 " Rem is already fortunate, and I can t help him 
 by righting his battle. Forgetfulness, is the word. 
 For this wrong can have no victory, and to be for 
 gotten, is the only hope for it. Beside, Cornelia 
 had her full share in my happiness, and I will not 
 let myself be defrauded of my share in her happi 
 ness not for a few words no ! certainly not." 
 
 This reflection a few times reiterated resulted in 
 the following note 
 
 MY DEAR CORNELIA : 
 
 I want to say so much, that I cannot say 
 anything but forgive me. I am shaken to pieces 
 by my dreadful sufferings, and sometimes, I do not 
 know what I say, even to those I love. Blame 
 my sad fortune for my bad words, and tell me you 
 long to forgive me, as I long to be forgiven. 
 
 Your ARENTA. 
 
 "That will be sufficient," she reflected; "and 
 after all, Cornelia is a sweet girl. I am her first 
 and dearest friend, and I am determined to keep my 
 place. It has made me very angry to see those 
 Van Dien girls, and those Sherman girls, running 
 in and out of the Moran house as if they owned 
 Cornelia. Well then, if I have had to eat humble 
 pie, I have had my say, and that takes the bitter 
 
334 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 taste out of my mouth and a sensible woman 
 must look to her future. I dare warrant, Cornelia 
 is now answering my letter. I dare warrant, she 
 will forgive me very sweetly." 
 
 She spent half-an-hour in such reflections, and 
 then Cornelia entered with a smiling face. She 
 would not permit Arenta to say another word of 
 regret ; she stifled all her self-reproaches in an em 
 brace, and she took her back with her to her own 
 home. And no further repentance embarrassed 
 Arenta. She put her ready wit, and her clever 
 hands to a score of belated things; and snubbed 
 and contradicted the Van Dien and Sherman girls 
 into a respectful obedience to her earlier friendship, 
 and wider experience. Everything that she di 
 rected, or took charge of, went with an unmis 
 takable vigour to completion; and even Madame 
 Van Heemskirk was delighted with her ability, and 
 grateful for her assistance. 
 
 " The poor Arenta ! " she said to Mrs. Moran ; 
 " very helpful she is to us, and for her brother s 
 fault she is not to blame. Wrong it would be to 
 visit it on her." 
 
 And Arenta not only felt this gracious justice for 
 herself, she looked much further forward, for she 
 said to her father, " It is really for Rem s sake I 
 am so obliging. By and by people will say there 
 is no truth in that letter story. The Marquise is 
 the friend of Lady Hyde; they are like clasped 
 hands, and that could not be so, if Rem Van 
 
"Hush! Love is Here!" 335 
 
 Ariens had done such a dreadful thing. It is all 
 nonsense. And if I hear a word about it, I shall 
 know how to smile, and lift my shoulders, and kill 
 suspicion with contempt. Yes, for Rem s sake, I 
 have done the best thing." 
 
 So happily the time went on, that it appeared 
 wonderful when Christmas was close at hand. 
 Every preparation was then complete. The 
 Manor House was a very picture of splendid com 
 fort, and day by day Cornelia s exquisite wardrobe 
 came nearer to perfection. It was a very joy to go 
 into the Moran house. The mother, with a happy 
 light upon her face, went to-and-fro with that 
 habitual sweet serenity, which kept the temperature 
 of expectant pleasure at a degree not too exhaust 
 ing for continuance. The doctor was so satisfied 
 with affairs, that he was often heard timing his 
 firm, strong steps to snatches of long forgotten 
 military songs ; and Cornelia, knowing her lover 
 was every day coming nearer and nearer, was just 
 as happy as a girl loving and well beloved, ought 
 to be. Sorrow was all behind her, and a great joy 
 was coming to meet her. Until mortal love should 
 become immortal, she could hope for no sweeter 
 interlude in life. 
 
 Her beauty had increased wonderfully ; hope 
 had more than renewed her youth, and confident 
 love had given to her face and form, a splendour 
 of colour and expression, that captivated every 
 body ; though why, or how, they never asked 
 
336 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 she charmed, because she charmed. She was 
 the love, the honey, the milk of sweetest human 
 nature. 
 
 One day the little bevy of feminine councillors 
 looked at their work, and pronounced all beautiful, 
 and all finished ; and then there was a lull in the 
 busy household, and then every one was conscious 
 of being a little weary ; and every one also felt, that it 
 would be well to let heart, and brain, and fingers, 
 and feet rest. In a few days there would likely be 
 another English letter, and they could then form 
 some idea as to when Lord Hyde would arrive. 
 The last letter received from him had been written 
 in London, and the ship in which he was to sail, 
 was taking on her cargo, while he impatiently 
 waited at his hotel for notice of her being ready to 
 lift her anchor. The doctor thought it highly 
 probable Hyde would follow this letter in a week, 
 or perhaps less. 
 
 During this restful interval, Doctor and Mrs. 
 Moran drove out one afternoon to Hyde Manor 
 House. A message from Madame Van Heems- 
 kirk asked this favour from them ; she wished 
 naturally that they should see how exquisitely 
 beautiful and comfortable was the home, which her 
 Joris had trusted her to prepare for his bride. But 
 she did not wish Cornelia to see it, until the bride 
 groom himself took her across its threshold. u An 
 old woman s fancy it is," she said to Mrs. 
 Moran ; " but no harm is there in it, and not much 
 
"Hush! Love is Here!" 337 
 
 do I like women who bustle about their houses, 
 and have no fancies at all." 
 
 " Nor I," answered Mrs. Moran with a merry 
 little laugh. " Do you know, that I told John to 
 buy my wedding ring too wide, because I often 
 heard my mother say that a tight wedding ring 
 was unlucky." Then both women smiled, and 
 began delightedly to look over together the stores 
 of fine linen and damask, which the mother of 
 Joris had laid up for her son s use. 
 
 It was a charming visit, and the sweet pause in 
 the vivid life of the past few weeks, was equally 
 charming to Cornelia. She rested in her room till 
 the short daylight ended ; then she went to the 
 parlour and drank a cup of tea, and closed the cur 
 tains, and sat down by the hearth to wait for her 
 father and mother. It was likely they would be a 
 little late, but the moon was full and the sleighing 
 perfect, and then she was sure they would have so 
 much to tell her, when they did reach home. 
 
 So still was the house, so still was the little 
 street, that she easily went to the land of reverie, 
 and lost herself there. She thought over again all 
 her life with her lover; recalled his sweet spirit, his 
 loyal affection, his handsome face, and enchanting 
 manner. " Heaven has made me so fortunate," 
 she thought, " and now my fortune has arrived at 
 my wishes. Even his delay is sweet. I desire to 
 think of him, until all other thoughts are forgotten J 
 Oh, what lover could be loved as I love him ! " 
 
338 The Maid of Maiden Lane 
 
 Then with a soft but quick movement the door 
 flew open, she lifted her eyes, to fill them with 
 love s very image and vesture ; and with a cry of 
 joy flew to meet the bliss so long afar, but now so 
 near. " O lovely and beloved ! O my love ! " 
 Hyde cried, and then there was a twofold silence ; 
 the very ecstasy that no mortal words can utter. 
 The sacred hour for which all their lives had 
 longed, was at last dropt down to them from 
 heaven. Between their kisses they spoke of things 
 remembered, and of things to be, leaning to each 
 other in visible sweetness, while 
 
 " Love breathed in sighs and silences 
 Through two blent souls, one rapturous undersong." 
 
Tb /4IO