ON -A SOUTH 
 
 PLANTATION
 
 IRARY
 
 LIFE ON A SOUTHERN PLANTATION. 
 
 By M. L. COWLES. 
 
 " We often do more good by our sympathy than by our labors." 
 
 CANON FAKRAR. 
 
 BOSTON, MASS.: 
 
 a gtriritehing 
 
 COPLEY SQUARE, 
 1893.
 
 1S93 
 V 
 Cotules, 
 
 ARENA PRESS.
 
 THIS SKETCH OF SOUTHERN LIFE 
 
 IS DEDICATED 
 
 TO MY FOUR DAUGHTERS, 
 
 WHOSE HEARTS FIND NO DIVIDING LINE 
 
 BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH.
 
 RED-RANK. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 " WHAT an amount of patience one needs in this world ! 
 Here I've been waiting fifteen minutes, at least, and it is 
 probable I shall have to wait fifteen minutes longer be 
 fore he comes. The lazy boy ! But I will not call him. 
 I will not remind him of his appointment, if he does not 
 care to keep it." 
 
 As she spoke she tapped the end of her foot with her 
 riding-whip, in vexation. 
 
 " And the day is so beautiful, too just the thing for 
 a ride through the pines. O, Harry ! Harry ! if only you 
 could be made over ! if you had a little less physical 
 beauty and a few solid virtues ! Such as punctuality, for 
 instance." Jessie Holcombe looked almost tearful as 
 she spoke these last few words ; they evidently came 
 from the bottom of a very full heart a heart not merely 
 filled with momentary annoyance, but deeply wounded 
 by the faults of another. 
 
 She was a handsome girl, and her riding habit became 
 her well ; it revealed not only beauty of form, but a cer 
 tain clear outline of character. She was simple and 
 stately a little sedate in manners, a little severe in
 
 6 LiEDBANK. 
 
 morals. Her complexion was very pure and beautiful, 
 with the rich, warm Undertone which betokens perfect 
 health. Her features were clearly and beautifully 
 chiseled; about the mouth especially, there were lines 
 of sweetness and strength which were in themselves 
 a revelation of character. Her large dark-brown eyes, 
 veiled by delicate lids and long lashes, were full of that 
 strange radiance which we call soul. As j^ou looked 
 into their wonderful depths, you recognized a strong and 
 lofty spirit, already trained to tenderness and patience, 
 in the stern school of life. 
 
 For ten or fifteen minutes longer she stood almost 
 motionless ; at length, weary of waiting, she gathered 
 up her skirt, and walked slowly down the steps of the 
 piazza out into the yard. Turning a corner of the house, 
 she got a view of the stables in the rear. Yes, the 
 horses were both ready ; Peyton was standing quietly, 
 holding the reins and waiting for the riders to come. 
 She moved down the broad carriage-way, nodding 
 pleasantly to the groom. 
 
 " Well, Peyton, did you think I was never coming ? " 
 she asked. 
 
 The man only grinned ; he was a negro, and with 
 him a grin meant all kinds of things. As an answer, 
 it was far better than a long string of words. Its am 
 biguity was faultless. If language was invented to 
 conceal one's thoughts, how much more perfect, for 
 such a purpose, is the negro's grin. 
 
 " How is Dolly to-day ? " she inquired after a moment, 
 approaching a beautiful black mare, and laying her 
 hand lovingly on the glossy mane. 
 
 " She's all right, Miss Jessie jes' ready for a gallop 
 dis minute." 
 
 " I see she is. You do take splendid care of her,
 
 ttEBBANK. 1 
 
 Peyton," continued the girl ; " she is always perfectly 
 groomed. I thank you more than I know how to ex 
 press." 
 
 Again the negro grinned, but there was a difference 
 this time. Before, he was slightly deprecating the ne 
 cessity of waiting so long when there was so much work 
 to be done ; now, his dusky countenance was illumined 
 with veritable pleasure at the lady's approval. He had 
 a great admiration for his beautiful young mistress, and 
 a word of praise from her lips was worth more to him 
 than his month's wages. 
 
 " She is a beauty, isn't she ? " said Jessie, after caress 
 ing the horse for a few minutes. 
 
 " No use ter talk 'bout dat no horse like her roun' 
 dis plantation," replied the negro. " Ef you wants ter 
 sell her, dere's plenty would like to buy her, I can tell 
 you dat, Miss Jessie." 
 
 " Money could not buy her, Peyton, I love her 
 too dearly to sell her for any price. You know she 
 used to belong to my brother the one who was killed 
 in the war. She was a mere colt then. He was riding 
 her in a cavalry charge, when the ball struck him. She 
 is not as young as she once was. Ah ! Dolly, you are 
 growing old." And again the hand was laid lovingly 
 on the animal's shapely head. 
 
 " Come, Peyton, lead her to the block ; I will get up 
 and arrange myself. Perhaps by that time my cavalier 
 will come." 
 
 She was just ready to start, when a young man, whist 
 ling gayly, came out of the back door of the house, and 
 rapidly crossed the grass to the stables. 
 
 " Have I kept you waiting ? " he cried, quickening 
 his pace. 
 
 " Look at your watch and see. It must be an hour
 
 8 &EDBANR. 
 
 behind the time. Fortunately lam your sister, or you 
 would not escape punishment." 
 
 " A thousand pardons ! " he exclaimed, removing his 
 hat and bowing gracefully. " I was writing a letter, and 
 it was a devilish hard task. Casting my eyes up to the 
 ceiling for an idea, I happened to catch a glimpse of the 
 clock and, behold me." 
 
 " Well, pray don't keep me waiting any longer, or the 
 sun will be ready to set," said the young lady, smiling 
 and accepting his apology without any comment. 
 
 The gentleman vaulted into the saddle, and the 
 two cantered off together. Peyton stood still, a few 
 moments, watching them as they went down the long 
 avenue to the road ; then, turning away, he said to him 
 self in a low tone " I'd never take dem for brudder 
 and sister, if dey didn't look so much alike. Now, clere's 
 Miss Jessie I'd like to work fur her always, 'thout any 
 
 pay ; but Marse Harry " here he shook his head, and 
 
 left the sentence unfinished. 
 
 Once in the open road, the two riders dashed off in a 
 gallop, and were soon lost to sight. 
 
 " Which way ? " asked the young man. 
 
 " By the mill." 
 
 When they were in sight of the mill, they slackened 
 their speed, and came down to a walk. 
 
 " I do like this dear old mill so much," said Jessie ; 
 " the building itself is just as picturesque as it can be, 
 with that creeper running all over it. and the group of fine 
 old sweet-gum trees growing so near. Then the big pond, 
 and the waterfall and the stream rushing so madly over 
 the rocks the clatter of the wheels andgrinding-stones, 
 and the cool drip, drip, drip of the water. The last 
 touch of beauty is added by the low-roofed cottage of the 
 miller up there on the slope under the trees. It is just
 
 KEDBANK. 9 
 
 the loveliest spot on the whole plantation. I feel as if 
 I must have a glimpse of it every day, or else I've been 
 defrauded of something." 
 
 " Somehow, I don't like it," said her companion ; 
 " I never come this road, if I can help it ; I have an un 
 canny feeling about it, especially at night: as if some 
 thing dreadful had happened here, or were going to 
 happen. I don't know which." 
 
 " Why, something dreadful did happen here, ever 
 so long ago," answered Jessie. " Perhaps your feeling 
 comes from that." 
 
 " Perhaps," he answered carelessly. 
 
 " You have heard all about it, haven't you ? " she 
 asked with quickened interest. 
 
 " In a vague kind of way," he replied ; " but I'm not 
 fond- of dreadful things, even in story books, so I've 
 never heard the full account." 
 
 " Why, it was in the lifetime of the Colonel's grand 
 father, who was a dreadfully wicked old man, they say. 
 He used to beat his slaves and maltreat even his wife 
 and daughter. Well, it was summer-time, and there had 
 been a long and terrible drought ; for many weeks, not 
 a drop of rain had fallen, and the cotton was burning up 
 in the fields. The old man was in a rage from morning 
 till night because it did not rain. He used to walk the 
 }ii/,7,a, and curse and swear at the heavens. At last one 
 day a little cloud appeared in the sky, and soon grew 
 into great masses, black with thunder and lightning. 
 The storm broke with perfect fury over the country ; 
 the rain fell in torrents, beating down the cotton into 
 the very ground; the wind was like a hurricane, up 
 rooting trees, and sweeping away buildings. The mill- 
 pond rose so fast and high that the miller was frightened, 
 and rushed home to his family, but he never reached
 
 1U 
 
 them ; he was blown, into the pond and drowned. The 
 mill went down with a great crash ; the miller's house, 
 his wife, and five little children were all carried off by 
 the flood. It is a story that Aunt Lucy loves to tell. 
 The old man was ruined, and he died soon afterwards. 
 The only daughter was Colonel Winston's mother, and 
 that's the way he happens to own this plantation. He 
 himself rebuilt the mill, many years ago." 
 
 " Yes, I've heard it all before," replied Harry Hoi- 
 combe, in an absent way. By this time they had passed 
 the mill, crossed the rude bridge over the stream, and 
 were in the woods beyond. 
 
 " Come, let's have another gallop," said the gentle 
 man. 
 
 " A trot this time," cried the girl, as the two horses 
 started off. Soon they were dashing over the white 
 sandy road which wound through a wood of tall pines, 
 such as are often seen in the eastern portions of the 
 Southern states. For simple and imposing beauty, no 
 forest equals that of the noble pine ; the tall and stately 
 trunks, the crown of dark feathery foliage ; the absence 
 of undergrowth revealing the massive pillars, together 
 form a vast natural cathedral, which produces an im 
 pression of solemnity and awe. The prolonged moan 
 that lingers forever in the lofty aisles seems to come 
 from an invisible organ. 
 
 When they reached the depths of the wood, both 
 riders felt this, and brought their horses to a walk. 
 For a long time they rode side by side without speaking. 
 Jessie broke the silence. 
 
 " Harry," she said in her simple, direct way, " I wish 
 you would not manage to vex the Colonel so." 
 
 " Why, what have I done now ? " he asked, impatiently, 
 removing his hat and tossing back his hair.
 
 REDBANK. . 11 
 
 " I don't know ; only I heard him say, this morning, 
 that, if you were his son, he would give you a good 
 thrashing." 
 
 " I daresay he would. Thank heaven that I am not 
 his son ! " cried the young man with levity and indif 
 ference. 
 
 " But, Harry, since you are in his house and eat his 
 bread, you ought to try to please him." 
 
 " An angel could not do that, Jessie, far less a poor 
 sinner like me." 
 
 " Well, you might try, dear, not to put him in a rage 
 as you often do." 
 
 " I don't put him in a rage, he puts himself into one. 
 If he finds his overcoat hanging on the second instead 
 of the third peg from the hall door, he gets into a rage 
 and begins to abuse me. If his riding-whip is found 
 lying on the hall-table, instead of standing handle down 
 in one special corner, he gets into a rage and abuses me." 
 
 " Well, if he gets angry so easily, you ought to be 
 careful not to disturb anything that belongs to him. 
 Harry, you are not exactly perfect." 
 
 " If I don't know that already, it isn't because you 
 haven't told me often enough. Damn the fussy old 
 Colonel," he exclaimed after a moment's pause. 
 
 " If you feel like that, you ought not remain under 
 his roof. Why don't you go somewhere else ? " 
 
 " Where the deuce am I to go ? " 
 
 " The world is all before you where to choose," she 
 answered. 
 
 " Well, what if it is ? I know precious little about 
 any of it only a small portion of Virginia, and this 
 little cotton-patch in Georgia." 
 
 " How little adventure you have about you ! " she 
 exclaimed impatiently. " Oh, if I were only a man ! "
 
 12 REDBANK. 
 
 " What would you do, pray ? " 
 
 "At least, I'd earn an honest living, and not live on 
 other people." 
 
 " How would you do it ? Let's hear, please." 
 
 " There are ten thousand kinds of service by which 
 a man can make himself useful in the world, and thus 
 earn his own bread." 
 
 "Which one would you choose?" 
 
 " The one I liked the best the one that would help 
 me to grow nobler and better every day." 
 
 " How clear and definite you are ! " he answered. 
 " You would go somewhere do something the something 
 that would help you to grow nobler and better every 
 day. Now, if I had come to you for advice which I 
 haven't I would go away mightily aided by what you 
 have said," and he began to whistle softly. 
 
 " Well," she continued after a short pause, " if you 
 do not know where to go and are determined to stay 
 here, why don't you try to help the Colonel. There are 
 many ways in which you could do that, now he has no 
 overseer." 
 
 " The old fool, to send away such a good fellow as 
 Sam Griffin ! Why, Jessie, he won't let anybody help 
 him. As for me, he does not think that I have sense 
 enough to turn over an ash-cake." 
 
 " He does not think that you want to do anything 
 but ride around, and smoke, and hunt, and read novels. 
 Prove to him that he is mistaken. He did give you the 
 charge of the mill at one time, and how did it turn out? 
 That surely was your fault, not his." 
 
 " Yes, set me to watch a thief of a nigger ! I value 
 my brains too much to waste them on that kind of 
 work. Besides, you know I hate the very sight of that 
 infernal old mill ; its clatter drives me almost mad."
 
 KEDBANK. 13 
 
 She made no reply to tliis remark. After all, what 
 was the use of talking ? 
 
 Presently he turned to her, and said, " I know per 
 fectly well what's the matter with the Colonel just at 
 present." 
 
 " What is it ? ". she asked, quickly ; " he seems to 
 have lost all his old geniality of manner." 
 
 "It is only the lack of money, my dear. 'It is amaz 
 ing how a little ' filthy lucre ' in one's pocket improves 
 one's temper. But he need not quarrel with me. If he 
 only knew it, I could give him profound sympathy, 
 for I'm in the same box myself." 
 
 " But do you think that he is really in debt? He 
 must be rich he has so much land thousands of acres." 
 
 " Yes ; but land does not enrich one at this time. It 
 is the very cause of his embarrassment. If he would 
 sell half of it, he would be far better off." 
 
 " But he spends money so freely," said the girl ; 
 " surely that does not look as if he needed it." 
 
 " That only shows what an old fool he is. He would 
 have enough, if he did not pitch it out in the road." 
 
 " You are right," she said, slowly and sadly, " but I 
 suppose he has always been accustomed to scatter it 
 around freely, and, at his age, it is hard to change." 
 
 "Well, I'm sorry for him," replied the young man, 
 " but I don't see how I can help him." 
 
 " I am sure you could if you would only try, Harry 
 dear," she said, very gently ; " and you would be so 
 much happier, and I would, too." She looked at him 
 with a world of tenderness in her dark eyes, but he did 
 not respond to the appeal. 
 
 " Do let's go faster," he exclaimed, after a short 
 silence, as if weary of the conversation, and they 
 galloped on again until their horses were well-spent.
 
 14 EEDBANK. 
 
 When, at length, they fell into a walk, Harry, said, 
 very quietly, " Look here, Jessie, you need not bother 
 your pious little soul about me. I suppose I ought to 
 feel complimented to be the object of so much solici 
 tude, but, to tell the truth, it makes me confoundedly 
 uncomfortable. Would you really like to know what 
 I am going to do ? ' ; 
 
 " Indeed I would," she answered. 
 
 " Now, this is a secret between us two, remember," 
 he continued. " I would not tell anybody else in the 
 world but you." Here he paused as if reluctant to speak. 
 
 " You need not be afraid that I will betray any secret 
 of yours, Harry dear," she said, looking at him wistfully. 
 
 " I know that well enough, but there are some things 
 a fellow does not care to talk about, even to his sister. 
 However, I want to relieve some of your excessive 
 anxiety I'm afraid it keeps you awake at night ; so 
 here goes. You know Alice Brooks, of course. Well, 
 I have serious intentions in that direction. She is 
 a nice little thing, and rich for these times in the 
 South a plantation or two, and some bank and rail 
 road stock. I know all about it. Now, I'm going to 
 fall in love with her, and win her pretty little hand, 
 sure as shot." 
 
 " But she will never marry you, Harry." 
 
 "Yes, she will; she likes me right well now, and I 
 know I can make her like me better, if I try." 
 
 " But surely, Harry, you are not going to marry her 
 for her money." 
 
 " By no means would I do such a very wicked thing," 
 he said, with a low laugh. " I am going to love her with 
 all my might, and marry her in spite of her money ! " 
 
 " Then I hope you will try to make yourself worthy 
 of her, for she is a lovely girl," said Jessie.
 
 EEDBANK. 15 
 
 " Yes, I know that," he replied, and then relapsed 
 into silence. 
 
 They had now made a wide circuit around the mill 
 side of the plantation, and were nearing the house. As 
 Jessie thought of her brother's words, her heart grew 
 lighter and happier than it had been for a long time. 
 The knowledge that he was really in love with a high- 
 minded girl, made her have hopes of his salvation. A 
 man generally shows what is in him, when he selects 
 his wife. If Harry could only win Alice Brooks, Jessie 
 felt convinced that such a wife would have great influence 
 over him. But how about Alice herself ? Would there 
 not be a terrible risk for her in the union ? Assuredly 
 there would. But if they truly loved each other, there 
 would be a holy power around them which would save 
 them both, for Jessie Holcombe believed in the divine 
 source of human love. 
 
 These thoughts were in her mind when the horses 
 stopped in front of the house ; with her brother's assistance 
 she alighted, and ran up the steps of the piazza, humming 
 an old song, her cheeks glowing, and her heart full of 
 bright hopes for the future. 
 
 As she was crossing the broad hall of the old planta 
 tion house, on her way upstairs, she met her little niece, 
 Lilian, who was crying bitterly. 
 
 " What is it, darling ? " asked Jessie, seating her 
 self on the steps and taking the child in her arms ; " tell 
 me all about it, and I will make it right again." 
 
 " Papa has kicked Tasso," cried the child. " And 
 broken his leg." 
 
 " Oh ! dear, what shall we do ? " exclaimed Jessie, 
 springing up with an angry flash in her eyes. " Come, 
 let's go right away and see what can be done. Does 
 mamma know about it ? "
 
 16 RED BANK. 
 
 " Yes," answered the child, sobbing still louder, " she 
 is trying to mend it now out in the gardener's house." 
 
 They went together to the garden where there was a 
 small house in which the gardener kept his tools. There 
 was a lady within, and a colored man who held a dog 
 in his arms ; the former was trying to bandage the 
 broken leg, which the latter was holding firmly in place 
 between the splints. 
 
 " Oh, Eleanor ! " cried Jessie, " do let me help you ! " 
 
 " It is done now," said the lady, quietly. Her voice 
 suited her face and her manner, both of which were very 
 sweet and serene. " But I do not think he will live 
 through it he is such a restless creature. Can you tie 
 him up now, Reuben, so he will not be able to get these 
 splints out of place ? " 
 
 " I'll try ter, mistis ; but I'd jes' kill him, ef I was you, 
 an' save him from all de sufferin', fur dis is a mighty 
 bad break." 
 
 " We will wait until to-morrow, at least. Perhaps 
 you can give him something to ease the pain, and put 
 him to sleep to-night ! " 
 
 " Let me take him ter my house, mistis. I'll do all I 
 can ter help him along." 
 
 " Thank you, thank you, Reuben, I'm sure you will," 
 exclaimed the lady, the tears coming into her eyes. 
 
 " Lor ! mistis, dat's nothin' at all," replied the man ; 
 " I'd do more'n dat fur you any day." 
 
 " Uncle Reuben," said Jessie, as the negro began to 
 move off with the dog in his arms, " don't kill him unless 
 it is absolutely necessary." 
 
 " I won't, Miss Jessie ; you may take my word for it." 
 
 Here Lilian began to sob anew, and it required all 
 Jessie's tact to subdue her grief. She carried off the 
 child into the house, and up to her own room, where 
 she managed to amuse her until the bell rang for supper.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 REDBANK was an old Georgia plantation house, in one 
 of the counties which lie along the Savannah River. It 
 was built on a generous scale ; square and substantial, it 
 rose to a goodly height in a grove of fine old trees. It 
 was painted white with green blinds, and entirely sur 
 rounded by broad piazzas. A large hall with a hand 
 some staircase ran through the center of the house. 
 Spacious rooms were ranged on each side of this hall ; 
 an upper hall and rooms corresponded with those below. 
 
 Colonel Winston, the owner of Redbank, had been 
 a very wealthy man in the old days before the war, and 
 this had been his favorite residence. Here he had 
 entertained his friends with princely hospitality. In all 
 the country around, there had been no house so hand 
 some, no yard so full of choice plants and flowers, no 
 stables so filled with fine horses and carriages. 
 
 The Colonel had been young and fast in those days, 
 and had enjoyed life very keenly. Now he was almost 
 fifty years old, and things did not move so smoothly as 
 they had once done. 
 
 He had lived through the war, and had helped to 
 fight the battles of the South. He had suffered defeat, 
 and humiliation, and loss of property. All this had 
 made him hard and bitter. The pain of old Avounds 
 robbed his days of ease ; the thought of what he had 
 lost, robbed his soul of peace. He was a stout old rebel, 
 
 2
 
 18 BEDBANK. 
 
 not yet reconstructed ; every bone in his body was stiff 
 with pride and defiance. Just before the war began, he 
 had married a woman much younger than himself. 
 How it ever happened, no one knew, they were so 
 unlike. 
 
 They met at the Virginia Springs one summer ; in the 
 autumn they were married. He had carried her away to 
 Redbank, where she had lived ever since through the 
 long years when her husband was fighting on the banks 
 of the Potomac or the James, and through the longer 
 years that had since followed. He had been wounded 
 more than once, but never so badly but that he could 
 come to her ; it had not been necessary for her to go to 
 him. The colorless plantation life had dulled her once 
 buoyant spirits, and subdued a nature that had been 
 proud and wilful. Six children had come to them, but 
 one by one they had died in her arms ; only two were now 
 left Lilian a delicate girl of seven, and a fine baby 
 boy, still in the cradle. 
 
 Several years after the war was ended, the father of 
 Mrs. Winston in the distant Virginia home, had died; 
 the mother had soon followed. By these bereavements, 
 a brother and a sister, both much younger than herself, 
 were left orphans. Then the heart of Eleanor Winston 
 awoke within her. She yearned for the love and 
 companionship of her kindred. She wrote them to 
 come and henceforth make their home with her; they 
 gladly accepted the invitation. More than a year had 
 since passed. Harry Holcombe, the brother, was a 
 young man of twenty-five, Jessie, the sister, was twenty ; 
 and yet to look at them one would have felt almost 
 inclined to reverse their ages. Harry, though pos 
 sessing a remarkably fine physique, was so light- 
 hearted, so pleasure-loving, so boyish in all his ways,
 
 REDBAXX. 19 
 
 that lie could easily have passed for twenty; while 
 Jessie, unnaturally developed by that stirring period, 
 possessed the manners and character of a mature 
 woman. It is strange that the same outward circum 
 stances should so differently impress two human souls. 
 One year of service in the Confederate Army before the 
 final collapse, had tinged the brother with an insouciance, 
 a reckless dash, which he promised to carry with him 
 through life. To the sister that year of terrible anxiety 
 and suffering had given an earnestness of thought that 
 had transformed the little maiden into a woman. 
 
 Existence at Redbank was by no means congenial to 
 either of them. The loneliness of the plantation and 
 the absence of social gayety, together with the irritability 
 of their brother-in-law, and the sadness of their sister, 
 made the current of every-day life far from smooth and 
 pleasant in its flow : but they possessed only a small for 
 tune between them not enough to make them indepen 
 dent and able to choose a home elsewhere in the world. 
 Jessie realized the situation more keenly than her 
 brother did, and often urged him to go away, and find 
 some congenial employment for himself. She would 
 have been content to remain and bear the frictions of 
 her lot, if he had only decided to leave Redbank and 
 make for himself a career and a name in the great 
 world. She loved him and was ambitious for him ; it 
 grieved her to see him waste his youth and talents in 
 inglorious ease. But her efforts were all in vain ; she 
 could not arouse him from the torpor of inactivity. 
 He would listen to her tender chidings with an amused 
 expression upon his handsome face, and then continue 
 to follow his easy and aimless course.
 
 20 REDBANK. 
 
 It was long after dark when the supper-bell rang, 
 and the family assembled in the large square dining- 
 .room. It was mid-winter, and a wood fire was blazing 
 on the hearth. Jessie and Harry came first ; soon 
 Lilian bounded in, followed by her mother. They all 
 stood around the fireplace, chatting pleasantly, for ten 
 or fifteen minutes, before the Colonel appeared. Then 
 a hush fell upon them; even Oliver, the old butler, 
 straightened himself up and grew more solemn in man 
 ner ; for the master was evidently in a bad humor. Lilian 
 alone seemed unconscious of his imposing presence. 
 
 Colonel Winston was tall, thin, and erect, with spare 
 gray locks and a long gray beard. His eyebrows were 
 very thick and still black, standing like a hedge over 
 small but brilliant black eyes. His whole face had a 
 keen, proud, distinguS air ; he looked more like a foreign 
 nobleman than a Southern planter. Impatient, irascible, 
 exacting at home, he was polished, suave, and genial 
 in society. His character was full of inconsistencies, 
 which one, who was not brought into familiar inter 
 course with him, readily forgot in the indescribable 
 charm of his manners and conversation. Though quick 
 to anger and entirely devoid of self-control, he had a 
 kind and generous heart ; as husband, father and master, 
 he was at times very indulgent. 
 
 In silence, the family seated themselves at the table. 
 It was an attractive board, with its snowy napery, its 
 old china and silver, and its wax candles in tall silver 
 candlesticks. This evening meal, commonly called 
 supper, was almost a dinner in the profusion of its 
 viands. Cold meats, jellies, and jams were accompanied 
 by hot breads of every kind, from the light roll to the 
 flannel-cake. 
 
 Lilian sat on the right hand of her father. In her
 
 REDBANK. 21 
 
 childish innocence, she was unconscious of the chilling 
 atmosphere around him. She broke the silence by a,sk- 
 ing "Papa, did you know you broke Tasso's leg, when 
 you kicked him ? " No response came, and she quickly 
 added, " It was a very bad break too Uncle Reuben 
 said so. Perhaps Tasso will die ; you would be sorry 
 then, wouldn't you ? " Still her father made no reply. 
 He appeared more awful than ever ; and, looking up at 
 Oliver, he said severely, "' Why don't you attend to 
 your business, sir ? Don't you see I want some butter ? " 
 The servant moved quickly, and passed the desired dish. 
 
 At the other end of the table, Mrs. Winston and 
 her sister were talking in very low tones about the last 
 Harper, which had just come, and which contained some 
 articles they wished to read together. Harry was eat 
 ing his supper with great enjoyment, apparently obliv 
 ious of the presence of any one else. He had nothing 
 but contempt for his brother-in-law's weaknesses, and 
 always managed to make the latter understand the 
 fact. His own faults were of a different character ; he 
 felt a kind of superiority on this account. Though 
 every day, he broke at least half the laws of the dec 
 alogue ; yet, in the small affairs of family life, he was 
 always gracious and obliging. 
 
 Presently Lilian spoke again. " Papa," she said, 
 " you know Tasso belongs to me. Uncle Hal gave 
 him to me, and I love him dearly. If he dies, I'll cry 
 my eyes out. Do you hear ? " 
 
 " Eat your supper," answered her father, sharply ; 
 " it seems to me you talk too much for a child of 
 your age." 
 
 Such a reproof was rare to her, and she looked up at 
 him with a surprised expression in her brown eyes. 
 
 " Well, I don't think you talk enough for a gentleman
 
 22 REDBANK. 
 
 of your age," she said, laughing ; " does he, Uncle Hal ? " 
 
 The remark was too amusing not to excite a smile. 
 Even old Oliver moved off into a corner to hide the 
 irrepressible grin. Pleased with the effect of her words, 
 Lilian continued,- " Papa, what's the matter with you 
 to-night ? Has somebody kicked you ? " 
 
 Before a reply could be made the door opened and the 
 nurse entered with Master Francis, the baby. He was 
 a fine boy of six months. Glad to be out of the dull 
 nursery, and in the midst of this cheerful company, he 
 began to shake his little hands and feet, and to crow 
 with all his might. 
 
 "What in the world did you bring him down here 
 for?" asked Mrs. Winston. "He will get so wide 
 awake that he will never go to sleep." 
 
 "Well, mistis," the nurse replied, "he jes kep' fret- 
 tin' so I was afeerd he'd begin ter cry, and dat would 
 worry you." 
 
 " Do let me have him," pleaded Jessie. " I know he 
 will be good with me." Mrs. Winston assented, and it 
 was amusing to see the little gentleman's appreciation 
 of the situation. He laughed and gurgled, and snatched 
 at things in a charming way that soon attracted the 
 attention of every one, and partially dispelled the gloom 
 that had settled upon the family party. Knives and 
 forks and spoons were sent rattling to the floor ; at- 
 last, when a plate followed, it seemed time to put a stop 
 to the fun. Eleanor arose, and taking him in her arms, 
 said, " Well, baby, you have done mischief enough now. 
 You must come back to the nursery with me, and go to 
 sleep like a good boy." 
 
 She bore him away, while the others got up from the 
 table. The Colonel went into the library, a large front 
 room connected with the dining-room by folding doors.
 
 23 
 
 Here he kept his books, his desk, his papers, and here 
 he smoked and sulked to his heart's content. Jessie, 
 Harry, and Lilian crossed the hall to the back-parlor, 
 where they usually spent the evening together. 
 
 u Give us some music, Jessie," said her brother. " Music 
 hath charms to soothe the savage breast, you know." 
 
 She seated herself at the piano, while he threw him 
 self lazily upon the sofa. Lilian came and sat down 
 beside him. While Jessie played Mendelssohn's Songs 
 without Words, in an endless succession, these good 
 comrades had a delightful time with each other. Lilian 
 pulled his hair, pinched his nose, blew into his ears, and 
 tickled him with a broom-straw, while he pretended to 
 be asleep and snored most fearfully. Now and then, he 
 would jump at her like a hungry wolf, and she would 
 run away as if terrified beyond measure. When lie 
 subsided and lay down again, she would return slowly, 
 and the same play was repeated. At length she grew 
 tired of this game ; then he took her in his arms and 
 began to tell her stories. It was sweet to see them 
 together. The understanding between them seemed 
 perfect, and the love unutterable. 
 
 Finally, the eyes of the child grew heavy and the 
 little head fell upon his breast, where it nestled tenderly, 
 while again and again he softly kissed the pretty red 
 lips. At nine o'clock he arose, and gently carried her 
 upstairs to be put to bed. Then he returned to the 
 sitting-room for a talk with Jessie perhaps, to be 
 scolded by her, which he generally bore with great 
 patience. He did not mind it much ; it was like the 
 patter of the rain-drops to him, scarcely arousing him 
 from his own thoughts and fancies. At ten o'clock 
 they both retired. This was the usual order of events 
 in the household at Redbank.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE next afternoon, Lilian came to Harry, who was 
 dozing on the sofa in the back-parlor with a handker 
 chief over his face, and, arousing him, asked if he would 
 not go with her to the Quarter to see how Tasso was. 
 He arose with a bound, shook himself, and said " You 
 naughty Puss! What did you wake me for? I was 
 dreaming about my sweetheart. She was going to say 
 something very nice to me and now I shall never know 
 what it was ! " She laughed heartily at this. 
 
 " But, say, won't you go with me ? " she cried. 
 " Aunt Jessie is busy reading to mamma, and you 
 know I cannot go alone." 
 
 " I am your most obedient servant," he said, with a low 
 bow. Then he took her up in. his arms, and kissed her. 
 " Run and get on your things, and we will be off. I'll 
 take my gun along, and perhaps we will kill some 
 birds." 
 
 The Quarter was a kind of negro village such as was 
 found on eveiy large Southern plantation. It consisted 
 of one long street with a row of log cabins on each side. . 
 At Redbank, the Quarter was half a mile in the rear of 
 the house, and was situated in the midst of a beautiful 
 oak grove. The road that led to it was called the red 
 lane. Lilian was very fond of this walk; there was a 
 noisy little brook to be cross'ed, which always afforded
 
 REDBANK. 25 
 
 her much excitement. She was soon ready to start, and 
 came bounding out of the house to join her uncle. 
 
 He was standing 011 the back piazza, with his gun 
 upon his shoulder and several eager dogs around him. 
 He took her little hand in his, and they went across the 
 back-yard, out of the gate, and down the red lane, chat 
 ting all the while like good comrades, unmindful of any 
 difference in age or condition. Harry Holcombe loved 
 his little niece better than any one on earth. Her per 
 fect confidence was inexpressibly dear to him. She al 
 ways had a welcome for him, and a smile and a kiss. 
 
 He felt happy this afternoon as she skipped along 
 beside him. Presently he raised his gun, as if to fire at 
 a little bird that was sitting on the fence. "May I kill 
 him? " he asked. " No," she answered with a shake of 
 the head, " not that one. Wait a while." Soon the 
 question was asked again. The reply was always the 
 same " No, not that one." He seemed to understand 
 her perfectly, and smiled under his dark mustache, while 
 a soft light shone in his eyes. In a little while they 
 came to the brook ; then they had a merry time ; she 
 was greatly excited about crossing it ; there was no 
 bridge, only a narrow log spanned the few feet to the 
 other side. She watched the dogs go over, and then 
 stepped upon the log very bravely ; but her heart failed 
 her and she jumped down again. Her uncle looked at 
 her lovely, innocent face, flushed with exercise and 
 excitement, and thought he had never seen anything so 
 beautiful. " Let me carry you over on my shoulder," 
 he said at length, when he saw plainly that her courage 
 was not equal to the occasion. " Oh, no ! " she replied, 
 shrinking back, " you would drop me." 
 
 " Well, then, you walk on the log, and I will hold 
 your hand and see that you do not fall. Look, I have
 
 26 
 
 on high top boots, and the water is not deep ; I can 
 easily wade." This plan seemed to suit her, so they 
 were soon on the other side. 
 
 The Quarter was very quiet, as they entered it ; only 
 a few women were moving about and a few children 
 playing in groups here and there. 
 
 The young man had a pleasant greeting for every 
 one. As they approached the cabin of Uncle Reuben, 
 they heard the buzz of a wheel. " Aunt Lucy is spin 
 ning ! " cried the child. " Oh ! how nice ! I love to see her 
 spin ! Don't you think the rolls are pretty, Uncle Hal ? " 
 
 " Of course I do," he answered. 
 
 The old negress gave them a cordial welcome, and 
 brought them stools near the half -open door. But in a 
 moment she exclaimed, as if in a kind of panic " Look, 
 here, Marse Harry, you jes, take dat gun outer dis house. 
 You suppose I'se gwine ter be shot, ef I can help it ? " 
 
 " Why, Aunt Lucy, I'm not going to shoot you," the 
 young man answered, with a smile. 
 
 " I dunno 'bout dat," she said, doubtfully ; " ef you 
 don't look out, 'fore long, you'll shoot yourself or some 
 body else ; Marse Harry, you ain't haf 'ticular 'nuff ter 
 suit me." 
 
 To please the old negress, he got up and set his gun 
 outside. 
 
 Aunt Lucy was an odd-looking little woman, with a 
 turned-up nose, and a little set-back to her head, that 
 gave her an aggressive air. She had a brisk way of 
 stepping around, and was rather hard on those whose 
 movements were more measured. Among the negroes, 
 she was not popular, having the reputation of being very 
 proud, and inclined to interfere with the affairs of other 
 people. It was said that Uncle Reuben was dreadfully 
 henpecked.
 
 27 
 
 " How is Tasso, Aunt Lucy ? " asked Lilian, almost 
 before they were seated. 
 
 " I knowed dat dog brought you here," the old woman 
 replied, with a hearty chuckle. " Tasso's 'sleep over 
 dere in that corner ; Reuben, he gin him somethin' ter 
 put him ter sleep, an' he's dat quiet, you'd never know 
 he'd a leg broke. I reckon he'll git over it. Ef any 
 body can help him, Reuben can." 
 
 " May I go and see him ? " asked the child, timidly, 
 for she was a little afraid of Aunt Lucy. 
 
 " Course you can, honey," was the reply ; and Lilian 
 crept softly to the corner where the dog lay. He was 
 in a low basket, and the splint to which his leg was 
 bound fitted tightly into the bottom of the basket, so 
 that he could not move the wounded limb in the least. 
 He was dozing quietly, and the child turned away, 
 perfectly satisfied that nothing more could be done for 
 him. 
 
 While this little scene was taking place, Harry had 
 fallen into easy conversation with the old woman. 
 
 " Well, how wags the world with you to-day, Aunt 
 Lucy ? " he asked. 
 
 "Why, I'se right smart, Marse Harry," she replied, 
 her dusky face illuminated with pleasure at his interest. 
 
 " I must say you look pretty comfortable," he con 
 tinued, surveying the room on all sides. " I wouldn't 
 be ashamed to live in such a house myself." The cabin 
 was very neat, and even possessed some touches of 
 beauty. In one corner, there was a little cupboard, with 
 a few blue cups and saucers displayed upon its shelves ; 
 and a bright square of rag carpet lay in the middle 
 of the room. Near the door, was the spinning-wheel 
 with a pair of cards and a pile of cotton rolls lying 
 011 the floor. At one end of the cabin, there was an
 
 28 REDBANK. 
 
 immense fireplace, where a few chunks were slowly 
 smouldering away. A great iron pot suspended from a 
 crane, swung over the fire, and a savory odor escaped 
 from its lid. Aunt Lucy, to whom idleness was "odious, 
 soon took up her cards and began to turn off the beautiful 
 rolls, while she talked to her company. Lilian watched 
 her with intense delight, and begged now and then to 
 hold one of the fleecy things in her hands. This amused 
 the old negress very much, and she laughed heartily at 
 the child's innocent interest in what was to her a com 
 monplace employment. 
 
 " How good your supper smells, Aunt Lucy ! " said 
 Harry, with an appreciative sniff. " Do tell me what 
 you have in that great pot ? " 
 
 " Why, Marse Harry, dat's only a chicken an' some rice. 
 I'se gwine ter give Reuben some pillau for his supper. 
 Reuben likes dat sometimes for a change. I raises 
 chickens, you know." 
 
 " Please invite me to the feast," said the young gentle 
 man ; " pillau is my soul's delight." 
 
 " De lor ! Marse Harry, as if you'd eat anything in 
 dis house." 
 
 " Just try me and see. I'm sure there's enough in 
 that big pot for Uncle Reuben and me too." 
 
 The old woman laughed and said, "I s'pose you 
 don't consideh Dinah and Milly," referring to her two 
 daughters. 
 
 " Oh ! that pot holds enough for us all," he replied, 
 gayly, for he dearly loved to joke with the negroes, 
 with all of whom he was a great favorite. 
 
 " De lor' ! Marse Harry, I isn't got plates fitten fur de 
 quality to eat out'n," she exclaimed with another chuckle. 
 
 " Well, I see plainly you are not in a hospitable mood 
 to-day," he said, rising to go.
 
 BEDltANK. 29 
 
 " No, don't go yit," she pleaded ; " I'se hardly got 
 a good look at you an' Miss Lilian." 
 
 He sat down again, saying pleasantly, " I declare, 
 Aunt Lucy, you do look immensely comfortable." 
 
 " Pshaw," she answered, " you knows well 'nuif 
 dere's allus plenty ter want. I keeps pretty busy 
 a-wantin' all de time," and she laughed again.. 
 
 Her wholesome chuckle formed a kind of running 
 accompaniment to the conversation. 
 
 " That's the way with most of us," said Harry ; " but 
 what do you want in particular just at this time ? It 
 seems to me you. are better off than most of the dark 
 ies. You've got the best house in the whole Quarter." 
 
 " An' not much of a house at dat," returned the old 
 woman in a very dry tone. " Dat chimley it do smoke 
 fitten ter drive a body out o' doors, an' I'se got ter habe 
 a winder dat I can see out'n not dat plank in dar, but 
 rale glass like dat in de white folks's houses. Why, I 
 has ter work winter well as summer, an' how can a body 
 see wid de door shut in sich a house as dis, an' how can 
 I habe de door open in de winter? Mought pritty nigh 
 as well live out in de road." 
 
 " Well, those are real grievances," said the young 
 man, with a genuine touch of sympathy. 
 
 " I reckon dey is," she replied, with emphasis ; 
 " besides, Marse Harry," she continued, not having yet 
 finished the list of her wants, " I doesn't hab clo'es 'miff 
 ter keep an ole critter like me warm in de winter." 
 
 " Well, winter is almost over now," said Harry, " in 
 the summer you don't need much." 
 
 " He's a-comin' agin, sure," she returned speaking 
 of winter. 
 
 " But you are not old, Aunt Lucy." 
 
 " Yes, I is, Marse Harry ; I'se nigh on ter fifty."
 
 30 XEDliAXK. 
 
 " I must say you are pretty smart for your age. 
 We heard you spinning as we came up the red lane. 
 Do you really spin on that old shackley wheel ? " he 
 asked. 
 
 " What else is dere ter spin on ? " she answered. 
 " Why, I spins an' weaves nigh 'bout all de clo'es I gits. 
 Reuben, he don't gin me nothin' he jes buys 'bacco 
 chaws all de time, Reuben does." 
 
 Harry caught sight of a corn-cob pipe on the bench of 
 the wheel, and was bold enough to ask, " Well, don't 
 you smoke, Aunt Lucy ? " 
 
 " 'Course I does," she answered, briskly ; " I'se not 
 gwine ter let Reuben chaw an' I not smoke." 
 
 " Perhaps if you stop smoking, he will stop chewing," 
 said the young man, enjoying the conversation im 
 mensely. 
 
 " Now, Marse Harry," exclaimed the old woman em 
 phatically, "you don't know nothin' 'tall 'bout Reuben. 
 He wouldn't stop chawin' ef I stopped eatin' ; he'd jes, 
 be glad I'd lef all de wittles fur him." 
 
 The gentleman could not help laughing, and Aunt 
 Lucy joined him most heartily. 
 
 " I think I shall have to see Uncle Reuben and 
 give him a lecture ; he is evidently in a very bad way." 
 
 "Well, Reuben, he likes fur.de white folks ter notice 
 him," said the old" woman, "but I tells you, Marse 
 Harry, he's a hard case. Eben Brudder Jerry, he can't 
 move Reuben. Reuben he won't eben go ter hear 
 Brudder Jerry pritch. Sometimes I axes him whar he 
 specks he'se gwine when he dies ; in de groun' he says, 
 an' dat's all he knows an' cares 'bout de matter. He'll 
 fin' hisself in a part o' de groun' whar it's pritty hot, 
 I'se afeard." The inevitable chuckle followed these
 
 REDBANK. 31 
 
 Seeing that Lilian was no longer playing with the 
 pretty gray kitten, and thinking that she must be tired, 
 Harry now arose to go. 
 
 " You mus' come agin ter see me," Aunt Lucy said, as 
 she shook hands with them both and wished them 
 good luck. 
 
 The walk home was delightful beyond expression to' 
 the little maiden. Harry took her round by the long 
 road, as it was called by the negroes. It skirted the edge 
 of a dense forest on one side, and the broad and now 
 brown cotton fields on the other. The dogs were all the 
 while rushing into the woods and barking furiously at the 
 abundant game. This excited the child beyond measure, 
 and she kept asking her uncle what was the matter with 
 them. At length, a rabbit ran across the road, and be 
 fore Lilian could cry out, the dreadful gun was fired, and 
 the poor little creature dropped dead. She laid her hand 
 gently on its soft fur, and looked at its beautiful eyes, 
 still wide open ; but she said nothing, for she realized 
 that it was now too late to remedy the mischief. 
 
 Presently they passed a persimmon tree, and the young 
 man shook down some of the well-dried fruit, of which 
 she was very fond. He even hunted in his pocket for 
 a piece of paper, in which she could wrap up some to 
 carry home to mamma and Aunt Jessie. 
 
 They were obliged to cross the little brook, three 
 times, and each time on stepping-stones. She was 
 merry over it all, and did not realize that she was 
 getting tired ; but, that evening, after supper, there 
 was no play in the back parlor with Uncle Hal. The 
 little head had grown heavy before the meal was over, 
 and had sunk wearily upon the table. Then Harry had 
 taken her up in his strong arms, and carried her off to 
 the nursery. He even helped to undress her taking
 
 32 EEDBANK. 
 
 off the little shoes with the gentleness of a woman, and 
 kissing each of the clear little bare feet. When she was 
 snugly tucked into bed he closed the door softly, and 
 went downstairs. That evening, he dozed on the sofa, 
 while Jessie again played the 8onys without Words.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 " There is no jovial companionship equal to that where the jokes 
 are rather small and the laughter abundant." W. IKVING. 
 
 A FEW weeks later, Mrs. Winston gave a dinner-party 
 to her friends and neighbors. The twenty-second of 
 February was the Colonel's birthday, consequently it 
 had always been duly celebrated by a big u dining," 
 such as the planters of the South delighted in. Now, 
 when Mrs. Winston gave a dinner, the hour was always 
 five o'clock, and a long evening of gayety for the young 
 people followed. 
 
 On the afternoon of the twenty-second, the guests 
 began to arrive a little after four, and so rapidly and 
 promptly did they appear that the front parlor was 
 soon filled, and old Oliver, with great solemnity, 
 opened the massive sliding- doors into the back parlor. 
 These rooms were well-furnished for those days, and 
 looked thoroughly comfortable with the beautiful wood 
 fires that were blazing on the generous hearths. It 
 was rather a dark afternoon, threatening rain, but the 
 gloom outside was effectually excluded by the closed 
 blinds, and the heavy crimson damask curtains. Lamp 
 light and firelight together made a brilliant interior. 
 
 The company consisted of eight or ten gentlemen 
 and as many ladies. With the exception of a few of 
 the young men, they were all old and familiar friends. 
 
 Some were neighbors on adjoining plantations, and some 
 
 3
 
 34 EEDBANK. 
 
 were from the city, which was ten miles distant. The 
 greetings were cordial, and conversation flowed easily. 
 A confused hum of voices, mingled with occasional 
 peals of laughter, filled the rooms. The host and host 
 ess moved here and there among the guests, and ex 
 changed a thousand graceful civilities. In this atmos 
 phere of light, social gayety, they seemed to be breath 
 ing their native air; smiles, laughter, gestures, conver 
 sation, were all alike delightfully spontaneous. Soon 
 the company began to break up into groups, standing 
 under the chandeliers and around the tables. Colonel 
 Winston became the centre of a party of gentlemen, all 
 of whom were in a most genial mood. There was some 
 thing really boyish in their bantering tones and hearty 
 laughter. One of the number was a gentleman of strik 
 ing appearance ; he was tall and finely formed, with a 
 massive, statesman-like head adorned with long gray 
 hair. His manners were easy and dignified, with now 
 and then a touch of playfulness. This was Judge 
 Brooks, a friend from the neighboring city. The other 
 gentlemen were less notable. Major Allison was a 
 large but unsuccessful planter. Dr. Crump was the 
 leading physician of the county. The Rev. Mr. Hunter 
 was the rector of a fashionable city church which Mrs. 
 Winston and the Colonel sometimes managed to 
 attend. 
 
 " Well, Major," said the host, " it seems an age since 
 I have seen you. We are immensely glad to have you 
 with us again. How did you find the roads ? " 
 
 " It took us just two hours and a half to drive ten 
 miles think of that." 
 
 " Ah ! the roads must be rather bad, then," said Mr. 
 Hunter. 
 
 " Perfectly abominable ! A disgrace to the state.
 
 REDBANK. 35 
 
 Biit it is only one of the abominations of this abomin 
 able age in which we live." 
 
 Every one laughed at the Major's emphatic manner. 
 He was known far and wide as an incorrigible pessi 
 mist. 
 
 " Well, who is responsible ? " asked some one. 
 
 "Who is responsible for anything nowadays!" ex 
 claimed the Major, with a touch of scorn ; " that is 
 more than I can tell, I'm sure. With free niggers on 
 one side, and ruined Southerners on the other, every 
 thing that ought to claim attention is let alone. Where 
 the general let-alone system is going to land us, I'm 
 sure I don't know." 
 
 " So you don't like these degenerate times, Major ? " 
 said the Judge in his calm, smooth tones. 
 
 " Like it ? " cried the Major, his delicate nostrils 
 quivering with indignation, " who does like it, I want 
 to know ? Things were different when I was young. 
 I'd like to go back to those days." 
 
 " Most of us would like the fun of being young 
 again," replied Judge Brooks, smiling pleasantly and 
 glancing at the other gentlemen. 
 
 " Well," said the Major, still hot and flurried, " you 
 people of the city, professional men, lawyers and doc 
 tors, don't feel the full weight of these hard times ; but 
 we planters do. We are simply ruined." It had 
 always been hard times with the Major, who had an ex 
 travagant wife and several daughters who were follow 
 ing in their mother's footsteps. 
 
 "But are you not getting used to being ruined?," 
 asked the Judge. " You have been singing that old 
 song ever since I first knew you. The tightest shoe 
 becomes comfortable after it has been worn a long 1 
 while."
 
 ,]6 REDHANK. 
 
 " That depends upon the foot,'* said the Major with 
 ;i laugh. " Now my foot is too old, and too full of corns 
 for a tight shoe ever to become comfortable ; and just 
 so, I'm too old and crotchety ever to get used to being 
 poor, and I seem to be coming to that very fast. I 
 don't know how to wait on myself, even if I wanted 
 to." 
 
 The Major had the floor, and continued to pour out a 
 dismal story of his trials and troubles. Judge Brooks 
 presently .joined a group of young girls who were clus 
 tered around a center-table in the back parlor. 
 
 " Well, what are the pretty magpies chattering about 
 now ? " he asked, embracing them all in his kindly 
 smile. 
 
 " Spring dresses, of course," answered Miss Nettie 
 Hunter, a petite and pretty blonde. She was the only 
 daughter of the clergyman ; but in spite of the spiritual 
 atmosphere in which her life dad been spent it must be 
 confessed that she was somewhat worldly and strongly 
 imbued with vanity and coquetry. " You have a judicial 
 mind, Judge Brooks ; can you not help us in our decis 
 ions ? " she asked. 
 
 " As if you needed any help on a subject which you 
 have all mastered long ago," he replied ; " why, I feel 
 so ignorant in your presence that I cannot even listen 
 intelligently. You speak in an unknown tongue." 
 
 " How I pity a person who has never experienced the 
 delights of shopping," exclaimed Miss Bessie Allison, a 
 dark-eyed girl who, although not pretty, was exceedingly 
 well-dressed. 
 
 " And who never felt the sweet consciousness of look 
 ing like a bit of rainbow, fallen down to the earth," 
 said Miss Nettie Hunter. 
 
 " Poor fellow !" cried the doctor's young and beau-
 
 UK DRANK. 37 
 
 tiful wife, whose toilette was always a marvel of style 
 and color. 
 
 " Don't pity me too much," replied the Judge, laugh 
 ing ; " I can at least admire the bits of rainbow when I 
 see them floating along our streets." 
 
 " Do tell me," said Miss Nettie, "what is your favorite 
 color, for I am very anxious to please you." 
 
 " That you always do, my dear," he answered. " I 
 don't think it depends in the least on the dress you 
 wear. A simple maiden in her prime is lovely in any 
 dress." 
 
 " But," persisted Miss Nettie, with a coquettish turn 
 of her head, and a saucy smile, " I'm not a simple maiden 
 most people consider me a very affected one ; and I'm 
 not in my prime either I'm over twenty that's passee 
 isn't it ? So I insist upon knowing your favorite color." 
 
 The Judge looked at her with an amused twinkle 
 in his gray eyes. " My preference changes like a 
 woman's moods," he answered in his bland tones ; 
 " now it is blue, now it is red, now it is yellow, and now 
 it is all seven colors combined. Everything depends 
 upon the person who wears it." 
 
 " You do not assist us in the least," exclaimed Miss 
 Bessie Allison. 
 
 " On the contrary, you add to our perplexity," said 
 Miss Hunter ; " it is just like a lawyer to make confu 
 sion doubly confused." 
 
 " There, I shall have to retreat in order to preserve my 
 reputation for wisdom," he replied, with a smile. At 
 that moment, a young gentleman approached the table, 
 and Judge Brooks resigned his place. " Here, Mr. 
 Miller," he said, " cannot you aid these fair ones ? If 
 you have an eye for color, now is the time to prove it." 
 
 Mr. Miller was a slender youth, with a large mouth
 
 38 HEDBANK. 
 
 and a faint mustache, but his soul was gallant, and he 
 slipped with delight into the place vacated by the Judge, 
 and the chatter went on. Soon other gentlemen joined 
 the group, and they became almost noisy in their merri 
 ment. 
 
 As Judge Brooks turned away, he noticed a lady and 
 gentleman seated alone, near a distant window, par 
 tially concealed by the heavy curtains. They seemed 
 so absorbed in their tete-d-tete that they were entirely 
 oblivious of the presence of others. A shadow passed 
 over the Judge's face as he recognized his niece and 
 Harry Holcombe. He felt very much like interrupting 
 their conversation, but he did not. He went to a distant 
 corner, sat down beside a table littered with news 
 papers and magazines and began to turn them over 
 mechanically. Presently he got up and went into the 
 next room, again seating himself in an easy-chair apart 
 from the other guests. He was evidently waiting for 
 some one ; occasionally, he looked through the open door 
 into the hall ; he was watching the staircase, and lis 
 tening for a light footstep. The signal for passing into 
 the dining-room had been given, and the company were 
 moving onward in pairs, when Judge Brooks caught the 
 sound for which he had been listening. A young girl 
 in white descended the staircase ; he stepped into the 
 hall to meet her, and gave her his arm with the greeting 
 " The late Miss Jessie Holcombe." 
 
 " Don't speak of it," she said, shaking her head ; " I'm 
 very sorry, but really it was not my fault. Eleanor 
 would have me arrange my hair in this way, and Lizzie 
 fussed and fussed over it. I could not get away from 
 her. She declared before I came down that I looked 
 like a perfect fright. Do I ? " she asked, looking up 
 into his face with the innocence of a little child.
 
 HEDBANK. 39 
 
 " A dreadful fright ! " answered the gentleman 
 soberly, standing off at a little distance and surveying 
 the crimps and curls, which in truth lie thought amaz 
 ingly becoming. " If I were not a very brave man, I 
 would turn my back and run away." 
 
 " Now I know you are jesting," she said, breaking into 
 a little laugh ; " I thank you ever so much for waiting 
 for me. On your arm, I shall be able to face the crowd 
 without any sense of shame," and she smiled up at him 
 as a daughter might have smiled upon her father. They 
 moved on into the dining-room, where the guests were 
 now seating themselves around a table, heaped with 
 fruits and flowers, and sparkling with glass and silver. 
 Miss Holcombe nodded her greetings to each friend, and 
 found her place ; she was glad it was beside the Judge. 
 
 There was a little silence while the napkins were un 
 folded, and then the ladies began a conversation about 
 the flowers. In the center of the table there was a great 
 vase filled with the choicest roses ; at a little distance 
 from this, there were slender antique pitchers of silver 
 from which sprung creamy hyacinths with ferns and rib 
 bon grasses waving among them ; at the corners of the 
 table, in low glass dishes, were heaps of English violets. 
 Each lady was eager to say something about her conser 
 vatory or pit, and to tell about her own particular method 
 of managing bulbs and slips. 
 
 When the hum of voices somewhat subsided, Major 
 Allison, whose seat was some distance from the Colonel, 
 called out in his high, harsh tone, " How do you like 
 your new overseer, Colonel?" 
 
 " Oh ! he's a right good fellow," was the reply ; " but 
 he has departed this life." 
 
 " What ! dead ! " cried a chorus of voices. 
 
 " Yes, dead to us," said the Colonel, with a touch of
 
 40 HEDBAXK. 
 
 mock solemnity. " He died of disgust of free niggers 
 and cotton. I only engaged him for a year on trial, and 
 his time was up a few weeks ago. Neither of us wished 
 to renew the engagement. He's gone back where he 
 came from. The truth is, he did not know anything 
 about planting cotton, or managing the hands. He is a 
 city fellow. I believe most, of his life has been spent 
 behind a counter, measuring calico. Why under the 
 heaven he wanted to turn overseer, I cannot guess. His 
 talents certainly do not lie in that direction. In fact, 
 he is made of superfine clay has nice white hands and 
 little feet. My wife thinks him a very superior young 
 man." Here the Colonel laughed. 
 
 Mrs. Winston answered with some warmth, " Indeed 
 I do ; Mr. Griffin is not only well-bred and well-educated, 
 but he has the best heart in the world." 
 
 " You see," continued the Colonel in a jocular tone, 
 " he used to cater for my wife ride around the plantation, 
 and buy up eggs and chickens and such things, and go 
 off to the city for her whenever she wanted a lemon or 
 a nutmeg. In return, she used to overwhelm him with 
 delicate attentions. Of course, he thought her an angel. 
 Don't you think it was time for me to send him off ? " 
 
 " What ! because he thought your wife an angel ! " ex 
 claimed the Judge ; " then, you'll have to send a few 
 more of us off. All the ladies are angels, are they not? 
 That used to be the good old orthodox opinion." 
 
 " You must put that question to our reverend friend," 
 Colonel Winston replied, waving his hand towards the 
 clergyman ; "he knows more about heavenly things than 
 a miserable sinner like me." Mr. Hunter smiled and 
 held his peace. 
 
 " Silence gives consent," said the Judge ; " it'must be 
 so, since the clergy maintain it."
 
 KEDI3ANK. 41 
 
 " Are you not getting too old to talk nonsense ? " 
 asked Miss Holcombe, looking up at Judge Brooks with 
 an amused expression. You set a bad example to us 
 who are younger." 
 
 " Of course, I'm too old to talk nonsense if you say so, 
 my dear ; but it is all on account of being seated near 
 you. When I'm classified with the young, I'm young 
 too, and commit all the follies of youth ; when I'm clas 
 sified with the aged, I'm a very oracle of wisdom." 
 
 The young lady made a little motion of rising. " Well, 
 to save you from further folly, perhaps I had better 
 vacate my seat in favor of some one older." 
 
 " A thousand times no ! " he exclaimed, laying his 
 hand upon her arm ; " as if all the wisdom of all the 
 sages could weigh in the balance with one moment of 
 delicious, nonsensical youth ! My dear, I've been hard 
 at work all day I've been a very owl for wise looks and 
 wise words ; do allow me to be as foolish as I please to 
 night." 
 
 " Indeed you shall ! " cried Miss Hunter across the 
 table. " When we return to the drawing-room, you shall 
 have a seat upon the sofa, and we angels will hover 
 around you and whisper and giggle after our usual 
 angelic fashion, and you shall drink the very dregs of 
 folly, if you wish." 
 
 " By proposing to all of you at once ? " he asked. 
 
 " If you like," she answered, gayly ; " but being the 
 eldest, I shall take precedence, and be the first to con 
 sider and reply to your proposal." 
 
 " But you would have to reject me, because you are 
 already engaged." 
 
 " Temporarily ! " she replied with a laugh " until a 
 better fellow presents himself. You know perfectly well 
 that you are considered the greatest catch in the city,"
 
 42 HEDKANK. 
 
 " Gracious heavens ! is that the way the angels speak 
 of me ! " and he clasped his hands and raised his eyes to 
 the ceiling. 
 
 " Never mind," said Miss Holcombe, " you know there 
 is no danger unless you yourself take the first step in 
 folly." 
 
 " My dear," he replied with mock gravity, " with pit 
 falls everywhere, I shall be afraid to take any step at 
 all. My only safety is in standing still. To a man of 
 my temperament, that is very tiresome." 
 
 "Miss Nettie," said Colonel Winston, "I cannot 
 allow you and my venerable friend to flirt across the 
 table. There must be some sacred spot on this green 
 earth where flirting is not permitted, and I hold out for 
 the dinner-table." 
 
 " I suppose you would reserve that sacred spot exclu 
 sively for politics," said Miss Hunter with a light 
 laugh. 
 
 " Yes, Miss Nettie, you are right as usual," the Colonel 
 answered. " There is nothing quite equal to politics 
 for making a man enjoy the delights of a good dinner, 
 nor for helping him to forget the weak points of a bad 
 one. A man gets so warmed up that he could swallow 
 and digest cobble-stones." 
 
 "Well, Colonel," exclaimed Mrs. Allison, a large, 
 showily-dressed lady, " I think that politics are perfectly 
 odious. It was politics that brought on the war, and the 
 war has ruined us all." 
 
 " Saved us, you mean," said the Judge in his calm, 
 emphatic manner. 
 
 Judge Brooks was a broad-minded man, and Avas known 
 to hold heretical views on many subjects, but the pres 
 ent company were scarcely prepared for such an utter-
 
 REDBANR. 43 
 
 ance as this. Every eye was turned upon him with 
 surprise and inquiry. 
 
 " Yes," he continued with a pleasant smile, " I mean 
 exactly what I have said the war has saved us. We 
 were in a very bad way before the war and now I really 
 see signs of improvement." 
 
 " Par example ? " said the Colonel, in an interrogative 
 tone. " Explain yourself, my dear Judge or our good 
 friends will take up the idea that you are deranged, or 
 worse still, a dotard." 
 
 " Well, things are bad enough now," replied the 
 Judge, " but there are signs of improvement all around 
 us. As a nation we have been aroused from our bed of 
 roses, and forced to take part in the struggle for exist 
 ence. Our young men and our fair maidens are begin 
 ning to feel the dignity of labor. The discipline is 
 severe, but the result will be fine." 
 
 " And a whole nation must be ruined that a few dan 
 dies and dollies may grow sensible," exclaimed the 
 Colonel, impatiently. " Is that your meaning ? " 
 
 " Not exactly," said the Judge with his genial smile 
 which always seemed to extract the bitterness from 
 opposition ; " the ruin you speak of is material, and every 
 day we are moving on slowly towards recovery. The 
 good I speak of is the moral good which always comes 
 to a nation from a life-and-death struggle such as ours 
 has been." 
 
 " Moral good, indeed ! " cried Major Allison, who was 
 growing somewhat excited. " So far as I can see, there 
 is only moral evil from it." 
 
 " Everything depends on our point of view, Major," 
 said Mr. Hunter. 
 
 " Well, I confess mine's in a fog," replied the Major, 
 trying to laugh with good-humor.
 
 44 HKDHASK. 
 
 " Perhaps the fog will lift after a while," said the 
 hostess. 
 
 " No, madam," he exclaimed with deep feeling. " I'm 
 sorry to disagree with you on any subject, but my fog 
 gets thicker and thicker every day. Sometimes, when 
 I think of the condition of our country, I'm actually 
 sorry that I was ever born." 
 
 " Oh ! Major Allison, how can you feel so ! " ex 
 claimed Jessie Holcombe, her eyes flashing with intense 
 emotion. " If there is one thing for which I feel thank 
 ful, it is to be living at this very time neither sooner 
 nor later, but right now." 
 
 " Miss Jessie, you astonish me," said the Major. 
 " What can you mean ? How can a lovely girl like war 
 and bloodshed and anarchy ? " 
 
 " I do not like bloodshed and anarchy," she replied, 
 still aglow with fine feeling, " but I do admire heroism, 
 both active and passive. I am glad to be in the world 
 at a time when noble passions are aroused, and great 
 deeds are done." 
 
 " Now, Jessie has mounted Pegasus," whispered Miss 
 Hunter to Dr. Crump who was seated beside her. 
 
 The gentleman adjusted his eyeglasses, and turned 
 them on Jessie for a moment, then in a low tone he re 
 plied, " It must be confessed she looks remarkably well 
 on horseback." 
 
 " Miss Holcombe is right," said Judge Brooks ; " in 
 times of peace, a nation has no history. We have been 
 making a chapter of history." 
 
 " Say rather a folio volume ! " exclaimed the clergy 
 man. 
 
 " If our enemies write it, I'm afraid we shall not fig 
 ure in it as heroes, but as very sorry knaves," said Harry 
 Holcombe, who up to this point had been too much
 
 REDBAXK. 45 
 
 occupied with his fair neighbor, Miss Alice Brooks, to 
 pay much attention to the general conversation. 
 
 " We must leave that for posterity to settle," replied 
 Mr. Hunter. " A modern historian has said that there 
 never was a dispute between two parties, in which all 
 the right was on one side and all the wrong on the other." 
 
 " Right or Avrong, we made a gallant fight, and some 
 good will come out of it," remarked Harry Holcombe. 
 
 " That is true," said the Judge ; " heroic effort is 
 never wasted. Wherever there has been the spirit of 
 manly struggle and sacrifice, there has been some good 
 from it. Patriotism, courage, self-devotion are worth 
 more to a nation than gold or silver, or factories, or ships, 
 or anything else. Our Southern land has been plowed 
 up from end to end, and planted with a new seed for a 
 new harvest finer far than cotton, Colonel." 
 
 As he spoke these words, Jessie Holcombe looked up 
 at him with delighted approval in her dark eyes. 
 
 " Yes," said Mr. Hunter in a quiet, impressive tone, 
 " I am beginning to see that the war has done a great 
 work for the South. I believe the future will prove that 
 defeat was better for us than victory would have been." 
 
 " He raves ! " cried the Colonel ; " put blisters behind 
 his ears." 
 
 There was general laughter at this remark, and the 
 discussion ended. Soon the hostess arose from the table ; 
 all followed her example, and passed with her into the 
 drawing-rooms. There they again scattered into groups, 
 talking and laughing with charming abandon. 
 
 The young girls gathered around the Judge. " We 
 are going to execute our threat," said Miss Hunter. 
 " You must come with us." 
 
 He looked down upon them with an expression of 
 great amusement in his eyes, saying, "I have no thought
 
 46 REDEANK. 
 
 of resistance. What are you going to do with me?" 
 
 " We have not yet decided," was the answer, " "but 
 you can surely trust yourself with the angels." 
 
 As they were moving off with him, he turned and saw 
 that Jessie was not with them ; she was standing near 
 the door, talking with several gentlemen. 
 
 " Miss Holcombe," he cried, " do you not intend to 
 join us ? " The young lady thus addressed, smiled and 
 shook her head. 
 
 " Leave Jessie alone," said Miss Nettie Hunter ; " the 
 division will be long enough without her. She thinks her 
 share would be too small to be worth accepting." 
 
 " But I do not like a single one of the divine creatures 
 to turn her back upon me," replied the Judge. He 
 looked again at Jessie, but she was unmoved by the mute 
 entreaty of his face, and went on with her conversation. 
 It was easy to see that her presence would have made 
 his captivity sweet. 
 
 " Well, what are you going to do with me?" he again 
 asked helplessly, as they marched him into the back- 
 parlor. 
 
 " We will allow you, perhaps, to decide your own fate," 
 answered Miss Bessie Allison. 
 
 " That would not be at all wise," he said. 
 
 " Why ? " demanded Emma Allison, who was very 
 young and very pretty. 
 
 " If a prisoner is allowed to decide his own fate, he 
 invariably pleads for release." 
 
 " You need not think for a moment that we will listen 
 to any such pleas as that," said Miss Clara Stevens. 
 
 ' ; No, indeed ! " exclaimed Nettie Hunter. " You 
 are an exceedingly wise old bird, but at last you have 
 been caught with chaff, and^now you need not imagine 
 that you can get away."
 
 REDBANK. 47 
 
 He joined their laughter, saying, " I'm curious to see 
 what you are going to do with the old bird, now he is 
 caught." 
 
 " Let me see," said Miss Nettie, with a reflective turn 
 of her pretty head ; " he has so often laughed at our 
 snares and broken our nets, that he deserves a dreadful 
 fate, but we will not be too severe. Your sentence is 
 to dance with each one of us in an endless succession." 
 
 " Mercy ! Mercy ! " cried the Judge ; " I do not know 
 how to dance." 
 
 " Then we will teach you." 
 
 " But I have no capacity for learning," he urged. 
 
 " We will lend you a little of ours," they replied in 
 chorus. 
 
 " But it is too soon after dinner ; such exercise would 
 be bad for my health." 
 
 " You are a clever pleader," said Miss Nettie ; " but 
 your sophistries are unavailing ; you shall not be released 
 this time. If you cannot dance, you shall play a game 
 of cards with us." 
 
 " But I detest cards ! " he exclaimed. 
 
 " Surely not, with such angelic partners," said Miss 
 Bessie Allison. 
 
 " Yes," he answered, " even with such angelic part 
 ners. To play cards will demand some concentration of 
 thought. How can I concentrate myself upon anything 
 with so many fair women around me ? I shall be as 
 distracted as a bee in a flower-garden." 
 
 " Then we'll win the game and you'll pay the stakes," 
 said Miss Bessie. 
 
 " And what are you going to stake ? " he asked ; " my 
 poor worthless life ? " 
 
 " By no means," was the reply. " We will play for 
 candy the very best that can be bought in the city."",-
 
 48 
 
 " Very well," he answered. " I'll agree to it." 
 
 The card-table was soon brought out and the game 
 went on merrily. Whether by luck or by design, the 
 Judge lost all the time, and the girls scolded him for 
 his bad playing, and congratulated themselves on the 
 heaps of bonbons they were winning. Finally, when the 
 gentleman declared himself a miserable bankrupt on 
 the verge of suicide, the merry creatures allowed him to 
 stop. Then they called on Miss Holcombe for some 
 music, and insisted that he should take a turn in the 
 waltz with each one of them. He was too polite and 
 good-natured to rebel, and though his movements were 
 so ungraceful that they called him a dancing bear, he 
 performed his part to the end. At length, Miss Hunter 
 released him from his bondage, with the words, "Now, 
 I hope, I have impressed upon you the danger to which 
 you expose yourself when you jest with our good names, 
 and mockingly call us angels." 
 
 He bowed gracefully, and replied, "Rest assured I 
 shall never offend again. I am thoroughly convinced 
 of my error, and am deeply repentant." 
 
 Eveiy one laughed, even the young ladies against 
 whom the remark was aimed. "Judge Brooks, you 
 have a tongue which no woman can ever hope to tie," 
 exclaimed Miss Hunter. " It is the only thing in the 
 world that I'm really afraid of." 
 
 " Well, my dear," said her father, who was near enough 
 to hear the remark, " I'm sincerely glad that there is 
 one thing of which you have a little wholesome awe. It 
 makes one feel that you are not quite beyond hope." 
 
 When the Judge was released, Miss Holcombe, was still 
 at the piano. " I am quite exhausted," he said in alow 
 tone ; " do play something slow, and sweet, and soothing 
 to rest me."
 
 REDKANK. 49 
 
 , Jessie smiled, and began " The Whispering Wind," 
 but Nettie Hunter came up immediately with the 
 exclamation, " Do stop that, Jessie, and give us some 
 thing lively. You know I don't like anything but 
 dance music. That piece you are playing now is 
 worse than a schoolgirl's scales." 
 
 " You should not speak so irreverently of what you 
 do not understand," said the Judge. 
 
 "I know well enough that I do not understand 
 it," she answered, gayly, " but it's the music that's to 
 blame, not myself I'm all right." This speech and the 
 bewitching little air with which it was spoken, was 
 received with peals of laughter ; but the imperious 
 creature could not have her way now. Judge Brooks 
 told her that Miss Holcombe was playing for him, and 
 he could not allow any one to interfere with her selec 
 tion. 
 
 " When this is finished, you shall have something 
 gay," said Jessie ; " I feel in a very amiable mood to 
 night, and will strive to suit the taste of each one of 
 my friends by turn." 
 
 Perhaps she enjoyed her position at the piano, because 
 it gave her an occasional view of a lady and gentleman 
 who were slowly promenading up and down the long 
 hall. From the expression of the lady's face, Jessie 
 knew that her brother was making good use of his 
 opportunities. 
 
 " Well, when you are ready, please give us a waltz," 
 replied Nettie, " for we are going to dance again. Now, 
 we have got rid of the bear, we are going to have some 
 real fun," and she looked at the Judge with a mocking 
 little gesture. He smiled, but made no response. "Mrs- 
 Winston," she cried, " may we dance in the hall ? " 
 
 " Of course you may," the lady answered. " Call 
 
 4
 
 5U UEDBANK. 
 
 Oliver to remove anything that is in the way." 
 " A thousand thanks," she said, and flitted into the 
 next room. The dancing went on with slight pauses until 
 almost midnight. Judge Brooks sat beside Miss Hoi- 
 combe, and kept up a pleasant conversation with her 
 while she played the lively music, whispering pretty 
 compliments about her hands and arms, and comment 
 ing upon the changing expression of the shadow she 
 cast upon the wall. Several persons tried to tempt him 
 away from his post, but his reply was always the same, 
 " Miss Holcombe is making a martyr of herself, playing 
 the whole evening for our entertainment, and I feel as 
 if it were my duty to stand at her, elbow and encourage 
 her." Every now and then he got a smile from the 
 beautiful pianist which would have repaid any man for 
 a much more disagreeable task. 
 
 It is a law in this world that everything shall pass 
 away, and so this delightful evening had an end.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 MARCH had now come, and winter seemed ready and 
 willing to yield his throne to spring. It had been rain 
 ing all day a warm rain that had descended gently as 
 if afraid of hurting the tender young things that were 
 beginning to peep up out of the ground. When even 
 ing came, and the curtains were drawn, there was some 
 thing restful in the monotonous patter outside. 
 
 Colonel Winston and his wife were alone in the library. 
 A large fire was burning on the hearth and it gave a 
 cheerful air to a room otherwise shabby, solemn, and 
 sombre. The lady and gentleman were seated on oppo 
 site sides of a center table, on which stood a large 
 lamp with a soft shade over it. The table was loaded 
 with books and newspapers, but neither of them seemed 
 inclined to read ; they sat silently gazing into the fire, 
 absorbed in thought. He was lying back in an easy- 
 chair with his feet upon a hassock, smoking the end of a 
 cigar. When at length it became so short as to endan 
 ger his fingers, he tossed it into the fire, arose from his 
 seat, and taking a match from the mantel, lighted another. 
 His heavy black brows, together with several sharp 
 vertical wrinkles between the eyes, gave him a very dis 
 agreeable look. He was evidently in a bad humor. 
 Something was radically wrong about him whether it 
 was his liver, that potent source of ill-temper, or not 
 remains to be seen. 
 
 Mrs.Winston was as calm and colorless as usual. She 
 
 was far from being beautiful, but there was something 
 
 51
 
 52 REDBANK. 
 
 striking about her face from its breadth of brow and the 
 expression of firmness about the mouth. Her hair was 
 still sunny brown without a strand of silver ; it waved 
 back from the forehead and was knotted rather too low 
 for the fashion of those days. She was smaller than 
 her sister, but there was a strong family resemblance 
 between them. It was more in manner than in face ; 
 there was about them both a certain quiet dignity which 
 repelled familiarity and commanded respect. To-night 
 she had left the nursery, where she usually spent her 
 evenings in reading, and had descended to the library, 
 a room which she did not often invade at this hour. 
 That she had a purpose in view was evident to her hus 
 band, but he seemed determined not to give her any as 
 sistance in making known her wishes, whatever they 
 were. They were both so silent that one might have 
 fancied some spell had been laid upon them. 
 
 Mrs. Winston always found it hard to speak with her 
 husband on matters of business, because he repelled 
 her curiosity and ignored her advice. Like many women 
 she had been content for a long time to remain in 
 profound ignorance, believing that all was well ; but of 
 late she had begun to have some suspicion that the Col 
 onel's affairs were getting into a tangle, and she realized 
 her right to inquire into the matter. She knew that he 
 had managed badly since the war, but she could not 
 guess the extent of his difficulties. 
 
 " Francis," she said, as he threw away the end of his 
 second cigar, " I do wish you would not smoke so much. 
 I think it makes you very nervous." 
 
 "That's all you know about it," he answered, sharply ; 
 "I don't smoke half-a-dozen cigars during the day. I 
 cannot afford to smoke any more, even if I wanted to." 
 
 u Well, then, what is the matter with you, of late ?
 
 53 
 
 t)o you know you are getting almost unbearable in 
 your family ? You slam the doors and kick the dogs, and 
 scold the servants. It seems to be growing worse every 
 day. Only this morning, Oliver told me that he did 
 not think he could stand it much longer." 
 
 " Then let him clear out, immediately," exclaimed the 
 Colonel, fiercely. 
 
 " But he is invaluable to me I cannot spare him. 
 He is the best servant I have ever had in my life." 
 
 " He used to be, but, like all the rest of them, he has 
 been utterly ruined by freedom." 
 
 " I don't agree with you; he has some self-respect, and 
 objects to being treated like a boy. If he left us, I am 
 sure we could never supply his place." 
 
 " I wish to heaven the whole kit and cargo of them 
 would leave ! They are a dead weight upon the South." 
 
 " You don't know what you are saying, Francis ; your 
 words are as unreasonable as your conduct. We could 
 never get along without them." 
 
 " I say we could ! " he exclaimed in loud, impatient 
 tones. " I'd like to pitch every one of them into the 
 Atlantic Ocean, and all the good-for-nothing white folks 
 too. The South needs workers now more than ever be 
 fore not idle, lounging, drinking, sporting gentlemen." 
 
 " I know you refer to Harry," she replied, very gently. 
 " I can see that he annoys you by his carelessness, but 
 you ought to be able to make excuses for him ; he had 
 very bad influences thrown around him during his 
 early youth. He has a good heart, and I hope some 
 day he will prove himself a man. Certainly he has 
 been behaving very well of late." 
 
 " Yes, but how much longer will it last ? You can 
 never be sure of him ; by the time you begin to think 
 him a good fellow, he is off on another spree."
 
 54 REDBANK. 
 
 " Well, I do not think you are Very wise in scolding 
 him so much as you do. You can never hope to influence 
 him, in that way." 
 
 " Hope to influence him ! " exclaimed the Colonel. " I 
 would as soon hope to influence the moon and stars. 
 He seems a sorry case to me. If he only manages not to 
 disgrace the family, I shall he thankful." 
 
 " You are not quite just to Harry," said Mrs. Winston. 
 " I believe if he had some congenial occupation, he would 
 do as well as most of men." 
 
 " Then why don't he find one ? He is not lacking in 
 brains." 
 
 " You forget that he has never been trained to do any 
 thing, and is now completely at a loss. If you Avere 
 without property, I daresay you would find it hard to 
 know what to do for a living. I wish that you were 
 generous enough to help Harry in the right way." 
 
 This remark evoked no answer, so she continued: 
 " Francis, I cannot believe that Harry's carelessness would 
 annoy you so, if there was not something else at the 
 bottom of it. I am sure you are in want of money." 
 
 " Then if you are so sure, why do you bother to ask ? " 
 he said, impatiently. 
 
 " Because I may be able to help you, if you will really 
 tell me the whole truth about your affairs." 
 
 He thought in a moment about the small fortune 
 settled upon her at marriage, and which, being securely 
 invested, had not suffered from the war. This made 
 him ready to confess his difficulties. But the proud 
 man could not sit still while the tale was told lie arose 
 from his seat and began to pace the floor. " Well, 
 then," he said, " I don't know how under the sun I'm 
 going to run this plantation another year. Cotton is so 
 low that it is ruinous to raise it with free labor. I am
 
 K> 65 
 
 at my wits' end, and feel like throwing up the whole 
 thing." 
 
 " Sell part of the plantation," she said. " It is alto 
 gether too large for you to manage alone, and you can 
 not find an overseer to suit you. No reasonable man 
 needs five thousand acres of land. I am sure you would 
 make more money, if you did not plant on such an 
 extensive scale." 
 
 " You need not give me any such advice," he replied. 
 " I shall never sell a single acre of this plantation. I will 
 not part with my birthright. I will not become a miser 
 able little farmer, holding a garden patch for a living." 
 
 " Then borrow money from your factor," she sug 
 gested. 
 
 It angered him to see that she had no idea of placing 
 her own small fortune in his hands. His voice was loud 
 and sharp as he said, " That's all you know about busi 
 ness affairs. I should think you would have better 
 sense than to give me that advice. I already owe him 
 more than I shall ever be able to pay. Besides, he 
 is a rascally fellow. I would like to give him a kick 
 this very minute. He has grown rich on his loans. He 
 is not much better than a common swindler." The 
 Colonel grabbed another cigar from the mantelpiece, 
 lighted it, and threw himself into an easy-chair. 
 
 It was some time before she suggested anything else, 
 but at length she said, " Well, why don't you borrow 
 from Judge Brooks ? He has plenty of money, and 
 would be willing to lend you some if he knew you 
 needed it. He has the kindest and most generous soul 
 of any man I ever met." 
 
 " Such an idea is utterly humiliating to me," replied 
 the Colonel. " I do not think that I could possibly bend 
 myself so low. Judge Brooks and I have always been
 
 56 EEDBANK. 
 
 friends. No word or thought of money has ever come 
 between us. I cannot bear to have our friendship 
 poisoned by business relations. Let me keep the few 
 friends I have, as long as I live." 
 
 Eleanor Winston was proud herself, and she could 
 understand the feelings of her husband. In money 
 matters it is better to apply to strangers than to friends. 
 It is a strong tie that can stand that strain. The situa 
 tion was indeed perplexing, and she gazed in vain into 
 the fire for some kindly inspiration. Suddenly she looked 
 up and said, " Francis, why don't you write to Philip, and 
 frankly tell him about your difficulties ? He is rich now." 
 
 The Colonel smoked on in silence as if he had not 
 heard the words of his wife ; he tapped the ashes from 
 the end of his cigar into the bronze dish which was meant 
 to receive them ; he stroked his beard again and again ; 
 he ran his hand through his scanty hair. Perhaps, he 
 was ruminating on this new idea with the intention of 
 accepting it ; perhaps, it was too odious for him to find 
 any expression for his feelings. Finally he said with 
 an effort, " I have thought of that myself more than once, 
 but it would be awfully hard for me to beg from Philip. 
 I don't exactly know why I should feel so, for I have 
 done enough for him in the past to have some claim upon 
 him now ; but the truth is, I can never think of him as 
 rich and prosperous he used to be such a spendthrift." 
 
 " Yes," said Mrs. Winston, " but the war changed 
 him. He was different when he came out of it. Do 
 write to him immediately and tell him all about your 
 difficulties. As you say, you have done enough for him 
 in the past ; he ought to be willing to make some return 
 now that fortune's wheel has carried him to the top." 
 
 Mr. Philip Winston was a brother of the Colonel. lie 
 was much younger, being the son of a second wife. In
 
 REDBANK. 67 
 
 his youth he had been very wild and worthless. At the 
 close of the war, he went west, settling in one of those 
 large cities on the Northern Lakes. Here he soon found 
 scope for his energy and talents, both of which he had 
 hitherto recklessly squandered. In the course of a few 
 years, he made a large fortune. He was unmarried, 
 and had no nearer relative on earth than the Colonel. 
 Occasionally, the brothers had exchanged letters which 
 were always frank and affectionate. The younger spoke 
 freely to the elder of his prosperous condition ; he even 
 boasted of the brilliant social position that he had earned 
 for himself. The thought of Philip's success was far 
 from agreeable to the Colonel, when he remembered his 
 own losses. He was too proud and sensitive not to feel 
 the humiliation of applying for help to one whom he 
 had been accustomed to regard as an inferior. Yet as 
 he revolved the idea in his mind, to-night, the expression 
 of his face slowly changed. The wrinkles on his brow 
 were smoothed out, and he began to talk about his boy 
 hood, and the many scrapes out of which he had assisted 
 his brother. It did him good to go back and review the 
 gay scenes of his youth. 
 
 It was late -the clock was striking eleven before 
 Mrs. Winston left her husband, and ascended the stairs to 
 her own room. 
 
 After she was gone, he seated himself at his desk, 
 drew a sheet of paper in front of him, took up a pen, and 
 dipped it in the ink-bottle. Then he paused a moment. 
 Soon he flung the pen aside, and springing up, began to 
 walk the floor. 
 
 " Confound it ! '' he exclaimed, " to be reduced to this 
 beggarly strait ! I don't believe I can do it after all. 
 I wish to goodness there was some other way. The 
 truth is, I don't know how to work, and I don't know
 
 58 
 
 how to beg." After pacing back and forward for a full 
 half-hour, he again sat down at his desk, and dashed off 
 a hurried letter. Then he sealed and addressed it. The 
 next morning it was sent.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 " THERE is no use in trying to sew or read either," 
 said Jessie, folding the tiny garment on which she had 
 been at work, and laying it in her dainty work-basket ; 
 then she transferred a book which had been lying upon 
 her lap, to a convenient chair, arose from her seat, and 
 began to pace slowly up and down the piazza. Every 
 now and then she drew a long breath of delight. The 
 afternoon was mild and spring-like, and she felt the 
 charm of earth and sky. " The day is too beautiful for 
 anything but idle enjoyment,"' she continued, speaking 
 aloud to herself, as she moved hither and thither ; " they 
 talk about the languor that comes with spring weather 
 I have never experienced it ; on the contrary, the spring 
 always makes me restless I feel just as the birds of 
 passage must feel, a wild longing to soar away some 
 where to other lands. The current of life in my veins 
 seems swifter and stronger, impelling me to greater 
 activity. Oh ! for a fuller and richer existence than 
 this ! " and she panted as if for more air. 
 
 Soon she descended the steps of the piazza, and went 
 out into the yard, looking carefully at the trees and 
 shrubs for signs of reviving life, noting with a throb of 
 pleasure the up-springing crocuses and daffodils, and the 
 swelling buds upon the rose-bushes. She stopped and 
 gathered a handful of violets, pressed them to her lips, 
 and then fastened them on her bosom. Yes, the great
 
 60 
 
 heart of Nature had begun to throb anew the sap was 
 once more ascending to form the leaves and flowers, and 
 her young soul felt a strange thrill of delight, as she 
 thought of the beautiful possibilities of the future. 
 Suddenly she heard the tramp of horses in the distance, 
 and saw a phaeton coming up the avenue. It was drawn 
 by dark gray horses she knew them well. The Judge 
 was coming for a call upon his friend, the Colonel. 
 Jessie thought immediately of some urgent business with 
 her brother-in-law. She stood and watched the approach 
 of the carriage with the interest which is usually given 
 to a visitor in the country. When the horses stopped, 
 arid the Judge alighted, she went forward and gave him 
 a cordial greeting. There was something joyous in her 
 light movements, and a flush of pleasure was on her face. 
 She conducted her guest into the house, leading the way 
 into the library, which looked more quiet, dusky, and 
 glum than usual after the bright warm sunshine out 
 side. Only the friends of the Colonel were received in 
 this room ; believing, as she did, that the call was for him, 
 she had dared to enter his sanctum. As soon as her 
 companion was seated, and she had opened a window to 
 admit a little more light and air, she turned to him and 
 said, " Now do excuse me, and I will go and see if I 
 can find the Colonel." 
 
 "Pray don't trouble yourself," replied the visitor. 
 " I know he is not at home ; I met him on the road sev 
 eral miles from here, and had a little chat -with him. 
 My call to-day is not on the Colonel, nor on his wife. 
 I have come on purpose to see you, and am very happy 
 to find you alone. I scarcely expected such good for 
 tune." 
 
 " What an honor ! " she exclaimed. " I am over-
 
 KEDEANK. 61 
 
 whelmed ! You must have something very important 
 to say to me." 
 
 He smiled upon her in his usual gracious way, and 
 rising from the seat he had taken, he led her to a sofa 
 where they sat down side by side. 
 
 " Yes," he answered, " you are right ; I have some 
 thing very important to say to you quite awful in 
 fact." She was too familiar with his playful manner to 
 be alarmed by such an assertion. " But first let us talk 
 a little about the weather. What a charming day it is ! 
 One would think that a May day had gotten lost and 
 turned up here in March. The spring makes me feel 
 quite young again. I really could not endure the city. 
 I had to come out into the open country, where I could 
 get the smell of the fresh earth and the odor of bon 
 fires. My drive of ten miles has been one long draught 
 of delicious enjoyment." 
 
 " Yes," said the girl, quickly, " I understand it 
 exactly. All day I have so longed for a ride on horse 
 back, but Eleanor is not willing for me to go alone, and 
 Harry went off hunting early this morning, and has not 
 yet returned." 
 
 " How would you like a drive in the carriage with 
 me ? " he asked. 
 
 " Ever so much ! " she answered with a gasp of 
 delight. " Are you really in earnest ? How good you 
 are ! " 
 
 " Yes, to myself," he said with a tender smile. " But, 
 first, let me dispatch my business we will ride after 
 wards. I could not talk and attend to the horses, too, 
 and my man, Jim, would be de trop" 
 
 " Well, do hurry," she exclaimed, impatiently. 
 " What can it be ? Have you a message from Alice ? 
 Does she want me to come and stay with her?"
 
 62 REDBANK. 
 
 "No, not that. I have not seen Alice for several 
 weeks. Guess again." 
 
 " I cannot guess please be good and tell me at once, 
 for I long to be out of this solemn place. I think the 
 Colonel leaves at least half of himself in this room even 
 when lie goes out of it. Don't you feel his personality 
 a little?" 
 
 "Yes, it is rather stuffy; perhaps, if the windows 
 were all opened, the air would be better." 
 
 " Now, you are laughing at me as you always do. I 
 cannot say that I am enjoying your call very much. 
 You are more provoking than usual." 
 
 " Am I ? That's a great pity, for I was trying to be 
 particularly agreeable." 
 
 " Then for once you are a hopeless failure." 
 
 ' Don't say that please," he exclaimed. 
 
 " If you wish me to retract my words, you must tell 
 me immediately what important business you have with 
 me. Has there been a dreadful failure ? and is my poor 
 little fortune lost ? " 
 
 " Not that either," he said, very solemnly, " guess 
 again." 
 
 " No, I will not make another single effort. If you 
 do not hurry and tell me, I shall run off, put on my 
 hat, and get Jim to take me to ride. How beautiful 
 those gray horses are ! " and she glanced longingly out 
 of the window, and heaved a little sigh. 
 
 " No, you cannot escape ; for the present you are my 
 prisoner I am between you and the door, and could 
 easily arrest you." 
 
 " Well, I am at least sure that you are the bearer of 
 some message from somebody. Perhaps Nettie Hunter 
 is going to give a party? Is that it?" she asked, 
 eagerly.
 
 EEDBANK. 63 
 
 " No ; your wits are dull to-day." 
 
 " They ahvays are." 
 
 " I deny that," he said with a grave smile. Then 
 there was silence for a few moments, while she looked 
 out of the window in a composed way, as if quite deter 
 mined to await his pleasure. Soon he moved a little 
 closer to her and spoke. " Jessie," his levity was all 
 gone now ; there was something solemn and tender in his 
 manner ; " I do not know how to say it to you without 
 making myself very ridiculous, perhaps ; but the truth is, 
 I like you very much. Is it possible you have never 
 guessed my secret ? " She had a dim perception of 
 what he meant, and her face became very white and 
 cold. She did not answer and the gentleman contin 
 ued, " Don't let me frighten you, Jessie ; I know you 
 consider me a very old man quite old enough to die, 
 and you have treated me always with a charming inno 
 cent, confiding sweetness which would be becoming in 
 a great, great grand-daughter ; but, in your presence, I 
 often find my old heart beating in a very youthful way. 
 My darling, I want you to come to my home, and live 
 with me always." She was trembling violently, and 
 her eyes had a terrified look as she raised them to his. 
 She could not speak the words died on her lips. She 
 had often heard the girls jest about the Judge, and call 
 him a great catch, but their chatter had made no im 
 pression upon her. She knew that he was a widower 
 and very rich, living in a handsome home in the city 
 over which no mistress presided. His duties as guardian 
 of his niece often brought him to a neighboring planta 
 tion, owned by tne widow of his brother. His fondness 
 for this niece was known to every one, and it was said 
 that he desired to bring about a marriage between her 
 and his only child, a young man at present travelling in
 
 64 EEDBANK. 
 
 Europe. These thoughts now came to Jessie, together 
 with the idea of his being full of years and honors. In 
 the confusion of her mind, every item she had ever 
 heard of him combined to produce a vague feeling of 
 remoteness. She seemed entirely outside the world in 
 which he moved ; did he indeed wish her to enter it, 
 and henceforth become its central figure ? The idea 
 was incredible, and she simply refused to accept it. 
 
 " I'm afraid I do not understand you," she said, fixing 
 her large eyes upon him. " I can easily believe that you 
 like me, and enjoy the banter we always indulge in, when 
 
 together, but " and her voice died away in a faint 
 
 and unintelligible whisper. 
 
 " Jessie," he answered in his low, calm tones, " I want 
 you to be my wife surely you can understand that. 
 Does it, indeed, seem so incredible that I should dare to 
 love you ? an old man like me ? My darling child, old 
 as I am, I still have something to offer you a heart full 
 of tenderness and love. Despite the difference in years, 
 we seem suited to each other. You know we always 
 enjoy being together : the companionship is just as sweet 
 as if I were many years younger. Jessie, I can give 
 you many things that you are made to enjoy I can 
 place you in a world of beauty where every wish of 
 yours shall be gratified. Come, my darling, say that 
 you will consent to be my wife." 
 
 Again she looked up at him with that frightened 
 expression in her eyes. " I cannot," she gasped ; " I 
 cannot marry any one. I like you very, very much, 
 but " and again she paused. 
 
 " But what ? " he asked. 
 
 " I do not know how to put it," she said. " I cannot 
 think of you in that way. You seem so far above me 
 so great, so learned, so -"
 
 REDBANE. 05 
 
 " So old ! " he exclaimed, somewhat sadly. " Say it 
 out, my dear. You have always thought of a young 
 man, an Apollo with curling locks and god-like strength." 
 
 " I have not thought much about it," she answered, 
 timidly. " If I ever marry, it will be because I cannot 
 help it, becaiise I love somebody better than myself and 
 really belong to him. Even then, I shall yield reluc 
 tantly, for, to me, marriage seems like bondage." There 
 was a flash in her eyes as she said this. Neither of them 
 spoke for a while ; the ticking of the clock upon the 
 mantelpiece sounded loud and strange to the young 
 girl, as she sat almost motionless beside her grave 
 suitor. 
 
 " I will not accept that as an answer," he said at 
 length. " I want to tell you something about yourself 
 and your future, as I see it ; perhaps then you may feel 
 differently. Jessie, you are an orphan, and in a sense 
 dependent upon the care of your sister and her husband. 
 From certain rumors, which I have recently heard, I 
 fear the Colonel has managed his affairs very recklessly 
 since the war, and is now deeply in debt. These diffi 
 culties will not improve his temper, my dear I know 
 all about it. Your life cannot be very happy now, and 
 I'm afraid it will be less so as time goes on. Have you 
 ever thought of this ? " 
 
 " No," she answered, frankly, " I do not think much 
 about the future. I dare say I shall be able to bear 
 whatever comes." 
 
 "Yes," he said, "in your girlish innocence and igno 
 rance, you think lightly of it now you feel capable of 
 devoting yourself to others ; but long years lie before 
 you in which to live and endure. I would save you 
 from the trouble that lies before you. Let me save you, 
 Jessie," he pleaded tenderly, reaching out for her hand
 
 60 REDKANK. 
 
 which was lying idle upon her lap. She innocently 
 gave it to him. She felt his goodness and the truth of 
 his prophetic words so strongly that she could not speak. 
 " Will you not give me the right henceforth to protect 
 you from all suffering ? " he asked, folding her little 
 hand between his own soft palms. 
 
 " You could not do that," she answered, the tears 
 coming into her eyes ; " no human being can save an 
 other from suffering. We must drink the cup poured 
 out for us, however bitter it may be. It is our common 
 lot." 
 
 She paused a moment, and then continued, "You 
 are very, very kind, and I thank you with all my heart ; 
 but indeed I cannot marry you. You have always been 
 my friend since the first time we met, and as a friend 
 I love you truly ; but marriage means something more 
 to me than that." 
 
 " What does it mean, Jessie ? " he asked. 
 
 " The union of souls the perfect music, set to noble 
 words ! " She looked at him with her child-like solemn 
 gaze. 
 
 " Sometimes, perhaps," he said, slowly, " but not often 
 in this world of ours." 
 
 He was thinking of his own youthful marriage, which 
 had been a fatal mistake, and which had left him hungry 
 for love all through his long life. 
 
 " It must mean that to me, otherwise it will be an 
 intolerable yoke. You understand me, do you not ? 
 You would not have me sell myself for ease and com 
 fort and protection, would you ? " 
 
 As she spoke, her sad eyes were full of mute entreaty, 
 and there was a quiver of pain about her sweet mouth. 
 
 " Yes, I understand you, my darling child," he said 
 in a tone that sounded far away ; " I understand you
 
 EEDBANK. 67 
 
 perfectly, and it only increases my love and reverence 
 for you. It is hard to tell you all I feel ; perhaps, if I 
 could, you would not care to listen to me. It would 
 sound like the folly of an old idiot." 
 
 " No, no," she cried, " believe me, it is not because 
 you are old I never think of that. But I do not want 
 to marry any one. Surely I ought to respect such a 
 feeling, and be true to the voice within me." 
 
 " Yes, you are right," he said ; " I have been very fool 
 ish, but it is over now. Forgive me. You look so white 
 that I almost feel as if I were the villain in some play." 
 
 " There is nothing to forgive," she answered. " You 
 are very kind to care so much for me. I hope you will 
 always be my friend." 
 
 " Yes," he said, " I will ; if I cannot be more, I will 
 not be less. There, we will not talk any more about it," 
 and he raised her hand to his lips. " Will you come 
 now for the ride ? " 
 
 " Oh, no," she said, " wait till another day." 
 
 " Well, good-bye, then." 
 
 " Good-bye," she echoed faintly. 
 
 She sat very still, listening as he crossed the hall, and 
 went down the steps of the piazza. From the window 
 she watched him as he entered his carriage and drove 
 away. Then she got up from the sofa, like one who 
 walks in sleep, went upstairs to her room, and threw 
 herself heavily upon the bed. Only a long sleep re 
 stored her to her usual self. When she awoke, it v/as 
 dark. She sat up, rubbed her eyes, and for a moment 
 wondered what disagreeable thing had happened to her. 
 As soon as she recalled it all, she smiled to herself and 
 said " My first suitor ! What a pity I could not love 
 him and say ' yes.' But it shall not change things be 
 tween us I like him too well for that. Dear old Judge !
 
 G!S EEDBANK. 
 
 Of all the men I ever met, I like you best. Your non 
 sense is just delicious. At your age, I do not think you 
 will die of love, so it is not worth while for me to feel 
 very badly over it. Dear me ! there's the supper bell ! 
 What a long nap I've taken ! " 
 
 She arose hastily, shook out her dress, smoothed her 
 hair in the darkness, and descended to the dining-room. 
 She had made up her mind that neither the Colonel 
 nor Eleanor should know anything about it, but the fates 
 were against her. Almost as soon as she had seated her 
 self, Colonel Winston, in a most unsuspecting mood, said : 
 
 " Well, you ladies have had a call from Judge Brooks 
 haven't you ? How handsome those horses of his are ! 
 He drove them all the way from the city in less than an 
 hour, and they looked perfectly fresh." 
 
 " Why, has he been here ?." asked Mrs. Winston, quite 
 innocently ; " I didn't see him did you, Jessie ? " 
 
 " Yes," said the girl, a tell-tale color springing to her 
 cheeks. " He made only a short call, and left his re 
 gards for you." 
 
 Mrs. Winston and her husband looked at each other, 
 a flash of intelligence passed between them. 
 
 " I hope you treated him with the courtesy that such 
 a gentleman deserves," said the Colonel, a little severely. 
 
 " I do not think I failed in politeness," Jessie replied 
 in a cold tone, without lifting her eyes. 
 
 " I'm afraid, like all women, you are a perfect simple 
 ton," exclaimed the Colonel, with a shade of annoyance 
 in his manner. 
 
 " Perhaps I am," she answered, simply ; "at least, it is 
 better to be foolish than to be false." That ended the 
 matter, but it was long before Jessie Holcombe forgot 
 the words and tone of her brother-in-law. They had 
 left a sting.
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 ONE morning, when Jessie came down to breakfast, 
 she found a dainty note lying upon her plate. She tore 
 open the envelope and read it eagerly. "It is from 
 Alice," she said, after she had restored it to the envel 
 ope ; " her mother has taken cold, and is quite sick. 
 She wants me to come over and spend a few days with 
 her. Can you spare me, Nell ? " 
 
 " Of course, you must go," Eleanor answered. " It will 
 be very pleasant for you. What time do you want to 
 start ? " 
 
 " As soon as possible after dinner. Harry, you will 
 go with me, won't you ? We can go on horseback, and 
 the ride will be delightful." 
 
 " Oh ! yes. I will go with pleasure," he quickly an 
 swered. 
 
 " How many miles is it from here, anyway ? " asked 
 Jessie ; " I've travelled it often enough, but I have no 
 idea how far it is." 
 
 " Why, it must be four or five miles," Harry replied. 
 
 " I should think you could be more exact than that," 
 said the Colonel, smiling. Of late his temper had im 
 proved somewhat, and this morning he was in a very 
 genial mood. Everybody reflected his good-humor, 
 and the meal was more cheerful than usual. 
 
 " Why do you think so ? " asked Harry, turning his 
 
 attention from his plate. He had a very bold, black eye, 
 
 69
 
 70 REDBANK. 
 
 and was never afraid to look any one straight in the 
 face. He now fixed his gaze intently upon the Colonel, 
 who replied : 
 
 " It seems to me of late you have travelled over that 
 road often enough to know the distance between here 
 and there to an inch." 
 
 " Perhaps I have," the young man answered care 
 lessly ; " but generally I have something pleasanter 
 than miles to think about." 
 
 " Well, Alice Brooks is a mighty nice girl," said the 
 Colonel, " one of the quiet kind, such as I like. They 
 seem to be going out of fashion these days. Nettie 
 Hunter is the style now. I would not have such a 
 daughter for fifty thousand dollars, much as I need the 
 money." 
 
 " Now I think she is immensely amusing," said Harry ; 
 " though how in the world she ever got into that nest I 
 can't imagine." 
 
 " Nor I, neither," exclaimed the Colonel. " Some 
 times I am almost inclined to believe that there are 
 human cuckoos," and he laughed heartily. 
 
 " I'm always curious to know what Nettie is going to 
 do next," said Jessie ; " she is so full of whimsical 
 notions that she keeps one on the lookout all the time." 
 
 " I prophesy that she will marry some day, just like 
 other girls," said Mrs. Winston, " and settle down into a 
 very commonplace woman a little cross, too, perhaps, 
 for she will never find a husband as indulgent as her 
 father." 
 
 " I, for one, wouldn't like to marry her," said Harry ; 
 " she loves powerfully to have her own way, and knows 
 how to kick up a row when she can't get it. I have 
 seen her sometimes when she was slightly thwarted. I 
 tell you she can look dangerous."
 
 REDBANK. 71 
 
 " Alice Brooks will make a much better wife accord 
 ing to my opinion," said the Colonel. " She is a sweet- 
 tempered creature, and will accept whatever comes with 
 proper resignation." 
 
 " I'm not so sure of that," exclaimed Jessie, who saw 
 the drift of the conversation. " Alice is amiable, but 
 she is a girl of very strong character. She has her ideal 
 of what is right, and woe unto those who depart from 
 it." 
 
 " She does not strike me that way at all," said the 
 Colonel ; " she looks as sweet and tender as a ripe 
 peach." 
 
 " I think I know her better than you do," was the 
 reply. Jessie could not resist the impulse to give Harry 
 a slight warning. If he were indeed bent on winning 
 this girl for his wife, it would be necessary for him to 
 hold himself with a strong rein. No one pursued the 
 conversation farther, so it ended here. 
 
 That afternoon as the brother and sister were riding 
 along slowly over the miles between Redbank and The 
 Grove, as the plantation of Mrs. Brooks was called, 
 Harry broke the silence by saying, " Well, little sis, I 
 really think I'm making some progress in a certain direc 
 tion. I'm sure she likes me ; in a month she will be 
 madly in love. She's one of the kind who will go into 
 it deep." 
 
 " And how about yourself, Harry ? Surely you are 
 not going to win her heart without giving yours in 
 return ? " 
 
 " Don't afflict yourself on that score," he answered. 
 " If she is satisfied with what I give, that's enough, I 
 reckon. You may be sure I shall have to think a good 
 deal of a woman before I consent to tie myself down to 
 her. It's an awful sacrifice."
 
 72 . EEDBANK. 
 
 " Yes, on her part," said Jessie. " I've never seen 
 much on the man's. He comes and goes at pleasure, in 
 spite of the marriage vows. With the woman it is alto 
 gether different she is the one who is tied." 
 
 "Now, you are not a man, Jessica, and you don't 
 know anything about it," he answered, lightly. " I in 
 sist that a fellow gives up his freedom when he marries. 
 He no longer dares to get on a little spree, however 
 dry he may be." 
 
 " That is superlative nonsense ! " she exclaimed ; " he 
 sprees just as much as he pleases, and if his wife doesn't 
 like it, why, she may go to Jericho." 
 
 " You are the most knowing little woman that I ever 
 did see," he said, with a laugh. " One cannot start any 
 subject of conversation but what you are ready with an 
 opinion. Now*, I call that being very opinionated, and 
 3 r ou know what father used to say about such females." 
 
 " Father was very old-fashioned on some subjects. I 
 have not inherited his ideas about women I think you 
 have. You ought to have been born fifty or a hundred 
 years ago, Harry. You came into the world too late for 
 your own peace of mind. "Women are no longer going 
 to bow down and worship men ; they are going to claim 
 equal rights with them." 
 
 " Do you think the great era of emancipation has 
 come ?" he exclaimed, immensely amused. 
 
 " I do" she answered, -emphatically. " I read a good 
 deal more than you do, and so I catch a breath of air 
 from the outside world. This is not the eighteenth 
 century it is the nineteenth, and the latter half, too." 
 
 " I wonder if Alice Brooks holds such views ? " said 
 Hany in his lightest mood. He was only amused by 
 Jessie's little feminine flashes. 
 
 " Alice Brooks is a very superior girl, Harry," said his
 
 EEDBANK. 73 
 
 sister ; " she is remarkably well-educated, and has read 
 a great deal. Though she is so quiet and talks so little, 
 she has a very clear head. If you want to marry her 
 you must begin a course of training right away." 
 
 " If she marries me at all, she will have to take me as 
 I am," he answered, carelessly. 
 
 " If you can say that, and really mean it, you are not 
 worthy of her," Jessie replied. 
 
 After this they rode on in silence. Just before they 
 reached The Grove he turned to his sister 
 
 " Well, Jessie, if she should say anything about me, 
 I trust you'll speak a good word for me." 
 
 " I will say all that I can truthfully say," she an 
 swered. 
 
 They found Alice Brooks on the piazza waiting for 
 them. She looked almost radiant as she welcomed them, 
 and conducted them into the house. Something hid 
 surely come over her since Jessie Holcombe had last seen 
 her. What was it? Love, perhaps. Her blue eyes 
 shone with a new light, and there was a certain vivacity 
 and playfulness of manner which Jessie had never seen 
 in her friend before. Alice was growing like her uncle, 
 the Judge ; the resemblance was so strong that both the 
 brother and tho sister felt it. 
 
 " Mamma is in bed, Jessie," said the young hostess, 
 " but she wants very much to see you ; so you must run 
 right upstairs, and go to her room." 
 
 Jessie obeyed, and Harry and Alice were left alone 
 in the parlor. The young man stayed until it was 
 almost dark ; then the lady went out on the piazza for 
 the parting, and waved him a final adieu with her hand 
 kerchief. 
 
 Jessie Holcombe found herself much interested in 
 the conversation of the invalid, and did not go down
 
 74 REDBANK. 
 
 until the supper-bell rang. Alice met her friend at 
 the foot of the staircase, threw her arms around her 
 in a warm, impulsive way that almost startled Jessie, 
 and exclaimed, " I am so veiy glad to have you with 
 me, dear. I have such lots of things to talk ahout. I 
 am going to keep you a whole week, if you will stay." 
 
 " Of course I will, if you want me. I'm of no par 
 ticular account at home." 
 
 " Then you had better stay a month." 
 
 " Oh ! you would get tired of me in a month, you 
 would never want to see my face again." 
 
 " Try me and see," said Alice, " I don't get tired of 
 my friends. When I once choose them, they are a part 
 of myself fo'rever." 
 
 Jessie turned and kissed the glowing cheek. She 
 understood what this confession meant, just as well as 
 sh(i understood it a few hours later, after they had had 
 that long talk before going to bed. 
 
 They were seated side by side upon the rug in front 
 of the dying fire. They had been talking a long while 
 on various topics, discussing the news of the neighbor 
 hood, and the nice books they had been reading, before 
 the subject nearest to the heart of Alice, at length, 
 came to the surface. 
 
 In a pause, she said, very quietly, " I invited your 
 brother to stay to supper and spend the night with us, 
 but he would not consent. Do you know why ? Did 
 he have some other engagement ? " 
 
 " I don't know," Jessie replied ; " he does not tell 
 me much about himself. In a certain way, he is very 
 reticent. I never know where he is going, nor where 
 he has been. Sometimes he goes over to Dr. Crump's 
 for a game of whist, and stays until bed-time, but not 
 often. Perhaps he had promised to go to-night."
 
 BEDBANK. 75 
 
 " Perhaps so," Alice answered, " he said he would like 
 ever so much to stay, but had an engagement which 
 he could not break. Of course, I did not urge him 
 after he said that. He admires the doctor's pretty wife 
 very much, does he not ? " 
 
 " Why, yes, everybody admires her," said Jessie, " I 
 think she is the most beautiful woman I ever saw 
 don't you ? " 
 
 " Yes, she is perfectly beautiful, physically, but, do 
 you know, I think she is very shallow. She has but 
 two ideas in her pretty head one is, how adorable I am ! 
 The other is, how beautifully I am dressed I " 
 
 " I believe that is Harry's opinion of her too. He 
 often says that if she could talk, she would be divine, 
 and all the men would be ready to fall down and wor 
 ship her." 
 
 " Does he really say that ? " asked Alice. " I'm 
 glad, for, do you know, I thought that he was quite fas 
 cinated by her." 
 
 " Oh ! no," said Jessie, " I don't think any woman 
 has ever yet fascinated Harry. He loves to flirt, but 
 he is very fastidious, and will not be easily captivated. 
 I am sure that he has never yet been seriously in love." 
 
 "I am so glad to hear you say that," exclaimed 
 Alice, giving the dying coals a poke with the tongs, 
 and putting the chunks up together as if desirous to 
 rekindle the fire. " Do you know, Jessie, your brother 
 puzzles me a good deal. I cannot exactly understand 
 him. Sometimes I think he is very much in love with 
 a girl, and the next time I see them together, he hardly 
 notices her." 
 
 Jessie laughed. " That's the true complexion of a 
 flirt," she said, rather surprised at the innocence of 
 her friend.
 
 76 REDBANE. 
 
 " You don't really mean to say that he trifles with 
 girls, do you ? I should despise him, if he did." 
 
 " Yes, with some girls he really does trifle and flirt ; 
 but he knows very well with whom he can play that 
 game. Besides the girl usually begins it. Alice dear, 
 he would never flirt with you he has too much respect 
 for you." 
 
 " Do you think so ? " she asked, while the color deep 
 ened on her cheek. She was evidently stirred by some 
 over-mastering emotion, for one moment her face was 
 all aglow, and the next it was almost as white as her 
 night-dress. " Jessie," she said, softly, after a long 
 pause, " perhaps I ought not to talk to you about it, 
 but somehow I cannot help it. Will you let me ask 
 you frankly just one question ? " 
 
 "What is it, dear?" 
 
 " Do you think your brother is really in earnest? He 
 comes here continually, and treats me in a fashion alto 
 gether new. Do you think he means anything by it?" 
 
 " I am sure he does," said Jessie, very solemnly. Noble 
 woman that she was, her heart was beating quickly now. 
 She wished to be true to her friend and true to her 
 brother. Was it possible to be true to both ? 
 
 "Well, I would like to know the very truth," said 
 Alice. " Jessie, I am sure you will keep my confidence 
 sacred, or I would not talk to you as I am doing. You 
 must never let your brother know that I have spoken a 
 word to you about it. You will not, dear ? " 
 
 " Never, never ! Wild horses could not wring it from 
 me." 
 
 Alice continued, " I sometimes feel as if I were stand 
 ing on the edge of a precipice, ready to fall. I must 
 reach out my hand to some one. I cannot speak to 
 mamma, because, you know, she wants me to marry my
 
 REDBANK. 77 
 
 cousin Waverley. Jessie, I am sure you can help me. 
 I am afraid that I am beginning to love your brother. 
 Tell me, please, tell me ! do you think he is worthy of 
 my love ? " She paused a moment, and buried her face 
 in her hands as if ashamed of the confession that she 
 had been constrained to make. Presently she looked 
 up at her companion, and with a touch of pathos in her 
 voice : " Forgive me for asking such a question. It 
 must be very hard for you to answer it ; but, Jessie, you 
 must know that there are many rumors in the county 
 about your brother. Some people say that he is good for 
 nothing; some say that he is very dissipated that he gets 
 drunk and gambles ; others says that he is in love with 
 the doctor's wife, and will run away with her some day, 
 if he can get the chance. Now, of course, I do not be 
 lieve all this idle talk, but I would like to know if you 
 think that I can safely give way to the impulse of my 
 heart. Do you think him worthy of my love ? " 
 
 Jessie Holcombe looked into the soft, almost tearful, 
 eyes that were fixed steadfastly upon her, and answered, 
 " Alice, I hope he is. It would be hard for me to rob 
 him of such a treasure as your love by saying that he is 
 not worthy of it. I will be very candid with you, dear ; 
 not for the world would I deceive you after the confi 
 dence you have given me. Harry has some grave faults 
 I will not deny it. He was only a boy when the war 
 began. During those four years my father and my 
 eldest brother were both away in the army, and Harry 
 had very little restraint of any kind imposed upon him. 
 Off and on, he was himself a great deal of the time in 
 camp and was thrown into the midst of dreadful things. 
 I cannot bear to think of it. But, in spite of this, he 
 has many noble qualities. At home he is very amiable 
 and gentle kind and obliging to every one. You know
 
 78 11EDBANK. 
 
 in battle he proved himself the bravest of the brave. 
 He was the spoiled darling of his regiment." 
 
 Her words had been very rapid, for she was eager to 
 say all that she could truthfully say in defence of her 
 brother. After a short pause for breath, she con 
 tinued, 
 
 " I wish you could see him with Lilian he is very 
 fond of her. She goes to sleep in his arms every night 
 while he sings to her or tells her stories. Then he 
 carries her upstairs to bed as tenderly as a woman 
 could. If he ever marries, I know he will be devoted to 
 his wife and children, for he has a vein of true chivalry 
 in his nature. I know he drinks sometimes, but I 
 have never seen him drunk. I am afraid that he 
 gambles too, but I think it is because he is restless and 
 unhappy, rather than because he cares for cards. Alice, 
 I think he intends to ask you to marry him, and, if you 
 truly love him, I am sure you can do much to help him 
 to be better than he is. His greatest fault is that he 
 does not know what to do with himself. He seems per 
 fectly at sea, and plunges first into one thing, then into 
 another. It makes me very unhappy to think of it. I 
 hope I have not made the impression upon your mind that 
 he is better than he really is. He is full of faults, Alice 
 I cannot deny it, but I do believe that there is some 
 thing truly noble in his nature." 
 
 " Jessie," whispered the girl, " I know that I could 
 love him madly he is just the man to inspire a grand 
 passion. He is handsome, brilliant, and light-hearted ; 
 he fascinates me strangely. He seems a kind of hero 
 a splendid cavalry officer who could ride at the head of 
 a regiment and throw his life away. But, dear, I am 
 afraid of him. Sometimes I almost hope that he will 
 never ask me to marry him. It would be very, very
 
 79 
 
 hard to reject him and yet I could not accept him with 
 out disregarding a warning voice within me." 
 
 The little French clock on the mantel-piece struck 
 twelve. 
 
 " How late it is ! " exclaimed Alice, " I did not dream 
 that we had been talking so long. I suppose we ought 
 to go to bed now." 
 
 In a few minutes, the lamp was blown out, and soon 
 they were both asleep. The friendship between these 
 two young girls had been of slow growth, but it had 
 taken deep root in the heart of each, and promised to be 
 as lasting as life itself. They were much alike in many 
 ways. They both were fond of books, of music, of riding, 
 of walking. Both had ideas about the philosophy of 
 life, the moral structure of the universe, and all the 
 other high things that young ladies handle nowadays. 
 But, in character, there .were some points of difference 
 between them. The life of Alice Brooks had been one 
 of unclouded sunshine. Her delicate maidenhood had 
 been sheltered from all the rude winds of heaven. Hav 
 ing seen but a small side of human existence, her sympa 
 thies were not so broad as Jessie's ; having been reared 
 with rigid ideas of right and wrong, she had but little 
 indulgence for the erring. Jessie Holcombe's soul had 
 been stirred to its lowest depths by sorrow. She had 
 an almost infinite pity for all those who go astray ; she 
 could have gathered them in her arms of love and helped 
 them to rise again. Not so with Alice ; it was her 
 impulse to cut them off forever like branches that cum 
 ber the ground. 
 
 The two friends enjoyed every moment of their stay 
 together. They rode, they read, they walked, they 
 talked, they played chess, they practiced duets on the 
 piano. This visit was to both a kind of revelation of
 
 80 REDBANK. 
 
 themselves, each to the other. Alice had not before 
 guessed the heights and depths of Jessie's nature, nor 
 Jessie the heights and depths of her friend's. The days 
 had passed very quickly in this sweet companionship 
 the week was already gone, and still the young hostess 
 of The Grove would not consent for her guest to depart. 
 Mrs. Brooks continued ill and urged the loneliness of 
 her daughter as an argument for this prolonged visit. 
 Harry came over frequently to inquire about the invalid, 
 and also to ask about the plans of his sister. Jessie 
 could easily see that he was pushing his suit with tact 
 as well as boldness. She could not but hope that the 
 course of this love would run smooth, and yet she well 
 knew that it would encounter opposition from both the 
 mother and the uncle of the young girl whose fate was 
 at stake. Their very hearts were bent upon the union 
 of Alice with her cousin. 
 
 Waverley Brooks was expected to return from Europe 
 some time during the coming summer. Alice talked 
 freely about his return, and all the plans that had been 
 made by her uncle. They were all going north in July, 
 to be absent several months. Waverley was expected 
 to land and join them early in August, and they were 
 to make a tour of the pleasant summer resorts of the 
 Northern States. Alice did not seem to be at all en 
 thusiastic over this prospect. Once she said to her 
 friend : 
 
 " I do wish that I could be left behind. It would be 
 ever so much nicer to stay here at home with my books. 
 How much I could read. I do hate the idea of being 
 dragged around from place to place, of having to dress, 
 and dance, and laugh, and talk, when I would prefer to 
 be silent. I do not seem made for such a life. After 
 a while, it really disgusts me."
 
 HEDKANR. 81 
 
 " Now, I would like it immensely," exclaimed Jessie. 
 " It must be delightful to travel, and see sights, and 
 meet famous people, and go to brilliant entertainments. 
 Sometimes I long with my whole heart for such pomps 
 and vanities." 
 
 " Then do let's change places," said Alice. 
 
 " I wish we could. Do you know, Alice dear, that 
 you seem to me the most enviable person I have ever 
 met in my whole life." 
 
 " Do I, Jessie ? Ah ! I have my little troubles as 
 well as others," and a slight sigh escaped her lips. 
 
 Jessie's visit lengthened itself to three weeks, but in 
 spite of the ever-increasing intimacy between the two 
 friends, nothing more was said by either of them about 
 Harry. Long years passed away before the heart of 
 Alice Brooks was again unveiled.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 SPEING was slowly advancing, and life was moving 
 on at Redbank in its usual monotonous course. The 
 weather continued to be remarkably fine, tempting every 
 one out of doors. The Colonel was wholly absorbed in 
 the planting of cotton. Having no overseer, he spent 
 much of his time on horseback, riding around, inspecting 
 the vast fields, and overlooking the busy negroes. 
 Eleanor found many things to claim her attention ; the 
 garden, the orchard, the poultry-yard, the daily, the 
 nursery, each daily demanded a share of her time. 
 
 Harry came and went, in a lazy and aimless fashion. 
 Sometimes he would ride away and not return for 
 several days, while the household were left to wonder 
 what had become of him ; sometimes he would go off 
 with his gun on his shoulder, and spend hours in ram 
 bling through the lonely woods and swamps. Though 
 it was not the season for sport, and he did not even 
 carry a game-bag with him, still his gun was always the 
 mute companion of these solitary walks. 
 
 Jessie spent much of her time on the broad piazzas ; 
 here the baby came with his playthings, and here Lilian 
 brought her books for the daily lessons with her aunt. 
 Jessie read and sewed, with the glad heart of spring 
 time beating in her bosom. The earth seemed too 
 beautiful for any thought of sorrow or trouble. She
 
 EEDBANK. 83 
 
 often accompanied her brother-in-law in his rides to the 
 mill and over the fields, and she was never so happy as 
 when mounted on the back of Dolly. The Colonel was 
 now as genial an escort as any lady could desire. He 
 had received generous pecuniary assistance from, his 
 brother, and was a changed man. Adversity may refine 
 the gold, but prosperity molds and polishes it. 
 
 One morning, when Jessie came down, equipped for 
 a ride, she was disappointed not to find Dolly at the 
 front door, ready saddled, beside the Colonel's horse. 
 She immediately went in search of Peyton. She found 
 him in the stable, busy grooming the carriage horses. 
 Though they were now too old to be often used, Colonel 
 Winston insisted that they should receive the same 
 attention that had been formerly lavished upon them. 
 
 " Peyton," the young lady cried out on seeing him, 
 " I thought you knew I was going to ride this morning. 
 Where is Dolly ? I am ready, and the Colonel is wait 
 ing for me." 
 
 " Well, Miss Jessie," said the negro, after a short 
 pause, in which he showed great reluctance to speak, 
 " you mustn't blame me, but de truf is, Dolly's gone." 
 
 " Gone where ? " the girl exclaimed aghast. " What 
 do you mean ? " 
 
 " Why, las' night, 'bout ten o'clock," said the negro, 
 " Marse Harry, h came to my house an' ordered me to 
 go right straight to de stable an' saddle Dolly for him. 
 I didn't know but you'd said dat he mought hab her, 
 tho' de truf is, I could see dat Marse Harry he wasn't 
 fitten ter ride a horse las' night. But, you see, Miss 
 Jessie, 'twasn't my part to say so, or to 'spute wid him ; 
 an' arter de horse was saddled wid his ole cavalry 
 saddle, he jes' rode off, an' I ain't seen Dolly sense ! " 
 
 " But where is Harry's horse ? " she asked.
 
 84 RELtiANK. 
 
 " Lor ! Miss Jessie, dat horse o' his'n is pritty nigh 
 used up. She's got de sore back, an' de spavin, an' is 
 lame in de lef ' fore leg. Marse Harry, he bin ridin' like 
 lightnin' lately. I dinno what bin de matter wid him ; 
 when he gets on a horse he rides him pritty nigh to de'f ." 
 
 Jessie said not a word, but she turned away and went 
 into the house. She sat down quietly in her own room 
 and tried to calm her violent emotion, for she was very 
 angry. It had been a long time since she had felt such 
 indignation. This, then, was what could follow the recent 
 good conduct of her brother. It was indeed impossible 
 ever to trust him. He could be respectable and gentle 
 manly for a while, but there was no abiding strength to 
 his character. It seemed almost incredible that he should 
 take her horse without even asking permission, and go 
 off in that clandestine way, under the shelter of dark 
 ness. His want of honor wounded her deeply. She 
 was ashamed of him, ashamed that he bore the good old 
 name of which she had always been so proud, ashamed 
 to think that she had told Alice Brooks that he was 
 worthy of her love. And then her horse the horse 
 that Richard, her noble brother, had been riding when 
 the fatal bullet pierced his brain ! the beautiful, gentle 
 creature that she had loved and caressed for years ! 
 Would Harry care for Richard's horse as she did ? 
 Would he see that no harm came to her ? He had been 
 drinking probably, yes, Peyton as *good as told her 
 he was drunk ; if that were true, Harry would care for 
 nothing the fire within him would consume both heart 
 and conscience. She had never seen him drunk, but 
 she could guess how wild and mad drunken men might 
 be. How could he so debase himself ! A vague dread 
 came over her a dread of some awful catastrophe to 
 follow. All day long, with a heavy heart, she watched
 
 REDBANK. 85 
 
 and waited for her brother to return, but he did not come. 
 As the afternoon waned and twilight approached, she 
 grew almost sick with anxiety. " What can it mean ? " 
 she asked herself again and again. She went to bed with 
 the thought that perhaps, as he had gone in the night he 
 would return in the night. In the early dawn, she got 
 up, dressed herself hurriedly, and went out in the stables 
 to see if Dolly was safely back in her stall. No, she was 
 not there. Peyton only shook his head when she asked 
 the question. 
 
 Another day passed away, and yet Harry did not come ; 
 and another and another, until the feverish anxiety of 
 the young girl had changed into a dull and heavy heart 
 ache. She no longer dared to imagine what had hap 
 pened it must be some thing dreadful, and every footstep 
 in the hall seemed to belong to the bearer of ill-tidings. 
 The Colonel and Mrs. Winston had both been surprised 
 and indignant, when the knowledge of Harry's conduct 
 had come to them. They knew him too well to think 
 that all would be well with Dolly. It pained them to 
 see Jessie's white face, so full of silent suffering. She 
 had not discussed the matter with any one. How could 
 she bear to speak of it, when her own brother was the 
 culprit ? A common thief could not have done worse. 
 It would have been even better for Dolly if a common 
 thief had broken into the stables, and carried her off. 
 Such a criminal might have been pursued, arrested, and 
 forced to surrender the horse. It would have been for 
 his interest also to take care of the animal that he had 
 stolen. But Harry could not be pursued, and he would 
 never think of poor Dolly, except to bury his sharp 
 cavalry spurs in her glossy sides to make her go faster. 
 
 At length one morning, a week after his disappearance, 
 Lizzie, the maid, rushed excitedly into the room, while
 
 86 REDBANK. 
 
 her young mistress was dressing, and told her that 
 " Marse Harry had come back in de night." Jessie 
 threw on her clothes with feverish haste, and hurried 
 out to see if her horse was safe and sound. Colonel 
 Winston met her on the piazza ; he was looking very 
 grave ; her heart sank within her. " Is anything the 
 matter ? " she asked, eagerly. 
 
 " Yes, my dear," he answered in a very kind tone, 
 " I'm afraid your horse is ruined. She is very lame, 
 her shoulder is sprained, and she is all used up." 
 With^a spasm of pain at her heart, the young girl hurried 
 out to the stables. 
 
 " Peyton 1 " she called, as she entered the stable door, 
 " where is she ? quick, I must see her." 
 
 Peyton guided his mistress to the stable where Dolly 
 was standing before a full manger. 
 
 " She won't eat nothin', Miss Jessie," he said, with a 
 note of pity in his honest voice. He laid his dark hand 
 gently on the animal's mane, and began to smooth out 
 the tangles. The excited girl pushed by him, approached 
 the wounded creature, put both arms around her neck, 
 and laid her own fair cheek against the glossy head. 
 
 " Dolly ! my poor, dear Dolly ! " she moaned ; "you 
 cannot even tell me where the pain is and so I can do 
 nothing for you." The horse shivered as if in agony, 
 and stretching out her neck, uttered a faint whinny. " I 
 am sure you know I love you, dear," she said, tenderly ; 
 " it breaks my heart to know that you are suffering. 
 Oh ! do not die, dear, dear Dolly. Eat just a little for 
 me, and I'm sure you will feel better." But the horse 
 turned from the measure of oats which Peyton held out 
 to her and the shivers grew more frequent and violent. 
 
 " Perhaps she will drink, Peyton," said the young 
 girl. Some water was quickly brought, and Dolly buried
 
 REDBANK. 87 
 
 her nose deep in the bucket, and drank long draughts 
 as if consumed by some inward fever. 
 
 " Can't you do something for her, Peyton ? " The 
 wail of those words went straight to the negro's heart. 
 
 " Miss Jessie," he replied, " I think she's had a fall ; 
 look here, both her knees is skinned, an' I think she's 
 hurt inside. I'se a gwine to wash off her knees with 
 arniky, an' de Colonel he has jes' ordered a drench fur 
 her. I'll do what I ken fur her you may be sure; 
 but I'se mightily afeard dat 'tis all over wid her." 
 
 Jessie felt that she could do nothing for the poor 
 suffering creature, and so she turned and left the stables. 
 She went to her room, and threw herself upon the bed 
 in an agony that convulsed her slight form. Burying 
 her face in her hands she exclaimed, again and again, 
 " How could he do it ! How could he do it ! The only 
 creature on earth that was wholly mine. Oh, Harry, how 
 could you be so cruel, when you knew how much I loved 
 her?" 
 
 While she lay there, the minutes were like years. 
 She seemed to grow old under the intense strain of grief. 
 At length, her emotion spent itself and she grew calm, 
 seeming to contemplate her suffering at a distance, as 
 we do after years have passed away and blunted tin 
 keenness of pain. When the breakfast-bell rang, she gf j 
 up mechanically, smoothed out her dress, bathed her face 
 and went down to the dining-room. Harry came in ;ust 
 before the meal was over, looking very old and wrenched 
 and red-eyed, but wearing his accustomed noncTi dance 
 of manner. The family greeted him coldly as he seated 
 himself in their midst all but Lilian ; she spraj g from 
 her chair, threw her arms around his neck, a i,d kissed 
 him again and again. " I'm so glad you've c-jmeback, 
 Uncle Hal ! " she exclaimed.
 
 88 KEDBANK. 
 
 Colonel Winston, after a while, looked up at him 
 with stern displeasure in his face and voice, and said, 
 " I would like to know what you have been doing with 
 your sister's horse ? " 
 
 " Why, riding her, of course," was the answer, given 
 in a hard and careless tone ; " horses were made to ride, 
 were they not ? Or were they only made to be petted by 
 young ladies, and fed with lumps of sugar ? " 
 
 " I am astonished beyond measure," exclaimed the 
 Colonel, " that you should take your sister's horse out 
 of my stable without her permission, and after a week's 
 absence, return with the animal lamed and ruined." 
 
 " I did not know that any act of mine could astonish 
 you," said the young man, with perfect indifference ; 
 " I think I have heard you make such an assertion more 
 than once." 
 
 It was evident that nothing could be gained by words, 
 so all were silent. After the meal was ended, as Jessie 
 was going to her room, her brother stopped her in the 
 hall, and said, " Forgive me, Jessie ; I'm awfully sorry, 
 but upon my honor I don't know how it happened." 
 
 She was about to turn away from him, feeling herself 
 unfit to make any reply, when she caught an expression 
 of intense pain upon his face. In a moment her heart was 
 touched " What is it, Harry ? " she asked. " Is any 
 thing the matter with you ? " 
 
 " Yes," he exclaimed in a tone of bitterness, "I'm afraid 
 the devil has got me for good now." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " she said, frightened by his 
 strange manner. 
 
 " If you cannot guess, I shall not tell you ; only I feel 
 as if I could ride every horse in the stable to death." 
 
 " Oh ! Harry ! you have been drinking," she cried, 
 wounded beyond measure to think that he had fallen so
 
 REDRANK. 89 
 
 low as to appear before the family in such a condition. 
 Was his self-respect indeed all gone ? 
 
 " Of course I have," he exclaimed, looking at her 
 defiantly. 
 
 " How could you ! How could you ! " she said, approach 
 ing him, and laying her hand lovingly upon his arm. 
 " Do go up to your room and lie down, dear. You look 
 so tired and worn-out." 
 
 " So I am, but I cannot rest," he answered, in a hoarse 
 tone. " I'll get my gun, and go out into the woods." 
 
 " Harry, do tell me what is the matter with you," 
 she begged piteously. 
 
 " Go and ask Alice Brooks," he replied bitterly, his 
 blood-shot eyes flashing with anger. 
 
 Jessie stood still and looked at him tenderly, while 
 tears of sympathy gathered upon her lashes. This, 
 then, was the end of love's young dream. After all, he 
 did care enough for Alice to become desperate and be 
 ready to throw away his life when she rejected him. 
 
 " I know she loves me," he said after a moment ; " but 
 it is her mother and that meddling old Judge. They 
 have told her something about me that has hardened 
 her heart." 
 
 " I am so very sorry for you, dear," Jessie whispered. 
 " I did hope it would be different." He turned away 
 as if to escape from her sympathy. Soon afterwards 
 she heard him calling the dogs, and, looking out, saw 
 him going down the red lane with his gun upon his 
 shoulder. 
 
 For some days, poor Dolly continued to grow worse. 
 She lay down and they could not get her up again ; she 
 seemed to have no strength to stand. The faithful Pey 
 ton used every remedy within his reach, and nursed her 
 with self-forgetful devotion, but all in vain.
 
 90 REDBANE. 
 
 At last one morning, the news was brought to the 
 house that Dolly was dead. Peyton came himself to 
 tell his young mistress. " I done all I could to save 
 her, Miss Jessie," he said. 
 
 The girl put out her white hand " I know you did, 
 Peyton," she answered, " and I thank you with all my 
 heart. I shall never forget your kindness." She did 
 not know that the touch of her soft hand, more than 
 repaid the negro for days and nights of watching over 
 the dying horse. Peyton had a worshipful feeling for 
 his young mistress, such as we give to the saints and 
 angels whose dwelling-place is in the remote heavens. 
 
 Jessie grieved silently. The loss of Dolly revived 
 the keenest sorrow of her life. She lived over those 
 terrible days that followed the death of Richard, her 
 oldest brother. She remembered the home-coming of 
 the soldier's horse, saddled and bridled, but without a 
 rider. She saw again the long procession, the hearse 
 with its awful trappings, and the beautiful black charger 
 walking behind with solemn tread. She heard the rat 
 tle of the sabres and empty pistols that hung at the sad 
 dle-bow. Night after night, she laid her hands upon her 
 burning eyes to shut out this vision, which robbed her 
 of sleep, and left her unrefreshed when morning came. 
 Richard had been her ideal of all that was manly and 
 noble the chevalier sans peur et sans reproche. Even 
 now she had no other standard by which to measure 
 manhood. It was ft perpetual grief to her that Harry 
 should fall so far below this splendid type. 
 
 The loss of her horse made a great change in Jessie's 
 habits. Henceforth there were no more delightful gal 
 lops through the green woods, and, without this health 
 ful exercise, this pleasant variety, the days were dull 
 and dreary. Her cheerfulness became less spontaneous
 
 REDBANK. 91 
 
 and her step less light. Eveiy one was too busy to 
 notice the change. At last, one morning, Mrs. Winston 
 was shocked beyond measure to find her sister prostrated 
 with a burning fever. Jessie had felt it coming ; for 
 many days the weariness and listlessness had been in 
 creasing, but she had struggled silently against it. 
 Malaria had chosen her for its first victim. 
 
 With all the outward attractions of Redbank, it was 
 not healthy in summer. Situated not far from a large 
 river, with brooks and creeks flowing sluggishly across 
 its fields in every direction, and swamps encircling it on 
 three sides, there was always more or less fever among 
 its inhabitants during the warm months. This year the 
 spring had been unusually early, and, by the middle of 
 June, the thermometer had mounted to the nineties. 
 The heat was somewhat relieved by continual showers, 
 but the freshness imparted to the air was only tempo 
 rary. This weather was just the thing for the cotton, 
 which grew with marvellous rapidity, but it was very 
 far from being favorable for humanity. 
 
 Jessie's sickness was not of long continuance ; within 
 a week it had yielded to the powerful influence of qui 
 nine, but a shadow had fallen over the whole household. 
 Other members of the family fell ill in quick succession, 
 and there were several deaths among the negroes. In 
 the midst of this general depression, Harry disappeared 
 in his usual mysterious fashion. He left without say 
 ing good-bye to any one, or even informing Jessie where 
 he was going, or when he expected to return. She was 
 accustomed to his careless ways, and yet such conduct 
 always wounded her. 
 
 Many of the neighbors on the adjoining plantations 
 had also taken their flight to cooler regions. Through 
 June, July, and half of August, the long hot days fol-
 
 92 REDBANK. 
 
 lowed each other with wearisome monotony. When 
 evening came, and the sun went down behind the dis 
 tant pines, proclaiming the approach of night-fall, a 
 prayer of thanksgiving for the darkness ascended from 
 many a heart in that fair Southern land.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 " Through every web of life the dark threads run ; Oh! why and 
 whither ? God knows all. I only know that He is good." Whittier. 
 
 LILIAN was very ill. Even Mrs. Winston, who sel 
 dom allowed herself to show any anxiety about anything, 
 was now alarmed, and bent over the little sufferer with 
 deep solicitude. It was a hot evening in July; the 
 light from a full moon, shining in a cloudless sky, 
 poured into the room. The muslin curtains were parted 
 to admit this radiance, which fell in floods upon the 
 floor, casting shadows of the oak leaves that hung mo- 
 tionless outside near the closed windows. Even in this 
 sultry weather, the windows could not be left open at 
 night, for miasma entered like some stealthy creature in 
 search of prey. 
 
 Mrs. Winston was seated near the bed where the sick 
 child lay, fanning and soothing her as she tossed rest 
 lessly from side to side. There was no lamp in the 
 room only the moonlight. Jessie entered softly, look 
 ing almost unearthly in her long white dressing-gown, 
 her dark hair unbound and falling over her shoulders. 
 She approached the bedside noiselessly, and said in a 
 low tone "Do let me relieve you now. I am quite 
 rested." " No," was the answer ; " but come and sit 
 down beside me and comfort me, dear." They both
 
 94 REDBANK, 
 
 moved away from the bed. The child seemed at last to 
 be sleeping. In a distant corner of the room, away from 
 the glorious moonlight, they seated themselves side by 
 side upon a lounge. Jessie put her arm around her 
 sister, and whispered " Poor tired darling ! go to bed, 
 and I will watch over Lilian. If there is the slight 
 est change, I will call you immediately. It is killing 
 you, dear, the watching night after night, and the 
 terrible anxiety. You must rest, or you will be ill 
 yourself." 
 
 Mrs. Winston grasped her sister's hand, and with a 
 low half-suppressed sob exclaimed, " Oh ! Jessie, I am 
 so unhappy, dear. I feel as if something dreadful were 
 going to happen, and as if somehow I were to blame for 
 it. I know my darling is going to die, and I cannot 
 bear it I cannot bear it. My heart will break." 
 
 " Hush, dear," said Jessie, " you must not say that. 
 It is because you are tired that you feel so." 
 
 "Yes," she answered, wearily, "I am tired of every 
 thing, but most of all I am tired of life. It is such a 
 hopeless puzzle I am weary of trying to make anything 
 out of it." 
 
 " I know how you feel, dear," said Jessie, " but you 
 must not lose heart. There is surely some meaning to 
 it all." 
 
 " Perhaps" she replied ; " only I fear that I shall 
 never find it. I do not know what is the matter with 
 me, but somehow I lack interest in whatever I do. I 
 go through my daily tasks like a machine ; my very 
 heart seems freezing within me. If I could only get 
 rid of this dreadful feeling. Sometimes it seems as if I 
 were dead even now." 
 
 Jessie could say nothing to this sad confession. Mrs. 
 Winston continued
 
 95 
 
 " the Colonel's faults weigh upon me so his petty 
 exactions, his frequent ill-temper, is almost unbearable. 
 If I could only run away from it all ! but that's the 
 point I cannot I must stay right here and endure it 
 in silence. If I were only single like you ! If there 
 were no chains around me, binding me hopelessly to 
 others ! " Again she sobbed as if her heart were break 
 ing. " Jessie," she exclaimed, suddenly, " never, never 
 marry unless you love the man well enough to bear all 
 things for his sake. Then you will not feel the terrible 
 weight of the yoke. I am glad that you did not accept 
 the Judge. In a worldly point of view, it would have 
 been a fine thing for you ; but it is a mistake for a young 
 girl to be mated to an old man nothing but trouble 
 comes of it. And yet I thought you liked him, and 
 would probably marry him." 
 
 " I do like him very much," said Jessie, " and I realize 
 all the advantages of the position he would give me. 
 But I cannot marry him. I cannot get rid of the feeling 
 that he wants me, like a bit of statuary or a picture, just 
 to fill a vacancy in his elegant home, and the thought 
 of being bought like a piece of merchandise is horrible 
 to me." 
 
 " But, dear, he loves you truly it is easy to see that." 
 
 "Yes, as a father loves a daughter. I can and do 
 respond to that affection. But, Nell, that is not what 
 marriage means. We are told that the woman was 
 given to the man for a help-mate. How could I ever 
 help him ? He is heights above me ; he needs no help 
 from any one he is so strong and proud and wise and 
 good. Eleanor, I could not bear to stand like a dummy 
 and be loaded with costly presents. It would dwarf 
 my own soul. I must be something more than that to 
 the man I marry."
 
 96 REDBACK. 
 
 " What Would you be ? " asked Eleanor. 
 
 " I do not know ; but I have a vague feeling that a 
 wife should be a perpetual inspiration to her husband, 
 helping him in all noble purposes, strengthening him 
 Avhen his faith is weak. I have been reading about 
 Vittoria Colonna. She was a grand woman. Even her 
 friendship was an inspiration to Michael Angelo." 
 
 " Yes, dear, but there are few women like her in the 
 world." 
 
 " There ought to be more," said the young girl ; " I 
 wish that women did not care for such paltry things." 
 
 " You are right, Jessie ; most of them will sell them 
 selves for a velvet gown or a diamond necklace. They 
 do not yet know their own value." 
 
 " A woman should love the best and holiest things 
 on earth," said the girl ; " she should keep her heart ' as 
 chaste as ice, as pure as snow.' She should not dare to 
 marry until she loves with -her whole soul." 
 
 " But if she loves unwisely ? " asked Eleanor, " what 
 then?" 
 
 " If it be love, who shall say that it is unwise ? Let 
 her trust her own heart and God," answered Jessie in a 
 solemn tone. She thought of Alice Brooks, and her 
 words were a plea for her brother. 
 
 " I believe you are right," said Mrs. Winston, " but 
 the world seems to have outgrown such old-fashioned 
 notions. I will tell you a bit of my own history, dear. 
 When I was very young, I loved, or rather I felt the 
 first stirrings of a mighty love, but I crushed its growth 
 because the man was poor. He went to California, for 
 it was when the gold-fever was raging. He went to 
 make a fortune for me, and there he died. I can never 
 tell you how I suffered when I heard that he was dead. 
 I did not realize until then how strong was the feeling-
 
 REDBANK. 97 
 
 I had been struggling to crush. It has lived on ever 
 since ; like a limb bruised and maimed long ago, there 
 are still times when the scars ache. I often feel that 
 I would have been a different woman if I had married 
 him. He was full of tender and poetic sentiment. I 
 could have given the practical element to the union, 
 and we would have been very happy together, and per 
 haps successful. Colonel Winston has not been really 
 unkind, but I know that I have been suffering from a 
 hardening process ever since I married him. My true 
 mate was lost to me by my own fault. I was not worthy 
 of him." Tears glistened on her lashes as she spoke. 
 Jessie reached out for her sister's hand, and clasped it 
 in her own. 
 
 " Did father know anything about it? " she asked. 
 
 " No," said Eleanor, " father was ambitious for me, 
 and I never dared to tell him. The man I loved was 
 quite outside our set. He was the tutor in the family 
 of one of our neighbors. I was very intimate with the 
 young girls of the family, and used to meet him in an 
 informal way. He always assisted us in getting up our 
 charades, and tableaux, and fancy-balls, for he was 
 very clever, and knew everything about history, and 
 historical costumes. He was 'a Northern man. Ever 
 since those days, I have had a tender spot in my heart 
 for New England. He was finely educated and full 
 of talent, but bashful and ill-at-ease in the aristocratic 
 society of Virginia. He never showed to advantage, 
 no one but myself knew how much there was in him. 
 I was just the wife for him I can see it plainly now. 
 If I had only put my hand in his, . it would have in 
 spired him with hope and confidence. I was the belle 
 of the neighborhood, a bold, dashing girl who would 
 have infused her own proud spirit into her husband.
 
 98 REDBANK. 
 
 He was very timid in pleading his suit ; lie felt his 
 poverty, and he knew my pride. I was tender and 
 haughty by turns, enjoying my power over him. I 
 knew that he was really worth more than any of the 
 young men in the county, but I could not resist the 
 girlish impulse to trifle with his love. One night at 
 a party, he told me that he was thinking of going to 
 California to make his fortune. He asked me with a 
 searching look if he should go. I answered with em 
 phasis ' Yes ; if I were a man, I would go myself.' 
 Soon I went off to dance with some one else, and forgot 
 all about it. The next day, I left home to visit a friend 
 in Richmond, when I returned, he was gone. He 
 wrote me one long, passionate letter before he sailed 
 around the Horn for California. I could not reply to 
 it, for I had no address. A year afterwards I heard of 
 his death. A paper was sent to me from the North ; 
 by whom, I never knew. I realized then, that I could 
 never love any one else. I felt too desperate to care 
 what became of me. In less than another year, I was 
 the wife of Colonel Winston. I accepted him because 
 my father wished me to, and because it seemed to offer 
 some escape from my aimless, wretched life. It was 
 wrong, and I have been punished for it. Jessie, I have 
 never told this to any one before. I would like to 
 save you from making such a mistake as I have made. 
 Be true to your own heart, even if the whole world 
 condemns you." 
 
 The young girl was deeply moved, and only pressed 
 the hand of her sister in silence. After this they could 
 talk no more ; the emotion of both was overpowering. 
 The sick child stirred and moaned in her sleep. Mrs. 
 Winston went to the bed and felt the hot hands and 
 head ; then she poured out some medicine, and gave it
 
 EEDBANK. 98 
 
 to the little sufferer. She sighed deeply as she resumed 
 her seat. Her heart was heavy with anxiety and sor 
 row. Presently, she went to the window and looked 
 out ; but there was no comfort in the beauty of the 
 world. 
 
 " Eleanor," said Jessie, " I do wish you would con 
 sent to go to bed. Your face is perfectly haggard. I 
 will sit up the rest of the night, and watch beside 
 Lilian." 
 
 " No," Eleanor replied, " I could not sleep. I feel 
 too nervous and excited. There may be some change 
 about midnight, and I cannot bear to leave my darling 
 for a single moment. It seems as if she were slipping 
 away from me, and I were reaching out my arms in 
 vain to hold her. Oh ! Jessie, motherhood is full of 
 bitterness as well as joy. To think that she is a part 
 of my very self, and yet I cannot suffer for her. If she 
 dies, I know I shall not be able to live without her." 
 
 " She will not die," said the young girl, with quiet 
 confidence. 
 
 " How can you know ! " exclaimed the mother im 
 patiently; " you must not cheat me with such promises." 
 
 " Eleanor," said Jessie, " God is good. He is Our 
 Father He loves us. In moments of agony, I have 
 learned to cling desperately to this simple creed." 
 
 " You are better than I am," replied Mrs. Winston, 
 " there is nothing I doubt more than the love of God 
 for us poor mortals. To me He seems a cruel tryant. 
 Only count the little graves out yonder in the corner 
 of tiie garden there are four of them, side by side. 
 Why did God give me those children, just to take them 
 away as soon as I had learned to love them ? " 
 
 " We cannot tell why such things happen, but still 
 we must believe. There is no other hope for us."
 
 100 EEDBANK. 
 
 Mrs. Winston shook her head sadly. " I used to have 
 a little bit of superficial religion," she said, "but I have 
 lung it away long ago it was of no account. I really 
 riate to go to church now to bend and bow and call 
 on the good Lord, when I don't believe at all that He 
 is good." 
 
 Jessie felt shocked to hear her sister speak thus, but 
 she only answered " Please do not talk so, Eleanor. 
 He will hear you He seems so near to-night." 
 
 She was thinking of the awful midnight stillness, the 
 almost unnatural glory of the moonlight outside, and 
 the Angel of Death bending over the sick child. She 
 could not talk she laid her tired head against the corner 
 of the lounge. Eleanor's words filled her with horror. 
 They revealed a desolation of soul such as she had 
 never before seen a waste place filled with ruins. In 
 the silence she began to pray. She did not fall on her 
 knees she did not even clasp her hands ; but her lips 
 moved unconsciously without the utterance of a sound, 
 while she pleaded for her sister. 
 
 The hours were slowly passing. The distant clock 
 struck again and again. Still Lilian slept ; her breath 
 ing seemed to be growing fainter and fainter. Nothing 
 more could be done. Human wisdom was of no avail 
 now. A soul was drifting out alone upon a dim and 
 shoreless sea. The awful mystery of Death filled the 
 room like a great shadow. The sisters sat silent, and 
 motionless, awaiting the final moan. Gradually they 
 were overpowered by utter weariness and the sultry 
 atmosphere of the night. They, too, were drifting away 
 from the visible world into a land as mysterious as 
 Death. They both fell asleep. 
 
 Suddenly, Jessie opened her eyes and sprung from her 
 seat. The day was breaking. The sky was all aglow
 
 REDBAXK. 101 
 
 with the splendor of the rising sun. She went softly to 
 the bed and bent over the pillows. Then she uttered a 
 low cry. 
 
 " Wake up, Eleanor ! wake up ! " The words came 
 with a great sob. There is an agony of joy as well as 
 of sorrow. " Lilian is better, dear. She is much better. 
 Only see the moisture on her face and hands. The 
 fever has left her. She is not going to die. God is 
 good ! " 
 
 Mrs. Winston fell almost helpless upon the bed beside 
 her child, whose eyes were wide open and full of intel 
 ligence. 
 
 " Yes," the mother whispered faintly, " God is better 
 than I thought." 
 
 Jessie was dispirited and heartsore. The long weeks 
 of Lilian's convalescence had taxed her strength almost 
 beyond endurance. Eleanor was too weak and worn 
 out to share in this task. The child had been very fret 
 ful calling continually for Uncle Hal, asking again and 
 again where he was, why he had gone away, and when 
 he was going to return. He alone could tell her stories 
 that she liked. Jessie's fairy tales were very insipid to 
 her. What did she care about two kings that went to 
 war over a princess with long golden hair, or about a 
 magician who, by his incantations, made the earth open 
 and reveal its treasures ? " I do not like that story," 
 the child would often say ; " tell me about the little 
 dwarf with the big spectacles on his nose." 
 
 " But, dear, I do not know that one," the patient girl 
 would reply. Then Lilian would call for Uncle Hal to 
 lift her from the bed to the sofa, or to carry her down to 
 the piazza and swing her in the hammock, and sob as if 
 her heart would break because he did not come. Jessie
 
 102 REDtiANK. 
 
 felt equally at a loss how to comfort and amuse the 
 child, and how to bear the daily weariness of such a life. 
 She longed for some escape. If something would only 
 happen ! If somebody would only come ! 
 
 One afternoon, late in August, when there was a little 
 coolness in the air, she put on her hat and left the house 
 for a walk. Lilian was asleep in the care of Lizzie, and 
 would not miss her for a while. A desperate impulse 
 had come over the young girl to fly from everything 
 to go on and on and on, until the fever of impatience 
 and longing within her had consumed itself. As she 
 crossed the back yard she called Tiger to accompany her. 
 He was a fine English mastiff, and would be a fitting 
 escort for a solitary maiden. She had long ago won 
 his savage heart by her kindness, and he came bound 
 ing over the grass to join her. With a quick step she 
 went down the red lane. The little brook was now 
 entirely dry, and she walked over the pebbly bed, stop 
 ping to pick a sickly flower that was growing on the other 
 side. When she came to the Quarter, she paused a few 
 moments to speak to the women and children who were 
 sitting under the trees. There was Aunt Nancy, fat 
 and placid, seated 011 a low stool, dozing in the afternoon 
 sun ; there was Aunt Harriet, with a piece of knitting 
 work in her hands, walking up and down her little 
 garden patch, driving out an invasion of pigs and 
 chickens ; there were Rose and Hester ; and Dinah with 
 her baby in her arms ; and Rena, the tall beautiful 
 mulatto girl who had just married Big Jake, already the 
 father of ten children. Jessie had a pleasant word for 
 each one of them. As she passed Aunt Lucy's house, 
 a cheery voice called to her, 
 
 ''How d' you do, Miss Jessie? Where's you gwine, 
 honey? Can't you stop an' sec UK- a minute?" The
 
 RKDltAMK. 103 
 
 old woman was sitting near the open door, carding as 
 usual. The girl did not enter the cabin, but seated her 
 self outside on the doorstep. 
 
 " 'Pears it's a long time sense I'se seen you, honey," 
 said the negress ; ' ; de sight o' yer face is good for sore 
 eyes. I ain't seen you fur nigh onto two weeks. Miss 
 Lilian's better, I knows. You looks sorter white an' 
 tired. Is you well, honey ? " 
 
 " Yes, I believe so," answered Jessie ; " and how are 
 you, Aunt Lucy ? " 
 
 " Right smart, thank 'ee," replied the old woman. 
 41 I'se scarcely ever sick, Miss Jessie, an' does you know 
 why?" 
 
 " No, tell me, please," said Jessie. 
 
 " It's all kase I won't sot around like dese tudder 
 colored folks. Now, ef I'se got a pain, I never hopes to 
 sot it off I walks it off. Up and down, side o' dis ole 
 wheel I goes, a-singin' de very bes' tune I can find in 
 dis ole head, an' de pain it gits better right off." 
 
 " Perhaps that's a good plan, Aunt Lucy," said the 
 girl, with a smile ; "I know it is not always well to 
 yield to one's feelings." 
 
 " Dat's true as gospil, honey. I don't b'lieve in a- 
 humorin' myse'f any more dan I b'lieves in humorin' 
 tudder folks, an' dat's not a speck. Now, when my gals 
 says dey's got de fever, I jes' gins dem de cards an' a 
 pile o' cotton', sted o' quinine. Dey knows better dan 
 to tell me dey's got de fever. Haf de talk 'bout de 
 fever is lazeness, an' dat's wusser dan all de fevers in de 
 worrel, kase dere's no medicine fur to cure it 'les 'tis a 
 hick'ry stick," and Aunt Lucy lay back in her chair 
 and laughed heartily. It was impossible not to feel 
 the contagion of her. cheerfulness. Jessie laughed top. 
 " Dere's times, I can tell you, when a hick'ry stick is
 
 104 REDBANK. 
 
 rale good medicine ; you 'plies it to de back in de shape 
 of a blister," and she laughed again. 
 
 " I'm sure you, at least, never need such medicine," 
 said the girl ; " you are always busy. Why do you work 
 so hard, Aunt Lucy ? You are free now." 
 
 " Now you knows well 'nuff, Miss Jessie," exclaimed 
 the negress, " dat freedom ain't made no difference at 
 all to de niggers. Dey talks a heap 'bout freedom as ef 
 'twas a-gwine to sot us all up in fine houses an' dress 
 us up in caliky, an' put fans in our hans ter fan off de 
 flies and skeetos wid; but dat kind o' talk is all shucks. 
 I'se got no more patience wid it dan I'se got wid lazeness. 
 Freedom's jes' gin us de right to work fur ourse'f ; it's not 
 gin us de right to be lazy. I foun' dat out purty quick 
 I did. I was jes' fool 'nuff, Miss Jessie, to sot roun' my- 
 se'f a while ; but den I see, plain as de nose in a nigger's 
 face, dat I'se got no smoke-house full o' meat, an' ole 
 Marster's smoke-house it was locked up arter freedom. 
 I'se jes' got to be smarter dan ever steppin' roun', or dar'll 
 be no bacon nor cornmeal eder in dis house. Don't talk 
 to me 'bout freedom." And the old woman gave a con 
 temptuous grunt. 
 
 " But you are glad to be free, Aunt Lucy, are you 
 not ? " asked the girl. 
 
 " Yes, Miss Jessie, I is ; it makes me sorter proud to 
 feel dat I b'longs to myse'f, an' dat nobody ken tuck up 
 my chillen an' carry dem off an' sell 'em. But den 
 I'se allus had a good mars ter, an' I'se not agwine to cuss 
 him now I'se free. Ole Marster's gin me 'nuff ter eat 
 all my life, an' good clo'es to wear better 'n I'se got 
 now to save my soul. No, I'se yit to see what freedom's 
 done so much fur de niggers. P'raps you can tell me, 
 Miss Jessie," said Aunt Lucy, looking at the young lady 
 with her small keen eves.
 
 REDBANK. 105 
 
 " You may never see the difference, Aunt Lucy," Jessie 
 answered, " but your children and grandchildren prob 
 ably will. The negroes are now free to make what 
 they can of themselves. They can learn to read and 
 write, and, if they are industrious, they can save money 
 and buy land for themselves, and get comfortable homes. 
 But these things cannot be gained without hard work." 
 
 " Jes' what I says ! " exclaimed the old woman ; " ef 
 I'se free, I'se got to work all de harder, an' I specks to 
 go on cardin' an' spinnin' all de same till I dies. But, 
 Miss Jessie, offen I'se full o' doubt 'bout de time when 
 I gits too ole to spin. Who's gwine to look arter me 
 den? Reuben he'll chaw all de same, an' never hab no 
 money to buy nothin' but 'bacco. Dat's de question, 
 honey, dat offen bothers me." 
 
 " Take no thought for the morrow, Aunt Lucy ; do 
 your duty now and leave the future alone." 
 
 " I know dat's gospil truf, Miss Jessie, an' the Lord 
 allus looks arter his'n ; but all de same, He specks us 
 to step roun' purty spry fur ourse'f . Brudder Jerry, he 
 says so. He prays loud an' strong, but he hoes de cotton 
 an' de corn all de same." 
 
 " That's very true, Aunt Lucy, but after we have done 
 our best we must not worry about what is going to 
 happen. I am sure Colonel Winston will never let you 
 suffer in your old age." 
 
 " I knows dat, an' I only hopes ole Marster may live 
 jes' as long as I does." 
 
 Jessie made no reply ; she did not feel like talking, 
 and left the old woman to continue the conversation. 
 Presently Aunt Lucy looked up and said, sharply : 
 
 " 'Pears to me you'se mighty quiet to-day, Miss Jessie. 
 You looks tired an' whiter dan I likes to see you. 
 What's de matter, honey ? "
 
 100 ttEDEANK. 
 
 " I am tired, Aunt Lucy veiy tired. I came out for 
 a walk, hoping the fresh air and the exercise would rest 
 me. I must go on now ; I want to go to the mill this 
 way through the woods and come back by the road. 
 Good-bye," and she arose from her seat. 
 
 Aunt Lucy laid down the cards and reached out her 
 hard black hands ; she took the soft white ones between 
 her palms and stroked them tenderly. She loved this 
 fair young creature, and felt a pang to see her droop. 
 " Honey," she said in a tone full of sympathy, " you jes' 
 mustn't git faint-hearted 'taint no use. I'se all feard 
 you doesn't pray 'miff. Now, I doesn't never stop a 
 prayin' an' a-singin'. I prays when I cards, an' I sings 
 when I spins. I likes de music o' dis ole wheel it's 
 jes as good as de piany any day. De truf is, I likes it 
 better kase you has de music an' de broach o' cotton, 
 too," and once more she laughed her hearty laugh. 
 Jessie joined in, and Aunt Lucy seemed delighted to 
 have chased the sadness from that sweet young face. 
 " Dat's right I loves to hear you laugh ; you looks 
 more like yourse'f now. Good-bye, an' don't you stay 
 out too late, honey." 
 
 Tiger had been lying at the feet of his young mistress, 
 watching her face with intense interest. When she 
 arose, he got up also, and wagged his tail as if to express 
 his readiness to follow her wherever she might choose 
 to go. She laid her hand upon his collar, and they 
 started off again together. Presently they entered the 
 wood and hurried along the narrow road. It was so 
 sweet and cool under the trees that the tired girl felt 
 inexpressibly refreshed and almost skimmed the ground. 
 Broken bits of sunshine fell through the thick foliage, 
 and made a lovely mottled pathway for her. 
 
 After a while, she came to a bend in the road, and
 
 107 
 
 through a long leafy vista she caught a glimpse of the 
 great pond, shining in the sunlight. She heard the fall 
 of the water over the dam, and the noisy clatter of the 
 wheels. Then she reached an opening in the trees, and 
 stepped out into the main road that led to Redbank. 
 She crossed the bridge over the mill-stream, lingering 
 to look up and down at the rushing water, now brighten 
 ing in the sunshine, now darkening in the shadow, and 
 ever hurrying onward " to join the brimming river." On 
 the other side, at the foot of a green slope near the road, 
 she found a convenient stone, and sat down. From this 
 point she could take in the whole scene. She was very 
 weary and needed to rest. As she sat there all kinds of 
 thoughts were hurrying through her tired brain. It would 
 be impossible to follow them as they came and went in 
 an endless procession. She could not help thinking of 
 her own strange, sad life, and wondering if she would 
 ever reach a goal of happiness, as some did. More than 
 ever before, she was beginning to dread dulness and 
 monotony to long for variety and excitement. Then 
 she recalled the words of the Judge and found herself 
 surprised at the truth of his prophetic vision. Would 
 it have been better to have accepted his offer, and found 
 escape in that manner ? No, she could not believe that ; 
 and yet the way which he had presented to her looked 
 more attractive now than it had done a few months ago 
 when he had offered himself to her. She was beginning 
 to feel uncertain of herself; she wondered if the time 
 would ever come in the future, when she would be so 
 weary of everything that, like Eleanor, she would marry 
 in desperation. " Oh ! no ! " she exclaimed aloud, clasp 
 ing her hands " anything but that, I must be strong I 
 must be true. God help me ! " Her passionate words 
 aroused Tiger ; he looked up at her with amazement in
 
 108 HEDBANK. 
 
 his sleepy eyes. Was her question addressed to him ? 
 She answered his mute inquiry by putting her hand upon 
 his head with a caressing touch. 
 
 " Tiger, Tiger," she said, " be thankful that you are 
 a dog, and don't have to study moral philosophy." 
 
 She had been sitting there a long time, when she heard 
 a sound that startled her a carriage was coming. It 
 was useless to try to hide from sight, so she sat very still 
 and waited. Soon the vehicle approached near enough 
 for her to see a pair of handsome gray horses through 
 the trees. Yes, it was the Judge. How strange ! She 
 was just thinking about him, and longing for his return. 
 He saw her and lifted his hat. On reaching the bridge, 
 the carriage stopped and the gentleman got out; he 
 walked hurriedly to the spot where she was sitting. 
 " How are you ? And what are you doing in this 
 lonely place ? " he asked, extending both hands. 
 
 " How surprised I am to see you ! I thought you 
 were a thousand miles away," she exclaimed. 
 
 " I only reached home a few days ago. But come, get 
 into the carriage, and I will give you the ride that I 
 promised you once upon a time. I am on my way to Red- 
 bank, and I have a thousand things to tell you. Jim," 
 he continued, addressing the driver, " I will take the 
 reins. You can get out and walk the rest of the way 
 it is not far."
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 WHEN they were both seated in the carriage, he turned 
 the horses sharply around, touched them with the whip, 
 and they dashed rapidly down the road over which they 
 had just travelled. 
 
 " Where are you going ? " she asked. 
 
 "Not to Redbank yet awhile," he answered with a 
 smile ; " I am not in such a hurry to get there now that 
 you are sitting beside me. We still have at least an 
 hour and a half before sunset, and it will do you good 
 to spend it out-of-doors." 
 
 While he spoke he was looking at her very intently. 
 She wore a simple white dress, cut away from the 
 throat, and belted at the waist with a white ribbon. 
 She carried her hat in her hand; she had taken it 
 off on account of the heat. Her beautiful brown 
 hair was loosely and carelessly knotted, but this suited 
 her pure pale face better than the most elaborate 
 coiffure would have done. She felt a little unnatural and 
 constrained under his intense gaze. She knew that he 
 was noting the changes in her, and the thought made 
 her somewhat uncomfortable. 
 
 At length he said, as if half to himself, " More than 
 ever like the statue of a goddess." 
 
 The words aroused the playfulness of her nature, and
 
 11- ) REDBANK. 
 
 she quickly replied, " More than ever like an Athenian 
 Sage, until he opens his mouth and then '' 
 
 " What then ? " he asked. 
 
 " Why, then, one sees that he is only an American 
 gentleman of the nineteenth century." 
 
 "Evidently a creature to be despised ! " he said with 
 a smile. 
 
 " By the statue of a goddess yes ; by a young lady of 
 the nineteenth century no." 
 
 " Why, what a sharp wit she hath ! What has she 
 been feeding on ? " he asked. 
 
 " The bitter berries that grow in these swamps," she 
 answered, laughing, " and they have puckered up my 
 mouth." 
 
 " I do not see it," he said. 
 
 " Well, I feel the bitter taste," she replied. 
 
 " That will never do ; a bitter taste in the mouth 
 shows that there is something wrong about the system," 
 he said ; "we must find an antidote right away. What 
 shall it be ? that's the question." 
 
 " How do I know ! " she exclaimed ; " a patient can 
 not prescribe for herself ; that's the business of the 
 physician." 
 
 " You are right. Well, I will undertake to play the 
 part of physician. I will not prescribe either pills 
 or powders, but a change of climate immediately." 
 
 " What a charming prescription ! " she said. " Where 
 shall I go ? Quick, I'm dying to hear." 
 
 " With me," he answered, looking at her with a kind 
 smile. " Come, fill the aching void in my heart." 
 
 She broke into a merry laugh. " The void alone is 
 yours the aching is mine. Why, I've been aching all 
 the summer. I've made the awful discovery that I have 
 bones and joints,"
 
 REDE AN K. Ill 
 
 " Impossible ! " he exclaimed ; " you cannot convince 
 me of that. You are chiseled out of Parian marble by 
 some unknown Phidias. All you need is a pedestal 
 and a temple." 
 
 " You absurd man ! " she said ; " don't you know you 
 are too old to talk such nonsense?" 
 
 " Please, don't remind me of my age," he answered ; 
 " I'm getting to be very much ashamed of it. No 
 old maid can be more sensitive than I am on that point. 
 Ah ! would I were a boy again ! " 
 
 " You must start off and try to find the fountain of 
 youth," she said lightly. 
 
 " I have already found it, but I'm not permitted to 
 bathe in it," he answered. 
 
 " Where is it ? " she asked. 
 
 " I don't remember the exact latitude and longitude ; 
 I only know the name of the country." 
 
 " Then tell me that." 
 
 " The land of Love," he replied. 
 
 " There ! that will do," she said, breaking into a light 
 laugh ; " give your attention now to the horses, or they 
 will run away, and we will both find ourselves in a land 
 of stones and underbrush." 
 
 He seemed inclined to obey her, for he gathered up 
 the reins more tightly and touched the horses with the 
 whip. 
 
 Presently he again looked at her and said, very seri 
 ously, as if tired of the levity in which they had been 
 indulging, " Jessie, have you really been ill this summer ? 
 You look so pale that I would hardly know you." 
 
 " Do I ? Why, I'm quite well," she replied ; " you 
 know it has been very warm ever since the first of June, 
 and I confess I have felt the heat more than ever before. 
 Then Lilian has been very ill* and I have grown some-
 
 112 REDBANE. 
 
 what tired trying to help Eleanor take care of her. 
 But I assure you I am perfectly well." 
 
 He shook his head as if he doubted her words. 
 " Jessie, I wish you would give me the right to love you 
 and take care of you. There are some women who are 
 strong enough to struggle alone. You are not one of 
 them. You will have to yield after awhile why not 
 now?" 
 
 She was both vexed and touched by his words, and the 
 warm color came into her pale cheeks. She was begin 
 ning to realize that he knew her better than she knew 
 herself. Somehow to-day she did not feel equal to 
 renewing the battle with him she was too weak and 
 tired she feared defeat ; so she only said in a pleading 
 tone, " Hush, please, you must not talk so now. Tell me 
 all about your summer where you have been, and what 
 you have been doing ; and about Alice. How is she ? " 
 
 " She does not look much better than you do," he 
 answered; "Jessie, I don't know what is the matter 
 with Alice. She is not at all like her old self. Some 
 times she is unnaturally gay and excited ; at other times 
 she looks tired and listless. She is growing very 
 capricious and hard to please. It grieves me to see the 
 change in her. I'm beginning to feel that all women are 
 alike, and they are all very much like the moon they 
 exhibit a new phase every night." 
 
 Jessie laughed and asked, "Where is Alice now ? 
 Did she return with you ? " 
 
 " No, she is in Virginia, at the White Sulphur Springs, 
 with her mother and Waverley. I do not wish her to 
 return south until October ; but she seems quite deter 
 mined to come, and I'm afraid she will have her way. 
 Jessie," he continued, " she looks so fragile that it 
 almost frightens me."
 
 REDBANE. 113 
 
 "I am very, very sorry to hear it," was the reply. 
 " Perhaps she is tired of all the travelling and gayety. I 
 know she does not care for such things. She told me 
 before she left that she would much prefer to stay at 
 home with her books." 
 
 " Did she ? " he asked, " I wish I had known it. I 
 see now that it was a mistake to travel so much. It 
 has tired her. But I thought she would like it. How 
 ever, Waverley may be able to set things right." In 
 spite of these reassuring words, it was evident that he 
 was anxious and troubled about his niece. Jessie had 
 not often seen such a shadow, on his face. He fell into 
 a long silence. 
 
 The gray horses trotted swifty over the smooth white 
 road. The cool air and the delightful motion brought 
 a brilliant glow into the eyes of the young girl. After 
 her long and wearisome bondage in the sick room, she 
 keenly felt the pleasure of lying back in this luxuri 
 ous carriage, and dashing rapidly along without any 
 effort on her part. Moreover, she was conscious, as 
 never before, of the agreeable presence beside her. 
 Hungry in every fibre of her rich womanly nature, she 
 had never so keenly felt the charm of perfect companion 
 ship. The Judge was quietly reading all these emotions 
 in her tell-tale face. " The drive is doing you good," 
 he said ; " how muc.li better you look than when I found 
 you sitting like ' a maid forlorn ' upon that old stone. 
 I wonder what you were thinking about." 
 
 She smiled and held her peace. " Come, tell me, 
 please," he continued. She shook her head. " Well, 
 I can guess. You were thinking about me, and wishing 
 that I would hurry up and come and give you that ride 
 I promised you long ago. Wasn't that it? "
 
 114 REDBANK. 
 
 " Clever as you are, you have not yet learned to read 
 a young girl's thoughts," she said, evasively. 
 
 "Jessie, if you would only listen to me, child," he 
 exclaimed after a while ; " I know that I could make 
 you very happy." 
 
 She drew farther back into the corner of the carriage, 
 and put up her little hand with an imploring gesture. 
 
 " Please do not tempt me," she cried ; " I cannot, I 
 must not. If I were to yield, it would not be for love 
 of you, but for love of all the beautiful things that you 
 could give me." 
 
 " I accept your consent, even on those terms," he 
 answered in a low tone. 
 
 " But it would be wrong ! " she exclaimed ; " I know 
 it would, and only trouble could come from it. If I 
 once fell, who knows what might happen ? No, no, 
 you must not tempt me. I cannot bear it to-day I 
 feel so weak and helpless. You must have pity on 
 me!" 
 
 He said nothing more ; soon he again touched the 
 horses with the whip, as if impatient and desirous of 
 going faster. He looked so sad and stern, and held 
 the horses with so firm a grasp, that she was afraid she 
 had wounded him, and asked, almost in a whisper 
 " You are not angry with me, are you ? " 
 
 " No, my darling," he answered ; " how could I be 
 angry with you ! You have restored to me my boyish 
 faith in angels, and all other good and beautiful things." 
 
 She was glad that it was not necessary to make any 
 reply, and gave her attention to watching the trees 
 as they swept by her. Suddenly they reached a spot 
 where the road broadened, and the Judge turned the 
 horses around. " The sun is getting low," he said, 
 " perhaps we had better be thinking of Redbank,"
 
 BEDBANK. 115 
 
 On they dashed again. They had travelled over 
 several miles before she found it in her heart to speak 
 again ; then she said, somewhat timidly, " If you do 
 not find your horses too absorbing, do tell me some 
 news. How is everybody I know in the city ? " 
 
 " Everybody is growing older every day ; that is all 
 I know," he answered. 
 
 " Is Nettie Hunter married?" 
 
 " No, only engaged to a new fellow who has recently 
 come to town." 
 
 " What is his name ? " 
 
 " Mr. Clarence Sage. Let us hope he will have the 
 wisdom requisite for his new position. Can you ever 
 think of Miss Nettie as turning into Mrs. Sage ? " he 
 asked with a smile. <. . 
 
 " Never ! " exclaimed Jessie, " she must not marry 
 him. It would be too ridiculous too paradoxical. 
 You must resort to some method of preventing it." 
 
 " I will try, if you wish me," the Judge said, play 
 fully ; " I think, myself, that something ought to be 
 done, but my mind is not quite clear on the subject of 
 who should do it. The truth is, I am rather afraid of 
 Miss Nettie. She is a very clever girl. She has ways 
 of entangling a fellow in his own words and convincing 
 him that he has said what he knows he has never 
 said, and making him declare what he does not wish 
 to declare. I had rather not meddle with her affairs. 
 She is too smart for me. I confess I like simpler 
 girls." 
 
 " And yet the gentlemen all find her perfectly irre 
 sistible," said Jessie. 
 
 " That's a serious fault in a girl," he replied ; " to be 
 irresistible is to be dangerous, like a qnicksand, or a 
 whirlpool, or a sunken rock. A wise man instinctively
 
 116 REDBANK. 
 
 avoids such women, and chooses the quiet and uncon 
 scious ones." 
 
 " You make me think that there are very few wise 
 men in the world," exclaimed Jessie. " I once heard 
 Nettie say that she had had a hundred and fifty offers, 
 and never intended to marry until she had received 
 two hundred. That's a goodly number of men who are 
 not wise according to your notion." 
 
 " You surprise me by your knowledge of arithmetic, 
 and you make me ashamed of my sex," he answered, 
 laughing heartily. 
 
 " And Belle Duval ? tell me something about her," 
 asked the young girl, eagerly. 
 
 " She's engaged too," he answered, " they are all 
 engaged, my dear every single one of them. You 
 are the only one who is left out in the cold. You will 
 be awfully lonesome before the winter is over." 
 
 "When I am lonesome, I will let you know," she 
 said, with a faint glow of color on her cheeks " until 
 then, you must leave me in peace." 
 
 He was touched by her pleading tone. " I will," 
 he replied ; " only don't forget the promise." 
 
 They were now entering the avenue that led up to 
 Redbank. " You have given me a delightful ride," 
 said the girl, " and I thank you more than I know how 
 to express." 
 
 " It is I who am the debtor," was the answer. 
 
 There was no time for further conversation. The 
 horses soon stopped at the front door, and Jessie and 
 the judge alighted from the carriage. 
 
 It was a merry party that gathered around the supper 
 table that evening. Judge Brooks was pelted with 
 questions from every one, to which he replied in his 
 own graceful style, provoking bright retorts, and excit-
 
 &EDBANK. 117 
 
 ing an unusual amount of laughter. There is nothing 
 on earth quite equal to the companionship of a genial 
 friend : we never realize what fountains of humor and 
 pathos are sealed up in our own souls until he comes 
 with his magic wand, his witch-hazel, and touches the 
 spot where the springs lie, waiting to bubble up.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 "Hear the mellow wedding bells 
 Golden bells !" 
 
 JUDGE BROOKS had come to the country to see how 
 affairs were progressing on the plantation of his sister- 
 in-law, and to make arrangements for her return home 
 early in October, perhaps sooner. The house was to 
 be put in order, some needful repairs attended to, 
 and some refurnishing done on quite an extensive scale. 
 It was the expectation of the Judge, as well as of the 
 general public, that, before the winter was over, a bril 
 liant wedding would be celebrated at the Grove. Al 
 most from infancy, Alice Brooks had been the destined 
 bride of her cousin Waverley, and now that he had 
 returned from Europe to claim her, there was no need 
 of delay in celebrating the happy event. 
 
 The next morning, the family at Redbank gathered 
 on the piazza to take leave of their guest. His visit had 
 refreshed each one of them, and they were reluctant to 
 see him depart, but he declared himself too overwhelmed 
 with the business that had accumulated during his long 
 absence from home to remain another day. His last 
 adieus were spoken to Jessie, and she felt the tender 
 ness of his manner as he stooped and kissed her hand. 
 She watched the beautiful gray horses as they trotted 
 off down the long avenue. With his own inimitable
 
 REDBANK. 119 
 
 grace, the Judge lifted his hat and waved his friends a 
 liual good-bye. The girl stood there a long time after 
 the carriage was out of sight. It would have been diffi 
 cult to analyze her complex emotions. Her respect and 
 admiration for Judge Brooks were very great. He was 
 by far the most attractive man that she had ever met ; 
 and, though nearly fifty years old, he was so full of vigor 
 and youthful freshness of manner and soul that one 
 never thought of his age. His social position and great 
 wealth formed a handsome frame for so noble a man. 
 His strong intellect, and his broad and enlightened 
 views on all subjects, gave him great influence not only 
 in the affairs of his native city but also throughout the 
 whole state. Jessie Holcombe realized all this ; she 
 felt a longing for the sheltering love of such a man, and 
 the worldly delights of the home in which he would 
 place her. As she watched him drive away, a keen 
 pang of regret seized upon her, a feeling of weariness 
 and depression, as if it were all over, and no further 
 interest were left to life. If he could have stood beside 
 her at that moment, perhaps she would have relented 
 and consented to become his wife. And yet, even now, 
 there was a strange, inexplicable something within her 
 that restrained and subdued the longings of her heart. 
 While the girl was standing there, lost in thought, the 
 Colonel came across the yard with the mail-bag in his 
 hand. The arrival of the mail was always an exciting 
 event at Redbank. It was necessary to send to the city 
 for it, and sometimes several days passed without any 
 news of the outside world. The Colonel ascended the 
 steps, and took his seat on the piazza ; then he opened 
 the bag and assorted the letters and papers. There 
 were none for Jessie, and she felt but little interest in 
 those received by the other members of the family. She
 
 120 REDBANK. 
 
 was about to go to her room, when she heard an exclama 
 tion of surprise from the Colonel. He raised his eyes 
 from the letter that he was reading, and said in a loud 
 tone " Bless my heart ! Well, this is news ! " and he 
 called to Mrs. Winston, who was swinging Lilian in the 
 hammock at the other end of the piazza, " Come here, 
 Eleanor ; I've some astounding news for you." 
 
 She came slowly forward, hoi ding the child in her arms. 
 " I hope it is good news," she said, " for I am limp 
 enough now ; I don't think I could stand much more." 
 
 " You can judge for yourself whether it is good or not. 
 Listen, the letter is -from Philip. Would you believe 
 it ? he is going to be married. He writes that the lady 
 Miss Percy Lester is young, beautiful, and very rich. 
 Her father is a prominent business man, well-known 
 throughout the North-West. Her own mother has been 
 dead a great many years, but there is a step-mother, also 
 young and handsome. Philip puts it all in a very brief 
 way, as if anxious to get through with the announcement. 
 There is to be a large wedding, and then he is going to 
 bring his bride East. He intends to spend several 
 weeks in visiting the large cities New York, Boston, 
 Philadelphia, Washington, and then he is coming South. 
 He wants his wife to see his native state. You can 
 guess the rest. If we feel in a hospitable mood, he will 
 make us a visit. What do you say to it ? Here, you 
 may read the letter." 
 
 She reached out her hand for it, and read it through 
 in her usual deliberate way, without betraying any 
 emotion. When she had finished it, she returned it 
 to her husband. " Well, how shall I answer it ? wh'at 
 shall I say to him? You see the wedding is to take 
 place very soon the middle of next month. I must 
 write immediately."
 
 REDBANK. 121 
 
 " You know perfectly well," she said, " that there is 
 but one answer to be made. Of course, "we must send 
 them an invitation to come." 
 
 " Do you think you can manage it in proper style ? " 
 he asked, as if doubtful of the present resources of the 
 plantation. 
 
 "It will not be easy," she answered; "lam rather 
 worn-out with all the sickness in the family, and my 
 corps of servants is not very large nor very efficient. It 
 is more difficult to entertain guests than it used to be in 
 the old days. I'm afraid Southern hospitality is on the 
 decline. However, I'll manage it ; I'm generally equal 
 to such emergencies." 
 
 " Well, I leave it all in your hands," he said. And 
 that was the end of the matter, so far as he was con 
 cerned. . 
 
 The letter to Mr. Philip Winston, containing an 
 invitation to himself and bride to visit Redbank was 
 immediately written and sent. It was sufficiently cor 
 dial in tone to satisfy the most exacting. It left the 
 time of coming and the length of stay entirely to the 
 disposition of the guests. The Colonel would have felt 
 it beneath his dignity to place restrictions upon any one 
 who honored him with a visit. 
 
 During the next few weeks there was an unusual 
 amount of commotion in the old plantation home. 
 There was some house cleaning, some hanging of fresh 
 muslin curtins, some unfolding of dainty bed and 
 table linen, some polishing of old silver. Lilian was in 
 a kind of ecstasy, and under this delightful excitement 
 she rapidly recovered her strength. She never wearied 
 of listening to the story, of her new uncle and aunt. 
 They seemed to her like a prince and princess from some 
 unknown land, and she endowed them with all the
 
 1-22 REDBAtfK. 
 
 virtues and accomplishments of royalty. Nothing so 
 beautiful had ever happened to her before, and her 
 imagination was filled with pictures as gorgeous as the 
 scenes of a Christmas pantomime. This coming event 
 vaguely satisfied that deep yearning after the far-away, 
 the romantic, the splendid, which lies in the heart of 
 every child. 
 
 At length the day, so long anticipated, arrived. It 
 was in the early part of October, and the weather was 
 perfect. During the long summer the heat seemed to 
 have expended itself, and now there was a delightful 
 freshness to the air, rather unusual in that southern 
 climate. The horses and carriage had been sent to the 
 city for the expected guests. The house had been deco 
 rated with plants and flowers, which were still plentiful ; 
 Lilian and the baby had been dressed in their best 
 clothes, and were playing on the piazza ; dinner was in 
 process of preparation. Mrs. Winston had arrayed her 
 self in a soft gray silk, which revealed the perfect lady 
 in every fold. 
 
 Jessie Holcombe was one of those girls who never 
 give very much thought to the outward adornment. 
 She possessed that unconsciousness of dress which 
 is so rare in these latter days ; but she realized the im 
 portance of the present occasion, and wished to show 
 honor to the strangers who were coming from afar. She 
 loved white, and knew that it was becoming to her, so 
 she dressed herself in a long princess robe of white 
 cashmere, and fastened a red rose at her throat. She 
 was conscious of a little unnatural excitement, a little 
 flutter of anticipation, which was both new and pleasant. 
 A breeze from the great world was about to ripple the 
 dull surface of her life. Her experiences had been 
 entirely outside of what is culled " fashionable society,"
 
 REDBANK. 123 
 
 and she was rather curious to see what manner of 
 woman is developed in that luxurious atmosphere. 
 
 About three o'clock in the afternoon, the carriage 
 drove up to the door. All the family were out on the 
 piazza, and a group of colored men and women were 
 crowded in the hall, intent on seeing the pageant. 
 
 The Colonel and Mrs. Winston stepped forward to' 
 welcome the happy pair, and congratulations and kisses 
 were exchanged. Then introductions to Miss Hoi- 
 combe and the children were made in proper form. 
 
 The bride was a tall, willowy girl, very stylish in ap 
 pearance. Dressed in a faultless suit of dark brown 
 silk, with hat, veil, and gloves to match, she looked as 
 if she had just stepped out of the last fashion-plate. 
 She was pretty and delicate in appearance ; her eyes 
 were brown and bright ; her hair was a rich auburn in 
 color, and her complexion was brilliant. She had a 
 high, thin little voice ; but it was not really unpleasant 
 to listen to, unless one were very fastidious. As she 
 turned away with Mrs. Winston to mount the stairs to 
 her room, Jessie Holcombe felt a pang of disappoint 
 ment. She could not explain the feeling even to her 
 self ; perhaps it was the voice, which to Jessie's fine 
 ear sounded flat and soulless, wanting the modulations 
 which betray all the delicate shades of emotion. 
 
 " Isn't she beautiful ! " exclaimed Lilian, quite over 
 whelmed by the bright vision. 
 
 " Beautiful ! " echoed the negroes, one after the 
 other. 
 
 " Umph ! " said Aunt Lucy, from her post in the re 
 mote background. 
 
 Mr. Philip Winston lingered on the piazza with his 
 brother, and Jessie had an opportunity of scanning him 
 from head to foot. She saw a family resemblance be-
 
 124 REDBANK. 
 
 tween the two gentlemen, and yet there were many 
 points of difference. Mr. Philip was not so tall as the 
 Colonel, but his form was more compact and his air more 
 business-like. He wore a very heavy mustache and side- 
 whiskers which were reddish-brown in color. His man 
 ners were very graceful and polished, and he bore the 
 unmistakable impress of city life. There was a style 
 about him, which is given partly by the fashionable 
 tailor, and partly by intercourse with fashionable 
 society. But in spite of these external attractions, 
 there was something about his face that Jessie did not 
 like, and she shrewdly guessed that at bottom he was 
 hard, cold, calculating, and selfish. Before long she 
 had reason to know that she was not mistaken. 
 
 Afternoon tea was carried into the room of the bride, 
 and she rested several hours. Dinner henceforth was 
 to be served at six, in compliment to the city guests. 
 
 The table was looking quite splendid when at length 
 the family gathered around it. Every relic of former 
 prosperity had been hunted up and brought into promi 
 nent position. 
 
 After the others were assembled, the bride came in, 
 leaning on the arm of her husband. She wore an even 
 ing-dress of black velvet, cut low, and profusely trimmed 
 with costly lace. Diamonds flashed from her ears and 
 throat and arms. Her abundant auburn hair was massed 
 like a coronet on the top of her heed, making her appeal- 
 several inches taller. Her cheeks were aglow with rosy 
 color, and she looked dazzling. The Colonel placed 
 her on his right hand, and then turned and gazed at 
 her with undisguised admiration. 
 
 " Why, Philip," he exclaimed, " allow me to congrat 
 ulate you again ; you are a lucky fellow I can scarcely 
 believe my own eyes. My dear," he continued, turning
 
 REDE AN X. 125 
 
 to Mrs. Philip, " what kind of spells has he been using 
 to bewitch a young and beautiful creature like you ? " 
 
 She smiled, and, lifting her eyes with a pretty con 
 sciousness, replied " I thought it was I who had be 
 witched him." 
 
 " The bewitching was mutual, of course," said Mrs. 
 Winston. 
 
 "Such things are always incomprehensible, so we 
 won't discuss them," said Mr. Philip ; " I'm unaccount 
 ably hungry, so let's discuss the dinner. To my mind, 
 that is a more interesting topic just at present." It 
 was easy to see that he appreciated a good dinner, and 
 perhaps considered it the most important event of the 
 day. 
 
 " Do you feel perfectly rested?" asked Mrs. Winston. 
 
 " Oh ! yes ! " replied the bride ; " I feel nicely now, 
 thank you." 
 
 " Did you find the ride long and tiresome ? " asked 
 the Colonel. 
 
 " As if she could find any drive long or tiresome with 
 me beside her ! " exclaimed Mr. Philip ; " I'm sure she 
 found it heavenly." 
 
 Mrs. Philip gave a little turn to her head, and a side 
 glance upward into her husband's face, it was a pretty 
 trick of hers, when she said, " He will not allow me 
 to answer for myself. He has me in perfect subjection 
 already. I am very fond of driving, so I did not in the 
 least mind the distance." 
 
 " You see, she ignores your presence altogether," 
 said the Colonel to his brother. They both laughed. 
 
 " Yes:, it is very pleasant to see somebody else," re 
 plied Mrs. Philip ; " I have grown fearfully tired of sit 
 ting down to a hotel-table with only him to talk to." 
 
 " Now, I'm fairly extinguished," exclaimed the hus-
 
 126 11EJ)BANK. 
 
 band ; " and I assure yon I have been trying my very 
 best to be agreeable, and to talk about balls and operas 
 and dresses, and all the other feminine topics of con 
 versation. My failure overwhelms me with mortifica 
 tion. My dear," turning to his wife, " I shall never 
 again try to please you. My mind is quite made up on 
 that point." Every one laughed. 
 
 "And my mind is quite made up in the contrary 
 direction," she answered, with an emphatic little nod 
 and a coquettish smile. 
 
 "We'll see who will pull the hardest," said Mr. 
 Philip, reflecting her smile. " Miss Holcombe, you are 
 a disinterested party ; what is your opinion ? Who will 
 win in the pull ? " 
 
 " The woman, of course," said Jessie. 
 
 " Ah ! I might have known that would be your 
 decision. But why do you think the woman will win? " 
 
 " Because, in such a struggle, the man never pulls 
 with all his might, and the woman does," answered 
 Jessie. 
 
 " Ah ! I see you have a judicial mind," Mr. Philip 
 said ; " I fear I'm doomed. What a sad state of affairs 
 after only two weeks of married life." 
 
 " Yes," exclaimed Miss Holcombe, " it is an awful 
 warning to the unmarried." 
 
 Mrs. Philip looked at the young lady across the table ; 
 it was but a glance, and yet somehow Jessie felt that it 
 took in every item of her make-up, even to the cost of 
 the lace at her throat. She did not like that cold, 
 curious stare, and returned it with a haughty flash of 
 her fine eyes. It annoyed her more than she could have 
 explained, even to herself, to be measured by this rich 
 city girl, and she resented it as a rudeness. There was 
 a quick spark of intelligence between the two. Mrs.
 
 REDBANK. 12" 
 
 Philip was not wanting in sense, and she realized in a 
 moment that there was something more to this girl than 
 her clothes. There was a short silence, and then the 
 conversation turned upon the late wedding, and the tour 
 through the Eastern States. The bride had never been 
 East before, and she had fresh impressions to express, 
 Avhich she did very prettily. With New York she was 
 perfectly fascinated, but Washington was a great dis 
 appointment. " After a few handsome public buildings, 
 there is nothing to see," she said ; " New York is ever 
 so much nicer. I would really like to go there to live." 
 
 " My dear," said the Colonel, " you must not take 
 New York for your standard. If you. do, you will be 
 disappointed with everything else. Washington has a 
 character of its own, so has Philadelphia, so has Balti 
 more, and so has Redbank," and he laughed heartily at 
 this anti-climax. . 
 
 " She is perfectly enchanted with Redbank," exclaimed 
 Mr. Philip ; " I had somewhat prepared her for its splen 
 dors, but, like the Queen of Sheba, she is compelled 
 to confess that the half was not told her." She looked 
 at him steadily for a few moments, and then laughed. 
 " I undertake to interpret your emotions for you, and to 
 put their vague confusion into words," said the husband. 
 
 " Thank you," was her reply, and again she laughed. 
 
 Colonel Winston was very sensitive about any 
 allusion to the South, and imagined a concealed 
 sting in this little laugh. He keenly felt the contrast 
 between the prosperity of the North and the poverty of 
 the South. He knew that this girl had just come from 
 a luxurious home, and would perhaps despise the simple 
 comforts of Redbank. " My dear," he said, " we are all 
 poor at the South now ; we are, as you know, quite 
 broken down in the world. We are sorry to have nothing
 
 128 REDBANK. 
 
 better to offer you ; but what we have is offered with 
 cordial hospitality." He spoke these words with his 
 grandest manner. 
 
 " Pray, don't apologize," she said, quickly ; " you mis 
 understand me altogether. I like Redbank and every 
 thing about it exceedingly, and I am sure I shall have 
 a perfectly lovely time with you all. I could not help 
 laughing, a little while ago please excuse me ; but 
 Philip has been entertaining me with the most absurd 
 stories about your way of living. One day he would 
 picture something quite palatial, and the next he would 
 describe something so shabby as to excite my disgust. 
 I think he takes pleasure in teasing me." 
 
 " I must put a stop to that right away," said Mrs. 
 Winston, with decided emphasis ; " I cannot allow you 
 to be teased under my roof. Do you hear, Philip ? " 
 
 " Her accusation against me is entirely without founda 
 tion," replied the gentleman, looking up from his plate 
 with the blank stare of perfect innocence. " She is the 
 tease. She has teased me almost to death to learn the 
 minutest incident in the past life of every one of you. 
 She would have made a good inquisitor, I assure you. 
 Of course, I was obliged sometimes to draw on my 
 imagination in order to satisfy this morbid curiosity." 
 
 " You shall not misrepresent me so ! " she cried, a 
 flush mounting to her forehead. " You are the most 
 provoking man I ever saw." 
 
 The arch smile with which this was spoken extracted 
 the sting from the charge. 
 
 " And you are the most provoking woman that I ever 
 saw," he answered back, also reflecting her smile. 
 
 " We give our sympathy to the lady," said Mrs. 
 Winston ; " here, on the spot, we form an alliance against 
 tyranny and oppression."
 
 ttSDBANK, 129 
 
 " Why, this is dreadful ! I'm afraid my happiness 
 is at an end ! " cried Mr. Philip, laying down his knife 
 and fork. " Miss Holcombe, can I not at least rely upon 
 your assistance in this unnatural alliance against me ? " 
 
 " I am afraid not ; I have been told that it is very 
 unsafe to mix oneself up in conjugal quarrels, so I shall 
 remain neutral." 
 
 " And lose your reputation for valor ? " he asked. 
 " You know neutrals are often considered cowards." 
 
 " Sometimes ' discretion is the better part of valor,' " 
 Jessie answered. 
 
 Again, Mrs. Philip fixed her eyes upon the young girl 
 with a cold, curious stare. Her husband observed it. 
 " Well, what are you thinking about ? " he asked, while 
 an amused expression flitted over his face. 
 
 She bent her head a little and half-whispered : " I'm 
 afraid of her her eyes are dangerous." 
 
 A faint flush spread over Jessie's face, but the remark 
 was made with such a pretty, arch, innocent air, that 
 she could not find it in her heart to take offence. 
 
 " After all, it is not worth while to be vexed with this 
 bewitching creature," thought Jessie ; " but she is very 
 different from the girls that I have been used to." 
 
 " My dear," said Colonel Winston, turning to Mrs. 
 Philip, " I do not think that you ought to complain of 
 anybody's eyes. I'm sure there is mischief enough in 
 your two." 
 
 She smiled and answered, " Oh ! no, you are altogether 
 mistaken ; mine are very harmless orbs they are only 
 useful to see with." 
 
 " I don't like to begin our acquaintance by declining 
 to believe what you say," he replied ; " but in this case 
 I cannot reject the evidence of my own senses." 
 
 " She is not referring to the past ; she is making 
 
 9
 
 130 REDBANE. 
 
 promises for the future," said Mr. Philip. " She means 
 they are going to be very harmless hereafter," and he 
 looked at his wife as if challenging her to contradict his 
 assertion. 
 
 " Again you undertake to give expression to the vague 
 confusion of my thoughts," she said, laughing ; " this 
 time I think you have gotten my meaning a little mixed. 
 I promise nothing for the future nothing whatever." 
 Her manner was very pretty and positive. 
 
 " But you have already made a promise which covers 
 the whole ground," he answered. 
 
 " Have I ? " she asked, with charming innocence. 
 " When ? where ?" 
 
 He put the tip of his finger on the ring that she had 
 given him, and pointed to the one that he had given her. 
 
 " By that promise, you annihilated self, your will is 
 now merged in mine." 
 
 " I thought it was your will that was merged in mine," 
 she cried gayly, and every one laughed at her saucy way 
 of disputing him. 
 
 " I am willing to acknowledge that there is sometimes 
 more than one interpretation to a contract," Mr. Philip 
 answered, " but the reading established by custom is 
 the one that holds good in our law courts. Is it not so, 
 Miss Holcombe ? " 
 
 " I am not learned in the law, like Portia," replied the 
 young lady thus appealed to, " but I have heard an old 
 adage which says, ' Man has his will, but woman has her 
 way.' Let me advise you as a friend to avoid contention 
 with a woman, lest you come to grief." 
 
 u That is wise advice, Miss Holcombe ; I will try to 
 follow it," he said. 
 
 There Avas a brief pause in the conversation, and then 
 Mr. Philip again looked at Jessie and said, " Miss Hoi-
 
 &EDBANK, 131 
 
 combe, will you allow me to place my wife in your 
 charge for a brief season ? Will you become her guide, 
 and show her the sights of Redbank ? " 
 
 " It would be better for you to act as her guide," 
 replied the girl, feeling that his politeness prompted him 
 to address an occasional remark to her, and that his 
 request was not made with the desire to promote an 
 acquaintance between his young wife and herself. 
 
 " But I am sick of sight-seeing," he said ; " Washington 
 has exhausted me, both physically and mentally. I have 
 come to this place for a little rest. It would be a great 
 favor, if you would consent to relieve me of this duty." 
 
 " Perhaps the lady may object to having you relieved? " 
 said Jessie, looking at Mrs. Philip. 
 
 " Not at all," was the reply ; " he is a very disagreeable 
 guide, I assure you. He never wants me to ask a single 
 question. He expects me to march around perfectly 
 dumb." 
 
 Her husband again laid down his knife and fork, and 
 gazed at her fixedly for a few moments. " A single ques 
 tion ! " he exclaimed ; " why, she will ask more in a 
 minute than one can answer in a month." 
 
 " Well, for my part, I like an inquiring mind," said 
 Miss Holcombe ; " it promotes conversation. I am flat 
 tered by the compliment you pay me in selecting me as 
 the guide of your wife, Mr. Winston, and I will begin 
 my duties to-morrow. Let me consider what there is 
 to see : The cotton fields, the gin-house, the screw, the 
 quarter, the mill, and the pine wood. Prepare yourself 
 for great physical effort," she continued, turning to Mrs. 
 Philip ; " it will be far more exhausting than the public 
 buildings of Washington." 
 
 " Thanks ! You are very kind," replied the bride, in 
 rather a dry tone. " I am full of curiosity to see a
 
 132 REDBANK. 
 
 southern plantation ; I have heard so much about the 
 easy, delightful life that is led upon them. It is Philip's 
 ideal of existence he sometimes threatens to go upon 
 one himself. Is it really pleasant ? I confess it looks 
 rather lonely to me not to have a single neighbor within 
 five miles. How do you manage to endure it all the 
 year round? I'm sure I should die." 
 
 " You must have resources of entertainment within 
 yourself," said Mrs. Winston. 
 
 " But I have none whatever," she exclaimed, with a 
 little yawn ; " I have no talents I have no accomplish 
 ments." 
 
 " Yes, you have a wonderful talent for yawning, my 
 dear," said her husband, who had noted the little lapse 
 from good form. 
 
 " I never yawn unless I'm dull," she replied, un 
 mindful that she was confessing herself a little tired of 
 the present company ; " it is nature's relief for dul- 
 ness." 
 
 " Is that true, Miss Holcombe ? Is it not rather a 
 small vice that one can correct ? " asked Mr. Philip. 
 
 " Is it becoming in you to question a statement made 
 by your wife ? " replied the young lady with a smile. 
 
 " Yes ; married life would be very dull without ques 
 tions to enliven it, and it is dulness we wish to escape 
 from," he answered. 
 
 " Then you must give yourself plenty to do," said 
 Mrs. Winston ; " when one is busy all the time, one is 
 never dull." 
 
 " Then this little lady must learn how to be busy," 
 he said with playful emphasis. 
 
 The young wife looked up at her husband with a 
 little flash of impatience in her eyes. " Was that in the 
 contract, too ? " she asked ; " I did not see it."
 
 EEDBANK. 133 
 
 " You know, my dear," he answered, quietly, " that 
 some of these days I am going on a southern plantation 
 to live. I am on the look-out for one now perhaps I 
 shall find it very soon. Now, since one can only be 
 happy on a plantation by being busy all the time, you 
 must begin right away to learn how to be busy and 
 interested in cows and pigs and chickens." 
 
 Again there was a little flash of the brown eyes. " If 
 you go on a southern plantation to live, do you expect 
 me to go with you ?" she asked. 
 
 " Of course, I do. You don't expect me to go to the 
 expense of hiring a housekeeper, when I have you on 
 my hands do you ? " and he laughed heartily at her 
 dismayed expression. 
 
 She turned to Mrs. Winston and exclaimed helplessly 
 " Only see how he teases me ! " 
 
 " Philip, you must not," said Eleanor ; " I shall have 
 to lecture you in private," and she shook her head at 
 him, though she could not help joining in the laughter. 
 
 When the dinner was ended, they all went into the 
 parlor. The gentlemen approached an open window, 
 threw themselves down in two convenient easy-chairs, 
 lighted their cigars, and began to smoke. 
 
 Soon they fell to recalling old times, and their laughter 
 was loud and long. 
 
 Mrs. Philip stood a while and watched them ; then 
 she shrugged her shoulders, and said to Jessie " Come, 
 let's go into the next room. I can't endure tobacco 
 smoke. When I return home, I shall make Philip go 
 to his club to smoke." 
 
 He overheard the remark, and called out " No, you 
 won't." 
 
 " Yes, I will," she answered, as she moved away. 
 Soon she laid her jewelled hand on the arm of her
 
 134 REDBANK. 
 
 companion, ;ind said " Please tell me what 1 am to 
 call you." 
 
 " My name is Jessica Holcombe,'' was the reply. " I 
 would like to have you call me Jessie, as everybody else 
 does." 
 
 " Then you must call me Percy." 
 
 " Very well ; we would find it stiff and unpleasant to 
 be formal." 
 
 After a short pause, Jessie asked Mrs. Philip if she 
 played on the piano. 
 
 " Only a very, very little," the lady answered ; " but 
 I see such piles of music that I am sure you do. Will 
 you not play for me ? I am rather tired, and will curl 
 up on this sofa and listen." 
 
 " What kind of music do you like ? " asked Jessie. 
 
 " All kinds ; I shall be satisfied with your selections." 
 
 Soon she had snuggled down on one end of the sofa, 
 spreading out her elegant train on the floor in front of 
 her. Jessie found a pile of operatic music, and began 
 to play some airs from II Trovatore. 
 
 " I like that very much," said the lady. 
 
 The young girl played on and on, piece after piece. 
 Presently she heard a little snore. Mrs. Philip was 
 asleep.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 " Leaves are light and idle, and wavering and changeable; they even 
 dance. Yet God in his wisdom has made them part of the oak. In 
 so doing, he has given us a lesson not to doubt the stout-heartedness 
 within because we seethe lightsomeness without." 
 
 MES. PHILIP WINSTON seemed strangely out of place 
 on a southern plantation. How she came to be there 
 was a mystery to herself as well as to others. Born in 
 one of those great cities of the West whose increase in 
 wealth has astonished the world ; accustomed from in 
 fancy to almost oriental luxury ; unacquainted with any 
 side of life but the sunny side ; by what freak of fate 
 had she wandered from her sphere to touch these other 
 lives so full of sharp realities ? She was unable to under 
 stand her new surroundings, and floated in the midst of 
 these quiet country scenes, perfectly unconscious of the 
 under-currents, bobbing here and there like a bright 
 buoy. She was indeed a rare bit of color in the dull 
 picture. Morning and evening she arrayed herself in 
 something new and beautiful. These exquisite clothes 
 did not seem to be accidental accessories of existence 
 but an integral part of her very being. She spent many 
 hours in the elaborate processes of the toilette, and seemed 
 to derive a refined enjoyment from the exercise. With 
 so small a public to appreciate, it was surely a waste of 
 human energy, to put on and pull off so many dresses,
 
 136 REDBANK. 
 
 but, like a devotee at some shrine, she appeared to find 
 a spiritual comfort from the mysterious rites. When 
 not actually dressing, or undressing she was arranging 
 the trays of her trunks, unfolding and refolding her 
 costly laces, opening and shutting her boxes of jewels, 
 shaking out her rich scarfs and sashes, or spreading her 
 elegant dresses, on the bed or chairs of her room, in order 
 to air or sun them. She seemed to be entirely without 
 other resources of entertainment. 
 
 She never opened a book, she did not know how to 
 draw or paint, and she possessed only the most super 
 ficial knowledge of music. Her time was wholly taken 
 up in lounging on the bed, or rummaging in her trunks, 
 or arranging the hundreds of exquisite articles, that she 
 had heaped on the bureau, the mantel-piece and the 
 tables of her room. In a pretty, restless fashion, like 
 some bright butterfly or humming bird, she flitted hither 
 and thither over these little tasks, singing snatches of 
 fashionable operas, and seeming as happy as if absorbed 
 in the most exalted duties. 
 
 Sometimes she settled down for a few hours and wrote 
 letters; but this appeared to tax her energies fearfully, 
 to use her own favorite adverb. She would arise from 
 the task looking worn and collapsed. During the 
 morning hours, she was left much to herself ; this was 
 unavoidable in a well-regulated home like Redbank, 
 where each member of the family had clearly denned 
 duties. Jessie's hours were spent in reading and teach 
 ing Lilian. Mrs. Winston was occupied in household 
 tasks. The Colonel usually went off immediately after 
 breakfast for a ride over his cotton-fields. Mr. Philip 
 always accompanied him, quietly ignoring the claims of 
 his young wife. 
 
 After luncheon, Jessie and Lilian were free to visit
 
 REDBANK. 137 
 
 Percy in her room. She was always sweet and charming 
 with them, exhibiting the choice bric-a-brac scattered 
 around, showing them photographs of her friends, and 
 telling them about the splendors of her city home. 
 Sometimes she would consent to take a short walk, but 
 there was nothing to see no shops no people, and she 
 was soon tired, and desirous of returning to the house. 
 She did not know much about riding ; having once been 
 thrown at the riding-school, her lessons had ended then 
 and there. Occasionally, her husband would propose a 
 drive, and to this she eagerly assented, and always 
 returned much refreshed, even though there was no 
 fashionable park in which to show off her toilette and 
 equipage. 
 
 Only a few of the neighbors had yet returned from 
 their summer excursions, so Mrs. Winston did not dare 
 to venture upon a dinner-party, or any other form of 
 entertainment for her guests, fearing lest her effort 
 might, in their eyes, prove a failure. In truth, both 
 Eleanor and Jessie were sorely taxed to furnish some 
 amusement for this bright young creature thrown upon 
 their hands. They were thankful to find that she was 
 fond of cards ; a card-table became an established custom 
 in the evening. But Mr. Philip hated cards, and would 
 never join in the game. Night after night, the Colonel, 
 Mrs. Winston, and Jessie sat around the table until 
 nearly twelve o'clock, playing whist with the exacting 
 little lady, who had a most charming way of pleading 
 for another and yet another rubber. If she were losing, 
 she was always eager to retrieve her reputation ; if she 
 were winning, she was too excited to stop. This pas 
 sion for play seemed to annoy Mr. Philip very much ; 
 sometimes he frowned, sometimes he reproved, and some 
 times he scolded ; but it was all of no avail. " You will
 
 138 REDBANK. 
 
 smoke your horrid cigars, when you know I hate them ; 
 so I'm going to play cards, even if you don't like it," 
 she would say with saucy determination. It was evident 
 that she had no more idea of yielding to his wishes than 
 lie had of yielding to hers. Jessie Holcombe looked on 
 at this playful warfare, and wondered if it would long 
 continue to be waged without arousing strong passions on 
 both sides. More than ever she realized the meaning of 
 marriage, and felt a vague dread of the life that follows, 
 when there is no spiritual affinity to make the union 
 complete. 
 
 Jessie was thrown continually with Mrs. Philip, and 
 under the influence of this familiar intercourse, some 
 thing akin to intimacy had sprung up between the two. 
 They were both young, lively, and full of girlish chatter. 
 They talked much with each other, and discussed all 
 kinds of questions with the abandon of youth. On 
 almost every point they differed, nor was this strange. 
 They stood on different points of observation, and were 
 themselves different in character as different as the 
 field flower and the rare production of the hot-house. 
 Percy was thoroughly worldly and conventional, loving 
 society and admiration, and passionately fond of dress 
 and display of every kind. Her whole life had been 
 passed in an artificial atmosphere. She measured every 
 thing by the money standard; she had no conception of 
 anything better than a handsome house, a large income, 
 and an unlimited expenditure. Yet she was naturally 
 frank, generous, and affectionate. Her manners were 
 caressing and charming ; she understood the potency of 
 winning tones, arch glances, and coquettish smiles. She 
 was such a gay, winsome creature that you could not 
 find it in your heart to disapprove of anything she did ; 
 and yet you could not help feeling that her brain was a
 
 EEDBANK. 13.9 
 
 sad muddle of false ideas and opinions. She was poorly 
 equipped for the battle of life, and you found yourself 
 wondering what she would make of actual trouble, if it 
 ever came to her. It is a pity that young ladies so 
 reared should not be able to command all the favors of 
 fortune, until death comes to transfer them to a world 
 less uncertain than our own. 
 
 It would have been difficult to find a girl more op 
 posite in character than Jessie Holcombe. She had 
 grown up in one of those Virginia homes, so simple, and 
 yet so full of comfort and true refinement. She loved 
 the country with its broad fields and forests ; she loved 
 her horses, her dogs, her books. Her father had not 
 been a rich man, but he had occupied a high social posi 
 tion and had been widely known and honored in his 
 native state. He had possessed much learning of an 
 old-fashioned kind ; this had been joined to a rare sim 
 plicity and strength of character. Jessie had been his 
 companion and pupil almost from infancy, and he had 
 instilled into her a love for the best and highest things. 
 Now that she had grown to womanhood, she was full of 
 vague but lofty ideals. She often longed for something 
 more than she possessed for greater variety, larger 
 means, a broader field of action ; but these restless feel 
 ings were held in check by a pure heart and a strong 
 will. Jessie Holcombe and Mrs. Philip Winston could 
 never have been very warm friends ; the soil of their 
 natures was as unlike as sand and loam ; but thrown 
 together, as they now were, in this old plantation house, 
 their companionship was not without its pleasures. 
 
 One evening after a chilly, rainy day, Percy came 
 into Jessie's room. " I'm tired to death," she said, 
 wearily ; " Philip is off, smoking and talking with the 
 Colonel in that horrid, stuffy, old library ; Eleanor is
 
 140 REDBANK. 
 
 reading in her own room, and Lilian has gone to bed. 
 May I sit with you a while ? " 
 
 " Of course you may," replied Jessie ; " here, take this 
 chair beside the fire." 
 
 " No," said Percy, " you may sit there I prefer this 
 seat by the table. I hate open fires they burn my face 
 up while my back is freezing. The furnaces and regis 
 ters we have at home are ever so much nicer." 
 
 "I don't know anything about furnaces," answered 
 Jessie, " but I am sure nothing could be more cheerful 
 and beautiful than a wood-fire. At night before I go 
 to bed, I love to sit and watch it die out. The red-hot 
 coals grow fainter and fainter, until they fade away 
 entirely under the white ashes. I don't wonder that 
 people used to think there were spirits in the fire. I 
 think so myself, sometimes." 
 
 " What a funny girl you are," said Percy. " I never 
 think about the fire unless I'm cold. Do let's talk about 
 something else. I'm fearfully blue to-night. I've a 
 great mind to go to my room, and lock my door, and 
 have a good cry all by myself. Wouldn't Philip be 
 mad, if I did? there is nothing in the world he hates 
 so much as a woman's tears. I have never had but one 
 cry since I was married. That was in New York, 
 because he would not take me to drive in the park one 
 afternoon. He declared that he was tired to death, 
 trotting around with me wasn't that a fine expression 
 for him to use ? Besides, he insisted that it was too late 
 to go, though that wasn't true a bit. Well, I was foolish 
 enough to cry. Gracious ! wasn't he mad ! For a while 
 he raged up and down the room, and expressed his 
 opinion very freely about women. I asked him why he 
 had married one, then ? That question cooled him a little, 
 and he said very sweetly, because he loved her. But he
 
 tiEDBANK. 141 
 
 gave me to understand that I could never carry my point 
 over him by crying." Percy laughed a little at the 
 remembrance ; Jessie said nothing. The unsolicited 
 confidence surprised her. The lady was vexed with her 
 husband to-night, and quite inclined to expose his short 
 comings. 
 
 Jessie's room was above the library, and the two girls 
 could plainly hear the voices of the gentlemen as they 
 laughed and chatted together over their cigars. 
 
 " What are they talking about, do you suppose ? " 
 asked the young wife, feeling herself somewhat aggrieved 
 to be excluded from this jovial company. 
 
 " Old times, of course ; you know it has been a 
 great many years since they have met, and they enjoy 
 talking about what happened when they were boys/' 
 
 " But they couldn't have been boys together," said 
 Percy, " there is a great difference in their ages." 
 
 " Only about ten years," said Jessie ; " I believe the 
 Colonel prolonged his boyhood into the twenties. He 
 was very wild in his youth." 
 
 "So was Philip, I'm sure," Percy replied; "I would 
 like to know all about it, but he is as close as an oyster 
 with me. I don't even know his age." 
 
 Jessie did not know how to answer this remark, so 
 she was silent. Soon her companion exclaimed 
 
 " Jessica Holcombe, how can you endure to stay down 
 here on this lonely plantation ! And yet you look as 
 serene as if you enjoyed it. For my part, I had rather 
 be a toad shut up in a mountain." 
 
 The young girl laughed, and said, " You know we do 
 not always fashion our own lives ; sometimes we must 
 make the best of circumstances that we cannot control." 
 
 " Nonsense," said Percy ; " you could get away from 
 Redbank if you made up your mind to do it Why. you
 
 142 RtiDBANK. 
 
 could get married most girls can, especially if they are 
 as handsome as you are. Why don't you marry some 
 rich fellow, and go to the city to live." 
 
 " That looks very easy, but I'm afraid I shall never 
 acquire a fortune in that way." 
 
 " Why not ? " 
 
 "Well," said Jessie, "in the first place, I am "not 
 likely to meet any rich fellows we are all poor at the 
 South now. In the second place, I would not marry 
 for money." 
 
 " Why, if the fellow was nice, and rich fellows usually 
 are, of course you would love him." 
 
 " I don't know about that ; but I'm sure I shall never 
 marry unless I truly love, and I shall never love any 
 man unless he is noble and good splendidly good. 
 Then, I sha'n't care a farthing whether he is rich or 
 not ! " 
 
 " What a funny girl you are," said Mrs. Philip ; 
 " wouldn't you really like to have a beautiful house in 
 a large city ? " 
 
 " Perhaps ; that would depend on a great many other 
 things ; but, even if I were rich, I think I would prefer 
 to have a home in the country." 
 
 " Well, wouldn't you like beautiful dresses and jewels 
 like mine ? " 
 
 " I have never cared much about such things. I sup 
 pose I might learn after a while to love them and want 
 them as other women do. But I hope not." 
 
 "Why? " and Mrs. Philip looked at her companion 
 intently, as if she were some new specimen of girl 
 hood. 
 
 " Percy," said Jessie, " I think it is wrong for women 
 to care so much for dress and style. It makes men 
 sordid and eager to make money."
 
 ttEDBANK. 143 
 
 " How ? " asked Mrs. Philip, " I don't understand." 
 
 " Dresses often cost a great deal of money ; men wish 
 to give their wives and daughters the things they want 
 the things that make them happy and so their lives 
 are spent in toiling to make money." 
 
 " Well," answered Percy, " what else is there to toil 
 for ? Every man wants to have some kind of business, 
 and of course he wants to succeed in it, and success 
 means making money." 
 
 " No, no," exclaimed Jessie, flushed and excited, 
 " success doesn't mean making money." 
 
 " Then what does it mean ? " 
 
 " A thousand other things, far better. I could not 
 tell you you would not understand." 
 
 " I'm not so stupid as you imagine," said Mrs. Philip, 
 somewhat piqued ; " I can understand most things quite 
 well : tell me what you mean." 
 
 " To make millions of dollars is not always to succeed 
 in life," said Jessie, very quietly. " The best men that 
 have ever lived the men who have done the most for 
 the world did not care for money at all. They worked 
 for something far better. St. Paul did not care for 
 money ; nor Luther." 
 
 " I am not talking about those people who lived ever 
 so long ago," replied Mrs. Philip ; " the world has 
 changed since then ; nowadays every man wants to 
 make a fortune. If he dies poor, he is considered a 
 failure." 
 
 " Well, I don't know much about it," said Jessie, feel 
 ing how hopeless it was to try to express what she really 
 meant, " but I believe there are many noble men in 
 the world now, who are doing all the good they can 
 without any thought of leaving a fortune behind them. 
 I know money is a good thing to have no one can live
 
 144 
 
 without at least a small amount of it. The poor mail 
 works for it, that he may buy bread for his family. It 
 is the consuming desire to make millions that seems so 
 awful to me. It seems to destroy a man's soul. But, 
 dear, we will not talk about it anymore. Tell me some; 
 thing about yourself your life at home." She knew 
 that Mrs. Philip enjoyed nothing so much as the story 
 of her past triumphs. Jessie had heard it all often be 
 fore ; but to-night she felt content to listen again, rather 
 than talk with one whose thoughts and feelings were 
 not in harmony with her own. Percy immediately threw 
 off all listlessness, and became the animated, brilliant 
 woman of the world. She began to recount her delight 
 ful experience at balls, masquerades, and operas. She 
 described with minutest details the grand receptions, 
 the magnificent dresses, the costly flowers. On her pretty 
 jeweled fingers she counted up the number of admirers 
 that she had had, and was proud to declare that more 
 than one had been quite desperate and threatened to com 
 mit suicide when his suit had been rejected. Finally, 
 she wound up by rehearsing the scenes of her wedding. 
 There had never been anything quite equal to it in her 
 native city two thousand guests at the church where 
 the ceremony had taken place, and five hundred at the 
 reception at the house, which had lasted three or four 
 hours, until she could scarcely stand for fatigue. The 
 banks of flowers were so fragrant, the lights were so 
 dazzling, and the moving crowd produced such confusion 
 in her tired brain, that at last she almost fainted on her 
 husband's arms. Here she always paused, that sensa 
 tion of faintness on the arm of her husband in her bridal 
 toilette, in the full blaze of chandeliers and the fragrant 
 atmosphere of flowers, with the brilliant, buzzing, fash 
 ionable world around, was just too delicious.
 
 EEDBANK. 145 
 
 " It must have been very brilliant," said Jessie, " but I 
 do not think I would care for such a wedding myself." 
 
 " Why not ? " asked Mrs. Philip. 
 
 " Well, a wedding is a very solemn event, like a relig 
 ious service, and I am afraid I would have my thoughts 
 dreadfully distracted by the presence of so many people. 
 I would like to be a little bit conscious of what I was 
 saying and doing." 
 
 " Oh ; I wasn't frightened in the least I'm not one 
 of that kind. I've been in society ever since I was in 
 long clothes. I knew perfectly well what I was saying 
 and doing. I even remembered in kneeling not to crush 
 the orange-blossoms that caught up the lace on the front 
 of my dress." 
 
 " You must have been self-possessed ; I'm afraid I 
 should forget all about the orange-blossoms and the dress 
 too," said Jessie, laughing. 
 
 " Well, I didn't, I knew perfectly well that I was 
 going to wear that same dress at my reception when I 
 returned home, and I didn't want to muss it in the least. 
 It is a lovely dress. I wish you could see it. It is of 
 cream white satin almost covered with white Spanish 
 lace, caught up here and there with sprays of orange- 
 blossom. The train is over two yards long." 
 
 " You must have looked beautiful," said Jessie ; " you 
 have so much color that even white satin would be 
 becoming. I have heard that it is a very trying 
 dress." 
 
 " Yes, it was very becoming to me ; the papers next 
 day were quite absurd. They said that I was the most 
 beautiful bride that had ever been seen in the city. I 
 cut out the pieces ; I will show them to you some day." 
 
 " I would like to see them," the young girl answered. 
 
 After a pause, Percy turned and said, sharply : 
 
 10
 
 146 REDBANK. 
 
 " Do you really mean to say that you would not like 
 a splendid wedding? I cannot believe you." 
 
 " Nevertheless, it is true," replied Jessie. 
 
 " Why ? " demanded Percy. 
 
 " I have already told you why." 
 
 " But that is no reason at all." 
 
 " Well," said Jessie, after a few moments' thought, 
 " it is not easy to explain my feelings but it seems to 
 me that everything about a marriage is uncertain ; you 
 never know how it is going to turn out, so I should 
 prefer to be very quiet about it." 
 
 " I don't see how a brilliant wedding could make a 
 marriage turn out badly," said Percy. 
 
 " I didn't say that but, if it did happen to turn out 
 unhappily, everybody would recall the great display." 
 
 " Why, Jessie Holcombe, you are a regular raven," 
 exclaimed Percy. 
 
 Jessie laughed. " I only mean that I should feel so 
 about my own wedding of course, not about other 
 people's." 
 
 " You must be very superstitious, then," said Mrs. 
 Philip, with a touch of contempt in her tone. " Well, 
 I always wanted a stunning affair when I got married, 
 and I have had it. Papa gratified every wish that I 
 expressed. I would not feel married at all, if it had 
 been done in a quiet, pokey way. I shall always recall 
 it with pleasure. Besides, when I go back, I shall be 
 inundated with calls. That will be ever so nice." 
 
 Just then Mr. Philip rapped at the door. " I have 
 lost my little wife," he said ; " is she in here ? Come, 
 my darling, it is time to go to bed." 
 
 So the good-nights were exchanged.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 ABOUT ten days after the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Philip Winston at Redbank, Harry Holcombe made his 
 appearance upon the scene. One morning when the 
 family assembled in the dining-room for breakfast, they 
 found him standing with his back to the fire, and his 
 hands crossed behind him. 
 
 He was looking splendidly as if he had come fresh 
 from a bath in the fountain of eternal youth. His thick 
 curling hair was tossed up carelessly, and his heavy 
 black mustache had an additional and most fascinating 
 twirl. He was dressed in a new suit of dark-gray, 
 which recalled his military days, and with the clothes 
 he seemed to have put on the old dashing manner. 
 
 " Why, Harry ! " exclaimed Mrs. Winston, who was 
 the first to see him ; " when did you come ? " 
 
 " On the midnight train," he replied. 
 
 " But the midnight train certainly does not come as 
 far as Redbank," she said, a little mystified. 
 
 " This one was an extra a special a chartered car 
 that brought me to the very door," he answered, with a 
 laugh. 
 
 " Ah ! " she said, and then was silent. She did not 
 like the mysterious air with which Harry surrounded 
 all his actions. 
 
 Lilian was overjoyed to see him, and hung about him 
 in her accustomed affectionate manner, to which he 
 warmly responded, pinching her ears, kissing her cheeks 
 and calling her " sweet bird " and " dear little pig."
 
 148 REDBANK. 
 
 Presently he caught her up in his arms for a long hug. 
 " Sweeter than all the sugar plums in the world ! " he 
 said, biting her rosy cheeks. 
 
 " Where have you been, Uncle Hal ? " she asked. 
 
 " Everywhere, Pet, even to the moon and the evening 
 star." 
 
 " I don't believe that," she cried, " you are an old 
 humbug." She always called him by this name, when 
 she was clever enough to discover he was jesting. 
 
 Soon Jessie appeared, and gave him a very kind 
 greeting. 
 
 " How well you are looking," she said. 
 
 " Am I ? " he answered, and he seemed much pleased 
 to receive so cordial a welcome from her. " Well, I've 
 been having a splendid time. I have been among a set 
 who appreciate my fine qualities, and they have petted 
 and spoiled me to my heart's content. It does a fellow 
 good sometimes to get a little petting." 
 
 Before Jessie could reply, Mr. Philip Winston entered 
 with Percy, the beautiful, radiant Percy, upon his arm. 
 They were much surprised to see their new addition to 
 the household. The introductions were made in proper 
 form, and both the lady and the gentleman surveyed the 
 guest with curiosity and interest. Mi's. Philip eyed 
 him with her well-bred stare. She was evidently im 
 pressed with his appearance, and gave him her hand 
 with a gracious smile. Last of all, the Colonel came 
 in ; he, too, was very cordial, and complimented Harry 
 on his .good looks. These kind greetings were very 
 gratifying to the young man, and he expanded into his 
 best and most genial self. When they were all seated 
 at the table, the Colonel turned to him and said, 
 
 " Well, now, give a report of yourself. Where have 
 you been ? Whence do you come ? "
 
 REDBANK. 149 
 
 " From going to and fro on the earth, and from walk- 
 ing up and down in it," was the ready response. 
 
 " That answer won't do," said the Colonel, laughing ; 
 " it is altogether too suggestive of a certain evil-minded 
 personage whom we are forbidden to mention in good 
 society." 
 
 " Well," answered Harry, " I've been to visit my old 
 Colonel Colonel Beaufort. You know him, I reckon ; 
 he lives in North Carolina. I've had an invitation of 
 long standing to make him a visit, and I concluded to 
 go in the summer. When I once got there, he would 
 not let me leave." 
 
 Why, yes," exclaimed the Colonel, " I know Stuart 
 Beauior'j (better than I know myself. How is he ? " 
 
 " Just a~, jolly as ever," the young man answered. 
 
 " Wha'j is he doing in North Carolina ? " was the next 
 question,, 
 
 "Kb wife is a North Carolinian, and she owns a 
 large plantation near Charlotte. He is living in capital 
 style entertains the whole United States." 
 
 " Just like him," said the Colonel, " he always did 
 have the biggest heart in the world. But that kind of 
 hospitality won't do for these days. He'll come to 
 grief, certain, if he keeps it up." 
 
 " I reckon not," Harry replied ; " his wife is very 
 rich has no end of stocks at the North. She was a 
 great heiress. I think it's a clever trick for a fellow to 
 marry an heiress. I shall try it myself some of these 
 days, when my wild oats are all sown." 
 
 Mr. Philip winced a little, as if aware that some mem 
 bers of the family might make a personal application of 
 the innocent remark to himself. Harry went on eating 
 his breakfast, perfectly unconscious that he had touched 
 a weak point in the gentleman's armor.
 
 150 REDBANK. 
 
 " By that time," said the Colonel, dryly, " I'm afraid 
 there won't be enough of you left for any girl to 
 marry." 
 
 Harry looked up at him, and smiled " That's one of 
 your mistakes. My heart is so perfectly immense that 
 no prodigality can exhaust its power of loving." 
 
 This gay badinage was just the kind of talk that Mrs. 
 Philip liked, and her brown eyes expressed a lively 
 interest in the young man who was evidently a master 
 of the tongue. He caught her looking at him, and 
 dared address a question to her. 
 
 " How do you like the Sunny South, Mrs. Winston ? 
 It is easy to see that you are not a native." 
 
 " I am perfectly in love with it," she exclaimed with 
 pretty enthusiasm, " only I'm not quite sure that it de 
 serves its name. We havo had two days of rain since 
 our arrival. But how can you tell that I'm not a 
 native ? " 
 
 " It wouldn't answer for me to say," he replied, with 
 a laugh. " My acquaintance with you is altogether too 
 short for such confidences." 
 
 Of course something complimentary was meant ; she 
 smiled consciously. 
 
 " Which means you may possibly tell me some time 
 in the future ? " she asked. 
 
 " Perhaps," he answered ; " but I'm sure your curi 
 osity is only a transient emotion." 
 
 " No, it isn't. My curiosity is a very permanent emo 
 tion. Isn't it, Philip ? " 
 
 " Indeed it is," answered that gentleman. " Some 
 times I think it is the only thing that holds you together 
 the centre of gravity, you know." 
 
 She laughed gayly and said, " I'm learning to bear 
 disparagement from you very bravely."
 
 EEDBANK. 151 
 
 " Disparagement ! " lie cried ; " I'm as innocent as a 
 lamb of any intention to disparage. I am only stating 
 a plain fact." 
 
 " With great exaggeration," she said, emphatically : 
 " you are entirely too old to exaggerate as you do that 
 is the fault of children." 
 
 Mr. Philip flushed slightly ; he did not like to be re 
 minded that he was no longer young. She saw the 
 heightened color, and was glad to tease him a little. 
 
 " How absurdly sensitive you are about your age. It is 
 simply ridiculous in a man. Now I like your mature 
 beauty. I never could have married a very young man." 
 
 " Do all the ladies where you came from feel the same 
 way ? " asked Harry. 
 
 " Yes," she said ; " why ? " 
 
 " Because I'm thinking of going there to settle." 
 
 " Do ! " she exclaimed ; " I'm sure you will like it. 
 It is a wonderful city, and growing so fast it almost 
 takes away your breath." 
 
 " But first I must find out, some way of imparting a 
 touch of maturity to my charms." 
 
 " Ah, that's easy enough ! " 
 
 "How?" 
 
 "Buy a gray wig. It will be awfully becoming." 
 They both laughed. 
 
 The Colonel was getting tired of this dialogue ; he 
 put an end to it by saying, " Philip, I want you to ride 
 with me this morning. 1 am going over the creek to 
 see those fields where the negroes have just finished pick 
 ing cotton. The yield has disappointed me. I want to 
 see if I can find out what's the matter." 
 
 " The negroes have probably been stealing it," said 
 Mr. Philip ; " I'll be very glad to go with you. What 
 time will you start ? "
 
 152 REDBANK. 
 
 " Directly we are through breakfast." . 
 
 " Colonel," said Percy, " you are very cruel to carry 
 him off somewhere eveiy day. I scarcely ever see him 
 from breakfast till lunch." 
 
 " Well, my dear, are you not glad to have him out of 
 the house ? " replied the Colonel. " You would not like 
 to see him sitting around all the time admiring you, 
 would you ? " 
 
 " Decidedly not," she answered, quickly ; " but " 
 
 she hesitated a moment. 
 
 " But what, my dear? " asked Mr. Philip. 
 
 She looked into his face, smiled and said, " Sometimes 
 I'm just a little lonely; everybody else, you know, is 
 busy." 
 
 " Then you must learn to be busy, too," the husband 
 replied. 
 
 " About what ? " she asked, innocently. 
 
 " I don't know make me a pair of pants," he said, 
 breaking into a laugh. 
 
 " You dreadful man ! " she cried ; " I would not make 
 you a pair of pants I would riot even try to make you 
 a pair, if you had nothing to wear, and there was not a 
 single tailor in the world." Everybody joined in the 
 laughter. 
 
 " Then, my dear, I would petition the courts for an 
 immediate divorce," said Mr. Philip. " Well, accept 
 another suggestion," he continued ; " sew on some 
 buttons for me, mend my gloves, darn my stockings. 
 There's lots to be done, if you will only look into my 
 trunk." 
 
 " I don't know how to do such things," she answered, 
 carelessly ; " I don't believe I have a needle in the 
 world."
 
 REDBANK. 153 
 
 " Miss Holcombe will lend you one, I'm sure," said 
 the husband. 
 
 " Perhaps she will sew on the buttons, also, and mend 
 the gloves ? " the young wife ventured to say, looking 
 at Jessie. 
 
 " No, thank you," replied Miss Holcombe ; " my serv 
 ices are not for hire ; not even when the cause is that 
 of neglected husbands." 
 
 " There, my dear," said Mr. Philip, nodding signifi 
 cantly at his wife, " it won't do to jest with Miss Hol 
 combe." 
 
 " Jessie is like a flash of lightning," exclaimed Harry. 
 " You must look out or you will be struck dead." 
 
 " At home that's the popular impression of all South 
 erners," the lady answered. 
 
 " Yes, we are kegs of powder ; a spark of fire will set 
 us off in a minute. I wonder you ventured to come 
 among us. It shows that you have a veiy brave heart." 
 
 " Perhaps it only shows that I do not share the pop 
 ular impression. For my part, I like Southerners 
 immensely." 
 
 Harry Holcombe bowed : " Allow me to return a 
 vote of thanks for the whole company here assembled. 
 It is very gratifying to see that you appreciate our good 
 qualities. It fills my bosom with patriotic pride." He 
 laid his hand impressively upon his heart. 
 
 " What an orator you are ! " cried Mrs. Philip. 
 
 "Do you think so? I have sometimes suspected as 
 much myself, but Redbank is a very bad place for 
 developing latent talents. Occasionally one is sat down 
 upon. The truth is there are several wits in our 
 family. Have you discovered the fact ? " 
 
 " I should think I have. If you were all to go to 
 Boston, you would be famous in a week."
 
 154 REDBANK. 
 
 " That's just my opinion," returned Harry. " I'm 
 thinking a little of leading the way. Won't you give 
 me a letter of introduction to somebody of note at the 
 ' Hub.' Some literary character you know ? " 
 
 The lady laughed. " I'm not from Boston ; even if I 
 were, I'm afraid I would not be acquainted in that set." 
 
 " I'm awfully sorry, because that's the set most to my 
 taste any success I achieve in life must be made in 
 that line of work. I'm great on an after-dinner speech, 
 especially if champagne has flowed freely." 
 
 This was a little too near the mark to suit either 
 Eleanor or Jessie. " Harry," said the latter, " do stop 
 your nonsense. What will Mrs. Winston think of 
 Southern gentlemen? She will be making contrasts 
 and reaching dreadful conclusions." 
 
 " Don't be alarmed about her conclusions," said Mr. 
 Philip, dryly. " She has a very illogical mind." 
 
 "All women have," Percy replied; "that's what 
 makes them so charming they cannot argue." 
 
 " You are mistaken, there," said her husband. " I 
 think most of them can argue ad infinitum" 
 
 " I mean they do not argue logically, they only jump 
 at conclusions, and I believe that men generally con 
 sider their conclusions very absurd." 
 
 " Yes," her husband answered quickly. " I know 
 one whose conclusions are almost always very absurd." 
 
 " Which, according to her statement, is the secret of 
 her being so charming," said the Colonel ; " but we 
 have had nonsense enough now." 
 
 He pushed his chair back from the table, and they all 
 got up. Eleanor turned to Harry, as he was about to 
 leave the dining-room, and said : 
 
 " I wish you would go out this morning and kill some 
 partridges for us ; we have not had any this fall and
 
 EEDBANK. 155 
 
 Peyton says the fields and woods are swarming with 
 them." 
 
 " All right ; I will go immediately and hunt up the 
 dogs. I'm afraid my gun needs cleaning, but I reckon 
 I can manage Avith it this morning." 
 
 " Well, I rely upon you for a game-course at dinner." 
 
 "All right," he again replied. 
 
 When they found themselves upon the piazza, they 
 paused a moment, and then paired off. The Colonel 
 and Mr. Philip lighted their cigars, and strolled down to 
 the stables. Jessie and Lilian went to the hammock, and 
 the child was soon laughing merrily as she swung back 
 and forth. Mrs. Philip Winston and Harry Holcombe 
 by some subtle attraction moved off together, and sought 
 a distant corner where the sunshine fell warm and bright. 
 Here they stood, leaning on the balustrade, chatting and 
 jesting and dallying for more than an hour. Percy was 
 in her element, she had at length found an admirer, for 
 the gentleman's gaze was full of admiration, and his 
 tongue only too ready to fashion the delicate compli 
 ments that she loved. She was certainly a charming 
 creature to look at as she stood there in the sunlight, 
 turning her pretty head from side to side, and smiling 
 her arch little smiles. She was dressed in a negliyg 
 costume of pale blue cashmere with puffings of silk and 
 jabots of white lace. Nothing could have been more 
 becoming. 
 
 Harry had never seen a creature quite so bewitching, 
 and, minute by minute, was falling more hopelessly 
 under the spell of her fascination. He felt almost pow 
 erless to break away. At last, Eleanor came out of the 
 dining-room, where she had been reading the news 
 papers, and joined them. 
 
 " What, Harry ! not gone yet ? " she exclaimed; " I'm
 
 156 KEDBANK. 
 
 afraid the game-course will be wanting on our bill of 
 fare this evening." 
 
 " Not if I can help it," he answered, " there's time 
 enough. Where are all the dogs ? " and he strolled 
 down the front steps, and began to whistle. Soon 
 Beppo, his favorite pointer, answered to the call, arid 
 then the gentleman went off to hunt up his gun and 
 game-bag and to change his clothes for high boots and 
 a shooting jacket. Presently, he was equipped, and 
 waving a graceful adieu to the ladies, he started off 
 towards the woods. Mrs. Winston and Percy stood on 
 the piazza and watched him until he disappeared from 
 sight. 
 
 " Your brother is perfectly splendid," said the latter; 
 " I've lost my heart." 
 
 " I didn't know you had any of your own to lose," 
 replied Eleanor ; " Harry's a sad flirt you must look 
 out for him." 
 
 "Oh! I'm up to all that," said Percy; "don't be 
 afraid for me I've flirted ever since I was out of baby- 
 clothes." 
 
 "But now you are married, it is time to stop," re 
 turned the elder lady. 
 
 " Why ? It is perfectly harmless, isn't it ? and it's 
 such fun." 
 
 " It is not always perfectly harmless, my dear ; and 
 your husband may not like it. I am afraid you have 
 not yet realized what a very serious thing it is to be 
 married." 
 
 Percy was quiet for a few moments, as if she were 
 busy thinking, then she said : " You are right. It 
 seemed perfectly splendid to buy a magnificent trous 
 seau, and to have a stunning wedding ; but it has been 
 rather dull ever since."
 
 REDBANK. 157 
 
 " You ought to have something to do, Percy," said 
 Mrs. Winston ; " I hope when you return home you 
 will not board. Philip must take a house, and then you 
 will find plenty to occupy your time." 
 
 " I would like that exceedingly ; I have so many 
 lovely friends, and could give charming entertainments." 
 Percy paused a while, and then continued : " But do 
 you know, I don't believe that Philip cares for society. 
 If he does not, it will break my heart." 
 
 Eleanor laughed. " Don't talk about broken hearts ; 
 I hope, dear, that yours may never have even a little 
 ache." 
 
 " I hope so too," said the young creature. " Mamma, 
 my step-mother, I mean, used to say, that I did not have 
 enough of a heart to break or even to ache ; but she is 
 a horrid, spiteful thing, and wanted me married, dread 
 fully. How she does manage papa ! It's a perfect 
 shame." 
 
 No more was said, but Eleanor went off to her morn 
 ing duties with a new thought. This, then, was the 
 secret of the marriage, hitherto so inexplicable to her. 
 The clever step-mother had married off the pretty step 
 daughter who was in her way. Philip, old and wary as 
 he was, had allowed himself to be fascinated by youth, 
 beaut}' and wealth, and Percy had been captivated by 
 the fine manners of a thorough man of the world. 
 Eleanor felt a vague apprehension about the future of 
 this newly-wedded pair. 
 
 Marriage is not altogether clear sailing, even when 
 the sea is calm, the ship sea-worthy ; and the crew loyal 
 and well-trained. Sudden gales will spring up in the 
 most unexpected manner. But when the ship has a 
 leak at the start, and the crew cannot be trusted, there 
 is indeed danger of a wreck before the voyage is over.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE acquaintance between Mrs. Philip Winston and 
 Harry Holcombe advanced with rapid strides. Morn 
 ing after morning, they lounged for hours on the piazza 
 in the warm sunshine, and chatted in that familiar 
 fashion which indicates perfect understanding and sym 
 pathy. Mr. Philip Winston quietly ignored the grow 
 ing intimacy. He had that grand manner that always 
 seems to look over the heads of others. He appeared 
 scarcely to see either Harry or Percy. Ever since his 
 arrival at Redbank he had treated his beautiful bride 
 with the well-bred indifference which is considered good 
 form in fashionable societ}^. He seemed to find all the 
 entertainment and happiness his soul desired in the 
 companionship of his brother. Together, they rode, 
 walked, talked, and smoked ; the affairs of the planta 
 tion apparently absorbed them both. Percy, poor child, 
 had been left to her own devices to find amusement in 
 some shape for herself. Unfortunately, her resources 
 were meagre, and, during the long days, she had suf 
 fered much from ennui, but she had borne it without 
 complaint. Now, at length, there was some one else, 
 idle as herself some one who was willing to give her a 
 little attention, and assist her in killing time. Can we 
 wonder that she welcomed this knight ? that she had 
 a smile and a beckoning gesture for him whenever he 
 appeared in sight? 
 
 When the Colonel and his brother had ridden off
 
 11EDBANK. 159 
 
 after breakfast, and all the other members of the family 
 were busy with the tasks of the day, these two idlers 
 would resume the thread of their flirtation. 
 
 One morning, sweet and summery as June, Mrs. 
 Philip was sitting on the piazza in an easy-chair, 
 looking delightfully comfortable and happy. Lilian and 
 the baby were at play in a distant corner of the yard, and 
 she was getting an insipid kind of entertainment from 
 watching them. Mr. Holcombe had not made his 
 appearance at the breakfast table, and she was wonder 
 ing what was the matter. No one had seemed to notice 
 his absence, and she had wisely decided to ask no ques 
 tions. Suddenly she gave a little start, and adjusted 
 her dress in more graceful folds. There he was ! com 
 ing up the avenue with two or three dogs behind him, 
 and his gun carelessly slung over his shoulder. He had 
 been out hunting then ; he had not gone off to parts 
 unknown. As he approached the house, he called a 
 little negro boy to come arid carry his well-filled game- 
 bag to the kitchen. Then he lounged up the steps of 
 the piazza, and threw himself lazily down in a chair near 
 her. 
 
 " Where have you been ? " asked Mrs. Philip " you 
 look tired." 
 
 " Out hunting," he replied ; " I like to go out early 
 in the morning, when everything is fresh." 
 
 " Where did you get your breakfast ? " asked the lady, 
 " you were not at the table this morning." 
 
 ki Thank you for missing me. I did not get any 
 breakfast. I did not want any. I have been feeding 
 on the nectar and ambrosia of my thoughts," he said, 
 looking at her, and smiling. 
 
 " Then you must be awfully hungry now ; do go 
 and get something to eat."
 
 160 HEDBANK. 
 
 " Don't trouble your tender little heart about me," 
 he answered ; " I'm so comfortable that I could not be 
 hired to stir. The thought of bread and meat does not 
 tempt me. Man does not live by bread alone." 
 
 " Hush ! " she said, with a little laugh ; " you must 
 not be so wicked as to quote Scripture." 
 
 "I thought that it was written especially for the 
 wicked," he replied, joining in her laugh. 
 
 " Well, we won't argue about it now. Tell me what 
 success you have had. How many birds did you 
 kill?" 
 
 " Twenty-five and two rabbits ; the game is amazingly 
 plentiful, but it is rather tiresome to go hunting all 
 alone. I'm a confounded sociable fellow, and am 
 always longing for companionship." 
 
 " Why don't you invite the -Colonel or Philip to 
 accompany you on your hunts ? " 
 
 "Because they would be far more likely to shoot 
 themselves or me than to shoot anything else. Whew ! 
 they look down upon sport from an Olympian 
 height." 
 
 " I observe that they are very willing to eat the game 
 when it comes on the table." 
 
 " Yes, that's human nature ; but their time is far too 
 valuable to be spent in killing it." 
 
 " Do tell me," she inquired, " what is it that they do, 
 day after day ? They ride off, or walk off, and talk, and 
 talk, as if very important business was on hand, but one 
 can't make out what it's all about." 
 
 " That's the sacred truth," he answered, " they both 
 consider me a good-for-nothing fellow, hardly worth the 
 powder and shot it would take to shoot me, and yet 
 when I go off I do bring home a bag full of game. I trulv 
 believe, if I were married I could support myself and
 
 REDKANK. 161 
 
 my wife with that old shot gun. Wouldn't it be jolly, 
 living down here in these swamps in a little log cabin, 
 and eating nothing but game ? " 
 
 " Awfully jolly ! " she answered. 
 
 " Do you think there is a woman in the world who 
 would share such a lot?" he asked. 
 
 " I'm afraid not," she said, -shaking her head. 
 
 "Not if I allowed her to accompany me on the 
 hunts?" 
 
 " Well, that might furnish a little excitement, but 
 scarcely enough to satisfy any woman that I know. 
 They may be different down here. Do tell me," she 
 asked, after a little pause, " why you find hunting so 
 fascinating ? It seems very cruel to me." 
 
 " Yes, it is perhaps, when one stops to think about 
 it," he answered. " I suppose it must be because we all 
 have some of the blood of that old savage ourang-outang 
 ancestor still flowing in our veins, and now and then the 
 impulse to kill seizes us. I frankly acknowledge that 
 I'm a savage just about as hopeless a specimen as can 
 be found anywhere, whether it's in Africa, or New 
 Guinea, or the South Sea Islands. The truth is, there 
 are lots of heathen down here, Mrs. Winston. There's 
 'plenty of room for missionary work. Don't you want 
 to embark in it ? " 
 
 Percy smiled and said, " I'm afraid it is not my 
 vocation." 
 
 " Suppose you try and see," he replied ; " you may 
 stumble upon an unknown talent. I'm an excellent 
 subject for beginning your experiments on. Shall I 
 give you a list of my vices in order to prove how great 
 is my need of missionary effort ? " 
 
 " Do ! " she exclaimed ; " it will be very amusing." 
 
 " Well, first of all, I'm dreadfully idle." 
 
 11
 
 162 EEDBANK. 
 
 " So am I I'm afraid I could not undertake to cure 
 you of that fault." 
 
 " Without first curing yourself," he said, with a laugh. 
 
 " That would be impossible," she replied, u it is in 
 born, engrained, a part of my very self. It would be 
 necessary to annihilate me before you could get rid of 
 it. But what's next on the list ? " 
 
 " Then I'm extravagant ; the very worst sin in the 
 world to be joined with laziness." 
 
 " Why, that's another of my faults," she said, break 
 ing into a merry laugh. " What next ? " 
 
 " Thirdly, I'm puffed up with vanity and conceit so 
 some people think." 
 
 " Well, so am I," exclaimed Percy, with another peal 
 of laughter; "I cannot attempt to cure you of that 
 either." 
 
 " Fourthly," and here Harry paused a moment, 
 " I'm an awful flirt." 
 
 " And so am I." 
 
 He looked at her intently. 
 
 " It seems to me we are very much alike ; I have 
 never before met a person so completely the counter 
 part of myself. But let me go on with the faults. I 
 was at fifthly, wasn't I ? " She laughed and nodded 
 her head. He was really a very entertaining fellow. 
 
 " Well, fifthly, I am very fond of my own way. 
 'When I make up my mind to do a thing, there's no 
 power under heaven that can turn me." 
 
 " Just the same with me." 
 
 " Then, sixthly," continued Harry, " I'm awfully 
 fond of display and style and all kinds of fiddlesticks." 
 
 " So am I ! " she again exclaimed. 
 
 " Seventhly, I'm fond of filthy lucre I would like a 
 purse so long that there was no bottom to it."
 
 REDBANK. 163 
 
 So would I ! " 
 
 They both laughed heartily as if they found the 
 recital very amusing. Soon she said, " There, I think 
 the catalogue is long enough now ; you may stop." 
 
 " I am glad you permit me to pause, for it is some 
 what fatiguing; but I assure you that I could go on 
 forever, like Tennyson's brook." 
 
 " Please don't," she entreated, " I am convinced of 
 your benighted condition, and my own too." 
 
 " I hope you are also convinced that our souls are 
 cast in somewhat the same .noble mould. We ought 
 to be good friends." 
 
 " I'm not so sure of that," was her reply ; " it is said 
 that opposites attract." 
 
 " Opposition of character, but similarity of taste." 
 
 "Well, is it the characters or the tastes that are alike 
 here ? " she asked ; " I confess I can't make it out." 
 
 " I must get a slate and pencil to find that out," he 
 said, with a light laugh. "Whenever I'm in doubt 
 about a thing, I go to algebra, and say, let x represent 
 the unknown quantity. One can find out anything that 
 way." 
 
 " Except a woman's meaning," she said. 
 
 " Except a woman's meaning ! " he echoed, and then 
 they were both silent. 
 
 " How delicious this sunshine* is ! " she exclaimed 
 after a while ; " I would like to bottle some of it up, and 
 send it to my friends at home. People rave over Italy, 
 but I'm sure it is no better than this." 
 
 " Have you been there ? " he asked. 
 
 " Yes, twice. The first time, I did not like it at all. 
 It was in winter, and the weather was very wet and 
 cold. We spent most of the time in Florence and Rome, 
 and I assure you we came near freezing. The last time,
 
 164 REDKANK. 
 
 it was spring, and we went through Southern Italy 
 and down to Sicily. That was delicious. Mamma 
 step-mamma, I mean," and she laughed, " said I liked 
 it because there were several young gentlemen in our 
 part}^. She even accused me of flirting in the streets of 
 Pompeii, but I assure you it was a libellous attack on my 
 character. You would not believe such a thing of me, 
 would you ? " 
 
 " By no means ! " he replied, " I hope you prosecuted 
 her, and recovered damages." 
 
 " No, I'm not vindictive," she laughingly answered. 
 " I left her to be punished by her own conscience." 
 
 " Tell me something more about Italy," he said. 
 
 " There is nothing to tell," she replied " I hate trav 
 elling and sight-seeing. One has to tramp around until 
 one is tired to death, and poke into old holes and cellars, 
 and keep up a perpetual scream ' Oh ! how beauti 
 ful ! ' I cannot tell you how glad I was to get back to 
 Paris ! " 
 
 " And what did you enjoy so much in Paris ? " 
 
 " Everything ; but especially the shops and the drives 
 in the Bois. You ought to go there. I know you 
 would like it." 
 
 He smiled, and said, " I don't doubt it in the least ; 
 perhaps, I will go, when I marry my heiress." 
 
 " You had better go there to find her. The city is 
 perfectly infested with wealthy foreigners. Everybody 
 goes there who wants to have a good time. One sees 
 swarms of American girls, and many of them are beau 
 tiful ! Do you know that the American girls are now 
 considered the most beautiful in the world ? " 
 
 " That is just my opinion," said the gentleman. 
 " The most beautiful woman I ever saw is an Ameri 
 can."
 
 REVBANK. 165 
 
 " Who is she ? " asked Mrs. Philip. " Where does 
 she live ? How I would like to see her ! " 
 
 " Well, at present, she is not very far from an old 
 plantation house in the State of Georgia." 
 
 " You are a dreadful flatterer," exclaimed the lady, 
 with a conscious blush. 
 
 " Why, I have not spoken one word of flattery," 
 replied the gentleman, very innocently. 
 
 " But your meaning was evident enough." 
 
 " I am glad you can read my meaning so well," he 
 said, looking at her fixedly from under his half-closed 
 lids. 
 
 " Do you know you have a real military air," she 
 said to him, after quite a long break in the conversation. 
 " To look at you, I would think that you were an officer 
 in the army." 
 
 " I was once," he replied, " but that was long ago in 
 the hoary past." 
 
 " Did you like it ? " she asked. 
 
 " Immensely ; it is the only profession that I would 
 care to follow. It suits me exactly, for my temperament 
 is spasmodic. The truth is, I'm seriously thinking of 
 offering my valuable military services to one of the 
 despots of the Old World the Czar or the Sultan, for 
 instance ; only I would want a staff appointment, and 
 that might be a little hard to get. I'm beginning to 
 doubt my capacity for active service I fear I'm rather 
 played out, and will have to take things easy for the 
 brief remainder of life. Nothing now suits me so well 
 as a hammock in the sunshine. I'm afraid that the 
 most eventful period of existence is past for me. If I 
 were a Frenchman, I would try to get a snug little cor 
 ner in the Hotel des Invalides.^ 
 
 "What an absurd fellow you are!" cried Mrs.
 
 166 REtiBANK. 
 
 Philip, laughing at his soliloquy. " You are not much 
 over twenty, I'm sure, and yet, to hear you talk, one 
 would imagine you were in the nineties." 
 
 " True," he said ; " but my years have been long. 
 That makes the difference between you and me. Your 
 years have been all summers, and mine all winters, and 
 I suppose fate has just the same in store for me in the 
 future." He lay back in the easy-chair, and twirled 
 his mustache as if it did not much matter the sunshine 
 just then was so warm, and the lady opposite so con 
 foundedly pretty ! 
 
 " I hope not," she answered, putting a little tender 
 ness into her tone. 
 
 " If my hard lot excites your pity, I am content to 
 bear it," he said, with a mock-heroic air. 
 
 " Now, don't begin to talk nonsense ! " the lady ex 
 claimed ; " you know perfectly well that you don't care 
 a fig for ladies ; they have never entered at all into your 
 thoughts." 
 
 " Not until recently," he remarked ; " I confess they 
 have always floated before my eyes like airy nothings ; 
 but now I am beginning to look at them a little more 
 seriously at least one of them. You know I am still 
 very young." 
 
 " How perfectly inconsistent you are ! " she said ; " a 
 moment ago, you were very old at least ninety-nine, 
 and now you are in your teens, and as innocent as a 
 school-girl. Really, you amuse me very much. I have 
 never seen anybody like you, before ! " 
 
 " And are you fond of novelties ? " he asked. 
 
 " Why do you wish to know ? " 
 
 " Because then I might be able to guess your opinion 
 of a "certain poor fellow in whom I'm a little inter 
 ested."
 
 167 
 
 " I'm afraid he would not care for my opinion, so I 
 will leave both you and him in the dark." 
 
 " There you are mistaken," he answered ; " your opin 
 ion would weigh against that of the whole round 
 world." 
 
 " You can talk more nonsense than any fellow I ever 
 met," she exclaimed, with a laugh. 
 
 " And do you like nonsense ? " he asked. 
 
 " It is the only kind of sense I do like," was the 
 reply. 
 
 " Then I shall talk it forever and ever," he said, sink 
 ing his voice almost to a whisper. 
 
 Before she could reply to this remark, Mrs. Winston 
 stepped out on the piazza and joined them. Harry 
 arose and handed her a chair, but in his heart he felt 
 that she was de trap. Of late, she had often appeared 
 suddenly, and interrupted his charming conversations 
 with Mrs. Philip. Was it by chance, or by design? 
 He could not tell, but he had a vague suspicion that it 
 was by design.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THAT afternoon, Harry Holcombe went out in the 
 back-yard to clean his gun. This was a performance 
 which always gave Lilian great delight ; she seated her 
 self on the steps to watch him. Before he had finished 
 his task, Percy and Jessie came out on the back piazza ; 
 in the afternoon it was the sunny side of the house, and, 
 at this season of the year, when the weather was warm 
 and fine, it was often selected as the sitting-room of the 
 family. The ladies soon found themselves almost as 
 much interested as was Lilian in the work of the young 
 man. Mrs. Philip was particularly amused by his cos 
 tume. He had on a butler's apron and looked very 
 funny, Lilian thought. 
 
 " Uncle Hal," she cried, " you look exactly like 
 Uncle Oliver." 
 
 " You saucy puss ! " he said, " you shall answer for 
 that disrespectful remark." He put down his gun and 
 ran towards her, but she eluded him by rushing down 
 the steps into the yard ; there they had a long chase, 
 for the little maiden was fleet of foot, and it was some 
 time before the gentleman caught her. When she was 
 at length a captive in his arms he kissed her, and tickled 
 her, and tossed her up and down, until she cried loudly 
 for mercy. Soon he brought her on the piazza, and 
 seating himself on an old joggling-board in a corner, he 
 began to joggle her furiously, indulging in all kinds of 
 boyish capers himself.
 
 REDBANK. 169 
 
 " What is the matter with you, Uncle Hal ? " she 
 cried out more than once. " You are too funny for 
 anything to-day." 
 
 " I've been sipping the elixir," he whispered. 
 
 " What is the elixir? " she asked, much mystified. 
 
 " Why, it's something that makes grown people little 
 children again. I've found a bottle of it," and he 
 gave her a sly wink, "and now I'm a little boy again. 
 Isn't it jolly? Whenever I feel grown-up hereafter, 
 I'm going to take a drop or two, and become little again, 
 like Alice in Wonderland, you know. 
 
 " Sweet bird," he continued, solemnly, " never, never 
 consent to grow up to be a young lady, do you hear ? " 
 
 "But how can I help it? you know I have to grow." 
 
 " You mustn't eat," he whispered, mysteriously. 
 
 " Not even when I'm hungry ? " she asked opening her 
 eyes wide with astonishment. 
 
 "Not even when you are hungry," he echoed in a 
 sepulchral tone. 
 
 " Why I must I cannot help it." 
 
 " Anyhow, you must manage not to grow up ; ladies 
 are not half as sweet as little girls they are always 
 doing some mischief and getting other people into 
 trouble." 
 
 " Are they ? " asked the child with innocent surprise. 
 
 ' Yes," he whispered. " Let me tell you a dreadful 
 secret which I have just found out. Little girls when 
 they grow up turn into witches ! " 
 
 " Why, Uncle Hal, what do you mean ? now I know 
 you are an old humbug." 
 
 " No, I'm not," he said, shaking his head. 
 
 " Aunt Percy isn't a witch, I'm perfectly sure." 
 
 " Yes, she is," was the awful reply ; " she mounts her 
 broom-stick every night after we have all gone to bed,
 
 170 REDBANK. 
 
 and rides through the air with all the rest of them. 
 Aunt Jessie goes along too. They are both awfully 
 sly about it, but I have seen them lots of times." 
 
 The little girl broke into a peal of laughter to signify 
 her incredulity ; Percy and Jessie joined in the mirth, 
 for they had heard every word of the conversation. 
 
 " You need not laugh," he said ; " it is just as true as 
 preserved ginger and orange marmalade. And, sweet 
 bird, I'm awfully afraid for you ; I'm sure you will 
 grow up into a perfectly dreadful witch, and bewitch 
 all the poor foolish young men in the country ; I see 
 it in your eyes this very minute." 
 
 " I won't do any such thing ! " she cried, indignantly. 
 
 " We'll see," he replied, solemnly, beginning to joggle 
 her again. 
 
 After a while he released her, and then came and sat 
 down quietly near the ladies. 
 
 " Well," said Mrs. Philip, who had never before seen 
 him in such a mood, " are you ready to subside now ? " 
 
 " Yes," he answered, " I think I've had enough to 
 last me six months. I must have a frolic every now 
 and then, or I feel as if I had a bone in my back." 
 
 " What do you mean, you absurd fellow ? " she ex 
 claimed, laughing. " I thought you had several bones 
 in your back." 
 
 "No," he answered, " my anatomy is very defective ; 
 I haven't got my full share of either bones or brains." 
 
 " Harry," exclaimed Jessie, joining in the laughter, 
 " pray don't talk so much nonsense. Percy will really 
 think that you are demented." 
 
 " No, she won't," he said, very soberly ; " don't you 
 suppose I know an angel when I see one ? I often 
 see them in my dreams." 
 
 u Percy would not feel complimented if she knew the
 
 REDBANK. 171 
 
 kind of angels you are accustomed to see in your 
 dreams," replied Jessie, and she indulged in so violent 
 a fit of laughter, that Mrs. Philip entreated the gentle 
 man to explain what his sister meant. 
 
 " Do tell me what kind of angels you see," she 
 begged ; " favor me with a description of one, please." 
 
 41 What are you laughing at, Jessica ? " he asked. 
 
 " Don't you remember the peculiar variety you saw 
 at Culpeper C. H. ? " she replied. 
 
 " Give us the anecdote by all means," exclaimed Mrs. 
 Philip. 
 
 " Well," he said, " it was a long time ago, when I 
 was a young thing, and couldn't leave my mother, or at 
 least ought not to have left her. This is a war tale, 
 you know." 
 
 " Charming ! " she cried, " go on ! " 
 
 " One night after being relieved from very fatiguing 
 vidette duty, I found an old deserted house, and thought 
 I would enter and take a little nap before returning to 
 camp. Luckily I found a bed in one of the rooms on 
 the ground floor, for the family had refugeed and left 
 everything. I was very tired, and threw myself down 
 on it to rest awhile. The night was very hot, and the 
 moon was shining, so I left my window wide open. It 
 was so near the ground that a child could have climbed 
 in. There was not a soul within miles, and everything 
 was as still as death. I fell asleep almost immediately. 
 About midnight, I was awakened by awful sounds 
 cries, groans, screams. I started up in bed, and rubbed 
 my eyes. There in the window, right in the moon 
 light, was the most dreadful, the most unearthly being 
 that I had ever beheld gray-headed, gray-bearded, 
 flaming eyes, and, worst of all, hoofs and horns. I 
 thought surely that my time had come ; my sins flashed
 
 172 REDBACK. 
 
 through my mind like forked lightning, and I was 
 preparing to surrender without a struggle, when the 
 awful silence was again broken by a loud ba-a-a-a-ah ! 
 At first, I thought it was the language of the lower 
 regions, but soon I saw my mistake. It was only a 
 goat a pet goat of the family to whom the house 
 belonged. It had been left behind in the general 
 stampede, and I suppose was almost dead from hunger. 
 It was standing outside on the ground, with its fore-feet 
 on the window-sill. I flung my pillow at it, and then 
 lay down and went to sleep again." 
 
 " Which anecdote proves your liability to mistake 
 goats for angels," said Percy ; " I shall remember that." 
 
 " Nothing of the kind," replied the young man ; " it 
 only proves that it is not healthy to sleep on the ground 
 floor." 
 
 Before Percy could answer this remark, the Colonel 
 and Mr. Philip, who had been smoking in the library, 
 came out on the piazza and joined the ladies. The 
 latter drew a chair up close to his wife, and said: 
 
 " Well, my dear, aren't you enjoying this ? " 
 
 " Enjoying what ? " she asked. 
 
 " Why, everything ; the sunshine, the blue sky, this 
 beautiful veranda, tin's quiet country scene, and last 
 but not least, this pleasant company." 
 
 " Of course, I'm enjoying the pleasant company, but 
 I'm afraid that I prefer Art to Nature," she replied, 
 " and the city to the country." 
 
 " Now, that seems perfectly incomprehensible to me ! " 
 exclaimed Mr. Philip. " My dear, I call Redbank a 
 terrestrial paradise. I like everything about the de 
 lightful old place. It is a real haven of rest. But espe 
 cially do I enjoy this hour near sunset, when the cows 
 and the horses, and the mules, and the dogs, and the cats,
 
 REDBANK. 173 
 
 and the pigs, and the ducks, and the chickens, are all let 
 loose in that lot," and he pointed to a large enclosure in 
 the rear of the stables and plainly visible from the 
 piazza where they were sitting. Here the stock were 
 all fed late in the afternoon. " It makes me feel young 
 again," he continued, " to hear the lowing arid the 
 neighing, the barking and the cackling, the quacking 
 and the grunting." 
 
 " And this from our elegant, fastidious brother, who 
 has for years lived in a great city, and delighted in 
 fashionable society ! " said the Colonel. " Really, I'm 
 amazed, Philip." 
 
 " Allow me to assure you that I mean what I say," 
 the gentleman replied. " I have lived in the city until I 
 hate it. The glare and style and artificial atmosphere 
 sickens and disgusts me. A breath of pure country air is 
 worth more than all the cities in America. I believe 
 that it was intended by the Creator that man should 
 live in the country, and cultivate the ground. In these 
 latter days, he has become entirely perverted, and the 
 millennium will never come until there is a change. 
 We must become quieter in our manners, simpler in our 
 tastes, and purer in our morals, and the country is the 
 place for this reformation." As he spoke, there was 
 a half smile upon his face ; it was not easy to know 
 whether he meant what he said or not. His young wife 
 looked at him with a well-feigned expression of dismay 
 in her brown eyes. 
 
 " How long have you been holding these new doc 
 trines ? " she asked. 
 
 " For a long time, but I have not dared to express 
 them." 
 
 " I suppose you selected me as the proper help-meet 
 in carrying them out."
 
 174 REVBANK. 
 
 " Of course I did," he answered, still smiling. 
 
 " I am afraid that some day your sins will overtake 
 you and great will be your repentance." She laughed 
 as she uttered these words ; then, rising from her seat, 
 she said, " Come, Jessie, let's go for a walk, before the 
 sun sets." Harry also arose, and strolled off with them 
 down the avenue. He was soon chatting with Percy, 
 in his usual light manner. Jessie did not like to see 
 them so free and easy with each other ; she did not like 
 the unconstrained personal allusions and compliments 
 Avhich were tossed to and fro between them, like bon 
 bons at a carnival. She wondered how Percy could for 
 get her dignity as a wife ; she wondered how Harry 
 could keep up such senseless badinage from noon till 
 night. To her it seemed that the two were drifting 
 into a dangerous intimacy. 
 
 Percy was young, vain, and thoughtless ; and Harry 
 was very sincere in his admiration for her. He had 
 never before seen quite such a woman; she was so 
 bright, so stylish, so ready, so fascinating, so exquisitely 
 artificial, so profoundly trained x in all the subtle ways 
 of society. The daintiness of everything about her was 
 a perpetual delight to him. The jewelled hands with 
 the costly laces falling over them ; the white throat 
 with its band of black velvet on which shone a blazing 
 diamond; the little feet encased in silk stockings and 
 high-heeled slippers ; the sweep of her velvet trains ; 
 the perfume that hung around her ; he felt it all, and 
 thrilled to its inexplicable charm, as a musician to the 
 harmony of deep chords. 
 
 Percy, on her side, had never met just such a man as 
 Harry Holcombe. He was brilliant, dashing, reckless, 
 with no taint of business about him, and no studied, 
 drawing-room polish. He was utterly unconscious, and
 
 REDBACK. 175 
 
 the grace of nature was in all that he said and did. Is 
 it a wonder, then, that each felt the attraction of the 
 other? Is it strange that both Eleanor and Jessie 
 realized that there might be danger ahead ? At length, 
 these two had a talk over it. "I'm vexed beyond 
 measure at the thoughtlessness of Harry," said the 
 former ; " he ought to know better than to carry on in 
 that way with a married woman. Philip's of a very 
 jealous disposition, and just as soon as he sees it, you 
 may be sure there will be a scene. I cannot forgive him 
 for marrying that young creature ; at his age, he ought 
 have known better. They do not care at all for the 
 same things, and there will be perpetual collisions ; 
 I'm afraid her money was the great attraction in his 
 eyes." 
 
 u Don't say that, Eleanor, she is certainly pretty and 
 fascinating enough to attract any man. I .have fallen 
 completely under her spells myself. If I were a man I 
 know I would be bewitched too." 
 
 " Well, Philip has seen too many beautiful women to 
 be captivated by a mere Paris doll." 
 
 " She is more than that," said Jessie. " She seems 
 very giddy, but she is not soulless. She possesses both 
 mind and character." 
 
 " A new edition of Nettie Hunter, bound in velvet 
 with gold clasps," replied Mrs. Winston. 
 
 " That type of woman is becoming very common, 
 North, South, East and West, one finds pretty coquettes 
 in flocks, like sparrows. Don't be too full of con 
 tempt, Nell ; after all, they are very charming, and 
 they do get much more out of life than the sober 
 ones. Sometimes I envy them and long to be like 
 them." 
 
 " I don't believe you, Jessica Holcombe."
 
 176 . REDBANK. 
 
 " It is nevertheless true. Nettie Hunter has always 
 fascinated me and so does Percy." 
 
 . " There is a difference between them after all," said 
 Mrs. Winston ; " Nettie is more restless and full of 
 chatter, but she has at bottom a very warm and loving 
 heart, and some sense of right and wrong. Percy has 
 the self-possession and repose of the fashionable woman 
 and the hardness of one of her diamonds. She enjoys 
 playing with Hariy there is no other amusement 
 within reach, but she will never care a fig for any one 
 but herself." 
 
 " You are too severe, Eleanor." 
 
 " No, I'm not, and, Jessie, I do wish you would speak 
 to Harry and advise him to let her alone." 
 
 " It would do no good. I have no influence over him. 
 He would laugh at me, and call me a pious little prude ; 
 besides, he is not always amiable when one gives him 
 advice." 
 
 " I did hope that Alice Brooks would accept him," 
 said Eleanor. " She is just the wife for him, and would 
 make a man of him. With all his faults, he has good 
 stuff in him." 
 
 " I hoped so too," said Jessie ; " I think she liked him 
 very much, and I believe he really loved her, but there 
 was interference from some quarter." 
 
 " It is a great pity that people will interfere in such 
 matters," Mrs. Winston replied. 
 
 " I'm not surprised in this case, for Harry is hardly 
 worthy of such a splendid girl as Alice." The conver 
 sation ended here. 
 
 One evening, a week later, when Jessie went into the 
 parlor, she found Mrs. Philip and Harry playing back 
 gammon together. They seemed to be in the wildest 
 spirits, and, as the game progressed, they grew loud and
 
 HEDBANR. 177 
 
 familiar in tone and manner. Jessie seated herself at 
 the piano and began to play, hoping that her presence 
 might impose some restraint upon them, but she was 
 disappointed. When, at bed-time, Mr. Philip came in 
 search of his lost bride, as he called her, he paused a 
 moment at the open door, and surveyed the excited gam 
 blers. From her post at the piano, Jessie caught a 
 glimpse of him. His brows were unpleasantly knit and 
 a dark shadow swept over his face. She had seen that 
 expression more than once of late. 
 
 When the husband and wife had left the room, Jessie 
 arose from the piano-stool, and approached the table, 
 near which her brother was sitting. He had closed the 
 backgammon board, and was looking into the fire. His 
 hair was tossed up rather wildly, and a strange light was 
 burning in his eyes. The young girl sat down, took up 
 a newspaper, and tried to interest herself in the items of 
 the day, but she could not read, her thoughts were far 
 away. She wanted to talk with her brother, and yet 
 she hardly knew how to begin. He appeared to be 
 utterly unconscious of her presence. Presently he got 
 up and put two or three sticks of wood on the fire, for 
 the evening was cool. Still he showed no signs of speak 
 ing, and evidently his mood was not a pleasant one. 
 
 " Harry," said the sister, after a prolonged silence. 
 He looked up at her with his cold black eyes, but made 
 no response. She was too frank and ingenuous to begin 
 with a roundabout introduction ; she continued very 
 simply, " Do you think that it is quite right for you to 
 carry on as you are doing with Mrs. Philip Winston ? " 
 
 " Confound it ! " he exclaimed ; " a fellow cannot 
 make himself agreeable even to a married woman, with 
 out raising a cry from all the other females in the world. 
 
 I've no patience with it." 
 
 12
 
 178 RESBANR. ' 
 
 " Would you like a fellow to make himself agreeable 
 to your wife in just that way ? " she asked. 
 
 " I never expect to have a wife, so I cannot imagine 
 anything about it." 
 
 " Well, reckless as you are, I believe you have some 
 sense of right and wrong, and from the very expression 
 of your face at this moment, I know that your conscience 
 is troubling you. You are treading on dangerous 
 ground." 
 
 " Explain yourself," he said, coldly. " What do you 
 mean?" 
 
 " You know without asking. You are carrying on a 
 silly flirtation with a married woman, and some dis 
 agreeable consequences may follow. I have seen Mr. 
 Philip Winston's face more than once, when he has 
 found you and his wife together, and the expression was 
 not pleasant." 
 
 " He is a jealous, suspicious old fool." 
 
 " Hush, Harry ; I'm sure he has not paid much atten 
 tion to either you or Percy. He has not watched you 
 in the least. He has given you perfect liberty to make 
 yourself agreeable to her. He would be blind, indeed, 
 not to se_e that you are going a little too far. It has 
 evidently surprised him, for he imagined himself in the 
 midst of an honorable household." 
 
 " And who dares to say to the contrary ? " he ex 
 claimed, " he pays no attention to his wife himself, and 
 then he is angry if any one else looks at her." 
 
 " That is nonsense," she said ; " I have seen you and 
 Percy together, and you are more like lovers than many 
 a man and woman who are engaged. You look at each 
 other, and talk to each other, in an unbecoming fashion. 
 I make the assertion and I defy you to contradict me." 
 
 " How can I help admiring her ? " he asked.
 
 RED&ANK. 179 
 
 " You can help showing it quite so plainly." 
 
 " She wouldn't be satisfied if I did. She is as pretty 
 as a picture, and she knows it, and she wants everybody 
 else to tell her so." 
 
 " Then, if her demands are such, I would get out of her 
 way immediately." 
 
 He laughed a light mocking laugh, and said, " I'll be 
 darned if I ever run away from a pretty woman." 
 
 " Don't grow profane, please, let me remind you that 
 you are in the presence of a lady." 
 
 " Well, it's enough to make a fellow profane to talk 
 with such a little goose as you are. You don't know 
 anything about the world. In society, married men and 
 women occasionally notice each other without exciting 
 scandal." 
 
 " Occasionally they excite scandal by noticing each 
 other too much. I know that I'm not in society, and I 
 don't care to be, but sometimes I take up a newspaper 
 and read it. I observe that divorces are very com 
 mon." 
 
 " Jessie, you have a rare faculty of making mountains 
 out of mole-hills," he said in a light tone. 
 
 " I know that very serious consequences often follow 
 thoughtless acts. I believe that both you and Percy are 
 innocent of any intention of doing wrong, but you are 
 drifting toward the breakers." 
 
 " How poetical you are ! " he said. 
 
 " Harry, that kind of exclamation is lost on me now. 
 I am talking seriously. I entreat you to be more careful 
 in your manner towards Percy. You have grown 
 familiar, and familiarity is vulgar. Treat her as a lady 
 should be treated." 
 
 " By heavens, you sha'n't say that I don't treat her as 
 a lady should be treated."
 
 180 REDBANK. 
 
 " You did not to-night. I saw you lay your hand on 
 her more than once, and you even pulled her hair." 
 
 " Well, she's to blame as much as I am. She would 
 inveigle a saint into admiring her and complimenting 
 her." 
 
 " Just like Adam always throwing the blame on 
 Eve. ' The woman tempted me.' " He laughed. 
 
 " When a fellow is cornered, he must throw the blame 
 on somebody." 
 
 " There," she said, " I hope you have recovered your 
 sanity, that laugh sounds natural." Soon she added, 
 " Harry, please promise me that you will be more care 
 ful. Nobody loves you better than I do, and it grieves 
 me to see you go wrong. Remember our mother, 
 Harry ! " 
 
 " There, that will do," he replied, raising his hand as 
 if to ward off a blow. He had loved his gentle mother 
 with passionate devotion, and could not bear to hear her 
 name mentioned. 
 
 After his sister had said good-night and closed the 
 door behind her, the young man sat a long time looking 
 into the fire. He could not shake off the uncomfortable 
 feeling that had taken possession of him. A strange 
 warfare of emotions was going on within him. He 
 knew very well that he had been doing wrong in a 
 great many different ways. He did not approve of 
 himself, and yet he was ready to undertake his own 
 defence against all the powers, within or without, that 
 dared to condemn him. His admiration for Mrs. Philip 
 Winston was very genuine. She was a fascinating 
 woman, and in her presence he often felt himself a cap 
 tive hopelessly bound, but he had never mistaken her 
 for a divinity. He knew that she was mortal, and made 
 of very common clay. He had been foolish to go so far
 
 REDBANK. 181 
 
 with her. Then came thoughts of another woman, 
 sweeter and gentler, but lost to him forever, because he 
 was not worthy of her. In a vague, wretched way, he 
 realized what her love would have been to him a power 
 to uplift a star to guide. 
 
 It was long after midnight, when at last he arose 
 from his seat. The fire had died entirely out, and the 
 desolation of ashes was over the hearth and over his 
 own heart. His face was pallid and gray, but there 
 was a fixed look about the mouth which betokened a 
 strong purpose.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 MRS. PHILIP WINSTON had more than once expressed 
 a desire to ride. She waylaid the Colonel, one morn 
 ing, as he was leaving the house, and said, " Brother, 
 haven't you any good riding-horses in your stables ? 
 Jessie, Mr. Holcombe, and I, want to go out for a ride 
 this afternoon. Mr. Holcombe has his own horse, of 
 course, so you have only to find a steed for Jessie, and 
 one for me.* The Colonel hesitated. " Now, do be 
 nice and find something for us to mount," she pleaded, 
 laying her beautiful hand caressingly upon his sleeve. 
 He could not resist that argument. 
 
 " Yes," he answered, slowly, " I reckon I can manage 
 it. You may have my horse he's safe enough, and 
 Jessie is not afraid to ride the colt." 
 
 " Gracious heavens ! " she exclaimed, " we don't 
 want an accident. Don't give Jessie a colt, I beseech 
 you." 
 
 He smiled and said, " You needn't be alarmed about 
 Jessie ; she could ride a mustang at a circus ; she was 
 raised in a saddle. The colt is good enough he is 
 very well broken, only he has a few ugly tricks. I 
 would not like to see you on his back, my dear." 
 
 " Thank you," she replied, with a light laugh, " I can 
 realize that my life is rather more valuable than hers. 
 T have a husband to grieve over me, and she hasn't."
 
 EEDBANK. 183 
 
 This gay city girl completely bewitched the Colonel by 
 her airs and grace, and lie was willing to take any 
 amount of trouble to gratify her. He abandoned his 
 own plan for the afternoon, and even sent over to a 
 neighbor's house to borrow a side-saddle of a newer 
 and better fashion than any that were hanging in his 
 stables. 
 
 Before three o'clock, the horses were at the door. 
 The Colonel himself lifted his sister-in-law into the 
 saddle, tightened the girth, and arranged her skirt in 
 the most approved fashion. Mr. Philip looked at the 
 riders from his comfortable post on the piazza, and 
 called to Mr. Holcombe to take good care of his wife, 
 and bring her back all right. 
 
 Harry expressed his determination to do that, what 
 ever might happen. 
 
 " I will bring her back, if I don't come myself," he 
 said, laughing. He soon saw that she would require a 
 good deal of his attention, for she did not know much 
 about managing a horse, and did not appear to advant 
 age when mounted. Her self-confidence was somewhat 
 diminished, and the graceful ease of her manner was 
 entirely gone. Her riding habit was elegant and fitted 
 faultlessly, yet she did not give the impression of an 
 Amazon, as Jessie Holcombe did. 
 
 The three cantered slowly down the avenue. The 
 afternoon was beautiful, with some of the chill of coming 
 winter already in the air. Jessie felt ready for a 
 gallop, but she restrained herself, and walked quietly 
 beside the others. 
 
 " I was thrown by a horse at the riding-school a few 
 years ago," said Mrs. Philip, " and I have been rather 
 timid about riding ever since."
 
 184 REDBANK. 
 
 " You need not be afraid of that old cob," Harry 
 replied; "he has jogged over the plantation for so 
 many years with our venerable brother upon his back, 
 that he would not know how to run away, even if he 
 wanted to he has forgotten how to use his legs." 
 
 " Stop making fun of him this minute," said Mrs.Philip ; 
 " I think he is very nice ; he has a very easy gait." 
 
 " Yes, like a rocking-chair," the gentleman answered. 
 " I had rather sit on the piazza and rock backwards and 
 forwards all day than ride him." 
 
 " I will turn round and go home, if you say another 
 word," said Percy, laughing. 
 
 " Heaven forbid ! I'll be as mum as a cotton-stalk," 
 he said, looking at her with a merry twinkle in his 
 eye. 
 
 " I know a part of your ridicule is meant for the 
 rider," Mrs. Philip ventured to assert. 
 
 "Now, I call that a cruel charge. Here I've been 
 admiring you until I've hardly got any eyesight left, 
 and that's the way you repay me. I don't think any 
 weapon was ever invented quite equal to a woman's 
 tongue. It runs you through the ribs, breaks all your 
 bones, and takes off your head at the same time." 
 
 This smoothed down the ruffled self-love of the 
 lady. 
 
 " Good-bye ! " exclaimed Jessie, " I'm off for a gallop. 
 I can't hold in this restless creature any longer." And 
 away she dashed. 
 
 " How beautifully your sister rides," said Mrs. Philip ; 
 " she sits so firmly in the saddle that she seems to be a 
 part of the horse." 
 
 " Yes, few ladies ride better than Jessie," the young 
 man replied ; " she has been in the saddle ever since she
 
 KEDBANE. 185 
 
 v/a.! a baby. She used to ride over the plantation with 
 my father when she was too small to be seen without a 
 microscope. She is very fond of it." They watched 
 her as she disappeared from sight ; soon she came 
 galloping back, her fiery little steed occasionally indulg 
 ing in a side plunge. 
 
 " Look out," called Harry ; " he's a vicious thing, 
 and would enjoy throwing you." 
 
 " I'm not in the least afraid of him, and he knows it 
 well," she answered back. Soon she quieted down her 
 horse, and cantered along beside them. 
 
 They had passed the mill, and were in the midst of the 
 pine grove beyond it, when through the trees they saw 
 two other riders approaching from the opposite direc 
 tion. 
 
 " Gracious goodness ! " said Harry, and his face 
 flushed somewhat, as if the sight were not pleasant. 
 
 " Who are they? " asked Percy. 
 
 " Miss Brooks and that conceited puppy of a cousin," 
 he returned. 
 
 "Hush!" said Jessie, "you must not speak so ; you 
 do not even know him." 
 
 " I've no desire to know him," was the reply ; " he 
 has the air of the Grand Turk. If she marries him, I 
 know he will murder her in less than a year." 
 
 " What tragical predictions ! " exclaimed Percy ; " you 
 must be interested in her fate to judge by your looks." 
 
 " I am," he said ; " I'm interested in the fate of every 
 pretty woman." 
 
 " Harry dear, do be polite to them," his sister en 
 treated in a low tone. 
 
 " Of course I shall ; I should like to kill them both 
 with politeness," and he laughed unpleasantly.
 
 186 REDBAXK. 
 
 The two parties were now in front of each other, 
 and greetings were exchanged, and introductions 
 made. 
 
 " Why haven't you been to see me, Jessie ? " Alice 
 asked immediately. 
 
 " I only heard that you were back at The Grove, a few 
 days ago. How glad I am to see you ! " She could 
 not add, " How well you are looking." 
 
 Alice Brooks was indeed changed. The bloom was 
 gone from her cheeks, and her slender form appeared 
 too fragile for perfect health. The impression of 
 ethereal delicacy was farther increased by her blue eyes 
 and blonde hair. She was dressed in a habit of dark 
 green cloth with facings of a lighter shade. Instead 
 of the conventional beaver, she wore a little three-cor 
 nered hat ornamented with ostrich tips. Jessie thought 
 she had never seen her friend look so lovely. Alice 
 was not beautiful, but there was something so refined, 
 and sweet and spiritual about her face and manner, 
 that one could not help admiring her. 
 
 " We were just going over to call on you," she said ; 
 " but it is still so early in the afternoon, that we will 
 turn and ride awhile with you. Then we will go to 
 Redbank and make our call, for we want to see Mrs. 
 Winston and the Colonel, as well as the present 
 party." 
 
 " That's a charming arrangement," said Jessie. 
 
 The ridel's now fell into order, and Miss Holcombe 
 found herself in front with Mr. Waverley Brooks, 
 while the others fell behind. Alice managed to place 
 Mi-s. Philip between herself and Harry, but she did not 
 appear to avoid conversation with him. She began to 
 talk about the places that she had visited during the
 
 REDKANK. 187 
 
 summer, and Mrs. Philip was glad to know something 
 about them herself. The two enjoyed comparing notes, 
 while Harry threw in an occasional question. 
 
 At a single glance, Jessie Holcombe took in the person 
 of her companion. In a moment, she decided tha^t he 
 was not at all like his father. Soon, however, she 
 changed her mind ; yes, there was a great resemblance 
 between father and son, though it eluded one at first. 
 Both had the same clear gray eyes, the same finely 
 chiselled mouth and chin, and the same playful smile, 
 hiding under the heavy mustache. 
 
 " Miss Holcombe," said the gentleman, " I've heard 
 my cousin talk so much about you that I seem to know 
 you already." 
 
 " I'm very sorry indeed," the young girl replied, look 
 ing into his face to catch the expression of his father's 
 eyes which she was anxious to see again. 
 
 " You must tell me why? " he asked, somewhat sur 
 prised at her words. 
 
 " Because it is always better to begin an acquaintance 
 without expectations. Now, I'm sure you will be dis 
 appointed in me." 
 
 " Indeed I'm not," he answered, emphatically. 
 
 " But you don't know me yet," she said, " you are 
 over-bold to speak so confidently." 
 
 " I deny that also," he replied, his whole face lighting 
 up with his father's smile. " But, Miss Holcombe, I 
 hope I am not exposed to the same disadvantage with 
 you. I would be sorry if anybody had been talking to 
 you about me." 
 
 " Oh, no," she said, very simply, " I was quite deter 
 mined to be without prejudices, so I have never asked a 
 single question about you."
 
 188 
 
 " I'm afraid that argues great indifference." 
 
 " By no means ; only a man would misunderstand 
 my remark." 
 
 " And is that your opinion of men ? " he asked. " Do 
 you always find them obtuse ? " 
 
 " Not always, but sometimes," she answered, reflect 
 ing his smile ; " but on the whole I like them very well, 
 especially when I'm on horseback." 
 
 " I shall remember that statement, but I do not at all 
 understand what you mean by it. Perhaps you will 
 pity my obtuseness and explain." 
 
 " Well, Mr. Brooks, I have never, never in my long 
 and eventful life, been allowed to ride unless accom 
 panied by a man. Now, when I tell you that I like 
 nothing on earth so well as a gallop or a trot on the 
 back of a good horse, you may be able to realize my 
 appreciation of men." 
 
 " You acknowledge, then, that there are emergencies 
 in which they are indispensable ? " he said. 
 
 She assented with a smile. The gentleman looked at 
 her with curiosity and admiration. Her conversation 
 amused him. She was not at all like his cousin Alice, 
 whose words, with all their gracious charm, were never 
 sparkling or piquant. 
 
 " I find that our tastes are alike, Miss Holcombe ; I 
 am very fond of riding, too. I had rather live without 
 a house than without a horse." 
 
 " I can't go so far as that. I do appreciate a house 
 very much, especially when it rains, as it sometimes 
 does in Georgia." 
 
 " But a tent would answer instead, even in rainy 
 weather. But what could ever take the place of a 
 horse?"
 
 KEDBANK. 189 
 
 " Why, steam seems to be pushing him aside every 
 where. After a while I suppose we will have 
 wooden horses, rilled with machinery and propelled by 
 steam." 
 
 " Or ride on wheels, as they do in France," he 
 said. 
 
 " Well, those contrivances might be veiy convenient, 
 but I prefer a living creature which responds with 
 intelligence when I pull the reins, and gives me back 
 a little love for my domination. Come, let's have a 
 gallop ; riding is better than talking." They were soon 
 out of sight, lost in the deep woods, nor did they again 
 see the other three riders until they met them in the 
 parlor at Redbank, a few hours later. That October 
 afternoon passed gloriously for Jessie Holcombe. Her 
 companion was a dashing horseman, ready to leap a 
 ditch, jump a fence or ride a race, and though he did 
 not indulge in that kind of riding on the present occa 
 sion, yet she felt his enthusiasm, and responded to it. 
 The acquaintance between the two advanced rapidly 
 under the stimulus of this exhilarating exercise. When 
 they at length fell into a walk, he entertained her with 
 reminiscences of his travels. As she listened to his 
 conversation, her cheeks, already flushed, became more 
 brilliant, and her fine eyes gave expression to every 
 shade of her .pleasurable emotion. 
 
 She soon found that his tastes, as well as his looks 
 and manners, were very English. Everything about 
 him proclaimed a healthy, wholesome nature ; the clear 
 gray eyes, the florid complexion, the hearty laugh, the 
 frank, unaffected way of talking. You felt that he 
 possessed an unlimited capacity for enjoyment. 
 
 The afternoon was almost over and the sun was drop-
 
 190 REDBANR. 
 
 ping low, when the two riders came within sight of 
 Redbank. As they were entering the long avenue, 
 Jessie turned to her companion and said, " I do not think 
 that Alice is looking at all strong. She seems tired and 
 worn." 
 
 " Yes, it grieves us all to see her," he replied, " but 
 she never complains, and declares that there's nothing 
 the matter with her. We have been trying to build her 
 up, as the doctors say, but she is just a little obstinate, 
 and does not assist us in our efforts. I think we trav 
 elled too much in the summer, and she got tired. I hope 
 she will improve now that she is at home again." 
 
 " It would be strange if she did not," said Jessie, and 
 she looked at the gentleman as if she expected him to 
 understand her meaning, but he did not he was obtuse 
 again. 
 
 When Jessie and her companion entered the parlor at 
 Redbank, they were greeted by a volley of questions. 
 " Where have you been ? " " Why did you go so far ? " 
 " Did you get lost ? " They only laughed, and refused 
 to satisfy public curiosity. 
 
 " Why, we have been home an hour," said Mrs. 
 Philip ; " and, Jessie, I have been half dead with anx 
 iety about you. I was sure that wicked colt had thrown 
 you over his head, and broken your neck." 
 
 " And what did you think I was doing in the mean 
 time ? " asked Mr. Brooks. 
 
 "Looking on ! " replied Mrs. Philip; " I thought you 
 would allow it to be done for the pleasure of picking 
 her up." 
 
 " Thanks for your good opinion of me ! " he said ; 
 then turning to his cousin, " Alice, I hope you are not 
 tired waiting." 
 
 " Oh, no not at all," she answered ; " but I think it
 
 &EDBANR. 191 
 
 is time now for us to start home." And she arose from 
 her seat, and the good-byes were spoken. 
 
 That evening around the dinner-table, Miss Brooks 
 and her cousin were thoroughly discussed. Mrs. Philip 
 began by saying, "Do tell me something about Mr. and 
 Miss Brooks. Who are they ? " 
 
 " They are neighbors of ours," the Colonel replied. 
 
 " That is not sufficient," Percy said, " your account 
 is too general ; I want to know something more." 
 
 " Well, they are friends of ours. Is not that enough 
 to give them the stamp of respectability ? " he asked, 
 laughing at her. 
 
 " Yes, of course ; but they interest me, and I want to 
 know who they are." 
 
 " Are you sure it is interest, and not curiosity? " 
 inquired her husband. 
 
 " I will not answer such a question," she replied ; 
 " you are always ready to suspect me of bad motives." 
 
 " Well, Percy," said Mrs. Winston, " I will give you 
 a history of the lady and gentleman so far as I know it. 
 Miss Alice Brooks is the only daughter of Mrs. Eustace 
 Brooks, who is a widow and owns a plantation called 
 The Grove, about five miles from here. Mr. Brooks is 
 her first cousin. He is the son of Judge Brooks who 
 lives in the city." 
 
 " Are they lovers? " asked Percy. 
 
 "I suppose they are," Mrs. Winston replied. "It is 
 said that they are going to be married soon. They have 
 been engaged ever since they were children." 
 
 " She is very sweet-looking," said Percy, " but she 
 lacks color and animation. Her riding habit was beau 
 tiful, but hardly the thing for the country." 
 
 " She has been at Long Branch and Newport, most 
 of the summer, and I suppose she bought it to wear
 
 192 REDBANR. 
 
 there. She is fond of riding," Mrs. Winston said, very 
 quietly. 
 
 " Are they rich ? " asked Percy. 
 
 Harry looked up with a flash of annoyance in his 
 eyes, which did not escape the notice of the lady. 
 
 " Yes," he exclaimed, " they own half the State of 
 Georgia." 
 
 " They are among the few rich people at the South 
 now," said Colonel Winston. " The mother of Mr. 
 Waverley Brooks was an heiress from New York, and he 
 inherits a large property through her." 
 
 " Then they have connections at the North ? " asked 
 Mrs. Philip, whose curiosity was not yet satisfied. 
 
 " No end of them," said Harry ; " they are kin to all 
 the big-bugs in the United States." 
 
 " Miss Brooks is quite pretty, but she lacks style," 
 remarked the lady. 
 
 " Of course she does. That's a plant that doesn't 
 grow down here," said Harry ; " wire grass and poke 
 weed have rooted it out." 
 
 Percy laughed and said, " Mr. Holcombe, if you are 
 so tart, I shall suspect that you are more interested in 
 Miss Brooks than you are willing to confess." 
 
 " I have told you already that I am interested in every 
 pretty woman," he replied ; " Miss Brooks comes in for 
 her share." 
 
 " But there is something more than that, I am sure," 
 she insisted. 
 
 " Do you think so ? " he asked ; " well, I would not 
 be so rude as to contradict a lady." 
 
 " Mr. Brooks looks like an Englishman," Percy con 
 tinued ; " he has a distingu air." 
 
 " He is like his mother," said the Colonel ; " she was 
 a large, handsome woman, with a fresh complexion and
 
 EEDBANK. 193 
 
 yellow hair. I remember her well. She did not live 
 long ; she died of some kind of fever. That was at 
 least twenty years ago, and the Judge has never married 
 again." 
 
 " What beautiful devotion ! " exclaimed Mrs. Philip. 
 Then turning to her husband, " I hope you will show 
 your love for me in that way." 
 
 He only laughed and said, " There, now, I hope you 
 have finished with the Brookses ; your curiositj^ must 
 certainly be satisfied by this time. I think you know 
 everything about them except their ages. Miss Hoi- 
 combe, how old do you think Miss Brooks is ? " 
 
 Jessie laughed. 
 
 " Ought I to tell ? She might object. Ladies are 
 said to be sensitive on that point." 
 
 " Well', the gentleman, then ; how old do you think he 
 is ? Percy will never be content until she knows." 
 
 " Anywhere from twenty to twenty-five," Jessie an 
 swered, much amused at the husband's manner. Mrs. 
 Philip did not seem to share in this feeling, for she 
 looked up at him with a very severe expression. After 
 wards she continued her dinner in silence. 
 
 Just before bedtime that same evening, Jessie went 
 into the dining-room in search of a newspaper which 
 the Colonel had mislaid. On her entrance she was sur 
 prised to find Harry, sitting all alone, his head bent down 
 on both arms which were crossed upon the table. At 
 first she thought him asleep, and, not wishing to disturb 
 him, she turned quietly to leave the room. Suddenly 
 he lifted his head, and said, " Jessie, is that you ? " 
 
 " Yes," she answered, approaching him. She was 
 frightened when she saw how ghastly his face looked in 
 the dim firelight. " W na t' s the matter, Harry ? " she 
 asked. "You look ill?'"
 
 194 BEDBANE. 
 
 "Nothing," he replied. "I'm only a little out of 
 sorts." 
 
 " But you are very pale ; I am sure you are suffering. 
 Do tell me if anything has happened." And she laid 
 her hand tenderly upon his head, running her fingers 
 through his soft hair. 
 
 " Nothing new nothing but what you know well 
 enough already." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " she exclaimed, rather aghast 
 at his manner. 
 
 He laughed a hollow kind of a laugh, and answered 
 with a curl of the lip : " I'm only feeling the weight 
 of my numerous sins. They are rather heavy, you know, 
 and sometimes threaten to crush a fellow to the earth." 
 
 " You are joking, now, I'm sure," she said, with a 
 sense of relief. 
 
 " No, I'm not," was the reply. " I'm a poor devil, and 
 to-night I feel it more than usual. You think that I'm 
 perfectly indifferent to everything, Jessica ; but there 
 you make a mistake. I do have a twinge of conscience 
 now and then. I'd give a good deal to be a better fel 
 low than I am." 
 
 " Oh ! Harry," exclaimed the girl, the tears springing 
 to her eyes. She knew well enough now, what was the 
 matter with him, and her heart was full of pity. " Oh, 
 Harry, if you only would try to make something of 
 yourself. Just make one honest effort, and the next will 
 be easier, and the next easier still. It is the first step 
 that costs." 
 
 " Yes, I know it," he said, burying his face in his 
 hands. Soon he looked up and continued, " Jessie, I 
 would be strong enough for any effort, if I had the 
 hope of winning her in the end, but it maddens me to 
 feel that she belongs to another."
 
 BEDBANK. 195 
 
 " Harry, you are not worthy of the love of any woman 
 now ; make yourself worthy, and then, though she is 
 lost to you, there are other noble women in the world 
 to whom you may aspire." 
 
 " What do I care for all the rest ! " he exclaimed ; 
 " they might sink together in a wrecked ship if only 
 she were saved." 
 
 " Harry, she will soon belong to another, and it will 
 be, a sin for you to love her then." 
 
 "There is no sin in a pure love," he cried, "even 
 though the woman who inspires it is a thousand times 
 married. I shall love her as long as there is life in my 
 body. When I'm dead, it will be the only part of me 
 that will be immortal. And I believe she loves me 
 too. I could see that she was suffering to-day, just as 
 well as I was." 
 
 " You are mistaken, I'm sure, Harry. She is not the 
 kind of girl to marry unless she loves very deeply, and 
 she is certainly going to marry her cousin." 
 
 " Well, I only know that she doesn't look now as 
 she did last winter. I've seen a light in her eyes that's 
 not there now. I've seen her flush and flutter; and 
 I've felt her little hand tremble in mine. Confound 
 that cousin of hers ! I'd - like to kick him back to 
 Europe. I believe that I could have won her, if it had 
 not been for the whole lot of them. Jessie," he 
 exclaimed, wildly, " the thought of her pursues me 
 like a fiend, I cannot get rid of it. If I go to perdi 
 tion, it will be her fault. She could have saved me 
 easy enough." 
 
 " You ought not to blame her, Harry. She must have 
 felt that it would be unsafe to marry you, or she would 
 not have rejected you." 
 
 "I know I could make her happy, even if I'm not as
 
 196 EEDEANK. 
 
 pious and proper as a parson. I would love her as a 
 woman was never loved before." 
 
 " That would not make her happy, Hariy, if she felt 
 all the time that you were below her standard of man 
 hood. I know her well, and her ideals are high." 
 
 " I know it," he said ; " but I could have reached 
 even up to her standard, if she had only consented to 
 be my wife." 
 
 As he spoke, there was a look in his eyes that 
 Jessie had never seen there before that she never 
 saw again. He run his fingers through his hair in an 
 absent-minded way, as if trying to relieve the restless 
 ness and wretchedness of his soul. 
 
 "Jessie," he continued after a few moments, "I do 
 believe I will try to make something of myself. I 
 would like to have her feel that she has made a mistake, 
 that there is something in me after all ; that I'm not 
 absolutely and entirely good-for-nothing." 
 
 " Oh ! Harry, if you only would. Do not drink any 
 more. Do not gamble any more. Find sdme honest 
 work to do , and do it with all your might. You are 
 still so young the future is all yours." 
 
 He looked at her steadily for a minute, and then said. 
 " Jessie, you are a good little thing ; you ought to enter 
 the ministry. You have a real talent for preaching." 
 
 The color rushed to her face, but she said nothing. It 
 was like Harry to disappoint expectation by such tricks 
 of speech. She could not continue the conversation any 
 longer, and arose to leave the room. He saw that he 
 had hurt her, and had the grace to say, " I wasn't making 
 fun, Jessie ; I was really in earnest. It does me more 
 good to have a talk Avith you, than to go to church. I 
 think you understand me better than anybody else does, 
 you were mistaken when you thought I was in
 
 ItEVBANK. 197 
 
 love with Mrs. Philip Winston. I've got more sense 
 than to commit such a folly as that. But one must 
 have a little fun sometimes. Even then the world is 
 dull enough." He sighed and began to rap on the 
 table with his fingers. Soon he turned abruptly to his 
 sister and said : 
 
 " Don't despair of me altogether, Jessie ; perhaps even 
 yet, I may be ' plucked as a brand from the burning.' 
 Isn't that the way the preachers put it ? You mustn't 
 give me up, dear ; if you do, I'm afraid I shall travel 
 downhill pretty fast." 
 
 " Harry, dear, I would die to save you," she said, in 
 earnest, solemn tones. 
 
 " That would be very silly," he answered ; " it would 
 be like giving a million of dollars for a pop-gun. I'm 
 not worth any such price. Don't think about me any 
 more. Go to bed, and sleep like a good girl." 
 
 " Good-night," she said, and in a few moments she 
 was gone. 
 
 Again Harry Holcombe crossed his arms upon the 
 table and bent down his head. Why should we try to 
 guess the thoughts and feelings that were struggling 
 within him ? Let us rather leave him to the silence of 
 that lonely room.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE next morning, Mrs. Philip Winston did not 
 appear at the breakfast-table. Her husband, whose 
 manner was silent and sullen, explained her absence by 
 saying that she had sprained her ankle slightly the even 
 ing before, and found herself unable to walk without 
 pain. She had caught the heel of her slipper in the 
 loose braid of her skirt, and had fallen headlong on the 
 floor. At the time she had laughed, for the injury 
 appeared to be very slight ; but in the morning she had 
 found her ankle much swollen and very painful. Mr. 
 Philip seemed to be angry with her, angry with the high 
 heels, angry with the loose braid, angry with everything. 
 The mood was a new phase of character. What had 
 happened between himself and wife, no one knew, but 
 evidently his temper was seriously ruffled. Every one 
 was silent and constrained. At last the meal was over, 
 and the family arose and left the table. 
 
 For almost a week Percy was compelled to keep her 
 room. Everybody was full of sympathy for her, and 
 each one made some contribution to her entertainment. 
 
 Harry alone was excluded from the sick-room. For a 
 few days he wandered around aimlessly, looking rather 
 disconsolate. At length one morning he went off to the 
 city with a wagon-load of cotton. He did not return 
 in the evening, and no message came to tell where he 
 had gone, how long he intended to stay, or when he
 
 REDl} AN K. 199 
 
 expected to return. From the bottom of her soul Jessie 
 pitied him. 
 
 When Percy's ankle was well and she was able to 
 leave her room, she looked pale and subdued. Even 
 the Colonel, who was usually too much absorbed in his 
 own affairs to be very observant, remarked the change, 
 and expressed his regret anew for an .accident which 
 must have cost her much pain. She smiled and thanked 
 him, but declared herself all right again, and happy to 
 join the family gatherings. 
 
 " Well," said Mr. Philip, " I am sincerely glad that 
 the injury was no more serious. Those high heels are 
 very dangerous, but women will wear them, even at the 
 risk of falling and laming themselves for life." 
 
 " I have always worn them," replied Percy, very coldly 
 and quietly, " and I have never before fallen. I think 
 people are liable to fall, heels or no heels ; only it is 
 a great satisfaction to be able to lay the blame on some 
 body or something." 
 
 "You are right," said Mrs. Winston, smiling ; "we 
 get rid of half our annoyance over a mishap, if we can 
 only find somebody to put the blame on. 
 
 " That's very true," replied Mr. Philip ; " but, in this 
 case, I insist upon the actual guilt of those high heels. 
 I hate them. I have a great mind to cut them all 
 off." 
 
 " I guess you won't," said his wife, in the same cool, 
 quiet tone. Every one felt that a dangerous point had 
 been reached in the controversy, and the subject was 
 dropped. Nothing is so indescribable, and yet so quickly 
 felt, as the want of sympathy and harmony in the mem 
 bers of a family. This indefinable something was now 
 present at Redbaiik. Mrs. Philip Winston was changed. 
 Day after day this fac^ became more apparent. Jessie's
 
 200 REDBANK. 
 
 keen eye noted a new expression in her face, a listless, 
 unhappy expression, very different from the bright, self- 
 satisfied consciousness of a few weeks ago. She was no 
 longer restless. She no longer appeared to find real 
 enjoyment in anything ; she seemed all the time to be 
 looking, waiting, listening for some one. Yet she never 
 once mentioned Harry's name, nor asked what had be 
 come of him. This reticence was unnatural in one so 
 full of curiosity. There was but one explanation for it ; 
 she must have divined the truth she must have analyzed 
 her own feelings as well as fathomed his. In the mean 
 time, her manner towards her husband was still cold 
 and distant. He had, without doubt, done or said some 
 thing that had deeply offended her, and she was slow to 
 forgive. Nor did he show any sign of relenting. There 
 was no expression of a desire for reconciliation in his 
 manner or face. Mrs. Winston looked upon this drama 
 of married life with sad interest. She saw the danger 
 for both in this hard, cold attitude, and she determined to 
 talk with Percy and try to influence her for good. One 
 rainy afternoon, she went to the young wife's room with 
 a tray of fruit. She rapped several times at the door 
 without receiving a response ; then, thinking that Percy 
 might be out or asleep, and that it would be well to 
 leave the fruit as a surprise for her, she softly turned 
 the knob. When the door opened, she saw a white figure 
 lying in a heap at the foot of the bed, the face buried 
 deep in a pillow. A faint sob reached her ear. In a 
 moment, she was beside the prostrate form. 
 
 " What is it, dear ? " she whispered tenderly, " are 
 you ill ? Why did you not call for some one ? Cannot 
 I do something for you ? " 
 
 Percy raised a pale and tear-stained face. " No, I am 
 not ill I am only tired, fearfully tired."
 
 EEDBANK. 201 
 
 " Will you not let me get you a glass of wine ? " said 
 Mrs. Winston, " I'm afraid you have taken cold." 
 
 " No, no," was the answer, " I do not want anything, 
 and I have not taken cold. I shall feel better presently. 
 Sit down beside me. I think your presence will do me 
 good." 
 
 Eleanor seated herself on the edge of the bed, and 
 began to stroke the soft tangled hair that fell loosely 
 over the pillow. She had no great love or admiration 
 for her young sister-in-law, but remembering the many 
 sorrows of her own married life, she pitied her, and sin 
 cerely desired to help her. 
 
 In a short time, Percy said, softly, " I am better now. 
 I like the touch of your fingers on my head it feels so 
 soft and nice. I don't really know why I was crying, 
 but I feel very sad and lonely to-day." 
 
 " It must be the monotony of the place that oppresses 
 you," said Mrs. Winston. " I wish we knew how to 
 entertain you better, but indeed our resources are very 
 limited, dear. It must be hard for you, and different 
 from anything you have ever known." 
 
 " Yes," she answered, very simply, " it is ; but please 
 don't think that I fail to appreciate the kindness of 
 every one. You have all been so good and nice to me, 
 but somehow I long for a change. _ I have been so used 
 to gayety that I'm afraid I cannot live without it." 
 
 " I understand the feeling, " said Mrs. Winston ; " It 
 is perfectly natural for young people to love gayety. I 
 used to love it once myself, but I've learned to find 
 enjoyment in other things. Redbank is a dull place 
 for a pretty creature like you." 
 
 " Why does Philip like it so much ? " she asked ; " I 
 cannot make it out. Sometimes he talks of buying a 
 plantation. I believe that I would go insane, if I were
 
 202 tttiDK AffiR. 
 
 compelled to lead such a lonely life. The very thought 
 of it is terrible to me. You don't think he will ? " 
 
 " Oh ! no, I don't believe he really likes it himself > 
 he only feels refreshed by the quiet. Besides, dear, all 
 plantations are not like this. You must not make up 
 your mind too hastily. And then you are rich, and 
 could have a-11 the company you want. You could keep* 
 your house filled with pleasant guests." 
 
 " Where would I find them? " she asked, helplessly ; 
 " All the people I know in the world are far away from 
 here. Besides, I love all the diversions of the city too 
 well to be contented in the country. It would kill me 
 indeed it would ; and I don't believe Philip would 
 even grieve over me, if I died. Do you know I'm be 
 ginning to feel that I shall not make him happy. He 
 is so much older than I am, and so unlike me in every 
 respect, and somehow I seem so little to him. He is 
 quite content to be with the Colonel he forgets me 
 entirely." 
 
 " But, my dear, that will not be the case when you 
 leave here," said Mrs. Winston ; " Philip is very fond 
 of his brother, and very interested in all the affairs of 
 the plantation. Remember he spent his boyhood here, 
 and likes to visit every familiar spot." 
 
 " I'm afraid that's not the whole truth," Percy an 
 swered, sadly ; " I do not seem to be at all necessary to 
 his happiness." 
 
 " Well, you must learn to make yourself necessary," 
 said Mrs. Winston ; " that will be an easy task for one 
 so charming as yourself." 
 
 " How ? " she asked, in a listless way. 
 
 " 1 cannot tell you, dear ; I wish I could. I suppose 
 you must find out what he likes, and do, or be 
 that."
 
 It ED BANK. 03 
 
 "I cannot," she said, wearily. " Oh ! I wish I were at 
 home again, ir my father's house." 
 
 " Well, my dear child, you are going to return in a 
 few weeks. When you are back again, you will have so 
 many interests and occupations that I am sure you will 
 be happy. This is only a rainy day, 
 
 ' Into each heart some rain must fall, 
 Some days must be dark and dreary.' " 
 
 There was a long silence. Finally, the young wife 
 said " And do you think that Philip really cares for 
 me? He has been so cold of late. He treats me as if I 
 were a naughty child. It is not right for him to act 
 so it makes me angry." 
 
 " How can he help loving you, my dear," said 
 Mi's. Winston. " You must not indulge in such suspi 
 cions. You are his wife, and you must take it for 
 granted that he loves you. To doubt is treason. Don't 
 begin your married life by expecting too much from 
 your husband. Give liberally yourself, and try to be 
 satisfied with what you get in return." 
 
 " But he is so different from what I used to think he 
 was. He seemed to worship me before we were mar 
 ried; he was always paying me the most extravagant 
 compliments, and was ready to gratify every wish that 
 I could express. I thought him absolutely perfect." 
 
 " No human being is perfect, Percy," said Mrs. 
 Winston. " You must not be disappointed, if you find 
 that your husband has faults as well as others. Remem 
 ber that you are not perfect yourself. Perhaps he finds 
 a difference in you also." 
 
 She looked up and laughed. " I daresay he does. 
 Indeed he tells me so half a dozen times every day.
 
 204 11EDBANK. 
 
 Do you wonder that I get vexed with him ? I'm sure 
 I don't know what I do that he should talk to me so." 
 
 Mrs. Winston could not help smiling. It was useless to 
 give advice to this pretty self-centred creature. " Well, 
 you must not cry any more," she said ; " I know it 
 would vex Philip to see you in tears he would not un 
 derstand it." 
 
 " Of course, he wouldn't," Percy exclaimed, with a 
 curl of the lip ; " he always gets angry when I cry as 
 if I did not miss many things that I used to have, and 
 feel the dreadful change. I assure you there's enough 
 to make me cry. I have given up a great deal for his 
 sake." 
 
 " My dear, every woman gives up a great deal when 
 she marries," said Mrs. Winston ; "but there are compen 
 sations. The man thinks that he gives up a great deal 
 too." 
 
 " I should like to know what ! " she cried impatiently. 
 " Philip will not even give up smoking for my sake, 
 though he knows that I detest it. I don't believe he would 
 change the style of his necktie or the cut of his coat, to 
 save my life." 
 
 " Oh, yes, he would, if your life were at stake, dear ; 
 perhaps he might not be willing to do it merely to grat 
 ify a whim on your part." 
 
 " Well, I always wear just what he likes ; he has only 
 to express a preference, and I am ready to please him. 
 I don't see why he can't do as much for me, without 
 feeling that he is making a terrible sacrifice. When 
 ever I ask him to do or not to do any little thing, he 
 simply ignores me." 
 
 Eleanor Winston listened to all these grievances of 
 the spoiled child with a sad heart. Her own married 
 life had been wretchedly poor in the love and sympathy
 
 REDBANK. 205 
 
 that every woman craves. Here was another life which 
 was threatened with the same cruel privation. She 
 could only hope that Percy's heart would be less keenly 
 alive to the sorrow and bitterness of this destitution than 
 her own had been. Soon the young wife exclaimed 
 " For my part, I think marriage is a very one-sided 
 affair. The woman is altogether married, and the man 
 not at all." 
 
 Again she laughed. 
 
 " And sometimes it is just the other way," said Mrs. 
 Winston ; " don't be too hard on the men, my dear ; some 
 times I feel very sorry for them. They have their bur 
 dens too. But one thing is very true, after a man 
 and woman are married, they must both make the best 
 of it. They cannot get out of it without losing much 
 more than they gain. Percy, dear, when you are once 
 more at home, you will not feel all these little frictions 
 that vex you so much now. There will be many new 
 occupations to fill up your time. You have everything 
 to make you happy, dear ; you have only to mix the 
 materials aright, and the result will be beautiful. There, 
 cheer up, my child, and give your husband a sweet kiss 
 of welcome, when he comes. I must go now. I shall 
 expect to see you perfectly radiant at dinner. Put on 
 that black velvet dress which makes you look so 
 queenly. Good-bye." And Mrs. Winston left the 
 room, and closed the door softly behind her. 
 
 For a long time Percy lay quietly on the bed, think 
 ing in her fragmentary way. She was inclined to 
 believe that her sister-in-law was right. There was no 
 use in sulking and crying and getting up scenes. She 
 was married now ; she had decided the matter for her 
 self ; from her numerous suitors, she had chosen the
 
 206 PEDBANK. 
 
 most distinguished-looking man ; she had had a magnif 
 icent trousseau and a grand Avedding. If every single 
 day since that happy event had not been filled with 
 sunshine, she must not fall into complaints and spoil 
 her eyes by weeping there was no use in it. She did 
 admire her husband very much. In his own particular 
 sphere at home he was splendid. When he returned to 
 the city with her, she knew she would be proud of him 
 he was so greatly superior to the husbands of her various 
 schoolmates and friends, then she thought of the enter 
 tainments she would give, and those to which she would be 
 invited, of the concerts and theatre parties to which she 
 would lend her charming presence. Gradually the un 
 pleasant experiences of the past few weeks faded from 
 her mind, and she arose from the bed and began the 
 mysteries of her elaborate toilette. When at length 
 her husband entered he was delighted to find her 
 resplendent in velvet and diamonds. He approached 
 her with the old-time admiration and compliments. 
 She smiled and put up her lips to be kissed. 
 
 " We won't quarrel any more, will we ? " she said. 
 
 " I hope not," he replied ; " it's awfully uncomfort 
 able, and does no good." 
 
 " Then, you mustn't be cross to me," she said. 
 
 " And don't be cross yourself, my dear," he answered. 
 They both laughed. He sat down in a large arm-chair, 
 and she seated herself on his lap. 
 
 At dinner, Percy satisfied the expectations' of her 
 sister-in-law. She was herself again. After all, the 
 little heart was not broken. Perhaps it had felt a 
 pang or two, but that kind of suffering does not merit 
 pity ; it is only an antidote to vanity. 
 
 A week later, Mr. and Mrs. Philip Winston left Red- 
 bank. Thanks were most graciously expressed for the
 
 EEUBANK. 207 
 
 kind entertainment they had received, and regrets that 
 so delightful a visit had at length come to an end. 
 They continued their wedding-journey to Florida and 
 New Orleans, and by the beginning of the New Year 
 were at home again. 
 
 After their departure, a change came over the Colonel. 
 His late genial mood gave place to gloom and ill-temper. 
 
 Again he went through the house, slamming the 
 doors, scolding the servants, and kicking the dogs. 
 Jessie was glad that Harry was out of the way, and that 
 the shower of epithets usually lavished on him now fell 
 on the head of Peyton. The negro only grinned, and 
 bore it with amiable resignation. 
 
 After a few days, the young girl heard with astonish 
 ment that the plantation of Redbank had been mort 
 gaged to the Colonel's brother. 
 
 " This, then, was why he brought his bride to see us 
 this is the southern plantation over which some day 
 she is to preside as mistress," said Eleanor, in a tone of 
 bitterness. " I never thought much of Philip, but I 
 confess I did not believe him quite so selfish and mean. 
 It has wounded the Colonel terribly ; his whole aim 
 now will be to pay back the money which he owes 
 Philip, and redeem Redbank. He loves this old plan 
 tation with a proud and foolish affection. It would 
 break his heart to part with it ; it is his title-deed to 
 nobility." She sighed as she spoke, for no one realized 
 so well as herself the hopeless entanglement into which 
 her husband's affairs were slowly drifting.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 ALICE had sent Jessie an invitation to visit her. She 
 had written a pleading little note which it was impos 
 sible to resist, and the two friends were again together. 
 The affection between them had been strengthened rather 
 than weakened by absence. In her own home, Alice was 
 like her former self. The effort to entertain her 4 guest 
 effaced even the slight traces of a change in character. 
 She had always been gentle, silent, and reserved she 
 was scarcely more so now. Mr. Waverley Brooks was 
 a visitor at The Grove, and Jessie daily saw the cousins 
 together. She was puzzled to understand them. The 
 manner of each to the other was frank, familiar, and deli 
 cately polite, but it was difficult to believe that they were 
 lovers. No tender little glances ever passed between 
 them no softly-whispered words. Jessie had had but 
 little experience in love affairs, but she knew that there 
 were endless varieties of the disease. She made up her 
 mind that this was a very mild form. Having been 
 engaged from childhood, they had probably passed the 
 violent crisis, and were now on the road to recovery. 
 It was almost the same as being married they had 
 grown so used to each other. Alice was a charming 
 little hostess ; she was always thinking of something 
 pleasant for Jessie to do. She showed a great .desire to 
 promote the acquaintance between her friend and her 
 cousin, and threw them much together. She insisted 
 that Waverley should tell Jessie and herself all about
 
 REDBANK. 209 
 
 his life in Europe. With eager interest the two girls 
 looked over the piles of photographs which illustrated 
 his journey from country to country. They had both 
 read and studied enough to be familiar with much that 
 he told them ; it was just that kind of familiarity which 
 asks intelligent questions. 
 
 " It is better than going to Europe oneself," exclaimed 
 Alice, " for we can have it all without stirring from this 
 dear, comfortable old room." 
 
 " I don't know about that," said Jessie ; " there must 
 be great enjoyment in travelling. The continual move 
 ment and excitement and variety must be delightful ! " 
 
 " Waverley, what country did you enjoy most ? " 
 asked his cousin. 
 
 " In a way, I enjoyed all," he answered. " I liked 
 England because it was somewhat like home, and yet 
 full of all kinds of interesting objects that one does not 
 find in America ruins, cathedrals, castles, and quaint 
 old towns and villages. I tramped over it from one 
 end to the other, and it all seemed beautiful to me, the 
 quiet lake scenery, the cliffs of Cornwall, the moors of 
 Yorkshire, and the downs of Sussex. Then I liked 
 France immensely ; the country is picturesque, and the 
 people gay and charming. I spent the best part of 
 a summer with a party of artists, going through Nor 
 mandy and Brittany, and we had a glorious time. Then 
 Switzerland is grand beyond description. To climb its 
 mountains tones one up to a pitch of sublimity. Its air 
 is so exhilarating that it makes one feel heroic. But 
 Italy is the country that best satisfies the artist. Its 
 wonderful sky gives a charm to everything lakes, 
 rivers, mountains, and plains, all seem a part of dream 
 land. Its beautiful old cities are filled with the richest 
 and rarest treasures of art. It is almost impossible to
 
 210 REDBANK. 
 
 exhaust them. Oh, it is a wonderful land ! I often 
 felt that I would like to linger there forever, going 
 from town to town, and studying history, art, and music 
 side by side. I want to go there to live some day." 
 
 " And what city would you select for your home ? " 
 asked Alice. 
 
 " I would go from one to another. I would choose 
 Venice and the Lakes for spring, some villa in the high 
 Apennines for summer, Florence and Rome in the 
 autumn, and Naples in winter. With some sweet, con 
 genial spirit to enjoy it with me, the existence would 
 be simply divine." 
 
 " Well, I know I would not like it," said Mrs. 
 Brooks ; " I had rather be in my own home, and have 
 things exactly as I want them. It was bad enough last 
 summer it would be worse still in Europe. So you 
 need not invite me to go with you, Waverley," and the 
 old lady smiled. 
 
 " And what do you say, Alice ? " he asked. 
 
 She flushed slightly, and then said, " You know I am 
 not fond of travelling, and I would be dreadfully con 
 fused by so many things to see all the time. I would 
 soon grow tired and long for The Grove and my books." 
 
 " But you could take the books along with you, or 
 buy some more there," he replied. 
 
 " But I like to read them in some bright, particular 
 spot, some cosy rocking-chair in a certain corner some 
 cushioned window-sill, from which I can look out upon 
 a familiar view." 
 
 " I'm afraid you have grown too foreign, Mr. Brooks, 
 to deserve an American wife," said Jessie ; " you will 
 have to choose a dreamy Italian girl." 
 
 " Did you fall in love with any of them, Waverley ? " 
 asked Alice. " Now, speak the truth honor bright."
 
 REDBANK. 211 
 
 " Of course, I did," he replied, laughing gayly ; " I 
 was always falling in love, wherever I went ; superfi 
 cially, you know, for I had a well-rooted .attachment 
 before I left home," and he looked up at his cousin. 
 Again a delicate color came into her cheeks. 
 
 "Do tell us about your various love affairs," she ex 
 claimed, " it will be very amusing." 
 
 " Are you perfectly sure you will like to hear about 
 them ? " he asked. 
 
 " Indeed I am ! perfectly sure ! " she answered em 
 phatically. 
 
 "Well," he said, "I met my first love in England. 
 One day, while in London, I went to the Royal Acad 
 emy to see the pictures. Soon after entering, I saw a 
 tall, elegant creature a perfect vision of loveliness, mov 
 ing slowly around from canvas to canvas, and studying 
 her catalogue very devoutly. I took my seat in a com 
 fortable corner, and gave up my time entirely to 
 looking at her. Afterwards I found out that she was 
 an Earl's daughter, and quite beyond my reach. Seeing 
 that those grapes were sour, I turned away and left 
 them." 
 
 " Describe her to us, Mr. Brooks," said Jessie ; " I am 
 curious to know what an Earl's daughter looks like. 
 There must be a halo around her head." 
 
 " She was very fair and tall a kind of Scandinavian 
 goddess, with great liquid blue eyes, and such a maze 
 of gold-colored hair around her face as I had never 
 before seen. Yes, she did seem to wear a halo about 
 her head. I followed her when she left the gallery, 
 and saw her drive away in a handsome carriage with a 
 coronet upon the panels, and a coachman and footman 
 in livery. I was curious to know who she was, so I 
 went to the custodian and found out. Lady Geraldine
 
 212 REDBANK. 
 
 Stacy was her name. Well, I got over that hopeless 
 passion after a while. I saw from the papers that she 
 was going to marry a duke, so I knew there was no 
 chance for me." Here he paused. 
 
 " Do go on ! " said Alice ; " it is like a charming 
 romance." 
 
 " Let me see I was in Paris, I believe, when my next 
 grand passion seized me. I was sauntering around the 
 Madeleine one afternoon, looking at the flower-show in 
 a listless way, when I saw the daintiest, most distract 
 ing little creature come up, and begin to bargain for 
 some roses. She had lovely dark eyes and lips like 
 cherries. It was perfectly intoxicating to watch her; 
 she moved in a fairy, floating way as if she were swim 
 ming in the air. I followed her for quite a distance, 
 and saw her finally disappear in the Magasin du Louvre. 
 I went to the Madeleine every day for a week, hoping 
 to get another glimpse of her, but all in vain. One 
 night, I was at the theatre, and recognized her on the 
 stage she was a ballet-girl. Her .dancing was super 
 natural. Isn't that enough ? " he asked, looking at 
 Alice and smiling. 
 
 " Oh ! no ! " she said, " do go on. I cannot tell you 
 how interested I am." 
 
 " Must I, Miss Holcombe ? Are you not tired of lis 
 tening to me ? " 
 
 "By no means ; go on and give us the whole story," 
 replied Jessie. 
 
 " My next love-affair came on in Venice. I had just 
 taken an apartment in an old palace on the Grand 
 Canal. It was a lovely evening in June. A party of 
 friends had dined with me, and after leaving the table, 
 we went out on the balcony for a smoke. We were 
 laughing and talking rather noisily, when we saw a
 
 JIEDBANK. 213 
 
 gondola approaching ; a lady was reclining on the 
 cushions under a handsome awning. She had some 
 kind of lace affair over her head, so we could not see 
 her face very well. Soon the gondola stopped at the 
 door of the palace next to our own, and the lady got 
 out. By this time our curiosity was excited we were 
 all waiting for something to happen. About ten min 
 utes passed, and then a perfectly divine creature came 
 out on the adjoining balcony. A servant in livery 
 brought her a crimson cushion, and she leaned over the 
 balustrade and smoked her cigarette in full view, eyeing 
 us with the most delightful nonchalance imaginable. 
 She was a Venus of Milo with all the rich coloring of 
 the South in her face. We were charmed to see the 
 grace with which she handled that cigarette, and how 
 she puffed out the cloud of smoke from her lovely lips. 
 I used to watch her every evening for weeks, and she 
 watched me with the same coolness. I found out all 
 about her, and I'm sorry to say that the record was not 
 altogether good. She was a Signora Marchesa, and 
 accounted the most beautiful woman in Venice. She 
 was married to a little homely fellow at least twice as 
 old as herself, but immensely rich. I used to see him 
 sometimes passing in and out of the palace, but never 
 with her. You see there are pretty women all over the 
 world. How can a man help seeing and admiring 
 them ? Is there any harm in it, Aunt Kate ? " 
 
 " I'm afraid there is," she said, shaking her head and 
 smiling. 
 
 " Well, Alice will absolve me, I know," he replied. 
 " I'm not sure but she has been using her time by fall 
 ing in love too." 
 
 Again the girl blushed slightly, but made no reply. 
 
 " Nonsense, Waverley," said his aunt ; " Alice is not
 
 214 REDBANK. 
 
 the kind of girl to fall in love with every man she meets, 
 even if he does happen to be handsome." 
 
 " Are you sure you have reached the end of your 
 romances, Waverley ? " asked his cousin. 
 
 " I think I have I can't remember any more." He 
 paused a moment, and then exclaimed, " Oh ! yes, I did 
 fall in love with, a voice once it haunts me even now. 
 Late one winter afternoon, I was walking down an ob 
 scure street in London, when I passed a little church 
 and heard the tones of an organ. I thought I would 
 drop in for the service. When I entered, I saw no one 
 but the sexton, who was walking slowly up and down 
 the aisles ; but somebody was playing on the organ. I 
 am fond of music, so I entered one of the pews and sat 
 down. Soon, above the organ, floating upward and fill 
 ing the whole church, I heard a rich contralto voice, the 
 strongest, the purest, the sweetest that I had ever list 
 ened to in all my life. Hymn after hymn was sung, and 
 chant after chant. My curiosity was so excited that I 
 called the sexton, gave him a sovereign, and asked him 
 who the singer was. He told me that she was the 
 daughter of the rector of the church, and that she came 
 every afternoon to practice on the organ. I used to go 
 to the church continually just to hear her sing. I tried 
 very hard to see her, for I had drawn a picture of her in 
 my mind, and was curious to know if there was any 
 resemblance, but she always left the organ-loft by a 
 back stairway which, communicated with the rectory. 
 At last, I got a glimpse of her ; she was very small, 
 no longer young, and not at all beautiful. She looked 
 old and sad and over-worked. It was a dreadful disap 
 pointment to me." 
 
 " Well, I must say that you have been a very faithless 
 fellow," said Alice, shaking her head at him.
 
 EEDBANK. 21") 
 
 " Now, that's not fair, when I've made you my con 
 fessor; is it, Miss Holcombe ? " 
 
 " Hardly," said Jessie ; " that is, if you have told the 
 truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." 
 
 " Indeed I have those were my very worst offences. 
 I did carry on a harmless flirtation on the steamer with 
 a pretty little American girl, but it was entirely her 
 fault, I assure you. She flirted with every man on 
 board, from the steward to the captain." 
 
 " How do your country-women compare with Euro 
 pean ladies, Mr. Brooks ? " asked Jessie. 
 
 " In good looks, style and cleverness, American girls 
 cannot be beaten the world over ; but their manners are 
 sometimes too free and easy. Occasionally I used to feel 
 sorry to see them flirt so promiscuously." 
 
 " Waverley," said Alice, looking at him very intently, 
 " I want to know one thing. Has life in America lost 
 its attractions for you ? " 
 
 " By no means," he exclaimed, emphatically ; " it 
 is full of charm and freshness. I am proud to be an 
 American. I am proud to have a share in such a grand 
 country, and to have a voice in such a noble govern 
 ment. A man gets tired of tramping around Europe 
 forever ; he wants a country of his own and a part to 
 play in it. In order to get real enjoyment out of life, 
 a man wants constant occupation of a very earnest 
 kind. I don't think I should be satisfied with patch 
 work for a profession, Aunt Kate," and he looked at 
 her and smiled. " It seems a dreadful waste of time 
 to cut pieces of silk into little bits, and then ,sew them 
 together again. Why don't you sew the big pieces at 
 once, and then you will finish much sooner ? " 
 
 " You must not ask questions about what you cannot 
 understand," his aunt replied.
 
 216 EEDBANK. 
 
 " How do you know I cannot understand ? " he asked ; 
 " I'm sure there's no great mystery about it. I could 
 easily do it myself only it is not worth while." 
 
 " Let me see you do it," said Alice, laughing. " Do 
 give him some scraps, mother ; let's make him prove his 
 rash assertion." 
 
 " No," said the lady, very decidedly, " I shall not spoil 
 my silk by letting him handle it ; of course, he believes 
 himself capable of doing anything and everything." 
 
 " Please don't be so sarcastic," replied the young man. 
 " It makes me feel like shrivelling up and sinking out of 
 sight." 
 
 " Well, Waverley, what is your opinion of my knit 
 ting ? " asked Alice, holding up for exhibition the long 
 stripe of an afghan. . 
 
 "I don't think much of that either as a continual 
 occupation, though when one has such pretty hands as 
 yours and uses such bright yarns, the picture is very 
 charming. But knitting is altogether too slow ; one 
 does not merely want to work one wants to see some 
 satisfactory result." 
 
 "As if this beautiful stripe were not a satisfactory 
 result ! " exclaimed Alice ; " you deserve to be pinched." 
 
 The gentleman laughed and said, " When one consid 
 ers that you have been at work on it all the summer 
 and half the winter, the result is wholly insignificant. 
 Now, it seems to me that knitting is only meant to fill 
 up a void ; the German market-woman knits while she 
 sells her vegetables; the nursery-maid knits while she 
 watches the children play in the park ; the shop-woman 
 knits while she is waiting for a customer. You take the 
 work too seriously." 
 
 " Waverley, your head is entirely filled up with for 
 eign ideas," said Alice ; " you don't deserve to live in
 
 REDE AN K. 217 
 
 America any longer you ought to be ostracized and 
 banished to Europe." 
 
 "And how about my crochet work, Mr. Brooks?" 
 asked Jessie, exhibiting a dainty shawl which she was 
 making for Eleanor's birthday present. 
 
 " I'm sorry to say that it is open to the same objection 
 as the knitting," he answered again, indulging in a 
 laugh. 
 
 " Well, what kind of work would you recommend 
 for us ? You condemn idleness, and you condemn 
 our fancy-work. What shall we do ? " asked Jessie. 
 
 " Ah ! that's altogether another thing, Miss Hoi- 
 combe. I will think about it. Perhaps, in the course 
 of time, I may evolve an answer out of the inner folds 
 of my brain." 
 
 " Well, in the meantime, go to the piano and give us 
 some music." 
 
 Like an obedient servant, he went to the instru 
 ment, opened it, and began to play. Jessie Holcombe 
 had never before heard anyone touch the keys with 
 so masterly a hand. She laid down her work and 
 listened with delight. As the shadows of evening came 
 on, the musician seemed to be more and more inspired. 
 His fingers lingered lovingly on the keys, making the 
 piano sing with almost human tones. When at last, he 
 paused and arose from the stool, she entreated him not 
 to stop. " This is just the hour for music," she said ; 
 " it is like a vesper service." 
 
 " I feel that way myself," he answered ; " I always 
 practice at this time. There is a mystery about music 
 in the dark that makes it more satisfactory as the lan 
 guage of the soul. Sometimes I seem to be talking to 
 the great masters, or rather listening to their divine talk. 
 I feel their sorrows as if they were my own. I know 
 just how Beethoven felt shut up in a prison-house that
 
 218 . JtEDBANK. 
 
 no sound could penetrate. I can understand Chopin's 
 refined wretchedness and Schuman's incipient madness." 
 And once more he began to play. After a while, Mrs. 
 Brooks went softly out of the room to attend to some 
 household duties. Alice moved noiselessly to the west 
 window, and seated herself behind the curtain. She 
 was fond of looking at the evening sky, and watching 
 the stars come out. Jessie lay back in a large arm-chair 
 near the fire, closed her eyes, and listened to the music 
 with a feeling of happy restfulness. An hour passed, 
 and still the gentleman continued to play, forgetful of 
 all around him. 
 
 Suddenly he struck a few deep chords, and left the 
 piano. He came and sat down near Jessie. 
 
 " What are you thinking of, Miss Holcombe ? " he 
 asked, after a short silence. 
 
 "I can hardly tell," she answered; "I have been 
 dreaming, rather than thinking. I have had visions 
 of far-away, unattainable things. I've dipt into the 
 future far as human eye can see." 
 
 " Ah ! you have been reading Locksley Hall" he said. 
 " I wonder if you like that poem as well as I do." 
 
 " How can I tell ? I only know that it is a great 
 favorite of mine. There are some very fine lines in it." 
 
 " Yes," he said, " from beginning to end, it has * a 
 splendid ring. When you read it, you feel as if the 
 world were spinning on to some grand consummation 
 the poor old world, with its burden of sin and sorrow." 
 
 She did not reply. Soon he added, " Miss Hol 
 combe, I want to help the world along to be one of 
 those who take part in its progress. It is not enough 
 to live ; I want to leave the world better for having 
 lived in it. Can you understand the feeling ? " 
 
 " Yes," she said, rather sadly ; " it is a noble ambi-
 
 REDTiANK. 0^9 
 
 tion, but we are such atoms. What can we do, except 
 in a small, inappreciable way ! Our individual work 
 hardly seems to count. Each one of us is a mere drop 
 in the great ocean." 
 
 " Yes, that thought is rather discouraging," he re 
 plied, " but, Miss Holcombe, the strong purpose in a 
 man's heart to do something great and good, lifts him 
 above the common herd. He is no longer a mere atom 
 a mere drop. He becomes a force. I believe in the 
 power of the human will. If a man determines to do a 
 thing, and works steadily towards that end, he succeeds 
 at last. The struggle may be severe, but the success is 
 as certain as anything human can be." 
 
 " Yes, I believe you are right," she said, " our wishes 
 and our hopes, if they are earnest enough, become 
 prayers." 
 
 " And prayers are not merely words, but acts. That 
 I really pray for, I work for," he added. " The mass of 
 mankind are too feeble in purpose, and too indolent in 
 temperament to accomplish much. And some are too 
 selfish to care for anything but the accumulation of 
 treasures for themselves, and so the world drags on ; 
 human progress is so slow that angels as well as men 
 must sometimes feel discouraged. It is a beautiful 
 world, and it ought to be the very brightest planet in 
 the skies." 
 
 Here the supper-bell rang and the conversation was 
 interrupted. 
 
 After a fortnight spent in this pleasant family circle, 
 each day enlivened by walks and talks, readings and 
 rides, Jessie Holcombe returned to Redbank. Both the 
 Colonel and Mrs. Winston welcomed her back, and she 
 fell once more into the home routine.
 
 220 PEDBAXK. 
 
 " Well, Jessie," said the Colonel, soon after her ar 
 rival, " when is the wedding to take place ? " 
 
 " What wedding ? " she asked, for a moment at a loss 
 to know what he meant. 
 
 "Why the wedding of Miss Alice Brooks and her 
 cousin, of course. Whom else could I refer to ? The 
 whole country, and the city too, as for that, are in a 
 state of expectation, waiting for the cards. Come, tell 
 us when it is to be." 
 
 " That is more than I know," she replied ; " I cer 
 tainly heard no talk of a wedding, and I saw no signs 
 of preparation." 
 
 " You surprise me," he said ; " I thought that you 
 had been sent for purposely to assist in the mysteries 
 that precede the ceremony." 
 
 " You are mistaken," she answered. 
 
 " Well, now, that is strange ! " exclaimed the Colonel. 
 " I wonder what they are waiting for. I'm sure they 
 have been engaged long enough to know each other 
 pretty well by this time. They will soon be getting 
 old, if they don't look out." 
 
 " The period of engagement is so pleasant that they 
 wish to prolong it as much as possible, perhaps," said 
 Mrs. Winston. 
 
 " Well, I don't believe in long engagements," the Col 
 onel replied, " it keeps young people restless and unset 
 tled. Let them get married and begin life in earnest." 
 
 Soon he turned to Jessie again and said, " I suppose 
 they are very much in love with each other? You 
 must have felt out in the cold." 
 
 The girl laughed and replied, " Oh ! no, I did not feel 
 at all out in the cold. I suppose they are attached to 
 each other ; they seem to enjoy each other's society very 
 much, but I did not see any signs of excessive devotion. 
 
 14
 
 UEDBANR. 221 
 
 I imagine that they reserve that kind of nonsense for 
 private occasions when there are no guests in the house." 
 
 " And how do you like Mr. Waverley Brooks ? " asked 
 the Colonel. 
 
 " He is more agreeable, perhaps, than most gentle 
 men, because he is very finely educated, and has trav 
 elled, and seen a great deal of the world. He talks well, 
 he reads well, he plays on the piano well, he sings well 
 indeed I suppose he does everything well, for he has 
 had the best possible advantages in the world." 
 
 " Plays on the piano ! " exclaimed the Colonel. " I 
 don't see what a man wants to play on the piano for, un 
 less he expects to make a living by giving music-lessons. 
 When I was young that kind of thing wasn't considered 
 manly." 
 
 " You see the world is changing," said Jessie, laugh 
 ing. " It seems to me a very beautiful accomplishment 
 fora man to possess. No man can be tiresome or common 
 place who understands and loves music. I have an idea, 
 even, that it improves his temper and makes him easier 
 to live with." 
 
 " I don't believe that," said the Colonel ; " it is more 
 apt to make him a conceited puppy."
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 IT had been raining for several days a real wintery 
 downpour that kept one helplessly in the house. Jessie 
 was again at The Grove. Mrs. Brooks had sent for her, 
 insisting that her presence cheered Alice, and enlivened 
 the whole family. During the long-continued storm 
 there had been much quiet gayety in the old plantation 
 house. Waverley Brooks was thoroughly accomplished. 
 No one played so well on the piano, no one read with 
 more taste or feeling, no one could give a scene out 
 of Shakespeare with finer effect. He was unconscious 
 and obliging, and threw a good deal of the enthusiasm 
 of his nature into whatever he did. Altogether the days 
 had passed swiftly and delightfully, in spite of the patter 
 of rain against the windows. 
 
 At last, one afternoon, a fresh wind sprang up, the 
 clouds broke away, and the sun came out. Waverley, 
 who had been reading to the ladies, soon laid aside 
 his book, and suggested that they should all go out for a 
 walk. Jessie eagerly assented, but Alice declared that it 
 was too damp and cold ; her throat was already sore, and 
 she did not dare to leave the house. " But, Jessie dear, 
 you and Waverley must go," she said ; " I'm sure you will 
 enjoy it." 
 
 " Yes, the air is delightful, I know, and we will have 
 time to go to the mill," he pleaded. " Do come. You 
 will not mind a little mud ? "
 
 REDBANK. 223 
 
 " Oh, no," Jessie replied, " only I don't want to leave 
 Alice. I wish you could go, too, dear." 
 
 "Never mind about me," cried the girl; " I'll go up 
 and take a nap, and be fresh when you return." 
 
 " She must not go," said Mrs. Brooks, very decidedly ; 
 " she has complained of her throat a great deal for the 
 past few days, and it is time for her to be careful. But 
 you must go, Jessie. You are so fond of walking that 
 you won't mind the mud, and the air will do you good, 
 only do not stay out too late." 
 
 Jessie ran upstairs and soon returned equipped for a 
 walk. 
 
 " Are you well shod ? " asked the gentleman. 
 
 " Oh, yes," and she showed him the stout little boots. 
 
 " That will do," he said, and off they started. 
 
 " I do wish that Alice were stronger," remarked Jessie 
 as they descended the steps. 
 
 " Yes, we all feel anxious about her," the young man 
 answered. " It makes my aunt very nervous to see 
 Alice ill. But I think she is getting better ; it seems 
 to cheer her up wonderfully to have you in the house, 
 Miss Holcombe." 
 
 The remark surprised the girl, but she made no com 
 ment, only saying : " How delicious this fresh air is ! 
 I am sure it could not have done her any harm to come 
 out. She stays in the house too much. It is not cold in 
 the least, but just keen enough to make one feel thor 
 oughly alive." 
 
 " I agree with you," replied the gentleman. " I love 
 a cold day it tones one up and makes one feel equal to 
 a tough job. I'm afraid our climate has a tendency to 
 make one feel just a little bit indolent." 
 
 They went on rapidly over the open road. The white 
 sand had alreadv dried, the walking was good, and
 
 2-24 HEDBANK. 
 
 the clear sunshine was very pleasant. They moved 
 along side by side, now talking, now falling into silence, 
 as good comrades usually do. Soon they reached the 
 pine-wood, and were obliged to choose their steps with 
 more care. Waverley often found it necessary to give 
 a little assistance, but this only furnished an occasion 
 to laugh and say pleasant things to each other. 
 
 " I am very fond of this pine-grove," he remarked, 
 looking up at the stately trees. 
 
 " So am I," said the girl, " I wish it were as near Red- 
 bank as it is to The Grove I'm sure I would live in it 
 it has such a strange fascination for me. But I think 
 it suits a melancholy mood." 
 
 " Yes, there's something solemn about it," he replied ; 
 " the trunks are so high and massive, and the foliage 
 so dark and heavy that one seems to be in a vast cathe 
 dral. I can almost hear the tones of the organ." 
 
 " How I wish that I could see a cathedral ! " ex 
 claimed Jessie. 
 
 " Perhaps you may, some day." 
 
 " I'm afraid not. If I were a man, there would be 
 some hope for me ; but being only a woman " she left 
 the sentence unfinished and was silent for a moment, 
 but then continued in her bright, impulsive way, " It 
 must be so nice to be a man, and form plans, and carry 
 them out." 
 
 " Has not a woman the same right ? " he asked. 
 
 " No, she only stands and waits, without any plan in 
 life only a vague yearning to be useful to somebody, 
 sometime, and somehow." There was a plaintive little 
 undertone to her voice. She was thinking of her own 
 life ; her eyes were looking straight ahead to a bright 
 spot where the sun-light fell through the pine trunks. 
 Her large black hat, heavy with plumes, was turned up
 
 RED HANK. 2-25 
 
 at the side the side on which the gentleman was walk 
 ing. It left her white cheek perfectly revealed, and 
 the little ear gleaming among the stray curls that had 
 escaped from the comb and pins. tVaverly Brooks was 
 rather cold in his temperament, but somehow he looked 
 long and often at this girl who was walking beside him. 
 Presently he said, " I think women have their triumphs as 
 well as men. There are always compensations in nature." 
 
 "Yes, the triumphs of fortitude, patience, and resig 
 nation," she answered sadly as the position of woman's 
 lot in life arose before her mind. 
 
 "Are they to be despised ? " he asked. 
 
 "No; after all, the spiritual triumphs are the highest 
 and best, but 
 
 " But what ? " he asked, seeing her hesitate. 
 
 " How do I know that you care for the end of the 
 sentence," she replied with a faint smile. 
 
 "Try me and see. An unfinished sentence always 
 provokes curiosity." 
 
 " If it is only curiosity you feel, I will leave it 
 unfinished." 
 
 "You do me injustice," he said. " I assure you that 
 I feel something more than curiosity. I think I know 
 what you were going to say." 
 
 " Tell me then." 
 
 "Something like this: a woman cannot make a 
 career for herself ; she is shut in by conventional hedges; 
 she cannot more than half use the force within her; the 
 conditions of society allow her only to develop the pas 
 sive virtues. Am I right ? " 
 
 She was surprised that he had understood her so well. 
 
 " I think you are in a measure right," he added, " but 
 things are changing. It seems to me, that a woman has 
 the same right to make the most of herself that a man
 
 oofl REDBAXK. 
 
 has. If slie possesses talent, she ought to use it. If 
 she is, by nature, strong and independent, society should 
 allow her to follow her impulses and choose a profession, 
 and earn an honest. living." 
 
 "You are more liberal than most men," she said, 
 " they are generally shocked by the independence of a 
 woman. They like her to be timid, and clinging, and 
 a little worshipful of their ' larger bones and stronger 
 sinews.' " 
 
 He smiled at her slightly contemptuous tone 
 
 " Yes, I confess we are rather selfish. It is a great 
 comfort to uy to know that the sweetest and best women 
 generally find their career in keeping the house of some 
 man. For my part, I'm glad it is so." They both 
 laughed. 
 
 " Ah ! I see you are just like all the rest of them," 
 she said, " and I was beginning to think you a little 
 better." 
 
 " I am miserable to have fallen so soon in your good 
 opinion," he answered ; ;t but don't you remember Ten 
 nyson's Princess? With all her haughty strength and 
 determination, she yielded when the Prince came." 
 
 " A man wrote that ! " she exclaimed, a little im 
 patiently. " Now, if I had written it, I would have made 
 that Castle a great social centre, from which an influ 
 ence would have gone out to convert the world. It 
 spoils the poem to have the great purpose of its heroine 
 fail so soon. Don't you think so ? " 
 
 " That depends upon the way you look at it," he said, 
 laughing ; " now I like that end exceedingly." 
 
 " Of course you do. It is always nice for a man to 
 find a good housekeeper. That's the end of every 
 story that's written. There, don't reply to that," she 
 added ; " I will not hear any defence. Just look at
 
 REDBANK. 227 
 
 that glimpse of the pond through the trees ; we have 
 almost reached the mill." 
 
 " It is rather a picturesque spot," he said ; " I used to 
 be very fond of it, when I was a boy, and many a fish 
 I've pulled out of the water. I don't care much for 
 the sport now. How we do out-grow our tastes and 
 affections ! I used to feel that Paradise itself would 
 be incomplete without a gun and dog and plenty of 
 partridges to shoot, and now I'm rather indifferent to 
 that, too." 
 
 " You have reached a higher plane of civilization," 
 said Jessie ; " such signs of growth are very gratifying. 
 I remember that I felt quite glad when I ceased to love 
 my doll. It seemed as if I were at last really a young 
 lady." They both laughed. Soon they came out of 
 the woods in full view of the mill. The pond was very 
 high, the dam was a roaring cataract, the^tream a rush 
 ing river. They walked around and obtained more than 
 one point from which they could take in the whole 
 scene. 
 
 " It would make a beautiful picture," he said, " I 
 would like to paint it." 
 
 " Do you paint ? " she asked, surprised that he pos 
 sessed an accomplishment almost unknown at that time 
 among the gentlemen of the South. 
 
 " Yes, a little ; I've made some very bad pictures in 
 my life ; but I like it very much. There is great enjoy 
 ment in looking at Nature with the artist's eye in trying 
 to catch fine effects, and feeling for tone and color." 
 
 She told him the tragic story connected with the mill. 
 He had never heard it before, and declared that it lent 
 an additional charm an air of melancholy sentiment 
 to the place. 
 
 " I suppose you used to spend much of your time at
 
 228 EEDBANK. 
 
 The Grove, when you were a boy ? " she asked, as he 
 pointed out the various spots with which he was familiar. 
 
 " Not a great deal only a part of every vacation," 
 he answered ; " the truth is, my father kept me awfully 
 busy from the time I was out of long clothes. He 
 wanted to make an extraordinary man out of me, and 
 made me study everything under the sun. Sometimes 
 I feel dreadfully sorry to see him so disappointed." 
 
 " But is he disappointed ? " asked the young girl ; 
 " I don't see why he should be." 
 
 He laughed and said, " A thousand thanks for the 
 compliment. It makes me hope that I am not a total 
 failure." She looked at him with surprise. " I did 
 not mean to shock you," he continued, " but the truth 
 is, my father is disappointed in his son. In educating 
 children, I suppose all parents have their ideals, and 
 they expect the boys and .girls to reach them, but human 
 nature is too imperfect for that. It is as difficult for a 
 father to make his son perfect as it is for him to make 
 himself perfect." 
 
 " I understand what you mean," she said, simply, " but 
 I am sure your father always speaks of you with the 
 greatest pride. You are his idol. I know you will 
 never disappoint him in one single thing." 
 
 " It delights me to have you express so much confi 
 dence in me, Miss Holcombe," he replied, " but I cannot 
 allow you to be deceived. I am obliged to confess that 
 I am on the eve of dealing him a very heavy blow." 
 
 " Oh ! don't, please," she pleaded ; " your father is 
 one of the best and wisest men in the world ; you must 
 not do anything in opposition to his wishes." 
 
 " I cannot help it. If I am true to my own self, I 
 must sometimes disagree with him. No two men, or 
 women either, are made exactly alike."
 
 REDBANK. 229 
 
 She thought awhile and then said : 
 
 " I believe you are right ; sometimes in pleasing others, 
 even those who love us best, and would save us from 
 all harm, we go wrong ourselves. Yes, it is really so 
 Each one must decide the great questions of life for 
 himself." 
 
 " I am glad that you understand me, Miss Holcombe ; 
 I am not sure that my father will. I have hurt him 
 several times of late without intending it. I will tell 
 you about it, if you care to listen." 
 
 " Of course I do. How could you doubt it? " 
 
 He was glad that she was so simple and direct and 
 unconscious. 
 
 " Well, in the first place, he wants me to begin the 
 .practice of law. For years I have been fitting myself 
 for it. I went through the law course at Harvard, and 
 also studied a year at Heidelberg. I like the history of 
 law very much. I enjoy working up a fine case ; the 
 whole course of study has been delightful ; but I know 
 there are a great many things about the practice of law 
 that would be odious to me, and I have made up my mind 
 upon the subject. I shall never be a lawyer." 
 
 " I know your father must feel that very keenly," 
 said Jessie ; " he desired you to be associated with him ; 
 you could have helped him in so many ways. Are you 
 sure you are right perfectly sure ? " 
 
 " Yes ; there is a profession that I prefer, and in which 
 I have already had some training. It is journalism. It 
 deals with all the broad public questions of the day 
 those questions that affect not only men but nations. 
 I could never be content to fight the petty battles of 
 rogues arid swindlers. No, 1 have no taste whatever for 
 the practice of law. I cannot make it my life-work even 
 to please my father. Then, again, I wish to go to New
 
 230 HEDBANK. 
 
 York to live. My education lias been cosmopolitan, and 
 I cannot be happy in our provincial little town. I would 
 feel all the time as if I were panting for breath. I love 
 the South, but I am tired of hearing sectional questions 
 discussed. We have one country now, and it is time to 
 get rid of unreasonable prejudices. This is a great grief 
 to my father, and I am not surprised, but I cannot help 
 it." 
 
 " And you are very certain that you are right ? " asked 
 the girl, wondering at his boldness and quiet determina 
 tion. 
 
 "Yes, perfectly certain, Miss Holcombe; I cannot 
 follow in my father's footsteps^ I must make a path of 
 my own. I don't believe it will be down-hill, either," 
 he added, smiling. 
 
 .He did not continue the conversation, and she had too- 
 much delicacy to solicit his confidence any farther; 
 but she could not help wondering what Alice thought 
 of all these plans and purposes. During this conversa 
 tion, they had been standing on the old bridge over the 
 mill-stream. 
 
 It was fascinating to watch the sweep of the water 
 over all obstruction, and its steadfast flow in one direc 
 tion. Jessie thought of it and, in a vague way, saw the 
 resemblance between its strong current and the strong 
 will of the young man beside her. She felt that he 
 would as surely reach his goal. Perhaps he was think 
 ing the same thing. She looked at him with some 
 curiosity. He was standing very still, lost in thought. 
 Suddenly he turned his head and their eyes met. 
 
 In a moment she felt strangely uncomfortable and 
 moved away from him. 
 
 "It is growing late ; we must start home," she said, 
 rather faintly. They walked very rapidly through the
 
 REDBANK. 231 
 
 pine woods, never speaking a single word. She chose 
 her way carefully over the mud without his assistance. 
 When they came out of the woods, the sun was setting, 
 and they paused to see the western sky, which was bril 
 liant beyond description. In silence they watched the 
 colors slowly fade away. Presently, there was a rift in 
 a large cloud, and the new moon was revealed. 
 
 " Isn't it beautiful ! " she said, her eyes still fixed 
 upon it. 
 
 " Yes ; I love to see the new moon it seems like the 
 promise of something better," he answered. 
 
 " I feel so too, and ever since I was a little child I 
 have always made a wish when I see it for the first time. 
 I'm going to make one now," she said. 
 
 " I am, too," he whispered, as if talking to himself ; 
 " there are so many things that I want." 
 
 " Are there ? " she asked ; " why, to me you seem to 
 have everything that a mortal could possibly desire." 
 
 " Do I ? Then I'm an awfully deceptive fellow I'm 
 wanting something all the while. Just at this moment, 
 I'm especially hungry for something that hangs up high 
 out of my reach, I'm afraid. But I intend to get it, 
 with the help of the moon," he added, breaking into 
 a light laugh. 
 
 When they entered the house, she went immediately 
 upstairs to remove her hat and jacket. Everything 
 was very quiet ; she wondered where Mrs. Brooks and 
 Alice were " In the parlor, perhaps," she said to herself, 
 as she arranged her hair in the dim light, and fastened 
 a bow of scarlet ribbon at her throat. She heard the 
 tones of the piano, and knew that Waverley Brooks was 
 playing. When she descended to the parlor, she found 
 the lamps lighted and the fire burning brightly, but the 
 hostess and her daughter were not there. Jessie was
 
 23-2 BEDBANK. 
 
 moving away to go in search of them when the gentle 
 man at the piano called to her. 
 
 " Come here, Miss Holcombe, I have a favor to ask of 
 you. Do you feel like making yourself useful ? " 
 
 " What can I do for you? " she asked. 
 
 " If it is not too much trouble, will you find Chopin's 
 Nocturnes for me ? They are over there in that pile of 
 music. I feel just in the mood for playing them, and 
 I am afraid the spell will be broken if I get up and 
 begin the search." 
 
 " I know where they are," she said ; and soon she had 
 found them and placed them on the music-desk before 
 him. 
 
 "Please, don't go away," he pleaded; "stand behind 
 me, and see if I play them right." 
 
 " But you know them far better than I do." 
 
 " I insist that I don't," he said, running his fingers 
 lightly over the keys. 
 
 She was standing beside him ; she was a little tired 
 from her long walk ; her small white hand was resting on 
 the instrument. He played on and on, as if the very 
 spirit of the dead master had possession of him. She 
 listened like one in a dream ; she was floating away from 
 time and space. Finally the last chord was struck. As 
 the tones died away, he lifted one of his hands, and laid 
 it gently on hers. She turned, and again they looked 
 into each other's eyes. What did they see there ? If she 
 had been less simple and true-hearted, she could have 
 read his whole soul. For him, there was only an ex 
 pression of surprise, of anger, melting away at last into 
 sorrow and pity. Slowly she withdrew her hand, and 
 moved away from the piano. Soon she left the room. 
 He heard her ascend the staircase, and a door was
 
 REDBANK. 233 
 
 softly closed. Then he got up from the piano, and went 
 out of the house. 
 
 Jessie Holcombe took her seat by the window, and 
 looked out upon the clear wintry sky. She was trying 
 to take in the meaning of this strange thing that had 
 happened to her. She longed for the shelter of her own 
 room at Redbank, that she might think it all over. She 
 was weary from her long walk, and her brain felt hot 
 and confused. She hardly knew where she was ; she 
 had gone astray, and was lost in some wilderness of 
 trouble and despair. Why, oh ! why should one look 
 thus disturb this sweetly simple maiden, this perfectly 
 poised nature ? Was there truly a deep and passionate 
 meaning in his eyes ? She could not tell. Perhaps she 
 had been dreaming. Perhaps the music had affected 
 both the outward and the inward vision. Perhaps the 
 glare of the lamp had given that strange light to his 
 eyes. Perhaps the touch of his hand had been but an 
 accident, after all. She must forget it, she must calm 
 herself ; that, at least, she knew was imperative. For a 
 long time she sat there in the darkness. Suddenly 
 she heard the supper-bell ring. It called her back 
 to the world of sense and duty. She knew that she 
 must get up, and go downstairs, and meet Mrs. Brooks 
 and Alice, and the gentleman also. She must sit 
 through a long evening, and laugh and talk as usual. 
 How could she do it ! And yet not for the world 
 would she show that her heart was on fire that her 
 pulse was beating wildly. She was a strong woman ; 
 she had been schooled to self-control in the past; she 
 stood up erect and firm in the darkness, and nerved her 
 self for the task. She moved slowly through the long 
 hall and down the stairway. By the time she reached the 
 dining-room, she Avas herself again ; the spell had been
 
 234 HEDBANK. 
 
 cast off, and the blood was once more flowing calmly in her 
 veins. Mrs. Brooks and Alice were standing in front 
 of the fire, waiting for her. She greeted them in her 
 simple, affectionate, playful way ; there was no suspi 
 cion on the part of either that anything was wrong. 
 
 Waverley Brooks lingered outside. He was at the 
 stable, inspecting his horse, for he had made up his 
 mind to start to the city in the morning as soon as it was 
 light. He wished to have an explanation with his 
 father. He came in after the ladies were seated at the 
 table, and played his part in the conversation with his 
 accustomed ease. Alice asked about the walk. 
 
 " Yes, the walk was very pleasant," he said ; " the ground 
 was a little muddy, and the air a little chilly and damp, 
 but on the whole Miss Holcombe and I enjoyed it," and 
 without lifting his eyes, he appealed to the young lady 
 to confirm his statement. 
 
 " Yes, we enjoyed it, but not so much as we would 
 have done, if you had been with us, Alice," Jessie 
 replied. " The mill-pond is very full, and the dam, a 
 perfect Niagara. If possible, you must go and see it 
 to-morrow." Alice thought she might be able to go if 
 the day was fine. 
 
 " And if the day is fine, I really must go home," said 
 Jessie. " I had a little note from Eleanor this morning, 
 and I'm afraid she thinks that I have deserted her." 
 
 This was scarcely true, for, in the note, Mrs. Winston 
 expressed her delight that her sister was having a pleasant 
 time, and begged her to stay just as long as possible. 
 
 " There is nothing to call you back to Redbank, dear, so 
 do not shorten your visit on my account." These were 
 the words ; but the conscience of the young girl did not 
 seem to trouble her in the least ; so she, perhaps, had 
 read something more between the lines.
 
 KEDBANK. 235 
 
 " No, you must not go, Jessie," said Mrs. Brooks, " we 
 cannot spare you." 
 
 " You are very kind, and I thank you more than I can 
 express, but I really must go. There are some things 
 that I cannot leave undone any longer. You know 
 a visit may be protracted until one becomes demoralized. 
 Too much enjoyment is not good for human nature. 
 Besides, Eleanor misses me." 
 
 "I can well believe that," said Alice ; "but I shall be 
 dreadfully lonely without you, dear." 
 
 " Then you must come and make me a visit. It is 
 scarcely fair to have all the hospitality on your side." 
 
 But Alice shook her head. It was impossible for her 
 to make more than a short call at Redbank. Harry 
 Holcombe was there, and she did not wish to meet him. 
 Their friendly relations had been disturbed, and he had 
 been very angry with her. Soon Waverley remarked 
 carelessly : 
 
 " What a pity our pleasant party must be broken up ! 
 I, too, shall have to leave you for a while. I must go 
 up to the city, Aunt Kate, and see about the sale of 
 that cotton. You know we sent off two or three loads 
 a few days ago. The price is up now, and we must 
 take advantage of it. Always sell on a rising market; 
 isn't that the motto of the planter? However, I shall 
 not be gone long. There is always the pleasant thought 
 of coming back again." 
 
 That evening Alice and Jessie played chess. Wa 
 verley Brooks seated himself at the piano, and, opening 
 a volume of Beethoven's Sonatas, began a soft andante 
 movement, which gradually rose to louder and more 
 impassioned strains, as the musician became wholly 
 possessed by the noble theme of the great master. 
 
 " Why, Waverley, how well you play to-night ? " ex-
 
 236 RtiDBANK. 
 
 claimed his cousin more than once. " What is the 
 matter with you ? One would think you were inspired." 
 
 "So I am; Beethoven always inspires me." And he 
 continued hour after hour without pause. He was play 
 ing for relief from consuming thought. Jessie Holcombe 
 vaguely understood that he was giving expression to 
 his own feelings in those deep, wild, heart-breaking 
 chords. Her own soul responded in great waves of 
 strange and conflicting emotion. She was stirred to the 
 very depths of her being. If his heart had indeed 
 wandered from its allegiance to his cousin, what was 
 left to them, or to herself but despair? 
 
 " I shall checkYnate you now very soon, if you are 
 not careful," exclaimed Alice ; " you are not playing 
 well to-night. What is the matter with you, Jessie ? " 
 
 " My walk has made me stupid and sleepy," the 
 young girl said by way of apology. She was very 
 tired ; she lifted her face from the chess-board, whose 
 red and black squares seemed to confuse her. Uncon 
 sciously she looked towards the piano. Waverley's 
 eyes were fixed upon her. She felt the burning color 
 come to her cheeks. Yes, she could not help it she 
 knew that he possessed a strange power over her. Again 
 she was falling under the spell of that mysterious ex 
 pression in his eyes, she was slipping down a fear 
 ful precipice, enveloped in clouds and darkness, and 
 there was no hand to save ! 
 
 The next morning when she came to the breakfast- 
 table, the gentleman was not there. 
 
 " Waverley started off to the city this morning before 
 sunrise, so Evans tells me," said Mrs. Brooks. " I'm 
 sorry he did not get something to eat before he left. 
 It's a long ride, and I'm afraid he Avill be quite faint 
 
 before lie gets there. But young men never know how 
 
 lo
 
 REDBANK. 237 
 
 to take care of themselves. They do all manner of 
 foolish things until they get married," and she looked 
 at her daughter and gmiled. 
 
 " Sometimes that's the most foolish thing of all," said 
 Alice, in her quiet way. 
 
 " Not often ; a wife usually sobers a man down. 
 Women generally have a great deal of common sense." 
 
 Jessie was looking out of the window at the pleasant 
 sunshine. It was a fine day she must keep her word 
 she must not linger longer at The Grove. That after 
 noon she returned to Redbank.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 AFTER taking his breakfast at the hotel, Waverle} 7 " 
 Brooks went to his father's house ; the old butler met 
 him at the door. 
 
 " Harris, is my father at home ? " the young man 
 asked. 
 
 " Yes, sir," the servant replied. 
 
 " Where is he ? " 
 
 " In the library, sir." 
 
 " Will you step to the door, Harris, and inquire if I 
 can see him on business for a few moments. Tell him 
 I will not detain him long." 
 
 It had always been one of the regulations of the 
 household that the Judge should not be interrupted 
 during the morning hours, which he spent, when at 
 home, shut up in his library at work. Before moving 
 off to obey the command of his young master, the old 
 servant surveyed him quietly, and said, " You looks 
 tired, Marse Waveiiey. Have you had any breakfast, 
 sir ? Can't I get something for you ? " 
 
 " No, thank you, Harris. I have come from The 
 Grove this morning, and it is a long ride to take before 
 breakfast. I was rather tired when I got to the city, 
 so I went to the hotel and got something to eat, and 
 rested a while. I don't care for anything more." 
 
 " I hope everybody's well at The Grove," said the 
 old man, whose curiosity was excited.
 
 REDBANK. 239 
 
 " Yes, all are well. Now, go immediately, and ask 
 my father if he can see me." 
 
 In spite of the calm exterior of the gentleman, Harris 
 detected the signs of suppressed emotion, and was very 
 sure that something serious had happened. He went 
 softly to the library, and soon returned with the an 
 nouncement that the Judge could see his son. In a 
 few moments, Waverley was in his father's presence. 
 
 The Judge had evidently been at work ; papers, 
 letters, all kinds of written documents, together with 
 heavy law books, were scattered over a large desk which 
 stood in the centre of the room. He arose from an easy- 
 chair, in which he had been seated, and came forward 
 to meet the young man. 
 
 " Well, Waverley, I'm glad to see you," he said, 
 shaking hands with him. " This is rather an unusual 
 hour for you to make your appearance. I hope you 
 bring good news from The Grove." 
 
 " Yes, my aunt and cousin are well. I trust I am 
 not intruding, or taking you from your work," Waverley 
 replied. " I want very much to have a talk with you, 
 father. I have delayed it as long as possible. I cannot 
 really be myself until it is over. The truth is, I've 
 been wretchedly uncomfortable for the last two or three 
 months." 
 
 " Well ? " said the Judge, looking at him very stead 
 fastly. His manner was a little cold with his son ; it 
 had always been. Few signs of affection had ever 
 passed between them, and yet they loved and respected 
 each other very deeply. " Father," said the young 
 man, " I find it impossible to fulfil your wishes in 
 regard to Alice." 
 
 The Judge contracted his brows slightly, but only 
 answered, u Well, go on ; make a clean breast of it."
 
 240 EEDBANE. 
 
 " That is what I intend to do," was the quick reply. 
 " I'm awfully sorry to disappoint you in this matter, 
 for I know how near it lies to your heart ; but I cannot 
 hold myself to blame. Alice has been perfectly cold 
 and indifferent to me ever since my return, and has 
 told me frankly, whenever I have mentioned the subject, 
 that it is impossible for her to care for me except as a 
 cousin. I have been ready to keep my pledge, but I can 
 not marry an unwilling bride, even to please my father." 
 
 " I have never desired you to marry an unwilling 
 bride," said the Judge, a little severely ; " I thought 
 that you had always loved Alice, and that she had 
 always loved you. I am sure, before you went to 
 Europe, there was sentiment enough on both sides too 
 much I used to think sometimes." 
 
 " So there was, but it was only youthful gush ; it 
 is over long ago, on both sides," Waverley answered. 
 " When I came back I found her so changed in man 
 ner that my own feelings were chilled. I see now that 
 we are not suited to each other, and it is better to end 
 the whole matter, and break at once." 
 
 *' Do you think she has formed any other attach 
 ment ? " asked the Judge. 
 
 " I'm afraid she has," replied the young man, " though 
 she is too reserved to allow it to be discovered, and I 
 have no right to question her." 
 
 " Have you ever met that young Holcombe ? " 
 
 " Yes, several times, and I have sometimes suspected 
 that Alice likes him." 
 
 " What do you think of him ? " the Judge inquired. 
 
 " Why, he seems to be a fine fellow. He is certainly 
 very handsome, and might prove dangerous as a rival ; 
 but I have heard that he is dissipated ; I don't know 
 how true it is."
 
 REDBANK. 24l 
 
 " Yes," said the Judge, shaking his head slowly and 
 solemnly, " I should be very sorry for Alice to care 
 for him. I'm afraid, from all I hear, that he is utterly 
 unworthy of her. Last winter, during that long illness 
 of her mother, he used to go there a good deal so 
 Evans told me, and I daresay he made love to her. 
 The change in her dates from that time. She has never 
 been the same girl since." 
 
 " Well, I don't feel that I can continue to persecute 
 her any longer," said Waverley. " The truth is, my own 
 feelings have undergone a change." 
 
 " What ! " exclaimed the Judge, " do you mean to 
 say that you have been falling in love, too ? " and he 
 laughed as he added " with Nettie Hunter, I suppose ? " 
 
 The young man colored, and quietly replied, " You 
 are mistaken. I have met a lady whom I would like to 
 marry, but she does not live in this city." 
 
 " I hope to goodness she is not a French woman," 
 said the Judge. 
 
 Waverley smiled. "Don't be alarmed, father; my 
 affections have never been very erratic. I think you 
 may trust me to give you a native American girl for a 
 daughter. The young lady to whom I refer is Miss 
 Jessica Holcombe. I suppose you have, met her." 
 
 Waverley Brooks was entirely ignorant of his father's 
 feelings, and he was too much absorbed in his own 
 thoughts to notice the shadow that spread over the face 
 of the Judge. Several minutes passed before either 
 of them spoke. At length, Waverley continued : " She 
 is a lovely girl. You may be disappointed in my choice, 
 but, unless you are very prejudiced, you cannot have 
 any objection to her, as you have to the brother." 
 
 " Have you spoken to her yet?" asked the Judge. 
 
 " No ; but I have managed to betray myself," he said,
 
 242 EEDBANK. 
 
 ill his simple, manly way. " I did not intend to do it 
 until after I had had this explantion with you, and had 
 also spoken with Alice and received a final rejection ; 
 but, somehow, I could not help it. She is the kind of 
 woman to inspire a grand passion. A man is perfectly 
 carried away in her presence, and forgets what he is 
 doing. I intend to marry her." He said this in the 
 tone of determination which was usual with him. 
 
 " How did she receive your betrayal, as you call it ? " 
 asked the Judge in a husky voice. 
 
 " She was angry, I think ; her eyes flashed with indig 
 nation for a moment, and then they seemed to go out. 
 The lids dropped over them. She believes that I'm 
 engaged to Alice, as everybody else does. She will soon 
 get over her anger, when I tell her the truth. I am 
 determined to marry her. I have your consent, I hope." 
 
 " You are a man, and free to pursue your own course ; 
 I shall never again attempt to influence you," said 
 the Judge in the same husky tone. His face was dark 
 and stern. 
 
 " It is scarcely kind in you to speak to me in that man 
 ner," Waverley replied. " I wish always to be influenced 
 by a father whom I love and honor. Up to this time I 
 have been willing to be guided entirely by your judg 
 ment. If you had permitted it, I would now be the 
 husband of Alice, but you thought us too young to marry 
 you sent me away. I do not feel that I am to blame 
 that things were changed when I returned. Father, 
 you know well enough that when a man chooses a wife, 
 he has the right to please himself. There are plenty of 
 risks even then. I cannot believe that you have any 
 serious objection to Miss Holcombe. I know she is 
 without fortune, but there's not a lovelier girl in the 
 world."
 
 KEDBANK. 243 
 
 Judge Brooks made no reply. He felt only anxious 
 to terminate the interview. 
 
 " Well," he remarked at length, " if you have said 
 all that you desire to say, you had better leave me now. 
 I have a great deal of work on my hands and cannot 
 spare you more time at present." 
 
 " Father," replied the young man in a very earnest 
 tone, " I wish to go immediately to New York and 
 make arrangements for my future. I cannot waste any 
 more time at The Grove. Aunt Kate does not need me. 
 She is so accustomed to manage her.own affairs that she 
 does not require the assistance of any one. Of course, 
 I shall return and have a talk with her and Alice, and, 
 with your permission, I would like to call oil Miss 
 Holcombe." 
 
 " I would defer that awhile, if I were in your place," 
 said the Judge, his face growing colder and sterner. 
 " At least wait long enough to be sure of your own feel- 
 ings." 
 
 " If I were to wait a century, I could not be more sure 
 of my own feelings than I am now," Waverley replied, 
 very gently, but with a shadow of annoyance on his face. 
 " Besides, I wish to relieve Miss Holcombe's mind of a 
 false impression." 
 
 " Well, do as you think* best ; as I said before, you are 
 old enough to decide for yourself." 
 
 Waverley arose and extended his hand to his father. 
 " I see that I have hurt you," he said ; " I am very 
 sorry, but, somehow, I cannot help it. I hope you will 
 forgive me." 
 
 He always felt like a boy in his father's presence, for 
 the discipline of the Judge had been severe, and was not 
 relaxed until the young man was sent to college. The 
 years spent away from home had strengthened the self-
 
 244 REDBANK. 
 
 reliance of the son without wholly subduing the domina 
 tion of the father. The Judge felt the change in his 
 child, but he had been reluctant to adjust himself to the 
 new relation. They shook hands. 
 
 " You will come and dine with me, I suppose," said 
 the Judge, as the young man moved away towards the 
 door. 
 
 " No, I am going back to The Grove immediately," 
 Waverley answered ; " I feel in a perfect fever to get 
 through with this business. I shall be in town again in 
 a few days." 
 
 As he was hurrying away, the Judge detained him a 
 moment. " Waverley," he said, " I wish you would 
 allow me to give you some advice in regard to Miss 
 Holcombe. I do not think you have any right to speak 
 to her until your plans are somewhat settled. Just 
 now, you are all at sea. You can go to New York im 
 mediately, as you wish, and make the necessary arrange 
 ments for the future. When that is done, you can 
 return, and address yourself to her. It would not be 
 well to involve her in all your doubts and uncertainties. 
 She will bear a prolonged absence from you under the 
 present circumstances better than if engaged to you. 
 My son, you must not be too hasty in this matter. 
 Your conduct towards Alice proves that it is possible 
 for your sentiments to undergo a change. I think you 
 should require some test of yourself now, and also give 
 the young lady an opportunity to examine her own feel 
 ings. Your acquaintance with her has been very brief. 
 I cannot believe that either of you are yet very deeply 
 in love. If you have betrayed your admiration for her, 
 and she has really understood you, she has too much 
 good sense to suspect you of faithlessness towards Alice. 
 She must perceive that you are a gentleman and incapa-
 
 EEDBANK. 245 
 
 ble of baseness. She will know at once that your rela 
 tions with your cousin are at an end." He paused and 
 looked at his son. 
 
 " Father," said the young man, " I love and honor 
 you too much to decline to accept your advice, but it is 
 terribly hard to leave things as they are to go off with 
 out any explanation and run the risk of having her 
 doubt my honor. I do not think you quite appreciate 
 the delicacy of my position." 
 
 " I am sure, Waverley, that I understand your posi 
 tion better than you do yourself ; I am not so sure that 
 I can estimate the strength and impetuosity of your 
 passion." 
 
 As he stood and pleaded with his son, Judge Brooks 
 looked ill and tired. The young man began to realize 
 how deeply he had wounded his father, and an emotion 
 of mingled remorse and regret swept through his heart. 
 
 " Father," he said, in a voice whose every tone vibrated 
 with affection, " I will do anything that I can to atone 
 for the pain and vexation that I have occasioned you. 
 I will follow your advice, whatever it may cost me. It 
 grieves me to feel that I am disappointing you in so many 
 different ways. I hope you may live to see and acknowl 
 edge that I am right that my own growth as a man 
 depends upon my following the deepest convictions of 
 my soul. You have helped largely to make me what I 
 am ; I know you would not undo your work by forcing 
 me now into a false environment, and giving me a wife 
 whose companionship could never satisfy me." 
 
 "My son," said the Judge, and his voice trembled 
 with emotion, " since you were first placed, a helpless 
 infant, in my arms, and I knew that I was a father, I 
 have had no sincerer wish than to see you a good and 
 happy man. I have tried to train you wisely ; I have
 
 246 REDBANK. 
 
 tried to choose the best things in the world for you. I 
 have always thought that your gentle cousin was suited 
 to you, and would make you a worthy wife. If I have 
 erred, you must forgive me." 
 
 "It is I who must ask to be forgiven," exclaimed the 
 young man, approaching his father, and extending his 
 hand in an impulsive fashion. " Nothing could ever 
 make me happy, if I felt that I had forfeited your respect 
 and love. I should be an outcast, in my own eyes, even 
 if the whole world applauded my success." 
 
 " Thank you, my son," said the Judge ; " it satisfies 
 me to know that you are thoroughly manly and noble, 
 though you may disappoint some plans that I have made 
 for you." 
 
 " Father, before I speak another word to the woman 
 whom I love, I would like to have you say that you 
 approve my choice." He looked at the Judge as he 
 spoke, and again noticed the extreme pallor of his face. 
 
 " Waverley, I know Miss Holcombe well, and I believe 
 her to be worthy in every respect of the noblest and best 
 man God ever made. If you can win her, I shall not 
 withhold my blessing." 
 
 " Thank you, father," said the young man. " I'm 
 afraid that I have tired you. If so, forgive me. Good 
 bye," and they clasped each other's hands. 
 
 When his son was gone, the Judge did not resume 
 his seat at the desk. He went to the door and softly 
 locked it. Then he began to pace slowly up and down 
 the floor. He looked old and worn now that the effort 
 of self-control was relaxed. The blow dealt by his son 
 had been a heavy one, for he had not abandoned the hope 
 of winning Jessie Holcombe for himself. His love for 
 her was the one passion of his life, not the less strong 
 because it had come to him when his hair was gray.
 
 EEDBANK. 247 
 
 Now, he knew that he must resign this woman to his 
 son. Waverley had always got what he wanted ; he 
 would get it now. In the bottom of his heart, the Judge 
 admitted the righteousness of the young man's claim. 
 The best gifts of the world are for the young, not for, 
 the old. As a father, it was not in his heart to withhold 
 from his son this crowning glory of manhood a noble 
 wife; but the situation was unnatural, and he felt it 
 keenly. The fiercest struggle of his life was before him. 
 The battle must be fought, and defeat must be borne. 
 For several hours he paced the floor without once paus 
 ing. At length he sank exhausted in a chair. The fire 
 had died out, and the room was cold. A chill seized 
 upon him, and with difficulty he reached the bell and 
 rang it violently. In a few moments Harris entered. 
 The faithful old servant was greatly shocked to see the 
 condition of his master. 
 
 " Harris," said the Judge, "bring me a glass of Cognac 
 immediately, and build up the fire. I feel ill I'm afraid 
 that I have a chill." 
 
 The orders were promptly obeyed. As Harris moved 
 off lie muttered to himself, " It's Marse Waverley has 
 done it, I knows. Oh 1 these chillen ! these chillen ! 
 When they's little, we'se mighty proud of 'em, and 
 thinks they's goin' to turn the world upside down, but 
 when they gits big, they's nothin' but an eternal vexa 
 tion and trouble." He shook his head more than once, 
 for lie was speaking out of the depths of his own heart. 
 
 For a few days the Judge was obliged to keep his 
 room, and narrowly escaped a serious illness. Waverley 
 was recalled to the city to assist in transacting some 
 needful business for his father, and several months 
 elapsed before the young man again found himself at 
 The Grove.
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 t 
 
 THE afternoon was cold and dreary. The breath of a 
 coming storm was in the air. Jessie Holcombe was 
 sitting at her window with the dainty heap of crochet 
 work on her lap. Her patient fingers were busy making 
 the endless meshes, but her thoughts were far away. 
 She was thinking in an incoherent, fragmentary way, 
 and trying at the same time to escape from all mental 
 effort ; it wearied and tortured her beyond expression. 
 Several weeks had passed since that last visit to The 
 Grove, and she had received no news from Alice during 
 that time ; not even a little note had been exchanged 
 between them. She found herself often wondering if 
 Alice had discovered the treason of her lover, and was 
 show'ing her anger and resentment by silence towards 
 her friend. Jessie was restless and wretched. She 
 felt like a helpless ship which the winds and waves 
 are driving against the rocks. The old peace of mind, 
 the old interest in the homely tasks of daily life, was 
 gone. She longed for some excitement into which 
 she could plunge and forget herself : more than ever 
 before, her desires reached out to the gay world of 
 which she had occasionally caught glimpses. To be 
 left alone day after day with these harassing thoughts, 
 was more than she could endure. To struggle from morn 
 ing until night for self-control to shrink from the gaze 
 of loving eyes lest they should note a change in her this
 
 REVBANK. 249 
 
 surely was too much for any woman's strength. She 
 lifted her eyes from the heap of delicate wool in her lap 
 and looked down the long avenue. The bare branches 
 moved hither and thither in the rising wind. The 
 lines were hard and black against the steel gray wintry 
 sky. A pang of desolation, such as she had never 
 before felt, pierced her heart. The complications of 
 life were getting stranger and more cruel, year after 
 year. Was there no escape ? Would it not be possi 
 ble to run away from it all ? Might she not go to some 
 new place, and work for her daily bread? work so hard 
 that there would be no time to think, or long, or grieve ? 
 She had a great dread of meeting Waverley Brooks 
 again perhaps she never would ! and her face grew 
 still paler with a sickening sense of loneliness and de 
 spair. She knew that he possessed a mysterious power 
 over her which she could never hope to resist. She knew 
 that it would be worse than madness to yield to his mast 
 ery, and yet the thought of seeing him no more was in 
 tolerable. She laid her head back upon the cushions of 
 the chair, and closed her eyes in weariness and perplexity. 
 She was aroused by a low tap at the door, and Oliver en 
 tered with some letters and papers. The mail had ar 
 rived, and she was glad to have a share for herself. She 
 took up one envelope and looked at it ; the writing was 
 not familiar, and she tore it open with feverish haste 
 only wedding-cards. Nettie Hunter was really going to 
 be married at last. The next letter was from the young 
 lady herself. It contained an urgent invitation for 
 Jessie to assist at the ceremony as one of the brides 
 maids. No refusal would be accepted. Her dress would 
 be ordered immediately with the others, and she must 
 come up by all means the day before the wedding. 
 Jessie Holcombe and Nettie Hunter had been school-
 
 950 REDBANK. 
 
 mates years ago in Staunton, Virginia, and the intimacy 
 between them then had been close and warm. When 
 Jessie came South to live with her sister, the friendship 
 had been renewed with enthusiasm on both sides, and 
 occasional visits had been exchanged between the two 
 girls. 
 
 Jessie smiled as she laid down the letter of her friend. 
 After all, there were diversions in life ; one was not left 
 to brood without a break over annoyances and troubles. 
 
 Something was happening continually. Who could 
 guess what the future might contain ? It was not rea 
 sonable to be oppressed by gloomy thoughts to yield 
 to despair. " Behind the clouds the sun was still 
 shining." 
 
 The girl arose from her seat, folded up the snowy 
 shawl in its protecting napkin, and laid it away in a 
 drawer. Then she shook out her dress, smoothed her 
 hair, and went to find Eleanor. 
 
 That evening at the supper-table, the Colonel looked 
 at Jessie, and said, u Well, I hear you are going to a 
 wedding. That sounds very nice. I would like to go 
 myself, if I could find the time. I hope Miss Nettie 
 won't jilt the fellow at the last minute. If I were in 
 his boots, I would feel a little scared." 
 
 " She must be in earnest now, since she has sent out 
 the cards," said Mrs. Winston. 
 
 " I can never imagine her very much in earnest about 
 anything," said the Colonel. " How many times has she 
 been engaged, Jessie ? " 
 
 The girl smiled and shook her head. 
 
 " I have not kept the account very carefully, but I 
 should think about twenty-five times at least. When I 
 first met her, she had a diamond ring on her third fin 
 ger, and talked very freely of her fiance. That was a
 
 REDBANK. 251 
 
 good many years ago. I really believe she was born 
 engaged." 
 
 " Well, I do not feel inclined to congratulate the 
 gentleman who has picked up the fragments of her 
 poor little heart," said the Colonel, breaking into a 
 laugh. 
 
 " I wonder if he knows how many times the poor 
 little heart has been broken," exclaimed Jessie, reflect 
 ing the amusement of her brother-in-law on her own 
 face. , 
 
 " Jessie, my dear," he said, " it is all nonsense for us 
 to be talking seriously about hearts. Young ladies don't 
 have hearts these days. They have Saratoga trunks 
 instead, and the bigger and fuller the trunk, the hap 
 pier the girl. Nettie Hunter is a typical girl of the 
 period." 
 
 " Not so bad as that," said Mrs. Winston ; " it has 
 been her misfortune to be an only child. She has been 
 petted and spoiled to death, and is consequently very 
 selfish ; but there is some latent good in her nature. 
 Life has not been earnest enough for her yet awhile. 
 When she has a family and real care falls upon her, she 
 will develop into a good and sensible woman. I'm sure 
 she will. I believe in the laws of heredity, and she has 
 excellent parents." 
 
 " I'm very fond of her," said Jessie ; " at school every 
 body liked her ; she was so kind-hearted and generous 
 and amusing. One thing is certain, her husband will 
 never suffer from dulness." 
 
 "I'm glad fate did not choose me for the place," 
 exclaimed the Colonel, " she is so restless, and such a 
 dreadful chatterbox. It would kill me to live with such 
 a creature. I like a quiet woman, whose voice is low 
 and sweet."
 
 252 REDBANK. 
 
 "That is what men always say," remarked Mrs. 
 Winston, a little impatiently ; " it is a kind of theory 
 with them; but in practice, they invariably choose the 
 sprightly, saucy, restless, coquettish chatterbox." 
 
 Her husband looked at her and said : " I didn't, my 
 dear." 
 
 " Your wife wasn't far from it when you chose her," 
 the lady replied ; " time has subdued her." 
 
 " And the discipline of living with me," he added 
 with perfect good-humor. 
 
 " Yes," she assented with a smile. 
 
 " Well, you might have got a worse husband, my 
 dear." 
 
 " Of course, there are always risks in marrying. Pos 
 sibly I might have got a better one." 
 
 " Very true. It's a pity we cannot go back, and do 
 it over again. Isn't it ? " 
 
 " Yes," she answered, still smiling. 
 
 " Well, my dear, however it may be with you, I can 
 truthfully say that I have never yet repented of my 
 bargain." 
 
 " There, Nell," cried Jessie, " after that splendid 
 compliment, I'm sure you cannot continue the contro 
 versy. I would ask nothing more of my husband, after 
 fifteen years of married life, than such an acknowledg 
 ment. It is almost as good as canonization." 
 
 " I think you will get it, my dear," said the Colonel, 
 veiy soberly. 
 
 " Thanks ! " exclaimed Jessie, " I'll come round and 
 kiss you for that gracious speech." She arose from her 
 chair and approached the Colonel. He threw back his 
 head and stroked down his long gray beard. " Promise 
 to take me to the city a week from to-day," she said,
 
 UEUUANK. 253 
 
 " 1 promise." 
 
 Then she gave him two kisses in quick succession. 
 
 " Make it three for good luck," he said. She stooped 
 and kissed him again. The price of cotton was up, and 
 the Colonel's spirits were high. 
 
 When the appointed time arrived, Jessie, accompanied 
 by the Colonel, started on the journey to the city. 
 Nettie Hunter welcomed her friend with the most en 
 thusiastic cordiality, and poured out a stream of eager 
 talk, interspersed with laughter. " You dear, darling, 
 delightful girl ! " she exclaimed again and again ; " I 
 can't begin to tell you how glad I am to see you. I 
 didn't really believe that you were coming, and, if you 
 had disappointed me, I would have refused to be mar 
 ried." 
 
 " Why did you think that I would not come? " 
 
 " Oh ! because let me see if I can find a reason, 
 I didn't think you would feel sufficient interest in 
 the sacrifice to care to witness the agonies of the 
 victim." 
 
 Jessie laughed and said, " Well, you see that you 
 were mistaken. I assure you I shall find the agonies 
 of the victim very interesting. A wedding is always a 
 spectacle worth seeing. You know it is the central 
 point of life, as birth is the beginning and death the 
 end." 
 
 " Please don't moralize," said Nettie ; " it makes me 
 feel too solemn. I am nervous, and cannot stand it," 
 and she laughed merrily. 
 
 " You nervous, Nettie ! I cannot believe it." 
 
 u Well, it is the truth nevertheless ; and that's really 
 one reason why I wanted you to come so dreadfully. 
 Papa's nervous, mamma's nervous, I'm nervous, and 
 the servants are nervous, and the house itself is getting
 
 254 BEDBANK. 
 
 rather shaky. We wanted you, dear, to steady the 
 whole establishment you sweet, serene creature ! The 
 ceremony would have been a perfect failure, if you had 
 not come ; we would all have broken down at the most 
 interesting part, and, probably, floated off on a sea of 
 tears." 
 
 k ' I can't understand how I'm to prevent it." 
 
 " Why, you are a bit of terra firma, my dear, and we 
 are all going to anchor there. Jessie, darling," said 
 Nettie, after a short pause, " I've got no end of things 
 to tell you. I want your advice and assistance in 
 clearing the atmosphere of my thoughts. Everything 
 within me seems to be dissolving into mist and moon 
 shine." 
 
 " That is indeed pathetic ; but I'm afraid you are ex 
 pecting too -much of me. I'm a person of very limited 
 capacities. Your boundless vitality and vivacity always 
 makes me feel as if I were not more than half 
 alive." 
 
 " Nonsense ! " exclaimed Nettie ; " you've got enough 
 in you to make half a dozen women like me. Around 
 you there's a calm like the serene heavens ! " 
 
 " Oh ! Nettie, Nettie, don't rave, I beseech you. Too 
 much happiness has affected your brain." 
 
 "I am not mad, most noble lady, but speak forth the 
 words of soberness and truth." 
 
 " Well, we will not quarrel. I hope, dear, you have 
 not tired yourself to death over the trousseau." The 
 two girls were now upstairs in the bedroom of Miss 
 Hunter, and garments of different kinds lay around in 
 promiscuous heaps. 
 
 " Yes, I have," replied Nettie ; " I have worn out at 
 lea^t a dozen pairs of shoes, walking the streets, and 
 going to that dreadful dro jsmaker. I trust I may never
 
 255 
 
 be compelled to have another gown, as she calls them, 
 for I've been fitted until my dorsal column is worn out. 
 Jessie, if you are ever silly enough to consent to 
 marry a man, don't, I beseech you, have a trousseau. 
 It is by far the most serious part of the whole affair. 
 Without it, things would move on smoothly, but when 
 one is tired to death, what is more natural than to get 
 cross, and quarrel with the guilty man who has brought 
 so much trouble on you ? " 
 
 " I will be sure to remember," said Jessie, smiling. 
 " But do tell me something, please, about the partic 
 ular man. I'm full of curiosity. I want a complete 
 account of him from your own lips." 
 
 " There is nothing to tell," replied Nettie, shaking 
 her head. " Just at present he seems altogether nega 
 tive to me." 
 
 " But, surely, he has eyes and hair. Tell me the color 
 of them, and whether he is long or short, fair or dark." 
 
 " No ; I will leave you to see for yourself. I used to 
 think him handsome, but either he has lost his beauty, 
 or I have been disenchanted. I never think of his looks 
 at all now." 
 
 " Which proves that you are very much in love." 
 
 " Yes, Jessie," and her tones were almost solemn, " I 
 seem to have entered a little world where there are only 
 two people he and I. Everything is in a kind of 
 beautiful disorder. I feel as if it were to be my task to 
 regulate and arrange and reign over this new sphere. 
 Jessie, Jessie, that thought frightens me ! " she ex 
 claimed, with a nervous jump and clutch at her friend. 
 " What kind of a world will it be with such a silly little 
 creature as I am for its queen ? " 
 
 " A beautiful little world, with everything well ar 
 ranged and well governed," said Jessie.
 
 :>56 flEDBANK. 
 
 " The truth is, I'm getting thoroughly scared at tli > 
 thought of the future ! " and the young lady shivere . 
 slightly. " That is what I want to talk to you about 
 to-night. I must make a full confession before my exe 
 cution, and you have been selected as the confessor." 
 
 " How are your mother and father ? " asked Jessie, 
 after a short pause. 
 
 " Worn to a frazzle, both of them ! Mamma is down 
 stairs, attending to something I don't know what, 
 and papa is at the vestry." 
 
 " Tell me about all the girls. Are they changed? " 
 
 " Not in the least. Bess and Clara and Hetty and Sue 
 and Laura are all going to be bridesmaids. They will 
 be round in the morning for a kind of rehearsal, and I 
 know they will be delighted to see you. The dear old 
 Bishop is going to perform the ceremony." 
 
 Here Nettie jumped up from her chair, and exclaimed, 
 " Don't you want to see some of my finery, Jessie ? " 
 She pushed back the sliding doors of a large room which 
 communicated with her own. " It looks like a big 
 fancy store, doesn't it?" and she broke into a merry 
 laugh. 
 
 Dresses, dressing-gowns, breakfast-sacques, sashes, 
 ribbons, stockings, slippers, and every other article of a 
 woman's toilette, were thrown in confusion upon the 
 bed, sofa, tables, and chairs. Drawers and trunks were 
 wide open, and their miscellaneous contents were stream 
 ing out upon the floor. 
 
 "Did you ever see such a room in all your life, 
 Jessie ? " she asked ; " it's enough to give one the brain- 
 fever, isn't it ? It's a thousand pities that I'm not going 
 to marry a doctor, for I know I shall be desperately ill, 
 when it is all over. Well, it is at least a consolation to 
 know that his name is Sage. I do hope he will have
 
 BEDBANK. 257 
 
 wisdom enough for both of us." Again she broke into 
 a peal of laughter, in which Jessie heartily joined. 
 
 " It does seem amusing, Nettie, that you of all per 
 sons in the world should be called Mrs. Sage." 
 
 " Yes, it's a punishment for my past levity. I accept 
 it as such." She bustled around as she spoke, moving 
 things here and there without much idea of what she 
 was doing. " Only think of it ! " she exclaimed sud 
 denly, as if the idea had just that minute occurred to 
 her K I have got to put up all these things, and know 
 exactly where every article is. Doesn't the task look 
 perfectly hopeless ? " 
 
 It was still early in the afternoon, and Jessie said, 
 quickly, " Well, begin right away, then ; I will help 
 you pack your trunks. I think we can get it done 
 before dinner. Then there will be some comfort in 
 talking. I never have any sense when a room is in dis 
 order , the confusion seems to be communicated to my 
 brain." 
 
 " You darling girl ! The suggestion is admirable," 
 cried Nettie. " I feel considerably clarified since your 
 arrival. Your very voice helps to settle me. I will go 
 and lock the doors, and we will begin right away." 
 
 She went into her own room and locked the door of 
 entrance from the hall. " That's to keep poor mamma 
 out," she said ; " the truth is, she is only one remove 
 from a lunatic, and I don't wonder, for I have almost 
 killed her. I have wanted eveiything under the sun, 
 and she has tried hard to satisfy me. Jessie, it is a 
 great misfortune to be an only child you never get half 
 whipping enough." Soon she went into a small room 
 beyond the one in which they were sitting. In a mo 
 ment she called through the open door, " Come here, 
 Jessie ; come and see it."
 
 258 REDBANK. 
 
 Jessie promptly obeyed the summons. Upon the bed. 
 spread out in all its spotless purity, was the bridal dress 
 and veil. 
 
 " Isn't it lovely?" asked the happy little bride, as she 
 raised the corsage to pull out the lace and orange 
 blossoms. 
 
 " Yes, it is exquisite, and much more appropriate for 
 a petite creature like you, than white satin would have 
 been." 
 
 The dress was of creamy silk, with clouds of illusion 
 falling over it. There was something almost spiritual 
 in its gauzy daintiness. As one looked at it, one thought 
 of fairies and sylphs, and other ethereal creatures. 
 
 After contemplating various bits of the wedding 
 finery, the girls went back to the room where the open 
 trunks were standing ready to receive the condensed 
 wardrobe of the bride. Nettie began to turn the con 
 tents of the bureau drawers upon the floor. 
 
 " There, if you will, Jessie, you may fold up those 
 things and put them into that trunk, while I will under 
 take this one. You see how selfish I am, for I give you 
 the biggest trunk. I always lay the heavest burdens on 
 others." 
 
 " Well, you know I am perfectly fresh, while you are 
 almost tired to death. Besides, I really enjoy handling 
 all these lovely things. How pretty they are ! " And 
 she tenderly lifted the linen, so exquisitely embroidered 
 and trimmed with dainty lace. While they folded and 
 laid away the garments, the gay talk went on ceaselessly, 
 interspersed with exclamations and merry peals of 
 laughter. At the end of two hours, the rooms were 
 cleared of confusion, and the trunks were almost packed. 
 Then there was a gentle tap at the door, and when it 
 was unlocked, Mrs. Hunter entered.
 
 REDBANK. 259 
 
 "Why, Jessie," she exclaimed, " I did not know you 
 were here, dear. I have been so busy all the morning 
 with caterers and confectioners and florists, and all sorts 
 of people, that I have not once looked out of the 
 windows. How glad I am to see you! And how 
 pleasant it is to find things somewhat in order ! I know 
 Fin indebted to you, dear. I just came upstairs to see 
 about the packing. There were so many other things 
 to be done, that I could not get to that, and, as you 
 know, Nettie is very helpless unless she has some one 
 to direct and assist her." 
 
 " Yes, mamma, the worst of it is over now. The rest 
 can easily be done to-morrow morning. So you may 
 just seat yourself, and fold your hands on your lap. 
 Poor little tired mother ! " she exclaimed, going up to 
 Mrs. Hunter and kissing her. 
 
 " Well, dear, I am so glad to have this packing out of 
 the way, that I will sit down a minute. Now we can hope 
 for a quiet evening our last evening together ! " And 
 she sighed. " I know your father will like that, for he 
 has been so disgusted with the flurry and confusion. 
 He said only this morning that he had a great mind to 
 stay at the vestry until it was all over. He is a quiet 
 man and dislikes commotion. Poor papa ; what would 
 he have done with a dozen sons, one daughter has 
 almost killed him. I am only thankful that I have but 
 one," said Mrs. Hunter. 
 
 She was a sweet, gentle, unobtrusive woman, with 
 a loving heart and a weak will. It was strange that 
 she should have such a daughter as Nettie ; and yet the 
 virtues of a mother are sometimes fatal to the growth 
 of a daughter's character. From her cradle, Nettie 
 Hunter had ruled both father and mother with pretty 
 imperiousness ; she had grown up so frivolous and
 
 260 REDBANK. 
 
 self-willed as greatly to endanger her own happi 
 ness. Within the shelter of home, her thoughtless and 
 midutiful conduct had reduced her mother to a mere 
 cipher ; and, outside, it had reflected upon her father, 
 and lessened his influence as a clergyman. , Yet, excuses 
 were always made for her ; she was an only child, and 
 her selfishness was overlooked on this plea. She was 
 pretty and bright and overflowing with animal spirits, 
 and these attractions covered up a multitude of minor 
 transgressions. She was also very good-natured and 
 free from envy, or malice, or uncharitableness, and so 
 made many friends and few enemies. On the whole, 
 she was very popular in her native town, and her mar 
 riage was an event which interested every one. 
 
 In the evening, Mr. Sage called, and Jessie looked at 
 him with a great deal of curiosity. He was a hand 
 some man, with a slight tendency to stoutness ; his 
 manners were very easy and natural, and it was evident 
 that his temperament was phlegmatic. There was some 
 thing exceedingly frank and pleasing about his face, and, 
 at the same time, a certain clearness of gaze which con 
 vinced you of his shrewdness and business ability. It 
 was easy to see that he was very much in love with his 
 fiancee ; he was amused at her chatter, and watched her 
 graceful motions with quiet contentment. It was also 
 probable that he would know how to manage her when 
 she belonged to him, for he looked both patient and 
 determined. He had recently come to the city to 
 establish a branch firm of a banking-house in New York, 
 and immediately, on his arrival, he had become the big 
 fish for which all the pretty girls began to angle. Miss 
 Hunter had been the successful one. It now remained 
 to be seen what he would do with this spoiled child, this 
 flippant belle.
 
 REDBANK, 26! 
 
 When Nettie marched Mr. Sage up and presented him 
 to her friend, she exclaimed in her clear, ringing voice, 
 " Now, Jessie, do tell me what you think of him. I have 
 left you unprejudiced on purpose. Come, out with it." 
 
 The gentleman laughed, and so did the young lady, 
 but Miss Hunter was very sober. 
 
 " So you think you have left me unprejudiced? " said 
 Jessie ; " that's a mistake. To be your choice is a de 
 cided prejudice in his favor. Have I not always con 
 sidered your taste faultless ?" 
 
 Mr. Sage bowed his thanks, but Nettie was not satis 
 fied. 
 
 "That won't do," she said ; "I want him judged on 
 his own merits. Look at him well, and tell me honestly 
 and truly what you think of him." 
 
 As she spoke she touched the gentleman under the 
 chin to make him hold up his head. 
 
 " Now turn out your toes, throw back your shouldeis, 
 and prepare for regular military inspection!" she ec- 
 claimed. 
 
 All three were now laughing, and Jessie's fa^e 
 was brilliant with color, as she said " The model n 
 gentleman appreciates his own merits so highly, that he 
 can dispense with praise from others." 
 
 " And is that really your opinion of the modern gen 
 tleman ? " asked Mr. Sage. " To look at your face one 
 would not suspect you of such harsh judgments. 
 
 " I only speak of them as a class ; there are always 
 exceptions possibly your case may be one. About that 
 I cannot yet decide. Five minutes is too short a time for 
 making up one's mind on such a subject." 
 
 " Don't feel badly, Clarence," said Nettie in a caress 
 ing tone ; " before she is twenty-four hours older, I'll 
 get at the V3iy bottom of her heart, and then I'll tell
 
 262 KEDBANK. 
 
 you exactly what she thinks of you, provided you'll 
 promise to be a good boy and mind me always." And 
 she laughed lightly. 
 
 " I'm surprised that you should care for my opinion, 
 Nettie," said Jessie ; " since you are satisfied with him, 
 you can afford to be indifferent to what other people 
 think." 
 
 " By no means," replied the gentleman ; " we always 
 wish our choice to be approved by our friends. ' It is 
 like putting a seal upon an important document." 
 
 " Well, I think you will answer, Mr. Sage," said 
 Jessie, smiling, " ancj, I give you both my blessing. If 
 good wishes were favorable winds, mine would waft 
 your ship safely into port." 
 
 " Thanks, Miss Holcombe ; I think good wishes are 
 very much like favorable winds. They fill one's sails 
 with hope and encouragement." 
 
 " Yes, the crises of life such as violent illness, or 
 matrimony, are not without their pleasant side, Mr. 
 Sage. So many people gather around you with spoken 
 or unspoken kindness that you feel wonderfully strength 
 ened." 
 
 " The crises of life, such as violent illness or matri 
 mony ! " he repeated, while a smile lighted up his face. 
 " That's a strange sentence. Why do you couple illness 
 and matrimony ? " 
 
 " How stupid you are, Clarence ! for the sake of 
 contrast, of course," exclaimed Miss Hunter. " Because 
 they both excite attention in a community ; they both 
 appeal to the multitude for sympathy, and the multitude 
 usually respond with a generous outpour. To-morrow 
 the whole city will be excited, and stirred up by the 
 thought that a beautiful girl is going to be mar 
 ried.
 
 II El) HANK. 268 
 
 "It is awfully jolly to be tlie centre of such excite 
 ment, isn't it ? " asked Nettie, looking up at the gentle 
 man, and laughing ; " only think of being the centre of 
 gravity of the Universe ! " 
 
 " You irreverent creature ! " he said, joining in her 
 laughter. 
 
 " No, I'm not. The universe to me is that part of 
 creation which comes within my own feeble powers of 
 observation a small section of this city, for instance. 
 What's all the outside to me ? Only infinite, unpeo 
 pled space." 
 
 " The most interesting part of creation to me is that 
 which is outside," said Jessie. " The unknown pos 
 sesses more awful fascination than the known." 
 
 " Ah ! that shows the difference between my person 
 ality and yours ! " cried Miss Hunter. 
 
 " You have imagination, and she has none," said Mr. 
 Sage, looking first at one, then at the other. 
 
 " That's a very perplexing statement," Miss Hunter 
 replied; " who is the you, and who is the she. Tell me 
 instantly, sir." 
 
 " No," he answered, reflecting her playfulness, " I'll 
 leave you to find out. Behold a problem for your clever 
 little brain to solve." 
 
 " I knoAV perfectly well," she said, nodding her small 
 head in a threatening manner ; " the complimentary 
 part of that sentence was meant for Miss Jessie Hoi- 
 combe, and I have a great mind to pull your hair." 
 
 " Please do ; it will be a foretaste of the delights in 
 store for me. I shall enjoy it very much." 
 
 " Yes, it will indeed be a foretaste," she replied, 
 laughing as merrily as a little child ; " I always pull the 
 Rev. Mr. Hunter's hair when he vexes me, and you see 
 the result."
 
 264 REDBANK. 
 
 Her father entered the room at that moment, and the 
 slight baldness to which she had referred was plainly 
 visible. She arched her brows, and glanced at it. 
 
 " I heard my name spoken. Who was talking about 
 me ? " he asked. He was a small, meek-looking man, 
 very noiseless in all his movements ; he had glided into 
 their midst like a phantom which appears at the utter 
 ance of a name. 
 
 " "Who but your graceless daughter ? " she said in a 
 playful tone ; " no one else would dare to take your 
 name in vain." 
 
 He rolled an easy-chair near the fire and sat down. 
 Presently, he held out his hand and said, " Come and sit 
 beside me, Jessie." The girl promptly obeyed and he 
 took her hand in both of his, stroking it softly, while he 
 looked into the glowing coals. " Tell me about the 
 Colonel and Mrs. Winston. How are they both ? I 
 have been wanting to go down to Redbank to see them, 
 but I am very busy all the time." When she had fin 
 ished telling him about his friends, he relapsed into si 
 lence. He looked very tired and sad, and she knew that 
 he was thinking about the wedding that was to take 
 place to-morrow. After a while he said, very simply, 
 " I am afraid I shall be very desolate, when my daughter 
 is gone, Jessie." 
 
 " You must not look upon that as a loss. You are 
 going to gain a son, not lose a daughter." 
 
 " I don't know about that, my dear ; her home will no 
 longer be with us it is even best that it should not 
 be. She will need a home of her own to develop all 
 womanly and wifely qualities. That of itself will make 
 a great difference in my life." 
 
 The lovers moved off into the next room, and the
 
 REDBANK. 265 
 
 murmur of their voices came through the half-open door. 
 The heart of the father seemed to grow sadder as he 
 listened to the sound. 
 
 " It is a great trial to give up our only one, Jessie," 
 he said, with a faint sigh ; " I know she is very far from 
 being a perfect woman, but she has made our home 
 very bright and cheerful, and I am afraid my wife and 
 I will sink into old age when she is gone." 
 
 "Oh! no," exclaimed the young' girl; "you have 
 troops of friends everybody in the city loves you ; they 
 will all pity your loneliness and come often to cheer 
 you." 
 
 " Yes, dear, I think all my people do love me, but it 
 is not quite the same kind of love that a daughter feels. 
 You must grow a little older yourself, Jessie, before you 
 can appreciate the different kinds of love and all the 
 delicate shades. Some kinds leave one rather hungry, 
 and some satisfy with a perfect fullness." 
 
 "I know that well," replied the girl in a sweet 
 sympathetic tone ; " and I think I know also how you 
 feel to-night. The changes of life the comings and 
 the goings and the droppings out of sight are desper 
 ately hard to bear ; but somehow we get used to them." 
 
 " Yes, you are right, dear ; we get used to them. We 
 often think of Nature as a cruel step-mother, but there 
 are times when she shows us the deep tenderness of a 
 real mother. I must try to shake off this feeling of 
 sadness which has taken possession of me to-night. Will 
 you not go and play for me, dear ? " 
 
 " Of course I will," she answered quickly, and seating 
 herself at the piano, she began a gay waltz. Soon she 
 heard Miss Hunter and Mr. Sage whirling around and 
 laughing in the next room. When quite out of breath, 
 they came in and stood by the piano.
 
 '266 REDBANK. 
 
 " Jessie," said her friend, " this odious man has done 
 nothing but compliment you for the last hour. I have 
 been trying in vain to stop him ; but he defies my 
 authority, and laughs at my anguish." 
 
 " My daughter," said Mr. Hunter, " you must not 
 talk in such a reckless manner. You have not been 
 out of the room more than ten minutes." 
 
 " Well, it has been an hour to me, and a very stupid 
 one too," she replied, laughing. Then going up to her 
 father, she kissed him. " You dear old papa ! I'm 
 not half good enough for your daughter. You must 
 adopt Jessie ; she will suit you exactly." 
 
 " I wish I could," he answered. 
 
 " Say, Jessie," exclaimed Nettie ; " stop your noise 
 for a minute, and listen to me. Can't you come up, and 
 look after this old couple when I'm gone ? " There was 
 not a trace of emotion in her voice. 
 
 Jessie lifted her hands from the keys of the piano, 
 and said : " I should be a very poor substitute for you. 
 They would feel the contrast, and that would be humili 
 ating for me." Then the white fingers went back upon 
 the keys, and another spirited waltz began. 
 
 " Now you are fishing for a compliment." But 
 where, oh! where is mamma ?" she added. " I must 
 go and hunt her up." And she flitted out of the room, 
 soon returning with her mother. 
 
 " Only think ! I found her upstairs, contemplating 
 the wedding dress with tears in her eyes." The mother 
 looked at her daughter with a faint, sad smile. "Now 
 it passes my comprehension," continued Nettie, " how 
 any one can cry over so lovely a dress. I have really 
 been compelled to put it out of sight because it filled 
 my soul v/ith such delight ; I'm afraid I shall never be
 
 REDBANK. '2(i7 
 
 able to keep my face straight when I get it on, I shall 
 be so very, very happy." 
 
 " My daughter, you are very full of nonsense," said 
 Mr. Hunter, shaking his head at her. 
 
 " Well, you know to-night is the ciisis of the disease ; 
 to-morrow, about this time, I shall be on the road to 
 recovery I shall be Mrs. Sage. In a month, I shall 
 be so sober you will not recognize me. Then you will 
 long to have your silly little daughter back again. 
 Alas ! that human nature, even when it wears a surplice, 
 should be so inconsistent ! " She rushed up to her 
 father, and kissed him several times. Mr. Sage looked 
 at her much amused ; she was bewitchingly pretty ; her 
 blonde hair was a maze of crimps around her small deli 
 cate face, and her blue eyes were dancing with fun and 
 mischief. 
 
 " Do you take me for Bluebeard ? " he asked very 
 quietly, looking at her and smiling. 
 
 " Not the genuine old monster ; he died long ago and 
 was buried with proper ceremony. You are only one of 
 his descendants, modified and refined by time and prog 
 ress." Every one laughed. How was it possible to 
 keep one's face sober in her presence ? 
 
 " Stop your chatter, my dear, and listen to Jessie's 
 music," said Mr. Hunter. 
 
 " I cannot ; waltz music is like champagne ; it always 
 makes me talk." 
 
 " Please play something solemn, Jessie," requested 
 Mrs. Hunter ; " Nettie's high spirits jar upon me to 
 night," 
 
 Jessie Holcombe struck a few deep chords, and began 
 the Moonlight Sonata. Every one was silent until she 
 reached the end, and the last tones died away. Then
 
 268 REDBANR. 
 
 Miss Hunter turned to Mr. Sage with the question, 
 " Don't you wish I could play like that ? " 
 
 " I love you well enough just as you are," he replied. 
 She got up, put her hand in his, and carried him off into 
 the next room. 
 
 " You must not stop, Jessie," said Mr. Hunter ; " it 
 is very restful to listen to you, dear. I am too tired 
 and sad to talk to-night. I am just in the mood to ap 
 preciate music." He lay back in his chair, and mur 
 mured to himself 
 
 " Music that gentler on the spirit lies, 
 Than tired eye-lids upon tired eyes." 
 
 17
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 " And therefore, if to love can be desert, I am not all unworthy." 
 
 A FEW hours later, Jessie Holcombe and Nettie Hun 
 ter were sitting in' their dressing-gowns before a beau 
 tiful fire. They had extinguished the gas, and only the 
 glow of the fire-light filled the room. It would have 
 been difficult to find a greater contrast than these two 
 girls presented as they sat upon the rug, brushing out 
 their long soft hair. The face of Jessie Holdombe was 
 as finely cut as an antique gem. The dark brown eyes 
 were somewhat sad and dreamy ; the brown hair which 
 she was brushing fell over her shoulders in heavy 
 masses, rippling and curling to its very ends. 
 
 The face of Nettie Hunter was fair and piquante and 
 altogether bewitching from- the play of smiles and dim 
 ples around a rosy mouth and clear blue eyes. Her 
 hair was of that pale blonde shade which we often see 
 on French dolls. It was naturally straight, but, by 
 means of crimping pins and curling irons, it was made 
 exquisitely fluffy, and formed a kind of halo around her 
 small head. The friends might have sat to an artist as 
 modern types of the Madonna and the Magdalen. 
 
 " Now, Jessie, I've ever so much to tell you," said 
 Nettie. " I must really relieve myself by full confes 
 sion before the dread to-morrow comes," and she gave 
 a little gasp. 
 
 " Very well ; make a clean breast of it," replied
 
 270 REDBANK. 
 
 Jessie, trying very bard not to laugh. " I am prepared 
 to listen, if not to pronounce absolution. Go on." 
 
 " Well," continued tbe pretty penitent, " I will be 
 gin with the general confession I've been a miserable 
 sinner I have flirted awfully. It has seemed such fun 
 to carry on with gentlemen, bringing them by slow de 
 grees to the point of making a declaration, then accept 
 ing the ring, and all the other gifts and attentions of a 
 fiancee, and after due time, breaking off everything and 
 settling up accounts. Now, I know .you feel disgusted 
 with me, Jessie. The truth is, I'm a little disgusted 
 with myself, how it is all over ; but I- do insist there 
 were lots of fun in it at the time. Sober damsels like 
 you, Jessie, don't get much amusement out of maiden 
 hood ; it is the miserable sinners like me who drain the 
 honeyed cup to the bottom." Here she laughed a 
 wicked little laugh, and exclaimed, " Don't be shocked, 
 dear ; I don't believe after all that I am quite so bad as 
 I seem to be. But let me go on with my confession. 
 Well, papa used to lecture me and so did mamma about 
 my awful levity, but somehow I could not stop flirting. 
 Life didn't seem worth living without the excitement. 
 The truth is, I didn't have anything else to do, and one 
 must fill up the hours with something?" 
 
 " Yes," said Jessie, laughing ; " you know the old 
 couplet about Satan finding some mischief for idle hands 
 to do." 
 
 "Then, if idleness is so dangerous, why don't girls 
 have something to do after they leave school ? " asked 
 Nettie. ' ; Dressing and making calls and going to parties 
 that's all they have to occupy them from year's end to 
 year's end ; as if their overflowing energies could be 
 used up in that way ! Well, Jessie, one day last sum 
 mer, after the violent rupture of an engagement of only
 
 REDBANK. Til ' 
 
 a month, papa sent for me into his study, and gave me 
 a regular ' setting down,' as he called it. He told me 
 emphatically that I was never again to engage myself 
 to a man without intending to marry him. ' Under 
 stand me now,' he said, very sternly, even omitting to 
 call me, dear, ' the next time you engage yourself, you 
 shall marry the man, whether you really love him or 
 not. I tell you this seriously, so you must take care. 
 Even at the risk of forcing an odious marriage upon 
 you, I shall keep my word.' Rather cruel language 
 from a father, wasn't it ? After that, I was very care 
 ful for a time. I became as demure as a pussy cat, and 
 all the gentlemen began to wonder what had come over 
 me. Some thought I was under conviction for my sins, 
 and some thought that I was going into a decline. 
 Just then Mr. Sage dropped down upon us. All the 
 girls were in a flutter as soon as he appeared, and, Jes 
 sie, seriously I tell you, I was disgusted at the way they 
 acted. I made up my mind that I would disappoint 
 the whole crowd by taking him myself. I began very 
 demurely, and watched him with interest as he ap 
 proached nearer and nearer. Soon I really began to 
 like him, for he is very handsome, and has fine manners 
 and good sense, and has seen much of the world. By 
 the time he proposed, I was a little unsettled myself, 
 and it has been growing steadily ever since ; and now I 
 tell you truly, Jessie, I love him to the point of distrac 
 tion. He seems to understand me, and knows how to 
 get along with me better than either papa or mamma ; 
 and I think he appreciates my good qualities (here she 
 indulged in a mocking little laugh), and really believes 
 there is something to me. Now, this is serious, for I'm 
 afraid he is deceived there. Jessie, I sometimes doubt 
 whether there is anything at all to me. I am nothing
 
 272 BEDBANK. 
 
 more than a glass of syllabub, and it actually frightens 
 me to think that Clarence may some day awaken to the 
 shallowness of my nature. What shall I do, dear, if he 
 does?" 
 
 Jessie smiled ; she could not help it. There was a 
 comic element even in Nettie's sober and solemn con 
 fessions. 
 
 " Wait till the time comes, and then you will be 
 clever enough for the occasion," said Jessie. 
 
 " No, I won't ; I feel as if my sins had found me out 
 at last. I have made a jest of hearts, and now mine 
 may have to suffer. Besides, I have not had the courage 
 to tell him anything about all those miserable old 
 engagements. How could I ? " 
 
 " Well, he has probably heard enough about you 
 to know that you have not been a model of propriety," 
 said Jessie. " Perhaps he will feel flattered to count up 
 your victims. It is like slaying a man-eating tiger. He 
 will be proud of the feat." 
 
 They both laughed. 
 
 " You are making fun of me, Jessie. Please, don't do 
 that, for I am really in earnest. I am dreadfully afraid 
 that Clarence will find out everything, and will be 
 angry with me, and not love me any more. I know he 
 has not heard about my evil doings, for he despises 
 gossip, and would not listen to it. Besides, he holds 
 very absurd ideas about the clergy and their daughters ! 
 I have recently found out that he is severely orthodox 
 on this point, and it frightens me almost to death. " It 
 would break my poor little heart ! " She laid her hand 
 upon her breast with a pretty gesture which left one 
 in doubt whether she were in earnest or not. " Jessie," 
 she continued, after a while, " there are ever so 
 many boys in town who have love-letters from me. Ben
 
 REDBANK. 273 
 
 Thornton actually told me when I broke off my engage 
 ment with him, ' Never mind, I'll make you pay for it; 
 I'll keep your love-letters, and send them as a wedding- 
 present to your husband.' Do you think lie will, 
 Jessie ? " 
 
 " Of course not. Mr. Thornton is a gentleman, and, 
 though he might utter such a threat in a moment of 
 anger, he is too honorable to carry it out." 
 
 " I don't know about that," said Nettie, shaking her 
 head doubtfully ; " he was dreadfully angry with me, 
 and he has never spoken to me since. Somehow I am 
 afraid of him." 
 
 The brushes went slowly through the shining locks, 
 and there was silence for a time. 
 
 " Jessie," exclaimed the pretty penitent, " I cannot 
 tell you how it scares me to think of taking a man's 
 happiness into my keeping. What if I should not sat 
 isfy him ? What if he should regret his choice when 
 it was too late, and I should find it out ? How terrible 
 it would be ! I don't know how I could go on living." 
 
 " I don't believe that you will ever make any discovery 
 of that kind," said Jessie, surprised beyond measure to 
 find that such serious thoughts were agitating the bosom 
 of her friend. " Mr. Sage is very much in love with 
 you, and I'm sure he will not criticise you severely. I 
 daresay he will think everything you say and do exactly 
 right." 
 
 " I hope so with all my heart. I shall try my best 
 always to keep up the illusion. He is very kind and 
 patient and good-tempered. That is better than genius 
 -isn't it ? " 
 
 " I think so," replied Jessie ; " at least, it is a safer 
 quality in a husband." 
 
 " Oh ! yes ; Clarence is all right," exclaimed Nettie ;
 
 274 REDBANK. 
 
 " I'm not in any doubt about him he has virtues enough 
 for a dozen men ; but I am afraid of myself honestly 
 and truly I am, Jessie. I have never meant to be quite 
 as frivolous as I have always been, but it is like rolling 
 a stone downhill once get it started, and there is no 
 stopping it. So it is with me. I have generally begun 
 by being a little saucy and mischievous you know I 
 couldn't help that ; it's my very nature, probably inher 
 ited from some great-great-aunt, or great-grandmother ; 
 then, as a man gets a little interested in one, the game 
 becomes very absorbing. It is like cards, or anything 
 else where delicate skill is combined with chance. Often 
 a lucky meeting would favor the continuance of matters, 
 or a neat little speech or gesture would entice the victim 
 a little farther. Yes, it was the stone going downhill 
 I could not stop it. Now, the feeling often comes over 
 me, shall I be able to stop it after I am married ? I'm 
 really in doubt about myself. What do you think of it, 
 Jessie ? " 
 
 " I don't know, Nettie. It is like asking my opinion 
 about the climate of Mercury or Mars. My experience 
 in love affairs has been very limited. You are more 
 capable than I am of pronouncing upon your own case. 
 Coquetry may become a dangerous habit, I suppose, 
 like drinking or opium-eating. There is but one way 
 to overcome such habits that is, to struggle continually 
 against them." 
 
 " Yes, I know, and yet I don't know. I have heard 
 all that about fighting one's faults so often that it sounds 
 very old and familiar, but I don't understand it in the 
 least. I have no idea how to begin a struggle with my 
 self. I can struggle with anybody else in the world ; 
 but, when I want to do anything, it does not seem possi 
 ble for me to combat the wish myself."
 
 REDBANK. 275 
 
 " Then let us hope that your husband may be strong 
 enough to struggle with you, when your wishes are 
 wrong," said Jessie, smiling. 
 
 She Could not believe that her friend was more than 
 half in earnest in what she was saying. 
 
 u Mr. Sage looks as if he had a very strong will, and, 
 if that is the case, you will soon learn to submit to his 
 guidance. It is a comfortable thought that you have 
 more confidence in him than you have in yourself." 
 
 " Yes, it is. Though I am such a tipsy little craft, I 
 do believe that I have cast anchor in good solid ground. 
 Jessie," she exclaimed, after a short pause, " I have 
 really been a kind of Undine a merry, sportive, soul 
 less creature. Love has awakened me to a higher ideal 
 of life. There is the growth of something new within 
 me the budding of a soul, perhaps." She laughed 
 lightly, though her words were serious enough. " But 
 I'm not half as happy as I used to be in the old days. 
 The something new which has been born within me often 
 makes me very uncomfortable. I suppose it is the con 
 science, which, you know, Shakespeare says ' makes 
 cowards of us all.' " And she laughed again. 
 
 " Nettie, if I were in your place," said Jessie, " I would 
 tell Mr. Sage candidly about all the past flirtations, the 
 engagements, the love-letters, and everything else. Con 
 fess to him that you have been a dreadful little coquette. 
 It may cost you a little effort, and it may shock him 
 somewhat, but in the end it will be best." 
 
 " I can never, never do it," exclaimed Nettie, with a 
 little gasp. 
 
 " But you will be ever so much more comfortable 
 yourself. You acknowledge that you have a vague dread 
 of revelations that may reach him in the course of time." 
 
 " I have ! " she cried, with a half-comic, half-tragic
 
 276 EEDBANK. 
 
 expression ; " they are like horrible phantoms which 
 murder sleep." Jessie laughed. 
 
 " I don't believe Mr. Sage will be very severe with 
 you. He knows that you are a light-headed, light- 
 hearted little creature, rather reckless in manner and 
 conversation. He loves you just as you are, and will 
 see that the fondness for flirtation is something which 
 you will outgrow when life becomes more serious. He 
 will pardon levity more readily than deception." 
 
 " But I have no intention of deceiving him. I shall 
 simply be mum. My past does not belong to him. I 
 suppose my future does heigh-ho ! But what right 
 has he to go poking in the ashes of bygone years ? " 
 
 " No right, perhaps, but, loving you as he does, every 
 moment of your life possesses an interest for him," 
 replied Jessie. " He will inevitably hear more or less 
 from others. Chance words dropped in his presence 
 may excite hiscuriosity. Anticipate such revelations by 
 telling him frankly that you have been a little sinner 
 Such a confession will strengthen his confidence." 
 
 " Almost thou persuadest me to do it," exclaimed 
 Nettie Hunter. Soon she shook her head. " No, I can 
 not. The very thought of it makes me feel old and 
 ugly. Jessie, one reason why I have always been so gay 
 is because I have taken life easy, and have shirked dis 
 agreeable things. I am going to keep it up if I can." 
 
 " I'm afraid after a while you will have to abandon 
 that smooth and flowery road," said Jessie ; " most peo 
 ple have to climb a hill sometimes." 
 
 " I know it ; and I have a vague prevision that some 
 very steep and stony ones lie before me." Her face 
 assumed a pensive expression. She had brushed out 
 the crimps from her hair, and, drawing it down smooth 
 over her ears, she twisted the mass into a small coil low
 
 REDBANK. 277 
 
 down on the neck. Jessie scarcely recognized the little 
 face; it looked plain and demure. Nettie caught a 
 glimpse of it in the long looking-glass over the mantel 
 piece, and broke into a peal of laughter. How could she 
 help it? There was something irresistibly comical in 
 her new expression. 
 
 " Jessie," she exclaimed, " I shall comb my hair just 
 so when I go to the confessional ; and I shall put on 
 one of mamma's plainest black dresses the melancholy 
 alpaca that she always wears to funerals. Then I shall 
 fall upon my knees at Clarence's feet, and pour out the 
 whole story of my folly. Don't you think he will be 
 too much touched to be angry ? " And the suppressed 
 laughter came in little bubbles, as she buried her face in 
 her hands. 
 
 Jessie joined in the laugh ; she was too young and 
 gay herself to be very serious with this charming little 
 sinner. Human nature is very much like chemistry ; 
 each individual is a compound of good and bad qualities, 
 mixed in proper proportions according to some unknown 
 law of heredity. We do not expect to find the same 
 chemical characteristics in chloride of sodium and sul 
 phurated hydrogen. Then why should we be surprised 
 that human beings differ so widely from each other? 
 Why should we expect to find in every one the ele 
 ments of character which we are conscious of possessing 
 ourselves ? Why should we feel annoyed to detect 
 qualities wholly different from anything which our 
 inner consciousness reveals to us as existing within 
 ourselves ? What we do not admire may be wholly 
 admirable. What we do not love may be perfectly 
 lovable. What we do not understand may have its 
 noble uses in God's great universe. In her estimate of 
 others, some sentiment of this kind was permanently
 
 278 
 
 present in Jessie Holcombe's heart, making her very 
 broadly sympathetic. And so it was that her sponta 
 neous laughter now mingled with Nettie's. At length, 
 the latter looked up and said in her clear, incisive voice : 
 
 u Now, I know you have lost all hope of me. You 
 must think me desperately wicked to laugh over such a 
 serious matter." 
 
 " Indeed I don't , you did look very droll ; I could 
 not help laughing myself." 
 
 " Then you don't think it a sign of total depravity 
 to go through life laughing instead of crying?" asked 
 Nettie. 
 
 " No ; I rather envy those who can laugh. I wish I 
 were not so serious myself. Your sunny temperament 
 is a rich dowiy, my dear." 
 
 " Jessie," said the girl, " I tell you honestly and truly, 
 I cannot help being what I am. Remembering papa's 
 profession, I have often tried to be prim and proper, but 
 there is a very fountain of mirth within me. The water 
 is bubbling up all the time ; I cannot stop it. I really 
 do want to do right, but my spirits run away with me. 
 Perhaps age and sorrow will change me." 
 
 " I hope not," said her friend ; " if you were changed, 
 you would no longer be yourself. I like you as you 
 are." 
 
 " Jessie, dear, I have been in earnest to-night in all 
 that I have said to you. I do want to be less frivolous 
 indeed I do." 
 
 " Have you ever talked with your mother about it, 
 and asked her to help you ? " 
 
 "Never! never!" exclaimed Nettie; "it wouM 
 only fill her dear heart with anxiety ; she would imme 
 diately think that I was going to die, if I began to talk 
 anything but the very absurdest nonsense. No, I would
 
 REDBANK. 279 
 
 never go to her with any confessions. I had rather go 
 to papa, but he isn't a woman, you know, and might 
 be perplexed; he is easily perplexed, dear man. No, 
 Jessie, I will stick it out, and seek no confidant but you. 
 After I am married I will understand Clarence better, 
 and then I can judge whether he will care or not about 
 my wicked little doings in the past. He may be much 
 more interested in the science of banking, and hold my 
 affairs in supreme indifference. One thing is certain 
 I shall never tell him a real black lie. I might tell 
 a white one, or a gray one, but a real black one Never ! 
 I would not do it to escape hanging." 
 
 Just then the tiny clock upon the mantel-piece struck 
 one. 
 
 " We ought not to sit up any longer," said Jessie ; 
 " to-morrow will be a very tiresome day for you." 
 
 " I know it, dear," and again she gave a little gasp. 
 " I would like to escape from it, if I only could. I've 
 a great mind to run away, Jessie. I never thought 
 myself capable of feeling as I do to-night. The trous 
 seau isn't a bit of comfort. I am sorry for mamma, 
 sorry for papa, sorry not to have made them more happy 
 and worst of all, I'm sorry that the beautiful, bright 
 girlhood is forever over." 
 
 She burst into a hysterical laugh, as she bounded into 
 the bed, and buried her head in the pillow. 
 
 The next evening, promptly at eight o'clock, the 
 bridal procession walked up the aisle of St. Luke's 
 Church, and the good Bishop tied the nuptial knot. 
 Immediately after the ceremony, a large reception fol 
 lowed at the residence of the bride. Everybody of 
 fashion everybody of respectability, was present. The 
 parlors were so thronged that the most intimate friends
 
 280 REDBANR. 
 
 jostled against each other without recognition on either 
 side. 
 
 Finally, when the bride had departed, when the crowd 
 had freely partaken of refreshments, and were slipping 
 quietly away, Jessie Holcombe attempted to cross the 
 hall in the hope of getting upstairs. She was very 
 tired and longed to escape from the noise and confusion 
 and ceaseless chatter. She unexpectedly encountered 
 a gentleman who showed an inclination to detain her. 
 
 " Good-evening, Miss Holcombe. I have been trying 
 for hours to get near enough to speak to you, but the 
 Fates have not been propitious." 
 
 " Good-evening, Mr. Brooks ; I did not know that 
 you were here. I hope you have enjoyed it." 
 
 " It is worse than a London ball in the height of the 
 season. Miss Hunter has certainly given everybody an 
 opportunity to see her and offer congratulations." 
 
 " Yes, you know how kind-hearted she is. She did 
 not want to slight any one." 
 
 " It has been a crushing affair. If all these people 
 are her friends, she has a good many more than the 
 conventional five hundred. But you look tired. Can 
 we not find a quiet place where we can sit down ? I 
 want to talk with you a few moments. Suppose we 
 come in here ? " And he moved towards a half-open 
 door at the end of the hall. 
 
 They found themselves in the dining-room ; the tables 
 were cleared, the servants were gone, and the lights 
 were turned down. Several weeks had passed since 
 these two had met. They both recalled it now ; it was 
 a spot of burning consciousness in the memory of each ; 
 that evening when his eyes had flashed the passionate 
 message from his heart. 
 
 " What had he to say to her at this late day ? " she
 
 KEDBANK. 281 
 
 sternly demanded of herself. She -was a woman and 
 could not put the question to him, but her manner was 
 cold and haughty. If it had been possible, she would 
 have broken away from him, but she did not wish to be 
 rude, and she could not well decline to speak to him, 
 since he was a guest of the house. 
 
 " Miss Holcombe," he said, " I am going away I 
 want to say good-bye to you." 
 
 She extended her hand " Good-bye." 
 
 " But I am not going just yet. Can you not spare 
 me a few minutes of your time ? May I not sit down 
 and rest a little while ? " He seemed to be pained by 
 her coldness. 
 
 " Excuse me," she said, " you look so hurried that 
 I thought you wanted to catch the next train." 
 
 They both laughed. " Not so bad as that," he re 
 plied ; " I am soriy to have a hurried, hunted manner, 
 but I have been terribly driven of late. I have been 
 attending to some business for my father, and have felt 
 in a perfect fever to get through with it. But, Miss 
 Holcombe, have you no curiosity to know where I am 
 going?" 
 
 " To Europe, is it ? " she asked, feeling her own heart 
 sink as she put the question. 
 
 " Not quite so far as that ; only to New York." 
 
 " A journey to New York ! How pleasant that 
 sounds ! " 
 
 " Does it ? Now to me it sounds very unpleasant 
 just at this time ; but I hope something pleasant may 
 .come of it. You think you would like it for yourself? " 
 
 " Indeed I would. I often long to break away from 
 everything, and fly off in an aimless tangent. I have 
 not thought much of an ultimate stopping-place, but 
 New York might answer. It seems remote enough."
 
 282 EEUBANK. 
 
 " You have never been there ? " he asked. 
 
 " No, Mr. Brooks, my knowledge of geography is 
 exceedingly limited. I hope your own journey may be 
 pleasant and successful." 
 
 " Thank you," he said ; " your good wishes will 
 insure me against all misfortune." 
 
 " I would not advise you to rely for safety upon my 
 good wishes," she replied, laughing lightly. " It would 
 be better to get out an accident policy, wouldn't it ? " 
 
 " That would argue that my life is worth something 
 to somebody else. I am sorry not to have that flatter 
 ing assurance. Your good wishes, Miss Holcombe, 
 make it worth something to myself." After a short 
 pause, he added, " I hope you will miss me a little." 
 
 " Perhaps I shall ; I cannot tell until you are gone." 
 
 " And if you should find it out after I am gone, how 
 am I to know ? Do you think you could write a little 
 note and tell me ? " 
 
 " That would scarcely be proper. A young lady 
 must never violate the conventionalities, even to serve 
 a friend." 
 
 " But if I wrote first, then the conventionalities 
 would not be violated." 
 
 " But you will not do that, Mr. Brooks." 
 
 " Why ? " he asked. " Do you doubt my courage T " 
 
 " No, I know that you are very bold, but I do not 
 think you are bold enough to offend a lady." She was 
 looking down at the withered bouquet she held in her 
 hands. Unconsciously she was pulling the flowers to 
 pieces. 
 
 " And why should she be offended ? " 
 
 " Because" she answered emphatically ; then added, 
 " Mr. Brooks, you have no right to expect a more satis 
 factory reason from, a. woman."
 
 ItEDBANK. 283 
 
 She looked at him with a clear, cold, fearless gaze. 
 It seemed to her that he was trifling, and she longed 
 to put an end to the interview. 
 
 " But, Miss Holcombe, I do not see why a letter 
 should offend a lady, if it be written in a tone of 
 admiration and respect." 
 
 " That depends on a great many other things. There 
 are times, Mr. Brooks, when silence is much more 
 effective than speech." Her words had a sharp, 
 incisive ring that he understood. 
 
 " You are right, he said ; " the hypothetical letter 
 shall not be written ; indeed there would be no occasion 
 for writing it, if you would only say that you will miss 
 me a little. Surely you remember all the pleasant rides 
 and walks." 
 
 " Yes ; but they may possibly be continued under 
 another escort," she replied, smiling without pity. 
 
 " Now, that is a cruel blow to my self-love." 
 
 " I think you will survive it," she said, and her laugh 
 sounded almost wicked. 
 
 u I do not know about that ; I feel rather weak and 
 tired to-night quite unable to parry thrusts of any 
 kind. The truth is my father has not been well of 
 late, and I have been trying to assist him in getting 
 through with some pressing business. I have been 
 amazed to see the amount of work that he does." 
 
 " Don't you feel a little remorseful to go away and 
 leave him ? " she asked. 
 
 " Sometimes, perhaps," he replied, hesitating a mo 
 ment ; " but I assure you I cannot help it. I wish you 
 would believe that something beckons "me to arise, and 
 go out of the old country into the new. Even my 
 father now feels that it is altogether best. You must 
 have a little confidence in my judgment, Miss Holcombe."
 
 284 BEDBANI?. 
 
 She smiled. " I have so much in the father's that it 
 is hard to have any in the son's, when the two are 
 opposed." 
 
 " And cannot you believe that I have inherited some 
 of his good qualities ? " 
 
 " I will try," she said, very simply ; " it is pleasant to 
 think well of every one." 
 
 " I am sorry it should cost you such an effort to think 
 well of me." He tried to speak carelessly, but there 
 was a passionate vibration in his tone which her ear 
 detected. She did not dare to look up, knowing that 
 his eyes were fixed upon her, and feeling that the safety 
 of both depended upon her own coldness and self- 
 control. She was very lovely, as she sat there, beside 
 him in the dim light. Her dress fell around her like a 
 soft white cloud, leaving only the beautiful face and 
 arms and bust unveiled. Her lap was filled with the 
 faded flowers that she had been pulling to pieces. 
 Presently he said : 
 
 " There, leave that one for me ; you have plucked the 
 heart out of all the rest ; spare that one." 
 
 And as he spoke, he extended his hand. But she 
 only shook her head. 
 
 " No ; I must keep this one as a souvenir of Nettie's 
 wedding ; it is a pale-eyed forget-me-not." 
 
 " That is why t I would like it. Can you not give it 
 to me ? " His voice was full of tender pleading, but 
 she hardened her heart, and answered, " No." He did 
 not wonder that she was cold and cruel. What right 
 had he to detain her, unless he meant to tell her all that 
 was in his heart ? More than once words of burning 
 passion rose to his lips, but they remained unspoken. 
 He remembered the promise given to his father lie must 
 
 wait. He must go away and leave her to doubt his truth 
 
 18
 
 EEDBANK. 285 
 
 and honor. Since it was so, there was no use in detain 
 ing her any longer. He arose from his seat. 
 
 " Miss Holcombe, you look very tired ; forgive me 
 for keeping you so long. Alice wished me to give, you 
 a message. She wants to see you before you return to 
 Iledbank. Can you not go and see her to-morrow after 
 noon ? She is at my father's." 
 
 " I will try, but I'm afraid that I shall be very busy 
 to-morrow. I have promised Mrs. Hunter to assist her 
 in putting things in order. You can guess what a task 
 that will be." 
 
 " Well, at least I have delivered the message," he said, 
 smiling; "you must not allow Alice to accuse me of 
 forgetfulness. I shall not be on hand to defend myself." 
 
 " When do' you leave, Mr. Brooks ? " she asked. 
 
 " To-morrow morning at seven o'clock. Good-bye." 
 He extended his hand coldly, as if it were only an ordi 
 nary parting. 
 
 " Good-bye ! " she echoed, in a low tone. For a 
 moment her hand rested in his ; he did not allow him 
 self to give it even the slightest pressure. Without 
 another word or look, he turned and hurried away. 
 
 Could he only have guessed all the sorrow that awaited 
 her during his brief absence, he would have folded her 
 to his heart then and there, in spite of every pledge that 
 had been spoken.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 IT was almost sunset the next afternoon, when Jessie 
 Holcombe ascended the stone steps of Judge Brooks's 
 residence. She was immediately shown upstairs, and 
 Alice came forward with eager pleasure to meet her. 
 She wore a long, dark dressing-gown, trimmed with fur, 
 and a heavy shawl was thrown around her shoulders. 
 
 " Excuse me for not coming down, Jessie," she said, 
 " but I took a severe cold last night, and have been 
 suffering to-day with sore throat." 
 
 " I am very sorry," said Jessie, still holding the hand 
 of her friend. " You must have found the reception 
 very tiresome everybody did there was such a crush." 
 
 " Yes," replied Alice, " I'm not strong enough for 
 such occasions ; they exhaust me nervously. I have 
 felt as limp as an old rag all day. But I went to please 
 Waverley, and to have given him some pleasure is com 
 pensation after all." 
 
 As they spoke, they entered a beautiful airy sitting- 
 room, richly furnished in dull old gold. A large bay- 
 window, draped with delicate lace curtains, filled up 
 one entire end ; a jardiniere of choice plants was stand 
 ing there, and on them fell the last level rays of the 
 setting sun. To Jessie's eye, it was the most beautiful 
 room that she had ever seen, and an exclamation of 
 delight burst from her lips. 
 
 " Yes, it is gorgeous," said Alice ; " it is Waverley's
 
 REDBANK. 287 
 
 sitting-room lie furnished it himself. Those pictures 
 011 the wall are his own paintings, and he collected and 
 arranged everything rugs, skins, hangings and orna 
 ments. It cost a pretty sum of money, I have heard. 
 He insisted on my using it during his absence, but 
 I feel like an intruder upon his privacy." A grand 
 piano stood near the centre of the room, but it was 
 closed now, and the music was neatly piled upon the 
 music-stand. " There is his piano, and there are his 
 books," said Alice, pointing to some shelves over which 
 hung a rich Algerian scarf ; " they are mostly in French, 
 German, or Italian, so I cannot read them." Before 
 seating herself, Jessie went around the room, and looked 
 at the pictures ; they were mostly landscapes bits of 
 bleak coast, and fair pastoral scenes, framed in by moun 
 tains. One picture especially chained her attention 
 a moonlight on the water, a boat with two occupants, a 
 lady and a gentleman. The gentleman managed the 
 oars, while the lady played upon the guitar, and the 
 music of her voice seemed to be floating over the water. 
 " That is the Lake of Como," remarked Alice ; " I 
 believe that is an incident in his own life, though he will 
 not confess it. He always speaks of Como as heavenly. 
 Here is a picture of the Villa Serbelloni where he stayed 
 it must be an enchanting spot." The girl took a 
 quiet pride in pointing out the many beautiful things 
 that were scattered around. Jessie could understand it. 
 Was he not her affianced husband ? And yet Jessie 
 Ilolcombe recalled the expression of his eyes as he had 
 looked into her face more than once, 'and the tender 
 vibration of his voice as he had pleaded with her last 
 night for that poor faded forget-me-not which she had 
 at last thrown into the fire. What did it all mean ? 
 She could not make it out, and a sickening sensation
 
 288 EEDBANK. 
 
 came over her as she moved around his room, and gazed 
 at the objects which his hands had touched only that 
 morning. 
 
 " Come, let's sit down," she said ; " you are not well, 
 Alice, and it will not do for you to tire yourself." 
 They drew two easy-chairs within the light of the bay- 
 window and seated themselves. 
 
 " What in the world made Nettie Hunter invite every 
 body in the city to her reception?" asked Alice in a 
 slight tone of disgust ; " it did seem to me that a few 
 might have been comfortably spared." 
 
 Jessie smiled. " That is just Nettie's way she likes 
 everybody and everybody likes her ; she wanted to give 
 everybody a good time." 
 
 " Well, she did not succeed so far as I am concerned," 
 said Alice. " Before I finally escaped, I felt as if I had 
 been knocked down, trampled upon, and unmercifully 
 beaten. I was never before in such a crowd and I hope 
 never again to be victimized to such an extent." 
 
 " I suppose Mr. Hunter also felt it necessary to send 
 out a large number of invitations," remarked Jessie ; 
 " you know clergymen belong to the public." 
 
 " Yes," exclaimed Alice ; " every unwashed, unshaven 
 creature who drops into a church, thinks himself entitled 
 to the notice of the minister." 
 
 " Well, it ought to be so, dear ; if they are truly the 
 preachers of glad tidings to the people, as Christ was, 
 they ought not to assume a social superiority." 
 
 "I'm sincerely glad I'm not a clergyman's daughter," 
 said Alice ; " I'm not at all democratic in my tastes, and 
 some things would be dreadfully disagreeable. Nettie 
 never seemed to care a fig for social distinctions." 
 
 " No, she has less pride and pretension about her than 
 any girl I ever knew," replied Jessie ; " I like that in her
 
 REDS AN K. -2 SO 
 
 very much. She is always ready to give a cordial greet 
 ing to the very humblest person. I have seen her stop 
 and chat with the old woman who sells pies at the cor 
 ner of the street, and every ragged boy in town knows 
 and admires her." 
 
 " Uncle thinks that she has married exceedingly well," 
 Alice remarked after a short silence. " He says that 
 Mr. Sage is a very superior young man, and that he is 
 finely connected in New York. He represents a very 
 strong banking-house, and will be a very rich man in 
 course of time." 
 
 " I am glad I think Nettie will enjoy being rich ; she 
 will not put on airs, as we used to say at school." And 
 Jessie laughed. 
 
 " I dislike people who feel elevated when they have 
 made a little money," said Alice ; " as if that could really 
 make them more important in the world." 
 
 " It does make them more important in the eyes of 
 some people," replied Jessie. " It must be a very nice 
 thing to have. I used to be perfectly indifferent to it ; 
 I did not even understand its value as a purchasing 
 power ; but of late, I have had glimpses of the many 
 beautiful things which it can buy. It is not altogether 
 ' filthy lucre.' See this lovely room, for instance. But 
 for money, it would have been an unrealized dream. 
 What a delight it must be to sit day after day in the 
 midst of such surroundings to drink in the warmth of 
 sunshine that falls through such a film of lace, the fra 
 grance of flowers so exquisitely arranged, the harmony 
 of color that satisfies the senses as music does ; and last 
 of all to have such a splendid piano, well tuned and with 
 a mighty volume of sound. Yes, I would like it all ! " 
 And she indulged in a mocking little laugh as if oppressed 
 by the futility of such wishes.
 
 290 REDBANK. 
 
 " Why. how worldly you are getting, Jessie ! " ex 
 claimed Alice ; " I have always looked upon you 
 as the simplest maiden on this green earth one of the 
 unconscious, unspoiled kind. Surely a residence of 
 two days in this wicked old city has not corrupted 
 you?" 
 
 Again Jessie laughed and shook her head. " Oh ! no ; 
 I'm not utterly corrupted yet ; and I'm only beginning to 
 see some of the possibilities of existence. I think my 
 sensuous side is just awakening. Never fear it will 
 have to go to sleep again. The prose of life is for me 
 not the poetry." 
 
 " You are wrong, then," said Alice ; " you are the 
 very one to get the poetry. But it has small connection 
 with wealth. For instance, this room it is not money 
 that has made it beautiful, but good taste." 
 
 " The most refined taste without money would have 
 been unavailing," replied Jessie. " Besides, the taste 
 was trained and educated by advantages which could 
 only be procured by wealth." 
 
 " How mercenary you are growing ! You startle 
 me," said Alice, breaking into a laugh, in which her 
 friend heartily joined. 
 
 " No ; I again repeat that I am only getting glimpses 
 of possibilities. It is one thing to estimate wealth aright 
 it is another to barter one's higher nature for it. 
 But really I must go it will soon be dark." 
 
 " Do spend the night with me," pleaded Alice. 
 
 " I cannot, dear ; I promised Mrs. Hunter that I would 
 be back without fail." 
 
 " But I will send Harris with a message." 
 
 " That would not do. She expects me to return, and 
 it would be cruel to disappoint her. Besides, they will 
 both be so lonely to-night ; the excitement is all over
 
 EEDBANK: 291 
 
 now, and the reaction has come. I must try to com 
 fort them a little." She arose to go. 
 
 " Sit down just a minute," said Alice ; " I want to 
 say something to you. You will not mind ? You will 
 not get vexed with me ? " 
 
 " Of course not. How could I ever get vexed with 
 you, dear?" As she spoke, Jessie stooped and kissed 
 the brow of her friend, and then added, " What is it ? 
 Tell me quickly. See how dark it is growing." 
 
 " Well, sit down ; I cannot talk to you comfortably if 
 you are standing up ; you tower above me and over 
 shadow me. Jessie dear, I must tell you something." 
 She paused a moment ; it evidently cost her an effort to 
 speak. " I want you to know that I am not engaged to 
 Waverley I have never been really engaged to him 
 no rings have ever been exchanged between us. Uncle 
 was not willing for us to pledge ourselves when we were 
 very young ; he required us to wait." 
 
 Jessie's heart gave a strange, wild bound, and the blood 
 rushed to her face, but she was silent. It was almost 
 dark in the room, and Alice could not see her emotion. 
 
 " Before Waverley went to Europe, there were some 
 silly love scenes between us," Alice continued, "but 
 neither of us were very deeply in earnest, and it is all 
 over now. Both of us realize that we can never be any 
 thing nearer than cousins. I am dreadfully sorry to dis 
 appoint every one mamma, uncle, the public at large, 
 and you, too, dear." Alice smiled her sweet, sad smile 
 that meant a great deal more than was expressed. 
 
 " Yes, it is an awful disappointment to me," said 
 Jessie, struggling to be calm ; " I had hoped to be your 
 bridesmaid. It is a very interesting rdle" 
 
 " Is there no way of consoling you, dear ? " 
 
 " Yes, you must marry somebody else."
 
 292 REDBANK. 
 
 The young girl shook her head, and said sadly : 
 
 " No, I shall never marry any one." After a moment 
 she added, l ' I want you to know, Jessie, that Waverley 
 is the soul of honor. I can never tell you how noble 
 and delicate he has been in his conduct towards me. 
 He has thought only of my feelings." 
 
 Jessie could not trust herself to speak. She under 
 stood well why Alice had made this confession, and her 
 heart was full to overflowing. 
 
 " Jessie," said Alice, in a low, sad tone, " I would like 
 to be a Vestal Virgin, if only there were a temple and 
 an altar, and a fire to be kept forever burning ; but not 
 even that is left to us now ; the fire has gone out long 
 ago." 
 
 " Yes, dear, that fire ; but there are many others that 
 need to be kept up." 
 
 She spoke almost in a whisper ; then she stooped and 
 again kissed Alice. In a moment she was gone. 
 
 She descended the staircase rapidly, feeling hurried 
 and excited, and anxious to escape notice. She wanted 
 the cool, fresh air of evening to blow upon her heated 
 face, and calm the fever in her veins. As she reached 
 the lower hall, a gentleman entered the front door. It 
 was impossible to avoid him. It was Judge Brooks ; he 
 recognized her, and came forward in his cordial way, 
 exclaiming, " Why, Jessie, my dear, how glad I am to 
 see you ! Have you been up to call on Alice ? " 
 
 " Yes, and I'm sorry to find her ill." 
 
 " It was that wedding fandango," he said, with an 
 impatient expression, " she is getting to be a regular 
 hot-house plant a breath of cold air chills her. But I 
 intend to keep her with me a while now, and have the 
 attendance of a first-rate physician. We will cure her, 
 if possible. We will hedge her around with orders and
 
 REDBANK. 293 
 
 commandments. First of all, we forbid weddings in 
 future ; so you need not invite her to yours, my dear." 
 
 Jessie laughed, and remarked, " I was sorry not to 
 see you last night ; we hoped that you would honor the 
 occasion by your presence." 
 
 " Thank you for missing me ; but I am getting too 
 old for such things." 
 
 " Oh ! no, you are not ; you must not speak of being 
 old." 
 
 " I think you have sometimes reminded me of the 
 fact," he said, smiling a little sadly. 
 
 " Then I was very rucb and thoughtless, and hope you 
 will forgive me." 
 
 " There is nothing to forgive, my dear. I am old I 
 feel it now, and am resigned." 
 
 She felt herself unequal to the task of talking to him, 
 and made a movement towards the door. 
 
 " You are not going, are you ? " he asked. " Spend 
 the night with us." 
 
 " Thank you, but I cannot ; I promised Mrs. Hunter 
 to return, and I must not linger any longer ; it is quite 
 dark now." 
 
 " Yes, it is too late for you to go alone ; I will accom 
 pany you to the rectory. But come in here a moment, 
 and let me see you, Jessie." 
 
 She could not refuse ; he took her hand in his, and 
 led her into the large, brilliantly-lighted drawing-room. 
 The young girl looked at him with a tender, intense gaze. 
 Yes, he was changed ; he had grown older ; there were 
 lines about the eyes and mouth which she had never 
 noticed before, and she wondered if Waverley had 
 grieved him so deeply as to add these furrrows to his 
 face. Yes, it must be that. She could easily guess his 
 disappointment in his son. It must be a cruel blow to
 
 294 EEDBANK. 
 
 nourish hopes and expectations for years, to work hard 
 for their final accomplishment, and then to have them 
 swept away as rubbish by a careless hand. She could 
 scarcely forgive the young man, and yet she could not 
 find it in her heart to condemn him. He was a noble fel 
 low, and she blamed herself for being so cold and cruel 
 as to refuse him that poor faded forget-me-not. Well, 
 it could not be helped now. Some day, perhaps, he 
 would return, and she would not be so unbending in her 
 pride. These thoughts passed rapidly through her mind, 
 as the Judge moved the chairs and found a comfortable 
 seat for her. 
 
 " Jessie, my dear," he said, lingering fondly on the 
 name, " I wish you would come and stay awhile with 
 Alice. It would cheer her immensely, and me, too. 
 We are rather a melancholy couple to be left to our own 
 devices." 
 
 " You are very kind, but I cannot," said the young 
 girl, shrinking from the thought of accepting his hos 
 pitality. 
 
 " May I ask why ? " and he looked at her intently as 
 if determined to read her very soul ; then he added, 
 " You must not be afraid that I will persecute you, 
 Jessie. That is all over now. I am convinced of my 
 folly. It is only necessary to look at you, my dear, in 
 order to realize that you are beyond my reach. You 
 are blossoming into greater loveliness every day, like a 
 flower that keeps opening wider and wider to the sun 
 light. It is not for my old hand to pluck it. I must 
 leave it for some one younger and more worthy." 
 
 Jessie was inexpressibly touched by his words and 
 manner ; a vivid blush spread over her face as she said : 
 ' w You must not talk so ; there is no one on earth half 
 so worthy as yourself. I feel it more and more every
 
 EEDBANK. 295 
 
 day. It would be a noble task in life to make you 
 happy if only I could succeed ; but I know that I 
 should fail," and she shook her head sadly. 
 
 "Yes, you would fail, Jessie. There is a brighter 
 destiny in store for you, my child." 
 
 " Please don't say another word ! " she exclaimed, 
 raising her hand imploringly ; " I will not have you 
 making predictions about me I am content to wait." 
 
 " I know it, dear," he replied, slowly and solemnly. 
 " I will not utter a single prediction, but I see it all like 
 a beautiful vision, and, Jessie, my darling, I am content 
 I would not have it otherwise if I could." 
 
 The tears were gathering in her eyes ; she could not 
 sit there any longer and hear him talk in this way. She 
 arose to her feet, exclaiming, hoarsely, " I must go ; I 
 cannot stay another minute." 
 
 " I am going with you," he said. 
 
 " No, no ; please don't please don't," and again she 
 raised her hand with an imploring gesture. " I am not 
 at all afraid to go alone. It is not far." 
 
 " I cannot allow it, my dear," he replied, reaching for 
 his hat. 
 
 " Then let Harris go with me," she pleaded. The 
 old servant was moving about at the lower end of the 
 hall. Hearing his name spoken, he approached at 
 once. 
 
 " Harris," said the young lady, " get your hat and 
 accompany me to the rectory. Your master wishes to 
 go, but he is tired, and I cannot consent for him to go 
 out again on my account. Good-night," and she ex 
 tended her hand to the Judge. He took it and held it 
 for a moment. 
 
 " Good-night, and God bless you ! " he said.
 
 CHAPTER XXTV. 
 
 ALTHOUGH it was only the first of March, signs of 
 spring were already beginning to appear on all sides. 
 The fruit trees were in blossom, and a delicate mist of green 
 hovered over the distant woods. The songs of happy 
 birds were heard again ; the coo of the turtle-dove and 
 the whistle of the partridge came floating on the soft, 
 sweet air. At Redbank the negroes were cleaning up 
 the fields and lighting bonfires in all directions ; the 
 odor of burning brush was mingled with the odor of the 
 earth, freshly upturned by the plow. A faint, smoky 
 haze hung in the atmosphere, lending to all objects that 
 dimness of outline which is so enchanting to the eye 
 and to the imagination. 
 
 The sun was mounting higher and higher every day, 
 and his generous rays were warming the world into life 
 and beauty. All living creatures felt the impulse to 
 step out of doors and bask in the genial heat. 
 
 Jessie Holcombe was again at Redbank. On her 
 return from the city, after a visit of several weeks, she 
 had been glad to find every one well, and the machinery 
 of life moving on quietly and smoothly. Harry had 
 come back during her absence, and fallen into the old 
 habits of eating, sleeping, hunting and lounging around. 
 He looked dejected, and Jessie feared that he was 
 recovering from a prolonged period of dissipation, but 
 she said nothing. She pitied him more than ever,
 
 REDBANK. 297 
 
 because he appeared less light-hearted and gay, and 
 was evidently struggling with a very real trouble a 
 haunting phantom that would not be downed. 
 
 One afternoon, she was sitting out on the piazza in 
 the warm sunshine, reading, when her brother came 
 sauntering up the steps in a listless fashion, and approach 
 ing the joggling-board, threw himself down upon it at 
 full length. He pulled his hat over his eyes to shut 
 out the dazzling light, and in a little while he seemed 
 to be sleeping. Jessie did not notice him, but continued 
 to read. Half an hour passed without a word, when at 
 length Harry pushed back his hat, and said : 
 
 " What are you reading, Jessie ? You appear to be 
 perfectly absorbed." 
 
 " ' Alton Locke,' " she replied, looking up for a moment 
 from the page ; " have you read it ? " 
 
 " Only glanced at it ; it is not a very cheerful pro 
 duction," he answered ; " how do you like it ? " 
 
 " I find it rather interesting ; but I do not know much 
 about that Chartist movement, and, perhaps, I do not 
 give the actors enough of my sympathy. The truth is, 
 I don't like political agitators." 
 
 " There the woman spoke ! " he exclaimed impatiently. 
 
 "But governments seem somewhat sacred to me," 
 she said ; " they are symbols of the law which rules the 
 Universe. Men should respect them. Agitation often 
 brings far greater evils than it remedies." 
 
 " Nonsense ! You don't know what you are talking 
 about. Human governments are made by men, and 
 they have the faults and failings that men have. Only 
 agitation and actual insurrection can force the gover 
 nors to attend to the sufferings of the governed." He 
 spoke with a passionate indignation that was not usual 
 with him.
 
 298 REDBANE. 
 
 " But when the agitation or insurrection is sup 
 pressed by arms, and the leaders are led off to execu 
 tion, while the helpless followers are shut up in prison, 
 where is the benefit? " she asked. 
 
 " Even then public opinion is more or less affected by 
 the new ideas, and the governing classes are compelled 
 to modify their tyrannical proceedings. Without such 
 struggles on the part of the people, all governments 
 would crystallize into absolute despotism. It is surpris 
 ing how soon the possession of power makes a man a 
 tyrant. Let a man rise from the ranks as did Cromwell 
 or Napoleon, and just as soon as he becomes a master, 
 he begins to forge chains for the people." 
 
 " Then the evil lies deeper it is inherent in human 
 nature," she said, with a quiet smile ; " men must 
 become better themselves, if they would have better 
 governments." 
 
 " That will be a mighty slow process," he exclaimed 
 in a tone of disgust ; " at the present rate of progress, 
 it will take several great cycles before men cease to 
 enjoy tyrannizing over their fellow-men. Before that 
 blessed era arrives, I'm afraid our planet will be as cold 
 and desolate as the moon." 
 
 "I don't believe that," she said, shaking her head; 
 " we do advance a little, century by century. After a 
 while, we will abandon those old methods of insurrec 
 tion and revolution." 
 
 "I only hope we may," he replied ; "but you and I 
 will not live, to see it. War is an ugly thing for a 
 nation as well as for an individual. It is like waiting 
 to get dreadfully sick and then taking a lot of nasty 
 medicine. There are laws of health, which, if followed, 
 would prevent people from getting sick at all. I think 
 the people of a country ought to take more trouble to
 
 REDBANK. 299 
 
 find out what the rascally politicians are about, and nip 
 their schemes in the bud. Every man ought to own a 
 powerful telescope and keep it turned right upon Wash 
 ington all the time. Men are altogether too careless 
 about public affairs until a crisis comes ; then they kick 
 up a dreadful row, which often ends in smoke, defeat, 
 and humiliation, as our war did. What did the great 
 mass of Southerners know about the real, true cause of 
 the war? What did they know about the relative 
 strength of the sections ? Absolutely nothing. A few 
 politicians managed the whole business, and, like stupid 
 sheep, we followed them. Now we are turned out of 
 our ' green pastures beside the still waters,' and have to 
 roam the mountain-sides in search of a few stray blades 
 of grass. I tell you, it is devilish hard." 
 
 " You are getting too deep for me, Harry," said the 
 girl, turning again to her book. She did not care to 
 discuss anything connected with the war. For a time 
 she went on with her reading, but presently he again 
 interrupted her. 
 
 " Jessie, do you believe there is another life after this 
 one ? " 
 
 She was startled by the question as well as the tone in 
 which it was spoken. 
 
 " Of course, I do," she replied ; " did we not say the 
 creed together at our mother's knee : ' I believe in the 
 Holy Grhost ; the holy Catholic Church ; the Communion 
 of Saints ; the Forgiveness of Sins ; the Resurrection of 
 the Body ; and the. 'Life Everlasting?'''' 
 
 " Oh, yes, we said it often enough, but it was so 
 much Sanscrit to me. Saying a thing isn't always be 
 lieving it, by a long shot." 
 
 u Harry dear, it grieves me to hear you talk so," she 
 said.
 
 300 REDBANK. 
 
 " I know it, Jessie ; you were always a good little girl. 
 But how can I believe a thing if I can't, I'd like to know. 
 For my part, I believe that death is an eternal and 
 dreamless sleep that alone will be a compensation for 
 all the ills of life. When night comes, I like to wrap 
 my blanket around me and forget everything in sleep ; 
 it is compensation for all the fatigues and mistakes of 
 the day. So death will come to us and close our eyes 
 forever." 
 
 " Oh, Harry, you are a real pagan ! " she exclaimed, 
 looking at him sorrowfully. 
 
 " No, I'm worse than that," he answered ; " most of the 
 pagans believed in a spiritual life beyond the grave. 
 Those people whom we stigmatize nowadays as heathen, 
 believe in a hereafter of some kind. The ancient Greeks 
 believed in a Styx to be crossed, a grim tribunal to be 
 faced, a trial by judges, and an award of happiness or 
 misery. I rather like their faith ; it was founded on 
 right and justice. A fellow got what he deserved. 
 Now with Christianity it is different : it is the sneak 
 ing, long-faced, psalm-singing creatures who go right to 
 heaven when they die, provided they can swallow the 
 whole Thirty-nine Articles without making a wry face." 
 
 " That's not Christianity," said Jessie, shaking her 
 head; "you are mistaken, if you think so. To be a Chris- 
 tiar is to be like Christ, and we are told that He went 
 aboui doing good, and preaching the beautiful doctrine 
 that God is our Great Father, and all men are brothers." 
 
 " Those who call themselves His people are mighty 
 little like Him nowadays. They are just as selfish and 
 greedy after the good things of the world as all the rest of 
 us. I wish to goodness that I had lived in the time of 
 those old Greeks. They were fine fellows : they had 
 
 respect for strength, valor, and beauty. They did not 
 
 19
 
 REDRANK. 301 
 
 think much of business and money-making ; they left 
 that dirty work to slaves. In these latter days of the 
 glorious nineteenth century, no man succeeds in life 
 who does not go into some kind of business and make a 
 big pile of money the more the better. It fills me with 
 disgust. I could live for something really worth living 
 for, and die for something really worth dying for, but I 
 shall never stand behind a counter, and sell needles and 
 pins, and spools of cotton ; I'll take to the woods first, and 
 live on nuts and berries." 
 
 He was silent for a few moments and then he sat 
 upright, and exclaimed : " Jessie, I was born several thou 
 sand years too late. What shall I do ? I don't seem to 
 fit into this present civilization. I ought to have been 
 with Leonidas and his Spartans at ThermopylEe ; I could 
 have been of some use there. That bit of fighting 
 was fine ! " 
 
 Jessie looked up from her book and smiled. In a way, 
 she knew that he was right ; he was capable of splendid 
 flashes of heroism. He would make a fine soldier, or a 
 fine sailor ; he could hunt bears in the Rocky Moun 
 tains, or sail to the North Pole ; but he could not run a 
 mill, or manage a store, or direct a bank, so there was 
 but small use for him in these modern times. 
 
 " Yes, I know what you mean, Harry," she said, in her 
 sweet, sympathetic voice ; " there is a great charm in 
 that old Greek life. Sometimes I, too, feel that their 
 civilization was higher than ours. We seem more 
 material in our aims, and less intellectual and aesthetic ; 
 but one cannot tell behind all their love of the beau 
 tiful, there must have been much ghastly suffering. 
 Think of the Helotes." 
 
 "So there is now," he replied, " and the world is 
 more than two thousand years older. If the teachings
 
 302 EEDBANK. 
 
 of Christ had been followed, human suffering would have 
 been eliminated by this time." 
 
 " I think not," she said ; " suffering is so closely con 
 nected with ignorance, and men grow wise very slowly. 
 Each new human life begins at the beginning, and must 
 learn for itself, through its own experience, and the span 
 is very short. But we cannot settle these things, Harry, 
 and it does no good to talk about them. The age of 
 Greek civilization is past ; you were not permitted to 
 live then, and you are permitted to live now. Try to 
 make something noble out of your life, even if you have 
 fallen upon evil times. If you would only go to work 
 hi earnest, you would not be worried by all these questions. 
 We are hedged around with awful mysteries, but, after 
 all, some things are very plain. We are set in the midst 
 of duties, and our happiness lies in doing them." 
 
 " I don't agree with you there," he replied. " We 
 are not fixed in the soil by roots with nothing to do but 
 grow. We are left to develop our own roots, and find 
 a spot to fix ourselves in, and then get our proper nour 
 ishment ; and I tell you it is devilish hard to do. Some 
 times we are even torn up after we are firmly planted, 
 and seemed to be growing pretty fair. No, Jessie, 
 I can't agree with you nothing's plain in this world 
 everything is in a muddle. Now, for a personal 
 application : look at me, I don't know what to do, nor 
 where to go. I haven't talents, as they call them, and 
 I haven't energy, and I haven't money. What's to 
 be done with such a fellow? There is no place for 
 him in the universe, and the best thing for him is to fall 
 asleep." 
 
 " No ! no ! " exclaimed Jessie, " the best thing is to 
 struggle to develop energy and talent. You cannot 
 guess what is in you until you begin the fight with life.
 
 REDBANK. 303 
 
 Half the pleasure of living comes from the determination 
 never to give up never to be conquered in the battle. 
 If one thing fails, try another. Men have made them 
 selves great and strong in that way." 
 
 " Well, we will think about it," he said, as he again 
 extended himself upon the joggling-board. " It sounds 
 good and wise, but I daresay there's a flaw somewhere in 
 the argument there generally is in all advice ; " and he 
 laughed quietly to himself. Jessie went back to her 
 book, but the interest was gone, and she turned the 
 pages very slowly. Soon Harry again interrupted her 
 his mind was evidently full of thoughts this after 
 noon. 
 
 " Jessie, do you know what I would do if I were 
 rich?" 
 
 She smiled and replied, " No, I haven't the least idea. 
 Tell me." 
 
 " Well, I would travel. It is my opinion that there 
 is more fun in travelling than in anything else in the 
 world." 
 
 " It is very possible to travel without a great deal of 
 money at least for a man," she said. " You might buy 
 a monkey and go round the world with him." 
 
 " Gracious ! what plebeian notions you have ! When 
 I start on my travels, I wish to go en prince with a 
 retinue and plenty of money to give to the beggars. I 
 would like .especially to go to Rome and stand among 
 the crumbling columns of the Forum, and to Greece 
 and walk over the plains of Marathon. Yes, with a big 
 pile of money, one can make life jolly enough. Why 
 did a wise Providence permit my fortune to be swept 
 away by the calamity of war? I'm rather inclined to 
 question the wisdom of that particular Providence." 
 
 " There are hundreds of acres of land in the Far West
 
 304 ttEUBANK. 
 
 waiting to be settled," said Jessie ; " why don't you go 
 and claim your inheritance ? It is worth money now, 
 and will be worth still more in the course of time." 
 
 " It is almost as much of a desert as Sahara," he ex 
 claimed impatiently ; " by Jupiter, I'm not going to 
 work it. I'll starve first. But I'd just like to know 
 who it is that has cheated me out of my own lawful pos 
 sessions. If I could only find the particular individual, 
 I would be very apt to put a bullet into his head. Why 
 am I turned almost penniless upon the world?" He 
 looked up at his sister, as if demanding a reply. 
 
 She shook her head and said, " I cannot answer any 
 of your questions, Harry. But I do believe, if you 
 would go to work at something, many of them would be 
 answered for you. We are told that it is the idle who 
 are full of perplexities and doubts. When one is very 
 busy, mists and fogs and clouds disappear, and there is 
 a general clearing up of the mental weather." 
 
 " You are a wise little puss, Jessie, and I've a vague 
 feeling that you are right, but your prescription is 
 devilish hard to take. The only law which I find ful 
 filled in my being is the law of inertia." Jessie laughed. 
 " It is a property of matter which is only overcome by 
 the application of some external force," he continued. 
 " If a fellow gives me a kick, my inertia is slightly over 
 come ; it takes nothing less." 
 
 " Then you ought to hire somebody to kick you con 
 tinually," said Jessie, again laughing ; " suppose you 
 get Mike he has nothing in particular to do. Take 
 him around with you and have him administer the re 
 quired number of kicks every day." 
 
 " That wouldn't answer," he replied, " for the momen 
 tum excited by each one of his kicks would all be ex 
 pended in kicking him back again."
 
 305 
 
 " Oh ! Harry, Harry, I have no philosophy deep 
 enough to reach your case," she exclaimed ; " you don't 
 believe in anything but inertia and sleep. What a creed 
 for an American ! I had rather be a Hindoo and wor 
 ship Juggernaut." 
 
 " You are right," he said, laughing ; " but here comes 
 Sugar-plum. We'll leave metaphysics for the present." 
 As Lilian approached the joggliiig-board on which he 
 lay, he looked up at her. " Come here, Pet, and let 
 me put my naughty head in your lap. There, that's 
 ever so nice. Now, run your fingers through my hair, 
 and see if you can't make things pleasanter for me." 
 She did as he requested, and he caught her little hand 
 more than once and kissed it. " Nice little hand ! dear 
 little hand ! " he murmured, softly ; " I wonder who is 
 going to win it some day. I'd like to kick him, whoever 
 he is." 
 
 " Why, Uncle Hal, my hand is always going to belong 
 to me," she said, laughing at his words. 
 
 " No, it isn't," he answered, kissing it again. " You'll 
 be giving it away to some confounded, good-for-nothing, 
 impudent fellow in a few years, and I'm angry with him 
 right now. He doesn't deserve it in the least the 
 sweetest little hand that ever was made ! Don't you 
 ever get married, dear : men are awful old humbugs. 
 There is nothing sweet in the whole round world but 
 little girls. They are the salt that keeps the Universe 
 from corruption." 
 
 She pinched his ear, and told him to hush talking, 
 and go to sleep right away. She played with his soft 
 curls, and rocked him gently up and down upon the 
 joggling-board, and sang a low cradle-song whenever he 
 stirred. 
 
 Jessie went on with her book until the hour of sunset.
 
 306 REDBANR. 
 
 Then she closed it and fixed her eyes upon the splen 
 dors of the west. As she watched the brilliant clouds, 
 she thought, " How nice it would be to have a little 
 boat like Hiawatha's and sail away into the sunset. It 
 would be beautiful to go home that way." 
 
 Harry still slept on, and Lilian sat patiently holding 
 his head and stroking his hair. Jessie knew that the 
 child must be tired, but she could not find it in her 
 heart to arouse the sleeper. If sleep were indeed so 
 beautiful to him, then let him sleep. She listened to 
 his heavy breathing with a sad heart. Poor Harry ! 
 what was to become of him ? Would he go on living 
 this aimless, wretched life for twenty, thirty, fifty years, 
 perhaps, before the Eternal Sleep for Avhich he sighed 
 came to him ? The thought was full of pain, and tears 
 gathered in her eyes. Finally, the young man stirred, 
 yawned, stretched his limbs, and slowly came back to 
 himself. 
 
 " Why, Pet," he cried, " you must be tired ! How 
 long have I been sleeping ? " 
 
 " Ever and ever and ever so long," she answered, 
 drawing a deep breath ; " but I didn't mind." 
 
 " Thank you, darling, for holding my good-for-noth 
 ing head," he said, lifting her in his arms and kissing 
 her ; " now, come, and let's joggle away the old tired." 
 He bounded upon the board, and began to spring up 
 and down with her. 
 
 " Come, Jessie, and join us. Let's play that we are 
 children again, and have a real, good, old-fashioned 
 romp." 
 
 She did not reply, so he approached the chair in which 
 she was sitting. He saw the tears in her eyes. " Why, 
 what are you crying about ? Have the sorrows of ' Alton 
 Locke ' opened the fountain of your tears ? I'll fling the
 
 REDBANK. 307 
 
 old book away, if you are going to spoil your eyes over 
 it." 
 
 " I am not thinking of ' Alton Locke,' " she replied ; 
 " there are sources of grief nearer home." 
 
 " Dear, sweet little goose," he said, stooping and kiss 
 ing her, " I'm not worth a briny jewel from those glorious 
 eyes. Cheer up ! I expect to be President of the United 
 States in a few years, and you shall preside over the 
 White House, since a certain young lady declines the 
 exalted destiny. So do come and have a joggle with 
 Lilian and me. It takes at least three to make it real 
 lively." 
 
 " No, I do not feel like it, dear ; you must excuse me 
 to-night." Soon she got up and went into the house. 
 The joggling went on with ever-increasing hilarity. As 
 Jessie listened to the shouts and laughter, she wondered 
 anew at the strange and wayward character of her 
 brother, and her heart grew sadder and sadder with a 
 vague dread of the future.
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 " WELL, Pet, how is Lady Coraline to-day ? " asked 
 Harry as Lilian entered the back-parlor, one afternoon, 
 with her doll in her arms. 
 
 " She is not at all well," said the child, assuming a 
 very solemn air ; " she has the mumps and the measles 
 and scarlet>fever." 
 
 "What! all three?" 
 
 " Yes," the little mother answered. 
 
 " Why, that is a dreadful complication ! Bring her 
 here and let me see her. It is well that I'm a first-rate 
 doctor, isn't it ? " he said. 
 
 Lilian assented with a nod of the head. 
 
 The young man felt the pulse of the doll, and ex 
 amined her arms and neck with care. 
 
 " Yes," he finally said, " she is very ill there is really 
 occasion for anxiety. You must put her to bed imme 
 diately. It will not do for you to drag her around 
 through the cold, damp halls." 
 
 " Can I put her to bed in here ? " asked the child ; 
 " I don't want to go upstairs to play. I want to stay 
 where you are." 
 
 " Oh ! yes ; make her bed there on the end of the sofa, 
 and I will prepare some medicine for her." He took a 
 little bottle of homeopathic pellets from his pocket and 
 counted out six of them. " Here, give her one of these 
 every half-hour, and bathe her head with cold water. 
 You had better keep a wet cloth on it all the while."
 
 BEDBANK. 309 
 
 For ten or fifteen 'minutes, Lilian was very busy fol 
 lowing his directions. She undressed the doll, made a 
 nice bed for her on the end of the sofa, gave a pill as pre 
 scribed, looking at the clock carefully to note the exact 
 time and then placed a damp cloth on the little patient's 
 head. Harry watched her as she went through the 
 whole performance with a serious air of maternal 
 solicitude. He had nothing to do but to watch her. 
 It was pouring rain, so no one could get oat of the 
 house, and his paper-back novel did not interest him. 
 Jessie came into the room after a time, and, seating her 
 self at the piano, began to play some solemn kind of 
 music which formed a good accompaniment to the rain 
 that was driving violently against the window-panes. 
 Harry rocked lazily backwards and forwards before the 
 fire ; it was comfortable to have a roof over one's head 
 on such a day comfortable to have a blazing fire and 
 a rocking-chair comfortable to have nothing to do but 
 watch the beautiful child as she moved noiselessly around 
 the bed of the sick doll. When her motherly attendance 
 was at an end, she came and stood beside Harry's chair ; 
 he put out his arm and drew her to him. 
 
 " My darling, do you love me ? " he asked. 
 
 She threw her arms impulsively around his neck 
 " Better than anybody in the whole world," she said 
 with emphasis. 
 
 " That is right I want somebody to love me just that 
 way better than anyone else in the whole world." She 
 smoothed back the hair from his high, white brow, and 
 kissed him again and again. 
 
 " And are you going to love me always ? " he asked. 
 
 " Always ! always ! as long as I live," she replied. 
 
 " Even if I go away ? " 
 
 " Don't I always love you when you go away ? " she
 
 310 REDBANK. 
 
 said, a little reproachfully ; " and don't I love you when 
 you come back ? Nobody is ever so glad to see you as 
 I am." 
 
 " That is true," he replied. 
 
 " And when you are gone, I don't forget you either. 
 Every night when I say my prayers, I always say, 
 ' God bless Uncle Hal and bring him back again ! ' 
 And I say it over twice, to be very sure that God hears 
 me. You know He might be listening to some other 
 little girl's prayer, and not hear me the first time." 
 
 " Yes," he whispered, " always say it over twice, and 
 then He will know that you are really in earnest." 
 
 Again she kissed him. 
 
 " But, darling, if I went away and never came back 
 any more, do you think you could go on loving me 
 always ? " he asked. 
 
 " Always ! always ! " she said, emphatically ; " but you 
 will come back, I know. You must come back." 
 
 " Why ? " he asked. 
 
 " Because I could not bear it ! to have you never come 
 back any more." And the tears came into her eyes. 
 " You will come back won't you ? " 
 
 " Perhaps," he answered ; " if you want me very much. 
 We will see about that." 
 
 " But when are you going." 
 
 " I cannot tell you yet," he said, a little absently. 
 
 She nestled her head close up to his, and began to cry 
 very softly. He took her into his lap. 
 
 " There that will not do, at all you must not cry. 
 Go and see about Lady Coraline. It is time to give her 
 another pill. She will require very careful nursing, you 
 know, for she is very ill." 
 
 The child dried her eyes with the end ,of her apron, 
 got down from his lap, and went to the sofa where the
 
 liEVBANK. 311 
 
 doll lay. Soon she exclaimed, " Lady Coraline is ever 
 so much better, Uncle Hal ; she says her head does not 
 ache a bit now. I'm sure her fever is going off." 
 
 " I think so," he replied. " Give her another pill." 
 
 When the directions had been followed, she returned 
 and got into his lap again. Jessie, from her seat at the 
 piano, could hear them talking softly to each other as 
 they rocked back and forth. She was accustomed to see 
 them play in this manner ; but, somehow, to-day their 
 words made a deep impression upon her, and her heart 
 felt unutterably sad as she struck the chords of the 
 Sonata Pathetique. Just then the Colonel entered the 
 back-door, and went storming through the hall. He had 
 not been able to find his umbrella, and had got wet in 
 his journey to the stable. He declared emphatically 
 that he would break a certain good-for-nothing fellow's 
 head, if the said individual did not stop meddling with 
 his possessions. 
 
 " How cross father is to-day ! " said Lilian, snuggling 
 up closer still to Uncle Hal. 
 
 " Never mind," was the reply, " it is all on account of 
 cotton. The price is down and is going lower still every 
 day. He made a mistake in not selling when the price 
 was up. It is enough to make him cross." 
 
 " Have you had the umbrella, Hal?" asked Jessie. 
 
 " No, my dear ; I never use an umbrella. I do not 
 consider my cranium too sacred to be rained upon." 
 
 The storm continued without abatement. It had now 
 lasted for several days, and'had been increasing in vio 
 lence each day. Jessie played throughout the long dull 
 afternoon, and Harry and Lilian seemed to fall asleep 
 in the deep comfortable rocking-chair before the fire. 
 Towards night there was a slight lull in the storm ; the 
 rain fell more gently, as if the end were near at hand.
 
 812 REDBANK. 
 
 At the supper-table, the Colonel expressed himself as 
 glad, very glad, that there were some indications of 
 clearing. 
 
 " I have felt a little anxious about the mill," he 
 remarked ; " the fall of water has been very great in 
 the last three days. Peyton tells me that all the streams 
 are up higher than he has ever known them. It is 
 almost impossible to get to the Quarter the branch is 
 like a river. I do hope it is over now. I'm glad that 
 nothing is planted yet awhile." 
 
 " It seems to me that we have had a great deal of rain 
 this winter more than usual, have we not? " said Jessie. 
 
 "I don't know about that. The storms have con 
 tinued longer, perhaps, but I don't suppose the actual 
 rain-fall has been much greater," replied the Colonel. 
 
 " I never in my life saw it rain harder than it has done 
 this afternoon," said Mrs. Winston. " It has made me 
 very restless and nervous." 
 
 " It affected me in the same way," remarked Jessie ; 
 " I have felt quite wretched. I hope it is over at last." 
 
 " Now it has been delightfully soothing to me," de 
 clared Harry. " Pet and I have had a charming nap in 
 the big rocking-chair, haven't we, darling ? " 
 
 " Yes, but I don't like the rain," replied the child. 
 
 " Well, I have been thinking about the mill the whole 
 afternoon," said the Colonel. 
 
 " Then, you had better send down right away, and 
 see if everything is right," Mrs. Winston answered, in 
 a tone which showed that she shared his anxiety. 
 
 " iVill go for you, sir," said Harry. Now, it always 
 annoyed the Colonel to be obliged to accept any favor 
 from his brother-in-law. He generally treated the young 
 man with lordly indifference ; and, without even look 
 ing up from his plate or even expressing any thanks for
 
 REDBANK. 313 
 
 the offer, he coldly replied u I do not think I need your 
 services in the least. Old Burch has a little intelli 
 gence, and I imagine he will know how to manage the 
 gates, if the pond is too full." 
 
 " Well, for my part, I have a very poor opinion of 
 Mr. Burch's intelligence," said Mrs. Winston. " To 
 me he seems slow and stupid. If you have any anxiety 
 whatever about the mill, do let Harry ride down and 
 see about it. There is a lull now, and he can get back 
 by bed-time." 
 
 "I am at your service," the young man remarked. 
 " I don't profess to have any great amount of intelli 
 gence, but what I have is at your disposal." 
 
 The Colonel did not like this speech he seldom liked 
 any speech of Harry's, and answered rather haughtily : 
 
 " If I should ever happen to want your services, I will 
 let you know." 
 
 The young man colored slightly, but made no re 
 sponse. 
 
 " Well, I do not believe that the rain is over yet," 
 said Mrs. Winston, " and it seems very foolish to run 
 any risks with the mill. The pond must be very full 
 now, and if it begins to rain again there may be more 
 danger than you apprehend. I wish you would let 
 Harry go." 
 
 The Colonel was silent, and no one else seemed dis 
 posed to continue the conversation. 
 
 After they had arisen from the table, and the Colonel 
 had departed to the library, Harry went out on the 
 piazza, and looked at the sky. When he re-entered, he 
 said, carelessly, " The rain is not over yet. There is a 
 very ugly-looking cloud rising in the south-east. We 
 shall probably have a thunder-storm. Listen ! that's 
 thunder now."
 
 314 REDBANK. 
 
 Yes, it was muttering far away in the distance. Jes 
 sie and her brother went into the back-parlor as usual. 
 
 " Play for me, Jessie," said the young man ; and she 
 again went to the piano, glad to drive away the painful 
 thoughts that were oppressing her heart. 
 
 The storm came on slowly a faint flash of lightning 
 now and then, and a low rumble of thunder. Eleanor 
 had carried off Lilian to the nursery to be put to bed, 
 and the house was very still. Within an hour, the rain 
 began to fall again the storm was gathering force. 
 Soon blinding sheets of water descended. The wind 
 arose and drove it violently against the house, and the 
 crash of thunder overhead became more and more ter 
 rific. 
 
 At bed-time, the brother and sister went upstairs, 
 kissing each other in silence at the head of the steps. 
 On entering her room, Jessie threw off her dress, and 
 put on a wrapper; then, seating herself in front of the 
 fire, she began to read. She knew that she would not 
 be able to sleep, if she went to bed ; a strange, restless 
 feeling possessed her. The wind was now blowing a 
 perfect gale, and peal after peal of thunder rent the air. 
 This continued for an hour or two. It seemed even 
 longer to Jessie as she sat in the loneliness of her room. 
 
 Suddenly she heard a soft step on the stairs. She 
 listened intently. Some one went to Harry's room and 
 knocked. The knock was repeated several times before 
 he was aroused. Jessie moved quietly to her own door, 
 and, opening it, listened almost breathless. Yes, it 
 was Eleanor, and the girl guessed her mission ! 
 
 Eleanor was standing motionless at the end of the 
 upper hall, waiting to speak to Harry. " Yes, in a 
 minute," he called from his room. 
 
 Soon he came to the door and opened it. He had
 
 EEDliANK. 315 
 
 been asleep, and now was only half dressed, and looked 
 wild and tumbled. " What is it, Eleanor ? " he asked. 
 
 " 1 1 any dear," she said, " I am so sorry to disturb you, 
 but do you think you could get to the mill in this awful 
 storm? The Colonel is half crazy he is sure every 
 thing will be swept away, if the rain continues much 
 longer. It seems terrible to think of your going out, 
 but you know, dear, we would be utterly ruined if any 
 thing were to happen to the mill." 
 
 " I understand," said the young man ; " yes, I think 
 I can get there I'll try anyway. I will put on my 
 clothes and be down in a minute. Get the lantern for 
 me, please, and a rubber coat mine is in the hall-closet 
 downstairs. There is no time to be lost." He closed 
 the door and Eleanor descended the steps. When, at 
 the end of a few moments, he came out in the hall, 
 Jessie sprang forward to meet him. 
 
 " Oh ! Harry, please don't go ! " she said, in a beseech 
 ing tone ; " it is an awful night I am sure something 
 dreadful will happen to you, dear." 
 
 He looked at her with a flash of determination in his 
 eyes, " Eleanor has asked me to go, and I am going," 
 he said; " it is not much that I can do for her, and she 
 has done a great deal for me." 
 
 " But, Harry, darling, you are risking your life. 
 Please, don't go." 
 
 " My life is not worth much," he answered ; " it is 
 only fit for a bad job like this." And again his eyes 
 gleamed with a fierce purpose. 
 
 Jessie's face was ghastly white as she turned it up to 
 her brother's and implored him. " Harry, don't go ! 
 The Colonel refused your offer at supper-time, it is not 
 fair to send you now. Only listen to the thunder ! 
 and the rain is fearful ! Don't go, Harry ! " And she 
 hung upon his arm.
 
 316 EEDBANK. 
 
 He bent down and kissed her. " Good-bye. Kiss Lil 
 ian for me and don't let her forget me," he whispered. 
 
 " Oh ! Harry ! Only listen to the storm don't go ! 
 don't go, darling." 
 
 Gently he loosened her hold upon him. 
 
 " I must, Jessie," he said, and hurried down the steps. 
 
 Eleanor met him and gave him the lantern, and 
 helped him put on the rubber boots and coat. " Come 
 back as soon as you can," she said. 
 
 " I will. Now go to bed I'll do all I can, you may 
 be sure." He opened the outside door ; a blinding gust 
 of wind and rain blew in. He staggered for a moment, 
 but, grasping the lantern firmly and gathering his coat 
 around him, he closed the door and was gone. Jessie 
 heard it all. She went back softly to her room, threw 
 herself upon her knees, burying her face in her hands. 
 This, then, was the end. She had not thought that it 
 was so near at hand. 
 
 On leaving the house, Harry Holcombe went im 
 mediately to the stable and saddled his horse. " Come, 
 Dandy, we are in for it now," he said, as he mounted 
 and dashed off in the blinding rain ; he held his lantern 
 far above his head, for the darkness was intense. Down 
 the red lane he plunged. He must go to the Quarter 
 and get Mose to accompany him. Mose was a power 
 ful negro, almost a giant in size and strength ; he had 
 always had the care of the mill until a few months ago, 
 when the Colonel had displaced him on account of 
 some suspicion of dishonesty. For a Avhile, Harry had 
 overlooked him, but the young man had not found the 
 business at all to his mind, and had thrown it up. He 
 and the negro were much attached to each other, and 
 he knew that Mose would follow him through thunder 
 and tempest.
 
 REDBANK. 317 
 
 The brook over which he had helped Lilian on that 
 day, so long ago, was now raging wildly across the 
 lane. It had swept away the log that had served for 
 a bridge, torn up the fences, and spread havoc all 
 around. 
 
 The young man buried his spurs into the dripping 
 flanks of the horse and plunged in ; after a desperate 
 struggle of ten or fifteen minutes, the panting animal 
 landed his rider on the opposite bank, and on they 
 dashed again. When he reached the Quarter, Harry 
 pulled up in front of Mose's cabin, and kicked with all 
 his might against the door, shouting at the top of his 
 voice, 
 
 " Mose ! Mose ! wake up ! " 
 
 In a few moments, the negro was at the door. 
 
 " De Lord hab marcy 'pon me ! What is de matter, 
 Marse Harry ? " he exclaimed. 
 
 " Put on your clothes this minute, and come with me 
 to the mill ! " 
 
 " De gracious Lord ! I don't want to go out in dis 
 storm," said the negro, rolling his eyes until nothing but 
 the whites could be seen. 
 
 " I don't care whether you want to go or not ; you 
 are going. Do you suppose I like it any better than 
 you do ? Come, you've got a mule, haven't you ? " 
 
 Mose hesitated, reluctant to confess that he owned 
 such a piece of property. 
 
 " Yes, dar in dat out-house. I'se comin', Marse 
 Harry." And he disappeared in his cabin. When he 
 came out he was enveloped in an old rubber blanket 
 with a hole in the middle, through which his great woolly 
 head was thrust. 
 
 " That will do," said Harry ; " now get your mule, 
 quick as a flash of lightning."
 
 318 tlEDBANK. 
 
 The negro obeyed, and in a few minutes the two 
 were moving along rapidly in the darkness. 
 
 The storm grew wilder and wilder every moment ; the 
 wind went rushing through the trees, snapping off the 
 branches and hurling them madly in every direction. 
 The glare of lightning and crash of thunder was almost 
 continuous. 
 
 "Marse Harry," said the negro, "I do declar' dat dis 
 is jes' awful. Did ole marster send you ? 
 
 " That's none of your business," the young man an 
 swered, " we've got to save that mill if possible." 
 
 " I'se mighty fear'd dat de bridge is gone by dis time ; 
 ef dat's de case, we can't never git cross dat creek 
 'tain't no use to try." 
 
 " We'll try for all that," was the answer ; " you can 
 do what I can do, and I am determined to save that 
 mill in spite of all the devils out to-night." 
 
 Soon they heard the roar of the dam above the noise 
 of the tempest, and Mose exclaimed : 
 
 " Well, de mill ain't gone yet, nohow, case I hears 
 de water fallin' over de dam. Marse Harry, 'tain't my 
 opinion dat Ole Burch knows anything 't all 'bout man- 
 agin' dat mill 'cept de grindin' of de corn. He ain't 
 got much sense anyways." 
 
 Harry made no response to these remarks, but rode 
 on in silence. When the creek was reached, he held 
 his lantern aloft and uttered an exclamation of relief. 
 The bridge was still standing, though the water was 
 rushing on both sides of the rustic structure, far out of 
 the natural banks of the creek. The riders both dashed 
 boldly in ; the water was not very deep nor the current 
 strong, and the good animals bore them safely across, 
 and then scrambled up the muddy slope to the miller's 
 house. There was not a sign of life to be seen any-
 
 &EDBANK. 319 
 
 where no light within the rude dwelling ; the stupid 
 old miller was in bed and asleep, unmindful of the dan 
 ger that threatened his home and family. The raging 
 storm, the rising water, death and destruction, were not 
 even visions of unconscious slumber. Harry felt a senti 
 ment of pity and disgust for the low nature that could 
 sleep in the midst of such awful surroundings. He kicked 
 loudly against the house, and called out until hoarse, 
 but it was long before he could arouse Old Burch. 
 
 " He mus' be dead! " exclaimed Mose, more than once, 
 before a frowsy head was finally thrust through the half- 
 open door, and a voice demanded : 
 
 " What under hell is the matter ? " 
 
 " Get out of that house this minute, you confounded 
 old sinner," shouted Harry ; " the pond is rising an inch 
 a minute ; for heaven's sake come and help us, or every 
 thing will be washed away. How under the sun could 
 you go to bed such a night as this ? Haven't you sense 
 enough to know that the mill is in danger, and your old 
 carcass, too ? Come, right away ! Have you opened 
 a single one of the gates ? " 
 
 The old man looked dazed, and confessed that he had 
 not. He had retired to rest before the storm began, and 
 had been sleeping so soundly that he had heard nothing. 
 
 " Have you got any brandy in there ? " asked Harry. 
 
 " Not a drop," was the reply. 
 
 " Well, have your wife get right up and make us some 
 strong coffee ; we are wet and cold, and tired." 
 
 The three men were soon in the mill at work over the 
 gates. The water of the pond dashed with such vio 
 lence against the sides of the building that it swayed 
 back and forth with a terrible warning motion. They 
 scarcely hoped to save it ; the water was already two 
 feet deep on the lower floor. They found the gates
 
 320 &EDBANK. 
 
 harder to move than they had anticipated, for the flood- 
 trash had gathered in a heap in front of them, and the 
 current was swift and strong against them. At length, 
 Mose, the great brawny negro, by means of his ponder 
 ous strength, succeeded in raising three of them, and 
 the water dashed madly through, relieving the immense 
 pressure against the sides of the mill-house. They gave 
 themselves no rest, even when this was accomplished 
 with crowbars and beams they worked on for another 
 half-hour, until two other gates were raised. The three 
 men were utterly exhausted by this time, and Harry 
 sent Burch for the coffee, which they all drank with 
 eagerness, finding themselves warmed and refreshed by 
 the smoking beverage. 
 
 The storm had now begun to abate ; the wind had 
 fallen, and the thunder was rolling away in the distance, 
 proclaiming that the battle was ended and the forces 
 withdrawn ; the rain was falling with a soft patter as if 
 its strength was spent. Harry threw himself down 
 upon a high pile of grain bags, out of reach of the water, 
 which had now almost disappeared from the floor of the 
 building. He was very tired, and quite ready to rest 
 a while, and thought of his good bed at home and 
 heaps of soft blankets with a longing heart. Mose ap 
 proached his young master and lay down quietly at his 
 feet. 
 
 " Well, old fellow, this hasn't been a bad night's 
 work, has it ? " asked Harry, slapping the negro on the 
 back. Despite the difference in color, there was a pleas 
 ant camaraderie between them, and each had great re 
 spect for the good qualities of the other. 
 
 Mose laughed and said, " Marse Harry, I tell you 
 what, you'se got a heap o' grit. I'd never hab come 
 froo dem dark woods an' cross dat yonder creek, ef you
 
 EEDBANK. 321 
 
 hadn' bin wid me. To tell you de truf, I don't like to 
 go out sich nights as dis. I'd a heap radder be at home 
 in bed, kivered up warm." 
 
 "Is that so? " asked Harry with a laugh. "Now, 
 Mose, I thought you were a very brave fellow ready for 
 anything. I brought you along purposely to take care 
 of me. After all, it wasn't much worse than a 'possum 
 hunt." 
 
 " Bless de good Lord, Marse Harry, you donno what 
 you'se talkin' 'bout ; a possum hunt is jes' fun, an' dere 
 sartinly wasn't much fun 'bout dat ride 'twas a rale 
 tarnation ride." 
 
 " Well, it wasn't very lively, that's the truth, Mose, 
 and I'm glad it is over. I wish I was back again at 
 home in bed. Go, bring us a little more coffee, Burch, 
 and then I'll start." 
 
 " Why, Marse Harry, you isn't gwine to start back 
 'fore day, is you ? " asked the negro, rolling his eyes 
 with an expression of alarm and horror. 
 
 " I am that," said the young man ; " the Colonel will 
 want to know that everything is all right, and there is 
 no use staying here now. You can remain and attend to 
 things you understand the business thoroughly. You 
 can let the water run off till day, perhaps ; then you 
 had better close the gates. You don't want the pond to 
 get too low, you know." 
 
 " Yes, sar," replied .Mose, " I k'nows all 'bout it, and 
 I'll tend to it all right. Fur my part, I'se glad to stay 
 here. I thinks you had better stay, too, Marse Harry." 
 
 " No, I'm wet and cold, and I had better get home as 
 soon as possible. I'm not as tough as you are, Mose, 
 and this night's work may cost me a spell of sickness. 
 I feel as if I had a chill now." 
 
 " You'd better go to old Burch's house and warm
 
 322 REDBANK. 
 
 yourself, Marse Harry, an' git some dry clothes," said 
 the negro. 
 
 The young man laughed. " I hardly think his clothes 
 would fit me, and I'm sure I would not like to try them. 
 And I don't feel like invading his private sanctum. 
 No, I had better go back home ; the storm is over." 
 
 By this time the rain had entirely ceased. Harry 
 went to the door and looked out. Yes, the clouds were 
 breaking away in the west, and a few pale stars were 
 shining dimly through their ragged edges. He pulled 
 out his watch and looked at it. "Three o'clock," he 
 said ; " why, I shall have time to get back home and 
 have a good nap before breakfast." 
 
 " I declar', 'fore de Lord, I wouldn't go ef I was you," 
 said the negro ; " dat creek must be a sight higher dan 
 'twas 'fore we crossed it, Marse Harry. We'se let off a 
 heap o' water from out'n dis mill-pond. I wish you 
 wouldn't go, Marse Harry. 'Tain't safe, 'cordin' to my 
 'pinion." 
 
 "Pshaw! the water has run off by this time. The 
 bridge is still standing I can see the white railing. 
 Besides, Dandy can swim like a fish." 
 
 Just at this moment, Burch brought the hot coffee, 
 and Harry drank several cups of it. " I wish to good 
 ness you had some whiskey, Burch," he said ; " are you 
 sure you cannot find a drop in your house ? Here, I 
 will pay you well for it," and he put his hand into his 
 pocket and drew out some shining quarters. 
 
 The man shook his head. " Not a darned drop ! " he 
 replied ; " I drank the very last glass just now," and he 
 laughed. 
 
 "You confounded old cheat ! " exclaimed Harry. " If 
 you had only let me have it, I might have been saved from 
 this chill that is on me. Go to the devil this minute." 
 
 21
 
 EEDBANK. 323 
 
 The man laughed as he turned away, and Mose, too, 
 chuckled at the clever trick. " I thought you asked 
 for brandy," said Burch ; " I ain't had none of that 
 truck in my house for many a year." 
 
 " You know well enough what I meant," replied 
 I larry ; " you are a confounded brute, not fit to live. 
 Get out of my sight ! " 
 
 In spite of the ague that had seized him, he felt 
 happy and elated to have accomplished the task that 
 Eleanor had given him. It would be good news to carry 
 back to her that he had saved the mill. He was not 
 utterly good-for-nothing; there were times when his 
 courage and determination came in " pretty handy," as 
 the negroes say. Perhaps Alice Brooks might hear of 
 what he had done, and feel a pang of regret that she 
 had cast away his love so coldly. These thoughts filled 
 his heart. 
 
 " Go and bring my horse immediately, Mose," he said, 
 staggering to his feet. 
 
 The negro obeyed ; but when he saw his young mas 
 ter mount into the saddle, he gave utterance to another 
 protest. 
 
 " Marse Harry, I wish you wouldn't go. It's mos' 
 day now, an' I declar', 'fore God, I don't think you'se 
 fitten to swim dat creek." Harry laughed in his usual 
 light way. 
 
 " I've done worse things than that, Mose, and I'll do 
 them again. Good-bye, I'll see you in the morning. 
 You shall be well paid, old fellow, for this night's job, if 
 I have to bankrupt myself to meet the claim." 
 
 " I'se not de least bit fear'd 'bout dat ; you'se always 
 a gentleman, Marse Harry. Nobody knows dat better'n 
 I do." Mose stood and watched him until he disap 
 peared in the darkness.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THE day dawned gray and cold and cheerless. Jessie 
 Holcombe awaked from her troubled sleep with a deep 
 feeling of utter wretchedness. She looked at the clock 
 it was late almost breakfast>time. She hurriedly 
 threw on a dressing-gown, and went to Harry's door, 
 and rapped several times ; there was no answer, and she 
 softly turned the bolt, hoping to find "him in bed and 
 asleep. He was not there ; everything was just as he 
 had left it the night before, and she smiled sadly at the 
 signs of his carelessness all around. With a sickening 
 sense of loss, she returned to her room and finished dress 
 ing. As the last garment was hastily put on, she heard 
 the breakfast-bell ringing in the distance. It died away 
 like an echo. The house was unnaturally still; not 
 even from the nursery, where the baby and Lilian were 
 accustomed to noisy romps every morning, did there 
 come the faintest sound of life. 
 
 When Jessie entered the dining-room, the Colonel 
 and Eleanor were both already there, looking much as 
 usual ; a bright fire was burning on the hearth, and the 
 girl approached it with a feeling of relief. The flames 
 went roaring and crackling up the chimney, like a lively 
 household god whose presence is potent to dispel all 
 gloomy forebodings. 
 
 " Well, good-morning, Jessie," said the Colonel, " you 
 are a late bird, it seems to me. I have been up ever so
 
 EEDBANK. 325 
 
 long ; I have been down to the mill and everything is 
 all right that is, as far as I could judge. The water 
 was up tremendously high last night ; I could plainly 
 see the line on the house, but the gates had been opened 
 and the pond was Avell down. I did not attempt to cross 
 the bridge, for the water is very high on this side of it. 
 It has torn away the banks for fifty feet at least, and 
 the whole force of the current is sweeping across the 
 road. I'm glad of it, for the bridge is safe, and I sha'n't 
 have to rebuild that. A few wagon-loads of dirt will 
 repair the bank. I'm a good deal better off this morning 
 than I expected to be last night at bed-time. I was sure 
 that the mill would go. If it had gone, it would be all 
 over with us, Eleanor. It is just as much as I can do to 
 keep my head above the water now. I feel immensely 
 relieved." 
 
 "Has Harry returned yet?" asked the girl. 
 
 " No, not yet ; he probably stayed to breakfast at the 
 miller's ; he must have been tired out. Reuben told me 
 that he stopped at the Quarter last night, and got 
 Mose and took him along. Mose wasn't back either, 
 when Reuben left the Quarter. I suppose we shall have 
 a full report from Harry and Mose both in the course of 
 an hour or two. It may be even longer than that before 
 they can get across the creek." 
 
 When the meal was ended, Jessie went to her room 
 and seated herself at the window which overlooked the 
 long avenue. Her heart was still sick and heavy. She 
 took up the dainty heap of Eleanor's shawl and tried to 
 find some interest in the delicate crochet-work, but all 
 in vain ; her eyes wandered from the white meshes. She 
 was looking and waiting for the gallant young horse 
 man who had so often come galloping up the road to 
 Redbank.
 
 3'2G EEDBANK. 
 
 The morning wore slowly away. The sun had come 
 out at last, and the vapor was lazily ascending from the 
 damp earth to join the great masses of gray clouds 
 that floated overhead. Jessie was growing more and 
 more impatient every moment. She felt that she must 
 go down and inquire if any news had come, and was 
 folding up her work, when Lizzie glided into the room 
 with a frightened expression upon her face. 
 
 " What is the matter, Lizzie ? " exclaimed Jessie with 
 white, dry lips ; " you look as if something had happened. 
 Tell me this minute ; don't you see I cannot wait." 
 
 The girl hesitated, and then said : " Uncle Mose is down 
 stairs in de liberry wid ole Marster, an' I'se bin listenin' 
 at de door. I'se afear'd dat something has happened to 
 Marse Harry, Miss Jessie. Mose, he says, dat arter dey 
 had saved de mill, Marse Harry, he 'sisted on comin' 
 right back home to tell you all, and Mose, he's a fear'd 
 that Marse Harry is drowned." 
 
 Jessie Holcombe gave a piteous groan, and buried her 
 face in her hands. The negro girl stood beside her 
 young mistress, silent and motionless. She had the fine 
 instinct of her race, and knew that it was useless to 
 speak another word, or offer any sympathy ; she knew 
 also that her presence was a kind of mute comfort, 
 so she did not withdraw. After a while, Jessie got up, 
 and slowly went downstairs to the library j but there 
 was nothing more to learn. 
 
 The Colonel and Eleanor were both there ; they had 
 already heard the tale of Mose to the very end, but the 
 negro repeated it all to the young lady, telling every 
 thing with vivid effect in his homely way, from the 
 moment he had been aroused by the kick of Marse Harry 
 against his door, to the time when he had held Dandy by
 
 REDBANK. 327 
 
 the bridle, and seen the young man mount and ride 
 away in the darkness. That was enough. Who could 
 not guess the dreadful sequel ? 
 
 With effort Jessie found her way back to her room, 
 and lay down upon the bed. She heard the Colonel in 
 his high sharp voice giving orders to the group of 
 negro men who had collected in the yard, and she knew 
 well that they were going out to begin the search. She 
 heard the old spring-wagon rattle down the avenue. A 
 dull pain seized her head-ache and heart-ache in one ; 
 but she could not weep a single tear. 
 
 At dinner-time, Lizzie brought her a cup of strong 
 cofiec, which she tried to drink in response to the mute 
 entreaties of the maid. More than once during the after 
 noon she fell into a troubled sleep, and almost imme 
 diately awoke with a violent start. Would the long 
 hours of this awful day never, never pass ? 
 
 It was almost night when she heard the sound of 
 wheels and voices at the front door. It was not neces 
 sary to arise, and go downstairs, and ask questions ; she 
 knew perfectly well that they had found his body, and 
 were bringing him home. Yes, they were laying him 
 out in the parlor, and busy feet were moving here and 
 there over the house. They would all try to make it 
 comfortable for him now even the Colonel. In the 
 midst of her bitter anguish, she felt a joy and pride in 
 what her brother had done. It was a noble thing to ride 
 out at midnight in the wild storm, and save the tottering 
 mill, and, perhaps, the miller and his family, too ; and 
 these words of our Saviour came into her mind, 
 " Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay 
 down his life for his friends." If there were indeed 
 merit in such love, Harry might wear the white robe 
 and the crown. At this thought, the tears began to flow
 
 o2o REDBANK. 
 
 softly down her cheeks, and peace and comfort came to 
 her broken heart. 
 
 Another hour or two passed, when she heard the knob 
 of her door gently turn. A little figure glided in, and 
 coming close up to the bed, whispered faintly, " Aunty, 
 are you asleep ? " 
 
 "No, darling," she answered, "what is it?" 
 
 " May I get up beside you? " 
 
 " Yes, dear." 
 
 The child climbed on the bed, and nestled up to her. 
 The little hands were very cold, and the breath came in 
 quick gasps like sobs. Jessie drew the blanket over 
 the little form, and clasped it to her own heart. " What 
 is it, darling ? " she asked more than once, but Lilian 
 gave no answer. It was not strange that she was mute 
 and cold she had seen them bring him into the house, 
 had looked upon his white face, and knew that it was 
 her Uncle Hal. No one was thinking of her, and she 
 had stood at the window and watched it all. She had 
 heard them whisper that he was dead, and now her little 
 heart was breaking. She knew what it was to be dead, 
 for she had seen her little sister years ago lying still 
 and white in a coffin, and they had covered her up in 
 the ground; she knew exactly where the little mound 
 was in the corner of the garden ; she had often looked at 
 it with a strange awe. She had waited at first for the 
 baby sister to come back and play with her again. This, 
 then, was what Uncle Hal meant yesterday when he had 
 said that he was going away, and might never return 
 any more. Again and again the child shivered from 
 head to foot, and violent sobs convulsed her delicate 
 form. 
 
 " What is it, darling ? What is it ? " Jessie asked, 
 but no response came.
 
 REDBANK. 829 
 
 Lilian only nestled closer and closer up to the young 
 girl's heart. And so the hours passed by, and, at last, 
 they fell asleep in each other's arms. 
 
 The next morning when Jessie awoke, she felt calm 
 and strong, and equal to the burden that had fallen 
 upon her. The grand words of the poet were in her 
 heart and on her lips : 
 
 " But, peace : I must not quarrel with the will 
 Of higher dispensation, which herein 
 Haply had ends above my reach to know." 
 
 The young life that had gone out so suddenly had, 
 in its way, been noble and joyous, and worthy to be re 
 kindled in some other sphere. 
 
 Who could tell how high it had already soared above 
 the stars ? How vain and presumptuous it is for us to 
 hold the scales and try to weigh out human merit ! The 
 heroic deed may flash from some despised and unknown 
 source. We little know the latent force in human souls ; 
 then let us lay our fingers on fault-finding lips and wait 
 the end before we call any man great, or good, or happy. 
 
 The day was clear and beautiful, and the young girl 
 stood at the open window and drank in great draughts 
 of the sweet spring air. The world was too lovely for 
 grief ; death seemed to be something belonging to its 
 sublime order, something to be accepted with faith, like 
 the darkness of night ; something which would be under 
 stood in the fulness of time. The more Jessie thought 
 of Harry's death, the more she schooled herself to bear 
 it with calmness and resignation. It was surely for the 
 best, since it had terminated a career which might have 
 moved onward into deeper suffering. His was an un 
 tamed nature, which would always have fretted itself 
 against restraint and the severe bondage of labor. He
 
 330 HEDBANK. 
 
 had arrayed himself with proud defiance against the fiat 
 of nature : " In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat 
 bread." 
 
 Jessie dreaded to meet the Colonel and Eleanor, and 
 lingered as long as possible beside the open window ; 
 but when she descended they greeted her tenderly, each 
 one giving her a good-morning kiss. The Colonel was 
 white and subdued, and drank his coffee in silence ; 
 Eleanor looked old and gray, and wore an expression of 
 despair that pierced Jessie to the soul. 
 
 After breakfast, as the girl arose to leave the room, 
 Eleanor reached out her hand and said, " Jessie, don't 
 go upstairs again, please ; stay with me, darling, I want 
 to talk to you. I feel so miserable that I must have 
 you near me, or my heart will break." 
 
 They went together into the back-parlor, and sat 
 down, side by side. 
 
 " Jessie," said Eleanor, " I shall never, never forgive 
 myself. I sent him out in the storm his death is my 
 work I have killed my brother ! It is no use to deny 
 it-^I am a guilty murderer." 
 
 Her eyes were full of unutterable agony as she slowly 
 spoke these words. 
 
 " I heard you, dear, entreat him not to go ; one word 
 from me would have sent him back to bed and sleep, 
 and I would not speak it. I am amazed now at my own 
 hard-hearted cruelty." 
 
 Jessie put her arm lovingly around her sister. " Well, 
 dear, it is all over now and cannot be helped. You must 
 not grieve over him with this sting of remorse in your 
 heart." 
 
 " I cannot help it, dear child. My whole life is made 
 up of mistakes, and this is the most terrible one of all. 
 I would be glad to die this moment, if I could only undo
 
 REDBANK. 331 
 
 the work of that night, and have him back with us 
 again. I never knew before how well I loved him. 
 There was so much that was good and noble in him. I 
 always felt it, and I kept hoping that the time would come 
 when some kind of congenial work would present itself. 
 He was not lacking in energy, it was a purpose that he 
 wanted, a noble aim in life. I wish that Alice Brooks 
 had consented to marry him ; she might have made a 
 man of him ; but I suppose I have no right to blame her 
 for preferring her cousin. Oh ! life is so hard." 
 
 "Eleanor," said Jessie in a sweet, solemn tone, 
 " you find it hard, because you have no faith. If you 
 would only look up out of the darkness into the light ! " 
 
 " Where is the light ? " she asked, helplessly ; " I 
 cannot see it dear." 
 
 " If we would live aright, Eleanor, we must believe in 
 the loving Father, who is guiding us. When we place 
 our hand in His, like little children, we can walk in 
 safety, but not till then." 
 
 " But I cannot find His hand, it does not reach down 
 to me." 
 
 " Yes, it does, dear, perhaps you will find it after 
 awhile." 
 
 " Perhaps I shall," she said in a faint voice ; " all 
 these sorrows must be sent for some purpose. I have 
 been so proud and wilful in the past, perhaps I needed 
 the discipline. My spirit is utterly broken now." 
 
 Jessie could not reply ; she was weeping softly. 
 
 After a few moments, Eleanor continued: "Jessie, 
 the Colonel feels very badly about it I have never seen 
 him so remorseful before so full of self-reproach and 
 regret. You must not be too hard on him, dear." 
 
 "I do not mean to be hard on any one," said the 
 young girl, " you misunderstand me if you think that
 
 332 & EUBANK. 
 
 there is any bitterness whatever in my heart against 
 either you or him. You could not foresee the disaster, 
 nor could he, when he started on his journey back. 
 Death comes to ail. Harry must have died sometime 
 as did Richard and father and mother. This was the 
 appointed time and way. I should be miserable, if I 
 felt otherwise. I am glad that it was bravely and nobly 
 done. Ever since I can remember, Eleanor, I have felt 
 anxious about him. There was a dashing recklessness 
 in his nature that always threatened some tragic end. 
 He did not value his life. My heart aches with a sense 
 of loss, for I loved him truly, and shall miss him more 
 than I can bear to think of, but I have no anger against 
 you or the Colonel. I know that Harry was glad to do 
 something for you, so you must not grieve for him in this 
 hopeless way." 
 
 " Jessie, you are a noble girl," said Eleanor, clasping 
 her sister's hand in both of her own. " Your words 
 have given me comfort. I will try to look up and take 
 courage and be strong. I will lie down here on the 
 sofa and rest awhile ; I could not sleep last night, and 
 to-day I feel so tired and ill that I cannot sit up any 
 longer." 
 
 Jessie arranged the pillows for her, and laid a warm 
 blanket over her ; then she herself lay back and rested 
 in the great rocking-chair in which Harry had sat with 
 Lilian that' rainy day. Feet were moving about softly 
 in the next room where his body lay, and voices were 
 talking in subdued tones. 
 
 Jessie knew that the negro women had come from the 
 Quarter to see him. The door was partially open, and 
 she heard what they were saying to each other. 
 
 " Well, I never did have anything tuck de bref out'n 
 my body as dis has," said Aunt Lucy ; " I tell you
 
 EEDBANK. 333 
 
 I could scarcely git up here to de house, yet I jes' had 
 to come. Marse Harry, he allus was kin' an' good to 
 me an' Reuben. When Reuben cut his foot so bad las' 
 year, 'twas Marse Harry dat tended to it, day arter day, 
 fur nigh on to a month, a-washin' it, an' bindin' it up 
 jes, as handy as a woman." 
 
 " Yes, he was mighty good when dar was trouble 
 round," said Rena. " When de baby got burnt up, he 
 was de fust one to git to de house, and he try his best 
 to keep me quite, an' hoi' me back, when I catch up 
 de corpse an' run up here to mistis." 
 
 " He fetched me quinine his own se'f , when I was sick 
 in de beginnin' o' las' summer," said Rose ; " an' he 
 come right up to de bed an' made me take it, too, 'case 
 he knowed I'd throw it away soon as he was gone, ef 
 he didn't make me swallow it 'fore his very eyes." 
 
 " Yes, he had a mighty good heart, even ef he 
 did get drunk sometimes," said Aunt Lucy, shaking her 
 head and sighing ; " he was better to everybody else 
 den he was to hissef. He never 'peared to care much 
 fur hissef, somehow. When I used to talk to him 'bout 
 his way o' handlin' a gun, he'd allus say, ' Well, Aunt 
 Lucy, I'se not much account no way mighty few folks 
 would grieve over me, ef I did happen to blow my brains 
 out some day.' Dem was jes' his words, 'fore de Lord. 
 Well, I know dere's a good many a-grievin' over him 
 on dis plantation to-day. I'se never seen old marster 
 so quiet in all my born days." 
 
 " I hope he's in de Ian' o' promise now," said Aunt 
 Nancy, with a doubtful groan and a solemn shake of 
 the head. They all groaned in chorus. Presently they 
 shuffled out, and went off together down the red lane 
 to the Quarter. Their words had carried comfort to 
 Jessie's sad heart, for she loved to think of her brother
 
 334 EEDBANK. 
 
 as full of sympathy for the poor and afflicted. This 
 was the active virtue on which Christ had himself pro 
 nounced the blessing of eternal life. She was not 
 orthodox this simple Southern maiden. To her intelli 
 gence it seemed better to love one's neighbor and help 
 him in this world than to hold fast to the doctrine of 
 eternal damnation in the next. 
 
 Late that afternoon, Jessie went softly into the room 
 where her brother lay. She had not dared to trust her 
 self to look upon him until now. No one had thought 
 to close the blinds, and the pale evening light fell upon 
 the shrouded form. She approached the bier, and drew 
 aside the sheet that covered him from sight. Cold, still, 
 and beautiful he lay, with a smile of perfect peace upon 
 his lips. 
 
 "His palms were folded on his breast, 
 There was no other thing expressed 
 But long disquiet merged in rest." 
 
 " O Harry ! Harry ! my brother ! my brother ! where 
 are you now?" she sobbed in the bitterness of her 
 grief. " Are all the questions answered for you, dear ? 
 Is life better than you thought? And God more 
 merciful ? " 
 
 The next day Mr. and Mrs. Hunter arrived, and 
 many other friends from the city and all the surround 
 ing country. Far and wide his gallant deed was known, 
 and every one now had a kind word for Harry Hoi- 
 combe. We always delight to honor one when dead, 
 however we may regard him when living. It is a trait 
 of human nature, not altogether commendable. A little 
 of the kindness expended on the lifeless remains would, 
 perhaps, have warmed the heart before it ceased to beat, 
 and have made the world a fairer dwelling-place.
 
 REDE ANN. 335 
 
 A grave had been dug for him in a quiet corner of 
 the beautiful cemetery of the city. There they laid 
 him to rest, and there we will leave him to his long 
 sleep. Before many months had passed a slender 
 cross of white marble marked the spot, and on it these 
 words were deeply cut: 
 
 " Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life 
 for his friends."
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THERE was one member of the family at Redbank 
 upon whom the death of Harry had fallen with crush 
 ing weight this was Lilian. Too young to realize his 
 faults or to criticise his actions, she had only felt the 
 charm of his gay and affectionate nature. 
 
 She had returned his playful fondness with a passion 
 ate admiration and loye which was rooted in the very 
 depths of her being. During those first sad days she 
 had been very quiet and composed, indulging in no 
 sobs nor tears. During the preparations for the burial, 
 during the funeral, and the last solemn rite, when " dust 
 is given back to dust," she had moved around like one 
 dazed or stunned. No one but Jessie guessed the 
 agony through which the young soul was passing. 
 Night after night, the small, white-robed figure appeared 
 beside the young girl's bed, and begged to be taken in ; 
 night after night, the cold little hands were clasped 
 around her neck, and the dry little lips were pressed to 
 her cheek. Lilian was drooping like a blighted flower ; 
 dark circles were settling around her eyes, and an 
 insidious languor seemed to be slowly creeping over 
 her. Often she would come and lay her head against 
 Jessie's shoulder, and whisper : " Aunty, I am so tired ! " 
 Then the girl would take her in her arms and talk with 
 her, or read to her, or tell her stories. Jessie knew well 
 that the little heart was aching, and she bravely laid
 
 HEDBANK. 3? 7 
 
 aside her own grief to minister to the silent siiiu-... 
 of the child. It was well that it was so ; otherwise 
 she might herself have grown morbid and despairing 
 over all the mysteries of life and death, for the pain 
 of bereavement was not lessened day by day. From 
 her soul the cry often went out 
 
 " Oh! for the touch of a vanished hand, 
 And the sound of a voice that is still!" 
 
 There were moments when resignation forsook her, 
 and she yearned unutterably for the bright presence that 
 had departed forever. But now these feelings must be 
 locked up out of sight; it was no time for selfish indul 
 gence in the luxury of grief ; another sweet young life 
 was threatened, and every one was soon awake to the 
 danger. Mrs. Winston, with an anxious heart, gave 
 every leisure moment to her child ; she took her in her 
 arms and carried her from place to place during the busy 
 morning hours, demanding assistance in the pantry, in 
 the kitchen, in the garden, in the smoke-house, when 
 ever there was anything that the little one could do. 
 She had Reuben make a tiny garden for her, and plant it 
 with flower-seeds ; she had Rena bring the little chickens 
 for her to look at and admire. Even the self-centred 
 Colonel aroused himself to amuse this drooping child, 
 whose step each day was growing feebler, and whose 
 eyes were dim with unwept tears. He went to the 
 city and bought playthings for her and pets without 
 number ; now it was a bird, now a dog, and last of all, 
 he bought a pony for her and took her with him 
 to ride, reviving his old-time gallantry for her sweet 
 sake. Lilian made no response whatever to these efforts ; 
 her thoughts seemed far away in some shadowy land, 
 searching forever for the lost one. She never spoke the
 
 338 REDBANK. 
 
 name of her Uncle Hal to any one, not even to Jessie 
 when she nestled in her arms at night and patiently waited 
 for sleep to come. The young girl wondered more and 
 more at this, and felt that if she could once get the 
 child to talk about Harry, relief would come from this 
 unnatural listlessness and self-control. At length, one 
 evening after supper, when they were in the back parlor, 
 and Lilian was in her lap, while they rocked backwards 
 and forwards in the dear old rocking-chair, and talked 
 softly together, Jessie said, " Darling, wouldn't you like 
 me to tell you something about Uncle Hal ? You know 
 he and I were little children together, and we used to 
 play all kinds of funny games. Shall I tell you about 
 them?" 
 
 There was a little shiver as if some sore spot had been 
 touched, and then the whispered answer came, " Yes. " 
 
 This was the beginning of many stories about the 
 childhood of Jessie and her brother. Evening after 
 evening, the girl patiently went over these tales, paint 
 ing every scene with a careful hand, and trying hard to 
 keep Lilian's interest well sustained. Soon the child 
 began to ask questions and to fill in the little voids 
 which the aunt's memory sometimes unconsciously made. 
 Often the two indulged in a little soft laughter over the 
 childish pranks of the brother and sister. With the 
 quick eye of love, Jessie began to note a change for the 
 better a slowly awakening interest in other things, and 
 an ever-increasing inclination to talk about Uncle Hal in 
 a natural way, as if he were only absent for a few weeks, 
 and would walk in upon them unexpectedly some day. 
 The beautiful cool spring days favored this return to 
 health. The warm weather seemed to delay its coming 
 purposely to advance the recovery of this little child, 
 
 whom every'or.e watched with an anxious heart. 
 
 2'2
 
 EEDBANK. 339 
 
 Something good came to eacli member of the family 
 from this patient and unselfish devotion to Lilian. They 
 grew more tender and considerate in manner less self- 
 absorbed, and less careless of the little blossoms that 
 were blooming in the old home. Master Francis, who 
 was growing into a stout, noisy boy, was given a place 
 at the table and in the family gatherings. He soon 
 learned to contribute his mite to the entertainment of 
 the household. Eleanor grew daily in sweetness under 
 this discipline of unselfish effort. The old despairing 
 expression left her eyes. A holy peace seemed to be 
 descending upon her troubled soul. She gave herself no 
 time to spend in introspection no time to brood over 
 the mistakes of the past no time to waste in vain regrets 
 over ungathered fruit. The Colonel, too, was changed ; 
 he was gentler and kindlier to every one even to the 
 dogs. Before him was ever present that gallant act 
 which had saved him from, irretrievable loss that gal 
 lant soul which he had so lightly valued because of some 
 flaws upon its purity. Verily, in dying, one some 
 times accomplishes the very thing in which one fails 
 while living. 
 
 
 
 The glorious May days had come again, and the 
 world was a marvel of beauty. One afternoon, when 
 the leaves and flowers were dancing joyously in the 
 fresh breeze, and the mocking-birds were filling the air 
 with music, Lizzie put her head through the half-open 
 door of Jessie's room and said 
 
 " Miss Jessie, dere's a gentleman in the parlor wants 
 to see you." 
 
 " Who is it, Lizzie ? " asked the young lady. 
 
 " I dunno ; Uncle Oliver, he tole me to tell you." 
 
 Before descending, Jessie glanced from the window,
 
 340 REDEANK. 
 
 and saw the gray horses of Judge Brooks standing at 
 the front door. 
 
 " It is the Judge," she said to herself, smiling at the 
 thought of seeing her old friend again. 
 
 The long agony through which she had been living had 
 almost deadened the other feelings of her heart, and she 
 did not now dread to meet her former lover, and face 
 the dim shadow of a new relationship. 
 
 She glided quickly down the long staircase. As she 
 entered the parlor, Waverley Brooks came forward to 
 meet her. 
 
 She gave him her hand, and a faint color came into 
 her cheeks. The young man was hardly prepared for the 
 change in her appearance ; the long black robe, the pure 
 pale face, the large, sad eyes, told a tale of patient suf 
 fering, and he felt his heart beat with a quick throb of 
 pity and love. He longed to take this delicate creature 
 in his strong arms, and henceforth protect her from all 
 the rough winds of heaven. 
 
 " Mr.. Brooks," she said, " I am very glad to see you. 
 I did not know you had returned. I saw those beauti 
 ful gray horses at the door, and expected to meet your 
 father." 
 
 " And you are disappointed ? " he asked, a slight 
 shadow passing over his face. 
 
 " Shall I speak the truth ? " she said, her color deepen 
 ing under his intense gaze. 
 
 " Yes : the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but 
 the truth." 
 
 " Well, yes ; I am a little disappointed." And she 
 smiled faintly, feeling how much easier it would be to 
 face an interview with the father than with the son. 
 
 She had an uncomfortable sense of helplessness in the 
 presence of Waverley Brooks ; she knew that he mastered
 
 REDBANK. 341 
 
 her with his clear gray eyes and determined will. Al 
 ready she waj fluttering strangely, and she could 
 neither control the quick beating of her heart, nor the 
 tide of color that it kept sending into her face. 
 
 " Am I always to stand in my father's shadow, Miss 
 Holconibe ? " he asked, with a touch of impatience in 
 his tone. 
 
 " I thought you had just stepped out of it into the 
 sunshine, Mr. Brooks," she replied, smiling at his 
 annoyance. It placed her a little more at ease to see 
 him on the verge of losing his temper. " Your journey 
 North has been successful, I am sure." 
 
 " Why do you think so ? " 
 
 " Because you have the indefinable air of success 
 around you." 
 
 " Have. I? Your eye is quick to read character, Miss 
 Holcombe. Well, I will acknowledge to you that I 
 have realized my most extravagant hopes. Your good 
 Avishes proved a powerful talisman." 
 
 " I imagine it was your determined efforts rather than 
 my good wishes." 
 
 " Don't destroy that beautiful illusion, please ; allow 
 me to believe in something outside myself." 
 
 She felt vexed at the embarrassment that was again 
 taking possession of her and tried in vain to shake it off. 
 She did not dare to lift her eyes, and found no ready 
 response to his words 
 
 " Miss Holcombe," said he, after a moment's pause, 
 " may I offer you my deepest sympathy ; I cannot tell 
 you how grieved I am at the great sorrow that has come 
 to you." 
 
 She raised her hand with that imploring gesture 
 which she so often made, and said, hoarsely, 
 
 " Don't speak of it, please I cannot bear it. I am
 
 342 REDBANK. 
 
 very grateful for your sympathy; we have received 
 kind words from every one, but that cannot restore 
 the lost." 
 
 He longed to say more to tell her that her sorrow 
 was his own- that he wished to help her bear it and all 
 the other troubles of life, but a feeling akin to awe 
 restrained him. How could he speak of love to this 
 pure nun-like creature, whose grief seemed to make 
 her sacred? The words died upon his lips, and the 
 silence was becoming oppressive, when she said, " Tell 
 me about your journey North, and what you saw and 
 enjoyed." 
 
 " Then you do feel a little interest in me ? " he 
 asked, a slight flush of pleasure coming into his 
 face. 
 
 " How can you doubt it ? " 
 
 " I have doubted it a great deal, and these doubts 
 have made me very wretched, in spite of all other 
 successes." 
 
 " Doubts generally make people wretched," she said, 
 very simply, as if speaking of religious doubts ; " it is 
 much better to cast them to the wind and have 
 faith." 
 
 " And will you let me have faith ? Will you let 
 me believe in the possibility of realizing my dearest 
 wish?" 
 
 She felt the color warming and dyeing her face. 
 " How can I guess what that may be ? " she said, looking 
 up at him, but her eyes immediately fell, and the blush 
 on cheek and brow deepened. 
 
 " May I tell you ? " he asked ; " will you pardon me 
 if I am too bold ? I would not for the world offend 
 vou." Again the feeling of awe came over him as if he 
 were treading on holy ground. She drooped her head
 
 EEDBANK. 343 
 
 iii silence. He arose from his seat and approached her ; 
 unconsciously she also arose as if his visit were at an 
 end, and nothing remained but to say good-bye. He 
 reached out his hand and whispered softly, " Jessie, 
 look up at me. You know that I love you." 
 
 She could not speak ; her heart was full to overflow 
 ing. She extended her hand and laid it in his. He 
 clasped it firmly for a moment, then drawing her very 
 tenderly to his heart, he stooped, and kissed her again 
 and again. They were silent for a little while then 
 Waverley said, " Go and get your hat, Jessie, and we will 
 drive." 
 
 She flitted away and soon returned, prepared to 
 accompany him. He assisted her into the carriage, 
 then, taking his seat beside her, he gave the command 
 to the coachman. 
 
 " Not by the mill," she whispered, as they left the 
 avenue. The horses turned into the opposite road, and 
 trotted swiftly over the smooth white sand. Waverley 
 Brooks held her little ungloved hand in his under the 
 snowy afghan ; that was enough for the present to con 
 tent him. 
 
 As the horses dashed on, and the soft spring air 
 fanned her cheek, Jessie Holcombe thought of that 
 ride with the Judge so long ago. She remembered how 
 hard it had been to resist his pleading how lonely she 
 had felt that day, how hungry for love, and how weary 
 of the struggle of life. She shuddered to think that 
 she might have been the wife of another the wife of 
 Waverley's father. Only her true heart and her 
 strong sense of right, had saved her from such a fate. 
 By failing to obey this deep womanly instinct, many a 
 sweet maiden has lost forever the chance of entering the 
 paradise of perfect love.
 
 344 REDBANK. 
 
 When they had returned home and were again in the 
 parlor, he took the hand of Jessie in his, and said, " May 
 I not now speak to Colonel Winston and your sister ? 
 I would like to tell them all about it and secure their 
 approval." 
 
 " No, not yet, please let us wait a while, until I 
 get a little used to it myself. It does not seem quite 
 right for me to be so happy," and the tears came into 
 her eyes. " Besides, I cannot think of leaving Eleanor 
 and Lilian for a long time they would miss me so. I 
 must stay with them, and try to comfort them." 
 
 " Do you imagine that I shall listen to that argu 
 ment, or be content to wait long ? Jessie, you belong 
 to me now. Do you realize that I shall determine 
 some things for you?" 
 
 She looked at him with surprise. 
 
 " Perhaps I shall dispute that, if you are inclined to 
 tyrannize." 
 
 " 1 shall not tyrannize, but you are mine now, and I 
 shall take care of your health and happiness. I shall 
 not allow you to sacrifice yourself for any one." 
 
 " Except for Mr. Waverley Brooks," she said, with a 
 radiant smile, which he reflected. 
 
 " Except for Mr. Waverley Brooks. That is just 
 how matters stand," he answered. " Your sister may 
 have had claims upon you in the past, but they are now 
 swallowed up utterly devoured, by my own." 
 
 " I don't think that I am quite prepared to acknowl 
 edge that. Perhaps I have reserved a small amount of 
 myself for private jurisdiction? " 
 
 " Not an ounce of flesh, not a drop of blood you are 
 wholly mine. Now, don't deny it, for it is so." He 
 paused a moment, and clasped her hand more tightly 
 in both of his own, before he added :
 
 REDBANK. 345 
 
 " T want to tell you another thing, Jessie my mind is 
 quite made up, I will not swerve an inch ; it is this, 
 I must take you away from Redbank just as soon as 
 possible ; the place is full of sad memories for you you 
 are not strong ; you are more shattered by all this sorrow 
 than you realize. I wish that you would go with me 
 to-day ! " His voice was very tender and pleading. 
 
 " What do you mean ? " she asked, amazed at so 
 unreasonable a request. 
 
 " Go with me to my father's house, and stay until 
 you. are ready to be married. I cannot bear to leave you 
 here ! " 
 
 She shook her head. " You know it is impossible for 
 me to grant such a request." 
 
 " Well, I cannot wait long a very few weeks must 
 satisfy you." 
 
 u But I cannot leave Eleanor," she answered entreat- 
 ingly ; " you do not know how much she needs me her 
 heart is almost broken." 
 
 " She has her husband and her children ; she must 
 find her comfort in them." 
 
 " I did not think that you could be so hard. I must 
 reconsider the matter ; it may be necessary to cancel 
 the contract," she said, smiling faintly. 
 
 " You cannot," he replied, " you are mine ; no power 
 on earth nor in heaven shall take you from me." 
 
 " Hush ! do not talk so. It is blasphemy," she whis 
 pered, almost frightened at the vehemence of his man 
 ner and tone. 
 
 " No, it is not blasphemy. Living or dead, Jessie, 
 you will always be mine to love, honor, and cherish. 
 Can you not measure your own love that way?" 
 
 " Yes, I think so." 
 
 "Jessie," he continued, softly, "I could love you
 
 346 KEDBANK. 
 
 with the breadth of heaven betwixt us. During all 
 these weeks, I have waited, waited, waited, because 
 my father wished it and exacted a promise from me. 
 He wanted to test my feelings for you, knowing that I 
 had failed towards Alice. My love for you has grown 
 stronger day by day, until it has become an all-consum 
 ing passion. I could not trust myself to say what 
 might happen if you trifled with me." 
 
 " I have no intention of trifling with you ; I do love 
 you with all my heart," she said, simply, her sweet 
 eyes confessing the fact as well as her sweet lips. " Since 
 we have been parted I, too, have weighed my love for 
 you, and I know that it fills my whole being. I could 
 not live without you." She turned her face up to his, 
 that he might read her whole soul and see that she had 
 spoken truly. 
 
 " Thank you," he said, in a low tone. For a few 
 moments they sat in silence. " It is very hard to leave 
 you, Jessie, but I must go now," he said, at length. "I 
 will see you again to-morrow, and every day until you 
 are ready to follow me ' over the hills and far away.' 
 I shall tell my father and Alice about our engagement 
 to-night. And, Jessie, I want you to come to my 
 father's house for a while, and make acquaintance with 
 your future home and new relatives. They already know 
 and love you, but this act of mine has made a little 
 difference." Yes, she knew that well, and she did 
 not wish to meet them just yet these new relatives. 
 She looked at him and shook her head. 
 
 " Not to please me ? " he said ; " surely you will do it 
 for my sake ? " 
 
 " I will think about it ; indeed I cannot promise now. 
 I wish you would give me a little time to get used to it 
 all. It seems so strange that you should have such a
 
 REDBANK, 347 
 
 claim upon me, such a power over me. Only a few 
 months ago, I had not even seen you." 
 
 u Yes, it is strange," he answered, smiling at the 
 sweet confusion of her face ; " but the strangeness will 
 soon wear off, when we are always together. Jessie, I 
 shall be busy in the city the whole of next week, and I 
 must have you with me. I shall not be able to drive 
 out here every day, will you not come to my father's 
 house." 
 
 " Oh, I cannot, I cannot ! You must not ask me. The 
 very thought of it makes me feel unhappy. I am not 
 quite ready to meet those new relatives." 
 
 " But I shall be with you. Come, say that you will go, 
 and do not keep me in suspense." 
 
 " I am truly sorry to detain you. but I cannot give 
 you any promise now." 
 
 " Yes, I must have it before I go." 
 
 " I am afraid you are a little selfish," she whispered, 
 softly. 
 
 " Yes ; I confess that I am every man is ; do give 
 me your consent before I go." 
 
 Jessie bowed her head silently. He could not know 
 how much it cost her to give this tacit consent. 
 
 " And you will also promise to be married very soon ? " 
 he pleaded. 
 
 She did not reply, and he continued : 
 
 " Well, I shall be sure to have my way. As com 
 pensation for all this haste, I have a delightful surprise 
 in store for you, when we are married." 
 
 " What is it ? " she asked, quickly. 
 
 " You must wait," he replied, laughing at her eager 
 ness ; " perhaps curiosity may make you willing to 
 hasten the happy event." 
 
 " I think not," she said.
 
 348 REDBANK. 
 
 "We will see. Good-bye I must go now." And again 
 he drew her to his heart, and kissed her upon brow, 
 cheek, and lips. 
 
 She watched the. gray horses drive away. Then she 
 sat down quietly in the gathering darkness to think over 
 her great happiness.
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 WAVEELEY BROOKS came again the next afternoon, 
 and the pleasant drive was repeated. On the third day, 
 he insisted upon informing the Colonel and Mrs. Win 
 ston of the engagement between himself and Jessie. 
 They were both exceedingly surprised at the announce 
 ment. 
 
 " I can hardly believe it ! " exclaimed the Colonel. 
 He just did save himself from adding, " I thought you 
 were going to marry your cousin." However, instead of 
 this unbecoming remark, he said, " Why, Mr. Brooks, 
 it seems to me that you are hardly acquainted with 
 Miss Holcombe. I am afraid you are acting too hastily. 
 One ought to think a long time before getting mar 
 ried. It is rather a serious matter, you know." 
 
 The young gentleman smiled quietly. " I have been 
 thinking of it almost steadily for about six months, 
 Colonel. Isn't that long enough ? The very first time 
 I met Miss Holcombe, I made up my mind that she, and 
 no other woman, was to be my wife." 
 
 " Well, I'm immensely surprised," again exclaimed 
 the Colonel, almost whistling at the thought of all the 
 queer unexpected things that do happen in this world. 
 " Why, Mr. Brooks, I thought you were going to marry 
 Miss Alice." To save his soul, the Colonel could not 
 help uttering those words. In fact, he seemed entitled 
 to some explanation from a gentleman who could so 
 boldly disappoint public expectation and marry the wrong 
 girl.
 
 350 REDBANK. 
 
 The young man coolly replied, " Yes, that was the 
 general opinion, but I could not marry a lady who 
 flatly and persistently refused me. Besides, after an 
 absence of three years, I found my own affections cooled 
 down to a cousinly temperature. 
 
 " In spite of your doubts, Colonel, I consider myself 
 very well acquainted with Miss Holcombe. I saw a 
 great deal of her last fall when she repeatedly visited 
 my cousin at The Grove. I find that she suits me in 
 every respect. I have asked her to marry me, and she 
 has consented. We only await your approval and that 
 of Mrs. Winston. My own relatives are perfectly satis 
 fied with my choice." 
 
 " Well, Mr. Brooks," said the Colonel, " I have no 
 right and no inclination to disapprove of your conduct, 
 but, all the same, I'm immensely surprised." 
 
 " I'm glad to have surprised some one," the young man 
 remarked ; " my own family have foreseen it for a long 
 time, so they say. One does not wish to be perfectly 
 transparent. I want the credit of a little self-control. 
 I have always rather prided myself that I did not ' wear 
 my heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at.' " 
 
 " Well, I hope you are worthy of such a wife as Jessie 
 Holcombe," said the Colonel ; " she is one of the sweet 
 est women that God ever made." 
 
 "I am aware of that," replied the young man, " and 
 I trust that I am not altogether undeserving of her 
 love." 
 
 " I hardly know how we shall manage to live without 
 Jessie," said Mrs. Winston, who had felt too surprised 
 and grieved at the announcement of the engagement to 
 utter a single word until now. 
 
 " That will be a great deal easier for you than it 
 would be for me. I find her presence so essential to
 
 REDBANK. 351 
 
 my happiness that I shall give her only a few weeks for 
 possible regrets." 
 
 At this moment, Jessie entered the room. The Colo 
 nel had sent for her ; he wanted confirmation from her 
 own lips of this strange fact. He could not really be 
 lieve that she was engaged to this young man, and con 
 templated leaving Redbank for another home. With a 
 blushing face, she answered questions and received con 
 gratulations. 
 
 " Now, Mrs. Winston," said Waveiiy, " I have a rather 
 obstinate young lady here to deal with, and I want to 
 appeal to you. I will make a clear statement of some 
 facts, and add an appendix of my wishes. First, for 
 the facts : the summer is near at hand ; Redbank is not 
 altogether healthy during the hot season ; Jessie is far 
 from strong, and needs a change of climate to restore 
 her bloom. Now for the wishes ! I want to be married 
 just as soon as possible, within two or three weeks say 
 the first of June. I want to take Jessie and give her a 
 breath of mountain air before the summer comes. I 
 would also like to have her go with me, after a few days, 
 to my father's house, and remain there until the wed 
 ding. My aunt and cousin are both there, and I wish 
 my future wife to live enfamille with us all for awhile." 
 This plan did not altogether please the future wife, but 
 Waverley was determined to have his own way, and So 
 he triumphed over all opposition. 
 
 It was impossible for him to understand Jessie's re 
 luctance to meet the members of his family, and it was 
 equally impossible for her to explain her feelings. She 
 had an ill-defined conviction that they all felt more or 
 less sore about this new departure. Then and there, 
 she made up her mind that Waverley Brooks should 
 never know anything about his father's attachment to
 
 352 REDKANK. 
 
 her. This was her only mental reservation, and it cost 
 her conscientious nature some few pangs ; but she feared 
 that it might permanently disturb the confidential rela 
 tions of father and son. No one outside her own family 
 had ever suspected the ardent admiration of the Judge 
 for Miss Holcombe, and no one but Eleanor knew posi 
 tively of his offer and its rejection. 
 
 When, a few days later, the carriage stopped at the 
 door of the Judge's residence, and Jessie and Waverley 
 alighted and ascended the broad steps, there was a painful 
 quickening of the young girl's pulse. When she entered 
 the great drawing-room, brilliant with light and color, 
 upon the arm of her promised husband, she was conscious 
 of an emotion of embarrassment and constraint. Mrs. 
 Brooks, Alice, and the Judge awaited them, and Jessie 
 fancied that the welcome of each one of them wanted 
 some of the old cordiality. She did not wonder at it, 
 but she was too delicately strung not to feel a pang of 
 regret at having done anything to wound these three 
 dear friends. Mrs. Brooks was far from satisfied with 
 the new arrangement ; she blamed Alice for coldness 
 and Waverley for faithlessness, and rather suspected 
 Jessie of a little feminine coquetry. The young gentle 
 man had been too great a match for her to resign will 
 ingly the rightful claim of her daughter. She had 
 never before in her life experienced so bitter a disap 
 pointment, and she had not sufficient tact to conceal it 
 from the eyes of the world. With quick intuition, Jes 
 sie read the feelings of this lady as easily as if they had 
 been reflected in a mirror. 
 
 The manner of Alice was also somewhat constrained, 
 for she had suffered keenly from her mother's reproaches, 
 she also had some sense of humiliation in the thought 
 that the world would look upon her as a forsaken
 
 EEDEANK. 353 
 
 maiden. Besides all this, her heart was deeply wounded 
 by the death of Harry Holcombe. She now realized 
 that she had loved him well, and that no new affection 
 could ever supplant the old. Life stretched before her 
 like a melancholy waste, and her depression was appar 
 ent to all. The Judge suffered silently from the sur 
 render of his most cherished hopes, but he was too 
 strong and noble a man to bear any evidence of such- 
 suffering in face or manner. After the first greet 
 ings had been passed, Waverley stood in front of 
 Judge Brooks, with Jessie on his arm, and said, " Well, 
 father, you are satisfied with my choice, are you not ? " 
 He smiled as he put the question, but at heart he was 
 very eager for his father's approval. The Judge looked 
 at his new daughter for a few moments, and she felt the 
 color come into her face. 
 
 " I think she will do, my son," he replied slowly, a 
 glow of tenderness lighting his eyes ; " she is tall enough 
 for even such a great fellow as yourself, and her com 
 plexion and hair contrast well with yours. We will 
 try to like her for your sake, and perhaps, in the course 
 of time, we will discover that she has a little merit of 
 her own. Are you sure that you like each other well 
 enough to be married ? You know marriage is a very 
 serious matter." 
 
 " I think I like her," said the young man. 
 
 " And how is it with you, Jessie ? " asked the 
 Judge. 
 
 " I think I like him a little," replied the girl, feeling 
 the warm color driving in waves over her face. " You 
 know one cannot tell exactly until afterwards. He may 
 not be as good as I think him. It is just possible that I 
 may be deceived,"
 
 354 EEDBANK. 
 
 " Well," said the Judge, " I want you both to under 
 stand that, if you find out you have made a mistake, 
 you need not come to me to get a divorce for you." 
 
 " Now, that is too bad," remarked Jessie, " we quite 
 counted on you to help us, if we became dissatisfied. 
 You are a great lawyer and a great judge, and are 
 accustomed to manage such affairs successfully." 
 
 They were all smiling now. 
 
 " I wish at once to undeceive you, Miss Holcombe, if 
 you are putting your trust in me. I shajl not aid you 
 in the least." 
 
 " Well, we understand that now, " said Waverley, 
 " and we promise not to trouble you in case of disaffec 
 tion. Now, Jessie, tell me what you think of him," and 
 the young man motioned towards his father. " Do you 
 think you are going to like him, and get on well with 
 him?" 
 
 She drew a long breath and exclaimed " I am so 
 thankful that he is not a mother-in-law ! I shall try 
 very hard not to quarrel with him." 
 
 " And what are you going to call him ? " asked 
 Waverley. 
 
 " The Judge, of course." 
 
 " No ; that will provoke a quarrel immediately," said 
 the elderly gentleman ; " I will not be called The Judge 
 in my own house ; it is sufficiently annoying to have no 
 other name outside of it. I wish a more respectful 
 appellation from my son's wife." 
 
 "What could be more respectful than The Judge" 
 Jessie replied ; " it is almost an acknowledgment that 
 you are the best and wisest judge in all the world. 
 Surely such a distinction ought to satisfy you." 
 
 " No, it does not by any means." 
 
 " Then what must she call you ? " asked Waverley ; 
 
 23
 
 BEDBANK. 355 
 
 " I have some little influence over her, and I will do my 
 best to have her respect your wishes." 
 
 " Never mind now, I will give her a lesson after a 
 while," said the Judge ; " you had better go and prepare 
 yourselves for dinner now. I see Harris hovering 
 around as if impatient to make an important announce 
 ment." 
 
 When they were again in the drawing-room, Judge 
 Brooks called Jessie to come and sit beside him. She 
 obeyed, and he drew a piece of paper and a pencil from 
 his pocket, and wrote down a word. 
 
 " Now spell that for me," he said, in a tone of au 
 thority. She began in a pretty, childish way to call the 
 Litters f-a-t-h-e-r. 
 
 " Now what does that spell ? " he asked. 
 
 She looked up at him and shook her head, saying 
 simply, " The word is too hard for me yet a while. 
 You must wait until I am older." 
 
 " You do not know your lesson," he said, severely ; 
 " and, furthermore, I'm afraid that you are a very 
 obstinate girl. You can go now, but to-morrow I shall 
 expect you to do better." 
 
 She arose, and Waverley beckoned her to a seat beside 
 him, taking her hand in his. Mrs. Brooks looked at the 
 Judge and said, " Charles you are not a very old man, 
 but do you know, I sometimes see signs of approaching 
 dotage." 
 
 " Do you, Kate ? Well, I'm very sorry." 
 
 Alice came and sat down near him. " Uncle Charles," 
 she said, " it is a beautiful dotage. I like that playful 
 mood in you better than any other. It is ever so much 
 nicer than your wise mood, or your silent mood, or your 
 gloomy mood, or your stern mood. You shall be just as 
 doty as you please, you dear, darling old uncle."
 
 356 REDBANK. 
 
 He took lier little hand in his, and carried it tenderly 
 to his lips " Thank you, my dear." 
 
 He loved this gentle niece she had been always the 
 nearest equivalent to a daughter that he had ever 
 known. 
 
 Alice continued, " Uncle Charles, I know that you 
 and Jessie are going to get on splendidly together, and 
 you must never have a single regret." How little she 
 guessed the, heart-ache beneath that broad expanse of 
 immaculate linen ! " Jessie," she called across the room, 
 " I am so glad to have you in the family. It is a new 
 element which will favor a better rearrangement and 
 recomposition of the old elements. You will brighten 
 up Uncle Charles he has been awfully glum of late 
 now don't deny it ! " and she stroked his hand tenderly. 
 " Then you will keep mamma from nodding over her 
 patchwork. She will not confess that she ever does 
 really nod, but I assure you I have occasionally heard 
 something very much like a little snore." 
 
 " Alice, my dear, will you please confine yourself to 
 the truth when you undertake to report my doings," 
 said the mother. 
 
 " And you will stimulate me, Jessie, to exert myself 
 a little for the entertainment of others. I, for one, 
 am willing to confess my sins. I have been lazy and 
 good-for-nothing of late, and anybody but dear good 
 Uncle Charles would have kicked me out of the house." 
 
 " I am glad you have such an excellent opinion of me, 
 Alice," replied Jessie ; " I will try not to disappoint 
 your expectations, dear." 
 
 " But I haven't finished enumerating my expectations 
 yet. Last of all, but by no means least, I trust you will 
 take that unruly young gentleman in hand, and prevent 
 him from being so unbearably cross."
 
 REDBANK. 357 
 
 " Heigli-lio ! " exclaimed Waverley, " What is that 
 you say ? You cannot possibly refer to me ; I was never 
 cross in all my life. Don't believe her, Jessie ; it is a 
 libellous attack without foundation and without provo 
 cation." 
 
 " Alas ! thou dost not know thyself, my cousin ! " said 
 Alice, laughing. "Why, only this morning I heard you 
 storming furiously out in the hall, because you could 
 not find your gloves. I wanted to be sure that it was 
 really you, and not some escaped lunatic, so I opened 
 the door softly and peeped out. Yes, there was no mis 
 taking your identity ; you are not so small as to hide 
 away from sight like a pin ; there you were in all your 
 monstrous height and breadth, raging and foaming at 
 the mouth." 
 
 " For heaven's sake do have some slight regard for the 
 truth, Alice ! " cried the young man, turning somewhat 
 red in the face ; " you must have been dreaming or see 
 ing visions. For a long time I have suspected you of 
 having optical illusions, now I'm sure of it." 
 
 " No, she was not dreaming, nor having optical illu 
 sions either," said Mrs. Brooks, laughing at Waverley's 
 discomfiture ; " you were positively and dangerously 
 cross. I trembled for Harris's head. And it was all 
 because you could not start off to Redbank as soon as 
 you desired. My dear sir, your temper has not been 
 angelic of late, and we hope that Jessie will take you in 
 hand." 
 
 Jessie shook her head. " I am afraid that my influ 
 ence is not going to prove very strong. He often shows 
 an inclination to have his own way, and I can do nothing 
 with him." 
 
 "Well," remarked the Judge, "it is said that every 
 man is born again when he gets married. Now, Jessie, I
 
 358 
 
 
 
 want you to see that Waverley is born right this time 
 with all proper tendencies and impulses. Discipline 
 him freely during his childhood, and take a little of the 
 wilfulness out of him. I turn him over to you, my dear." 
 
 " I will try my best," she replied, " but I know he 
 will be difficult to manage." 
 
 " I daresay I shall be benefited by the discipline of 
 living with her," Waverley coolly remarked. " They 
 say that women are very hard to get along with." 
 
 " Now, you invented that saying, Waverley," ex 
 claimed Alice ; " nobody ever said such a thing but 
 yourself." 
 
 The young man pretended to ignore this accusation 
 and continued : ' They say that women require a lot of 
 petting and caressing, and coaxing and humoring, other 
 wise they retire into a little den all their own and pout I 
 You know that is a well-established historical fact, Alice. 
 And, furthermore, I myself have seen you through the 
 key-hole of your den, I have seen you pouting until your 
 cheeks looked like the old pictures of Boreas." 
 
 " Well, Waverley Brooks, I would never have sus 
 pected you of peeping through a key-hole ; I am thor 
 oughly shocked ! " said Alice. 
 
 " Oh ! it was when I was a very small boy ; I have 
 outgrown such habits now ; but, all the same, I believe 
 in pouting, and I daresay Jessie is a perfect mistress of 
 the accomplishment. I do not want to make the mis 
 take of believing her better than the rest of the sex. It 
 is well to begin with a low opinion, and gradually have 
 it improve than to reverse the order." 
 
 " Jessie, I would not allow him to talk so disrespect 
 fully about me, if I were in your place," said Alice. 
 
 " I cannot help it, dear," replied Jessie, " he will do 
 as he pleases."
 
 REDBANK. 359 
 
 "Yes, I am going to carry her right off this very 
 minute," said Waverley. " You are all beginning to 
 undermine my authority. Come, Jessie, I want you to 
 go upstairs and see my own special sitting-room and 
 belongings." 
 
 " Prepare yourself for a disappointment, young 
 gentleman ! " exclaimed Alice, with a wicked little 
 laugh ; " Jessie has already been in that room, and 
 inspected all your pet possessions." 
 
 " When, I would like to know ? " he asked, some 
 what annoyed. 
 
 " On the very day you left for New York, last Feb 
 ruary the day after Nettie Hunter's wedding. Jessie 
 called on me, and I was wicked enough to take her into 
 your precious sanctum. How we did go round that 
 room, and talk about you ! We commented very freely 
 on your extravagance, your effeminate tastes, and fond 
 ness for Oriental luxury ; also your passion for rowing 
 by moonlight, and having young ladies play on the 
 guitar and sing to you, in order to make the exercise 
 less laborious." 
 
 Waverley looked at Jessie with a crestfallen air, and 
 asked, " Is that true, Jessie ? I require confirmation 
 of every statement Alice makes." 
 
 " I'm afraid it is true, Waverley," said his fiancee ; 
 " but, never mind, I shall enjoy seeing it again, with 
 you as a guide. I daresay Alice gave me much false 
 information which you will be able to correct." 
 
 " Thank you both for your high opinion of me," 
 exclaimed Alice, trying to suppress her inclination to 
 laugh. 
 
 " Well, come, Jessie," said the young man, " I shall 
 lose my temper, if I stay any longer in the room with 
 that provoking young female," nodding towards his
 
 360 HEDBANK. 
 
 cousin. When they entered the sanctum, which was 
 now brilliantly lighted, Waveiiey turned and asked, 
 " How do you like it, Jessie ? " 
 
 " I think it is the most beautiful room that I have 
 ever seen." 
 
 " Do you, indeed? Now, that is flattering ! " 
 
 " Yes ; but I see you have made some changes, and 
 the gaslight makes a difference. It does not look like 
 the same room that I saw with Alice, so you need not 
 feel vexed that I have already seen it." 
 
 " Is it less beautiful ? " he asked. 
 
 "No, it is far more beautiful." She was silent for a 
 moment, then added, " And your presence gives it a 
 glory that it did not have before." 
 
 " Thank you," he said, gazing into her eyes with a 
 look that was full of tenderness and love ; " I am glad 
 to have you feel that my presence makes a difference. 
 Yours would glorify a desert for me." 
 
 " Thank you ; but, please don't be extravagant. My 
 faith in you will be lessened if you talk too wildly." 
 
 " I will remember that and try to moderate my rapt 
 ures." 
 
 " When I entered this room before," said Jessie, " it 
 was near sunset, and there was a wonderfully brilliant 
 glow upon everything. After the sun was quite gone, 
 the room seemed still to retain the rays of light. I 
 think you have managed to produce the effect of per 
 petual sunshine." 
 
 " And you found that out yourself ?" he asked. 
 
 " It was not hard to find out," she replied. 
 
 " Well, that is just what I aimed at when I furnished 
 the room. The truth is, Jessie, I have been rather blue 
 sometimes since I came home. I seemed to be disap 
 pointing everybody at such a rate that I felt disgusted
 
 REDBANK. 361 
 
 v.'lvli myself, and I determined to fit up this room so as 
 la counteract the mood. I have not admitted a single 
 blue tone in anything everywhere you will find glori 
 ous yellow, which is my favorite color. I am going 
 to dress you up in yellow after awhile, Jessie. I do not 
 like those black dresses at all, and, after we are married, 
 I shall beg you to burn them all up. I detest black 
 unless it is velvet." 
 
 " You know why I wear them, dear," she whispered, 
 with a tone of sadness in her voice. 
 
 " But, my darling, I don't want you to express your 
 grief that way," he said, very tenderly. " Indeed, I don't 
 want you to grieve any more. I shall try very hard to 
 make you forget all that is sad in your past life." 
 
 Ah ! how little he guessed her love for Harry, and 
 the dull heart-ache she often felt, when she thought of 
 him lying in his coffin still and cold under the grass. 
 She replied very gently : 
 
 " I know that you will do all that you can to make 
 me happy, and I do not think you will find it a very- 
 hard task ; but you must not be vexed, if I sometimes 
 remember those whom I have loved and lost." 
 
 He put his arm around her, and after a moment said : 
 " But you will be willing to give up the black dresses 
 and crape veils ? " 
 
 " I shall be very willing to wear whatever you like, 
 Waverley," she answered, returning his half-smile. 
 
 " That's a good girl," he whispered, caressingly. 
 " Jessie, I want you to have more color ; you are often 
 very pale, and black increases the pallor. It is charm 
 ing, to see you blush ; it gives you the last perfect 
 touch." 
 
 She responded to this by a vivid color, which the 
 young man immediately commended. Though exact-
 
 362 REDBANK. 
 
 ing in some respects, and fond of having his own way, 
 Waveiiey Brooks was a model lover. He was cool and 
 quiet; he was never familiar he never demanded 
 kisses, nor caresses, nor even endearing epithets as his 
 rightful claim ; he rather asked for sympathy and intel 
 lectual companionship from the woman whom he loved, 
 and he did this in a boyish way which gave a great 
 charm to his manly and dignified manners. 
 
 Soon he began to show Jessie his art treasures, telling 
 her where each picture, or vase, or enamelled plate 
 was bought, and under what circumstances. His eyes 
 glowed with delight at her appreciation of everything 
 and her perfect understanding of his tastes. " Jessie, 
 it makes me so happy to have you sympathize with 
 me in my passion for beautiful things. Father has 
 rather a contempt for this room ; he says it looks as if 
 a sentimental, luxurious woman had furnished it. He 
 would like to see a great desk in the centre, with piles 
 of law-books bound in calf upon it, and, perhaps, a 
 bust or two of Roman jurists on the top of those shelves. 
 Aunt Kate is scarcely more merciful toward my weak 
 nesses. Alice is a little better, but she lacks genuine 
 enthusiasm for everything except good literature. I 
 have so wanted some one to understand this side of my 
 nature, for it is a very big part of my inmost self." 
 
 He handled the beautiful vases with tenderness, and 
 pointed out their artistic merits ; he showed her his 
 etchings and engravings, and found her quick to choose 
 the best in everything. He told her about his pictures 
 when and how they were painted. When he came to 
 the " moonlight on the water," he flushed slightly, and 
 said, " Do you recognize anybody there ? " 
 
 " I think I do ; it is you who are rowing, is it not ? " 
 
 " Yes, that is a bit of my own life, Jessie. I came
 
 REDBANK. 363 
 
 very near falling in love with that girl. She was Eng 
 lish, and an awfully sweet blossom. My engagement 
 with Alice saved me. It would have been a dreadful 
 mistake, for she was very English in her tastes and feel 
 ings, and could never have been transplanted to America. 
 When I found out that I was becoming too much inter 
 ested, I packed my valise and took to flight. So you 
 see I did not really fall in love, and that incident was 
 not included in my confession at The Grove last fall." 
 
 " It is rather a suspicious circumstance that you 
 should have omitted it," said Jessie, smiling. " Are 
 you sure that you have entirely recovered from it now ? 
 It would be painful to have a rival, even though she 
 were three thousand miles away." 
 
 "Never fear," he replied, "you have no rival on this 
 green earth ; I have entirely recovered from all my 
 previous attachments ; and I shall turn this picture to 
 the wall." 
 
 " No, you won't. I like it very much the landscape 
 is charming, and the girl is not so very bad." 
 
 " Sometime, I will paint her out and put you in her 
 place." 
 
 " No, I would not like that ; it would destroy the 
 verities. You are quite welcome to all the pleasant 
 things in your past, Waverley. I shall not vex you by 
 my jealousies. It is enough that you have chosen me 
 for your wife. I shall try to be worthy in every way." 
 
 " You are that already, my darling," he said. " I 
 have had my fancies as other men have them, but now 
 the passion of my life has come. You seem to be a very 
 part of myself, Jessie ; you like what I like, and your 
 thoughts fit into mine. I cannot bear to have you away 
 from me I feel incomplete and wretched without you." 
 Pausing a moment, he slowly repeated the lines,
 
 SG-i REDXANK. 
 
 " Unless you can muse in a crowd all day 
 
 On the absent face that fixed you ; 
 Unless you can love as the angels may 
 With the breadth of heaven betwixt you ;" 
 
 ** You know the words, don't you ? " he asked. 
 " Oh ! yes," she said, quickly adding the remainder 
 of the verse, 
 
 " Unless you can dream that his faith is fast, 
 
 Through behoving and unbehoving ; 
 Unless you can die when the dream is past, 
 Oh! never call it loving." 
 
 " Yes, that is it," he said in a low, tender tone, draw 
 ing her to him. They stood silently for a few moments, 
 looking into each other's eyes, as if trying to measure the 
 heights and depths of their love and happiness. 
 
 " And, Jessie, I am so fond of travel too," he con 
 tinued in his eager, joyous way; "you see my tastes 
 are awfully Bohemian, but I cannot help it. I do hope 
 you will sympathize with me in that, too ; sometimes, 
 we will tear up and go to Europe for a few months or 
 years, just as we like. You will not mind it, will you ? " 
 
 " Mind it, dear ! " she exclaimed, her eyes dancing 
 with delight ; " I shall like it more than tongue can tell. 
 For years it has been my waking dream. But we must 
 not make too many plans ; let's just live along day 
 after day, loving each other better and better all the 
 while, and not thinking much about the future." 
 
 "But I must build my chdteaux en Espagne," he 
 said, " and you will have to help me carry brick and 
 mortar up the hill. I always have at least two or three 
 castles on hand at the same time, and I'm awful glad to 
 have somebody to assist in making the plans." 
 
 She laughed. It pleased and surprised her to find 
 so much boyish enthusiasm under an exterior which had
 
 REDBANK. CGf) 
 
 ill ways impressed her as rather cold and proud and self- 
 sufficient. She responded promptly to this new demand 
 upon her sympathy. 
 
 " I shall like to help you about everything, dear, 
 only the future is so full of unexpected things that one 
 sometimes feels punished for daring to plan it accord 
 ing to one's own wishes." 
 
 "I don't," he said, quickly, with a self-confident 
 smile; "I like unexpected things; often they are far 
 better than the things we plan for ourselves. For 
 instance, you are an unexpected gift, my darling, and 
 nothing half so beautiful has ever happened to me 
 before ; in my wildest dreams, I have never imagined 
 that my wife would be so sweet and perfect as your 
 self." 
 
 She expressed her thanks for such a tribute by smiles 
 instead of words. It was easy to see that he knew but 
 little of disappointment and sorrow. It did her good 
 to be in the presence of this strong, healthful, hopeful 
 temperament; it counteracted the slight tendency to 
 melancholy which lurked in her nature. 
 
 " Now, go and play for me, dearest," she said, " and 
 I will sit here in this beautiful chair. I long to hear 
 that grand piano in this large, airy room." 
 
 He obeyed, choosing the music that he loved best, 
 feeling confident that it would satisfy her own taste. 
 She rested her head against the soft cushion, and gave 
 herself up to the delight of roaming in the dream-land 
 of love.
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 EVERY evening Jessie had her spelling lesson with the 
 Judge, but the word seemed always too difficult for her 
 to pronounce. Only after the wedding was over, and 
 she stood with her hand in his, ready to say the last 
 good-bye, could she command her lips to call him father. 
 
 Mrs. Brooks, as she watched this evening lesson, 
 thought them very silly and childish, and wondered what 
 they would do next ; but Alice and Waverley got much 
 quiet amusement out of their sparkling nonsense. The 
 young man, especially, looked on with delight to see 
 his father unbend and become gay and playful in the 
 presence of Jessie. He was not familiar with this 
 paternal mood, and began to have a vague idea that the 
 girl, so soon to be his wife, possessed some wonderful 
 power to call out whatever was sweetest and best in 
 others. He watched her with a lover's eye, and saw 
 that she was growing more beautiful every day. Some 
 times he wondered if she could indeed be human, 
 like other women. No, she was divine ; and he smiled 
 to himself, for he well knew that it was his own hand 
 that daily poured out the glass of nectar for her lips. 
 
 One evening, by some chance, the Judge and Jessie 
 found themselves alone in the great drawing-room. The 
 young girl's fingers were busy with some delicate sew 
 ing, while the gentleman was slowly cutting and turn 
 ing the leaves of a newly-arrived magazine. Suddenly 
 he laid aside his book, and turning to her said, " Jessie,
 
 REDBANK. 367 
 
 my dear, I wish you would tell me something about the 
 Colonel and your sister I mean something about their 
 business affairs. I'm afraid they are getting into trouble, 
 are they not ? " 
 
 " I am afraid so myself," she answered, sadly, " but I 
 know very little about it ; they are both so proud and 
 reserved." 
 
 Then she told him about the mortgage on Redbank. 
 The Judge was surprised, and remained silent a long 
 time, as if pondering some weighty question of the law. 
 At length he spoke " Jessie, I think I must go to 
 the assistance of the Colonel. With all his faults, he 
 is a fine old fellow, and must not be driven to the wall. 
 I do not like to think that he will ever be compelled to 
 give up his plantation it would be a deep humiliation 
 for him. Like every father, he wants to leave his estate 
 intact for his son to inherit, and to lose Redbank would 
 be a blow to his love as well as to his pride. I will see 
 him and talk with him as soon as you and Waverley are 
 out of the way. You two lovers keep me in such a per 
 petual turmoil and nutter, that I am quite unfit for any 
 thing but dallying and talking nonsense." 
 
 " How good and generous you are ! " cried the girl, 
 the tears springing to her eyes. 
 
 " If I helped them out of their troubles, would it 
 make you happier, my dear ? " he asked. 
 
 " Ever so much happier ! " she said, laying down her 
 work, and clasping her hands imploringly. " I cannot 
 tell you how it grieves me to think of them." 
 
 " It shall be done," he replied in a low, emphatic tone, 
 adding after a few moments : " It will be, perhaps, 
 some little compensation to them for losing you. 
 Since their loss is our gain, it is only fair that we 
 should be willing to settle up accounts, and make
 
 368 REDBANK. 
 
 tilings square and even." After a while, he continued 
 " Jessie, I imagine that if you were put up in the market 
 of Stamboul, like the Greek Slave, you would bring 
 several thousand dollars. What do you think of it ? " 
 
 " What put that idea into your head ? " she said, 
 breaking into a laugh. 
 
 " Have you never thought of your market value ? " 
 he asked, joining in her mirth. 
 
 " Never ! never ! I did not even fancy that girls pos 
 sessed any market value nowadays. I thought it was 
 the gentlemen who were valuable, and every woman 
 was expected to pay the man a price for taking her. 
 Isn't it so?" 
 
 "In some countries, perhaps," he said, " but happily 
 not in ours." 
 
 " Ah ! you need not say that. You know perfectly 
 well that a handsome dot makes a girl wonderfully 
 attractive, even in this land of the free and home of 
 the brave." 
 
 " Perhaps you are right. I cannot find it in my heart 
 to disagree with any statement that you may make." 
 
 " I feel very sorry not to bring Waverley a dower 
 worthy of his acceptance," she remarked, with a little 
 truthful ring in her voice, as if she meant what she said. 
 
 " Nonsense, my dear ; he has a great deal more now 
 than he knows what to do with. I only hope you will 
 save him from being ruined by having too much money ; 
 that will be far better than bringing hint any more." 
 
 Then they fell into a long silence, which was broken 
 at last by the gentleman. 
 
 " Jessie," he said, " I do think your sister and the 
 children ought to get away from Redbank this summer. 
 The place is very unhealthy. That old mill-pond is a 
 fertile source of disease to all the country around."
 
 REDBANK. 309 
 
 " How I wish they could go away ! " she replied, 
 " but I am afraid it is quite impossible." 
 
 " Why should it be impossible ? " 
 
 "Because they have no money. They are waiting 
 for the ship to come in, and it sails very slowly." 
 
 " Then you and I will play the part of Zephyrus and 
 Eolus ; we will blow with all our might, and make 
 the ship move faster." 
 
 " That would be splendid ! " she cried, her eyes glow 
 ing with happiness. " It is delightful to be in partner 
 ship with a real divinity like yourself." 
 
 " I like the partnership myself," he said, with a quiet 
 smile ; " to be associated with a divinity makes one 
 almost divine. Now, listen to my plea. The first of 
 July, perhaps earlier, I am going to take Kate and Alice 
 with me to the Virginia Springs. Your sister and the 
 children must go with us : I shall not accept any ex 
 cuses. The children will amuse Alice, and prevent us 
 old people from sinking into family dulness and hope 
 less dotage. You know I have already shown signs of 
 the approach of that disease." 
 
 Jessie looked up . at him with grateful tears in her 
 eyes. " Thank you ! thank you ! " she whispered. " You 
 are the best and noblest man that I have ever known." 
 
 " Except Waverley," he answered, a tender expres 
 sion coming into his face. 
 
 " I cannot even except him," she said, dropping her 
 eyes ; " a part of the love and confidence I give him is 
 ' for your sake. I accept him on trust because he is 
 your son. Are you not satisfied? " 
 
 " I am more than satisfied, Jessie," he whispered in a 
 low tone. 
 
 The silence that fell upon them was broken by the 
 entrance of Waverley.
 
 370 EEDJiANK. 
 
 " Come here, my son," said the Judge. 
 
 The young man obeyed, and stood before his father 
 as if awaiting commands. 
 
 " I want to thank you for this sweet daughter that 
 you have given me. I am willing to acknowledge that, 
 at one time, it did not seem easy to relinquish other 
 plans, but that is all over now, and this new arrange 
 ment grows more and more pleasant every day. It 
 makes me proud of you, Waverley, to see how wisely 
 you have chosen your wife. My son, I give you my 
 blessing," and the Judge extended his hand. The 
 young man clasped it in both of his, and in a voice full 
 of emotion, said, 
 
 " Thank you, my father." 
 
 A few weeks later, Waverley Brooks and his wife 
 were standing on the deck of an ocean steamer, bound 
 for Europe. 
 
 They were nearing the coast of Ireland ; it was just 
 after dinner, and they had been enjoying a brisk prome 
 nade. Now they had paused beside the railing to look 
 out over the sea, and to drink in great draughts of salt 
 air which was blowing stiffly from the west and driving 
 them rapidly towards the Old World. 
 
 "Do you like it, Jessie? " he whispered softly, clasp 
 ing her hand more tightly within his own. 
 
 "How can you ask?" she answered, looking up at 
 him with a great love in her eyes. " It is all so beauti 
 ful ! so beautiful ! " 
 
 Her voice died away in the vain attempt to give ex 
 pression to the happiness that filled her soul to over 
 flowing. 
 
 THE E1STD.
 
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 m