MARION 
 HARLAND
 
 WITH THE BEST INTENTIONS 
 
 r,, OF CALIF. LIBRARY, LOS ANGELES
 
 With the Best Intentions 
 
 H flDibsummer 
 
 BY 
 
 MARION HARLANP 
 
 George M. Hill Company 
 
 Printers and Binders 
 
 Chicago, 111.
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1890, 
 BY CHARLES SCKIliM.K S SONS.
 
 WITH THE BEST INTENTIONS: 
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 BKTDAL tours are so often failures con 
 cealed or confessed that Mrs. Emmett 
 Morgan s testimony to the contrary in her 
 case deserves honorable! record. 
 
 u Three weeks of unalloyed happiness f 
 And three more in prospect! I did not 
 think mortals could be so entirely blissful ! " 
 
 It was much for her to say. She was sel 
 dom demonstrative, and never effusive. At 
 the voluntary admission her husband drew a 
 step nearer and passed his arm about her. 
 
 Quietly and promptly she put it aside, her 
 glance warning him that they were within 
 possible view of others. 
 
 "\Vemmick and Miss Skiflms ! " com 
 mented the bridegroom, good humoredly. 
 
 1 
 
 2130563
 
 2 \vrrn Tin-: /> /;>/ /.v 7V-; .v 77o. v.s: 
 
 " I be;.;- pardon ? " 
 
 Don t you recollect how his ann would 
 steal around IHT waist, and lm\v she as regu 
 larly undid it and laid it back on his lap?" 
 
 I never heard of them. Was it in ;i 
 
 bonk . " 
 
 "In ( ireat Kxpectations ! Dickens a^ain 
 You will think, after awhile, that I have read 
 IK ithili 4 else. 
 
 "Oh, no! liut. as I have told yon before, I 
 
 cannot enjoy either of your pet authors. Are 
 you vexed / 
 
 He met her arch smile with one that 
 answered her sufficiently. 
 
 "Vexed, my love! because you are a 
 woman of independent thought instead of a 
 slavish echo ol myself? Variet\ of taste and 
 sentiment L^ives spire to talk and life. We 
 shall hardly quarrel over novels, even mv 
 favi n ites." 
 
 Kmmett was a sensible lellow, who had 
 nut failed to diseover, in a two years be 
 trothal, that his chosen wile was intelligent 
 rather than intellectual. She was a native 
 of the flourishing town of Lisbon, New Jer 
 sey, and twentv-oiie vears old when he met 
 her abroad, travelling with her parents and
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 3 
 
 sister. A coalition of parties threw the 
 young people into intimate companionship 
 for four months. The equable temperament, 
 sound good sense, and filial devotion of the 
 girl, who was never tired, cross, or exact 
 ing, commended her first to his admiration, 
 then to his affection. They returned home 
 plighted lovers. 
 
 They had been married three weeks to a 
 day on the afternoon when they stood to 
 gether upon a balcony overlooking the noble 
 veranda of the Grand Hotel on Mackinac 
 Island, the finest inland water-view upon 
 the continent spread out beneath them. 
 Ik low the hotel terrace a grove of arbor-vita^ 
 and balsam-firs divided drive and tennis- 
 courts from the Strait. Beyond this the 
 watery highway from Huron on the left to 
 Lake Michigan on the ri<rht- -a dark-blue, 
 
 o o 
 
 undulating line marked other islands and the 
 mainland. For the rest, the land-locked seas 
 had all the lower world to themselves. From 
 eastern to western horizon they rolled an 
 expanse of varying glory, but always sublime ; 
 dav unto day uttering and hinting prodigal- 
 
 ^ i- O O i. O 
 
 ity and reserves of beauty inconceivable by 
 those who have never looked upon the
 
 WITH TUP: 7> 7->T 7 .\TA\Y 770. VS.- 
 
 divine panorama indescribable by the tongue 
 or pen of those whose eves have feasted upon 
 tin 1 sight. From height above height, robed 
 in tii 1 and cedar, poured down the elixir of 
 life, lilling lungs to their depths and hurry 
 ing the reddening pulses until the recreated 
 wanderers from the lowlands walked as upon 
 air, and in spirit heard the recall to youth, 
 strength, and hopeful endeavor. 
 
 Knimett Morgan squared his broad shoul 
 ders as he drew in the fragrant breeze. 
 
 " It is like iced TI >kay ! 
 
 k > I beg your pardon?" said his wife, again. 
 
 The startled look often came to her face 
 in their talks. Hers was a clear mind, but 
 shrewd and logical, rather than quick. 
 
 k> Excuse me ! I am slightly intoxicated. 
 I believe. Did you ever breathe and taste 
 such air ? " 
 
 It is very pure and bracing. It reminds 
 me of the Kngadine." 
 
 "Hut without the chill of everlasting 
 snows. The atmosphere of the Kngadine 
 ;ii id Chamounix lias been cooled in a refriger 
 ator. This is made new everv dav. I have 
 kept Mackinae for the beautiful climax of 
 our honeymoon, sweet !
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 5 
 
 " Thank you ! How good you are to me 
 always ! " 
 
 She did not shake off the hand laid lightly 
 upon the two crossed upon the balcony rail 
 ing, or shrink now from the encircling arm. 
 A sensitive flame wavered over her face, 
 heightening her blush into bloom. She was 
 not a pretty woman at her best, but always 
 of a goodly presence. u Comety " and " whole 
 some " were words that arose first in the 
 mind of an impartial critic. Six inches 
 shorter than her husband, she bore herself so 
 well as to seem almost as tall. The poise of 
 her head, the straight, full figure, the spring 
 and steadiness of her step, were her chief 
 recommendations to casual eyes. She called 
 her luxuriant locks red, and while leading 
 off in ridicule of them, was secretly mortified 
 at what she considered a personal blemish. 
 In reality, it was a rich auburn, that would 
 darken with years into the brown beloved by 
 artists for the sombre shades and ruddy lights 
 rarely seen in human hair. Emmett had 
 given her an Irish setter last winter, because, 
 as he insisted, the burnished silk of his coat 
 exactly matched the waves and braids that 
 crowned her head. Her eyes were full and
 
 6 H777/ TIII-: /;/;> / I.\TK.\TI<>.\.< : 
 
 \vell-openod, honest and direct, with no shift 
 ing shadows to warn or eoiifusi; tlie observer, 
 but in color they were neither gray, blue, 
 black, nor brown. She described them as 
 " light green," and, when kindled by sudden 
 or strong emotion, they showed glints that 
 justified the unflattering epithet. 
 
 In costume, her taste was irreproachable, 
 and she had none more becoming than the 
 gown of cream-white cashmere she now wore. 
 
 A burst of laughter from below, floating 
 above the hum of voices and rhythmic beat of 
 feet upon the floor of the veranda, diverted 
 Kmmett s eves from the contentful contem 
 plation of the figure beside him, and his 
 wife s from the low sweep of the opposite 
 shore. 
 
 In the wider area of the curve described by 
 the upper end of the veranda, peopled at this 
 hour with pleasure-seekers and graded inva 
 lids, was the group from which the blended 
 peal of merriment had arisen. The central 
 figure was the loveliest old lady imaginable. 
 She leaned back in an easy-chair as if infirm ; 
 but the dark eyes, smooth skin, and regular 
 features were less the traces of former beauty 
 than the assurance of charms she would never
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 7 
 
 lose. Her hair, waving naturally under a 
 lace cap, showed the merest glimmer of silver ; 
 her hands were exquisite in shape and deli 
 cacy of tint against her black silk gown. 
 Behind her stood a handsome man of forty- 
 five, or thereabouts, in the uniform of a 
 U. S. A. Captain. At her right, and near her 
 feet, sat a young fellow in regulation tennis- 
 suit, cane-head at lip; behind him stood 
 another, somewhat older, and in graver garb. 
 Close beside the old lady s chair sat a brilliant 
 brunette, her sparkling face uplifted toward 
 the officer. Standing directly above the party, 
 the Morgans could see the gleam of her 
 perfect teeth, the dancing light in her eyes 
 as she talked. She held and swayed, in 
 accentuating her speech, a cluster of ferns 
 and harebells, now and then brushing play 
 fully the cheek of a girl who sat at her 
 knee, looking up admiringly into the animated 
 face. 
 
 "It is like a stage tableau," pronounced 
 Mrs. Morgan, in critical admiration. "What 
 a beautiful old lady! She looks like a bit 
 of Dresden china. 1 suppose her daugh 
 ters do not suspect how effectively they are 
 posed ! "
 
 8 WITH THE y; /:>/ I\TI-:J\TIO\X: 
 
 Kmm<jtt s lingers tightened upon lie is, 
 his ejaculation struck sharply across her cool, 
 measured sentences. 
 
 I know that woman ! " 
 
 I If could hardly have been heard on the 
 pia/./.a, but the brunette looked up at that 
 instant and sa\v him. 
 
 Clara Morgan \\-as, as I have said, rather 
 shrewd than quirk of apprehension, but she 
 was observant and retentive. She recollected 
 distinctly in after-days what she was scarcely 
 conscious at the moment that she saw. tin; 
 mingling of recognition, surprise, pain, and 
 pleasure in the eloquent look that leaped 
 to meet Emmett s, a glance so vivid and 
 rapid that she was positively di/./v as she 
 turned to her husband for explanation. He 
 had changed color. she- recollected that, 
 too. in that after-time, but he smiled gavlv 
 in leaning over the rail to wave a salute. 
 The woman below had started to her feet 
 with impetuosity that directed the atten 
 tion of her companions to the upper balcony. 
 She advanced a few paces and smiled radi 
 antly. 
 
 "Will vou come down 9 " Her voice "car 
 ried" so well over the heads of the prom-
 
 .1 MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 9 
 
 enaders that none of them halted to stare, yet 
 the couple above heard the words. 
 
 Emmett bowed acquiescence, and drew his 
 wife within the room behind them. 
 
 "If von don t mind, dear, " - he said, in 
 deferential appeal. " It is Mrs. Gillette and 
 her daughter, old and dear friends of mine. 
 I shall be glad to have you know them. Is 
 this your shawl ?" 
 
 Involuntarily Clara spoke and moved more 
 deliberately than usual, because he talked 
 fast and seemed excited. She had long ago 
 established to her satisfaction the fact that 
 she must be his balance-wheel, and held her 
 self ever ready to report for duty. 
 
 "It will always gratify me to meet your 
 friends," - witli precisely the right inflection 
 and emphasis. " That is my ulster, my dear ! 
 I will o et a shawl. 
 
 o 
 
 She selected, leisurely, one from several in 
 the tray of her trunk ; and, with it over her 
 arm, led the way down the corridor. On the 
 stairway she observed, with a slight smile: 
 
 "Am I to infer from your agitation that 
 this is an early flame of yours?" 
 
 She put it plainly, and in less refined 
 phrase than he would have expected had
 
 10 H777/ Tin-: /;/>/ /.vv7-;.vv/o.v> . 
 
 lie li;id time to think. lie glanced at her 
 quickly. 
 
 " Never, I assure you ! Except that all 
 <! us fellows considered adorat io;i of kaivn 
 (iilleite a part of our curriculum. lie; 1 
 father Avas one of our professors. I must 
 have mentioned the family to you?" 
 
 No. I should m>t have forgotten the 
 daughter s name. U7/<// do you call her /" 
 
 She A\" as aetuallv christened kareiihap- 
 ])Ueh for her grandmother, Avho left her liftv 
 thousand dollars as a consequence.* 
 
 k " The moiir\ was dearly earned." ( lara s 
 short upper lip eiirled. "Vet her mother 
 looks relined ami sensible." 
 
 "She is the sweetest saint out of heaven! 
 I can never forjvt her goodness to me. a 
 green eountr\ Itov. She ^ ave me the run <>t 
 her house, a 1 iheral education in itself." 
 
 \Vith ])ermi>sioii to adore her handsome 
 daughter 7 " 
 
 I he shortening upper lip. more than tone 
 and words, provoked the vouug hushand to 
 the lirst liastv word sin. had ever heard from 
 him. 
 
 I)on t he ahsnrd. ( lara! I have kejit 
 nothin in mv ast hack irom \ ou.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 11 
 
 They were in the thick of the swim below 
 by now, threading their way through the 
 brilliant, shifting throng filling the rotunda, 
 halls, and veranda. The band was playing in 
 the gallery of the dining-room, the doors of 
 which were opened as they passed. There 
 was no opportunity for further discussion. 
 
 Nobody much less a right-hearted, right- 
 mannered young woman, brought up to 
 reverence age could be stiff with the gra 
 cious old lady, who held Clara s hand in hers 
 while she thanked Emmett for bringing his 
 bride down to them. 
 
 " He was one of my best-beloved boys," 
 said the gentle A r oice. " I can promise that 
 he will be a good husband. Not that you 
 need the guarantee, but the testimony of an 
 old friend is worth something. 
 
 " Don t monopolize her, Mater," inter 
 posed the daughter. " She grows more dis 
 criminating and more greedy of the best 
 things every year, Emmett. And you know- 
 that she was never generous to us lesser 
 beauties." 
 
 " I recollect her weakness and ours ! ; 
 Emmett promptly followed suit. " Clara, I 
 must have you know my old friend Karen ! n
 
 12 WITH THE JiKST I.\TEXTI<>.\.< : 
 
 There was a perceptible halt before In- 
 brought out the word laughingly ;ui<l apolo 
 getically. Mrs. (iillette eanie to his help. 
 
 " My daughter, Mrs. Dumaresque, niv dear 
 Mrs. Morgan. whom you must allow your 
 husband to call bv the. old boy-and-girl name. 
 Lei me introduce my young friend. .Miss 
 Manly. Captain Dale. Mrs. Morgan! Mr. 
 (iates ! Mr. Uomeyn ! " 
 
 The statelv gra,-e of the little ceremonv 
 put all at their ease. Recovering from the 
 bow bestowed upon the last-named person 
 age, Clara found herself face to face with 
 Mrs. Dumaresque, whose eves were lixed 
 upon her with new interest. 
 
 Ah! I \vassure we had met before, and 
 that I o\ved von something. As usual, instinct 
 is \viser than reason. Mother, do vou not 
 recognize your benefactress of ten davs ago? 
 Do vou forget that but for her self-denying 
 kindness you would have faced the fashion- 
 <ible world of Niagara with the grime of a 
 night s travel upon you. without the chance 
 to rub out a single wrinkle of the do/ens left 
 by the pillows of a Wagner car berth? 
 
 1 do recollect the face," -- Mrs. (iillette 
 recorded it affectionately, "and am Mad to
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 13 
 
 owe the benefit to the wife of my old favor 
 ite. You must know " turning to Einmett 
 u that I am seventy -three years old, and, 
 as this rattlepate intimates, looked at least 
 eighty that morning, when four healthy 
 young girls persisted in keeping possession of 
 the dressing-room, one at a time, for nearly 
 an hour. Mrs. Morgan stood next in the 
 queue outside, and generously yielded her 
 place to me. It was one of the little kind 
 nesses that circumstance converts into signal 
 favors. 
 
 Clara colored deeply at the discovery that 
 made her the conspicuous figure of the group, 
 yet there was pleasure in the distinction. 
 
 " It was not worth mentioning or recollect 
 ing," she said, with simple courtesy, that 
 became her well. " I had plenty of time for 
 even such an elaborate toilette as the quar 
 tette of young ladies considered necessary, 
 for we were going on to Detroit, and I over 
 heard you speak of stopping at Niagara. 
 
 The little party broke up presently. Cap 
 tain Dale was " due at the Fort, and made 
 his courtly adieux after asking permission 
 to call upon the newly arrived pair. Mr. 
 llomeyn accompanied him down the veranda;
 
 14 \vrni THE HE.<T L\TK.\TIOXS: 
 
 Mr. Gates walked away with Miss Manly. 
 The tide of lite was setting stroiiLjlv in the 
 direction of the salle-d-manger. 
 
 "And seeing and breathing are not dining. 
 even at Mackinac," remarked Mrs. Dumi- 
 resque. plaintively. " A l)alsamie zephyr is 
 not a bad first course, but, as a y>/V<r <lc rt xiat- 
 ancc. a choice sunset is nt a success. It is 
 philosophical to submit to necessitv. Mater. 
 shall we go in to dinner?" 
 
 Clara had her temper in such control as to 
 !>> but remotely conscious that she had one. 
 It was not, therefore, that plebeian and 
 unrighteous element v, Inch gave her tin- 
 sense of a reversal of currents when Kmmett 
 inquired innocently, on the way to the din- 
 ing-hall, if it were possible to secure two 
 seats at the *ame table with the mother and 
 daughter. 
 
 This meeting with her husband s former 
 friends was the first break upon the delicious 
 *"!//i(<le <i ifi iu- which (when a bridal tour is 
 not a failure) is the lobbv leading direct 
 through an ajar and widening gate into 
 Kden. The opening narrowed to a tantali/- 
 ing crack at her bridegroom s disposition to 
 admit others into the sacred enclosure. She
 
 .1 J/msrJ/.YET? EPISODE. 15 
 
 liked society and eligible acquaintances as 
 much us any one, but it might give rise 
 to inconvenience and annoyance it would 
 certainly hamper their movements were they 
 to attach themselves to any party as yet. It 
 was unlike Emmett s habitual consideration 
 for her comfort to make it impossible for her 
 to object to a proposition that might Avell be 
 obnoxious to her. 
 
 Mrs. Dumaresque sent a quick interrogative 
 look at the impassive face behind which this 
 train of reasoning went on, before answering. 
 
 " I dare say it might be contrived. That 
 is, if you really wish it." 
 
 " Certainlv we do ! It will be a charmino- 
 
 O 
 
 arrangement at least to us. There is no 
 drearier desert than the eating-room of a 
 monster hotel, where one has not an ac 
 quaintance among the hundreds who flock in 
 empty and go away full. Eh, Clara?" 
 
 Was the man carried out of himself by the 
 thrilling excitement of an encounter with 
 a couple of women who brought back his 
 college days? The balance-wheel turned 
 steadily upon its pivotal centre. 
 
 "It would, as you sav, be a charming 
 arrangement for us, always providing it does
 
 If! WITH Tin-: /;/:>/" /. v TK xno. vs.- 
 
 not inconvenience your friends. We must 
 not trespass upon their kindness." 
 
 The neatly trimmed conventionality titled 
 exactly into place, and masculine \vit detected 
 no friction. 
 
 Mrs. Dlimaresqlie paused in the door of 
 the banqueting-hall to speak to the princely 
 functionary stationed there. 
 
 Have I sufficient interest at court to L, r et 
 places at our table, for our friends?" was her 
 wa v of wording the request . 
 
 "Assuredly. Madame, if you desire it. I 
 will see to it m\ self." 
 
 He led the way down the long- room, filled 
 now with the incense of savory food, the 
 tinkle of silver upon china, the tramp of 
 waiters, and babble of a thousand voices, and 
 seated the party with dignity and despatch. 
 
 The phrase was Mrs. Dumaresque s. One 
 of her countless indi vidualisms wa> the use 
 of such. Apt epithets and telling turns of 
 speech slipped from her tongue a> common 
 places from the lips of the average woman. 
 Another of what Clara already be^ an to 
 note as her " ways." was the bestowal upon 
 all who served her. in whatever capacity, 
 acknowledgment which wu> gracious, and
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 17 
 
 seemed grateful. Her bow and smile to the 
 
 O 
 
 accomplished official who had granted her 
 request might have sent a cabinet minister 
 away happy. Unsuspecting (and obtuse) 
 Emmett, throwing himself zestfully into the 
 bright rapids of reminiscence and persiflage 
 that beguiled the tedium of changing courses, 
 would have been stricken into dumbness of 
 amazement had he read the verdict gradually 
 formulated in the mind that, like most de 
 liberate and conscientious intellects, seldom 
 changed an opinion. 
 
 Clara, appearing to listen with a fixed 
 half-smile, which denoted the precise degree 
 of indulgent amusement at graceful nonsense 
 
 O O 
 
 she could not, if she would, and would not 
 if she could, emulate, listening appreciatively 
 with white lids down-dropped over honest 
 eyes she could not quite trust, had never 
 looked prettier, thought her proud husband. 
 The soft da/./le from moonlike globes brought 
 out red-gold reflections in her wealth of 
 tresses ; the heat of the room enriched her 
 complexion ; the ample folds of her creamy 
 draperies were still and statuesque ; her 
 demeanor was calm and dignified bevond. 
 
 O v 
 
 her years.
 
 is \\ ITir I llE 7> 7->T 7.V77:.V770.V> : 
 
 What a contrast to these chattering 
 dolls!" thought the happy fellow, losing the 
 point of Mrs. Dumarescjue s liest epigram in 
 a comprehensive .survey of the live hundred- 
 aiid-odd inferior women near and distant. 
 And Mrs. Gillette and Karen are just the 
 people to understand her." 
 
 His divinity lost not a glance or syllable 
 of her vivacious vln-ii-vi,^. least of all those 
 directed at Kmmett and Messrs. (Jatvs and 
 Ronieyn, who made np the partv of MX at 
 the round table. Before the i:ieal wasnearlv 
 over, her judgment and ihe evidence support 
 ing it were epitomized and committed to the 
 keeping of her tenacious meniorv. 
 
 "A brilliant, flippant probably a design- 
 iiiLT MAN S WOMAN !
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 19 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE supreme beauty of that first evening 
 upon The Fairy Isle was something the 
 wash of years could not efface from the 
 memories of the four who reassembled upon 
 the veranda after dinner. 
 
 The pure white sickle of the new moon, 
 her delicately pointed tips defined to the 
 uttermost taper in the crystalline atmosphere, 
 was poised over a band of tinted vapor, dusky 
 crimson above, and shading into warm gray 
 that met and melted into the colder gray 
 of the water-line. Not another cloud was 
 abroad in all the vast dome shutting down 
 closely and lovingly about the paradise of 
 lake and island. Against the horizon arose 
 straight streaks of smoke, graceful and tenu 
 ous, from scores of steam-craft and remoter 
 forest-fires. The broad breast of the encom 
 passing waters palpitated with light. There 
 was a nameless and mysterious look of glad 
 expectation in the smile it returned to the
 
 2<> WITH Tin: /;/-;>T /.v77-;.vyvo.v.s .- 
 
 bonding sky. Strange radiance, n<>l to In- 
 traced to tlu- paling west, brought near the 
 mainland towns of Chuboygan and St. Ig- 
 nacc : defined every twig and deepened everv 
 hollow of the arbor-vitiu grove, washed into 
 g. irgeonsness of color the red roots and gam 
 boge walls of the houses in the lower village, 
 and set panes of ruby and topa/. in the sum 
 mer cottages on the cliff-shoulders bevond 
 the ciiritranxci nl buildings. 
 
 "Pearl and princess of islands!" Mrs. 
 Dumaresque s voice, so thrilling-sweet and 
 low. that Clara did not recogni/.e it, ended 
 the rapt silence. "\Vlio will help me to 
 words worthv of her . " 
 
 "The IIolv Jerusalem, made readv as 
 a bride adorned for her husband, having 
 the glorv of (ion, her light like unto a stone 
 most precious, it as it were a jasper stone, 
 clear as crystal. " 
 
 At the accents, hardly louder than a sigh 
 of ecstatic anticipation, the tears sprang to 
 Clara s eves. Instinctively, her hand moved 
 to touch that which lay on the arm of the 
 speaker s chair, and met, instead, the daugh 
 ter s nervous fingers clasping her mother s 
 in a simultaneous impulse.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 21 
 
 "Don t, darling!" said her rapid under 
 tone. " You will be one of the twelve white 
 angels, I know, but don t break my heart by 
 reminding us of it. The Mater gets the best 
 of us all -every time ! " she continued, in her 
 wonted key. " Nobody else can be so con 
 fidently depended upon for bringing forth 
 treasures, new and old, in the exact nick of 
 opportunity. Not that we would not have 
 thought of that passage from the sacred clas 
 sic in the course of an hour or so, given 
 leisure for reflection. That we did not is 
 mere accident. But the fact remains that 
 we did not" 
 
 Clara had withdrawn her hand with a 
 motion that made it uncertain whether or 
 not her intention had been to settle the folds 
 of her gown, and altered the position of her 
 (.-hair to command a wider view. At the 
 same moment she changed the conversation 
 civilly, but decidedly. 
 
 "It is singular that Mackinac is so little 
 known at the East as a summer resort," she 
 remarked, in her neatest style. "I suppose 
 because it has so few historical associations, 
 nothing, indeed, to commend it to the 
 tourist except the air, the scenery, and the
 
 2- WITH THE /;/>/" /.Y77-;.Y77o.Y> ; 
 
 lishing. Every new place must win its way 
 iiitn popular favor. And there is a feeling 
 at the East that everything west of Niagara 
 is crude and rough." 
 
 An uncomfortable pause ensued. Emmett 
 was mortified, the others surprised at crass 
 ignorance that was vet pardonable in the 
 product of a system which educates by means 
 of text-books, and deities precedent. 
 
 Mrs. Dumaresque arose to the occasion. 
 
 "Thank vou. Mrs. Morgan ! I have been, 
 within eight days, so crusin-d by the shields 
 and bracelets of superior information, have 
 so grovelled and groaned in the humiliation 
 of positive know-nothing-ism as to this, the 
 centre and pride of national historic grounds, 
 that I embrace vou in spirit as a sister in mis 
 fortune. Not that the people who ban us 
 are much wiser than we. I dare sav, if the 
 truth were known," turning severely upon 
 Emniett, "that this man who took a col- 
 lege-first twelve years ago could not tell 
 us for his life the name of the first white 
 man who set eve and foot upon Mackinac 
 Island or the date of the discovery? 
 
 !! did know, having "read up" on the 
 subject during a former visit. Appreciating
 
 A MIT) SUMMER EPISODE. 23 
 
 the generous ruse of his whilom comrade, 
 lie made an embarrassed laugh do for reply. 
 
 " I knew it ! " triumphantly. " Then in 
 case somebody more erudite should catechise 
 you please make a note to the effect that 
 John Nicolet, a French explorer, circum 
 navigated the island in 1634. That was 
 fourteen years after your Pilgrim forbears 
 moored their bark where, by the way, there 
 is not, and wasn t then, more than one rock, 
 and that not big enough for the narrowest 
 possible binding for the stern shore. Thirty- 
 one years after Nicolet s voyage, in 1665, 
 Perrot, another Frenchman (the French are 
 always busybodies) was interpreter and trader 
 between his countrymen and the Indians, on 
 what a Church writer of 1670 calls the 
 famous Island of Missilimackinac/ The In 
 dians, being a leisurely and lazy race off the 
 war-path, could indulge their taste for poly 
 syllables. Four years later, Claude Allouex, 
 a Jesuit priest, founded the first Christian 
 parish in this heathen region. Had you ever 
 heard that?" menacingly. 
 
 " Don t you mean Marquette ? " 
 
 " Distinctly, I do not mean Marquette ! 
 Tie never saw Missilimackinac (with your
 
 24 WITH THE /;/> r I.\TI:.\TIO.\S / 
 
 permission we will <lroj> the missile ) until 
 1H71 sonic say lt>7B. They found his 
 <_;Tave over there at St. lo-uace " pointing 
 more than two hundred vears afterward." 
 
 Leaning bad : in her rocking-chair, her 
 ryes iijion the spires and ehinineys of St. 
 iLniace, now fading into grav indistinctness, 
 she resumed, presently, as in a reverie: 
 
 "The Jesuit missionaries held the Cross 
 h ;di and bravely for the next thirty years. 
 The French supplied the Aborigines with 
 lircarins, the Fnglish with lirewater. Iro- 
 cuois, Ilurons, and Ottawas made a slau^di- 
 tcr-jK U of the little island. The soil is 
 planted as thick with hones and skulls as a 
 potato-patch with "eves. More than one 
 plan of massacre was discovered and thwarted 
 !.y the ( hri>ti;in Fathers such a handful of 
 pah- heroes anion^ red demons! 
 
 \Ve do not. as a rule, speak of the prop 
 agators ot a false faith as heroes! com 
 mented Clara, in drvness shot with pietism. 
 " The Christian Fathers referred to were, I 
 take it, Roman ( atholics." 
 
 I rohahlv." - - In the same hreath, hut 
 \vith an abrupt return to her former tone of 
 saticv banter. "Confess, Sir Ignoramus!
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 25 
 
 haven t I confounded you with my array of 
 statistical, historical, and ecclesiastical lore ? 
 Entre nous, I shall have forgotten it all by to 
 morrow. Our cicerone, an intelligent French 
 man, and for over thirty years a resident of 
 the Island, primed me with it only this morn 
 ing, and I entered the dates in my notebook. 
 Hence this display of facts and authorities. 
 \Ye go to St. Ignace to-morrow in the after 
 noon boat to be further imbued." 
 
 Clara hearkened as to a foreign tongue. 
 The chronological summary she rated as 
 cheap display of superficial knowledge ; the 
 disclaimer succeeding it was, to her notion, 
 in worse taste still. The fluent, rolling 
 periods bewildered her. She could not de 
 cide if the rhodomontades, which amused 
 Emmett to an irrational degree, were affecta 
 tion, or a trick that had become second na 
 ture. Mrs. (rillette belonged to a different 
 school. She would be an ornament to the 
 choicest society, even to the innermost ring 
 of the "best people" in Lisbon, New Jersey. 
 Her daughter resembled her as a blue-jay a 
 
 O *) V 
 
 dove, or a nasturtium a lily. 
 
 " To St. Tgnace ! May we join the 
 party?" cried Emmett, witli the fatal facility
 
 2b WITH Tin-: /) /> / /.v //; .v 770. v.s: 
 
 nf liis sex iii multiplying blunder hv blunder, 
 with a product of irrevocable feminine dis- 
 comfiturc. " "We should then begin the his 
 tory of the Island and vicinity at the right 
 end. with the added advantage of youi 1 famil- 
 iaritv with legend and fact. You see we 
 know next to nothing. That is,"- struck 
 by something unsympathetic in the set of his 
 wife s head upon the shaft-like neck, and the 
 steadiness of her scrutiny of the sand-bars 
 Kound Island holds nut as if praving for 
 niercv from the incoming waves, showing at 
 this hour and in the fantastic li^ht like 
 faintly illuminated exclamation points, "I 
 make confession for myself without implicat 
 ing mv wife." 
 
 Clara s head turned slowlv. The patented 
 semi-smile was obedient to her summons. 
 
 Mv confession of abject ignorance pre 
 ceded yours. But does it occur to von, mv 
 dear Kmmett. that it would be criminallv 
 selfish to inflict such a combination upon bet 
 ter-informed people. We have agreed, von 
 know, not to oblige others to readjust plans 
 of travel and pleasure on our account. And, 
 excuse me, but this proposition of vonrs 
 does seem to me like such an imposition !"
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 27 
 
 It was all she dared say. She felt that it 
 ought to be enough. Her voice was some 
 what high-pitched, and only held from shrill 
 ness by careful management : her enunciation 
 was punctilious. The only effect of emotion 
 upon her tone was to thin it slightly. In en 
 tering the civil deprecation she laughed just 
 enough to mark her appreciation of the 
 humor of the situation in which her husband s 
 thoughtlessness had placed themselves and 
 their friends. 
 
 To the sweet old gentlewoman at her 
 side, amusement and demur were fit and 
 pretty. 
 
 " My love ! " she said, passing her hand 
 lightly and caressingly down the arm of her 
 favorite s wife. " You must not deny us the 
 privilege of being of a little service to you. 
 My worldly-minded child here has been 
 pining for a new sensation for three days. 
 Fate is propitious in supplying such an addi 
 tion to our party. You cannot impose upon 
 us by giving us as much of your time and 
 company as you can spare from each other. 
 We do not want to be de trop, but come to us 
 when you will. The more we see of you, the 
 better for us."
 
 28 WITH THE 11E<T l.\TL\\TKL\* : 
 
 Clara s little laugh, modified by deferential 
 gratitude, was offered as a prelude to her 
 reply. 
 
 "You arr only too kind, but you must 
 not let us interfere with the least of your 
 arrangements." 
 
 Dear Mrs. Dumaresque ! We are a. com 
 mittee ! " 
 
 " Ambassadors on a mission ! " 
 
 " Petitioners to Her Majesty ! " 
 
 Onslaught and chorus came from a party 
 led bv Miss Manly and Mr. dates. T\v<> 
 other couples were close upon their heels. 
 The six explained, first in concert, then in 
 successive disjointedness, that a drawing- 
 room full <>f admirers had deputed them to 
 entreat Mrs. Dumaresque to favor them 
 with a recitation. 
 
 "Mr. Waller will sing, and Mr. Bagley 
 plav, if you will set them the example of 
 gracious compliance with our request," said 
 the breathless girl. "They will have the 
 best wine first, they say. They demand 
 payment in advance." 
 
 "Am I coin of the realm?" queried Mrs. 
 Dumaresque, but yielding to the gentle vio 
 lence with which her young votary urged
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 29 
 
 her to rise. " Or do you offer me as a 
 negotiable note to the Shylocks who will 
 give you no credit?" 
 
 It was certainly not wit, decided Clara, 
 which the embassy applauded, Mr. Romeyn 
 offering his arm with the suggestion that she 
 should "at once be put into circulation." 
 They carried her off, after respectful apology 
 to her mother, who, to Clara s surprise, 
 appeared to enjoy the scene. 
 
 " It is a preconcerted affair," she said to 
 the Morgans. "I suspected something of 
 the sort when I noticed how fast the crowd 
 of promenaders was thinning. This is not a 
 ; hop-night, and pleasure-topers must devise 
 some entertainment. You must go, too. 
 No,"- as they lingered, "I do not mind 
 being left here alone, and the crowd and 
 heat would be too much for me. I want 
 you to hear Karen again, Emmett. You 
 recollect her talent for recitation ? She has 
 improved it carefully of late years." 
 
 She was in mid-recitation when husband 
 and wife had worked their way to the 
 threshold of the door nearest her. Mrs. 
 Emmett Morgan was a graduate of a cele 
 brated Seminary for Young Ladies, situated
 
 30 WITH THE JIL ST I. \TESTIoyfi : 
 
 in Lisbon, and therefore a judge of elocution 
 and other appurtenances of Higher Educa 
 tion for Women. Her frame of mind, on 
 this occasion, was judicial, her temper braced 
 and clamped to patient endurance of the 
 usual hotel reading." She admitted men 
 tally, at the end of two minutes listening, 
 that the exhibition was kw as nearly ladylike 
 as such a public, ail air could be." There \vas 
 no mouthing, no contortion of feature, and 
 as little gesticulation as was compatible with 
 an intense, forceful rendering of (iabriel 
 Dante Rossetti s weird poem, k> Sister Helen," 
 given by request. 
 
 In response to the importunate "encore" 
 she accorded a selection Clara had never 
 heard before. As the regal ligure stepped 
 again upon the improvised dais at the head 
 of the great room, silence that could be felt 
 descended upon the crowd. I>efore she ut 
 tered a word, she had passed in spirit away 
 from sight and sound of her audience. The 
 wistful eyes looked over and Ix-youd the sea 
 of heads to snowy-browed Sierras, her nostrils 
 dilated slightly, and lips parted to inhale 
 breezes wild with the sweep across a hundred 
 Vugues of treeless prairie.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE 31 
 
 " I want free life, and I want free air ! 
 And I sigh for the canter after the cattle, 
 The crack of the whips like shot in a battle, 
 The melee of horns and hoofs and heads, 
 That wars and mangles and scatters and spreads, 
 The green beneath and the blue above, 
 And dash and danger " 
 
 Thus far, passionately impatient of enclos 
 ing walls ; of the glare of electric lights and 
 stifling atmosphere ; disdainful of the throng 
 that hemmed her about, and the eyes focused 
 upon the pale exaltation of her face. Mid 
 way in the impetuous alliteration she paused, 
 the dark fringes of her lids fell over dewy 
 eyes, every facial line unbent; in her voice 
 resonance flowed into liquid sweetness in 
 slow, lingering enunciation : 
 
 " And life and love 
 And Lasca ! " 
 
 There was stillness while one might count 
 twenty before the rich voice took up the 
 tale, recounting it as if it were her own, 
 smile chasing shadow over her face, until a 
 deeper silence dropped like a cloud upon the 
 listeners with 
 
 " Lasca was dead ! "
 
 3:2 WITH Tin-: /;/;>/ I.\TI-:\TIOXS : 
 
 Then, without the lift of a linger, with 
 seareelv a HM or fall of the monotone fraught 
 with sorrow, lon^-iii^. and dull despair, 
 ; he rest was t< >ld : 
 
 I ^onv,ed nut a Arrive a few feet deep. 
 And there, in Earth s arms I laid her to sleep; 
 And there she is lyiu^, and no one knows: 
 And tlie summer shines and the winter snows; 
 For many a day the flowers have spread 
 A pall of p"ta!s over her head; 
 And the little L, r ra\ hawk lianas aloft in the air, 
 And the shy coyote trots here and there. 
 And the. black snake glides and glitter.- and slides 
 
 Into a rift ii. a cot tonwood tree : 
 And the Im/./.anl .-ails on. 
 And comes and is ^one. 
 
 Stately and still, like a ship at sea, 
 And I wonder whv I do not care 
 
 For the tilings that are like the things that were, 
 Does half my heart lie Imried there. 
 
 In Texas, down l>y the llio (irandi; . " 
 
 111 tin 1 swiiv and stir that followeil the eon- 
 chiding line, a voiee asked, almost in Clara s 
 ear : 
 
 " Who is she?" 
 
 kv A Mrs. Deinarest, from New York. A 
 rich wido\v and a lielle. Fine wasn t, it?" 
 
 " Demarcx/ did you sav ? "
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 33 
 
 The Morgans moved to escape from the 
 crowd as he spoke, and Clara confronted the 
 speaker, lie was tall, his hair and moustache 
 were slightly grizzled ; his port was unmis 
 takably military, and there was a scar, like 
 that left by a sabre-gash, across the left lower 
 jaw. She noted these particulars in one pass 
 ing glance ; then both men were absorbed by 
 the crowd. 
 
 " I heard some one call your friend, Mrs. 
 Dumaresque, a rich widow and a belle 
 this evening," Clara said to her husband that 
 
 O 
 
 night. "I suppose, then, that her affliction 
 is not recent? She wears black lace, too, 
 and that doesn t follow very close upon 
 weeds. Did you know her husband ? Who 
 was he ? How long has he been dead ? " 
 
 Emmett stooped to kiss her unreproved, 
 there being no spectators with an amused 
 smile. 
 
 %> So black lace ought not to tread upon 
 the heels of widow s weeds ! Live and learn ! 
 I never saw Karen Gillette s husband. lie 
 was an army man, a captain, I believe, and, I 
 have heard, was strikingly handsome. What 
 was query No. 4? Oh! I do not know when 
 he died. In point of fact, as Cousin Feenix
 
 34 WITH THE VEST INTENTIONS: 
 
 \vould say, I did not know that she was a 
 widow until to-night poor girl ! Nor did I 
 know that she is a belle. She deserves to be, 
 for she is something much better, a noble, 
 true, genuine woman, and as such, capable of 
 appreciating my wife."
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 35 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 MRS. MORGAN was pleased to find the 
 hotel veranda nearly deserted when she and 
 her husband came out to stroll in the fresh 
 air before breakfast. Besides themselves and 
 a dyspeptic old gentleman taking a solemn 
 constitutional, the only other occupants of 
 the breezy spaciousness were six prospective 
 fishermen in rough garb, packing lines, reels, 
 and fly-hooks for an excursion. 
 
 "Nine rounds make a measured mile," 
 remarked the dyspeptic, wheezingly, to Em- 
 mett, as the two young people fell into 
 step for a rapid walk. " The fact should 
 be conspicuously placarded, sir, for the 
 convenience and comfort of guests pla 
 carded ! " 
 
 They left him muttering in his beard. 
 
 " A professional grumbler ! " said Emmett. 
 " No hotel is complete without him ! " 
 
 " Poor man ! " sighed Clara. " To be un 
 happy here, on such a morning ! "
 
 3> M777f THE I1KST /.VY AVT/VO.VN : 
 
 A silver-gray dawn, cool, and lovely with 
 ha/A- and dreamv distances, had ushered in 
 "a blue dav." Pale-blue reaches of shore 
 lines: clearest, tenderest a/.nre above, with 
 intervening lleets of cumulus clouds, melt 
 ing into gray-blue edges, sailing eastward, 
 like squadrons of swans and cvgnets : deep, 
 bright blue waters, dimplingly alive to the 
 glorious truth of a new morrow was the fur 
 ther outlook. From the heart of the arbor- 
 vita grove, the thousand line streams of a 
 fountain, tossed against the wind, drifted ami 
 swaved tailglillgly in the tree-tops, and. shat 
 tered into line snow, sifted awav into noth 
 ingness. The break of the waves upon the 
 gravellv beach, the dash oi the advance, the 
 rush and hiss of the retreat, kept time to 
 the rise, fall, and lloat of tin- fountain spray. 
 
 Kmmctt noted that his wife was too much 
 absorbed in the harness ot the scene, too r>e- 
 ultant in the response of voulh and happiness 
 to the vivii ving rn>h of the air, laden with 
 o/one and sparkle, to sec -that the fisher 
 men looked after her admiringly as slit- 
 passed. Her gait was clastic and live: her 
 proud head, fresh color, and glad eyes were 
 mute revelation of fulness of enjoyment of
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 37 
 
 life and her present environment. She was 
 a noble creature unspoiled, high-souled, 
 superb in physique, pure in heart and all 
 his ! 
 
 " GOD make and keep me worthy of her ! " 
 the young husband said, inwardly, in happy 
 humility. 
 
 Clara smiled up into his eyes at that sec 
 ond, confidingly yet naively, unconscious of 
 the trend of his thought. 
 
 " What are you thinking of ? " 
 
 " Of you, my love ! Of you only ! " 
 
 She believed it so fully that a prismatic 
 film swain over water, sky, and islands when 
 she looked abroad. Each hour was more 
 blessed than the last. Her cup was full, 
 and there were no cloudy lees in the bright 
 wine. 
 
 A man accosted Emmett respectfully on 
 their ninth beat. 
 
 " This is Mr. Morgan, I believe ? I w r as 
 told in the office that you wished to see me." 
 
 It was the accomplished cicerone recom 
 mended by Mrs. Dumaresque ; and while the 
 two men arranged the details of the drive 
 projected for the morrow, Clara strolled into 
 the rotunda. To the left of the main en-
 
 38 Tr/777 THE IlEST 
 
 trance was a square room enclosed on three 
 sides only. Two windows looked upon the 
 veranda; a lire crackled in the wide grate. 
 Opposite this was the conventional bazaar for 
 the sale of Indian curiosities, stationery, 
 newspapers, cigars, and novels. 
 
 Struck by a felicitous idea, Clara bought a 
 copy of Miss Woolsoii s A/inc, and ordered it 
 to be sent to her room; then, seeing Kmmett 
 still busy with the Frenchman, she bethought 
 herself further to make inquiry concerning 
 the mails. The "oilice" was at the rear of 
 the rotunda, and the register lay open upon 
 the counter close beside her. 
 
 She had just put her question to the clerk 
 in charge when some one ran down the stairs 
 behind her, walked up to the counter, and 
 began turning the leaves of the big book. 
 His movements were so abrupt, and he was 
 so near, that the bride, to whose apprehension 
 familiarity was insult, drew away and glanced 
 at him defensively. 
 
 It was the man she had seen last evening, 
 after the recitation of " Lasca," and who had 
 asked 1 the reader s name. He was scanning 
 the scrawled pages intently, his linger hurry 
 ing down a column of arrivals ten days old.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 39 
 
 Clara saw the date just as the index finger 
 stopped : 
 
 Mrs. G-illette, 1 - r ^ 7 ., 
 1/r TJ > New York City, 
 
 Mrs. Dumaresque, } 
 
 were the bracketed names written boldly in 
 a woman s hand. The stranger drew an audi 
 ble breath between his teeth ; then, looking 
 up, met Mrs. Morgan s eye, and became un 
 comfortably aware that she was penned in 
 against the counter by himself and two men 
 who had backed toward them in getting out 
 of the way of passers-by. 
 
 "Excuse me!" uttered the offender, in 
 civil concern, bowing and moving aside to let 
 her escape. 
 
 The way was blocked again, now by two 
 of the fishermen, creels and rod-cases in hand. 
 
 " We are only waiting for you, Major ! " 
 Clara heard, in gliding between the groups, 
 her cheeks hot, her heart beating faster than 
 the occasion warranted. None are such stick 
 lers for the umvritten proprieties as the pro 
 vincial lite, and Mrs. Morgan, with all the 
 education gained at the celebrated Lisbon 
 Seminary, and in months of foreign travel, 
 bore still the down of self-consciousness, and 
 was subject to the punctilious dreads of the
 
 40 WITH THE IIEST I.\TE.\TK).\S : 
 
 provinces. Individualism flourishes apace in 
 village and township, and nothing grows 
 faster in the opportunity there allowed fur 
 expansion of trait and idiosyncrasy than self- 
 conceit. 
 
 The hridal pair spent the morning in the 
 open air. sauntering aimlesslv for awhile, 
 linallv establishing themselves in a eo/.v nook 
 formed liv a clump of halsam lirs. a do/en 
 yards or so from ilie hro\v of a precipitous 
 cliff. 
 
 "I mean to begin a course of current lit 
 erature." Clara announced, when Kmmett had 
 iinislied his eiu ar. Iviiig, more in English tlian 
 American style, on the rough herbage at her 
 fcrt.his arms pillowing his head, liis whoh; 
 being steeped in la/.y content. "Of course 
 li^ht reading was forbidden at school, and 
 social duties have left me little time for it 
 since. 1 bought A>DH this morning vou 
 recollect that Mrs. Gillette spoke of it last 
 night for you to read aloud while J am 
 at work. That is unb ss yon object ?" 
 
 Object? Could he be anything but grate 
 ful for a scheme suggested bv her wish to 
 assimilate her own to his views and tastes? 
 After all, vour rational woman is more due-
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 41 
 
 tile in love s hands than the pretty simpleton 
 who professes to have no will apart from her 
 husband s ! 
 
 They read Anne all that golden, balmy fore 
 noon, the winds whispering in the balsam cov 
 ert, hiding them from the public road ; the 
 lap ! lap ! of the waters, a hundred feet 
 below, joining in musical subtones to Em- 
 mett s voice. Clara had taken from her 
 work-bag a bit of embroidery, dainty, intricate 
 outlining in buff silk upon a paler ground. 
 " Something toward housekeeping," she said 
 to her delighted spouse. 
 
 She looked busily happy whenever he 
 glanced at her in turning a leaf. For him 
 self, he asked nothing more of earth - 
 or of heaven were it possible to carry on 
 this drama of innocent domestic blessedness 
 to life s close. lie seemed to have been 
 born and lived for two and thirty years 
 only that he might come to this time and 
 place. 
 
 So they read Anne steadily for three beatific 
 hours, Emmett deeply interested, Clara mildly 
 indulgent of the author s penchant for impe 
 cunious dreamers like William Douglas, and 
 raw girls in island-made gowns, with a till-
 
 42 WITH THE liEUT IXTEXTIOlfS: 
 
 ent for griddle-cakes, self-devotion, and vocal 
 
 music. 
 
 Now and then the reader paused to pencil 
 an interrogation point in the margin. 
 
 " That we may identity localities," lie ex 
 plained. "Mr. Lachance can show us the 
 Old Agency House, and other points of in 
 terest and the Gillettes must be familiar 
 with most of the places mentioned here." 
 
 You always speak of the Gillettes, as 
 if the daughter were a secondary personage. 
 She seems to me to overshadow the gentle 
 mother." 
 
 u It is unintentional, then. There was 
 never a more devoted child. I got into 
 the habit of savin* The Gillettes in old 
 
 . O 
 
 times." 
 
 He resumed the interrupted passage? : 
 
 " Later in the evening, when the moon 
 was shining orightlv, and she was on her wav 
 homo from the Church-house with Hast, she 
 saw a, sledge moving toward the northern 
 point. 
 
 At the end of the dialogue that closed 
 the chapter, Clara became critical. 
 
 " I can see, already, how the story will end. 
 That young Pronando will be engaged to
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 43 
 
 Anne. He is bright, and will go out into the 
 world and grow. She is slow-witted, and 
 will continue to live on the Island, and make 
 excellent coffee, and translate Latin as con 
 scientiously, but not so creditably, and vege 
 tate and gain flesh as she gets older, until she 
 is no better than a cabbage or a Ruta-baga 
 turnip. He will either be honorable and 
 wretched in marrying her, or dishonorable and 
 judicious and break the engagement. She 
 will be the Island saint if he doesn t marry 
 her settle that little weasel of a sister and 
 her monkeyfied brothers in life, and take 
 up her abode in the Church-house with Miss 
 Lois, who will live to be a hundred." 
 
 " Bravo ! " cried Emmett. " Capital ! As 
 good as one of Bret Harte s condensed 
 novels ! " 
 
 " That is my objection to novels," con 
 tinued Clara, complacently. " They are not 
 pictures of real life, but machines, and the 
 actors are marionettes. There must be ad 
 ventures, intrigues, elopements, hair-breadth 
 escapes, broken hearts, and ugly scandals 
 even among decent people. Now, such 
 things don t occur in respectable and refined 
 families. But I suppose a novel that de-
 
 44 i my/ 77/7-; HKST I.\TK.\TK>.\S : 
 
 scribed every-day life us it is, and as we know 
 it, would he a stupid affair." 
 
 While he went on with the next chapter, 
 she let her hands rest on her work, and 
 watched some ohject upon the lake. Pres 
 ently she checked him. 
 
 " Wait a moment please ! Why do you 
 suppose that little yacht the one with the 
 red pennant -has lain just there ever since 
 we have been here? Isn t it the one that 
 took out the fishing-party from the hotel ? I 
 noticed the red streamer when you pointed 
 the boat out to me from the pia/./.a after 
 breakfast/ 
 
 Kmmett adjusted his lield-glass and brought 
 it to bear upon the yacht. 
 
 "What eyes and wits you have! It is 
 the very same. There is a party of Chicago 
 men on board, bound to Carp River and I,es 
 Chcnaux they call it "The Snows." here 
 abouts. Some accident has happened to the 
 sails or cordage, or something"- speaking 
 in the deliberate, disconnected way peculiar 
 to one whose eyes, bv help of artificial agents, 
 have borne his thoughts to a remote point. 
 
 Put a spv-Lflass to the eye of the mo>t 
 material of men, and he leaves his body
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 45 
 
 with you while he goes forth with his 
 mind. 
 
 " The crew are busy mending it," pursued 
 Emmett, abstractedly. " The yacht lies so 
 near land that we can see every face. This 
 is a splendid glass. Would you like to tako 
 a peep? 
 
 " They take the mishap very coolly," 
 observed Clara, lapsing likewise into the 
 ruminative in altering the focus to suit her 
 vision. u The sailors may be busy, but the 
 passengers are having a good time with their 
 cigars, and " stiffening into virtuous se 
 verity " bottles ! Oh ! " 
 
 "What is it?" asked Emmett, enjoying 
 the change in her visage, attributing it, as he 
 did, wholly to disapprobation of the scene 
 lie had mischievously brought to her sight. 
 Clara affected not to hear the query, in her 
 absorption in the vessel and occupants. 
 Secretlv she was ashamed of her exclamation 
 and its cause. Why should she be startled 
 when a man lounging on the guards turned 
 so as to bring his features in line with the 
 lens? She saw him very plainly, and at her 
 leisure, as lie removed the white visor-cap to 
 screen the cigar he was lighting. His eyes
 
 46 WITH THE BEST INTENTIONS: 
 
 were deep-set .and dark ; his hair was less 
 gray than his moustache : the face was good 
 and kind, albeit grave to pensiveness when at 
 rest. She almost believed that she could 
 trace the scar that made a diagonal seam 
 across the lower jaw. 
 
 Shaking off the odd shiver the sight of 
 him and the inexplicable familiarity she al 
 ready felt with his personality gave her, she 
 said, indifferently : 
 
 " There is the officer who stood behind us 
 last night while Mrs. Dumaresque was recit 
 ing, lie was hunting for her name in the 
 register this morning. At least, his linger 
 stopped at it, and he caught his breath as if 
 surprised." 
 
 Emmett laughed again. 
 
 " What a woman ! How do you know he 
 is an officer? And why might he not have 
 been looking for the signature of a sheriffs 
 officer, or a creditor, and his sigh one of 
 relief at not finding it? " 
 
 4 * I heard his friends call him Major ; 
 Clara picked up her embroidery and spoke 
 sedately. " I can tell you something else 
 that may surprise you. He feels peculiar 
 interest in your fascinating friend. Nothing
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 47 
 
 is more likely than that she should marry 
 again. When a widow lays by her weeds, she 
 must expect to be regarded as a single woman." 
 
 Emmett had grown serious. 
 
 " I doubt if poor Karen would care to 
 repeat an unfortunate experiment. Her mar 
 riage was not happy, or so I have heard. 
 The fellow must have been a thorough 
 scamp. With all her seeming frivolity, she 
 has one of the sweetest, most generous tem 
 pers ever bestowed upon a woman, and a 
 deep, warm, faithful heart. I cannot imagine 
 how any one except a brute could maltreat her." 
 
 He was gazing thoughtfully perhaps wist 
 fully out upon a smiling expanse of waters. 
 The pretty yacht, the red pennant fluttering 
 like a danger signal, rocked and swung in 
 the trough of the swells now deepening into 
 shorter waves. 
 
 " I can never forget how gallantly she 
 stood by me once or twice. I owe it to her 
 influence with her father that I was not ex 
 pelled from college for a mad prank." 
 
 Clara looked surprised and hurt. 
 
 " I thought you had always been steady ? " 
 
 " Never -unsteady, perhaps," laughing anew 
 at her alarmed tone. " But prankish. Ask 
 Karen about some of my escapades."
 
 48 WITH THE JiKST 7.V7V;.V7YO.Vs: 
 
 "As if I would discuss your failing with 
 am* one much less a stranger ! " 
 
 Kmmett reached, over to kiss her hand. 
 
 I. oval little \vitV ! 
 
 With a very sober countenance Clara 
 be^an to set hiil t stitches upon the paler 
 ground. Before a wife can join heartily in 
 her lord s enthusiasm for another woman, she 
 must he verv sure of his fealtv to herself and 
 very much attached to the person lauded. 
 Clara was sure of Kmmett s love, hut thus 
 far she was not evei, attracted towards Mrs. 
 Dumaresque. in fact, as she stitched her 
 nameless disquiet into the pale hull fabric, 
 she was pondering the probabilities that 
 Captain Dumaresoiie mi_dit not have been 
 whollv to blame for the "unfortunate re 
 sult of their union. Brilliant women sel 
 dom make exemplary wives. Above all. she 
 was annoyed at the thought that the man 
 in whose unsmirched record she felt such 
 worthv pride had narrowly shunned open 
 disgrace, and that through this other woman s 
 mediation. Yet Mrs. (lillette had called him 
 one of her best bovs " ! Had these women 
 of the world a different code of ri^ht and 
 ivron<_r from hers / It would lie absurd to
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 49 
 
 call Emmett to account, at this late clay, for 
 college scrapes, but she did feel that she 
 should not have been kept in ignorance of 
 them so long. She hoped, in silent fervor, 
 that " Papa and Mamma, " would never 
 hear of them. 
 
 " We must not neglect Anne for a more 
 beautiful and bewitching woman ! " she 
 aroused herself to say, presently, in forced 
 playfulness. 
 
 Emmett cast a lingering look at the little 
 craft, with slender scarlet signal fluttering 
 aloft, before he plunged in medias res of 
 Chapter V.:- 
 
 " The atmosphere in these paths was so 
 hot, still, and aromatic, that now and then 
 Anne loved to go there and steep herself in 
 it. She used to tell Miss Lois that it made 
 her feel as though she was an Egyptian prin 
 cess who had been swathed in precious gums 
 and spices for a thousand years. 
 
 " That is a faulty simile, interposed 
 Clara, judicially. "How can a mummy 
 feel anything? Our teacher of Rhetoric 
 used to tell us to try every metaphor by 
 certain rules. Mixed figures are a fatal de 
 fect in style ! "
 
 50 WITH TUE BEST INTENTION 3 1 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MRS. GILLETTE did not feel equal to the 
 short voyage to St. Ignace, being, a,s she 
 confessed, an indifferent sailor. And by 
 two o clock P.M., at which hour the steamer 
 plying between island and mainland left the 
 pier in the lower town, the wind had fresh 
 ened into what young Gates, in natitieally 
 ambitious phrase, styled "a spanking bree/e." 
 
 The original project of partie carrec would 
 have fallen through even without Mrs. 
 Gillette s defection. Her daughter first re 
 quested the Morgans permission to take 
 Miss Manly. 
 
 "Her mother is an invalid, and I have 
 come to include the child in most of our 
 plans," she stated. 
 
 Next, she preferred petitions from Messrs. 
 Romeyn and Gate s to be admitted to the 
 party. 
 
 "Surely you need not ask ?/./" expostu 
 lated Clara at this. We are but addenda
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 51 
 
 self-invited guests. Don t remind us of 
 that! Pray act as if we were not here." 
 
 " Then I must look less happy," returned 
 Karen, blithely. 
 
 Her unfailing graciousness was irresistible. 
 
 o O 
 
 except to jaundiced prejudice. Bertie Gates 
 described her once by saying that she was 
 " the sort of woman who thanks the man 
 who gives up his seat to her in a street-car 
 don t you know? " 
 
 She was the heart of the company assem 
 bled on the forward deck as the boat swung 
 off from the dock. But she made the others 
 feel that they were the veins which fed the 
 heart. The role of hostess was her birth 
 right. She gave and dispensed as freely and 
 constantly as heart-beats throw the blood 
 into circulation, and with no more effort. 
 
 Organization in social grouping is of minor 
 importance as compared with assimilation. 
 Mrs. Dumaresque was mistress of the lesser 
 and greater arts. Before the prow had 
 ploughed a half-mile furrow, " Gem " Manly 
 (euphemistic diminutive for Jemima) had 
 conveyed a message, modestly and well ex 
 pressed, from her mother to Mrs. Morgan, 
 to the effect that their mothers were first-
 
 o2 WITH Tin: j: /> / I.\TK.\TIO.\S : 
 
 cousins, and that she Mrs. Manly begged 
 her to disregard ceremony and call upon her 
 that evening. 
 
 "She is a prisoner to her sofa," said the 
 girl. " I have never seen her walk across 
 the room. She is a famous genealogist, and the 
 discover of a new relative is a boon to her." 
 
 Mr. (iates promptly made talk with the 
 bride, apropos to the smallness of the world, 
 and the laws of consanguineous attraction ; 
 Mr. Roinevn listened, gravely courteous, put 
 ting in a polished wedge of conversation when 
 he espied an opportunity; Kmmett, on the 
 outskirts of the circle, chatted with his old 
 comrade, each contributing his and her quota 
 to the general talk. 
 
 Slim, blue-eyed (iem was just nineteen, and 
 on the verge of her lirst season. The flutter 
 of manner and vivacity of speeeli which Clara 
 inclined, last night, to reprobate as [ riskiness 
 and gush, was, in the light of their newly 
 discovered kinship, the tremulous, eager 
 unrest of the butterlly who was a chrysalid 
 an hour ago, as she balances herself upon a 
 petal-tip before launching forth into the sweet 
 wilderness of blossom and sunlight. She was 
 a little lady, from the crown of her coquettish
 
 ^1 MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 53 
 
 sailor-hat to the toe of her trim boot, a fact 
 Clara perceived with satisfaction. 
 
 Acquaintanceship ripened rapidly into 
 friendship. The youthful matron unbent 
 beyond her wont to meet the merry temper 
 of her companions. Even Mr. Romeyn told 
 an anecdote with a laugh in it, while the 
 shuttle-cock of repartee between Gem and 
 her palpable admirer flew fast and high. See 
 ing her husband glance over his shoulder in 
 amusement not far from amaze as she recov 
 ered herself from a fit of laughter, Clara 
 rallied her dignity. 
 
 u There is certainly intoxication in Macki- 
 nac air, as Mr. Morgan says. I am forget 
 ting that I am the chaperone of the party." 
 
 Mrs. Dumaresque took her up on the spot. 
 
 " My dear child, I am here, and on guard ! 
 I, who was a hundred years old Avhen you 
 were born ! I, who was never as young as 
 Gem here ! " 
 
 "It is an open secret that to Mrs. Duma 
 resque belongs the honor of the discovery 
 of the fountain of perpetual youth," Mr. Ro 
 meyn said, with a bow as profound as the 
 simultaneous plunge of the steamer would 
 allow.
 
 54 WITH THE BEST INTENTIONS: 
 
 He was habitually so unsmiling, and looked 
 so dryly impassive, that Clara already won 
 dered at his close attendance upon the queen 
 of the small court. Gentlemanly to punctili 
 ousness, and unobtrusive to a degree, he yet 
 lost not a tone or look of hers. As a wealthy 
 bachelor of fine education and breeding, lie 
 was a decided " eligible " in the market mat 
 rimonial. It was as evident that he preferred 
 Mrs. Dumaresque s society to any other as 
 that she vouchsafed him no token of signal 
 favor. She bowed slightly and smilingly, 
 now, and without other recognition of the 
 compliment, resumed her low-toned chat witli 
 Mr. Morgan. 
 
 " You are altogether right as usual. It 
 is nobody s business. Even my wife while 
 she is a model of discretion " 
 
 How she happened to overhear what reached 
 no other ears than those- to which it was ad 
 dressed, Clara could not tell. A new pain, 
 like a red-hot needle, darted into her heart. 
 She felt the blood rush tinglingly to her 
 cheeks, then recede with impetuosity that 
 left them cold and numb. Instinctively, she 
 turned aside and gazed in the opposite direc 
 tion from the speakers.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 55 
 
 The scene was photographed upon her brain 
 by the flash-light of that crucial second. They 
 were passing the two yellow sand-bars curving 
 about the western cove of Round Island. The 
 waters were tumbling over them, like water- 
 babies tossing and kicking, throwing up white 
 arms and legs through the surf. From west 
 to east, greater waves raced and chased and 
 leaped upon each other, gleaming crest suc 
 ceeding sun-filled hollow in frantic frolic. 
 Wind-caps were the dancing plumes of a 
 numberless host ; there was not a cloud in 
 the illimitable blue overhead, not a shadow 
 upon the face of the deep. 
 
 Clara pulled herself together sooner than a 
 weak or more sensitive woman could. Mrs. 
 Dumaresque had a right to her secret. Em- 
 mett said truly that it was nobody else s busi 
 ness and there might be circumstances that 
 altered the case even of a man with his wife. 
 She would never question him, would prove 
 herself the model of discretion he vaunted her. 
 
 The steamer forged gallantly ahead in the 
 teeth of the wind ; the noise of cleaving bows 
 and rushing air obliged Emmett to raise his 
 voice again : 
 
 " Yet you still wear your wedding-ring ? "
 
 50 v. rni TIII-: /;/;> y I.\TK\TIO\S : 
 
 "And ahvays shall. ( )nce married, always 
 married. Neither crime, imr the law that 
 condemns the c riinimil, can do awav with the 
 
 VdW ot VOWS." 
 
 Kmniett leaned over his wife s chair an hour 
 later, with a smile half-teasing, half-anxious. 
 
 " Have the Straits done what the Atlantic 
 and Knglish Channel could not?" he whis 
 pered. 
 
 She shook her head mutelv, her answering 
 smile cool. l>ut not ungentle, and, accepting 
 the wrap he folded about her, leaned back ill 
 her chair with such marked disinclination to 
 conversation that .Mrs. I )uinares(|Ue ingen- 
 iouslv averted scrutiny and direct address 
 until the voyage was ended. 
 
 The landing at St. Ignace was ugly and 
 uninteresting. The railway station was hard 
 oy: the lines of ^leamiiiLr rails leading coiin- 
 tryward seemed to have scorched and Slack 
 ened as tliey ran. A single loii[{. dustv 
 street lay along the water. The air felt arid 
 and still after the "spanking hree/e" on 
 board the boat. The <juiet town, the old 
 clapboarded cliureh. and the pollarded ti ee 
 beside it appeared to shrivel together in the 
 idare of the afternoon sun.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 57 
 
 Clara s color was not yet normal when 
 they pushed back the always-unlocked door 
 and entered the church. The pews were 
 straight and uncushioned ; the tables to the 
 rig] it and left of the altar were draped with 
 linen cloths ; red Holland shades were drawn 
 down over the windows. A really fine paint 
 ing of St. Ignatius hung above the high altar. 
 The saint knelt in prayer at a table on which 
 were breviary, candle, and skull ; the upturned 
 visage, chastened by prayer and fasting, was 
 pure and pale. 
 
 Conventional Clara did an unconventional 
 thing when the low-voiced consultation as to 
 ways and action ended in the agreement that 
 the three men should go in search of a vehicle 
 and guide, while the ladies waited in the 
 church grounds. 
 
 " I should like to stay here until you come 
 back," she said aside to Emmett. " It is 
 cooler and not so glaringly bright as outside. 
 Manage it so that I can sit still alone and 
 wait." 
 
 It was Karen who did the managing, and 
 so adroitly that there seemed to be nothing 
 singular in Mrs. Morgan s desire to rest in 
 the shaded interior while the other women
 
 58 WITH THE BEST INTENTIONS : 
 
 explored the church-yard and contiguous re 
 gions. Even Emmett saw naught amiss. 
 
 " You won t be lonely or nervous, dar 
 ling ? " he tarried l>ehind the rest to say. 
 
 "I am never nervous and seldom lonely. 
 I shall he entirely comfortable, thank you." 
 
 Not having quite mastered the mysteries of 
 the degrees of discretion possible to a model, 
 Emmett followed his friends, convinced that 
 his sensible wife had chosen, as usual, the 
 better part. The white sunshine was intense 
 on the water, and the wind a bit stiff even 
 for a head as steady as hers. 
 
 Clara sat perfectly still for ten minutes, 
 gazing at the pale, rapt face of the kneeling 
 saint, her palms pressed hard together. The 
 release from the observation of stranger and 
 loving eves was like the slow plaving-out of 
 
 O / 1. . ~ 
 
 a tense chain. She could not afford to let 
 herself quite go, but she must have time and 
 relief in order to think connectedly. Above 
 all things else the conscience which was 
 her inflexible guide keeping the helm hard 
 down she would not be unjust, or even 
 unduly sensitive. This woman, whose early 
 influence over Emmett might have had noth 
 ing sinister in it, had a history which was,
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 59 
 
 also, a mystery, one connected with her " un 
 fortunate " marriage, which, lie agreed with 
 her, would better remain unknown, even to 
 his wife. It was possible that Emmett would 
 revoke his decision so far as to confide to the 
 keeper of his every secret that which con 
 cerned another. 
 
 " If not, " it was a stern whisper that 
 ran around the bare building, where there was 
 nothing to muffle the sibilations. " If not, I 
 will trust him and try not to hate her and 
 wait ! " 
 
 She did not add " and watch ! " But the 
 echoes meant it. 
 
 The pallid saint, worn with waiting, and 
 haggard with watching against the world, the 
 flesh, and the devil ; the cheap prints upon 
 the walls ; the worn boards on which worship 
 pers sat to hear and knelt to pray ; the tawdry 
 touch imparted to the interior by the glazed 
 red shades she seemed to have known them 
 a long time when she looked back in closing 
 the door. 
 
 Mrs. Dumaresque and Gem Manly sat upon 
 the low steps of the vestry, talking with the 
 Canadian custodian of the priest s house. 
 Seeing them from the windows of the adja-
 
 GO WITH THE BEST i:\TE.\Tir>XS: 
 
 cent rectory, she had come out to ot l er the 
 hospitality ol the premises in her master s 
 absence. Neither Karen nor her chaise re 
 marked upon Clara s prolonged stay in the 
 church. Thev smiled welcome at her ap 
 proach, and introduced the pai/Hanm*, who 
 dropped a courtesy and accosted her in unin 
 telligible patois. 
 
 ft nc coinprendx pas ! " l>egan Mrs. Mor 
 gan, stiniy. 
 
 "There is the carriage !" exclaimed Mrs. 
 Dumaresque, joyfully, rising. " We began 
 to fear St. Ignace was insufficient to our 
 demands." 
 
 Kmmett was in the open carriage that 
 stopped at the gate. The other men had 
 walked on and would meet the ladies at the 
 tomb. The housekeeper followed them to 
 ihe vehicle to offer a bouquet of sweet-wil 
 liams and pansies to Mrs. Dumaresque, who 
 thanked her in excellent French. 
 
 "The old. old story! smiled Kmmett. 
 " Tnivcisal fascination ! " 
 
 A shadow, like that cast by a swallow s 
 wing, llitted over Karen s face. Clara noted 
 it. and the deprecatory glance flashed at Km 
 mett. She was becoming suspicious as well
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 61 
 
 as shrewd. Why was her husband entreated 
 to withhold compliments when the belle ac 
 cepted them from everybody else? The 
 query lay, unanswered, at the bottom of her 
 heart when they alighted at the grave of 
 Father Marquette. 
 
 Mr. Romeyn and Bertie Gates were al 
 ready within the small enclosure marking 
 the spot where "in 1671, a rude and un 
 shapely chapel, its sides of logs, and its roof 
 of bark," was erected as " the first sylvan 
 shrine of Catholicity " on the point which 
 afterward received the name of St. Ignatius. 
 
 The tomb was staringly new, the location 
 unpicturesque, but all hearkened reverently 
 to the story of the pioneer s travels and labors 
 and suffering, told with quiet pathos by the 
 chosen raconteur of the group. Of his long 
 ing, when attacked by mortal sickness among 
 the Illinois Indians, " to visit once more his 
 beloved mission at Mackinac, and to bow in 
 the chapel of St. Ignatius." How, growing 
 worse on the canoe-voyage, he asked to be 
 landed on an eminence, at the mouth of the 
 river afterward named for him. Of his ad 
 ministration of the Sacrament to his neo 
 phytes with hands chilled by the last agony ;
 
 6- WITH TIIK ni-;sT 
 
 of his lutlv ejaculation tiuxt iniiit anim-i 
 mea, in vt. /-f> ejux!" and the smile with which, 
 raising his eves to some object he appeared 
 to see alxii i tin 1 crnciji.r, he expired. 
 
 " This was in ItiTo. In 1077, a convoy ot 
 Christian Indians, in thirty canoes, brought 
 his bones to this place, and buried them 
 under the high altar. When the mission 
 was abandoned in 17 Hi, chapel and church- 
 house: were burned. In ]s77. the founda 
 tions Avert: discovered accidentally, and fur 
 ther search revealed his j^rave. I have seen 
 fragments of the birch-bark casket, laver 
 after layer Allied together, and blackened by 
 fire, and, among other relies taken from the 
 excavation, a ring, marked, I.I I. S/ " 
 
 Tiie driver of the hack leaned upon the 
 fence within hearing, and Karen turned to 
 him now. 
 
 "Have I told it right? The story is so 
 in te rest i n ( _; , I should be sorry to spoil it." 
 
 The man. who proved to be the proprietor 
 of "The (loldeii Rule Liverv Stables," had 
 an intelligent face, and entered into respect 
 ful talk Avitli his passengers. 
 
 Just now the small community was some- 
 Avhat excited over a queer stone brought
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 63 
 
 down, within a few days, from the hills back 
 of the town. A citizen of St. Ignace had 
 come upon it, while clearing land overgrown 
 with timber and brushwood. Perhaps the 
 ladies would like to see it? They could 
 drive by the store of the owner on their wav 
 to the boat. 
 
 The proprietor of the " curiosity," a sub 
 stantial shopkeeper, brought it out to the 
 carriage at the driver s request. It was so 
 covered with vines and moss, when found, 
 he stated, that most people would have 
 passed it without noticing it. The odd shape 
 caught his eye, and he knocked it off the 
 boulder, of which it was the crown, with his 
 axe. 
 
 In shape it was like a blunt beak or head; 
 the material was brownish sandstone ; the let 
 tering, once deep and sharp, had been shal 
 lowed by frost and storm. At the driver s 
 suggestion, the inscription was outlined with 
 chalk, and then he placed the relic in Mrs. 
 Dumaresque s hands. 
 
 "A. I). MDIX. B. Capello. Gene*!" she 
 read aloud: ^ 1509 ! Seventeen years after 
 the discovery of America ! What does it 
 mean ?
 
 64 \\ rni TIIK /; /;>; 
 
 ~ - I5ill Stumps. His M;irk ! " quoted Fm- 
 mett, roguishly, and, to his wife, pointlesslv. 
 
 v It is a trick, of course," she pronounced, 
 delinitivelv. "Anv other hypothesis is ah- 
 surd." 
 
 It s none of my making!" returned the 
 owner, doggedly. " I never thought of it a^ 
 anything wonderful until the priest happened 
 to see it." 
 
 "I ahvavs prefer to helieve Things" Karen 
 said, thoughtfully, when cross-examination 
 failed to shake the evidence confirmed hv the 
 hackman and others. "And this is a won 
 derful thing. Wean Breath ohli^ed to vou 
 for letting us see it " giving it hack to the 
 owner. " It has given us something to think 
 of." 
 
 She formulated her thought when they had 
 turned a corner, and were on their wav to 
 visit an Indian Inirial mound newlv ojtened. 
 
 t% I lu-lieve in 15. ( apello. of (leiioa ! " 
 
 "Not really!" ejaculated I hiiiiiett, from 
 the fastness of his Hill Stumps theorv. 
 
 I trill! The admission widens the realm 
 of my imagination. If the characters were 
 Runic, the tale would he ea^ilv read. Few 
 douht that Norsemen visited America four
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 65 
 
 hundred years before Columbus saw San Sal 
 vador." 
 
 It was time this folly was checked by com 
 mon sense as personated by Mrs. Emmett 
 Morgan. 
 
 " Capello means head in Italian," she 
 said, in serious tranquillity. It is probable 
 that the inscription was cut by some foreigner, 
 perhaps a hundred -perhaps fifty years 
 ago, in jesting reference to the shape of the 
 natural projection of the rock." 
 
 But the date ? " urged Gem. 
 
 " Was a jest, like the rest. The whole 
 tiling was a hoax a practical joke, that has 
 outlived the perpetrator. 
 
 " But B. Capello ! Oh ! I see ! with a 
 shriek of girlish laughter. " Bi<i Head! " 
 
 O O 
 
 Clara crimsoned as the others joined in. 
 Mr. J-Jomeyn was on the box with the driver, 
 and Bertie (Jates had found room for his 
 slight body on the wide front seat between 
 (Jem and Mr. Morgan. 
 
 The sight of the Indian mound averted a 
 verbal retort which might have been less 
 temperate than good taste would warrant. 
 
 Two laborers were digging in the loose 
 earth of the burial place. According to tra-
 
 GG 
 
 WITH THI-: ;;/;> r I.\TI-;XTIO\* : 
 
 ilition, a great battle was fought in the vicin 
 ity lv 1 1 urons and ( )tta\\ as against their com 
 mon foes, the Inxpiois, above two hundred 
 and lil tv years ago. Taking advantage of a 
 sand vein which made excavation easy, a 
 t ivnrli was opened, and tin- slain inU-rrcd here. 
 
 The proprietor >f ilu- ( inldcn linle " tdd 
 tli. 1 story : 
 
 "I have, myself, sren nioi e than tliirty 
 skulls, liii; and little, taken out. each \vitli a 
 hol- liehind the ear. That looks like the nias- 
 saere of prisoners, men. \yonien, and children. 
 
 All stood, faxing silently into the pit. from 
 which every third shovelful of earth hrou^ht 
 no a hone. The sand \vas oddly veined with 
 brown-red st rata. 
 
 "I sav ! " hlnrted out liertie (iate>, at 
 leilLfth. "Do yon suppose- the noble ?v/? 
 man s dn>t had anything 1 to do with the eolor 
 yi ni know . " 
 
 Uei ore the irresistible ripple of laughter 
 {lied awav, one of the diggers picked up a 
 skull, and oiTered it for the Indies inspec 
 tion. 
 
 Gem shrank back with a little cry; Clara 
 rlrew herself up haughtily; Karen took the 
 emblem of mortality in her daintily gloved
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 67 
 
 hands. It was a brown skull with two horrid 
 rows of double teeth all around. 
 
 " That awful hole behind the ear is not 
 here," said Mrs. Dumaresque, softly. " I 
 hope he met his death in open battle. Men, 
 women, and children, in one red burial 
 blent ! GOD help the poor creatures He has 
 made I "
 
 68 WITH THE BEST 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 YKS, my dear, tin,- most picturesque crea 
 ture I ever beheld! Positively, (Jic most pic- 
 turesque ! One of the bright and beauteous 
 
 beings who are sent into tliis prosaic world 
 for the express purpose of making pictures 
 and studies of themselves for the delight of 
 other people. And so charmingly unspoiled, 
 so unconscious of the effects she. is offering 
 for our admiration ! " 
 
 Thus Clara Morgan s newly found cousin, 
 from the lounge on which she reclined in 
 Cleopatra-Skewton state. She was a bulky 
 Cleopatra a Skewton who needed neither 
 rouge nor rose-colored curtains to heighten 
 her complexion. Her cheeks bloomed to-dav 
 like the bowl of Mackinac poppies upon the 
 stand at her elbow. 
 
 Mrs. Maidv s parlor was a corner-room on 
 the lirst floor of the hotel. Her bed-room 
 adjoined it. By seven o clock A.M.. the 
 promenaders began operations upon the \v-
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE, 69 
 
 randa outside, and kept it up until midnight. 
 Mrs. Manly s peculiar type of nervous dis 
 order did not interfere with her enjoyment of 
 social bustle. She said the incessant play of 
 heels and toes upon the resounding boards 
 lulled her to sleep by reminding her of the 
 rain upon the roof. In youth she had been 
 a beauty. Her face, but for the high coloring, 
 was handsome still. She was kind-hearted; 
 she was rich ; she was liberal ; she had one 
 single daughter, and one married in Chicago ; 
 a son in San Francisco, and an indulgent hus 
 band in Grand Rapids, making money by the 
 hundred thousand in the furniture business, 
 while his family were taking their costly ease 
 at watering-places. 
 
 The doctors did not diagnose Mrs. Manly s 
 disease with definiteness, for reasons best 
 known to the profession. It had something 
 to do with the spleen, a great deal to do with 
 the spine, and was mixed up with her circu 
 lation. She spoke of it as her " Idiosyncrasy " ; 
 When she took an airing, she was wheeled in 
 an invalid chair to her low-hung, well-padded 
 carriage. She ate what she liked, and saw 
 whom she pleased, and she pleased to see so 
 many that the corner-room received the pseu-
 
 70 WITH THE 11EST IXTKXTIOXS : 
 
 (lonvin of General Intelligence Agency." 
 When not receiving, slie nibbled voraciously 
 at a stack of novels, portly, and with plenty 
 of color in thrill, like hei M-lf. 
 
 The cordial ring of hci 1 welcome to her 
 cousin s child partially condoned to Clara for 
 its effusiveness. Her phraseology was as 
 llorid as her complexion, and until Clara saw 
 upon what terms of affectionate familiar! t v she 
 was with " the best people " of all sections, she 
 was inclined to chide Fate for bringing the oc 
 cult relationship to light. It could not have 
 remained unknown long after the same roof 
 covered both. Mrs. Manlv s genealogical 
 memory was a terror to freshly finished lir>t 
 families: her imagination was still more vig 
 orous, (iiven tibia, fibula-, or a vertebral 
 joint, and she could construct a skeleton-ped 
 igree, then endue it with tendons and tissues 
 warranted to tit. I nless imposed upon, or 
 led off upon a wrong scent, she leaned to 
 me rev s side in investigation and composition, 
 being, as I have said, kind of heart and 
 benevolent in intention. If her auditors knew 
 those whom she held up to be diamonds to be 
 Rhine stones, they appreciated her loyalty to 
 her friends, and did not contradict her.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 71 
 
 She lay among her cushions now, the soft 
 silk draperies of gown and coverlet falling 
 upon the floor, and expatiated upon the tab 
 leau framed in her window. It was the fifth 
 clay after the Morgans arrival, and Clara had 
 offered to spend the hour immediately pre 
 ceding luncheon with the invalid. Her work- 
 bag and doyleys came with her. 
 
 The framed picture was Mrs. Gillette in 
 her easy-chair, and her daughter, who sat so 
 close to her that the low tone in which she 
 read aloud did not encroach upon the rights 
 of others speech, yet conveyed every word to 
 her mother s ear. The sweet old face was 
 placid and attentive ; the beautiful hands 
 were busy with ivory needles and Saxony 
 wool. Karen s wide-brimmed hat lay by her 
 on the piazza floor. Her skin did not burn 
 or tan, and her eyes were like an eagle s in 
 strength. A silvery gray morning had kept 
 on the veil usually cast smilingly aside at 
 the sun s approach. The day was still ; a 
 brooding calm that did not threaten; the air, 
 which no degree of midsummer heat can 
 make enervating, scarcely stirred the lace 
 lappets of the mother s cap, and did not 
 flutter the leaves as Karen turned them.
 
 72 WITH TUP: /;/> r L\Th\\Tioys .- 
 
 "A </i )iri picture!" said .Mrs. Manlv in 
 Tap! appreciation. " Exquisite and inimita 
 ble ! And to think that those valued friends 
 of your delightful husband s should be those 
 selected bv me and Providence, of course 
 as the guardians and exemplars of mv 
 darling ( _nrl. niv wilding forest-maid ! She 
 fell passionately, niadlv in love with .Mis. 
 I)nniares(|ue at sijjdit. I should have left 
 Mackinac. which agrees with me as no 
 other place upon the globe s circumference 
 does, to save mv child, had the object of 
 her adoration proved unworthy, she is such 
 a stanch friend. Hut Kate is ever kind to 
 me. Kxcept. perhaps, in the matter of mv 
 Idiosyncrasy, which I accept as an Inevita 
 ble, the shadow that throws my blessings 
 into stronger relief." 
 
 With all her absurdities, she was a Ljood 
 woman whose patience approximated hero 
 ism. The perception ot this mellowed what 
 would have been genteel aerimonv in Clara s 
 tone. 
 
 Have you known Mrs. (iillette and Mrs. 
 1 himaivsque loiio- / " 
 
 "\e\er laid eyes upon them until this 
 summer, mv dear, invatlv to mv reinvt and
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 73 
 
 loss. My friend Mrs. Norris, who was here 
 earlier in the season such a queenly 
 woman introduced them to me as her dear 
 and cherished friends. They travelled on 
 the Continent together for six months two 
 years ago, and have been intimate ever 
 since." 
 
 " Was Captain Dumaresque with them ? " 
 
 " My child, no ! lie had been dead for 
 years. He lived only a few months after 
 their marriage sweet, suffering angel I It 
 is well her mother is wealthy, for army pen 
 sions are disgracefully small, and she was 
 born to walk in silk attire. Nothing of 
 the calico-and-clieese-cloth. comeliness about 
 Tier!" 
 
 "Since she is so charming and still young, 
 she is tolerably sure to marry again. She 
 has discarded her weeds, too. That looks 
 as if she were not averse to proposals." 
 
 "My love! she was romantically attached 
 to her soldier-lover! With that heart and 
 fervid temperament, how could it be other 
 wise? And the army such a temptation to 
 an imaginative girl! lie was an Adonis, too, 
 I ve heard. I couldn t resist the temptation 
 to say to Mr. Komeyn the first day that Cap*
 
 74 WITH THE r,E*r IXTESTH)** : 
 
 tiiin and Mrs. Dale culled upon mr, What 
 ;ui Irresistible the uniform makes of a man ! 
 That lover s impassiveness tries mv Mini. 
 Rich, independent, travelled, well-born, and 
 well-educated, he lias no right to be single at 
 thirty-eight. 1 wish I had known then thai 
 Mrs. Dumaresqtie s lirst was in the annv. 
 I could have barbed the lance more cun 
 ningly." 
 
 Voti have heard it since, then ? " 
 In a singular, a m.ist fortuitous way. 
 mv dear girl! M \" little (iem alwavs 
 hovei insjf around her idol, like a humming 
 bird around a statelv rose-bush recollected 
 when the partx broke up the ni;_dit of youi 1 
 liist appeiiram-e amoiiLj us, that she had Mrs. 
 Dumaresijue s fan on her arm, and ran up 
 to her room to restore it. The halls were 
 iioisv with people n oi:ii^ back and forth, and 
 !: r lirst modest tap was unheard. While 
 she waited outside, she heard, through the 
 transom. Mrs. (iillette. who v/as moving 
 about the room, sav. "You \\ ei e not ijuite 
 voiirself this evening, dear, and the poor 
 voung widow answered, "It was the sight of 
 Captain Dale s uniform, I think. Mamma! 
 At that, (iem, conscience-smitten at her in-
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 75 
 
 voluntary eaves-dropping, knocked again, and 
 this time loudly enough to arrest attention. 
 Down she comes to me in tears of sympa 
 thy for her darling s grief, and distress lest 
 she had been dishonorable. I understood 
 at once that Jtc had been a Captain in the 
 army. I comprehended, too, how she had 
 withstood Mr. Romeyn s money and devo 
 tion and family, he not having an atom of 
 dash about him, not to mention that the blue 
 coat, brass buttons, and shoulder-straps go a 
 long way, even with sensible people." 
 
 Mrs. Dumaresque did not look the dis 
 consolate widow that afternoon, as she 
 stepped into the trim boat engaged for a row 
 around the Island by what naughty Gem 
 had, in her talk with Karen and Clara, 
 dubbed, u The Ubiquities " Messrs. Ro- 
 meyn and Gates. 
 
 The latter, a rich man s only heir, was 
 profuse in costumes. lie appeared to-day 
 in a striped blue-and-white silk shirt, girt 
 about the waist with a scarlet scarf, white 
 trowsers of naval cut, that sloped nattily over 
 the instep of canvas shoes with rubber soles. 
 His cap matched his shirt, and his fair skin, 
 through much out-door life, was rapidly
 
 <b 117777 777 /; /;/->T I.\TI-;\TIO.\S : 
 
 achieving a perfect match for his scarf. His 
 teeth AVI -re even, and startlingly white when 
 lie smiled, }>v contrast with his sanguine 
 complexion. His eyes were blue, his close 
 curls almost flaxen. His laugh was a bub 
 bling run of mirth, and irresistibly conta 
 gious: his talk and manner proclaimed him 
 to be an Aiiglomaniac of a pronounced but 
 innocuous type. He had a cleft chin, and 
 when he chose a peculiarly ingenuous and 
 engaging expression, " llaphaelesque and 
 cherubic ! " Mrs. Manly al firmed. 
 
 Mi-. Romeyn, in a i-ou^h tweed suit, with 
 no nautical pretence about it. had a satur 
 nine cast of visage beside the red-a nd-white 
 rlierub. He had been Bertie (iates s guar 
 dian for the live years directly antedating 
 his niajoritv. It s]>oke \\ ell for botli that 
 thev were still fast friends. 
 
 Kmmett was the handsomest of the three 
 men, in his well-appointed vachtinLT suit of 
 gray, the collar turned over a blue, cravat. 
 Mrs. Dumaresque sat in the bows: Mrs. 
 Morgan in the stern: (Jem. upon the bench 
 witli l>ertie, pulled, with her supple wrist 
 and embrowned hands, as good an oar a3 
 he.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 77 
 
 " And, in my prime, I was stroke-oar of 
 the Varsity crew," he said, sighingly. 
 
 " I thought the lightest weight was always 
 coxswain," retorted Gem, quietly. 
 
 Bertie laughed, and in so doing, looked so 
 infantile as to disarm persecution. 
 
 " I say," he drawled, her remark rolling 
 from his harmless vanity as the water from the 
 polished shaft of his oar, " why don t you 
 take boxing lessons ? I know a jolly Boss- 
 ton gyurl who is a ca-apital boxer don t 
 you know ? Wrists no bigger than yours, 
 you know, all Damascus steel, covered 
 with satin, for looks sake, you know. Nice 
 shade of satin, too, be Ja-awve ! Well, she 
 met a tra-amp, one morning. Bosston gyurls 
 given to long walks, you know fresh-air 
 gymnastics, and all that don t you know ? 
 Fellow offered to see her home. Awfully 
 lonely la-ane. She ordered the brute to get 
 out of the road, you know, and when he 
 swore at her, she let fly straight from the 
 shoulder, caught him a clip right batik of 
 his ear; and dropped him, be Ja-awve ! " 
 
 " Killed him ? " asked Gem, interested, but 
 not shocked. 
 
 " No-o ! but knocked him so far out of
 
 7S WITH THE 7> A S r 7.V77v\V770.V> : 
 
 ti-inif tliat slu- tied his ha-ands and feet with 
 her waist- ribbon, in awfullv liard knots 
 don t you know 7 and left him to recover at 
 his leisure." 
 
 kt A (Jrand Rapids gyurl who had taken 
 boxing lessons would have rolled him into 
 a ditch, and put a big stone on him don t 
 you know?" rejoined (Jem, in audacious 
 travesty of his manner and accent. " She 
 wouldn t have wasted a sash-ribbon upon him. 
 I suppose your liosstoii gvurl wouldn t miss 
 the chance of setting a touch of ;esthetie 
 culutah upon the feat vou know." 
 
 Mrs. Morgan ! " said Karen, from her end 
 of the boat. "What do vou consider the 
 most reasonable explanation of the color of 
 Niagara and the upper lakes?" 
 
 She never checked her ^iddy charge openlv, 
 yet invariably interposed a tactful diversion 
 of ideas and topics at the critical moment 
 when girlish spirits templed (Jem to indiscre 
 tion. 
 
 " Niagara gives the key-note." she resumed. 
 contemplatively, when Clara had offered the 
 hypotheses laid down in school-books, and 
 the others had discussed them. " Kadi lake- 
 takes tip the theme, witli variations of its
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 79 
 
 own. There is a series of chromatic scales 
 between us and the shore." 
 
 The simile was apt. The sun, breaking 
 through the silvery vapors, glanced aslant 
 upon pebbly shoals and shingly bottom. The 
 rising wind whipped into foamy fringe the 
 edges of the waves running up the bank. 
 Shaded bands of emerald were lightest above 
 the shallows, most vivid upon the ridges that, 
 chasing one another at the sides and behind 
 the boat, stretched out to sea, deepening into 
 berylline belts where cloud shadows fell. 
 The precipitous heights were faced with 
 pointed hemlocks, straining heavenward in 
 serried masses, peak above peak. Upon the 
 summits the rounded heads of the contented 
 white cedars were interspersed and backed 
 by the red roofs of summer cottages ; from 
 the gable of one, a flag showed pale stars 
 and ruddy stripes, fitfully. In the face of a 
 sheer cliff that lifted a bald forehead above 
 blackish-green spires of hemlock and balsam, 
 yawned a huge mouth. 
 
 " The Devil s Kitchen don t you know? " 
 Bertie said, agreeably, to Mrs. Morgan. 
 " Queer thing ha-appened there, the other 
 day. Party of three fellows of us landed
 
 SO ir/77/ ////; ;;/;> r i. \TL\\ n ( >.\ *: 
 
 and cli-imbed up the ladder, you. know. 
 And in what you might call the pla-ate- 
 wanner, don t you know, AVC found a vi>it- 
 ing-card. Cincinnati fellow s name engraved 
 on it, you know, and on the buck in pen 
 cil: T<> 7//x Snlti.nir Majftty. C<tUc<l to 
 pa// mi] rt tju i tx. Surry to fm<! you nut. $e< 
 you hit > /. Awfully droll! wasn t it?" 
 
 He laughed his happy laugh, and sliowed 
 his dazzling teeth as artlessly as if (Jem were, 
 his interlocutor. 
 
 Clara s semi-smile was icy. Had he licrii 
 conscious of possible offence, he mi^ht have 
 likened it to sherbet over-frozen. (Jem 
 laughed a rin^in^ peal. 
 
 "Not tliat I think it wittv in the iri e\-ei-- 
 ent Cincinnati man, you know, or that I am 
 not shocked at vour telling the storv. I>ut 
 a very little upsets one s gravity when she 
 is boating. I am us light-headed as a cork." 
 
 Light-hearted, you mean, dear," said 
 Karen, kindly. "After a certain age, one 
 ceases to sneer at the blessedness of the time 
 when a straw tickles, and a rattle pleases. 
 It is the old storv of the Sibvl leaves. The 
 price of pure, innocent pleasure increases 
 frightfully after one passes thirty/
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 81 
 
 " Is hearsay evidence admissible ? " 
 Mr. Ronieyn turned his head, and lifted 
 his hat in saying it. Mrs. Dumaresque 
 seemed unaware that a compliment was im 
 plied. She looked past them all to the 
 watery horizon. 
 
 " I have a right to speak," she said, slowly. 
 " I was thirty-four years old yesterday."
 
 WITH Tin-: /;/-;>T 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 NIGH forty years have passed away, 
 The sailors on the Island say, 
 
 Sine. the wreck of tin- Julia Dean. 
 Caught near the land some miles below, 
 She foundered in the fiercest blow 
 
 The Straits have ever seen. 
 
 A howling wind, a clouded sky, 
 A shallow sea, waves running high, 
 
 With Island on the lee, 
 This briefly is the tale they fell; 
 The rivw and captain labored well, 
 
 But could not set her free, 
 
 In summer days the south winds blow, 
 And wave and ripple come and go, 
 
 Lapping her rugged keel ; 
 As if in sorrow for th"ir rage. 
 They seek all vainlv to assuage 
 
 The old ship :\>r its ill. 
 
 All summer long the wild birds sing, 
 As neath the wave they dip their wing, 
 And shining plumage preen.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 83 
 
 Above the cliff the pine-trees bend, 
 And their sweet odors seaward send, 
 Over the Julia Dean. 
 
 Sweet requiem this, of Island green, 
 Meet requiem for the Julia Dean, 
 
 Down by the circling shore. 
 Winds and waves forever heard, 
 Murmuring trees and song of bird 
 
 Blending forevermore. 1 
 
 Karen Dumaresque recited the simple lines 
 in tones that took their murmurous pathos 
 from the wind in the balsam forest crowding 
 down the steep to the loose sand and drift in 
 which the skeleton of the wreck was em 
 bedded. Her ribs, gaunt and gray, lay half 
 in, half out, of the water. Great bolts of iron 
 rusted in her joints ; tongues of foam lazily 
 licked the bones of the dead vessel. As the 
 boat approached, two crows flew from a 
 projecting timber, cawing hoarsely. The 
 ceaseless surge of the breeze in the ever 
 greens had responded for fifty years to the 
 purr and lap of the billow. 
 
 Beaching the boat a rod or so away, the 
 party had landed for closer inspection. 
 
 " I came alone at my first visit," Karen 
 
 1 By Major D. W. Whittle, 1887.
 
 84 WITH THE VEST I\TH.\TIO.\S : 
 
 said, strolling up to the water s edge; 
 " Leaving my mother in the carriage when 
 the road gave out, I followed the crookedest, 
 steepest little 1 trail von ever saw, down the 
 bank. The crows were here then, too. 
 They must have a nest near liy. The day 
 was fresh and sweet, the water heaving ever 
 so little. That morning Mrs. Ilanlon had 
 told me the story of the wreek, and given 
 me a copy of the verses/ 
 
 It transpired so naturally here, as in other 
 circumstances which had come up within 
 the past few days, that the brilliant widow 
 chanced (so Clara stated it to herself) to he- 
 better versed in local history than the others. 
 that even her critic could not accuse her of 
 forecasting the scene. Not one of the rest 
 had ever heard of the Julia Dean until t hex- 
 rounded the point and saw the stranded tim 
 bers. Inquiries, more or less pressing, drew 
 forth the story and the recitation of the poem. 
 
 fiem and Bertie picked their way from 
 beam to cross-piece as far as they could go : 
 Emmett was by his wife on the beach ; Mr. 
 Komeyn threw a U>at-< loak over a heap of 
 debris to make a seat for Mrs. Dumaresque. 
 Unwillingly, Clara recalled Mrs. Manly s
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 85 
 
 eulogium : " The most picturesque creature 
 I ever beheld ! " If she could persuade her 
 self that this picture-making was stagey 
 attitudinizing, she could despise, and there 
 fore cease to dread her. Emmett took his 
 wife s hand, and would have laid it gently 
 within his arm in sympathy with the emotions 
 which he believed were stirred by the scene 
 and story. She drew away, more crossly 
 than coyly. Several times, of late, he had 
 been conscious, spiritually, of such vague 
 discomfort as the man feels who, walking 
 through forest paths, brushes blindly at in 
 visible gossamer tangles upon his eye-lashes. 
 This was an overt rebuff, and the pair of 
 rattles, poising themselves upon the sodden 
 timbers, sa\v it. They looked away, good 
 naturedly, without change of countenance, 
 l)ii t the coincidence nettled him. Obeying 
 an indignant impulse, he walked deliberately 
 across to Mrs. Dumaresque, leaving Clara 
 alone. Without a moment s hesitation, the 
 deserted wife stepped lightly over sand, drift, 
 and wreck, and, joining the young couple, 
 fell into their talk of marine disasters. 
 
 " Miss Woolson says in Anne, that the 
 long shore-lines which look harmless enough,
 
 8*5 WITH THE HKST I.\TK\TIO.\S . 
 
 yet hold in their sands the bones of many a 
 drowned man. the rihs of manv a vessel. " 
 mused (iein. peering sharply into the sul>- 
 merged sands. "Here are the wooden ril>s. 
 The drowned crew and passengers eannot In 
 far <.1T." 
 
 "This young lady s taste has taken an 
 osseous turn since the skull-and-cross-bone 
 episode of onr St. Ignace trip." drawled 
 Uertie. feeling meditatively for the mous 
 tache that never came. "She is ambitious to 
 atone for her spasm of fright when the clayey 
 old party in the hole did the Go-up-ha-ald- 
 head at her, don t YOU know? i offered to 
 poke in the sand with an oar upon the chance 
 of turning up a loose tooth, yon know, or a 
 spa-are-rib, but she, won t let me." 
 
 "I am afraid we are all in danger of be 
 coming irreverently familiar with such sub 
 jects." said Clara. The ring of her thinned 
 voice reached the trio on the shore. For 
 my part, I am so constituted unfortunately, 
 perhaps I have been so educated, maybe 
 iinwiselv. that I recoil from all jests that 
 have deatli and dissolution as their point. I 
 am aware," the lixed half-smile passing into 
 a faint laiiLfh, "that 1 mav seem weak and
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 87 
 
 womanish to people of strong minds and 
 more advanced ideas. I am injudicious in 
 expressing such obsolete views. 
 
 Gem blushed so painfully as to start the 
 tears. 
 
 Oli, Cousin Clara! you don t suppose we 
 meant anything like that by our nonsense ! " 
 
 " You didn t say a word of it ! " Bertie 
 flung himself into the breach. It was all 
 my chaff, you know, Mrs. Morgan, and 
 uncommonly bad form, as you say don t 
 you know ? As Miss Manly says, there is 
 something in boating that goes to the head 
 don t you know? and this beastly air 
 beg pardon ! air s all right, you know, but 
 in combination with my bra-ains, don t you 
 know! there s a sort of brandy-and-soda effect, 
 be Ja-a\vve ! that plays the deuce beg par 
 don, again, I am sure ! 
 
 By this time, everybody except Clara was 
 in a roar, and Bertie s end was gained. His 
 sunburnt face was so swathed in regretful 
 confusMtn that Mrs. Dumaresque s summons 
 seemed opportune. 
 
 " My dear boy ! the longer you talk, the 
 worse you make it. Perhaps rowing will 
 draw the blood from your head."
 
 88 ir ITU v///-; /;/>/ L\TI-:.\TIO.\S . 
 
 Still laughing, she led the way to the bout. 
 
 " If that head were only as sound and 
 steady as your heart . That would he a coni- 
 bination to he proud of ! " 
 
 Kmmctt had his silent thought, ;us he took 
 up his oar. 
 
 I wisli Clara s ideas of right and fitness 
 \vereless rigid. Karen would haye regulated 
 their reckless talk \vithout wounding any 
 body." 
 
 It is both the bane and blessing of love 
 that it makes him who feels it thermometrie. 
 Without meeting her husband s eye. Clara 
 knew that a blur had siolen oyer the perfect- 
 ness of their affection and trust. Taking the 
 terrible truth to her heart, as even unimagi 
 native women will, instead of lighting awav 
 from it, she ascribed to it the wrong cause. 
 Hitherto, she had consistently disapproved of 
 Kinmett s renewed intimacy with his former 
 crony. Tried by the standard held grimly 
 aloft by the inn of Lisbon, New Jersey, the 
 most popular woman in ihe (irand Hotel of 
 Mackinae was theatrical, scheming, showy, 
 and only saved by the accident of wealth 
 and breeding from Bohemianism. She -took 
 up" with people nobody else knew, and
 
 A ILIDSVMMEU EPISODE. 89 
 
 brought them out. She courted popularity 
 with the lowly as sedulously as with the 
 lofty : she scouted precedent, made rules for 
 herself, and cajoled her clientele into follow 
 ing them. Her frank grace of manner, her 
 ready sympathy, her talents, and her tact 
 were a fearful array of odds to her who now 
 acknowledged her as a rival in her husband s 
 
 O 
 
 regard. 
 
 She put the fact baldly to herself knew 
 that she was justly, if bitterly jealous: ar 
 raigned judgment and pride to answer for 
 her tardy awakening to the fact. As in a 
 miserable dream, she sat erect, and appar 
 ently composed, looking, listening, and speak 
 ing mechanically during the rest of the sail 
 she would have found enchanting three days 
 before. 
 
 They swept past the Manitou Rock on 
 which, says the legend, the Great Spirit 
 alighted upon his visits to the Island; lay on 
 their oars, and gazed in awed silence upon 
 the aerial span of stone through which, at 
 this hour, flowed a strong stream of sunshine, 
 the gate " arched by the hand of GOD " in 
 the solid cliff ; jested at the extravaganza 
 rehearsed by Bertie and Gem in the shadow
 
 00 WITH THE JiL ST /.VVA\V770.V.S: 
 
 of u Robinson s Fully " : the skv blue abova 
 them between the curdled clouds, the glitter 
 ing, restless waters whispering and babbling 
 beneath the bows, and folding into sighing 
 calm in their wake. It was all a delight less 
 farce to the miserable creature who forced 
 herself to exclaim and smile and be social 
 with the merrv crew. 
 
 When the most picturesque fort in North 
 America came in sight, binding the dark brows 
 of the heights like a snowv iillet, Fmmett, 
 than whom no other member of the party 
 was more deceived bv her masterlv decep 
 tion, leaned forward to address his bride. 
 
 u Clara, dear ! this is the finest view we 
 have of Fort Mackinac. The three block 
 houses were built as earlv as 17< SI >. The fort 
 was finished in 1783, twenty years after the 
 massacre at Fort Michilimackinack on the 
 mainland, near where Mackinaw City now 
 stands. 
 
 Clara raised her cool green eyes to the ir 
 regular line of wall overtopped by peaceful 
 quarters/ 
 
 "Yes?" she said, with tin inanely inter 
 rogative cadence which wet-blankets the most 
 ardent enthusiasm.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 91 
 
 Emmett pursued his uphill course, never 
 theless. 
 
 " It was built by the British, and ceded to 
 the Americans after the Revolution, I think. 
 In 1812, the British commander at St. Joseph, 
 i> - ettinp - news of the declaration of war before 
 
 o o 
 
 the American garrison heard of it, crossed 
 over to the Island with one company of white 
 soldiers and one thousand Indians. They 
 disembarked at British Landing, which we 
 passed awhile ago, threw up earthworks at 
 what is now known as Fort Holmes, and at 
 daybreak summoned the garrison to assem 
 ble with the few inhabitants of the town in 
 the Old Distillery, the ruins of which I 
 pointed out to you yesterday, and surrender 
 to the Crown. If they refused, town and 
 fort would be given up to his Indians. The 
 commandant could do but one thing. 
 
 Clara s face was blandly impassive ; hoi- 
 eyes were as clear and expressionless as two 
 flat rounds of malachite. When the poor fel 
 low brought the halting recital to a period, 
 she said once more : 
 
 Yes ?." 
 
 Good women can be more cruel to those 
 they love than good men.
 
 00 ir/ /v/ 77/7; /;/;> 7 I.\TK\TIO.\* : 
 
 of u Robinson s Folly " : the sky blue abova 
 them between the curdled clouds, the glitter 
 ing, restless waters whispering and babbling 
 beneath the bows, and folding into sighing 
 calm in their wake. It was all a delightless 
 farce to the miserable creature who forced 
 herself to exclaim and smile and be social 
 with the merry crew. 
 
 When the most picturesque fort in Xorth 
 America came in sight, binding the dark brows 
 of the heights like a snowy lilh-t, Kmmett, 
 than whom no other member of the party 
 was more deceived by her masterly decep 
 tion, leaned forward to address his bride. 
 
 " Clara, dear ! this is the finest view we 
 have of Fort Mackinac. The three block 
 houses were built as early as 17*". The fort 
 was finished in 17^:5, twenty years after the 
 massacre at Fort Michilimackinack on the 
 mainland, near where Mackinaw City now 
 stands. 
 
 Clara raised her cool green eves to the ir 
 regular line of wall overtopped by peaceful 
 " quarters." 
 
 " ^ es ? " she said, with the inanely inter 
 rogative cadence which wet-blankets the most 
 ardent enthusiasm.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 91 
 
 Emmett pursued his uphill course, never 
 theless. 
 
 It was built by the British, and ceded to 
 the Americans after the Revolution, I think. 
 In 1812, the British commander at St. Joseph, 
 getting news of the declaration of war before 
 the American garrison heard of it, crossed 
 over to the Island with one company of white 
 soldiers and one thousand Indians. They 
 disembarked at British Landing, which we 
 passed awhile ago, threw up earthworks at 
 what is now known as Fort Holmes, and at 
 daybreak summoned the garrison to assem 
 ble with the few inhabitants of the town in 
 the Old Distillery, the ruins of which I 
 pointed out to you yesterday, and surrender 
 to the Crown. If they refused, town and 
 fort would be given up to his Indians. The 
 commandant could do but one thing. 
 
 Clara s face was blandly impassive ; her 
 eyes were as clear and expressionless as two 
 flat rounds of malachite. When the poor fel 
 low brought the halting recital to a period, 
 she said once more : 
 
 "Yes?." 
 
 Good women can be more cruel to those 
 they love than good men.
 
 i 2 WITH THE P>E*T IXTKSTIOX* : 
 
 There is a feline refinement of torture in 
 their manipulation of the offender when 
 wrong lias been done to ]>ride. Sometimes 
 the vietim is played with to his wounding, 
 and left alive. Tin? scratches are only 
 scratches, but they are deep. The chiinces 
 are that the hurt one will never complain of 
 them, yet the cicatrice remains a ridge to 
 his death-dav. Kmmett was straightforward 
 in thought and action, and generous of tem 
 per. If he smote with his right hand, he 
 would raise with his left as soon as his antag 
 onist was down. lie knew that he was 
 being dealt with now, as never before, for 
 some offence 1 , time and date unknown, and 
 was too much confounded to be resentful. 
 He had not meant to be a didactic prig, but 
 felt in the chilling impartiality of that wide, 
 level ga/.e, like one. and a fool besides. 
 
 "Those old block houses are a sort of 
 three-cornered frown," observed Mis. I)u- 
 maresipie, ga/.ing up at them. "It would be 
 an amiable fortification but for them. That 
 one to the left is now a paint-shop. A tire- 
 place eut.s off one corner, and helps you to 
 picture the room as it was in those early days, 
 the guard grouped about the hearth on cold
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 98 
 
 nights, or women and children warming them 
 selves after the midnight run throuo h the 
 
 *D O 
 
 snow at the alarm given by the sentinels of 
 the approach of Indians." 
 
 u There is no more dramatic incident in 
 the history of Mackinac than the erection of 
 Fort George, now Fort Holmes, on the 
 occasion of which you speak, Mr. Morgan," 
 said Mr. Romeyn s well-bred accents. 
 
 Emmett gave a laugh of relief. 
 
 " Story-telling is not my forte. If I am 
 forgiven this once, I will leave the business, 
 hereafter, to abler hands. 
 
 His bow and smile to Karen were a grace 
 ful retreat from a position the one dearest to 
 him had made disagreeable. To Clara, it 
 seemed an insult. Pride and precedent had 
 bound fast her mask. She advanced one 
 velveted claw. 
 
 " You must not be discouraged ! You will 
 improve with practice and study of the 
 best models ! " 
 
 And she, too, inclined her head toward 
 the handsome woman in the bows of the 
 boat.
 
 WITH THE P,EXT INTENTIONS: 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 BERTIE GATES walked up to the hotel with 
 Mrs. Dumaresque and Gem Manly. Mr. 
 Romeyn making circumspect and conscien 
 tious talk with Mr. and Mrs. Morgan, some 
 yards in advance of them. 
 
 The click of Clara s boot-heels upon the 
 plank sidewalk, as regular as clock-beats, 
 and her trim figure and stately carriage were 
 the primal suggestions of what Bertie al 
 ways mentioned in subsequent seasons as 
 the "jolliest lark ever fledged, don t you 
 know?" 
 
 " Mrs. Morgan tells me she is extrava 
 gantly fond of walking, lie said, eying her 
 approvingly. If I could do any one thing 
 as well as she steps out, I d do nothing else 
 for the rest of my life, you know, except eat 
 ing and drinking, of course, you know/ 
 
 "Not even boating?" asked Gem. 
 
 That exception goes without saying 
 don t you know? I suspect that Mrs. Mor-
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 95 
 
 gan is not addicted in the least to aquatic 
 sports. She was regularly done up by the 
 St. Ignace expedition, and as uncomfortable 
 to-day as a nineteenth-century Christian with 
 a tolerably well-balanced head could be." 
 
 Mrs. Dumaresque s thoughtful countenance 
 cleared suddenly. 
 
 "Do you really think that was the mat 
 ter?" 
 
 " I know it ! She s game don t you 
 know? with the will power of a four-hun 
 dred-horse-power propeller. But I have had 
 personal intimacy with the symptoms of mal 
 de mer. Until I was eighteen, it made me 
 giddy to sail upon a chip in a mud-puddle 
 don t you know? Only stern resolution 
 overca-ame the infirmity. Ask Romeyn how 
 I conducted my limp individua-ality the first 
 time we went abroa-ad." 
 
 " Put it out of your mind ! " advised Gem. 
 
 " The remotest suggestion of the other side 
 
 even a seasick imagination makes you 
 
 quite altogether too-too English don t you 
 
 know?" 
 
 "Poor girl!" said Mrs. Dumaresque, 
 regretfully. " How selfishly thoughtless in 
 me not to make inquiry before we arranged
 
 98 WITH THK /;/> /" 7.v7 /-;.v7vo.vs .- 
 
 and establish herself in a rocker by tin- win 
 dow, book in hand, and to sit thus, expectant 
 of. and prepared for a scene niatrinional. for 
 half an hour, without sight or sound of her 
 spouse. 
 
 At a short view, Kmniett s delav was for 
 tunate for the wife who considered herself 
 aggrieved. It granted her season for reflec 
 tion: for the arrangement of evidence and 
 reckoning of available proofs. As a result 
 of twentv minutes of the hardest thinking 
 she had ever done and she was never 
 thoughtless she got up, unbound her wealth 
 of duskv red hair, letting it fall down her 
 back: closed the inner shutters, propped her 
 feet upon a stool, and tilted her rocking-chair 
 at an angle that indicated need of and dis 
 position to rest. To a man. the change of 
 attitude would have meant nothing bevond 
 this. In realitv. as the feminine reader will 
 comprehend, it betokened a radical change 
 of tactics. When she took her seat in be 
 coming demi-toilette, he 1 hail 1 in good con 
 versation order, the open page symptomatic 
 of collected thought, and a heart at leisure 
 from itself to investigate and decide. Mrs. 
 Emmett Morgan had designed arraignment,
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 99 
 
 judgment, and sentence of her erring lord. 
 She would warn him, in temperate terms, 
 and not too many of them, that he was in 
 danger of beguilement at the eyes and lips 
 of a plausible syren ; adduce her proofs,, and 
 stipulate, before condescending to condone 
 past transgressions, that they cut short a so 
 journ thickening with omens of ruin to their 
 wedded bliss. In fine, she meant to save 
 her husband at all hazards, but by rational 
 methods. Emmett, according to her reckon 
 ing, would ask a solution of the lofty noncha 
 lance she saw had confused and disturbed him. 
 The rest would follow in good shape, order, 
 and time. 
 
 Not until she began to test the strength of 
 the shreds of proof she held did she perceive 
 the folly of overt action. Again she said to 
 her sensible self that she must " wait." The 
 seducer, if left alone, would wax worse and 
 worse, and conviction be rendered easier and 
 certain. 
 
 " It passes my comprehension " she said 
 it almost audibly, so futile was the attempt 
 to follow the wicked windings of Circe s ways 
 "it passes my comprehension what she 
 wants Yvith them all!"
 
 100 WITH THE HEST I.\TE.\TIO.\S : 
 
 Them" signified her Kmmett. Mr. 
 Ilomeyn, cherubic Bertie, hotel clerks, and 
 waiters, and every other m;ui to whom Mrs. 
 Dumaresque had spoken or had smiled upon 
 in strict ( lara s sight. 
 
 "I read her correctly that first evening ! 
 She is an intriguante^ and does her evil work 
 f>)i nni tri . Kverv good, upright woman 
 should assist in thwarting her designs." 
 
 In the cunning begotten of her righteous 
 detestation of intrigues and mano uvres of 
 whatever description, she laid her guileless 
 plan to disarm inquirv and avert criticism 
 from the man she would rescue. 
 
 Honest Kmmett walked ri^lit into the trap. 
 
 Heart and conscience stricken at finding 
 her suffering again with what he anathe- 
 mati/.ed as "a beastly water-headache," he 
 repented utterlv and remorseftillv of his 
 misconstruction of her change:! behavior on 
 the voyage and homeward walk. 
 
 What a brute a man makes of himself 
 sometimes!" he confessed to Mrs. Gillette, 
 to whom he stole awav for remedies when 
 Clara, at his praver, had lain down on the 
 bed and promised to trv to sleep. I )o YOU 
 know, I reallv fancied that the darlin< r yirl
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 101 
 
 was displeased with me (though Heaven 
 knows why she should be !) her manner was 
 so constrained and she grew so silent. And 
 would you believe it? I actually let her 
 go upstairs to her room, thinking that she 
 would get over her irritation sooner if left to 
 herself." 
 
 Armed with phospho-caffeine, mentholin, 
 and antipyrin, he rushed back to his patient, 
 and would have tried all three at once, had 
 not she assured him that his care and petting 
 had made her better already. 
 
 u All I need now is rest, and to have you 
 near me," she added. " If you have nothing 
 better to do, would you mind going on with 
 Anne? I cannot talk just now, but I shall 
 forget pain while you read." 
 
 Look and accents were gentle and plead 
 ing. She was so lovely in her lassitude that 
 his soft heart was full as he drew up his 
 chair to her side, and, holding her hand, 
 began Chapter VII. 
 
 The air ilowed in life-giving breaths be 
 tween the shutters he left ajar ; the bars of 
 light on the carpet were changing from silver 
 to gold ; a tall spray of lilies in a vase upon 
 the balcony exhaled perfumed sighs. For
 
 102 WITH THE JiEST 
 
 awhile Clara could only be grateful that the 
 heat and aehe were gradually leaving her 
 heart, congratulate lierself upon the succe.-s 
 of lier ruse, and renew the resolve to take 
 no more risks in a matter so vital as her 
 lien upon the first place in her husband s 
 thoughts. Then, she became interested in 
 the finest episode in the storv the Huron * 
 narrow escape from shipwreck. 
 
 "Open the blinds, and let us set 1 where she 
 landed," said Clara, in her natural voice, as 
 the Stirling recital closed with the picture of 
 the two old men " running along like school 
 boys, hand-in-hand," to meet Rast. 
 
 In her interest, she got up and went to the 
 window, leaning upon Emmett s shoulder, his 
 arm about her, while lie verified the location 
 of the small island opposite, the wharf, and 
 the western pass through which " at four 
 o clock, the Huron came into sight, laboring 
 heavily, fighting her way along inch by inch. 
 
 . O O *. O v 
 
 but advancing." 
 
 -t How much more interesting it makes it 
 all ! " said the wife. " You know that the 
 Old Agency House was burned down some 
 years ago 7 " 
 
 Emmett drew her, unresisting, to his knee.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 103 
 
 " Yes ; and Pere Micliaux was drawn from 
 life. His real name was Andre De sire Joseph 
 Piret. He belonged to a noble Belgian 
 family, was a distinguished graduate of the 
 University of Paris, and afterward a professor 
 there. He was both physician and priest, 
 a man of splendid physique, courtly and 
 scholarly. One wonders to find him stationed 
 over the obscure parishes of St. Ignace and 
 Mackinac. 
 
 Her head was upon his shoulder ; while he 
 talked he stroked her beautiful hair. Instead 
 of saying " Yes ? now, she led him on. 
 
 " Is he living ? 
 
 " No. He died in 1876, at seventy. His 
 parishioners remember him affectionately. 
 Antoine, the little cook, was a real person 
 age. And the dog-team ! " 
 
 Both laughed. The reconciliation was 
 complete. Before the process of quarelling 
 and making-up becomes stale through over- 
 repetition, the effect is similar to that pro 
 duced by a dose of chlorate of potassium 
 swallowing it is not agreeable, but it leaves 
 a sweet taste in the mouth. 
 
 They did not go down to dinner, but had 
 a dainty little repast served in their room.
 
 104 WITH THE HKST I.\TK.\TJO.\S: 
 
 Tin 1 table was set near the balconied window ; 
 Clara, in a wondrous India-silk tea-gown of 
 the dimmest and least definite Mm-, with a 
 Montmorenci fall of cream-tinted lace d<>\\n 
 the front, presided ; the band upon the gal- 
 lerv over the main entrance was plaving popu 
 lar airs; the tumult of feet and voices below, 
 modified bv music and distance, was not 
 discordant. When the trav was removed. 
 Kmmett, upon his wife s insistence, sat down 
 on ihe window-sill with his cicrar. taking care 
 to blow Jill the smoke outside, and his back 
 against the window-casing 1 , surveyed the satis- 
 factorv interior of the chamber his bride 
 bcin^- the centre-piece. 
 
 Talk of courting-days ! " he morali/cd. 
 " One month of marriage is worth ten years 
 of wooing. Til!* is what I call living ! " 
 
 An indiscreet bride would have improved 
 the open in ( 4 bv contrasting the solid cnmtort 
 of the fete-a-fet? with the ephemeral delight 
 of association witli other and speciously fas 
 cinating women. Our Clara merited her 
 spouse s encomium, and did not mar his 
 u model." 
 
 They were still sitting thus at ten o clock. 
 when Mi s. Dumaresque tapped at the door
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 105 
 
 to inquire after Mrs. Morgan s headache. 
 Clara greeted her affably to do otherwise 
 would have been indiscretion and pressed 
 her to take a seat. 
 
 " Thank you, but I can only stay a minute. 
 Now that you are quite comfortable again, 
 may I ask for your answer to my impatient 
 young people ? Have they your permission 
 to go on with their arrangements for Mon 
 day ? " 
 
 Clara looked bewildered, and Emmett col 
 ored foolishly. 
 
 "I am sorry but she had such a head 
 ache and when she was better I may as 
 well out with the truth, Karen ! I have been 
 too happy to think of anything else ! " 
 
 - Bravo ! " Karen s eyes sparkled with 
 humor and feeling. "That is the old, genuine 
 Kmmett, through and through! The project 
 has assumed more definite proportions since 
 we spoke to you of it this afternoon. Mr. 
 Romeyn and Mr. Gates Gem s Ubiqui 
 ties, Mrs. Morgan invite you two to a 
 tour on the Island on next Monday -weather 
 and health permitting. They have heard of 
 your fondness for walking, and propose to 
 explore Mackinac on foot. Lunch will be
 
 106 WITH TIIK j ;;;>; IXTE.\TU>S*: 
 
 served at some central point, and carriag, .; 
 will meet us theiv, should we [ret tired. >v<>i 
 
 o 
 
 to he outdone by yon in frankness, Kmniett. 
 I will say that .Mrs. Mi Thau s graceful walk 
 and line physique, suggested the expedit ;<>:, 
 to our appreciative Bertie. And, as we all 
 long for an opportunity to do her especial 
 honor, the germ lloweivd quickly. " 
 
 She consented verv prettily," reported 
 Karen to her mother. "She really seemed 
 gratified, and Kmniett dear old fellow! 
 was enchanted. His wife unintentionally, 
 I know infused a x<>i<pi <m of patronage into 
 her aeeeptanee. hut that is a traee of provin 
 cial rust that will nib ni f in time. The prov 
 inces are nothing if not patronizing. And 
 she has so many admirable traits, that I am 
 glad Kmniett has her. I am as IVi tie 
 would sav awfully fond of Knimett Mor 
 gan : " 
 
 She spoke abstractedly, ga/.ing from the 
 window upon islands that slept and waters 
 that dreamed in the moonlight, and remained 
 standing thus so long that her mother spoke 
 to recall her thoughts : - 
 
 "It is growing cooler every hour. Don t 
 stay too long in that draught, dear ! "
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 107 
 
 " Draughts have no effect on my tough 
 system," - leaving her outlook, nevertheless. 
 
 Seating herself upon a cushion, she laid 
 her head on her mother s knee. 
 
 " I m a-weary, mither ! Sometimes I could 
 imagine, now-a-days, that there is something 
 thunderous in the air. Not that I believe in 
 presentiments. I fancy the sight of the pic 
 ture of domestic concord I happened upon 
 in the Morgans room just now touched the 
 sore spot. It is not only 
 
 When sparrows build, and leaves break forth, 
 that 
 
 My old sorrow wakes and cries. 
 
 Whatever comes whatever was whatever 
 may never be again I have you ! That 
 anchor holds ! "
 
 103 WITH THE BEfiT ISTEST1OSS: 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE next day was the Sabbath. 
 
 The hotel-hive awoke to humming life later 
 than upon other days, but it was quite as 
 lively after movement began. The air was 
 cool, yet balmy ; the sunshine rested, a visible 
 and ineffable benediction, upon land and 
 lake. While a vast majority of transient, 
 sojourners upon the island elected to look- 
 through Nature up to Nature s (ion. or to go 
 through the initial stages of that hypothetical 
 eereinonv. enough were of a different mind 
 to iill the little Episcopal church in the lo\\cr 
 town. The ofiicers from the Fort and their 
 families were there, the martial figure and 
 handsome face of Captain Dale conspicuous 
 among them. The village choir, trained by 
 Mrs. Dale, and owing much to the fine voices 
 of two or three private soldiers, rendered the 
 psalms and anthems crcditablv. but not so 
 svell as the impromptu quartette seated 
 directly behind the Morgans.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 109 
 
 Gem Manly sang a more than passable 
 contralto ; Mr. Itomeyn s bass, although not 
 heavy, was correct ; Bertie Gates was a tenor, 
 his tuneful pipe like a lark s in clearness and 
 melody. But the sweetest sound in church 
 and upon Island that perfect Sabbath-day 
 was Karen Dumaresque s voice upraised in 
 the choral service. 
 
 It is a curious fact that those whom we, 
 reluctantly, and for lack of a better word, 
 designate as " elocutionists " do not as a 
 class, sing well, and that many have no ear 
 or liking for music. Karen sang as she re 
 cited with exquisite taste, and purity of 
 tone, and, when the theme required, some 
 times rising into passion that bore the listener s 
 soul with her. People stopped singing to 
 hearken ; a few were rude enough to turn 
 their heads to spy out the owner of the splen 
 did organ. Captain and Mrs. Dale thanked 
 her in Clara s hearing, after service, for the 
 assistance given by her " amateurs " to the 
 regular choristers. 
 
 The whole exhibition, including the public 
 acknowledgment of a display of private 
 talent, was to Mrs. Morgan s just sense of 
 what became the time and place, in wretched
 
 110 WITH THE VEST 7.VTA\V77OA*S ; 
 
 taste. She had a strong, well-cultivated 
 voice, and, if put upon her muscle, could, 
 she was positive, drown .Mrs. Dumaresque s 
 clean out of hearing. She had not uttered 
 a note. This was a house of worship, not a 
 concert-hall. With head up, and upper lip 
 contracted, she made her way imperiously 
 through the vestibule, and did not slacken 
 her pace until Bertie dates, pulling and 
 glowing, overtook them. The cherubic knew 
 what was due to the day, and was irreproach 
 able in broadcloth and high silk hat. There 
 were gloves a faultless lit upon his hands, 
 and a natty cane in that he carried to his 
 hat-brim. 
 
 Mrs. (iillette wished to know if Mr. and 
 Mrs. Morgan would take seats in her car 
 riage, Mrs. Dumaresque preferring to walk. 
 
 Mrs. Morgan declined, with courteous 
 decision. She, too, preferred walking : in 
 deed, she was about to propose a somewhat 
 long detour in their return to the hotel. 
 Wheeling herself and escort about, she took 
 the lower road leading along the water s 
 edge. They met Mrs. Dumaresque walking 
 with Mrs. Ilanlon, a Chicago woman who had 
 a. cottage upon Mackinac Island ; Gem, talk-
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. Ill 
 
 with both ends of her tongue to Mr. Ro- 
 
 o 
 
 meyn and so many other acquaintances that 
 Clara gave a sigh of relief when they reached 
 the quieter neighborhood of the old Presby 
 terian church. It stands, empty and forlorn, 
 by the wayside, a gaunt, gray memorial of 
 times when "tail, spare men came westward 
 to teach the Indians, and earnest women, 
 with bright, steadfast eyes and lathe-like 
 forms, were their aiders, wives, and compan 
 ions." 
 
 " You recollect that Miss Lois used to 
 open and air it at stated times, and occa 
 sionally to sing, in her thin, husky voice, a 
 verse of a hymn ? " said Emmett, uncon 
 scious of a falling barometer. " That is the 
 Church-house on the hill. It is now en 
 larged into a hotel. You see it is quite 
 possible for the steeple to throw a slow- 
 moving shadow across the garden, like a 
 great sun-dial. There are the ruins of the 
 Old Agency House below the Fort Garden. 
 Did you know that they call that steep cliff 
 the Tarpeian Rock ? " 
 
 " My dear husband ! " Her way of saying 
 it and her smile belonged to the glacial 
 period, and would have enhanced the honors
 
 111! M77// THE I .EST 
 
 of a matron of forty years endurance. - 
 "suppose we take a vacation, upon this day 
 of physical and mental rest, from study of 
 the natural beauties and literature of Maek- 
 inac ! We will enjoy them all the more 
 to-morrow." 
 
 What remained of Kmmett after the 
 "crusher" expostulated apologetically. 
 
 " I thought you were so much pleased with 
 Anne that these things would interest you." 
 
 "I di/i interested in An/it- and in the scenes 
 described in it - n- iccek-Jai/f. I do not con 
 sider it a Sunday book ! " 
 
 I wonder how angels, versed by thousands 
 of years study in human inconsistency, regard 
 the cant of prevarication which saints use as 
 a cloak for eiiyy. malice, wrath, and all un- 
 charitableiiess ! The meanest "dodge" at 
 the command of sinful man is the religious. 
 Whether or not the professing Christian who. 
 in a moment of exasperation, calls his Maker 
 to witness to the truth of an intemperate 
 assertion, is less guilty than the sinner to 
 whose mouth profanity is so common that he 
 unconsciously takes in vain the NAME whicJi 
 is above every other, is an awful question 
 with which I may not intermeddle.
 
 A MID SUMMER EPISODE. 113 
 
 Emmett did not retort. Nor did he own 
 to himself that his re-enthroned idol had 
 settled by so much as the fraction of an inch 
 toward the plane of the every -day wife, for 
 whom hourly allowance must be made if one 
 would maintain a decent show of conjugal 
 amity. But the fact remained that she had. 
 
 The northwestern wind was strong enough 
 by evening to sweep the piazza clean of the 
 hardiest promenaders. The rotunda was 
 full ; the fire in the recessed sitting-room 
 opening out of it was hedged about with 
 people standing and sitting ; the drawing- 
 room and the snug apartments devoted to 
 desks and letter-writers were crowded. 
 
 Mrs. Manly was made supremely compla 
 cent by the presence in her parlor of what 
 she described as " the choicest click of the 
 choice company convened under the expan 
 sive roof." Reclining in high state upon the 
 sofa wheeled diagonally across the end of the 
 hearth-rug, she took in at one gratified glance 
 Mrs. Gillette and her daughter, the Morgans, 
 Captain and Mrs. Dale, the Ubiquities," 
 Judge and Mrs. Morris, from Cirand Rapids, 
 and Mr. and Mrs. Leighton, of Chicago, 
 whose summer home, u Cliff Cottage," was
 
 114 \vini mi-: JIKXT /A 77-,"A T 77OA*.s: 
 
 within a stone s throw of the hotel. Gem, 
 modestly mute in the presence of so many 
 older than she, cuddled upon a corner otto 
 man, her head against the arm of Mrs. 
 Dumaresque s chair. The prl hasked and 
 throve and sweetened in Karen s presence as 
 heliotrope in tin- sunshine. 
 
 The wind smote that corner of the house 
 with a roar of savage mirth: the sun-coal 
 lire puffed contentedly and grew redder with 
 each sigh. The gas-glare was subdued l>v 
 pink silk shades. The bowl upon the tripod 
 at Mrs. Manly s elbow was lilled with roses, 
 damascene in odor, tender in color. 
 
 "The parent-roots were brought bv the 
 Jesuit fathers from France over two hundred 
 years ago." said the hostess, toving with them 
 with fat hands as pink as the petals and 
 laden with rings. "Mrs. llanlon brought 
 them to me this afternoon from Mrs. \\ en- 
 del s garden. I>v the wav, Mrs. Dumaresque, 
 she raved over the stroll she had with YOU 
 to-dav. Like the rest of the world, she linds 
 vou enchanting." 
 
 "Chestnuts!" drawled I>ertie in a pre 
 tended aside, leaning behind Karen s chair 
 towards (rein s ear.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 115 
 
 The hostess took the saucy comment good 
 humoredly. 
 
 " I suppose you do get weary of so much 
 repetition of that! Doesn t it elate you a bit 
 as it would us commoner clay ? Or have 
 you the faculty of hiding it so well that we 
 never suspect the flutter ? " 
 
 Clara may have heard in her school-days 
 of the man who voted to banish Aristides 
 because he was tired of hearing him called 
 " The Just." She did not recall it in this 
 connection, but she would have sympathized 
 with the bored citizen. She was the only 
 person present who did not admire the 
 graceful simplicity with which the heavy 
 adulation was put by. 
 
 u What is the old saying about beauty 
 being in the optics seeing, rather than in the 
 object seen?" smiled Karen. "Mrs. Ilan- 
 lon s enjoyment of my society was reflex 
 action. She is a mine of romantic Island- 
 lore. We walked and talked together for an 
 
 o 
 
 hour or more, and I felt at parting that I had 
 tapped but one vein 
 
 " She charged me to ask you for the story 
 of the * Indian Maiden and her Soldier- 
 Lover, " broke in Mrs. Manly, effusively.
 
 110 WITH TIII-: /;/:> / J\TJ-:\TK>.\S : 
 
 " Could we have ;i fairer opportunity for it 
 than here and now . " 
 
 At tlie tuninlt of entreaty that arose. 
 Karni lifted her brows significantly. Sin- 
 knew instantly that she was the vietiin of 
 another of the friendlv plots her idle ad 
 mirers, on the quivive for sensational novelty, 
 were daily springing under her feet. She 
 almost heard the tone and terms of Mrs. 
 Manlv s invitation to " drop in quietly, this 
 evening, and I will coax that always amiable 
 Mrs. Dumaresque to d<> something tell a 
 story, or recite, or sing, or maybe, all three." 
 The proposal had come about a little too 
 smoothly. Perhaps she did weary once in a 
 good many whiles, of Hying continually in 
 the electric bla/.e that cuts sharp, unsparing 
 silhouettes of the social celebrity whose 
 talent is the ability to entertain her fellows. 
 With all her loye of action and yariety, the 
 companionship of her kind, and her generous 
 desire to please, it would have been strange 
 had she not felt disposed, sometimes, to 
 resist the disposition of those about her to 
 ring up the curtain in and out of season. 
 
 There was no trace of ungracious reluc 
 tance in her acceptance of the spray of sweet-
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 117 
 
 brier, produced by Mrs. Manly as a substi 
 tute for the myrtle, to which poets improvised 
 and bards sang 1 in classic days. Judo-e Mor- 
 
 O ^ o 
 
 ris presented it with stately grace, receiving 
 a smile no younger man could have won. 
 
 " The ancient custom was to pass it on 
 remember ! " she said, warningly. 
 
 ;> Doesn t it remind you of Greek plays, 
 and Sappho, and Corinne ? " whispered Mrs. 
 Manly, behind her fan, to Mrs. Morgan. 
 
 " It is, as you say, intensely scenic ! " re 
 sponded Clara in a higher key. 
 
 But two or three of those nearest to her 
 heard the ill-advised Skewton-Cleopatra eu- 
 logium and the reply. All eyes were upon 
 her who, with the poet s spray in her fingers, 
 began the tale as quietly as if Gem, or any 
 other loving girl, were her solitary auditor. 
 
 " You may have noticed a small and very 
 old house on the left-hand side of the way, as 
 we went to church to-day; just before we 
 reached the weather-beaten, barn-like 1 mild- 
 ing which was begun for a hotel and never 
 finished. The cottage was built seventy years 
 or more ago by a white trader who married 
 a beautiful squaw. She was fairer in com 
 plexion than most Indians, and made him
 
 118 WITH THE BEtiT L\TE.\TIOXS: 
 
 a o-ood wife. He was wealthy for those 
 days by the time their eldest daughter, 
 Sophie, was fourteen. She inherited her 
 mother s beauty, and her father s intelli 
 gence, and there was no difference of opinion 
 between the parents when the well-to-do 
 trader determined to send her away from 
 home to be made a lady of. He was a shrewd, 
 proud man, who loved his wife well enough, 
 but saw the hopelessness of trying to elevate 
 her above their present station. The squaw 
 would never be anything but a squaw. She 
 had not even learned to speak Knidish in all 
 these years, and neve 1 adopted the dress of 
 civilized people. At home she wore moccasins, 
 jacket, short skirt, and lep^injjs. When she 
 went abroad she wrapped her blanket over 
 her head, as the women of her race had done 
 for hundreds of years. Perhaps her husband 
 did not care to oppose her whim in this respect. 
 It mav have been the one instance in which 
 lie could not move her: for she seems to have 
 been a mild, docile creature, who let him rule 
 his household as he willed. 
 
 "So Sophie went to school in Detroit, and 
 staved thereuntil she was nineteen for the 
 last year as a parlor boarder. Her father
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 11 9 
 
 had relatives there people of wealth and 
 good social position. Mackinac was a long 
 Avay off then, and he had, probably, other rea 
 sons for arranging that the girl should not 
 come home in her vacations. At the house 
 of one of hiskinspeople she met a young lieu 
 tenant in the regular army, who fell in love 
 with her. He was from the South, hand 
 some, chivalric, and devoted to her. If she 
 had not loved him in return, tho*e would be 
 no story to tell of them to-night. She con 
 fessed her attachment, but refused to give 
 him a definite reply until she went home. 
 She came back to the Island and the little 
 storv-and-a-half house, at the end of the term. 
 He was to follow her in a week or two. 
 From the window of her bed-room on the 
 appointed day she watched the approach of 
 the boat which brought him ; saw him leap 
 to the pier, and take the road to her home. 
 
 kw When he knocked at the front door she 
 sent her mother down to open it. 
 
 " I know just how the Indian wife looked, 
 so graphic was Mrs. Hanlon s sketch of her. 
 Jacket, leggings, and short skirt were of fine 
 black cloth. She was fastidious as to mate 
 rial. Her black hair, tied with ribbons in two
 
 120 WITH THE /, /> T /.V77-;.V770.YS : 
 
 braids, bringdown her buck. HIT eyes were 
 dull, her manner <piiet to doggedness. When 
 the visitor, mistaking IHT for a servant, asked 
 
 if .Miss \\ were at home, she Crumbled, in 
 
 Indian fashion, and pointed to the parlor 
 door. 
 
 " At this instant Sophie ran down stall s. 
 I can imagine her, too, as giving her lover 
 one hand, she held out the other to the patient, 
 dumb woman beside her, and introduced 
 
 M v mother ! 
 
 :> The heroim- ! the dear, noble, grand crea 
 ture! .Mrs. Manly s ejaculation was a sob. 
 l>ut did she know what she risked?" 
 
 l> Slie knew so well that when her lover, 
 rallving from the shock of the meeting, im 
 plored her to become his betrothed, she let 
 him plead for a long time before she con 
 sented. He left the Island, at the end of a 
 week, to rejoin his regiment, with the prom 
 ise to return to claim his bride the next spring. 
 For several months they corresponded regu 
 larly, as affianced lovers. 
 
 ""Then- 
 
 She paused : the hand holding the sweet- 
 brier sprav sank to her knee- ; her eyes fol 
 lowed it; her head and voice were lowered :
 
 A MIDSUMMEJR EPISODE. 121 
 
 her utterance was slow, as with repressed 
 pain : 
 
 "The story is so common that the sequel 
 ought to surprise nobody, only love with her 
 was so strong, and his spoken passion had 
 been vehement. His Southern kinspeople 
 persuaded and ridiculed and stormed him out 
 of 4 the fancy -so it was said. And there 
 was the Indian mother, yon know, lie gave 
 up his betrothed, and sent back her letters, 
 and wrote to her that she must forgive and 
 
 O 
 
 forget him, as one too weak and unworthy to 
 merit her regard." 
 
 " The beastly ca-ad ! " from Bertie. 
 
 " The villain ! " in Mr. Leighton s voice, 
 round and deep with honest indignation. 
 
 Mrs. ?danly tugged so violently and vainly 
 for her pocket handkerchief that Gem silently 
 proffered hers, and hid her brimming eyes 
 with her arched hand. 
 
 " He was neither, said Mrs. Dumaresque, 
 quietly. Dispassionately considered, he was 
 the victim of circumstances. She never let 
 him be blamed in her hearing. If she ut 
 tered a moan, it was upon her knees and 
 alone. l>ut from the day the news came, the 
 maid forgot her ornaments; the girl ceased to
 
 12:2 WITH THE /;/;> r 
 
 live for herself. She laid away all the pretty 
 clothes and trinkets bought with her indul 
 gent father s money in Detroit, and never 
 again wore anything liner than a cotton print 
 or a plain white gown. 
 
 " Mrs. Ilanlon gave one scene so vividly 
 that I seem to have seen it myself. You 
 may not know that she lived in Mackinac 
 until her marriage? One winter evening 
 she and Sophie s little sister were seated upon 
 lo\v (/rickets behind the stove in the sitting- 
 ] oom of the cottage, dressing dolls in Indian 
 costume. Sophie in her print gown, ruf lles 
 of the same material at throat ami wrists, was 
 reading aloud from TJn- Saturday Evening 
 I "*} to her old father, wlio was now hoth 
 hlind and deaf. ( )n a hig sideboard, brass- 
 plated, at the side of the room, was a trav 
 containing a pitcher and tankards of solid sil 
 ver, shining bright, as were the brasses. The 
 Indian mother entering, dressed as I have de 
 scribed. said some gutturals in her husband s 
 ea r. Sophie lowering her paper and looking 
 up while he answered in the same tongue. 
 Then the squaw poured something wine or 
 cider -from the pitcher into a tankard, and 
 served her lord.
 
 EPISODE. 123 
 
 " Sophie s lungs were weak, and reading 
 aloud to a deaf man tired her throat and 
 then, too, some important hidden spring was 
 broken. Mrs. Hanlon was still a child when 
 the patient daughter, one day, quilted the 
 needle carefully into the calico frock she was 
 making for a poor half-breed child, and laid 
 herself, dressed as she was, upon the white 
 bed in that small chamber from the window 
 of which she had seen her lover leap to the 
 wharf, and died as she had lived, without a 
 murmur." 
 
 The rustle marking the letting out of held 
 
 O O 
 
 breaths was checked as she resumed : 
 
 "Mrs. Hanlon was a married woman, and 
 on a visit to her old home, when, one sum 
 mer morning, as she stood upon the porch, a 
 middle-aged officer turned the corner from 
 the Fort, and stopped at the gate. 
 
 " Can you tell me, Madame, where I may 
 find the grave of Miss Sophia B - ? he 
 asked. 
 
 " She directed him to the Catholic ceme 
 tery, and where, about the middle of it, he 
 would see the headstone marked with the 
 girl s name. She recognized him at once, 
 although his moustache was gray, and ho
 
 124 ir/777 ////; /;/;> / /.V77;.v7vo.vs: 
 
 wore a colonol s uniform. Two hours late;- 
 In- passed again. She was behind the blinds 
 now. and did not let him sec her. His head 
 was IK-MI : he walked slo\\ 1 v, his hands locked 
 together behind him: his c-ves were red and 
 swollen with weeping. 
 
 "Is there no more ot it? asked (Jem. 
 chagrined, as the narrator ceased to speak. 
 Kaivu patted the bonny head, smiling 1 sadlv. 
 
 "What more, could there he, deal heart? 
 Death ends all. Captain Dale mav have met. 
 t u- unhappy hero of mv true storv in peace 
 or in battle, for he cast in his lot with that 
 of his native South. He was (Jeneral - 
 oi the Con It-derate service. 
 
 Captain Dale started to his feet. 
 
 " I saw him, again and again ! I was 
 within ten feet of him when he surrendered 
 his command to (Jrant, he said with pro 
 found emotion; "he was a true man and a 
 brave soldier. Heaven rest his soul !" 
 
 Before dropping the curtain upon this 
 chapter. I would win the reader to look once 
 more at the principal figure of the group 
 clustered about the hospitable hearth on that 
 windv Sundav night. 
 
 For I think, to those of us who h>\vd her
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 125 
 
 best, she never seemed exactly again as while 
 she told the little tale, so common, as she 
 had said, yet so piteously pathetic. The 
 flushed air was full of rose-breath ; the sweet- 
 brier between her fingers drooped into spicy 
 lanmior with the warmth of the room. The 
 
 o 
 
 varied, yet all-natural modulations of her 
 voice ; the womanly sympathy of the sweet, 
 deep eyes ; the modest queenliness with 
 which she sustained the honors we never 
 wearied of heaping upon her ah! Memory 
 and I will have parted company for aye 
 when my heart ceases to soften and glow in 
 the recollection of all this, and at the name 
 and thought of her who was, even then, 
 walking straight toward the quicksands !
 
 126 WITH T1IK ;> />T 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 "AND this is a battle-ground!" Gem said 
 it dissatisfiedly. u I never saw one before." 
 
 u Happv child smiled Karen. " Thev 
 are very much like other fields, when the 
 conventional plough has been over them a 
 few times, - usually less picturesque." 
 
 "Most common-place looking locations in 
 the world, don t you know? Bertie, leaning 
 against the looselv laid stone wall dividing 
 the historic ground from the road, caught at 
 the double meaning of Mrs Dtimaresque s 
 remark, and fell to moralizing. " When, as 
 you say, the <!< liri* is cleared away, and well- 
 bred people lose no time about that, you 
 know. Corpses and caissons and the like 
 belong to the realistic school." 
 
 " We visited battle-fields by the do/en 
 while abroad, observed complacent Clara. 
 Waterloo, Flodden, and Marston Moor 
 among them. You are quite correct in pro-
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 127 
 
 nouncmg them hopelessly uninteresting in 
 appearance, Mr. Gates." 
 
 She was looking well to-day. The walk 
 ing party given in her honor was, thus far, a 
 pronounced success. The weather was per 
 fect, cool and clear without being blustering, 
 and a recent shower had settled the dust. 
 Their way had lain, for the most part, 
 through balsamic woods inter-threaded by 
 little paths and bridle-roads, each turn re 
 vealing vistas of green shade shot by arrowy 
 sun-rays. The brighter foliage of the June- 
 berry and maple broke up the sombre effects 
 of the darkly massed evergreens, and in the 
 forest depths slender, supple birches stood, 
 wraith-like. 
 
 Clara s love for walking was more nearly a 
 passion than any other of her well-regulated 
 tastes. She had averred, as they readied the 
 battle-ground, after making the half-circuit 
 of the Island, that the further she walked 
 the stronger she felt. 
 
 "Another coincidence be Ja-awve ! " cried 
 ruddy Bertie, who had previously noted that 
 his knickerbockers, tennis shirt, and cap were 
 precisely the same shade of blue as Mrs. 
 Morgan s suit " (and they might just as
 
 128 WITH THE BEST INTENTIONS: 
 
 well have been on swearing terms don t 
 you know?) I got my second wind an hour 
 ago, and am good now for twenty miles." 
 
 It was diverting to witness his imperturb- 
 altle elTorts to establish a footing of <rood- 
 
 o o 
 
 fellowship with the dignified Lisbon ian. He 
 shocked her twenty times a day, apologizing 
 as often when lie found this out: she schooled 
 and tried to repress and tone him down, civillv 
 but (irmly, and he arose to the surface after 
 each tap, fairlv sinning with o-ood humor, and 
 
 1 *. O O 
 
 capable of other and more audacious offences. 
 She did not resent his comparison of him 
 self to her, and in phraseology borrowed from 
 the ring. Tie had been especiallv attentive 
 to her the whole morning, keeping close 
 beside her for a mile at a time, chattering 
 like the bright boy he was, and hearkening 
 respectfully to all she said. Kmmett took 
 charge of (Jem, and his wife s observation of 
 this increased her content with the dav, the 
 excursion, and herself. She whispered con 
 fidentially to her inmost soul as liertie dusted 
 a stone with his handkerchief, and .Mr. 
 Romeyn folded her shawl into a cushion to 
 soften the rugged seat, that the reputation of 
 belleship was easily attainable, if one s self-
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 1-9 
 
 respect did not hold her back from entering 
 the lists and if the game were worth the 
 candle. 
 
 " Don t trouble yourself, I beg ! " she 
 protested, graciously, when Bertie raised her 
 umbrella and held it over her. I do not 
 mind the sun. I never have headaches 
 on land," provoked to feel that she blushed. 
 
 If Gem had divined the unpleasant "tang" 
 left upon her cousin s conscience by the 
 simulation of indisposition on Saturday after 
 noon, she could not have interposed more op 
 portunely with her remark upon battle-fields. 
 
 "Indeed," proceeded Mrs. Morgan, uncon 
 scious that her neat nuggets of informa 
 tion and deduction were a more realistic 
 touch than the debris to which Bertie had 
 alluded, " I suppose it is the same with 
 almost everything people travel to see. Half 
 the interest we take in such places arises 
 from historic or romantic association. The 
 particular battle fought here took place dur 
 ing the French and Indian War did it 
 not?" 
 
 Her eye directed the query to Mr. Romeyn, 
 and, with unfailing courtesy, he hesitated 
 before setting her right. It is safe to affirm
 
 l:JO \vrni TIIK /;;;>"/ /v/7,-.v: 7o,v.s; 
 
 that the jilacid ca jerhist was the soli^iy 
 member of the group who did not recall her 
 husband s ill-starred historiciu rt?.<i(/i.\ and 
 her recept ion of it. 
 
 "The battle >vas fought on August 4lh. 
 1*14," beLnn Mr. Romevn, with becoming 
 diffidence. " The isl.ind was then thicklv 
 wooded, }n\t the lii^lnvay was the same we 
 see now. .hi: Americans beached their boats 
 at British Landing so-called from the clis- 
 einbai kcttion uf the l-hi^-lish troops there t\\ o 
 ve;irs earlier. - and marched ii[) to this point. 
 This open space, then surrounded on three 
 si .les bv woods, was a cu/-<l> -Sit - ; for lliei e 
 Vv as an Indian behind every tree. .Ma]or 
 Molnies. W!K had been advised to wear plain 
 clothes that dav, and had answered that he 
 would not skulk behind a citi/cn s coat, fell 
 a, the first lire. -over there, " pointing to 
 tiie ri^ ht. "He was riddled with bullets. 
 Ills men draped the lodv to the fence and 
 covered it with rails to prevent the savages 
 from finding and mutilating it. Three oi iicers 
 were killed bv the same- vollev. The Amer 
 icans retreated, with great, loss, to their boats." 
 
 " Were thev not pursued /" 
 
 u No ; Indians will not light in the open,
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 131 
 
 even against inferior numbers, if they can 
 find a cover." 
 
 The battle-field, now an orchard, was thrill- 
 in gly still. Each trunk was the centre of a 
 round of well-defined shade ; the noon-day 
 sun burnished the broad blades of meadow- 
 grass, and drew upright lines along the tree- 
 boles that had sheltered the savages that 
 bloody day. Two cows ruminated upon 
 their noon-day meal in the shadow of pali 
 sades a hundred years old. A superannu 
 ated horse cropped the turf in a sunny 
 corner. 
 
 "Oh, dear!" The long-drawn sigh was 
 Gem s. " It is such a nice, peaceful world, 
 if people would only let it alone ! " 
 
 " But they won t, you know ! " Bertie, 
 seated at Clara s feet, his blue-stockinged legs 
 crossed at the ankles, plucked up grasses 
 and bit them while he talked. " And, be 
 Ja-awve ! when one thinks of Indian warfare, 
 and how their methods are the same now as 
 then, you know, there does seem to be a 
 divine necessity for blood-letting upon a 
 large scale, upon occasion, don t you know, 
 if you might only choose your ground and 
 subjects, you know."
 
 132 WITH Tin-: /;/;> y I\TKNTHL\S .- 
 
 Thus began an argument on the Indian 
 question between him and Mrs. Morgan, 
 who had lately read A Century of Dishonor, 
 which lasted until they had left the public 
 road for a tortuous by-way dividing the heart 
 of the virgin forest. It was a funny debate. 
 Clara, erect as the aborigines whom she 
 championed, chin and eyelids level, stepping 
 over stone and tussock as upon a spring 
 floor, turned out sentences from the patent 
 lathe of an intellect trained to carry rather 
 than originate. liertie lounged along at her 
 side, swinging a stout stiek he had cut 
 in the bushes, and in the intervals of her 
 paragraphs, delivered in his gentlest drawl 
 denunciations against Sioux, Iroquois, (."hoc- 
 taws and Xe/, Perces, so charged with blood- 
 thirstiness that Clara s auburn curls stiffened 
 in the hearing. 
 
 " I have too much respect for your real 
 intelligence to believe for a moment that 
 you are serious," Karen, almost overtaking 
 them with Mr. Romeyn, heard her sav. 
 " For myself, I consider the subject too mo 
 mentous for sportive treatment. These are 
 our fellow-creatures, our brothers and sis 
 ters "
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 133 
 
 pardon, there ! " interrupted Bertie, 
 mildly. " The unity of the human race is a 
 mooted question, don t you know ?" 
 
 "That is the cavil of the scientist. It 
 was the stronghold of the Southern slav<- 
 driver. We all sprang from one root. We 
 are scions of the same stock. You and the 
 hated Indian hated because of what our 
 cruel injustice has made him to be are 
 members of one body " 
 
 " Beg pardon again ! You ca-a-n t mean 
 that he is one le-e-g and I another, so to 
 speak?" 
 
 " If you choose to put it in that way." In 
 the Lisbon Seminary the three-lettered mono 
 syllable had no place in polite talk, but Clara 
 bore up creditably. " We are integral por 
 tions of the body politic." 
 
 " Then, be Ja-awve ! " swept by the horror 
 of the thought into momentary forgetfulness 
 of his usual fine courtesy, "I say, ampu 
 tate forthwith, and at any cost, you know ! 
 We d better stu-ump it for the rest of our 
 natural lives ! " 
 
 The absurdity, made trebly ludicrous by 
 manner and intonation, raised a shout from 
 the four who were, by now, close upon the
 
 l. U WITH THE JIKST I.\TK.\TK>.\* : 
 
 disputants. Bertie s arm w;us twitched vio 
 lently from behind at the same moment. 
 
 "Eh! beg pardon?" said lie, looking over 
 his shoulder in cherubic simplicity. 
 
 Mr. Iiomeyn had dealt the rebukeful 
 pineh, Imt it was Karen who at that instant 
 exclaimed : 
 
 "There is Friendship s Altar! Shall we 
 stop and sacrifice upon it?" 
 
 Kmnictt and (Jem guyly led the way to the 
 great boulder, cushioned with moss and 
 draped with vines. As the party was broken 
 into single file by trees and brushwood, 
 Clara found Mrs. Dumaresque directly in 
 front of her. Ten seconds ago she would 
 have declared that no temptation could ever 
 make her so far forget pride and ladyhood, 
 but she bent forward and dropped a do/en 
 words, sharp and cold as sleet, into her 
 ear: 
 
 " Your interference was well meant, Mrs. 
 Dumaresque, hut I can protect myself ! 
 
 She had only time to see the rush of pained 
 surprise into the expressive eyes turned 
 quickly upon hers, and they were with the 
 others at the base of Friendship s Altar. 
 
 "You know the legend, I am sure? Mr.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 135 
 
 Romeyn appealed to Karen. " We have 
 never found you at fault yet." 
 
 She was very pale ; her breath came irreg 
 ularly ; as she laid her hand upon the age- 
 blotched, granite, it shook, but her voice was 
 firm and sweet. 
 
 " There must be a first time to everything, 
 you know. I know of no story connected 
 with the rock." 
 
 " Then make up one ! " demanded petted 
 Gem. "It would be a thousand times pret 
 tier than any fussy old Island tale ! " 
 
 " That goes without saying," assented un 
 suspicious Emmett, smiling affectionately at 
 his old playfellow. 
 
 Color and light swept back into Karen s 
 face ; a musing smile stirred her lips slowly. 
 She stood for a moment, with downcast eyes, 
 then began with the grave simplicity which 
 gave nameless and irresistible charm to her 
 narrations : 
 
 "Once upon a time a very long time 
 ago six friends arrived at this great rock 
 by as many different ways. Each had his or 
 her own home and work in the wide world, 
 and since they had not concerted to meet 
 here on that day, each was surprised to see
 
 /o6 WITH TIIK HE XT /.V77^V77O.VX : 
 
 the others. But being friends tried and 
 true they were triad of the day and hour 
 
 O * 
 
 (hat brought them together in this loycly, 
 secluded spot. They sat down upon fallen 
 trunks and upon mossy stones, and talked 
 long and lovingly of what each had felt and 
 suffered, and, above all. </ne since their last 
 parting. The big boulder was quite bare 
 then ; rain had stained the sides, and frost 
 had left crackles over the surface like 
 wrinkles in an old man s face. A lightning 
 bull had split upon tin- top. and scored deep 
 lines on the gray forehead. These trees 
 were here, however, and if we could under 
 stand what they are whispering about. I 
 think we should hear some, of the sweet 
 things they heard that day from the six 
 friends. 
 
 k - Did I tell you that three were men and 
 three women ? They had bread and wine in 
 their wallets, aud ate and drank together a 
 sort of love-feast it was to them all. And, 
 by and by, when the sun struck level through 
 the woods, and the shadows began to grow 
 cool, one- of the young men climbed to the 
 top of the big stone, that may have been 
 dropped here during the war of the Titans,
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 137 
 
 and broke a full bottle of red wine upon the 
 scarred forehead, and christened the lonely 
 boulder Friendship s Altar. 
 
 " As he did this, and they all said 
 Amen ! a young girl, with trustful blue 
 eyes and a merry mouth," - - in saying it, she 
 smiled at Gem, " espied in a seam of the 
 rock a quaint little fern, the leaves of which 
 were set in rather formal fashion, upon a 
 stern, like line, glossy wire. There were just 
 six sprays of it, and she gave one to each of 
 those whose eyes were sorrowful at the 
 thought of the years and miles that would 
 again divide them. And, because the shining 
 stem was so near the color of the vouner 
 
 / O 
 
 girl s hair as she stood in the shade, distribu 
 ting the sprays, the oldest woman there 
 called it Maiden-hair fern. Each took a 
 spray, as I have said, and each promised 
 the rest and his or her own heart that, 
 through all thoughts of the dear ones there 
 present should always run the slender, steady 
 thread of perfect trust, holding all fast and 
 in seemly order. 
 
 " The next year, the older woman whom 
 I have mentioned made a pilgrimage to the 
 rock alone and saw that a strange thing
 
 J:.S H -y/7/ THE 7, AV-T 
 
 had happened. Rich moss had covered the 
 scars made b\- the lightning, and, following 
 the track of tin.- red wine, had spread a velvet 
 mantle over the rock. .As for the maiden 
 hair fern, a do/en spravs had sprung Tip for 
 everv one the girl with the sweet eyes and 
 laughing mouth had gathered. 
 
 Must everv legend have a moral? Mine 
 has none, unless it lie that I leaven Messes 
 true hearts, and that love grows with the 
 
 giving." 
 
 While she talked. Hertie had plucked off 
 his cap silentlv. and tin. other men as silentlv 
 imitated him. (Jem s eves were like dewv 
 gentians, her red lips apart and tremulous 
 witli a smile that would not let her speak in 
 accepting her share of the spravs Karen now 
 playfully gathered from a rift in the rock 
 and offered to the partv. Taking a tiny 
 :!"te-book from the velvet ba ( _; hung at her 
 side, the girl laid the sprigs between the 
 leaves, and put the hook hack in the reticule. 
 Jit-Hie raised his to his lips he fore pinning it 
 seeurelv in the side of his eap : Mi . Romeyn 
 gravely shut his up in his pocket-hook, and 
 Kmmitt asked his wife for a pin to make his 
 fast in his buttonhole.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 139 
 
 Her little laugh was thin and high. 
 
 " Wouldn t it be safer done up in tissue 
 paper and kept in the left-hand vest-pocket? 
 But there is your pin ! I hope the rest of 
 you have shoes as stout as mine. The Ti 
 tans selected a boggy spot in which to drop 
 the boulder. I am afraid the Happy Six had 
 catarrhs and rheumatism after their picnic. 
 
 " That may have been the reason that only 
 one dared come back the next year," 
 rejoined Karen, with perfect temper and 
 breeding. " In the second edition of the 
 story I will guard against such harrowing 
 possibilities by mentioning that they had 
 Peruvian bark as well as port wine in their 
 wallets." 
 
 Mr. Romeyn was at Clara s side when they 
 regained the road. Bertie was with Gem, 
 and Emmett, for the first time that day, 
 became Mrs. Dumaresque s escort. 
 
 Ascertaining this by a backward glance, 
 Clara quickened her pace. 
 
 " I believe I did get chilled in that damp 
 hollow ! " she said, nervously. " I must walk 
 fast to get warm." 
 
 The dignified bachelor kept step with her, 
 handing her over ruts and holding back
 
 liO 117777 7777-; VEST 7A 77.\V7 7 ^V> 1 : 
 
 boughs with assiduity, the more exasperating 
 to her irritated spirit because she had to be 
 obliged to him for what provoked her to 
 snappishness. 
 
 They walked so fast that they were virtu 
 ally alone in the green gloom of the woods 
 when they readied Seott s ( aye, the termi 
 nus of the road. Bertie and Gem were just 
 in sight at the end of the leafy vista when 
 Clara broke in upon her companion s cour 
 teous tale of American caves. 
 
 "Mrs. Dumaresqiie is an actress of uncom 
 mon ability. Do you know in what dramatic 
 school she was graduated? " 
 
 The common-place man faced her full, his 
 features unchanged, save for the kindling 
 light within the somewhat dull eyes. With 
 one hand he lifted his hat, with the other lie 
 pointed upward. 
 
 I believe," he said, deliberately, as he 
 might have named London or Munich, "she 
 had her decree from Heaven !
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE, 141 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE pedestrians had visited, and Bertie, at 
 Gem s order, had probed, as far as a twelve- 
 foot pole would reach, the mysterious fissure 
 that bisects the Island, the mossy sides of 
 which are overhung with creeping plants, 
 while the unfathomed depths are choked 
 with the fallen leaves of centuries. They 
 had peeped into, without entering, Henry s 
 Cave, where the white fugitive from the 
 Michilimackinack Massacre, in 1763, passed 
 his first night in hiding without suspecting 
 that what he had lain upon in the darkness 
 was, as he tells us he discovered at " day 
 break," - nothing less than a heap of human 
 bones and skulls, which covered all the floor." 
 Gem, sure-footed as a chamois, had climbed 
 with Bertie to the Devil s Oven in Sugar 
 Loaf Rock, and the divergence from the 
 high-road to Scott s Cave was proposed by 
 the same tireless explorer. 
 
 " Her tastes being ca-a-v-ernous, as well
 
 14- J ,7/77 77/7; /, /;> j" L\T1-;.\T1(>.\S : 
 
 as osseous, you know," remarked Bertie. 
 resignedly, as she knelt to peer into the Mack 
 recess. "Henrys C ave would have lilh-d 
 the hill exactly had not the skeletons heen 
 carled oil liy her fellow-ghouls. She hopes 
 against hope to lind inortuarv nienie-e-ntoes 
 here, don t you know /" 
 
 Witliout deigning reply or glance, (iem 
 ducked her prettv head and disappeared in 
 the cave. In a twinkling Bertie darted in 
 after her. and hefore Clara could look virt 
 uously aghast, Mrs. Dumaresque gathered 
 her skills ahout her, and. stooping low. 
 followed them. 
 
 "May I have the pleasure?" said M;. 
 Romeyn, extending his hand to Mrs. Mor 
 gan, as lie might ask her to dance. 
 
 "Thank you! I prefer open air and sun 
 shine." - with politeness that was hitinglv 
 punctilious. But do not let me keep you." 
 
 lie howed and vanished into the wide, low 
 mouth of the rock. 
 
 Hushand and wife were left to themselves 
 without the crevice, from which issued a hum 
 and jumhle of reverberant voices. 
 
 "Let us go in!" pleaded fun-loving Km- 
 mett. "It is part of the programme."
 
 A MIDXUMHElt EPISODE. 143 
 
 " I shall stay here, by your leave. One 
 must draw the line somewhere ! " 
 
 Gem s face, alive with glee, showed in the 
 aperture like a nodding daisy thrust out of a 
 rabbit-burrow. 
 
 " Have you a newspaper, Mr. Morgan ? 
 We have dry leaves and matches, and are 
 going to build a fire. Do come in, Cousin 
 Clara ! " 
 
 Clara shook her head, with her faint semi- 
 smile. Emmett produced a morning paper, 
 and proceeded to cut balsam and cedar twigs 
 for fuel. He was on his hands and knees, 
 passing them in to the fire-builders, when his 
 wife exclaimed : 
 
 " Get up ! quick ! Here comes a riding 
 party!" 
 
 Three equestrians were entering the irregu 
 lar vista of greenery, bowing their heads to 
 avoid hanging boughs. As they approached, 
 Mrs. Morgan recognized Captain and Mrs. 
 Dale, and, a second later, the officer with the 
 scar upon his cheek, she had last seen upon 
 the yacht. 
 
 The situation was embarrassing. The red 
 glare within the cave was that of a furnace, 
 or the Devil s Oven in full blast, and as the
 
 1-44 WITH THE IlEST L\TI-:\1 K)XS : 
 
 riders reined in their horses to greet, the young 
 couple, Bertie s voice, hoarse ;unl I esoiiant as 
 the drone of a lilue-lly in a bottle, was heard 
 reciting 1 : 
 
 15 lark spirits and white, 
 Ilcil spirits and grav," 
 
 joined by (iem s dulcet treble in a musical 
 wobble. 
 
 Mingle, mingle, mingle! 
 You th. tt mingle may." 
 
 "Incantations go naturally with caverns." 
 said tactful Mrs. Dale. "How fortunate 
 that we are in time for the illumination ! " 
 
 And the Captain -> Scott s chimnev draws 
 well! Mrs. Morgan. l,-l me introduce my 
 friend. Major Kane." 
 
 The Major lifted his hat with the air of a 
 well-bred man, and as Kmmett was named, 
 smiled. 
 
 "A pleasant episode in our excursion! 
 he said, taking his cue from his friends. 
 
 Then, seeing Clara color more deeply at. 
 the shriek of hollow laughter issuing from 
 the grinning rock, Mrs. Dale said a few 
 words of cordial hope that the party would 
 rest at the Foil on their way home, and the 
 three cantered away.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 145 
 
 " How horribly annoying ! People have 
 no right to subject others to such humilia 
 tion ! " ejaculated the poor bride. " I wish 
 I had never come out with them ! A woman 
 of thirty-four and a man of thirty-seven ought 
 to understand the first principles of deco 
 rum. So much for intimacy with fast soci 
 ety women ! " 
 
 Kmmett ceased to laugh, There was a 
 warm spark in his eye while he listened. 
 
 " I thought you were too good-tempered 
 and too sensible to take offence at a bit 
 of harmless amusement," he said, quietly. 
 "What could Airs. Dumaresque do but follow 
 those children into the cave, unless she had 
 preferred the role of prude and spoil-sport?" 
 
 Every word froze Clara into coldness more 
 deadly than her previous show of anger. 
 "Prude" and "spoil-sport" were ugly terms 
 in the ear of a month-old wife. 
 
 " I beg your pardon ! " in her clearest ac 
 cents. " My antecedents are my excuse for 
 non-appreciation of such exhibitions." 
 
 " Then, for Heaven s sake, rise above your 
 antecedents ! " began Emmett, when Gem 
 popped out of the rocky chamber, and the 
 other revellers followed.
 
 140 WITH THE 11KST L\TE.\TIO.\s : 
 
 " It was fun alive ! " averred the girl, un- 
 inindful of the changed moral atmosphere 
 into which she had plunged. "There was 
 room for a dozen people. We made the tire 
 upon a ledge like a mantel. We couldn t 
 see a line, but xonictliin;! drew beautifully ! 
 And the floor was as dry- 
 
 ""As the bones that weren t there!" fin 
 ished Bertie, teasingly. 
 
 It was chagrin, rather than relief, to Mrs. 
 Morgan, that nobodv seemed to notice her 
 civil hauteur then and during tin: tramp 
 through the sinuous paths leading to the 
 lunch-ground. Mi 1 . Romcvn and Karen were 
 the pioneers: Bertie and (Jem laughed and 
 quarrelled in their wonted fashion, as far 
 behind husband and wife as Mr. Ifomeyn s 
 faultlessly clad figure, holding back intrusive 
 branches that Mrs. Dumaresque mi _dit pass 
 untouched, was in front. 
 
 A loaf of refined sugar bruises the smiting 
 hand as surelv as LTranito. Kmmett s temper 
 was sweet and sound, but he could he reso 
 lute to stubbornness. Clara was behaving 
 foolishly, in his opinion. lie hoped to I leaven 
 she would not mature into such a pattern of 
 pious propriety, prudence, and prejudice as
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 147 
 
 her mother, Mrs. James Cameron, the first 
 lady of Lisbon. And, since he cherished the 
 belief that if Mrs. Cameron s estimable spouse 
 had assumed command of the domestic forces 
 early in the campaign it would have been well 
 for wife, husband, and children, it behooved 
 him, Emmett Morgan, to profit by the experi 
 ence of his worthy, but hen-pecked papa-in- 
 law. As a beginning, he would leave Clara 
 to find her senses, unhindered and unhelped 
 by him. Not that he nursed his righteous 
 indignation, or showed symptoms of sulking. 
 Before they came in sight of the lunching- 
 place, he espied an element of the ridiculous 
 in the recent "spat." He had impatiently 
 advised Clara to rise above her antecedents. 
 In cool patience, he decided the counsel to be 
 excellent. A few more lessons to this effect 
 would cure her of sundry ways and notions 
 unworthy of so noble a creature. He did not 
 in the least divine that her petulant disap 
 proval of the prankish episode of the cave 
 bonfire had deeper root than in prudish dread 
 of escapades that threatened every-day pro 
 prieties. The tone of the festal party was 
 not discordant to him. He fell in readily 
 with holiday freak and fancy, knowing the
 
 148 WITH THE IIKST AV77-.\V77O.YN : 
 
 participants and tlieir order which was Ids 
 own too well to fear lest either should be 
 carried too far. 
 
 It \vas a disagreeable surprise when Clara 
 met. with eyes green and shallow with cool 
 disdain, the snnnv look he turned upon her 
 when the spider-like uprights and ladders of 
 the Fort Holmes observatory loomed above 
 the trees. 
 
 "We will find our lunch there, I suppose, 
 he remarked. "Are yon verv tired?" 
 
 " Not at all, thank you ! " 
 
 Each accent might have been clipped out 
 with a metal die. 
 
 "You have a good appetite. I hope?" 
 
 "Verv good I am obliged to you ! " 
 
 Thev had come out into the clearing about 
 the spidery structure. In the shade of the 
 environing trees were a wagon and two 
 carriages. 
 
 Mrs. Dumaresque and Gem cried out si 
 multaneously with delight. Mrs. Manlv re 
 clined in her low-hung phaeton ; Mrs. (iillette 
 sat at her side. The plot of bringing the two 
 mothers to the sylvan feast had been arranged 
 between Messrs. Romeyn and Gates, even 
 Emmett being ignorant of it. A cloth was
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 149 
 
 laid up! >n the grass, and waiters from the 
 hotel had spread upon it a collation brought 
 from the spring-wagon. Carriage cushions 
 and rugs were provided for the ladies : the 
 empty carriage was to convey them home 
 should they desire to drive the rest of the 
 way. 
 
 " How admirably you have ordered every 
 thing the weather included ! " said Karen, 
 by and by, to the senior manager. " We have 
 not encountered even a cross zephyr ; the 
 mayonnaise is in the serenest mood conceiva 
 ble, and the ices are in good form. You 
 might make a fortune as comptroller of al 
 fresco entertainments, if you would turn your 
 mind to this important branch of industry." 
 
 " Thank you ! I shall treasure the com 
 pliment, and lay away the hint for serious 
 consideration. The eternal fitness of things 
 should have secured Queen s weather for us 
 to-day." 
 
 His bow and glance directed the speech 
 not to the nominal queen and motive of the 
 fete, but to Mrs. Dumaresque. Clara s swol 
 len heart bled slow drops of angry mortifica 
 tion. She had been fooled and used in the 
 service of this unblushing intriguante ! Under
 
 150 WITH THE /;/>T I.\Ti:.\TIO.\S : 
 
 cover of honoring he; 1 ;is bride, stranger, ami 
 guest, opportunity was afforded her riv;d to 
 shine, and to strengthen her Imld upon every 
 man there .Mrs. Morgan s husband not ex- 
 cepted. 
 
 " Mv dear Clara," said Mrs. Manlv from 
 her cushioned nest. you are paler tlian I 
 like to see you. Positively, i/u sliall not 
 \valk hack, \vliatcver these ultra-muscular 
 Avonien niav attempt." 
 
 l)lo\v upon hlo\v ! Was she to In- credited, 
 then, with nothut// which could compare with 
 the accomplishments ot her who had never 
 looked handsomer and healthier than as sin- 
 arose to her feet. and. swinging her hroad- 
 hrimmed hat hv the strings while she talked, 
 looked up to the observatory thev proposed 
 to climb, apparently deaf to the impending 
 discussion ? 
 
 " I was never in better health and spirits," 
 asserted Clara, rising likewise, and speaking 
 faster than usual. " And. if the sovereign of 
 the day will permit, 1 will remain with her 
 suite to the end of her progress." 
 
 Still Karen did not seem to heed aught 
 save her chat with Bertie and (Jem. Cleo 
 patra-Skewton accosted her loudly.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 151 
 
 " Dearest Mrs. Dumaresque ! You lose all 
 the nice, loyal speeches made to you." 
 
 Karen turned a face so sunshiny and sweet 
 that even Clara fancied that her dart had 
 fallen short of the mark. 
 
 " To me ! I heard all Mrs. Morgan said. 
 
 O 
 
 But I supposed she was apostrophizing her 
 self referring the question to the only 
 authority our queen regnant should acknowl 
 edge her own royal judgment/ 
 
 Bertie began the clapping of hands that 
 applauded a retort more courteous and grace 
 ful than written words can convey. 
 
 I would keep before the reader s mind the 
 truth that Clara Morgan was a yood woman, 
 a sincere Christian who, theoretically, yet 
 honestly, lived in charity of thought with 
 her neighbor. It is equally true that, at that 
 instant, she, for the first time in her placid 
 life, knowingly hated a human being. The 
 
 O \J O 
 
 tyranny of social intercourse forced her 
 patent smile to lips that must not quiver. 
 She had no repartee ready fit to offer in pay 
 ment for the compliment of which she was 
 the reluctant recipient, but her mute blush 
 served her turn as well. 
 
 Mrs. Manly patted ^"v shoulder, approv 
 ingly : -
 
 Io2 WITH THE HXXT INTENTIONS: 
 
 Good by. love ! We old ladies will be 
 jo<_rged back to easy chair and .sofa. But this 
 day will be a star in memory, always. Keep 
 an eve upon mv giddy girl, please, Mi s. 
 Dumaresque ; and, (Jem, darling, don t tax 
 lier indulgence too far ! " 
 
 The original partv of six rambled around 
 the sunken earthworks, traced the foundation 
 of the ruined magazine and the subterranean 
 passage conducting from it to the officers 
 houses, and then mounted the combination 
 of trestle-work and staircase which formed 
 the skeleton tower. From the platform at the 
 top, a glorious panorama of woods, waters, 
 and islands lav beneath them on all sides. 
 Mrs. Dumaresque, one knee upon the wooden 
 bench that ran along the inside of the rail 
 ing, was looking at a distant point of land 
 through the field-glass steadied for her by 
 Mr. Uomcvn, when rapid feet were heard 
 ascending the stairs. 
 
 " I saw it very distinctly." said Karen s 
 full, mellow voice, as she stood again tip- 
 right. " Perhaps Mrs. Morgan would like to 
 look " 
 
 In turning, she was brought face to faee 
 with Captain Dale and Major Kane.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 153 
 
 A gasping groan escaped her ; she made a 
 liasty movement backward, which Clara sub- 
 sequently interpreted into an impulse to cast 
 herself headlong from the tower. At the 
 moment she was so startled by the sudden 
 reel toward the low rail that she sprang for 
 ward, and caught her detested rival by both 
 arms.
 
 154 WITH THE LEXT 1.\TL\\T1OX* : 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 IT was in keeping with the line courtesy 
 innate in Karen Dumaresque, and which 
 never forsook her, that the first words formed 
 by her livid lips, when her senses rallied to 
 do her will, were "Thank von ! to the 
 wuinan who had probably saved her life. 
 
 Sinking then npon the bench, she pressed 
 her lingers npon her eves, motionless for a 
 minute, while (Jem folded her arms about 
 her, and -Mr. llomeyn raced down the steps 
 to get a glass and carafe of water from the 
 waiters who were repacking the table service. 
 Bertie fanned the half-conscious woman with 
 his hat. and Clara, withdrawn to the other 
 side of the small platform, scrutinized the 
 scene with calm severitv. 
 
 "It lovki il like vertigo!" she said, in 
 answer to Captain Dale s subdued inqnirv. 
 "She was apparently perfectly well an in 
 stant before the attack." 
 
 "I am perfectly well now! responded
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 155 
 
 Karen, unexpectedly, lowering her hands and 
 sitting upright. " It was a horrible giddiness 
 that overtook me. How are you, Captain 
 Dale ? Please don t suspect me of getting 
 up a scene. I had been looking through the 
 spy-glass, and forgot how high I was above 
 the ground." 
 
 The first sentences were articulated as if 
 her tongue were slightly clogged; the last, 
 easily and in her natural voice. In uttering 
 the concluding clause she moved her head as 
 if to 2 et a better view of the stranger stand- 
 
 o 
 
 ing in the rear of the party. 
 
 Captain Dale, obeying her gesture, turned 
 toward the guest, who had gone down a few 
 steps of the upper staircase and, one hand 
 upon the rail, seemed irresolute -whether to 
 stay or take flight. 
 
 " I am relieved to know that our abrupt 
 appearance did not startle you," said the 
 Captain. "We met Mrs. Gillette and Mrs. 
 Manly at Point Lookout, but they did not 
 tell us you were here. We frightened them, 
 too," - laughing apologetically. " May I 
 introduce my friend and fellow-culprit, Major 
 Kane?" 
 
 Mrs. Dumaresque s visage settled into reso-
 
 1.00 WITH THE 11EST IXTESTIOXf: 
 
 lute composure while lie spoke. Still pale, 
 hut perfectly self-possessed, slie arose to 
 acknowledge tlie introduction. Even her 
 eloquent eyes were subject to the tyranny of 
 will. 
 
 "Unless I mistake," - not losing hold of 
 his eves while she said it deliberately, as i " 
 summoning meinorv to l>ear upon the subject, 
 
 k% Major Kane and I are not strangers. 
 Were you not the guest, for a few days, of 
 Captain Hart, at Vancouver Karracks, in the 
 autumn of 1880?" 
 
 The man looked dazed more confused 
 than might have been expected from one of 
 his age and profession then brightened to 
 catch the clue thrown out, and bowed pro 
 foundly. 
 
 "I was!" he said, respectfully. "And I 
 recollect you perfectlv, Mrs. 
 
 " Dumaresque ! " Karen supplied the name 
 almost before he hesitated. " The world is 
 a little ball to army people. They are all 
 the while running against their fellow- Arabs 
 
 or ants. Canyon tell me where the Ilarta 
 are now ? " 
 
 They stood apart from the rest, chatting 
 quietly, yet audibly, of one old acquaintance
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 157 
 
 after another, until the motion to descend 
 was made. Major Dale reiterated his wife s 
 invitation to call at the Fort on the home 
 ward walk, and offered his services as path 
 finder. He addressed invitation and offer to 
 Mrs. Dumaresque, assuming her to be the 
 leader of the expedition, and naturally in so 
 doing, fell into place on one side of her, Mr. 
 Romeyn keeping the other. Emmett was in 
 the middle of a sentence to Gem Manly, and 
 without dispossessing Bertie of Ids place, 
 walked along with them. The unpremedi 
 tated assignment of escorts threw Clara and 
 Major Kane together in the narrow road. 
 Sure that her husband would soon join them, 
 she lost no time in beginning the task laid 
 upon her by conscience and pique. 
 
 "There is a free-masonry an entente cor- 
 diale between army-people, let them meet 
 where they will," she observed, agreeably. 
 " Although I suppose Mrs. Dumaresque knows 
 comparatively little of her husband s brother- 
 officers since his death. Were you acquainted 
 with him?" 
 
 Major Kane looked surprised doubtless 
 at her frank inquisitiveness. She knew it 
 to be underbred, but the opportunity was brief
 
 IvS \VIT1I THE J1KST 7A 7 A 770JV> : 
 
 and golden. Something lay back of the 
 specious show of tin,* popular woman. The 
 wife she sought to supplant in her husband s 
 regard might be the chosen instrument of 
 Heaven to unmask the syren. 
 
 Wv I met him several times," said her com 
 panion, curtlv. 
 
 Clara drove on undauntedly. 
 
 "Were vmi ever on the same post?" 
 
 k> Yes -once for a short time," surprise 
 evident now in accent as in look. 
 
 *" Was he so very handsome and fascinating 
 as people say? Mrs. Dumaresque s taste is 
 too just to allow her to play the sentimental 
 relict, and she never mentions him. But 
 others describe him as an Adonis." 
 
 " I believe that was his reputation. I lave 
 you been long on the Island?" 
 
 k> Over a week. .Mrs. (lillette was a friend 
 of Mr. Morgan in his college days. Her 
 daughter and he had not met since until we 
 found them here. How long ago did she- 
 lose her husband ? " 
 
 There was no mistaking the disfavor in the 
 serious eyes that grew suddenly keen in 
 glancing down upon the obstinate catechist. 
 
 About eight years, I think."
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 159 
 
 " They were together, then, at Vancouver 
 Barracks when you visited that post in 1880 ? " 
 
 " Captain Dale ! called Major Kane, 
 abruptly. Are there snakes in these woods?" 
 
 The handsome, genial face looked backward 
 over the owner s shoulder. 
 
 " Not one upon the Island, my dear Ma 
 jor ! Some Iroquois St. Patrick disposed of 
 the species before white man set foot upon 
 Mackinac." 
 
 " I must take your word for it, I suppose," 
 said the other, reluctantly. " But more snaky- 
 looking coverts I never beheld ! " 
 
 Emmett, attracted by the colloquy, ful 
 filled his wife s expectant fears by quickening 
 his pace to join the pair, and the dialogue 
 fell to the carriage of the two men. 
 
 Clara was taciturn and thoughtful. More 
 than ever convinced that some ugly secret 
 lay behind the brilliant life she stigmatized 
 as " a delusion and a lie, she was foiled in 
 every effort to run it down. Her clumsy 
 
 \> J 
 
 queries had elicited the unimportant date of 
 Caj)tain Dumaresque s demise, but also put 
 the man who probably knew everything she 
 longed to learn upon his guard against fu 
 ture approaches. For the iirst time it came
 
 WITH THE BEXT 
 
 to her now that she might, ;us she phrased it, 
 in her chagrin, have "tapped tin- Dales." 
 Army-people all know each other, and the 
 gossip df one post became, hv ireijiient 
 exchanges, the property of another. But 
 Major Kaiu would repeat the substance of 
 his colloquy with the inquisitive hride to 
 his friends and caution them to discretion. 
 The very free-masonry of which she had 
 >pokcn would seal their lips. 
 
 And Emmett knew it ! There 1 was the 
 sharpest sting! The broken sentences she 
 had caught upon the vovage to St. I<_niace 
 laid the first stone of the wall rising slowlv 
 hut regularly between her and her husband. 
 Must those whom (iod had joined together 
 be put utterly asunder bv the wiles of one 
 unscrupulous woman, who had traded upon 
 her widowhood as upon everything else? 
 
 Mrs. Dale met them upon the pia/./.a of her 
 co/ily col n foil able quarters and took the ladies 
 ill-doors to brush off the dust and rearrange 
 tresses disordered bv envious houghs and 
 hanging vines. Then all were summoned to 
 take a restful eup of tea in the pretty draw 
 ing-room. 
 
 As Karen sat in a corner of the sofa, tea-
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 10 1 
 
 cup in hand, her gracious self-poise was inim 
 itable and attractive. Upon the lapel of the 
 gray jacket that matched gown and hat was 
 the withered fern-spray gathered from Friend 
 ship s Altar. Her gauntlets lay on her lap; 
 upon the hand holding the cup and saucer 
 glittered engagement and wedding rings ; her 
 cheeks were colored by the long day in the 
 
 v O * 
 
 sun-filled air into dusky red that made her 
 eyes larger and more splendid. Her lips were 
 srarlet as with fever ; her play of mirthful 
 witticism was enchanting. Not an incident 
 of the excursion was forgotten, and all. in 
 cluding her vertigo upon the tower-top, by 
 graceful travesty supplied food for the laugh 
 ter which Clara, the one grave auditor, com 
 pared mentally to the crackling of thorns 
 under a pot. 
 
 Nothing and nobody can hope to escape 
 our raconteur^ she could not help saying 
 aside to Mrs. Dale, her patent half-smile apol 
 ogetic and deprecatory. 
 
 Vet who ever heard her say an ill-natured 
 thing ? " replied that lady, still laughing. 
 "She shows everybody except herself ii> 
 such a charming light that one esteems it an 
 honor to figure in her sketches. I envy you
 
 1G2 M /yyy vv/y-; y;y>y y.v/7;.v77o.v> .- 
 
 win) see her eyery <lav. and all day, it you 
 like. Sin- extracts sunshine from the in ( t 
 unlikely materials, and is generous in shar 
 ing it with others." 
 
 They were all alike- infatuated to mad 
 ness. While almost within arm s length, she 
 knew there lay that subtle, dark mystery 
 whieli would, if known, change worship into 
 contempt ! 
 
 They walked down the long slojie of Fort 
 Hill in the sunset, through the strati inn- 
 town, and by the shabby little home of the 
 
 dead and almost forgotten Sophie 1! . up 
 
 the long plank walk winding around corners 
 to the hotel. The great pia/./a was thronged 
 with strollers and sitters. It was a work of 
 time to iuterthread the many groups and 
 make their way to Mrs. Munly s sitting-room. 
 Howeyer pressed for time, Mrs. I)uinares<jue 
 always made a point of transferring (Jem to 
 her mother s keeping upon their return from 
 an out-door exeiirsii i}\. 
 
 Cleopatra was somewhat the worse for her 
 outing. 
 
 kv My Idiosyncrasy is the sternest of ty 
 rants," she cackled, feebly. " I was utterly 
 prostrated when we reached home, and quarts
 
 4 MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 163 
 
 of valerian and bromide have not set me up. 
 Dear Mrs. Gillette, too, was pale and shaken. 
 AVe met Captain Dale and a friend, whom he 
 presented as Major Kane, or King, in the 
 \\uods. They came suddenly upon us at a 
 bend of a lonely road, quite like two gentle 
 manly foot-pads. The dear Captain apolo 
 gized most gracefully, for I could not 
 suppress a little scream, but dearest Mrs. 
 Gillette did not get her breath for several 
 minutes afterwards. Do sit down for a 
 while, dear Mrs. Dumaresque, and tell me all 
 that happened after we left you." 
 
 " Thank you ! I am a little anxious about 
 Mamma," answered Karen, hastily. "And I 
 am sure you need rest more than company." 
 
 " The tenderest of daughters ! " murmured 
 Idiosyncrasy s slave, gazing at the closing 
 door. " There is your exemplar, Gem, dar- 
 ling! Copy her! emulate her! you can never 
 ex eel her!" 
 
 " What a noble-looking man Major Kane 
 is!" Clara was pulling off her gloves and 
 feigning to inspect her hands for traces of 
 snnlmrn. "Mrs Dumaresque had her fright, 
 too. The two officers climbed the observa 
 tory while she was looking through the field-
 
 164 WITH THE KKST IKTEXTIOX* : 
 
 glass, and she nearly swooned. Major Kan- 
 is an old acquaintance of hers." 
 
 Probably a friend of her lamented hus 
 band," nodded Mrs. Mit-ndy, sympathetically. 
 " She has an exquisitely sensitive organi/.a- 
 tiou. ( )ne can think what a (iiieen she inns; 
 have been among men so distinguished for 
 gallantry as the defenders of their eountrv. 
 I dote upon the military myself. Not that I 
 should be willin-j- to have mv aiiLTel-petsv fall 
 
 k O 1 V 
 
 in love with one 
 
 You do not wish to have her copy Mrs. 
 Dumaresque in fh<i(. then?" 
 
 The emphasis, mure strong than sweet, 
 jarred upon (iein s ear. Her wits, always 
 alert, were phenomenally active when Karen 
 was under discussion. 
 
 "You are not as fond of Mrs. Dumaresque 
 as the rest of us. Cousin Clara." said the out 
 spoken voting partisan, with rising complex 
 ion. " What lias she done to displease you?" 
 
 Mv child! what a preposterous miscon 
 ception!" Vet rational Clara was glad that 
 the light was at her back when she said it. 
 She felt that her forehead reflected the glow 
 of (Jem s cheek. "It is not my way to 
 become honelessly enamored of strangers.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 165 
 
 Recollect, I have known your fascinating 
 friend just eight days. I am ignorant of her 
 antecedents and character, except as I have 
 gleaned hints of these from hotel gossips. A 
 year from this time I may answer you more 
 intelligently." 
 
 She had extricated herself from the corner 
 in which the girl would have pent her. If 
 her disclaimer should, also, act as a salutary 
 caution to the too credulous mother of an 
 artless daughter as to the danger of watering- 
 place intimacies, the model woman would 
 have scored one for prudence and virtue.
 
 166 WITH THE UJ-:sT 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Mus. GILLETTE did not appear below stairs 
 on Tuesday; and although her daughter oc 
 cupied her usual place at the breakfast and 
 lunch table, her admirers sa\v her nowhere 
 else. -Her mother \vas far from \\ell, and 
 needed her. On Wednesday morning the 
 same report was made. 
 
 "Couldn t you help nurse her or some 
 thing?" asked Emmett of his wife, apropos 
 to this intelligence. They were setting out 
 for a drive, and in speaking lie cast a solici 
 tous glance at a closed window upon the 
 second iloor. 
 
 u Mv /( ?/ husband ! " It was her pet ex 
 clamation, and occasionally and unaccounta 
 bly rasped the auditor s ear. Credit me with 
 a modicum of common courtesy! I have 
 offered mv services twice in the neatest 
 terms an unimaginative woman can muster. 
 Happy turns of speech are not mv forte, you 
 know, but mv intentions are of the best."
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 167 
 
 Emmett was a good driver, but his jerk 
 upon the reins was unscientific. Under the 
 surprise of the admonition, the horse, whose 
 intentions were also of the best make, had 
 " hirlecl them half a mile down the road 
 before the husband no longer, alas! the 
 bridegroom answered : " I do not doubt 
 that, my dear. Only a hotel is a dreary 
 place for an invalid almost as dreary as a 
 college dormitory. I recollect how, when I 
 had measles in my sophomore year, Mrs. 
 Gillette had me brought over to her house, 
 and nursed me as a mother might. 
 
 " My dear husband ! " provoked to tautol 
 ogy and temper, " You really must not 
 depend upon such a poor, commonplace 
 creature as myself to pay all your college 
 debts. You should have married a woman 
 richer in expedients and accomplishments." 
 
 " May I trouble you to hold the reins 
 while I open the gate? " calmly civil. 
 
 They were at the entrance of Island Park, 
 a romantic tract, owned by a wealthy 
 Chicagoan, whose generous kindness in per 
 mitting the stranger to walk or drive through 
 wood and glade deserves more than this 
 passing notice.
 
 1G8 wrni Tin: nxxr JXTEXTIOSX: 
 
 Emmett climbed back to his scat after 
 closing the gate, resumed the reins, and 
 bewail, forthwith, to tell the story of two 
 Indian mounds he had brought his wife to 
 see. They were overgrown with herbage 
 and the turf of twice two hundred years. 
 Clara thought them uninteresting wens upon 
 the face of Xatnre. else so fail here. She 
 did not express the opinion. Since Kmmett s 
 was the polished, insinn re role, she was not 
 to be left behind. Thev chatted cheerfully 
 and alnio>t volubly of the magnificent view 
 from the two prcttv cottages on the brow of 
 the cliff: of the depth of color and transpar 
 ency of the skv. and the mellowed reilection 
 of the heavens in the water: of beach. 
 fishing-smacks, Robinson s Folly, and bath 
 houses: of steamers and club-cottage : of 
 the comparative cost of building materials 
 hen; and in Xcw ^ ork : of everything per 
 taining to scene and tim> . In line, each 
 entertained the other diligently, and of pur- 
 pose. 
 
 The tacitly arranged scheme was carried 
 out to perfection up to the moment when 
 Mr. Morgan, assisting his wife to alight at 
 the hotel door, hoped, smilingly, and with
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 109 
 
 no sub-meaning in Ids clear eyes, tliat slie 
 had " enjoyed the drive, and she rejoined as 
 brightly that it had been "truly delightful/ 
 
 He stepped back into the light carriage, 
 and, putting the again-astonished horse upon 
 his mettle, drove three quarters of the dis 
 tance around the Island before he could 
 marvel sadly, instead of angrily, What 
 under heaven ailed Clara of late ? " Would 
 the tangles end in a hopeless knot / Then, 
 it must 1)0 confessed, he recalled the resolute 
 placidity of Mrs. James Cameron s face, and 
 wished that his wife did not remind him so 
 often of his exemplary mother-in-law. 
 
 Clara stayed her stately step upon the 
 piazza to respond to two or three who 
 accosted her with casual nothings, replying 
 decently and politely, and with manifest 
 interest in subject and speaker. Then she 
 carried -still with unruffled mien and stately 
 gait her hot and hurt heart up to her room,, 
 locked the door, and, falling, face downward, 
 upon her bed, cried bitterly for " Mamma !" 
 with, you may be sure, the accent upon the 
 last syllable. 
 
 The dignified First Directress of the La 
 dies Pastoral Aid Association of the First
 
 1.0 
 
 Presbyterian Church in Lisbon (the one of 
 \vhich lit-v. Dr. Ivirkham was pastor for so 
 nianv years, vou remember) had. like her 
 oldest daughter, the gift of neat speech. 
 I ler sueeinet savings \\ ere Clara .-> Proverbial 
 Philosophv. Uet oro she wept herself into 
 d . i\\ Bright disfigurement and nervous col- 
 lapse, one recurred to her: 
 
 "Men s hearts mav be nielted and won bv 
 tears, but thev must be kept by smiles." 
 
 I5v the time rose-water and a careful lunch 
 toilette had effaced the stains of the salt 
 shower, other saws came to her help : ~- 
 
 Never attack another woman in the hear 
 ing of a man. if vou pri/.e his good-will. 
 What passes in the world for chivalrv spurs 
 him on to her defence, let her cause be never 
 so had." 
 
 Shrewdness and patience, backed bv 
 right, must linallv overthrow even wily 
 wrong." 
 
 Clara accepted the promptings of faithful 
 mrinorv as a special Providence. She be 
 lieved in such -when Providence was on 
 her side. 
 
 It was fifteen minutes past the lunch hour 
 wlmu Kmmett, jut returned from his second
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 171 
 
 drive, met his spouse at the bottom of the 
 staircase leading down to the rotunda. 
 
 u I stayed to finish my letter," she said, 
 naturally and pleasantly. " Mamma de 
 pends so much upon hearing everything ! " 
 
 He did not wrong her so far as to wonder 
 if " everything " included scenes like that of 
 the forenoon. Clara WPS a true woman, and 
 a proud. 
 
 The semblance of restored harmony was 
 made more real by the unusual length of the 
 afternoon walk indulged in by the wedded 
 couple. When Clara was dressed for dinner, 
 the great salle a manger was nearly deserted, 
 their table cleared of all plates except their 
 own. The cozy meal, the promenade upon 
 the piazza that succeeded it, the gentle peace 
 brooding above the reunited hearts, were like 
 the earliest days of their dual life the morn-* 
 ing before the shadow fell. 
 
 Clara had a quiet hour in which to dream 
 of that brighter time, sitting in Mrs. Manly s 
 parlor when Emmett had gone, at her re 
 quest, to the smoking-room, and she had 
 offered to relieve Gem s guard over her 
 mother. The Idiosyncrasy still dominated 
 the heroic sufferer, Gem had been awak
 
 172 \\-ITII Tin: /;/:> y iSTEXTioxs: 
 
 much of the preceding night, but refused to 
 resign her post until anesthetics and opiates 
 began to take effect. Then, upon ( lara s 
 insistence, she joined a bevv of skirls who 
 besought her to make up a game in the 
 drawing-room. 
 
 Mrs. Manlv slept soundly no\v that sleep 
 had come. Clara extinguished the lamp in 
 the outer room, and pushing ajar a shutter 
 of the western window, seated herself near it. 
 The night was strangely sultrv. The bree/.e 
 had swooned upon the bosom of the waters 
 which were darkening under a rising thun 
 der-cloud. I) road wings of gloom, tipped 
 luridly, slow Iv unfolded in surmounting the 
 distant shore line of St. Ignacc. Now and 
 then, steel-blue and brassy gleams quire: ! 
 over the widening blackness; low mutters 
 of thunder vibrated from land to lake. The 
 band in the gallerv over the main entrance of 
 the hotel was plaving, with skilful variations, 
 the air of the old song, 
 
 () fair Dove! () fond Dove! 
 O Dove with the white- , white In-east ! " 
 
 Unimaginative Clara could not but follow 
 the melodv and supply the words, as instru 
 ment after instrument, took up the refrain.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 173 
 
 Hour and influence were weird, the more 
 impressive that few sought- that end of the 
 piazza on this evening. The sombre gran 
 deur of impending storm did not attract the 
 average pleasure seekers. 
 
 A couple emerged silently and suddenly 
 from a corridor close by, passing so near 
 Clara s window that she c. uld have touched 
 them. Dark though it was, she recognized 
 the graceful outlines of the woman, who 
 paused at the outer railing as if to gaze at 
 the blackening west. Her companion stood 
 a little apart, apparently waiting for her to 
 begin the conversation. A Hash of lightning, 
 more vivid than any that had preceded it, 
 revealed their faces before the silence was 
 broken. Karen s voice mingled with the 
 thunder-roll. Her accent was interrogative, 
 but the words were lost. A part of Major 
 Kane s reply was intelligible. 
 
 kk I saw and, of course, recognized you 
 when I was here, a week ago. Otherwise, 
 the change of name 
 
 Karen s face was turned steadfastly west 
 ward, and her answer was inarticulate. 
 Major Kane s profile, bent slightly toward 
 her, was a sharp silhouette against the next
 
 174 WITH rut: HKST 
 
 bla/e of 1)1 uc lire, and ho raised his voice 
 involuntarily above the growl of the thunder. 
 
 " Nothing is further from my intention 
 than to persecute you. Hut, looking dis 
 passionately at the matter, if you could l>e 
 brought to tolerate the thought of divorce 
 The listener did not catch the next sentence. 
 but a rising gust brought other fragments. 
 
 "Your peculiar views" Marriage vir- 
 tuallv annulled." There his voice dropped 
 from argument hard and stern into pleading. 
 lie spoke rapidly; once he threw out his 
 hands in vehemence of reasoning or appeal, 
 and another broken sentence came back to 
 Clara upon the titful wind. 
 
 (TOD knows I have no plea for him t he- 
 destroyer of mv home ! " 
 
 She interrupted him imperiously. The 
 lightning struck out needles of llame from 
 her diamonded linger as she seemed to wave 
 him back. 
 
 "Yes!" she tittered, passionately. "De 
 spise me if you will as 
 
 And again, and more energetically: 
 
 Love him! Yes! and alwavs shall! 
 Why force me to confess it ? " 
 
 " The sight of me is hateful to you, I
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 175 
 
 know," began Major Kane, in reply. Then, for 
 ten minutes all was pantomimic, and dimly 
 visible even to eyes as keen as those that 
 peered between the half-open shutters. 
 
 Mrs. Manly slept heavily, her sonorous 
 breathing irritably audible to Clara s 
 strained senses. The band played in piano 
 the wailing refrain : 
 
 " O fair Dove ! () fond Dove ! " 
 
 The dense purple cloud mounted rapidly : 
 the scimitar of the lightninsf, swung 1 fast and 
 
 O O O 
 
 high, clove it to the heart as it fled before 
 the cruel strokes. Then fell the rain, slant 
 and sharp, driving the man and woman 
 backward against the inner wall. Clara 
 crouched beneath the window-ledge, as the 
 shutters were shaken apart by the gust, one 
 blowing shut, and the other Happing against 
 the house. 
 
 %i Are you pleading for yourself, too ? " 
 asked Karen, almost in Clara s ear. Her 
 accents were incisive with impatience or dis 
 dain. " Do you wish to marry again?" 
 
 He gave a short, harsh laugh. 
 
 " Tempted by former experience, I sup 
 pose ? " - bitterly.
 
 17(5 WITH THE VEST I.\TKyTIO.\S : 
 
 " 1 beg vour pardon," s;iid his companion. 
 as in sudden remorse. " I am mad, almost. 
 with the memories von have raised. Let u> 
 make an end of this set-lie. M v consent is 
 not neeessarv for your release. The ease i.s 
 plain " speaking low and fast, with a me 
 tallic ring in her voiee that told of intense 
 excitement. "A man s wife elects to leave 
 him. and with another man bringing 1 
 out ihe last words defuilltlv. "The deserted 
 liushand wishes to make it legally possible 
 for her to marrv that man or anv other, 
 we will sav. The law adjudges the husband 
 to be the injured partv. Kight vears of 
 desertion would annul the marriage if you 
 wish to enter this plea. What have I to do 
 Avith vour action . " 
 
 "If voii would but listen patiently." 
 
 Karen turned abruptlv to the window, and 
 looked into the room. Clara felt her hurried 
 breath and checked her own in terror of 
 threatened discovery. 
 
 " This is no place for such talk." Karen 
 said, apparently satisfied that the chamber 
 was unoccupied. " \Ve risk detection at every 
 turn. The corridor is safer and a prome 
 nade under the chandeliers."
 
 4. MIDSUMMER EPISODE. ITT 
 
 Anything- more blood-curdling than the 
 
 laugh with which she moved away, the 
 
 horror-stricken eavesdropper had never im 
 agined even in a nightmare.
 
 WIT 11 THE BE^T 
 
 CHAPTHR XIII. 
 
 A WOMAN who had seen more of tlie seamy 
 side of life, whose sympathies were ready and 
 perceptions acute, would not have jumped to 
 the conclusion adopted lv Clara as soon as 
 she rallied from the shock of what she had 
 seen and overheard. It mav be noted as 
 proof of the unsettlement of her reason mid 
 conscience that she suffered no oualms in 
 recollecting her deliberate eavesdropping. 
 To hear something and surmise much was. 
 perhaps, inevitable. In the abstract, her 
 mother, like herself, disapproved of spying 
 and listening, as of picking and stealing : but 
 had Mrs. Cameron been in her daughter s 
 place, she would have crouched as low, and 
 hearkened as eagerly. 
 
 Clara crept back to her chair and sat, sick 
 and trembling, under the horrors encompass 
 ing her. She was thankful, now, for Mrs. 
 Manlv s stertorous slumber and for the em;>- 
 tiness of the rain-swept pia/.za. She must
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 179 
 
 think and plan in solitude. A throb of 
 thankfulness for the " wonderful Provi 
 dence " that had put the coveted clue into 
 her hand somewhat cleared her wits. She 
 blessed her own astuteness, that had divined, 
 o long ago, the wrongness of what every 
 body else thought right, but even she had 
 not thought to unseal this fuming pit of 
 iniquity. With the prompt violation of prob 
 abilities typified by the blind running of a 
 panic-stricken draught-horse, she saw, at 
 once, that Major Kane was this creature * 
 wronged and deserted husband ! Her name 
 was not, and never had been, Dumaresque. 
 She recalled Emmett s interrogative pause 
 before naming her, on the first evening of 
 their meeting, and Mrs. Gillette s distinct 
 and officious enunciation of the false title. 
 Major Kane, also, had waited for the arch- 
 hypocrite to give him the cue when she 
 greeted him upon the tower as a former ac 
 quaintance. Clara had not forgotten, either, 
 the officer s search for the names of mother 
 and daughter in the hotel register, and his 
 emoiion upon reading them. 
 
 Was this the confession poured into Em- 
 nioU .-; ears during the sail to St. Ignace?
 
 ISO WITH YV//; /;/>/ 
 
 Yet you wear your wedding-ring?" he 
 luid f)lxservc(l, a;i<l she hud answered, "And 
 always shall! ( hiee married, al \vavs mar 
 ried ! " 
 
 With what tissue of lies : with what chican 
 ery of seductive deceit she had wrought in ton 
 an upright man who was a pure woman s 
 husband, to condone her guilt, nay. worse! 
 tit 1 oivc upon his wife intimacy with this dis 
 grace to her sex ? Chiefest among the think 
 er s novel sensations was the consciousness 
 of personal degradation. She. the Christian 
 child of Christian parents, guarded against 
 pollution at every point and in every way. 
 had been thrown publicly into hourly asso 
 ciation with an "abandoned character" 
 Her innocence and her social standing, the 
 very h-.nor of her unblemished \vifehood, 
 were, of purpose, used to whitewash a dam 
 aged reputation. 
 
 "As bad as bold! as bold as bad !" 
 
 The caustic alliteration said itself over and 
 over to her dialing soul. This creature 
 had taunted to his teeth the chivalric and 
 wronged man who entreated her to consent 
 
 o 
 
 to a divorce that might, by allowing her to 
 marry her lover, measurably rehabilitate her
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 181 
 
 in the eyes of the world. She evidently "had 
 .scruples on the subject of divorce/ Perhaps 
 she was secretly and positively a Romanist, 
 probably a Jesuit! Like a Hash of light, re 
 curred the talk upon the piazza the evening 
 of the Morgans arrival, and the story of 
 Father Marquette, told tenderly, over IILS 
 grave. Such looseness of leniency toward a 
 false faith argued no good, as Mrs. Cameron s 
 pupil daughter should have known and acted 
 upon long ere this. 
 
 Another loathsome thought crawled from 
 the horrible pool of suspicion and conjecture 
 to goggle mockingly in her face. The wealthy 
 eligible bachelor, whose dignified courtesy 
 and unblemished character set him high above 
 the wash of scandal was he the partaker of 
 the guiltv flight of ei" ht years agone ? "Were 
 
 f O O t/ o 
 
 his reverential admiration and Karen s seem 
 ing insensibility to it blinds for a relation 
 the heaven-appointed detective blushed in 
 the darkness to name to herself? If so, 
 wlat was Mrs. Gillette putative saint and 
 embryo angel? To what extent was Bertie 
 Gates, with his guileless face and naive talk, 
 La their confidence ? 
 
 Restraining the frantic impulse to awaken
 
 2 WITH TUP: /;/;> r IXTK 
 
 tin; invalid and communicate the awful dis 
 covery that so nearly affected her young 
 daughter, Clara Morgan calmed down, little, 
 by little, to her normal judicial frame. There 
 were, she perceived, upon dispassionate weight 
 of evidence, what would, in other eyes. be 
 defects in the tenuity of the same. 
 
 Site might Ite positive of the identity of 
 Major Kane with ;he bet rayed and magnani 
 mous husband of Karen Gillette. Would 
 the mosaic of proof she had titted together 
 convince Kmmett. beguiled bv svren arts, or 
 Mrs. Manlv. whose imprudence in trusting 
 her child to the unprincipled chaperon had 
 committed her to battle for her own reputa 
 tion and (Jem s in defending that of Mrs. 
 Dumaresque-Kane . 
 
 The web was wrought with diabolical deft 
 ness, and thev were all in it. 
 
 At ten o clock (Jem ran in, Mrs. Manly s 
 maid at her heels. The girl was profuse in 
 apologies and thanks. There had been danc 
 ing in the Casino, and time had sped un 
 noticed. 
 
 "And here is Mr. Morgan, haunting parlors 
 and halls, like a wandering spirit who has lost 
 his other half! she said, looking toward the 
 half-open door.
 
 A MIDSUMMEI1 EPISODE. 183 
 
 Emmett entered, gratefully, meeting his 
 wife as if they had been parted for a month. 
 
 u Captain and Mrs. Dale came down just 
 before the shower to call upon some friends 
 who arrived to-day," he said. "I promised 
 to lind you and brino- yon to them/ In the 
 
 . O t 
 
 corridor he drew her hand within his arm 
 caressingly. " You are pale, dear. You 
 found it tedious sitting so long in the dark, 
 I am afraid." 
 
 u I did not mind it/ Clara nerved herself 
 to say. u I was glad to rest a little while. 
 Mrs. Manly slept all the time. Why!" 
 
 The ejaculation was elicited by the sight 
 of Mrs. Gillette, enthroned in an ami-chair, 
 her feet upon a cushion, and surrounded by 
 congratulatory friends, the Dales among them. 
 
 Of o 
 
 " Delightful, isn t it, to have her with us 
 again?" said Emmet, blithely. 
 
 "Has she been here all the evening?" 
 
 " Xo. She came down about nine o clock 
 and took everybody by surprise." 
 
 Clara s cheeks tingled. The mother then 
 had been cognizant of the tete-d-tete granted 
 to the estranged husband had waited to 
 receive the report of it. 
 
 She could not be cordial to the fair old
 
 l^i WITH THE y;y;.sy / A"/ /-; A" 770 .vs.- 
 
 sinner, and turning away as shortly ;is wa* 
 
 consonant with bare civility, caught a gleam 
 nf surprised disapproval and impiirv from 
 Kmmett. This was suffering for righteous 
 ness sake. Spiritual complacency sustained 
 her voire and tempered the heat ot tlie honest 
 ( anientn blood. In raising her cool green 
 eves to ( aptain Dale s tare, slie looked and 
 felt mistress of h"rself, and her husltand s 
 su[erior in siiroir f<tir<\ as in mural instinct. 
 
 " !t must IH- flattering to have anv one so 
 deoeiuleiit upon vmi foi happiness as Mr. 
 Morgan seems to be." remarked tlie gallant 
 ollicer after a few minor observations. "He 
 was not lnmselt until YOU appeared. Isn t 
 that true. Mr. Dates . " 
 
 "Super-gospelic truth. "assented tlie eliei-uli. 
 "He lias pro-o\vled about the rooms like the 
 d.i-serteil 1 leiad. don t you know / If Mrs. 
 Dumaresquc hadn t ta-aken him in ha-and. lie 
 \\-ould have made a specta-a-cle of himself, 
 \ on kno\\" ? " 
 
 "Mrs. Dumaresijue ! " echoed Clara, iuyol- 
 untarilv. " Is she here / " 
 
 Following the eyes of the two men, she 
 beheld the incomparable dissembler, flushed, 
 animated, superbly handsome the cynosure
 
 A MIDSUMMEli EPISODE. 185 
 
 of a coterie of admirers of both sexes. She 
 had exchanged the black gown worn upon 
 the piazza for a soft woolen robe, pale-gray 
 in color. The trained skirt was paneled, 
 and the sleeves slashed with black velvet ; 
 die pointed vest was of the same material, 
 and the V-shaped opening below the throat 
 was tilled with rare old lace. Deep lace 
 ruffles fell to her beautiful wrists; the sweep 
 ing train, the slope and points of the corsage, 
 enhanced her stature and litheiiess. Her lips 
 were carmine ; her complexion was rich and 
 warm. 
 
 Presbyterian Clara thought of the Scarlet 
 Woman, and mentally applied, without scru 
 ple or charity, the most strongly flavored 
 epithets her Biblical memory supplied at the 
 call of indignant virtue. So, to her appre 
 hension, might Jezebel have looked to rude 
 Jehu with her "tired" head and painted 
 face, and the audacious radiance of her mock 
 ing smile. Had her life depended upon abso 
 lute discretion, the wife must have uttered 
 her next sentence. 
 
 " My eyes have surely played me tricks ! 
 I thought I saw Mrs. Dumaresque deep in 
 talk with Major Kane upon the western
 
 \vrni TIIK JIKST IMTJ-:MTIO\S : 
 
 }>i;i/.7.u. just in\v, and she \vas dressed in 
 black." 
 
 "An optical illusion ! " smiled the Captain. 
 "Sin 1 lias been in this room ever since \ve 
 entered." 
 
 "And the Major and Ronievn have l>een 
 offering up burnt sacritiees in the smoking- 
 room for the better pa-art of the eveiiiiiL; . 
 don t you know? " put in Bertie, la/.ily. 
 
 Clara s hand went up to her throat. The 
 hysterical grio there \vas suffocating, and 
 her temples \vere beating like a drum. The 
 demoniacal \viles of her rival and eiiemv 
 passed belief. An uliki could be proved bv 
 tit tv \\ it nesses should accusations be brought. 
 Had the creature seen Clara, or suspected \i 
 listener, in glancing into the darkened room . 
 Or was this but another proof that she \va.s 
 never off guard, and ever swift with expedi 
 ents for defence . 
 
 "Well?" said Bertie, his mischievous blue 
 eyes seeking Mrs Moi Bail s. Because thev 
 were as blue and as ingenuous as a babv s, 
 thev always looked straight and full into < alier 
 people s, especiallv into a prettv woman s. 
 Is it a case of hallucination, a vision, UT 
 mistaken identity ? "
 
 A MID su WE i; EPISODE. 187 
 
 The malachite eyes stared back steadily. 
 
 " Hallucination, probably. I never dream 
 with my eyes open, and Mrs. Dumaresque 
 could not be easily mistaken for anybody else, 
 even in a confidential nook upon a cloudy 
 night. Nor, for that matter, is Major Kane 
 likely to be confounded with another man. 
 Is lie stationed at the Fort ? ? 
 
 With an off-hand air of leaving an unim 
 portant topic for one a trifle more interesting, 
 she accosted the Captain. 
 
 " Oh, no ! lie leaves Mackinac to-morrow, 
 much to our regret. He had malarial fever 
 in Florida last spring, and is off on sick leave 
 still. Most men of his means would resign, 
 and try the benefit of a year or two of travel 
 and rest," was the ready answer. 
 
 " He dropped into something ne*-eat awhile 
 ago didn t he ? " inquired Bertie, who had 
 a knack of picking up and never forgetting 
 scraps of news. 
 
 u Six or seven years back, I think. A child 
 less uncle left him his heir upon condition 
 that he should take his name." 
 
 " Kane is not his real name, then ! " de 
 manded Clara, with uncalled-for eagerness. 
 " What was ? "
 
 188 WITH THE BEST 
 
 " I don t recollect. I never knew him 
 until we were thrown together upon the 
 frontier in 84. A series of adventures, some 
 of them dangerous, drew us rather closely 
 together then ; hut I had rot seen him since; 
 until his present visit to Mackinac." 
 
 Mrs. Morgan leaned back in her chair, and 
 toyed abstractedly with the tassel of her fan 
 until Bertie drifted off to the group about 
 Mrs. Dumaresque. Then the candid hater of 
 subterfuge asked, raising the half-furled fan 
 to hide a demi-yawn which drew (.Vown the 
 facial muscles : 
 
 "Is Major Kane married /" 
 
 Captain Dale hesitated slightly, but sus 
 piciously, before answering. Clara played 
 with her fan while waiting, turning it over 
 to stroke the feathers on the back of the 
 elegant toy. 
 
 "His wife is abroad. I believe. 1 have 
 never seen her. How gav the rooms are t<w 
 niglit ! And what an array of handsome 
 women ! Mackinac outdoes itself this season." 
 
 Clara began to comprehend that of such 
 stuff as her hourlv life were made melo 
 dramas and. sometimes, tragedies. A daze 
 and fateful flurry were upon her that reminded
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 189 
 
 her of shifting scenes and foot-lights. That 
 no striking situations might be lacking to 
 this act, at that instant Mr. Komeyn, side by 
 side with Major Kane, appeared in the door 
 way. The tall soldier was as tranquil of 
 niien as the correct society man as they made 
 their way toward the spot where Mrs. Duma- 
 resque stood, facing them. 
 
 Unmindful of what Captain Dale might 
 think of the brusque action, Clara got up, 
 and as if meaning to cross the room to speak 
 to some one opposite, slipped between and 
 behind groups, looking bored and nonchalant, 
 until she was within ear-shot of Karen. The 
 change of base was timely. 
 
 " As I leave Mackinac early to-morrow," 
 Major Kane was saying to the belle of the 
 evening, " I shall have no better opportunity 
 than this to make my adieux." 
 
 " I am afraid the Island has not treated 
 you well you make such a short stay," re 
 sponded Karen s gentlest, most gracious 
 accents. " Let us hope that the sea will be 
 kinder. When do you sail?" 
 
 "Next week. I hope much from the sea 
 air and change of scene. Thank you, for 
 your good wishes. Good by ! "
 
 190 WITH THE VEST L\TK.\TIO.\S : 
 
 She put her hand frankly into the extended 
 palm. 
 
 " (iood night! (Jood bv, and Ion i o>/ti;js . 
 May you have fair winds, and lind health 
 upon the waves. 1 envy you." 
 
 -Thanks:" 
 
 He bowed low; a sad, sweet smile leaving 
 his lips to linger in eves that rested a seeond 
 upon hers, and left the room by the nearest 
 door. 
 
 "A graceful gentleman!" observed a 
 woman at Mrs. Dumaresque s side. 
 
 "Yes," answered Karen, ralnilv. "He i- 
 a line specimen of the best type of our 
 army-men." 
 
 ( lara interposed with what she meant 
 sin ui Id be a coup dt : </ra<-e. 
 
 "I hear" in tones so thin and high that 
 they shrilled like over-strung wires "that 
 Major Kane goes abroad to join his wife." 
 
 Several people glanced around at her. 
 
 The defiant, triumphant accent was like a 
 challenge 1 . 
 
 Karen was politely interrogative. 
 
 "All? He said nothing of his intention 
 to me." 
 
 Clara s eyes snapped lire against the im 
 passive ones before her.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 191 
 
 "You know, however, that she is abroad?" 
 
 " It is quite possible." In saying it, Mrs. 
 
 Dumaresque referred smilingly to the lady 
 
 who had commented upon Major Kane s 
 
 bearing. " Almost everybody is abroad this 
 
 summer. Isn t it Sin Saxon in Heal Folks 
 
 or is it The Other Grirls? who calls the 
 
 stream of international travel the European 
 
 siphon"?" 
 
 The patte de grace was a failure.
 
 19:2 WITH TIIK ;;/> r i. \TK.\TIO.\S : 
 
 CHAPTKR XIV. 
 
 THE four davs olosely succeeding the iri^nt 
 of tin. thunder-shower were, to Clara, lon^ 
 and unsatisfactory. Her object was not 
 forwarded bv the fraction of a decree. A 
 morning spent with .Mrs. Dale, upon her 
 l>ree/.v jiia//.a. during which the visitor kept 
 the dialogue resolutely upon army people 
 and arniv reminiscences, was time and labor 
 wasted. Nor could she decide whether her 
 interlocutor knew too much to lie het raved 
 into divulgations, or too little to suspect 
 thai she was cross-examined. She was earn 
 est in praise of Major Kane as man and 
 Mildier. Inn disclaimed personal acquaintance 
 with him prior to his frontier introduction to 
 ( aptain Dale. She believed that lie was 
 married, and that Mrs. Kane was travelling 
 somewhere she could not sav where with 
 friends. And whi!.- Clara sat mute and 
 thrilled, in an a^onv of earnest attention
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 193 
 
 the amiable lady pursued the subject, 
 airily : 
 
 You know, my dear Mrs. Morgan, we 
 army-women must go abroad as grass-widows, 
 if we would enjoy the advantages of foreign 
 travel. Few officers can afford the luxury of 
 an ocean voyage en famille, even by paying 
 for the privilege with a tough siege of mala 
 rial fever. I do hope Major Kane will be 
 improved by the sea-voyage. He took a slow 
 steamer on purpose." 
 
 Of Captain Dumaresque she knew even 
 less than of Mrs. Kane. No ! Captain Dale 
 had no list of dead and resigned officers, al 
 though such a register was kept in Washing 
 ton, and could be consulted by the curious on 
 such subjects of course by obtaining per 
 mission of officials there. Nothing could be 
 
 O 
 
 done without red tape, etc., etc. 
 
 This was on Saturday, and as Clara, cha 
 grined and bitter at the scarcity of present 
 providential interpositions on the side of 
 right, went down the zig-zag steps, a riding 
 party of four cantered by the foot of the 
 staircase, without looking in her direction. 
 A few rods further on, they reined up to 
 speak to n. solitary pedestrian.
 
 l J4 WITH THE ni-:sr 
 
 Clara stopped on the bottom step, herself 
 unnoticed, (Jem and Keltic rode together; 
 Mrs. Dumaresque was with Mr. Uomevn. It 
 y\as at lu-r side lliat Kmmett lingered. his 
 hand upon ihc neck of her liorse, his hand 
 some face, bron/.ed by the Island winds. up- 
 lit ted. and bright as 1 roin the reflection of 
 hers. Karen s seat in tin: saddle was perfect : 
 her dark ^rav ludnt fitted to a ehaiin: the 
 r\velled handle of her wliip scintillated living 
 ;-!it. While he chatted, Kininett took it 
 Iroin her hand \\ith easy familiarity, and ex 
 amined it admiringly. Presently lie i; a\e ii 
 an incautious llick too near tin 1 eyes or ear> 
 of the >])iiited liorse. The animal reared and 
 shied so violently that the rider lost her 
 balance. (iein uttereil a lo\v sei eam : .Mr. 
 Konieyn thre\v himself from the saddle: Hni- 
 mett, catching at the bit, \vas lifted (dear oi t 
 the ground liv a second furious plunge. 
 
 It was over in the twinkling of an eye. 
 ( dara had eanght but one terrilied breath 
 when Karen was steady in her seat, and the 
 trembling steed under control. Kmmett s 
 \\diite, shocked face, seen the more distinctly 
 because his hat had fallen in his spring for 
 the horse s month, was the one feature of he
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 195 
 
 incident stamped upon his wife s heart and 
 brain. 
 
 Still unobserved, she waited until the dust 
 raised by the hoofs was laid, and she lost her 
 husband s retreating form at a turn in the 
 road, then returned to the hotel by a more 
 circuitous route than he had taken, carrying 
 with her the picture of the countenance 
 whose livid alarm at the peril of the woman 
 with whom Emmett had dallied by the way 
 side could mean but one thing. 
 
 She behaved stran^elv for the rest of the 
 
 O i/ 
 
 day, being alternately gay and pensive. 
 
 Her appetite had gone, and what sleep 
 visited her tear-sore eyes that night brought 
 fever-dreams. By morning, she was so hag 
 gard, the circles under her eyes were so dark, 
 and her lips so dry, that Emmett entreated 
 her to keep her room, at least until she had 
 breakfasted. 
 
 " I wonder, he said, ruefully, his ringers 
 upon the pulse he did not know how to count, 
 *if the air here disagrees with you. Would 
 you like to leave earlier than we have 
 arranged to do ? We have taken these rooms 
 ioi a week longer, but that is of no conse- 
 e where your health is concerned."
 
 lit*! WITH Tin: /;/> y i\"j h\\rio.\s : 
 
 Softer moisture welled up in tin- poor 
 \vtn;m s eyes. lie v/v/x good and sweet and 
 dear, this whole-souled, simple-hearted hus 
 band of hers ! And he would be true forever 
 if he were not da/./.led and di/./.ied by the 
 baleful aits of the temptress. 
 
 \Ve will think and talk of that to 
 morrow." the words stumbling over a bi^ 
 sob. " I don t believe it is the ail 1 , but it 
 isn t my way to be irritable and depressed. 1 
 am ashamed of uivself. I will try to behaye 
 more like a sensible woman, and less like a 
 spoiled child ! " 
 
 Kmniett aided her to maintain the resolu 
 tion by affectionate assiduity of attention. 
 Seeing her bent upon going to ehureli, he 
 ordered a carriage to spare her unnecessary 
 tatigue. and in his very manner of helping 
 her in and out of the vehicle, made her con- 
 scions that his every thought was for her 
 comfort and happiness. 
 
 The Gillettes were not in church that day. 
 The mother had had a bad night and slept 
 late, and th>- daughter would not leave her. 
 Karen s absence was an unspeakable relief to 
 Clara s tired nerves. She found voice r:.d 
 inclination to unite in the choral se" vice, and,
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 197 
 
 upon her knees, felt a healthful tide of ten 
 derness rising in her heart for him who bowed 
 beside her, joining his reverent tones with 
 hers, and of gratitude to Him who had 
 crowned her life with a good man s love 
 which Hooded out of sight the wrecks and 
 reefs of the past week. 
 
 " G-od ! ichose never-failing Providence 
 ordereth all things, both in heaven and earth; 
 ice humbly beseech Thee to put away from us 
 all hurtful things, and to give us those things 
 which are profitable for us, through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord ! " 
 
 The formula recalled her wandering 
 thoughts, striking a vibrative chord that 
 brought a flood of tears. "With head bowed 
 and face hidden in her hands, she remained 
 kneeling, unconscious that the others had 
 arisen for the psalm ; unheeding everything 
 but the cry of her soul into the Father s ear. 
 
 "All hurtful things!" This cruel thing, 
 that was fretting into the fair fabric of her 
 happiness, this vile thing that threatened to 
 lead her beloved into sin ! Being in an 
 agony, she prayed as she had never prayed 
 in her even, happy girl-life ; besought the 
 All-merciful for the removal, ly any
 
 198 \\TfIT TIIK 11KXT 7A 77-;A 770A > 1 : 
 
 of tin; needless cross laid upon her tender 
 .^boulder, and forgot to add "If it be Thy 
 will!" 
 
 AVhen they left the church, her face was 
 sweet and fair with the "clear shining after 
 rain." The fervent praver of faith had 
 wrought its specific effect in exaltation of 
 the suppliant spirit to the Mount of Vision. 
 She felt anxH i / ftl already. 
 
 The tranquil, chastened mood lasted long. 
 Meeting Mrs. (lillette and Karen at dinner, 
 she talked kindly and cheerfully with both. 
 Since the "hurtful thing" would surely be 
 removed, she could forgive it as an enemv, 
 ah/ti. .if prav for it as a despiteful agencv. 
 
 Among the unfashionable people whom 
 Mrs. Dumaresque had "taken up" not 
 patronizingly, but evidently because they in 
 terested and pleased her was a family from 
 a hill township in central New England, who 
 had now been at the great new hotel for a 
 week. The father was a country storekeeper, 
 a Justice of tlu; Peace, and a deacon. II is 
 liver was out of order, and Mackinac air had 
 been prescribed. lie brought with him his 
 wife and two daughters. Karen, coming one 
 day upon the younger girl, as she was gath-
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 199 
 
 ering some sweet-brier buds from a wayside 
 bush "for sister to paint," discovered that 
 she was a bonnie and bright lass in spite of 
 her shyness and country-made clothes. Using 
 her as a key to acquaintanceship with the rest 
 of the family, she learned other pleasant and 
 surprising things. 
 
 The mother was a graduate of the Boston 
 Normal School, and had educated her chil 
 dren. 
 
 " There are not three women in this hotel 
 who are more refined and intelligent than 
 Grace, the elder daughter," said Karen to 
 her mother that Sunday noon. " Yet, since 
 her gowns have not the French fit, and be 
 cause the whole family bear the stamp of a 
 rusticity which is a thousand removes from 
 vulgarity, they are neglected and ridiculed. 
 There is pathos in the fact and consolation, 
 too, that none of them except Grace sus 
 pect that they are ostracized. Mrs. Wilkes 
 enters, with modest freedom, into conversa 
 tion with merchant princesses and railway 
 queens. I heard her tell a knot of them last 
 night that George had been solicited to 
 stand for the Legislature this fall, and she 
 hoped he would, Tom being old enough now
 
 200 \vrnr mi-: /;/:> / Avvy^vr/o.v.s: 
 
 to take care of the store, and there was such 
 crying need for Christian legislators! 
 
 "The New England independence that is 
 content to hold its own, and is too thoroughly 
 kneaded up with self-respect to degenerate 
 into self-consciousness or to hecome aggres 
 sive, is xnprrfi . " 
 
 That evening, Mrs. \Vilkes, who was or 
 ganist in the church >% at home," sat down to 
 the piano in the almost deserted drawing-room, 
 and began playing Moodv and Sankev tunes. 
 
 "Sing something won t you?" said a 
 fun-loving-at-any-expense vouth. lounging in 
 from the corridor after two girls of like si amp. 
 \Ve were just wishing for some sacred 
 music." 
 
 " We alwavs sing on Sahhath evenings at 
 home," said Mrs. \Vilkcs, in her provincial 
 accent, her mild, broad face lighting up al 
 meeting with a sympathetic spirit. " \Ve 
 have a nice quartette of our own, when my 
 son is willi us to supplv ;i tenor." 
 
 "But you have a trio here!" exclaimed 
 the girls. -Do sing for us ! It would be 
 too lovelv ! " 
 
 Mrs. Dumaresque, coming down stairs after 
 seeing her mother comfortable in bed, beheld
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 201 
 
 a crowd massed about the front windows. It 
 was a heaving, tittering, ill-mannered mass, 
 and Bertie, meeting her with Gem, reported 
 the attraction to be the Wilkes family. 
 
 " Who are giving a free concert, you kno\v, 
 wit! i that conceited co-ompound of ca-alf and 
 ca-ad, Compton of Chica-ago, don t you know? 
 as sta-age ma-anacrer. lie and his o-a-ane: 
 
 o o o o 
 
 must be ha-ard up for ga-ame, be Jawve !" 
 
 When angry, the cherubic always worked 
 the drawl unmercifully. 
 
 "I should think so, indeed!" ejaculated 
 Karen. " I thought even him too much of a 
 man to press that sort of material into ser 
 vice. Such exhibitions disgust one with pro 
 fessional society people." 
 
 "It s be-eastly, of course, you know," re 
 joined Bertie to Gem s outburst of reproba 
 tion. "There s one comfort, though. The 
 
 O 
 
 Wilkeses won t lind out that they are the 
 laughter of fools and the song of the dru-unk- 
 ard, don t you know? unless somebody tells 
 them. There goes "I Fold the Fort"! I 
 heard Co-ompton a-arsk for it, as I left- 
 Hear the audience appla-ud ! There s a ea-at- 
 call from the ga-allery, be .Jawve! " 
 
 "Disgraceful isn t it? observed Em-
 
 20-2 WITir THE BEST IXTh .\TI().\* : 
 
 nu tt, who was promenading with his wife 
 upon the lower end of tin 1 portico, left clear 
 bv the crowd. 
 
 v> h is unfortunate that they should have 
 subjected themselves to it." said Clara, coolly 
 compassionate. "( an v<u imagine any one 
 IRMIIL; so unsophisticated? " 
 
 Karen stood in the strong light pouring 
 througli the wid.- doors of the rotunda. Her 
 cheeks were flushed, her eves troubled. 
 
 It Imrtx me, through and through!" 
 Clara heard her sav, as the Morgans con 
 tinued their walk. k- I like and respect 
 that i amilv. If this <_n>es on much longer. 
 I am afraid that I shall get furivs* and in 
 sult some do/ens of people!" 
 
 Whni YOU are readv to begin, com-ma-and 
 us, won t you?" begged Bertie. 
 
 At their next upper turn, the Morgans 
 noticed a change in the attitude of the un 
 mannerly press about the windows. An ex 
 pectant kt ,S //-.-7/-.s7/ / " was passed from centre 
 to wings: jeers wen- silenced or whispered. 
 The central corridor, too, was tilling fast as 
 the Morgans gained the drawing-room door, 
 moved by the general curiosity to see what 
 was LToinuf on.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 203 
 
 Karen and her faithful three were con 
 versing with the performers. Mrs. Wilkes, 
 modestly complacent and fairly radiating 
 summer heat, beamed up in Mrs. Duma- 
 resque s face from the music stool ; Mr. 
 Wiikes, gaunt, sallow, and raw-boned, in a 
 ready-made Sunday suit, smiled down at 
 her from an altitude of six feet three. His 
 broadcloth made sarcastic revelation of an 
 gular shoulder blades and big elbows; lower 
 jaw and chin were squarely relieved against 
 a throat fringe of black whiskers. While 
 Karen talked she laid a caressing hand 
 against the blushing cheek of sensitive Grace ; 
 twelve-year-old Amy pressed timidly nearer 
 to the lady upon the other side. Both young 
 faces were perturbed and uneasy. 
 
 "It is an imposition, I know, Karen was 
 saying. " The room is stilling, and you have 
 been so long at the piano. But if you will 
 give us one more old favorite, and let us help 
 you sing it, I pledge my word that nobody 
 shall ask you for another note." 
 
 " Oh, we are not fatigued," returned Mrs. 
 Wilkes, briskly; "we sing for hours at home. 
 On choir-meeting nights, you know." 
 
 " But not in such an atmosphere as this .
 
 204: \vrni THE I:EST I.\TJ-:.\TIO.\S : 
 
 I ;un scllisli enough tn beg for inv one livnin. 
 After tliat I shall stand guard over you and 
 refuse all other applicants." 
 
 Her selection was "Nearer, My (rod, to 
 Thee!" 
 
 The air to \vhich the immortal lyric is 
 wedded beyond the possibility of divorce is. 
 happily, one which no amount of misuse can 
 wear threadbare. At the second line Karen s 
 quartette took up the strain. Fiftv voices 
 joined them on the third. When thev bewail 
 
 *J O 
 
 the second verse, evervbodv sang. The rush 
 ot melody flooded corridors and piazzas, 
 bearing down com entionality, frivolity, and 
 self-consciousness, billowed against the lot tv 
 roof of the portico, and escaping resonantly, 
 bounded upward to the stars. 
 
 The voices of old men and maidens were 
 blended in holv rapture: VOUIILT men cast 
 
 dren in their beds, the colored waiters in the 
 far (lining-rooni, fishermen in their craft 
 alongshore one and all tonic up tune and 
 words. To this dav. h<il>ituf8 of and dwellers 
 upon the Island will tell von of the still 
 August Sundav night, when strait and lake 
 and the sky they reflected seemed to listen
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 205 
 
 while everything that had breath sang 
 " Nearer, My God, to Thee ! " 
 
 Not even Mr. Wilkes, facing the throng to 
 beat time, at the full length of his gaunt 
 arm, his face, ablaze with heat and pious 
 ardor, dripping like Aaron s beard, could mar 
 the solemnity of song and scene. The elec 
 tric lights, pendent between the columns and 
 swinging in the musical surge, illumined five 
 hundred faces upraised to heaven in the clos 
 ing stanza : 
 
 " Or, if on joyful wing, 
 
 Cleaving the sky, 
 Sun, moon, and stars forgot, 
 
 Upward I fly, 
 
 Still all my song shall be 
 Nearer, my God, to Thee ! 
 
 Nearer to Thee ! " 
 
 The echoes of the conjubilant waves still 
 rose and fell in Clara Morgan s cars, when 
 she knelt beside her bed to pray for forgive 
 ness of sins and protection during the dark 
 hours, and, most fervently of all, once again, 
 that the "hurtful thing" might be put away 
 from her.
 
 3 -OC WITH THE JiEST IXTEXTIONS : 
 
 ( II AFTER XV. 
 
 AY mornings wen 1 apt to go heavily 
 for tilt,- habitual loungers upon tin- hotel 
 pia/./.a. Departures were numerous and ar 
 rivals few, until the afternoon boats filled 
 up deserted rooms. Husbands and brothers 
 chose- the dav for yachting and fishing parties, 
 or were oil betimes for llu- eitv and week-day 
 work. 
 
 The day being line and gossips gregarious, 
 they knotted into busking groups along tin- 
 front of the big khan, some with a pretence 
 of employment, others with none except " to 
 take- the air and sunshine." For this thev 
 had come to Mackinac, and the "taking 
 afforded a pretext for doing nothing else. 
 
 Mrs. (iillette had her knitting, and Mrs. 
 Dumaresque her book, in the wide curve of 
 the portico that gave them the view up and 
 down the Straits. Into this generous space 
 (irace Wilkes had brought easel, drawing- 
 board, and color-box, and was engrossed in a
 
 A J/ 7 XVMMEH EPISODE. 207 
 
 sketch of the arbor-vitse grove and fountain, 
 \vith Round Island in the distance. Every 
 body, excepting the two women nearest the 
 country girl, set down her occupation and 
 apparent absorption in it to a desire to dis 
 play her accomplishment. Three-fourths of 
 the spectators sneered at her obvious vanity ; 
 the remaining quarter pitied her ignorance 
 of the best methods of showing off without 
 seeming to do it. 
 
 Clara Morgan, seated at the open front 
 window of Mrs. Manly s room, scanned the 
 group of three with judicial disapprobation. 
 Mrs. Dumaresque had savoir faire, however 
 deficient her porte</ee might be in that prime 
 essential of polite society. Clara felt that, 
 were she in the place of the patroness, she 
 would insinuate to the girl what mortifying 
 
 O i/ Q 
 
 misconstruction might be put upon her 
 present location and occupation by lookers- 
 oil. Karen was spoiling the unsophisticated 
 Wilkeses, instead of correcting their foibles 
 and primitive ideas. It would be truer kind 
 ness to let them learn wisdom by bitter experi 
 ences. Her only conceivable motive for this 
 misjudged indulgence was the lust for adula 
 tion from any and every source, which, as Mrs.
 
 208 WITH THE /;/-;>T I.\TK.\TIO.\S : 
 
 Morgan had discerned long ago, was the 
 leading principle and passion of the mere 
 tricious worldling. As was her custom while 
 her mother took htT morning sun-bath, Karen 
 read toller in a subdued tone, remitting the 
 ta.^k, no\v and thru, to comment upon the 
 look or make a remark to (iraee. who lis 
 tened to the reading while washing in blues, 
 grays, and greens. It was in one- ot these 
 intervals that Karen saw, bearing down npon 
 the quiet nook, such a body of fashionably 
 attired women, so palpably animated bv a 
 common interest, that she looked her amused 
 surprise. Prominent in the van ot the depu 
 tation was a lar^e. loud, and lavish Cali- 
 fornian, a recent arrival, but already gar 
 rulously an <-onr<int with everything and 
 everybody in the hotel. 
 
 Gem had complained of her in Clara s hear 
 ing as u snperhuinanly pervasive," and Karen, 
 to whom the speech was made, had laughed 
 at, instead of reproving the flippant lling. 
 Clara recalled the phrase against her will, as 
 the portly matron swam up to Mrs Dunia- 
 resqiie, all dimple and giggle, an open paper 
 in her hand. 
 
 " Dearest AU-.s. Dumaresque ! such a lind!
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 209 
 
 The sweetest little piece of poetry floatin 
 on the breeze like a feather from the wino; 
 
 O 
 
 of a fairy ! Mackinac is a wonderful place ! 
 And we all said at once that you must 
 read it aloud to vis. Nobody else can do 
 it justice ! " 
 
 If the reader will substitute a giggle for 
 each dash, and a long-drawn breath of hys 
 terical rapture, rising into a crescendo steam- 
 whistle, for the final exclamation point, the 
 effect of the address may be feebly imagined. 
 
 Karen took the sheet from the hand which 
 shook with affected laughter. 
 
 " A fugitive poem ! Who gives me the 
 right to read it ? " turning the leaf to see 
 that it was unsigned and undated. 
 
 u Oh, the vox populy ! " giggled the chair 
 woman. "All of us, in a body ! I ve run it 
 over. Come! Commencez!" 1 
 
 Suspecting some witless trick, Karen hesi 
 tated to comply until reassured on this point 
 by a glance along the lines. They were 
 pencilled in a round hand, like a man s for 
 character and legibility. 
 
 The little crowd drew up about her, hus 
 tling and winking at one another as she 
 bewail :
 
 210 WITH HE ISEST J.v 
 
 E . .I.Y MoUMMi AT M.VCKINAC. 1 
 
 Night yields to morning, and the fairy island sleeps 
 On Huron s placid breast. The fleecy covering, 
 "U hieh water-sprites with magic lingers nightlv weave, 
 Cloves lightly on the gently throbbing waves, as moves 
 The drapery o er the sleeping form of one we love. 
 The birds within the arbor-vit;e groves begin, 
 In piping notes, to tell the, near approach of day. 
 The bree/.es bring sweet odors from the pine-clad rocks, 
 And fling the fragrant incense o er tin; ijuiet lake. 
 Phiebus with laughing eve looks on the drowsy East, 
 Which straightway blushes as a maiden innocent. 
 And smiling leaves her couch to greet the coming god. 
 The fort upon the hill as yet shows naught of life. 
 Its white walls looming up like spectres of the past, 
 Hoary with history, and strong, yet beautiful. 
 The boats at anchor in the bay are touched with light. 
 Hois Hlaiic appears; its forest in the distance seems 
 A hold, deejv-graven line made by a master s hand. 
 Above, y,i\\\ lighter touch, Aurora paints the clouds, 
 While earth and vapor, lake and sky unite 
 To form this charming, changing, ever-brightening 
 
 scene. 
 And now the far-off light that flashed throughout the 
 
 night 
 
 To guide the mariner goes out: the stars that shone 
 With equal brilliancy from higher towers grow faint. 
 The heavy shadows of the night are rolled away. 
 The misty curtains part and leave the lake revealed. 
 To clothe its lovely form in well-becoming dress,
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 2li 
 
 The sky throws down a robe of blue, flecked o er with 
 
 gold. 
 
 The trees, along the shore, in varying shades of green 
 Embroider it, and as the morning light breaks full 
 Over Lake Huron, still upon its breast is seen, 
 Like purest emerald, the Island Mackinac. 
 
 Only Mrs. Gillette had seen the vivid red 
 that bathed Grace Wilkes s face at sisfht of 
 
 o 
 
 the Avritten paper ; her convulsive clutch of 
 her brush ; the swift, frightened glance at the 
 treacherous portfolio on the floor at her side. 
 But as Karen lowered the sheet with the 
 last words, a glimpse of the averted face, 
 bent over the drawing- until only a line of 
 scarlet cheek showed below the burning ear, 
 told her all. 
 
 " It is graphic and graceful," she remarked, 
 slowly, seeming still to scan the handwriting. 
 " We are indebted to the nameless poet who 
 has let us read it here in sight of w r hat he 
 has described so well." 
 
 " Hearken ! listen to her ! " screamed the 
 Californian, clapping her hands and bounding 
 from one foot to the other until the floor 
 trembled. " Very well done, Mrs. Inno 
 cence ! But it don t go down. Everybody 
 knows who the de Stael " (she said " dee
 
 212 WITH THE /;/;> / I.\TE.\TIO.\S : 
 
 Stale") "(if the fairy isle is. Come, own 
 U]i! Make a "clane breast of it. mv dear." 
 
 "What fools women can make of them 
 selves!" muttered Clara, in strong disgust, 
 while Mrs. Manlv, attracted bv the tumuli, 
 rai.M-d herself from her cushions to peer over 
 her kinswoman s shoulder. 
 
 Karen may have been nearer of like- mind 
 with her ill-wisher than the latter dreamed, 
 while the shrill-voiced chorus beat their 
 palms together, and cried, the one upon the 
 other, after the manner of the pr<> tcntjiure 
 leader. 
 
 " You cannot mean," Mrs. Dumaresque s 
 full tones making themselves audible through 
 rather than above the hubbub " vou do not 
 suppose -really that /am the author of 
 these lines?" 
 
 In the energy of denial she had arisen. 
 Otherwise, the effusive chairwoman would 
 have cast herself upon her neck. As it 
 was, she caught her bv the shoulders, and 
 shook her playfully in repeating, " Don t 
 be over-modest vou dear ifted - 
 
 "Indeed, Mi s. Liggon, it is not modesty 
 that makes me truthful. I could no moic
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 213 
 
 do such a bit of word-etching than I could 
 scale that cloud overhead. I never wrote a 
 line of poetry in my life ! " 
 
 " But she looks and talks and lives it ! " 
 cried Mrs. Manly, explosively, across Clara s 
 shuddering back. " Won t somebody bring 
 that poem to me ? I didn t hear more than 
 half of it; and my fair Corinne must posi 
 tively read it again for my especial and 
 individual benefit ! " 
 
 The Gillettes did not return to the piazza 
 after Cleopatra s behest was obeyed, and, 
 awhile later, Clara was " happened upon " by 
 Mrs. Liggon, seated in the shaded upper 
 corner of the promenade, busy with her pale 
 buff doylies. 
 
 " I have been lookin for your friend, Mrs. 
 Dumaresque," said the millionairess, drop 
 ping into a chair, and reaching forward for 
 a iinished square. " TTow beautiful you em 
 broider! I ve just heard how she spells her 
 name ; and I want to ask if she s connected, 
 or related, or anything, with a lieutenant in 
 the army, who pronounced his Dewo ick. 
 Such a lovely fellow! Jo that s my First 
 had a ranch in New Mexico, and I lived 
 there three years before he died poor, dear
 
 214 H777/ THE JiKST L\TK\TIOXS: 
 
 man ! Iteiu of a consumptive habit, and what 
 u mercy I didn ketch it from him and me 
 so voting to !. a \vido\v ! So this Lieutenant 
 Demarick and his company were rampagin 
 the eountrv for Injuns, and poor, dear Jo 
 invitt-d him to stay at our house. He was 
 with us hetter n a fortnight. The hand 
 somest thin^ I ever beheld witli these mortal 
 eyes ! and how anv woman could run awav 
 from him is more n / can understan ; but 
 thev il i say that to he the ease!" 
 
 Clr.ra was so white that the few freckles 
 dotting the bridge of her nose eame sallowlv 
 into prominence. The hands holdinir stuff 
 
 1 O 
 
 and needle were ice-cold and damp. 
 
 "An oilicer, did yon say?" Her voice 
 sounded to herself no louder than her heart- 
 heats. "When was this?" 
 
 Oh, I never remember dates!" carelessly. 
 "A few vears av;o. lie was splendiferous! 
 Tall. dark, straight as an arrow, and with 
 the divinest smile and gallantest wavs ! " 
 
 Clara took a long breath to earrv her 
 through the next question. 
 
 "Had lie a scar upon the left jaw? I 
 think I mav have seen him once. 
 
 "Not when I knew him, mv dear. I did
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 215 
 
 hear, though, that his company was quite cut 
 to pieces soon after he left us. I didn know 
 as lie wasn killed himself till last year, 
 when I met an officer in S Frisco who told 
 me there was some shady story bout poor 
 Appoller-Ad-onis Demarick, an his wife had 
 skipped with another man or my ! but 
 ain t this doyly a daisy ! " 
 
 " Apolleraddonis," repeated literal Clara. 
 "What an odd name!" 
 
 "You delicious Article! shrieked Mrs. 
 Liggon. " Ain t that too rich ! Why don t 
 you call him Apollinaris, and be done with 
 it?" 
 
 She beat her knees with her large hands, 
 and went from one strangling fit of laughter 
 into another, until Clara was red with con 
 fusion and displeasure. 
 
 " One hears of such extraordinary names ! " 
 she said, when the other could listen. " De 
 marick seems such a strange an incredible 
 pronunciation of Dumaresque, that my mis 
 take is natural. You are sure as to the 
 spelling ?" 
 
 "Sure as that my name is Liggon, and 
 used to be McCarthy. Seth that s my 
 Second he and me took a Youropeiau
 
 216 WITH THE BEST I.\Th\\TIOXS : 
 
 towrr on our wedden trip, an our banker in 
 K<>me s[ it-It liis nan ir. I ). u. in, a, r, e, s. q. u. e, 
 and pronounced it /A ,/i tric/c. I recollect it, 
 because I always thought when I saw it 
 on cheques an things, of pour Appoller- 
 <(<.! u i$. " 
 
 (iurgle and bubble and squeak recom 
 menced. Clara restrained justiliahle ire. 
 
 "How old would \ oiir handsonu- Lieuten 
 ant lie liy now 7 " 
 
 The (jiiestion was unlucky: Mrs. McCar- 
 tliy-Liggon had reasons (lichind mn^e and 
 pearl-powder) for discretion as to dates. 
 
 "O-li-h ! P raps thirty, T l aps thirty-tiye ! 
 If there aint Seth waitin for nie in the ear- 
 liage ! M v ! won t I ketch it for be in behind 
 time I " 
 
 Clara was left to her embroidery and a new 
 clue. 
 
 The wind blew strongly all ni^ht. Cinsts 
 ol rain whipped the piazza floor ; the windows 
 of Clara Morgan s room rattled litfully. Too 
 nervous to sleep, sin 1 aro:-.e at t\\o o clock, 
 opened the blinds, and sat by the easement 
 until dawn glanced timidly upon waters 
 roughened b\- much beatinir into swirliii 
 
 i O O 
 
 troughs and yeasty lines.
 
 .1 MIDXUMMEE EPISODE. 217 
 
 She was very miserable. Her sheltered, 
 uneventful life had not fitted her to cope with 
 complications of passion and mystery. A hor 
 ror of loneliness gat hold of her spirit; an 
 overweening sense of helplessness, very piti 
 able in one who had so lately avowed herself 
 perfectly liappv. She was as tear-washed and 
 wan as the young day when she crept back to 
 bed and buried her face in the pillow with a 
 sobbing whisper : 
 
 " Mamma ! if I could only see mamma for 
 one half-hour ! " 
 
 It was nine o clock when she awoke. She 
 was alone, and the door of the sitting-room 
 was shut. At the sound she made on open 
 ing the blinds, Emmett s anxious face ap 
 peared. He had listened eagerly for token of 
 
 O / 
 
 her awakening. The outer room was pathet 
 ically orderly when one considered that he 
 had arranged it, and a table, drawn up to the 
 window, with two chairs set well under it, 
 foreshadowed a tete-d-tete breakfast. 
 
 Rewarded by her pale smile for waiting and 
 work, the husband rushed off to order the 
 most tempting repast the establishment could 
 provide. 
 
 " He still loves me, a little," meditated
 
 218 \vini TIIK /;/> / /.vv7;.v77o v> .- 
 
 Clara, tin- tears coining again as the mirror 
 rcllccted the painful workings of her face, 
 while she unbound and combed her hair. 
 He would pity me if lie kne\v ho\v entirely 
 mv heart is his. I used to say thai no \voman 
 who respects herself would ever enter the lists 
 with another for the possession of her hus 
 band s affection. 1 did not know then how 
 utterly bewared she is without it. SufieriuLT 
 
 */ o o o 
 
 has made me very humble." 
 
 Her bath and toilet, by promoting healthful 
 circulation, restored somewhat the equilibrium 
 of judgment. 
 
 Knimett was innately upright. His im 
 agination might be carried away captive by 
 seductive arts, yet his heart be left in lawful 
 keeping. lie was humane and reasonable. In 
 telling over his virtues to herself, she made 
 a resolve more creditable to head and hear; 
 than anv other I have had the satisfaction of 
 recording-. She would tell him everything. 
 He surely had the ri _dit to hear the counts of 
 the indictment befor- he was sentenced. 
 
 The sigh of relict thai greeted him on his 
 return marked the upheaval of a great load. 
 She was happier already at the prospect ot a 
 clearing-up talk.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 219 
 
 He hovered about her and the breakfast 
 table in a joyous bustle that would have an 
 noyed her in another mood. One silver hot- 
 vvater dish was brought up with much cere 
 mony when fruit and porridge were removed, 
 and set before Mr. Morgan. Lifting the 
 cover with a flourish, he revealed six fine 
 brook-trout done to a turn. 
 
 Clara exclaimed with admiration. 
 
 " And trout are my favorite iish ! What 
 beauties ! How did you get them ? " 
 
 Emmett helped her beamingly and bounti- 
 fully. 
 
 "I told Karen that she could not have de 
 vised a greater treat ! Do you recollect the 
 trout we ate together in England ? I wasn t 
 likely to forget what fish you like best. A 
 fishing-party came in from the Snows last 
 night, and one of them sent a big mess of 
 Iish to the Gillettes. Nothing would do when 
 Karen heard that you were out of sorts, but 
 that these must be sent to you, hot-and-hot. 
 What is it, my darling? 
 
 Clara had laid down her fork and leaned 
 back in her chair, pale and trembling, her 
 eyes glowing strangely. 
 
 ;t You should have told me " she bejran.
 
 2-20 \VITU THE /;/>/ / .V / A .V 770. VS.- 
 
 A knock at the door severed the agitated 
 sentence. The bolt was drawn before they 
 eonld speak. Upon the threshold appeared 
 an august iigure in travelling costume. 
 
 Clara rushed up to her. 
 
 " Mamma. ! oh. mamma ! " 
 
 Embraces were not in Mrs. James Cam 
 eron s line, nor were hysterics and scenes. 
 A mother inuxt put her arm around the 
 creature to which she gave birth, when it is 
 clinging to her neck, but the action in this 
 instance did not suit the accompanying word. 
 
 "Clara! Clara! compose yourself, child. 
 This is not like you ! " 
 
 The cold douche had the specific effect. 
 
 " I was so startled! murmured the daugh 
 ter, abashed as only her mother could abash 
 her. " When did you arrive ? And what 
 brought you here ? Is anything the matter 
 at home ? " 
 
 Mrs. Cameron answered one question at 
 a time, and in order, when she had laid off 
 bonnet and mantle. She had come in the 
 morning boat, delayed beyond the usual hour 
 of arrival by rotudi weather. She was en 
 
 %. r"* 
 
 route to attend a Sunday-school convention 
 
 in Chicago, and "leant to spend two days in
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 221 
 
 Mackinac. All at home were well, or she 
 would not be here. A letter advising Clara 
 of her visit should have been received twenty- 
 four hours ago. She had taken a cup of 
 coffee, a slice of toast, and a boiled egg at 
 Mackinac City, and needed no more break 
 fast. She was not fatigued, having slept well 
 on the cars. 
 
 The estimable matron was an iron-gray 
 woman. Her eyes were full, hard, and gray; 
 iron-gray hair was rolled over a firm cushion ; 
 a tailor-made gown of sheeny jrav stuff was 
 
 O v O v 
 
 tightened smoothly about an ample bust and 
 waist ; her skin was of an opaque grayish 
 tint resembling zinc ; her voice Avas a heroic 
 contralto which " carried " well when she 
 presided over committees and conventions. 
 Looking at her critically, it was difficult to 
 think simultaneously of her husband ; ab 
 surdly impossible to picture a baby laid 
 upon the marbleized-iron bosom, yet she had 
 borne and brought up six children. 
 
 Clara was her first-born and favorite, and 
 had served as a model to her successors in 
 the nursery. 
 
 Emmett made a pretence of finishing the 
 interrupted meal, while his wife, whose ap-
 
 222 WITH THE HKST 7.V7 A .V770.V>- : 
 
 petite li;id failed upon the trout, and Mrs. 
 Cameron, whose modest desires had been 
 met hv the single egg. solitary cup of coffee, 
 and one slice of toast, conversed of home 
 and Lisbon affairs. Her son-in-law gulped 
 the last morsel with an effort, rang for a 
 waiter to take away the remnants of the 
 repast he had planned so lovingly, and tried 
 to speak jocosely : 
 
 kv I suppose the less you see of me this 
 forenoon, the better," stooping to kiss his 
 \vife (Mrs. ( ameron looking discreetly in 
 another direction, as she anticipated his ac 
 tion). " I know yen have a thousand tiling 
 to say to one another so <n>od by until 
 
 O 
 
 luncheon ! " 
 
 Mrs. Cameron was too conscientious to 
 catechise her daughter as to her husband s 
 character and conduct. Mrs. Morgan was 
 too loyal a wife to complain of him. Never 
 theless, within half an hour after Kmmett 
 went lightly down the stairs for a comfort 
 able smoke on the piay./a with Mr. Romevn, 
 the mother knew all the daughter had to tell. 
 Ardently as Clara had longed for this able 
 counsellor, she had had no intention of crim 
 inating Emmett.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 
 
 And yet 
 
 " I see ! " observed the mentor, inclusively, 
 when the bulk of the evidence was in. " It 
 seldom happens that the intimates of bachelor 
 hood are such as a man would have his wife 
 know intimately. I regret that your first 
 experience of this truth should be so severe. 
 These people evidently belong to an exag 
 gerated type of the llashy Bohemian -women 
 you should never have touched! I am grate 
 ful to a kind Providence that brought me 
 
 o 
 
 here in time to prevent you from compli 
 cating the situation by confiding in your 
 husband. Never encounter a man with the 
 story of a beautiful woman s frailty until you 
 have all your proofs ready and docketed. 
 It was not accident that led me to accept 
 the appointment as delegate to this conven 
 tion. Yet there are Christians who 
 in special Providences ! "
 
 224 WITH THE BEST 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 "Sin-: is estima-able, no doubt. She could 
 not be less and have such ;i charming da-a-ugh- 
 
 ter don t you know? Nevertheless, she re- 
 minds me of the h;ir-ard\vure business. Her 
 husband mav he a railway stuck broker, you 
 know. The ferru-uginoiis smack mav come 
 from tin- ra-ails. don t vou know? And it 
 isn t magnetized i |- on, either. ()r is it I 
 wlio am unma<_niet ic / " 
 
 Karen and Uertie strolled up tlic liill be 
 yond the hotel, and into a winding pnth 
 running perilously near the verge of the 
 cliff. Mr. Romevn and Ciem followed at a 
 nee(lles>lv discreet distance, for Px-rti; 1 did 
 all the talking, chatter as idle as his saun 
 ter. Mrs. Cameron s coming had disturbed 
 the currents of ^:>od fellowship in the litth- 
 party, and this not merelv by witlidrawing 
 the Moi gans from the circle. Mrs. (lillctte 
 had had an attack of chilliness last night 
 after an hour s chat with the iron-clad upon
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 
 
 indifferent subjects, and withdrawn early 
 with her daughter from the piazza. The 
 elder lady was still invisible, although Karen 
 reported her as much better when, at ten 
 o clock, the four fast friends sallied forth 
 upon a ramble. 
 
 Karen was quiet beyond her wont. Too 
 sweet-hearted to be morose, and too well- 
 bred to appear abstracted, her entire willing 
 ness to leave the talk to her escort had the 
 peculiar effect of augmenting his disfavor 
 toward Mrs. Morgan s parent. By the time 
 they reached the cliff overtopping the Devil s 
 Kitchen, he was berating what he elected to 
 call the ferruginous fulmination," so viru 
 lently that a sparkle of amusement re-lit 
 Karen s eyes. 
 
 " Gem ! " she called, " our bear is becoming 
 savage. This leader s hand is hardly firm 
 enough. He is used to the whip, you see. 
 And I have not the energy to apply it to 
 day." 
 
 She sat down upon a rock under a shelter 
 ing clump of evergreens, and took off her 
 hat with an involuntary sigh, (lem began 
 to scold the recalcitrant, and he; to defend 
 himself, Mr. Romeyn acting as amused ref
 
 2lV> WITH TIIK HKXT IXTl-:.\TIO.\s: 
 
 eroe. Karen looked and felt strangely sn1>- 
 (lui tl. Sin- had spoken to her ninth. T a 
 week before of her f;;nev that there was 
 "thunder in the air." Since then her nerves 
 had been sorelv tried, brave as was her out 
 ward seeming, and the strain told upon her 
 forces. 
 
 Dav and scene were tranquilixing . \Vitli 
 these familiar friends, there was no need 
 of playing a part. Their affeetionate tact 
 I>erties feigned discontent and absorp 
 tion in il bcin;_j one phase of this -was a 
 wall between her and an exacting public. 
 The loose clasp ol lit r hands upon her knee, 
 the slight drooji of her head, the unbent 
 lines of her month, indicated peiisiveness 
 that was not nnjicacetul. Iler eves \\ cre 
 following a passing steainei 1 that left upon 
 the still air a corrugated trail, ^ ray-bellied 
 and white-backed, reminding l>er;ie of a sea- 
 serpent, when the pair ol restless yo 
 people be^an the circuitous descent lo the 
 water s edi^e. (Jem \vas sure-footed, iVrtie s 
 eve watchful and his arm strong. After 
 nodding a smiling assent to the proposed 
 expedition, the chaperon s Lfa/.e recurred to 
 the billowing smoke, broadening as it thinned 
 and arose into the hi dier air.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 227 
 
 The merry voices of the children were 
 faint and remote when she became aware, as 
 if awakening from sleep, that Mr. Romevn 
 
 o */ 
 
 was speaking in his customary subdued key, 
 but with an undertone of earnest feeling that 
 aroused her with the force of an electric 
 shock. 
 
 Perhaps because she was singularly devoid 
 of personal vanity, or that security in the 
 thoroughness of their mutual and friendly 
 understanding had made her unobservant, 
 she had never, for a moment, credited what 
 others had hinted more or less broadly, of 
 the intention of this serious, honorable gen 
 tleman to woo her to be his wife. A woman 
 of the world, herself, she appreciated fully 
 the improbability that a wealthy bachelor, 
 nearing forty years of age, and reputed to be 
 indifferent to matrimony, would ever change 
 his condition. She liked and esteemed him, 
 and felt perfectly secure in the permanence 
 <>f their present relations. 
 
 Beyond the start and stir that ran over her 
 iigure as his meaning now broke upon her, 
 she gave no sign of emotion, or even atten 
 tion, for several minutes. Her lingers may 
 have been pressed more closely together, and
 
 J-2S WITH THE /;/>T AY 77-: A" 770. vs.- 
 
 the unbent curve of the liji.s drooped toward 
 sadness. lie could not look in tin- eves ga/- 
 ing lakeward, and was therefore unprepared 
 for the passion of pleading with which tliev 
 were abruptly turneil upon him. 
 
 "I cannot listen! she said, impetuously. 
 "You must not say it. I never dreamed of 
 this. Your friendship has been a help and 
 a comfort. We will go back to that safe, 
 peaceful haven. I nsav it all. or better 
 still both of us will forget it. my friend! " 
 
 An irritable suitor could not have sus 
 pected her of coquetry. At the real suffering 
 in her face, this one spoke vet more gently. 
 
 " I had not hoped for other encouragement 
 than the permission to await your time and 
 will. I am not blind, or yet a coxcomb, and 
 .so could not misunderstand voiir friendliness. 
 I saw that, before vou would suspect the real 
 state of my affections, I must speak plainly. 
 Let me go on please! tor her gesture lie- 
 sought his silence. 
 
 " I know that vou do not talk for effect, and 
 you have said twice in my hearing per 
 haps witli a purpose that you disbelieve in 
 second marriages. I have an excellent mem 
 ory," smiling slightly, and I recollect that
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 229 
 
 when I was a child, my widowed mother said 
 the same thing, and far more emphatically. 
 Yet she married again, and very happily." 
 
 She glanced up at the lighter inflection 
 that went with the smile. He stood under a 
 balsam-fir, one hand grasping a low bough, 
 and the other, holding his hat, hung at his 
 side. Courteous, self-contained, manly yet 
 deferential, he appeared to admirable advan 
 tage, lint tranquil as was his general mien, 
 there was that in his eyes that sent the 
 blood leaping to her temples. She half arose, 
 wringing her hands in an agony of remorse 
 ful regret. 
 
 " Why did you ever see me ? Why did I 
 break my resolution of seclusion from a 
 world in which I have no right to appear ? 
 Mr. Romeyn ! dear, noble friend ! " hurrying 
 out the words, while her slender fingers pun 
 ished one another cruelly, and her eyes, dark 
 and troubled, looked away from him to the 
 placid waters. " I must not let you say one 
 word more. I am not a widow, except in 
 heart. That I shall be forever ! Oh ! my 
 God ! forever ! forever ! " 
 
 She sank back upon the mossy rock and 
 buried her face in her hands. As the man
 
 230 WITH TUP: HHST I.\TKNTIO.\* : 
 
 tin; Hush of Hilary astonishment fading 
 slowly awuv stood rooted to the earth, he 
 sa\v tears trickle over her wrists and fall in 
 her lap. 
 
 " I am answered," he said in a voice that, 
 if hard-, was not hitter. " Is it necessary to 
 say that, had I known the truth 
 
 "You would not have spoken!" throwing 
 down her hands and revealing the wet eves 
 and trembling month. "No! no! no! I 
 know your nice sense of right and honor. 
 But. were it possible for me to love you, or 
 any man again. -- I would not entangle your 
 prosperous life with mine such a frayed 
 and hefouled thread ! " 
 
 I Ie took a step toward her. 
 
 "Take hack those last words! I demand 
 this in justice to yourself. Thirty-eight years 
 have taught me something of women, (tod s 
 angels, who hear us, are not purer than you! 
 I swear it ! " 
 
 She arose and held out both hands 
 solemn lustre shining through her tears. 
 
 "You are a good man!" she said, with 
 simple fervor. "Thank you, for believing in 
 my mother s daughter. We she and I - 
 must leave this place soon very soon.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 231 
 
 There is a strange heaviness upon my heart 
 of late. It may he the shadow of coming 
 disaster. It may have meant only this. It 
 is sad enough, Heaven knows ! Wherever 
 I go, I shall remember you, and that you 
 held me to be worthy of your regard. See ! 
 Bertie and Gem have reached the shore, and 
 are trying to attract our attention ! 
 
 She shook her handkerchief ; Mr. Romeyn 
 waved his hat in reply to the united halloo 
 that ran up the rocky face of the precipice. 
 
 The sun was in the meridian when the 
 cliff -climbers, returning, beheld Mrs. Duma- 
 resque seated under one tree, almost hidden 
 by the New York Tribune. Mr. Romeyn, 
 under another, was deep in the editorial 
 columns of one of a pile of journals, topped 
 by the Interior and Chicago Tribune. 
 
 " Well, runaways ! " said the chaperon, in 
 playful severity. " We were wondering if 
 you were making the round of the Island. 
 Mr. Romeyn has had time to go back to the 
 hotel for the morning papers, and we have 
 read six apiece. Did you find any more 
 irreverent bits of pasteboard in his Satanic 
 Majesty s plate-warmer ? "
 
 232 WITH THE 11EST /.V77-;.Y77O.V.S : 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 MRS. CAMERON arose on "Wednesday full 
 of affairs and jnous resolve. She buttoned 
 her wrinkleless, tailor-made gown over a bust 
 heaving strongly, but regularly, \vilh matured 
 intentions. I lei fare was zinc-white and 
 determined; her falcon eve said that the \vav 
 was clear for her fearless feet. The angels 
 had swept aside everv prhblr of douht, dug 
 up every shard of mistaken jiitv for the sin 
 ner whose dav of doom had dawned. Mrs. 
 Cameron had a just appreciation of her own 
 talents, and knew herself to he equal to anv 
 emerge nev. with the connivance and help 
 of I n ivideiice, of course. 
 
 She ate no meat for breakfast that morn 
 ing: and while discussing her fruit, porridge, 
 graham bread, and coffee, took occasion to 
 observe that "persons of full habit would do 
 well to confine themselves to vegetarian diet 
 when there was any matter on hand which 
 required intellectual effort and nerve-power. 1
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 238 
 
 " I suppose your mother has a paper to 
 prepare for the Chicago Convention/ Emmett 
 said when Clara proposed a tete-d-tete drive, 
 " mamma having another engagement for the 
 forenoon." 
 
 She colored and bridled slightly, 
 
 " Mamma is always active in good 
 works." 
 
 " Nobody can deny that, my love," rejoined 
 the generous son-in-law. "She is a woman 
 of marvellous executive ability." 
 
 Pie would have conceded much more ru 
 the relief of escaping for a couple of hours 
 from the majestic muchness of her presence, 
 Reports of the meetings, moderated by the 
 inimitable executive officer, invariably spoka 
 of her " fine presence." It was upon her in 
 force, encased body and soul, as in triple 
 mail, as, standing at the window of her chain 
 ber, she beheld the party of four set out upon 
 their cliff-side ramble. Her agate-iron eye- 
 surveyed Karen with the gleam a huntei 
 Hashes along his gun-barrel when drawing a 
 bead upon his game, but her calm lips were 
 unstirred. Then she betook herself, net 
 ting in hand, to Mrs. Manly s parlor. 
 
 The invalid s sofa was drawn into the
 
 J:U WITH i in-: /;/;> / L\TK.\TIO\S : 
 
 middle df the r.>om, facing the western win 
 dows, the blinds of \\hieh were open. 
 
 I v. as watching inv voung people go over 
 the hill," she said, vivaciously. "I iMitiiied 
 them tliat I should, and they turned to wave 
 me a salute from the highest point. Thev 
 Mevcr forget th.e stranded hulk and her whims. 
 What I shall do to console and interest (Jem 
 when Mrs. Dumaresque goes away, I shudder 
 to think. She is a genius in chaperonage as 
 in evfi vthin^ else." 
 
 Mrs. Cameron s netting was maei ame lace, 
 made of hempen thread as grav and as nn- 
 compromisini;- as herself. She drew cord and 
 lins ti^ lit lirt ore she replied: 
 
 "You admire that sort of person, then?" 
 
 Mrs. Manlv \\ as hurt and stunned l>v the 
 moral brickbat. 
 
 I erson ! M \" dear .lane ! AVIio does not 
 admire and love Mrs. Dumaresque ? Put the 
 oiiestion to anvbodv \\ho kno\\ s her! lietVr 
 it to the wliole hole! ! " 
 
 "She la sliowv, I <_;-rant. witli a sort of 
 meretricious beautv that catehes the unedu 
 cated taste. Actress liv nature and praetice, 
 she is nevei off _ruard. and courts universal 
 approbation. It is quite the safest course in 
 the circumstances."
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 235 
 
 Her quick ear catching what she thought 
 was ;i muffled rustle in the bed-room, the door 
 of winch was ajar, she interrupted herself to 
 fcsk, " Is there danger that Ave will be over 
 heard/ 1 
 
 " No. That is, unless Fanny ! " 
 
 There was no response to the call; but 
 Mrs. ( lumeron took nothing for granted. 
 She aro>e, pushed the door wide open, and 
 scanned the inner apartment. There was 
 nobody there, yet she made all safe by rimt- 
 ting the door of communication. 
 
 Mrs. Manly thrust down the shoulder-robe 
 from her fluttering lungs and fanned herself 
 pantingly. 
 
 " My dear cousin ! What do you mean to 
 insinuate ? Don t keep me in suspense ! 
 Suspense is the worst possible thing for one 
 in my condition." She reached over to the 
 table for her smelling-salts, pulled out the 
 stopper, and inhaled the volatile contents 
 between breaths. " Not that you could pos 
 sibly know anything against a woman yot* 
 never met or heard of until last night! 
 
 o 
 
 " I know everything about her and 
 nothing in her favor." Mrs. Cameron undid 
 a kink in the stiff thread with keen, broad
 
 23n ,, iin THE r, /:> / /. v TK .vr/o.vs. 
 
 finder-nails. k > In the first place, she passes 
 under an assumed name, a trick as clever 
 as any she has practised, which is saving 
 much. Retaining the spelling, sht; has 
 altered the pronnneiatinn. She was Mrs. 
 Dewrraok when she lived in a frontier garri 
 son with her lawful husband, and in outward 
 respectability. She is Mrs. Duma/v.v/M* 
 since she ran away from him with another 
 man, and is queening it in Northern watering- 
 places, her dutiful mother, with a saintly 
 face and a reputation for wealth and social 
 standing, ready to whitewash the wanton 
 
 O v 
 
 daughter." 
 
 "Great Heavens!" Mrs. Manly dropped 
 the vinaigrette. The stopper rolled into tin; 
 middle of the lloor. Mrs. Cameron picked it 
 up, fitted it into the bottl -. and laid the latter 
 upon the stand. 
 
 "Am I dreaming /" cried the shocked 
 hostess, chokingly. "Are you sane? What 
 horrible misunderstanding is thi> . I will 
 not I cannot I n<///t not to credit OIK? 
 word of it! You have been grossly misin 
 formed. You are talking of a different per 
 son than my (Jem s best friend. Think of 
 my child, Jane Cameron ! "
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 237 
 
 " Think of my child, Jemima Manly! Ex 
 posed at the outset of her married life to the 
 almost certain chance that the fact of this 
 apparently intimate intercourse with a dis 
 reputable woman will reflect upon her all her 
 days! And, but for my providential arrival, 
 this might have gone on until the mischief 
 was irretrievable. This creature s husband 
 was here last week. You saw him. He 
 mingled freely with the company in this 
 hotel. He has changed his name, too it is 
 said, to take that of an uncle who left him 
 his heir. It is more likely that he wanted to 
 get rid of the name the wicked woman has 
 disgraced. Captain Dale introduced him to 
 you as Major Kane." 
 
 " Jane Cameron ! NO ! " rising on her 
 elbow. 
 
 Jemima Manly ! YES ! " continuing to 
 tie meshes of the hempen web. " He came 
 to entreat her to consent to a divorce, that 
 she might be made an honest woman in the 
 eyes of the world by marrying the partner of 
 her crime. She flouted the idea. She ieered 
 
 J 
 
 at him and mocked him on that very piazza, 
 within arm s length of your window. Do you 
 recollect the night of the thunder-storm, when
 
 -o8 WITH Tiit: /;/:>/ IXTESTIOSX: 
 
 you were ill \vith headache, and Clara sat in 
 here \vliilu you were asleep . Sin; MIIC the 
 husband and wife, and heard all I have told 
 you/ 
 
 Merciful ]x.)\veis ! Mrs. Manly s dc- 
 i/nccs were ground to powder bv this last 
 and realistic proof. \Vhoiu can I trust 
 (Mi, let me hope, there is some mistake 
 somewhere! I think to believe it all would 
 kill me ! " 
 
 It she were a geyser of tears and declama 
 tion, her kinswoman \\as a drv Gibraltar. 
 
 "To believe it should nerve; you to save 
 your child, and to atone to societv, in some 
 measure, for the liari i YOU have done bv 
 misplaced confidence in an adventuress. 
 Prompt action is imperatively required of 
 us all. 1 ask you to believe nothing with 
 out conclusive evidence. Compose yourself 
 sufficiently to listen, and you shall jud^e foi 
 v< Ui self." 
 
 She welded the links of Clara s discoveries 
 and suspicions into a chain that rivalled in 
 massive mi^ht Lord Stirling s celebrated 
 boom stretched across the Hudson. Xo 
 castings for her! Nothing but wrou^ lit- 
 iron, and plenty of it. served her turn. No
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 239 
 
 wonder honest Bertie detected the " foiTUoi- 
 
 o 
 
 nous smack " I 
 
 It may liave been half an hour thereafter 
 hat a prominent member of tl ; aiumst 
 ^hief Butler s staff, dubbed by J iat official 
 "My Assistants," - a spruce, supercilious 
 mulatto, passed the door of .drs. Manly s 
 bed-room just as a young worn .n of like com 
 plexion and jauntiness with hi aiself stole forth 
 on tiptoe. His exclamation of pleasurable 
 surprise was checked b an imperious gesture. 
 
 "I was on my way to b ct a mossle of fresh 
 air," she said, mincingly, when they were a 
 few steps further up the corridor. 
 
 "May I be your escort?" divining 1 her 
 
 J J O 
 
 intent. 
 
 Had the cousins glanced at the open 
 window, they could have seen the pair as 
 cending the hill, deep in talk. It was the 
 Assistant s " morning off," and Fanny could 
 depend upon her mistress s indulgence 
 should the bell be rung vainly during her 
 absence. The trim Abigail was a treasure. 
 She had lived with Mrs. Manly and the 
 Idiosyncrasy for five years, and knew her 
 place too well to emerge from, the closet 
 where she was arranging Mrs. Manly s
 
 240 WITH THE /;/;>. I.\TK.\TIO.\S: 
 
 trunk, after overhearing Mrs. Cameron s 
 insulting query. Had she been tempted to 
 answer her employer s call, the other matron 
 settled the matter by scrutini/.ing the inner 
 room. It was the action of a spy, not of a 
 ladv, decided handsome Fann\", holding her 
 brt-ath in wholesome indignation until the 
 meanness of the transaction was climaxed by 
 the sound of the closing door. With the 
 practical appreciation of tin; specific purpose 
 of the keyhole, innate in her class and profes 
 sion, she so far gratified her loyu of a llavor- 
 ous dish of scandal that the story she poured 
 into the willing ears of her admirer owed le>s 
 to her imagination than might ha ye, been 
 expected from Mrs. Manly s confidential 
 maid. 
 
 The smouldering evos of the dusky dandy 
 kindled with the unfolding tale. The air of 
 nonchalant superiority habitual to him while 
 on duty in the $alle-d-ni<in;/<>r occasionally 
 verged so nearly upon insolence, that Mrs. 
 Dumaresque had overlooked him pointedly 
 one day, when it was necessary to make an 
 inquiry of an official, by "preferring to wait 
 until the head-waiter should come in." The 
 snub was as courteous as snub could be, but
 
 A MIUSUMMEA EPISODE. 241 
 
 the mean mind never forgave it. He ques 
 tioned eagerly, and his Dulcinea answered 
 at length; the day was glorious, and their 
 consciences were free from haunting thoughts 
 of tasks undone , they wandered on and on, 
 with the panther-like tread inherited from 
 a savage ancestry, the brown carpet of the 
 woodland path soundless under their feet, 
 until Fanny drew back suddenly, with a low 
 exclamation : 
 
 " Lordy ! looky thar ! " 
 
 Another step would have cleared the clump 
 of undergrowth behind which they watched 
 the tableau set upon the cliff-brow, each line 
 startling! y strong against the peerless blue of 
 the island sky. 
 
 Karen, seated upon a stone, hands inter 
 locked upon her knee, the sunshine falling 
 like a blessing upon her bared head, looked 
 far out to the water-gates on the dim horizon. 
 Mr. Homey n stood a little space away, and 
 was speaking earnestly. 
 
 The spies were too far off to catch a sin 
 gle word of the dialogue, but not a gesture 
 escaped their greedy eyes until, alarmed by 
 the abrupt motion with which Karen arose to 
 hold out her hands to her suitor, they sped 
 noiselessly back bv the winding path.
 
 242 \\ ini v///-; /;/;>T L\TK.\TIOSH : 
 
 " They r.in t comin yet ! " panted Fanny, 
 stopping to lean against a tree on one side, 
 and the Assistant s shoulder upon the other. 
 " We was seared for nothin . I \visht we had 
 a-staved longer. She were jes about to jump 
 inter his arms. shouldn t you say so?" 
 
 "They always do. my dear!" said the ex 
 pert, sagely. k- But I say, ain t she a high 
 
 one / 
 
 In the raee between good and eyil tidings, 
 the former is not only handicapped, but spav 
 ined. The whole Church, militant and tri 
 umphant, needs to cry continually, " Flv ! 
 ily ! thou mighty ( iospel ! " 
 
 Scandal requires neither whip nor spur. 
 
 By the time Mrs. ( iillette and her daugh 
 ter alighted at the main entrance of the hotel 
 after their afternoon drive, a hundred pairs 
 of eyes were ready to gloat upon or menace 
 them. It was noticed by not a fe\y that Mi 1 . 
 Komevn had not been seen since luncheon 
 time, which meal he had taken, as usual, at 
 tin- table with the (iillettes. Almost immedi 
 ately after the ladies had gone to their rooms, 
 he had emerged from the rotunda, looking 
 pale and grave. One woman of imllammable 
 fancy repeated to all who were not too busy
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 243 
 
 tattling on the same string to hearken to her, 
 how she had remarked to her sister : "That 
 man has had a blow ! I shouldn t wonder 
 if the mail had brought him bad news ! " 
 although THE STOKY had not then reached 
 her ears. 
 
 Another woman a late arrival had in 
 quired, " Who is that saturnine individual 
 who is mounting that fine horse ? " 
 
 Mrs. Jo-McCarthy-Seth-Liggon had stepped 
 at once into popularity that turned that 
 moiety of her brain whick up to now had 
 retained an ounce or two of ballast. She 
 held court at every breathing-place by virtue 
 of her whilom intimacy with that " magnifi 
 cent, poor, dear Lootenant Demarick," and 
 the acumen that had penetrated the disguise 
 the designing creature had carried off so 
 shamelessly. 
 
 Mr. Romeyn, then, had thrown himself 
 into his saddle (all the stories agreed as to 
 the action) and galloped off toward the 
 woods. He had not been seen since. Mrs. 
 Liggon was the only one who openly broached 
 the suspicion of suicide ; but others had thrills 
 of awful deliciousness in silently revolving 
 the probabilities that out of first-class "sha-
 
 2-14 H77V/ TIIH />/> r I.\TK.\TIO_\S . 
 
 diness " might be evolved high tragedy. The 
 desire to l>e upon the ground when he re 
 turned, or when ue\vs of IT should he 
 brought, was second onlv to the curiosity to 
 take another stare at the dethroned <jueen, 
 when word ran along the lines that her car 
 riage was in sight. 
 
 Slic walked up the hroad flight of steps 
 with the mien of a reigning sovereign: more 
 slowly than usual, herausf her mother leaned 
 upon her. hut she carried her head high ; 
 her lineaments were serene : her glanee was 
 free and clear. Mother and daughter were 
 within two steps of the top when Mr. "\Yilkes 
 lumbered out of the door, hastened down to 
 them, and lent his aid toward bringing Mrs. 
 Gillette into the desired haven, bv grasping 
 her elbow and making an upward "haul." 
 
 The courteous crowd tittered; Karen s 
 smile was grateful. 
 
 Thank you!" said her soft yet vibrant 
 tones. l *Mv mother is rather more tired 
 than would seem excusable in anv one upon 
 this lovely afternoon. I hope Mrs. Wilkes 
 rind the voung ladies are enjoying the sun 
 set?" 
 
 Turning for a last look at it, she was in the
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 245 
 
 full stream of warm, rich light palpitating 
 from the burning west, yet a shiver ran over 
 } ier so people averred afterward as if a 
 frosty breeze had struck her.
 
 240 WITH THE HKST IXTEXTION8 : 
 
 C1IAPTKU XVIII. 
 
 THK day begun so happily by Gem was 
 drawing to a dreary close. The programme 
 decided upon by the pair of pious plotters - 
 each in her individual \vav a sensationalist 
 included hoodwinking 1 , up to a Lfiven 
 point, the girl who would inevitably hasten 
 the bursting of the bomb by her passionate 
 part isanship of the criminal. 
 
 Mrs. Manly could not meet her child s 
 ingenuous eyes, nor hear her prattle praise 
 of her friend, and successfully dissemble her 
 indignation. She had but one resort. The 
 talons ot the Idiosyncrasy dragged her Ironi 
 her couch of ease to her bed in the darkened 
 inner apartment. 
 
 Tlu 1 odor of ether stealing through the 
 transom of the parlor revealed the sit nation 
 to (iem lie fore she entered. A whispered 
 exclamation ot dismay broke from her. 
 
 " Mamma is ill ! And she seemed so bright 
 this mornin< r
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 247 
 
 " I will not come in, then ! " said Karen, as 
 softly. " 13 ut I will wait here to know how 
 she is ! " 
 
 " Very bad ! " was Gem s report. " She 
 hardly knew me she is so stupefied by that 
 dreadful drug- ! Fanny is used to giving it, 
 but I am al \vays frightened." 
 
 She was a fond and faithful daughter, and, 
 
 O 
 
 except to take a hasty luncheon, did not stir 
 from the sitting-room all the afternoon. By 
 four o clock, Fanny emerged from the inner 
 chamber to announce, sotto voce, that "It was 
 passing off." By five, a feeble voice called 
 for Gem. 
 
 Mrs. Manly s complexion was sanguine, 
 and her spirits were on the gentle rise. She 
 patted her daughter s cheek, and promised to 
 be all right soon." 
 
 " I feel as if natural slumber would visit 
 me now, my darling," she added, in firmer 
 tones. " Would you mind sitting in the 
 other room with your book, while poor Fanny 
 gets an hour s rest ? She is quite fagged out, 
 and no wonder ! " 
 
 Unsuspicious Gem ensconced herself duti 
 fully by her favorite window, a volume 
 Karen had lent her in her hand, and for the
 
 248 WITH THE JiJ-:.<T J.\Tl-:.\Tlo.\s : 
 
 next liour and a half divided her attention 
 between the pact s and the gav scene with 
 out, her far all the while alert for sounds 
 ironi the convalescent s room. 
 
 Natural slumlnT proved propitious, and 
 prolonged IHT Slav. Tin- tide of vehicles, 
 riders, and pedestrians up and do\vn the hill 
 capped by Cliff Cottage was ebbing bv rea 
 son of the Hearing dinner hour, when, between 
 her bowed shutters, the L^irl sa\\" liertie saun 
 ter around the bend of the road, and eoine 
 toward the hotel in company with four other 
 youiiL, r fellows. About a dozen yards above 
 the pia/./.a thev paused, apparently to watch 
 an approaching exctirsion steamer. 
 
 "How becoming white is to that bov ! " 
 thought our little maiden, in the matronly 
 strain feminine nineteen indulges in toward- 
 masculine three-and-twentv. 
 
 Dei tie s wliite flannel tennis-suit was fresh 
 and fashionable. His snowy cap sat the 
 blonde curls jauntily; his racket was in his 
 left hand, and he strummed upon the netting 
 with his right, as upon a mandolin, while he 
 talked: a cigar was between his lips. He- 
 was graceful, indolent, and happy, the em 
 bodiment of midsummer content.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 249 
 
 "He is growing handsome. Or is it be 
 cause I know him better ? " mused Gem, in 
 the same affectionately patronizing mood. 
 " I used to think him an affected boy " 
 
 The boy had turned sharply, even fiercely, 
 upon one of the group, whose sneering laugh 
 Gem could see and hear. They were so near 
 that she saw the sun-bronzed face she was 
 commending change pallidly, his eyes gleam 
 blue lightning. He took his cigar from his 
 lips ; there was a breathless exchange of ques 
 tion and reply ; the racket was dropped; Bertie 
 took a step forward ; a blow straight from the 
 shoulder, like the leap of a sword-cane, full 
 upon the sneering mouth, sent his interlocutor 
 reeling to the ground. Before his comrades 
 could interfere, Bertie kicked the prostrate 
 figure over and over, as he might an empty 
 barrel, until lie lodged in the evergreens bar 
 ring the edge of the bank from the highway. 
 
 Wheeling upon the astonished trio of spec 
 tators, his visage livid with passion, the " boy " 
 seemed to interrogate them, his eyes flaming 
 from face to fare. (Jetting prompt and, it 
 would seem, humble answers, Bertie smiled 
 grimly, as Gem had never imagined he could 
 look, turned on his heel, and walked rapidly
 
 _./u n rni Tin-: ;;/;>/ IXTEXTIOXS: 
 
 into the central corridor of the hotel, binding 
 up his bleeding hand with his handkerchief. 
 
 In passing the .Manlvs window, lie glanced 
 darkly toward it, but saw no one. (Jem had 
 fallen back in her chair, shocked almost to 
 swooning. 
 
 I never knew lambs could bark and /<//V . " 
 she half sobbed, half laughed, in recovering 
 her senses. 
 
 She was thrilling and quaking from head 
 to foot. Terror at being the eve-witness of a 
 real light that drew blood on both sides : pride 
 in the cherub s masterv of a noble art she had 
 not credited him with possessing, and in his 
 prowess in extinguishing in ten seconds a 
 man several inches taller and many pounds 
 heavier than himself: and. surmounting both 
 these emotions, something keener and sweeter 
 than either, novel, and non-analv/.ablc hv her 
 experience, dominated and frightened In;} 1 . 
 She was reallv afraid of the doughty vouth. 
 She inwardly catalogued the glance he had 
 cast at the window as fell," and tried to 
 speculate upon the probabilities that he had 
 an ungovernable temper, vet had never liked 
 him one-tenth so well before. 
 
 At seven o clock the Gillettes descended
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 251 
 
 the staircase, the mother resting upon the 
 daughter s arm. The pretty old lady moved 
 more slowly than she had a week before : her 
 skin was like ivory which is beginning to 
 show age ; now and then her lips faded into 
 blue- white, that startled the lookers-on. If 
 Karen noted the change, she held her peace, 
 and no shade of solicitude dimmed the affec 
 tionate smile with which she talked now to 
 her parent, ignoring the shortness of breath 
 that obliged them to halt for a second upon 
 the lowest landing. As they turned toward 
 the dining-room, Amy and Grace Wilkes met 
 them, the younger sister with a cluster of 
 sweet-brier buds and blossoms, which she held 
 blushingly up to Mrs. Dumaresque. 
 
 " They came from our bush ! " said the 
 child, timidly. 
 
 " Thank you, dear I " caressing the brown 
 curls. "Sweet-brier will always, after this 
 summer, remind me of you." 
 
 The four walked together to the door of 
 the dining-room. Mr. Romeyn and Bertie, 
 entering the rotunda from another side, 
 hastened to overtake them and accompany 
 Mrs. Gillette and her daughter to their seats. 
 The sisters, from the table occupied by them-
 
 2") 2 WITH THE J1EST I \TE\TIO.\S : 
 
 selves ;ind their parents, saw indignantly 
 what the Gillettes did not remark, tin- 
 stares, furtive, curious, and insolent, directed 
 toward the quartette. Their modest station 
 at the side of the great hall was the foeal 
 point of all eves. Kven the waiters lingered 
 to look at them in passing hither and von. 
 Two or three, who affected the supercilious 
 Assistant s manner, rather than the superb 
 suavitv of their principal, nudged one an 
 other grinningly. The most fashionable 
 dames present, with solitaire earrings like 
 headlights for gleam, and imported slaughter 
 of native accent upon their mouths, pointed 
 out "the latest sensation, and " our budding 
 scandal, me dear," to new-comers. 
 
 The objects of all this observation chatted 
 as easily and smiled as pleasantly as was 
 their wont, bestowing even less attention 
 than usual upon the babbling, clinking, and 
 clacking world about them. 
 
 "T/utt is what I call perfect breeding!" 
 said Mrs. Wilkes aside to her husband. "Ciin 
 she be as unconscious as she appears?" 
 
 "She has eves, and more wits than all the 
 confounded crew put together!" growled the 
 storekeeper and prospective legislator. "It s
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 253 
 
 clear grit ! that s what it is and woman s 
 grit, at that ! the best article of the kind 
 in the market ; warranted a fit, every time ! 
 But I d give a year s profits and my best 
 Jersey cow to have her clean out of this, and 
 eating shortcake and raspberries with us at 
 home this very minute ! I m sick of hotel 
 cooking and hotel ways ! " 
 
 " An accident upon the tennis-court, or in 
 boating?" queried Mrs. Gillette, noticing 
 the court-plaster upon Bertie s hand. 
 
 "I skinned it against a nosty blo-o-ke, 
 don t you know?" the Anglican smack 
 successfully disguising the slang phrase- 
 The cherubic eyed his marred knuckles in 
 rueful admiration, funny enough in itself. 
 " Lost me temper and hurt me to-o-e, kicking 
 the be-eastly tiling into the lake, don t you 
 know?" 
 
 " Poor block ! " said Karen. " Let us hope 
 it could swim ! " 
 
 But she had intercepted a warning glance 
 from his quondam guardian, and on their 
 way out after dinner, accosted Mr. Romeyn 
 in a mirthful undertone : 
 
 " What has the absurd boy been doing?" 
 
 "His duty!" savagely. "I beg your par-
 
 254 WITH THE BEST 
 
 don ! " as she looked quickly ;it him. Ber 
 tie is a famous boxer, and a fellow, whom 
 Bertie would style a cad, not knowing his 
 gifts in that line, tried to take advantage of 
 his deficiency in the matter of weight and 
 height and got left. That is the tale in 
 brief." 
 
 Bertie is as brave as he is sweet," said 
 Karen, thoughtfully, "and a true-hearted, 
 leal friend/ 
 
 " You are right." 
 
 The response; was so grave that she re 
 turned from her troubled wonder as to whether 
 Gem might possibly be mixed up in the fra 
 cas. Something in the set, colorless fare, look 
 ing sternly forward, brought the blood from 
 her heart to her cheeks, the impotent pain 
 pure women with sensitive consciences, who 
 have inspired love thcv cannot return, know 
 so well. The hurt she had dealt that fore 
 noon was deep, and she could offer not so 
 much as a drop of balm. But for the pre 
 occupation of this reflection, she must have 
 become the sooner aware of the stir of some 
 thing strange and adverse beneath the sur 
 face of the social waters. As the four, Bertie 
 and Mrs. Gillette leading the way, strolled
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 255 
 
 up the piazza, the crowd parted conspicuously 
 to the left and right, yet nobody seemed con 
 scious of their neighborhood. Promenaders 
 looked fixedly at each other, and talked faster, 
 or espied something of absorbing interest far 
 out upon the lake, or fell into moody abstrac 
 tion that drew the eyes to the floor or into 
 vacancy. It could hardly have been by chance 
 that not one of many acquaintances met the 
 mother and daughter in the long, deliberate 
 progress to the upper curve, where the twain 
 had held court, evening after evening, for a 
 month past. There the Wilkses in a body 
 were grouped, with over-studied carelessness, 
 around the easy-chair set ready for the old lady. 
 
 Her breath was uncertain and unequal in 
 thanking them for the courtesy; her smile 
 was a flickering ray. 
 
 " Pray Heaven she may not guess what is 
 going on! Mrs. Wilkes found opportunity 
 to breathe into her helpmate s ear. " She 
 hasn t the strength for it." 
 
 Then the worthy souls began to make such 
 diligent talk that the rest of the little party 
 Avere drawn in, and those who stood and sat 
 aloof, but attent, remarked how shamelessly 
 the convicted Creature was " carrying on with 
 those men,"
 
 256 WITH THE KKXT L\TK\TIO.\ T S : 
 
 Alas ! those who were near were few ; those 
 win i held themselves apart, many. Besides 
 Mr. Romevn, Bertie, and the Wilkes familv, 
 no one approached her who was but yesterday 
 a queen. People turned in the promenade 
 at the swell of the curve of the noble por 
 tico, with the precision of sentinels upon their 
 beat. The few who were caught above the 
 infected district beat a retreat to the corridor 
 bisecting the wing, and through it made their 
 wav to safer regions. k * The awful circle of 
 the txtnnei? " was drawn as distinctly about 
 the central group as though defined by gov 
 ernmental edict. 
 
 Until, to the amusement of the men and 
 the horror of the women, Emmett Morgan, 
 who had taken an afternoon off, his wife hav 
 ing her mother s society, and spent it in play 
 ing chess upon the Dales porch, and to whom 
 no one dared whisper a syllable of recent 
 disclosures, appeared at the upper end of 
 the pia/./.a, accompanied by Captain and Mrs. 
 Dale, and the three attached themselves forth 
 with to the party under fire. Mrs. Dale ac 
 cepted smilingly the chair offered by Mr. 
 Romevn ; the Captain bent low over Mrs. 
 Gillette s hand, and then remained standing
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 257 
 
 by her ; and luckless Emmett, resting a hand 
 on the back of Karen s chair, leaned toward 
 her ear to retail an amusing story Mrs. Dale 
 had just told him. The sensation produced 
 by this manifestation of culpable ignorance 
 or astounding effrontery on the part of the 
 young Benedict was so palpable, that Karen, 
 raising her beautiful eves, sparkling with 
 
 o , o 
 
 laughter excited by the anecdote, heard the 
 rustle and murmur. Her startled look, as it 
 swept the scores of faces turned upon them, 
 all bearing varieties in degree of one senti 
 ment, caused Emmett to follow it. Review 
 ing the scene in a calm moment, he could 
 compare the shock to nothing but the agony 
 of a mote that accidentally crosses the focus 
 of a solar microscope. lie and his friends 
 were suddenly ranged upon a stage in the 
 merciless blaze of light that scorched while 
 it blinded. Everybody was staring at them. 
 In the excitement of the instant, people had 
 turned their chairs to get a better look ; 
 strollers looked over their shoulders ; men 
 leaned against pillars and surveyed them 
 coolly ; women even lifted eyeglasses in 
 reckless impertinence. 
 
 Thus for one blinding second, - -- tl>e# Uio
 
 -: J1EST 7.V77-:.V770.VS : 
 
 throng broke into sections ;uul inio knots 
 that resumed idle or serious chat. Hut ii 
 was a second lie never forgot. The nex!. he 
 shifted his position, instinctively, to shield 
 tin. 1 pale face of his companion troiu cruel 
 scrutiny. Her eves were distraught with 
 asking and misgiving appeal that recalled, 
 as in a flash of light, what thev had said to 
 him on the afternoon of his arrival at Macki- 
 nac. when thev looked up at him standing 
 with his bride upon the Inlcoiiv the instant 
 in which he recognized in the brilliant bru 
 nette of the tableau below his old acquaint 
 ance. 
 
 " In I leaven s name ! " she uttered, low and 
 huskily, "what does it mean? What have I 
 done ? " 
 
 Nothing ! nothing! hush!" 
 
 For around the corner of the building 
 tripped Mrs. Manlv s maid, smart and smirk 
 ing, with a note in her hand. 
 
 It was for Mrs. Dumaresque. Opening it 
 mechanically, she glanced down the page, 
 and, as if still da/ed, passed it to Emmett. 
 
 Shall I read it aloud?" he inquired, when 
 he had run it over. 
 
 " If you plea.se."
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 259 
 
 It was in Gem s handwriting : 
 
 " DEARKST Mits. DUMAKESQUE : (This is not T who 
 write. It is Mamma.) She has been ill all day, but 
 finds herself so much better to-night in fact, so well 
 that she begs for the pleasure of your society, and 
 would you have the infinite complaisance (this is still 
 Mamma who speaks !) to recite Lasca for us this once 
 more ? Mrs. Cameron is extremely anxious to hear it, 
 as rendered by you. Bring Mr. Romeyn, Mr. Gates, 
 
 The witch had written " the Ubiquities" then 
 crossed it out, 
 
 "the Dales, Wilkses, in short, all your court, with 
 you, most gracious Lady and Queen (that s a touch of 
 Mamma again !), and make golden one leaden hour of 
 an invalid s dreary day. 
 
 So prays Mamma. To which petition I, Gem, 
 who love you, add Amen ! 
 
 "P.S. I wanted to go for you in my own person, 
 which is never proper, but Mamma thought this for 
 mal (!) request would be in better taste for suppliants." 
 
 There was a second postscript, which Em- 
 mett did not read aloud : 
 
 " Coyne, my darling won t you? I have not seen 
 you for eight and a half hours, and I am withering ! 
 
 " Lovingly, 
 
 "GEM." 
 
 Mrs. Gillette arose with the rest when a
 
 2t!0 WITH THE /;/> / L\TK.\TIO.\X : 
 
 motion \v;is made in the direction of Mrs. 
 Manlv s apartment. 
 
 Something in IHT lack of alertness caught 
 JUT daughter s eve. Slit- was at IHT side in 
 a moment, forgetful of IHT o\vn perplexity. 
 
 "Mamma! arc yon not well? Would vou 
 like to go to your room instead?" 
 
 "Do!" urged Mrs. Wilkes. -I will stay 
 with yon while the young people are listen 
 ing to the recitation." 
 
 The line old figure was straightened; a 
 lovely liloom tinted tin- faded face. 
 
 Fie! lie! You must not make me out to 
 he superannuated. I shall never he past lik 
 ing to see young people happv, or enjoying 
 my daughter s triumphs. I shall he well 
 rated for that last word when I do suffer 
 myself to he taken up stairs. So it hehooves 
 me to stay below as lon^ as I can. 
 
 Before Kmniett could offer his arm, Mr. 
 liomevn s was extended and accepted. Karen 
 fell hack, nndesignedlv, to Bertie s side, ami 
 perceived how it had happened, as he spoke 
 under his breath. 
 
 "I sav. if vou don t want to keep that, 
 skit, designating the note she was twist 
 ing abstractedly between her lingers, "I am
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 261 
 
 partially acquainted with a fellow who would 
 1-i-i-k-e to lay it away among his mementoes, 
 you know." 
 
 His whimsicalities always amused her. The 
 low, musical laugh that answered him was like 
 a girl s, but Mr. Romeyn s forehead was lined, 
 as with sudden pain, in hearing it. 
 
 " What if your fellow should not value 
 it when you are better acquainted with him?" 
 she rejoined, banteringly. 
 
 Nevertheless, the little billet rustled into 
 his left breast pocket as they entered Mrs. 
 Manly s parlor.
 
 262 WITH THE HEST 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 CLEOPATRA lay in high state among silken 
 cushions of many colors. An India sha\vl of 
 fabulous value in the, days when only rich 
 people wore such was flung across her feet. 
 A generous sluice of cold air had dispelled 
 the fumes of ether, and the breath of a big 
 boxful of violets, with which Bertie (iates 
 had paid a philopena forfeit to Gem, was 
 banishing the memory of the drug. 
 
 In the midst of her wrath, which was deep, 
 and her useless regrets, which were sincere, 
 the straining after dramatic effect, which had 
 become second nature with Mrs. Manlv, was 
 visible in every appointment for the scene of 
 the evening. The stage was dressed for ;i 
 denouement which was to be historical. From 
 her couch, she commanded the semi-circle of 
 chairs which was, artistically irregular. Her 
 gown was pale lavender, trimmed with black 
 lace ; (Jem s, of white China silk, was girdled 
 with lavender that shaded harmoniously with
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 263 
 
 her mother s robe. The light was stronger 
 than either of them liked to have it at these 
 informal receptions. Mrs. Cameron asked that 
 the silken shade which generally tempered 
 the glare might be dispensed with to-night. 
 She needed clear light for her netting. 
 
 The exemplary matron was drawn up in 
 force upon a high-backed chair at her cousin s 
 right hand. A trail of hempen meshes lay 
 across her lap ; her strong fingers manipulated 
 and conquered the stout threads in a relent 
 less fashion, that suggested her probable 
 method of handling heart-strings. Her face 
 was as calm as the Jungfrau on a clear Janu 
 ary morning. Before coming to the tribunal 
 where she was to act as prosecutor, witness, 
 and judge, she had locked her door, and, upon 
 knees well used to the posture, asked the 
 blessing of righteous Heaven upon the task 
 laid to her hand. 
 
 Her equanimity acted like bromide-and- 
 lavender upon Mrs. Manly s nerves, and 
 awed Clara. At sight of it the latter felt 
 ashamed of the unladylike heat with which 
 she had regarded her husband s truancy, and 
 the actual hatred that had fluttered her pulses 
 at thought of Karen Dumaresque. Would
 
 WITH THE ISKST INTENTIONS: 
 
 she ever be able to emulate the marble-like 
 composure of the eminent Christian philan 
 thropist? She, too, had her work. The 
 dozenth faint buff doyly was to be a memento 
 forever to her of this eventful occasion. As 
 she plied the needle with cold, humid fingers. 
 she stitched into the intricate design of inter 
 locking and infinitely be-spoked wheels su^- 
 penseful trepidation she dared not butrav in 
 her mother s presence. 
 
 Light-hearted, light-footed (rein flitted 
 about the room, pulling a fold straight here. 
 settling a ilower there, picking up with the 
 tongs a fallen coal ; adjusting her mother s 
 screen, and breaking into intermittent mur 
 murs of song, until Mrs. Manly remarked 
 plaintively upon her "fidgetiness." 
 
 " Forgive me ! " pleaded the child, stooping 
 to kiss the petulant lips. " I don t know 
 what ails me to-night. I feel as if some 
 thing airfiiH//, transcendently delicious were 
 just about to happen. I suppose it is because 
 you are so much better, Mamma dear, and 
 that we are to have another Dumaresque 
 evening. Th<tt is enough to set mv pulses to 
 dancing." 
 
 Not a word replied. Mrs. Manly closed
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 265 
 
 her eyes and fanned herself nervously. Mrs. 
 Morgan s head bent lower over her work; 
 there was as much expression in Mrs. Cam 
 eron s face as in a new grayish slate. Fanny, 
 who had never been more handy, discreet, and 
 demure than while arraying her mistress and 
 setting the room in order for " company," 
 had her own flurry of spirits, but it was not 
 a formless mystery of expectation. When 
 she retired from the scene of action at Mrs. 
 Manly s gracious bidding, it was not as that 
 lady suggested, to " have a holiday evening 
 with the other maids." 
 
 " Lock the bed-room door on the inside, 
 Fanny, and go out this way," was also an 
 order susceptible of ingenious construction. 
 The door was locked, but the key went off in 
 Fanny s pocket. She had not studied stage- 
 tricks under Mrs. Manly for four years in vain. 
 
 Voices and steps in the corridor heralded 
 the party for whom preparation had been 
 made. Gem flew to the door before the 
 leader of the band could knock. 
 
 They entered with a playful show of pro 
 cessional parade. Mrs. Gillette and Mr. 
 Romeyn were first ; Karen came, last of all, 
 upon elate Bertie s arm. Mrs. Cameron and
 
 ir/77/ TII K /;/> r i.\TK.\Tioys: 
 
 her daughter bowed ; the hostess sainted 
 effusively with her fan. There was a tumult, 
 merry but subdued, in consideration of the 
 invalid s recent indisposition, in seating the 
 company. The room was quite full when all 
 were settled. Mrs. (Jilh-tte had the arm-chair 
 of honor. Bertie dropped upon the rug at her 
 feet. Kmmett, following his example, drew 
 up a foot-cushion in front of his wife, and 
 bestowing himself thereupon, rested his elbow 
 upon her knee. 
 
 Clara blushed brightly at the action. She 
 knew that Mamma thought it indecorous: vet 
 had her life or the preservation of Mamma s 
 favor depended upon it, she could not have 
 repelled the dear, affectionate fellow. Her 
 heart, hungry and sore, responded with an 
 eager bound to the public demonstration of 
 love and preference. After all. he <//</ belong 
 to her. and vaunted the truth. 
 
 Mrs. Cameron, better versed in masculine, 
 deceits, drew her thread hard and narrowed 
 the line of her tight lips. The sugar-plum of 
 uxorious display on the part of a faithless 
 spouse was a stale trick. She had seen, 
 through a convenient crevice of the front 
 shutters, what Clara had not -- Emmett s
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 267 
 
 attitude of tender homage not three minutes 
 before the receipt of Mrs. Manly s note ; had 
 witnessed, too, Karen s transfer of it to him 
 for the public reading. 
 
 " As an honest woman might pass over her 
 private letters to her husband I " thought the 
 virtuous matron. 
 
 The pleasant ripple of chat was arrested 
 presently by Mrs. Manly s somewhat awk 
 ward introduction of the pretext of her invi 
 tation. Karen came gracefully to her relief 
 as she bungled volubly and halted senselessly. 
 The atmosphere of the familiar room, the en 
 vironment of friends, the exclusion of the 
 outer line of curious and insolent faces, 
 wrought peaceful gratitude within her soul. 
 Here she was safe ! When Gem had fluttered 
 to her side, and stolen an arm about her, she 
 could have clasped the child to her heart and 
 broken into wild weeping, so great was the 
 revulsion of feeling. The lustre of unshed 
 tears was yet upon her eyes, a moved smile-, 
 on her lips, as she arose for the recitation she 
 had assured Mrs. Manly " it was a pleasure,. 
 not a trouble, to give." 
 
 We wouldn t press you to repeat it, 
 only Mrs. Cameron would like in fact, is
 
 WITH TIII-: /;/> / I.\TK\TI<>\* : 
 
 just burning with desire to hear you in this. 
 your masterpiece," the kinswoman declared. 
 
 The zinc woman testified her flaming de 
 sire by folding the hempen lace and laying it 
 upon the table ; then overlapping the strong- 
 hands, that could look cruel, upon her gray 
 poplin gown, and fastening her unwinking 
 eyes upon the high-bred, sensitive face of the 
 speaker. 
 
 The deadening grayness of Mrs. Cameron s 
 complexion, and the dilation of her eyes, as 
 the tale proceeded, were something to behold 
 and never to forget. l*p to this she had felt 
 that the Creature defied her, with other spot 
 less women, in Haunting the garb of respec 
 tability. Now, she and they, in the concrete, 
 Virtue, in the abstract and Providence, of 
 course were insulted openly. Thestorv of 
 lawless love, reckless passion, attempted homi 
 cide and Heaven only knows what other 
 monstrous implications was recited for 
 Jti f pleasure at In-r request! The selection 
 was Mrs. Manlv s. Mrs. Cameron never read 
 poetrv or novels, lint who was to know that / 
 The First Directress of the Ladies Aid Asso 
 ciation of the Lisbon ( hurch, the prospec 
 tive lecturer of the Chicago Sunday-school
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 269 
 
 Convention, stood committed to an ungovern 
 able desire to hear Lasca ! 
 
 " A poem of Western life and adventure," 
 her cousin had said. " Just the thing to fur 
 nish an excellent opening for your catechism." 
 
 Bertie tingled all over with malicious glee 
 at seeing the stiffening eyeballs roll porten 
 tously from Clara to Mrs. Manly, resting, 
 en route, rebukefully, upon the unconscious 
 son-in-law, who saw only Karen s speaking 
 face, as she gave the lines : 
 
 " But once, when I made her jealous for fun, 
 At something I d whispered, or looked, or done, 
 One Sunday, in San Antonio, 
 To a glorious girl on the Alamo, 
 She drew from her garter a dear little dagger, 
 And sting of a wasp ! it made me stagger ! 
 An inch to the left, or an inch to the right, 
 And \ shouldn t be maundering here to-night. 
 But, she sobbed, and sobbing, so swiftly bound 
 Her torn reboso about the wound, 
 That I quite forgave her. Scratches don t count 
 In Texas, down by the llio Grande." 
 
 The gray woman s by now bloodless lips 
 actually parted when the garter was named, 
 as a fish comes up to the top of the water for 
 air. They stirred again at the " torn reboso."
 
 270 WITH THE VEST IXTEXTIOXfi: 
 
 The unknown garment might be probably 
 
 it was u petticoat ! 
 
 Tin 1 recitation over, the granitic auditor 
 continued to regard the smiling sinner with 
 hard, wide eves, until the bulging ga/.e drew 
 the notiee of others. An odd pause and 
 constraint passed upon the group. Mrs. 
 Cameron cleared her throat. Clara s very 
 feet became ice at the sound : her heart 
 rolled over slowlv, then lav still for one 
 awful second. 
 
 "May I ask, Mrs. ahem! Dumaresque, 
 if you know anything personally of frontier 
 life, not, of course, of such a disreputable 
 career as that described in your favorite 
 poem. but of army and garrison life? 
 
 "Yes." said Karen, tranquilly, " % 1 lived in 
 garrison on the frontier for some years, and 
 made long journeys with the regiment over 
 the plains." 
 
 "In company with your husband. Lieuten 
 ant afterward Captain De-war-ack, I 
 presume ? " 
 
 Karen s great dark eves looked right at 
 her : her countenance was immovable. 
 
 " With my husband, as you say. I went 
 out to a garrison immediately upon my mar 
 riage."
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 271 
 
 " What were some of the forts in which 
 you lived ? " 
 
 The answer was prompt and composed. 
 
 " Fort \Vingate, Fort Lincoln, Vancouver 
 Barracks, and others. If 3-011 are interested 
 in army life and army men, Mrs. Cameron, 
 Captain Dale can tell you more than I of 
 forts and fort people." 
 
 The resolute stare was not diverted by the 
 reference. 
 
 ; May I inquire at which station you 
 changed the pronunciation of your name, 
 and why ? " 
 
 Response came from an unlooked-for quar 
 ter. It was Mrs. Gillette s voice, steady and 
 sweet, that took up the word. 
 
 " It was at my earnest request, after she 
 returned to my home. Nothing in the Eng 
 lish language justifies the eccentricity of 
 De-war-ack. There is even less warrant in 
 the original French. It is never too late to 
 right a wrong thing." 
 
 "The drollest trick of pronunciation I ever 
 ha-appened upon was in the ca-ase of the 
 na-ame of a little cross-ro-oads settlement in 
 the neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia," 
 drawled Bertie, so lazily one might have
 
 272 WITH T1IK P.KXT I.\TEXTIO\s: 
 
 thought him drowsy, and bored to boot. " The 
 
 na-;itivt s call it Da-n-rl^. I ll allo\v a-any 
 of you ten guesses in \vhich to li-ind out how 
 it is spelled, and give i\\\ gold wa-atch to the 
 one who gets it ri-ight." 
 
 " 1), e, r, b, y, of course!" from Kmmett. 
 "That s English, you know! 
 
 " D, a, r, b, y ! " somewhat snappishly tVom 
 Gem. "We see through the eateh, with 
 half an eye." 
 
 Mrs. Cameron s strident tone cleft the 
 nonsense. 
 
 " I should think that regard for your hus 
 band would have dictated adherence to the 
 method preferred by 7*/w. Especially as it is, 
 T believe, the one universally adopted by other 
 families of the name." 
 
 "You ll never gue-c-ss, if you try a-all 
 ni-ight," continued the imperturbable Bertie. 
 "Listen! 1C. n. r. o, u, g, h, t, v! T on my 
 honor, every letter of f//<it . and then to be 
 ca-alled [)<i-nrl>;i . It s worse than ( hu-uin- 
 ley for Chol-mon-de-ley, and Beecliam 
 for Beaucha-a-mp, do!i t yon know? Il: ( .; 
 Virginians are great upon barba-arilies like 
 tha-at, you know. Tliere s a fa-amily in Ilieh- 
 mond called Tolliver "
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 273 
 
 "I beg pardon, Mr. Gates." Mrs. Cameron 
 waved her hand imperiously. 
 
 " ^o yours, I m sure," cocking his saucy 
 head from his lowly position, " but I believe 
 I have the flo-o-o-r." 
 
 A burst of laughter, louder and longer than 
 the cause warranted, threatened to end inglo- 
 riously what everybody present appreciated 
 as a wordy fencing-match. 
 
 " I know a man in our part of the coun 
 try- " Mr. Wilkes was saying, when Mrs. 
 Manly brought up her nerves to support her 
 ally.
 
 274 \V1TH THE I1K*T 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 MY dear friends ! " said the hostess, with 
 a ghastly show of vivacity, yet with a certain 
 assumption of the authority of her oi lice not 
 to he gainsaid. "In the name of my dearest 
 foe,- to wit, my Idiosyncrasy, I must en 
 treat yon to speak singly. All this is too 
 interesting to lose, and I am not quite an 
 Kli/.aheth Tudor, who could dictate two or 
 was it six? letters at once to as many sec 
 retaries. I can listen to hut one at a time. 
 What were you saying, my dear .lane, about 
 } wo wavs of pronouncing Mrs. Dumaresque s 
 name? How verv-very droll!" 
 
 It was a master-stroke, hut she could light 
 no longer in ambush. Her labored liveliness, 
 the shrill break in her laugh, and her over 
 acted case betrayed sinister design. A red 
 cloud swept over Karen s face and. in pass 
 ing, took all the color with it. Mrs. CJillette 
 leaned her head against the cushioned hack of 
 her chair, her eyelids quivering and lips of a
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 275 
 
 leaden-blue ; Mr. Romeyn s eyes shone sud 
 denly and wrathfully ; Gem instinctively 
 nestled her head against her friend. 
 
 Mrs. Cameron remained Gibraltar. Her 
 voice was incisive and frosty. 
 
 " I was saying that Mrs. Demarack is singu 
 lar in pronouncing her name as she does. 
 But a stranger freak of fancy would be to 
 pronounce D, u, m, a, r, e, s v q, u, e, Kane ! " 
 
 No explosion ensued upon the projection 
 of the shell. Mystification, pure and simple, 
 appeared in every face except her daughter s 
 and her cousin s. Karen continued to look 
 directly at her, with the air of one courte 
 ously awaiting further information. Her 
 effrontery provoked plainer speech. The 
 woman of affairs cast away the foil, and laid 
 hold of the honest broadsword. 
 
 " Ladies and gentlemen ! " facing them as 
 from the platform, "you are gathered here 
 this evening for a purpose. I, for one, will be 
 partaker in no man s much less woman s 
 sins. Desperate diseases require prompt and 
 unsparing measures. Yet, had not those con 
 nected with me by blood and affection been 
 made the Victims of the Machinations I feel 
 myself called upon by Conscience and Provi-
 
 276 WITH THE I1KST 7.Y77-;.Y 77O.YS ; 
 
 dence to expose, I might have held my peace 
 even from good. I call upon the person wlio 
 lias passed herself off, and been passed off bv 
 Her Motln r." - - yet more cuttingly. "as a 
 Widow, to tell me, in your hearing, whether 
 she did. or did not, elope with Another Man 
 from her husband, eight years ago. Also, if 
 the Said Husband, having exchanged the 
 Name she had dishonored for that of Kane, 
 did. or did not, visit her within a week, to 
 implore her to join him in an application for 
 a Divorce, that she might marry the Partner 
 of her Flight or, perhaps, yet Another Man ! 
 No Heroics, I beg, Madame!" in precisely 
 the tone she had known to strike dumb the 
 bad subject" of Orphan Asylum or Reform 
 School. "I demand a Categorical Answer 
 k Yes or - Xo -to my questions." 
 
 With gentle hands that were yet like steel, 
 Karen put aside the soft clinging of Gem s 
 arms, drew herself to her full height, and 
 looked down upon her accuser. Site lifted 
 her hand before speaking. 
 
 -You shall have it! NO!" 
 
 The scene that followed could never he 
 described by any of the actors. When the 
 bloody mist cleared from Karen s vision, and
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 277 
 
 the alarum bells ceased to deafen her ears, 
 Gem was kneeling by her, her face buried 
 in the folds of her chaperon s gown, and 
 sobbing convulsively ; Bertie held one of 
 Mrs. Dumaresque s hands, and Mrs. Dale the 
 other ; Mr. Wilkes was shaking hands with 
 Mrs. Gillette, and his wife was patting 
 Karen s shoulder as she would soothe a terri 
 fied, good child. 
 
 Einmett s voice, deep with indignation, 
 silenced the clamor of tongues. 
 
 " I demand," and, as he secured a hearing 
 " I demand, since allusion has been made to 
 my wife, that this matter be sifted to the 
 bottom. Knowing, as I do, the horrible in 
 justice done by what we have been forced to 
 hear, to one of the noblest, truest, purest 
 women the Judge of all ever allowed to suf 
 fer for the sin of another, I should be be 
 neath the contempt of any one here if I did 
 not insist upon an explanation of the mon 
 strous charge brought against her by Mrs. 
 Morgan s mother." 
 
 With a little cry, Clara shut out with her 
 hands the sight of the face transfigured out 
 of the likeness she knew by suppressed fury. 
 It was as unfamiliar and dreadful as the 
 roughened tone that smote her like a blow.
 
 278 WITH THE JiEST 
 
 Mrs. Cameron was about to speak, her 
 stony orbs unwinking under his blazing 
 glance, when Captain Dale came forward. 
 His line features were expressive of sincere 
 concern, but lie spoke with gentle dignity. 
 
 One moment, if you please." bowing to 
 Mrs. Cameron before addressing Eminett. 
 "May I suggest that Mrs. Gillette and Mrs. 
 Dumaresque be permitted to retire? It is 
 surely needless to subject them to further 
 pain." 
 
 Mrs. Gillette did not take his proffeivd 
 arm. She searched his face anxiously. 
 
 "If I go, who will vindicate mv child?" 
 said the feeble voic". "She has onlv me. 
 Nobody else knows all." 
 
 Ten minutes had done ten vears work 
 upon her. Her eves were sunken, her lips 
 of a purplish pallor, 
 
 "I will!" Kmmett s voice rang out de- 
 liantly. 
 
 "And I! responded Captain Dale, quietlv 
 impressive. "Major Kane is mv fri"iid. I 
 am in his confidence. Mrs. Dale and I will 
 go up to your room with you." 
 
 The mother arose obediently. As Karen 
 would have followed. Gem thing herself upon 
 her neck.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 279 
 
 " O my darling ! my darling ! that look on 
 your face breaks my heart. And to think 
 that you .should have been so hurt here ! 
 here ! You know I would lay down mv life 
 to undo it all. Nothing and nobody, not all 
 the iron-hearted, murderous-tongued saints in 
 the universe, could make me believe anything 
 against you, my love ! my beauty ! my poor, 
 poor dear ! " 
 
 She was crying bitterly, and the Wilkes 
 sisters wept in sympathy. 
 
 Karen lifted the pretty young head from 
 her bosom, and looked into the rain-drenched 
 face with a smile too mournfully sweet for 
 tears. 
 
 " I never doubted you, sweetheart. I 
 never can doubt you! Ma} the dear GOD 
 bless you for what you have been to me ! " 
 
 She pressed her lips to the pure forehead 
 and trembling lips, kissed the cheeks of the 
 weeping sisters, and left the room with Mrs. 
 Dale. 
 
 " Highly theatrical ! " sneered Mrs. Cam 
 eron, coolly, her eyes upon the closing door. 
 
 " The drama is of your selection, Madame ! " 
 retorted her son-in-law, hotly. 
 
 "I think" Mr. Romeyn spoke for the
 
 iNi WITH Tin-: /;;;> v L\TI-:.\TK>.\S .- 
 
 lirst time since the recitation of Lasca 
 "we would do well not to discuss this matter 
 in Captain Dale s absence. He has. unless I 
 mistake, the kev to the mystery. He asked 
 me to wait for him here." 
 
 Mrs. Cameron unrolled her hempen net 
 work. Her inscrutable visage, if it said 
 au^ht. told of immeasurable ivseryes of will. 
 It weaker natures elected to dash themselves 
 into froth and spume against her bulwarks, 
 they had only themselves to blame. Nobody 
 else looked up or nioyed until the Captain re 
 appeared without his wife. Mrs. (iillelie 
 had had a fainting lit upon reaching her 
 room, and he had summoned a physician 
 sojourning in the hotel. The patient had 
 reyiyed. but was still so ill that Mrs. Dale 
 thought it wise not to leaye Mrs. Dnma- 
 resque alone with her. 
 
 " I regret, unspeakably, the necessity for 
 repeating what my old comrade, Major Kane, 
 confided to me on the last night o( his stay 
 with me," he continued. "Until then, I \vas 
 ignorant of the leading events of his domestic 
 life." 
 
 He stood upon the rug at om- end of the 
 hearth, his arm on the mantel, haying de-
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 281 
 
 clinetl Mrs. Manly s offer of a chair as point 
 edly as was consistent with his invariable 
 courtesy, an action that classed him, in 
 Mrs. Cameron s mind, with the benighted 
 and enslaved masculine opposition. 
 
 u I have no more inclination than others 
 present to prolong a story for which most of 
 us were totally unprepared." 
 
 Involuntarily Bertie glanced at his scarred 
 knuckles, and a light burst upon Gem s mind. 
 
 " I could have gone down upon my knees, 
 then and there, and kissed them, court- 
 plaster and all ! " she said, many months 
 later, when her suspicions as to the cause in 
 which he had dealt the blow were verilied. 
 I was certain that vile wretch, whose im 
 pudent grin I shall never forget, had slan 
 dered the sweet angel, and you had knocked 
 the words back down his throat. I am glad 
 I happened to see how cleverly you did it ! " 
 
 Now, her fast returning tears blotted out 
 everything, even Captain Dale s face, while 
 lie told his story. 
 
 " Mi s. Dumaresque s husband was an offi 
 cer in the United States army, and, I have 
 heard, a remarkably handsome, accomplished, 
 and fascinating 1 man. She loved him so
 
 -2f2 WITH TUP: VEST IXTE 
 
 passionately, and trusti-d liiin so fully, that 
 his elopement with the wife of his most 
 intimate friend then Captain Thomas 
 Kane Scott now Major Thomas Scott 
 Kane was a complete surprise. Shu had 
 been married lint four years. She came 
 home to her mother, and has remained witli 
 her evei since. For six out of the eight years 
 of her virtual widowhood she lived in the 
 strictest seclusion. At Mrs. Gillette s re 
 quest, she had altered the pronunciation of 
 her name as a partial screen against idle and 
 malicious curiosity. It was also to gratify 
 her mother that she mingled again, l>y de 
 grees, in society. Mrs. Gillette has resided 
 for seven years in New York Citv. where her 
 daughter s sad historv was less likely to In- 
 known than in a. gossiping college town. 
 Her talents, her beaut v. her wonderful mag 
 netic power, have been used for others hap 
 piness. Her successes in the social world 
 are as nothing compared with the love and 
 admiration she inspires among the suffering 
 poor, to whom is given most of the time she 
 can spare from her mother. 
 
 "Captain Dumaresqne resigned his com 
 mission to save himself from expulsion from
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 283 
 
 the corps he had disgraced. When Miss 
 Gillette married him, she refused to have her 
 handsome fortune settled upon herself. Upon 
 this, he is now living abroad with Mrs. Scott. 
 His wife has been urged to apply for a 
 divorce, but she will not listen to the sug 
 gestion. She holds that death alone can dis 
 solve a marriage. She goes further, and 
 declares that nothing but death can absolve 
 her from obligation to love her husband. 
 She told Major Kane last week that should 
 Captain Dumaresque come back to her now, 
 and profess penitence, she would follow him 
 to the world s end. I do not comment upon 
 this. Hers is, perhaps, an exceptionally con 
 stant nature, as well as exceptionally strong. 
 " Major Kane came to Mackinac, not know 
 ing that she was here. He recognized her 
 the night of his arrival, but left the Island 
 next morning, without speaking to her, for 
 a week s fishing at The Snows. Their 
 encounter at Fort Holmes was accidental. 
 She covered his embarrassment as only she 
 can relieve the awkwardness of a false posi 
 tion. He sought an interview, a day or two 
 later, during which he argued the expediency 
 of an application for divorce on her part, that
 
 284 ir/77/ 777 K HE*T I\Th\\TIO.\H: 
 
 she might be free in fact, as in feeling, and 
 permit Dumaresque to marry Mrs. Seott. 
 Kane s is a tender heart, but liis \vife s faith 
 lessness has sensibly abated his love. lie 
 pities her, and would let her misconduct be 
 forgotten bv the world. While the partner 
 of her flight remains legally bound to another 
 woman, it would avail nothing toward this 
 end were Mrs. Seott to be divorced. A warm 
 debate took place between Kane and Mrs. 
 Dumaresque, in which lie failed to alter her 
 views. Lest her mother should suspect in 
 whose company she had been, and the matter 
 of their talk, she made haste, after parting 1 
 with him. to change her dress and show her 
 self in the drawing-room as usual. 
 
 * %i The bravest, best, deepest-hearted woman 
 I ever knew ! Kane said to me, in telling at 
 length what I have condensed, lint while 
 her husband lives, and she is not formally 
 separated from him, she is a target for cruel 
 shafts. She cannot hide forever behind an 
 assumed name. Her position is unnatural 
 and painful. It will become dangerous some 
 day. 
 
 " I recalled the remark to-night, when I 
 caught a few words spoken by a knot of
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 285 
 
 waiters as I passed through the rotunda. 
 They prepared me for the behavior of those 
 who were proud, twenty-four hours ago, to 
 be numbered among Mrs. Dumaresque s ac 
 quaintances. A woman stopped me on the 
 stairs just now to say that she had seen 
 Mrs. Dale in the hall, in company with that 
 Mrs. Dumaresque, and to warn me, as a 
 friend, that she was a horrid impostor and 
 unscrupulous adventuress. I answered her, 
 but all of us combined cannot stay the tide 
 of scandal." 
 
 " I have known Karen Gillette since I was 
 sixteen years old a boy in the grammar 
 school," said Emmett, hoarsely. " My own 
 sister is not dearer to me, nor my wife s 
 honor more sacred than hers. Where did 
 you pick up this infernal pack of lies ? " 
 
 He wheeled savagely upon his majestic 
 mamma-in-law, roused out of all semblance 
 of respect by what he had heard, and by 
 reminiscence. 
 
 Gibraltar was dry and composed, when 
 everything else of feminine mould in the 
 room was trembling into tears. 
 
 " The woman who puts herself in an equiv 
 ocal position should be ready to sustain the
 
 i!80 wrru TIH-: HKST INTENTIONS: 
 
 consequences <>f her misdemeanor. " she enun 
 ciated. "Your sisterly intimate. Mrs. Dew/r 
 ack, cannot hope to he an exception to every 
 rule. I lad the appearance of evil been avoided 
 l>v her and her mother, we should have been 
 .-pared the verv disagreeable revelations of 
 this evenin<_;-. lietM ets are useless. The onlv 
 thing left for us to do is to drop the matter, 
 for the present, and bid Mrs. Manlv Lj ood 
 night. She has had altogether too much 
 excitement for i >ne si ) delicate." 
 
 This was obvious. Fan, smelling-salts, and 
 a stout will nad scarce!-.,- sufficed to maintain 
 a passable degree ot composure in the occu 
 pant of the. sofa. At this direct allusion to 
 her health, she began to sob and giggle in 
 alternate convulsions of strangulation. 
 
 "Hysterics! cried practical Mrs. Wilkes, 
 and a mandatory flourish of her hand sent 
 the men to the door. 
 
 She xJion-, ,1 us out like a llock of he-ens, 
 be .Ia\vve ! " liertie reported subsequently to 
 Mrs. Dak-. "I made the fastest time, being 
 a li-i-_: ht weight, but noise of us stood upon 
 the order of our goin^-. We went at o-onei; 
 don t vou kin i\v ? " 
 
 The agitated patient was left to ether ami
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 287 
 
 to Fanny, the latter having been sought far 
 and diligently before she was found promenad 
 ing the cliff, in company with the jaunty 
 mulatto, and Gem, white and sad, was mak 
 ing her arrangements to sleep on the sofa, 
 when Mrs. Cameron and Clara sought the 
 upper story. 
 
 At her own door the daughter wavered. 
 
 u Mamma ! " she whispered, fearf ulJy. " Em- 
 mett may be up soon. 1 am positively afraid to 
 meet him ! What ought I to tell him? Can 
 it be possible that we are mistaken, after all ? " 
 
 " Mistaken ! " Mrs. Cameron disdained 
 concealment. The chest baritone rendered 
 the syllables roundly. * Only in supposing 
 that three honest women could outgeneral 
 such an adept in deceit. I disbelieve every 
 word of that tale. Captain Dale did not dare 
 repeat it in his wife s hearing. That was 
 \vhy she was left up stairs. The Creature 
 lias them all in her toils. 
 
 The door opened abruptly and widely from 
 within. Emmett accosted his wife in the 
 accent of a master. 
 
 " I am waiting for you, Clara ! Good night, 
 Mrs. Cameron ! " 
 
 Gibraltar heard the key turn in the lock,
 
 irm/ Tin: /;/->T T.\TEXTIO.\S : 
 
 and pause;!, almost persuaded liv dignity and 
 maternal devotion to knock and force a third 
 into their counsels. Prudence prevailed: Imt 
 the hatehet Mniuiett had dut^ up and filing 
 was never luiried.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXT. 
 
 KMMKTT set a chair for his wife, and one 
 for himself in front of it. His face was rigid, 
 and Clara noted what she had never seen 
 until now, that his lower jaw projected 
 slightly beyond the upper. It gave him an 
 expression of fierce resolve; out of keeping 
 with her preconceived ideas of his character. 
 She was not really afraid of him, although 
 she had said so to her mother, but there 
 was a sense of strangerliood quite as oddly 
 oppressive. 
 
 "Xo\v," he said, magisterially calm, "I 
 am ready to hear how -my wife happened to 
 1)6 mixed up in this diabolically dirty affair. 
 That it was a plan, deliberately laid, and 
 that Mrs. Manly s invitation to us was a part 
 
 J 
 
 of it, is apparent to all of us \vlio innocently 
 helped to carry it out. You were in there 
 with those two women, a tacit accomplice - 
 unless you can protest, as Gem did, that you 
 were not taken into confidence. Whose
 
 H777/ Till-: 7;/->T 7.Y77;.Y770.YS: 
 
 brewing was the devil s broth? And why 
 must your mot her undertake to stir it? " 
 
 The .lane Cameron spirit asserted itself in 
 the listener. Coarseness was insolence. The 
 resemblance to her mother was appalling as 
 she pushed her chair a foot further a\vav. 
 and, with flattened hack and level chin, lot iked 
 squarely into his eve.s. Her tone had the 
 sustained litnltre oi the Pride of Lisbon. 
 
 k- "\ on are choice in your expressions. 
 When you remember that YOU are a geutle- 
 n:an, and I a lady, I will answer YOU. 
 
 "You will answer me now!" His chin 
 was more prominent, and the shallo\v hard- 
 n. ss of his voice more perceptible. Other 
 wise he gave no si ^n of increasing excite 
 ment. "The whole house is seething and 
 J umiiiL, r \\\\\\ this detestable sluiT; and 1 will 
 know who is responsible for it. As sure as 
 I am an honest man, who is pledged by every 
 la\v of r lLdit and honor to defend a slandered 
 woman. 1 believe vour mother set the devilish 
 machinery !_, r oin<_ r ." 
 
 Profanity and vulgarity are so new to 
 me that I may be excused for insisting upon 
 a different approach to the subject, main 
 tained Mrs. Cameron s pupil, stonily.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 291 
 
 " If you do not wish to provoke real pro 
 fanity, you would better be direct and truth 
 ful. As to vulgarity, it has never been my 
 ill-fortune to listen to grosser indecency than 
 was served out to a mixed company this 
 evening by Mrs. Cameron." 
 
 Clara was an upright woman, and a loyal 
 child to the Model upon which she had fash 
 ioned herself. Upon this exceedingly broad 
 hint she spake, diction and manner reflecting 
 credit upon her preceptress. 
 
 Without blenching, even gaining spirit 
 as she rehearsed her wrongs, she went over, 
 in order, the proofs of Mrs. Dumaresque s 
 guilty manoeuvres, and his weakness, to her 
 husband s face, from the first exchange of 
 glances between balcony and piazza, to the 
 present hour, when he stood arrayed as 
 Karen s sworn champion against his wife and 
 her GoD-fearing mother. 
 
 She told the oft-conned story well, and he 
 heard it in profound silence. Only a tran 
 sient gleam in the eyes fixed upon her face, 
 and one purple, throbbing vein between the 
 brows, revealed emotion. He neither hin 
 dered nor helped the narration. She had 
 fair swing and, so far as natural indications 
 went, patient audience.
 
 292 WITH THI-: 7;/>T I\TI-:.\TIO.\X : 
 
 When she ceased to speak, he Lj<t up, 
 walked once slowly across the room, his hand 
 to his chin, as if Imried in deep thought. 
 Returning, he stood l>v the chinuiev, looking 
 euriouslv down at her, such mixture of 
 sorrowful incredulity, ama/.ement. and stern 
 displeasure in his ga/.e as nerved her to pre 
 pare for an outburst. She stirred restlessly 
 in her chair. 
 
 "Well!" in her mother s best tone. Have 
 you any explanation to offer? A stare, how 
 ever expressive and long, can hardlv be ac 
 cepted as rebutting evidence." 
 
 "And this is nnj //vVV. " lie said it hol- 
 lowlv, as in a dream. " This is my wife ! 
 We were married a little over a month ago!" 
 
 I f e turned awav abruptly, jerked open the 
 shutters, and stepped out upon the haleonv. 
 
 The band was playing in the Casino, some 
 hundreds of feet away, but Clara could dis 
 tinguish the air: 
 
 () fair l),.\v ! <) fund Dove! 
 () Dove with tin- \vh!tc, -whito breast! 
 
 As upon the night of the thunder-storm, 
 
 the beat of feet upon the floor, the hum of 
 voices, the ebb and flow of the, niirht-wind.
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 293 
 
 made up a rhythmic accompaniment to the 
 old, sad tune. 
 
 In the miserable, mechanical way in which 
 the mind toys with trifles in supreme moments, 
 she found herself recalling the words in follow 
 ing the cornet that rendered the theme: 
 
 a 
 
 " My love he stood at my right hand, 
 His eyes were grave and sweet." 
 
 As Emmett s eyes would never be again to her! 
 
 A sob strangled her, but she would not give 
 it vent. She had done no wrong. The 
 Searcher of hearts knew the righteousness 
 of her cause and the integrity of her inten 
 tions. Her husband, and not she, was the 
 one who should sue for pardon. 
 
 He came back as suddenly as he had gone 
 out. He left the window open, and the music 
 wailed in after him. 
 
 "I will take your indictments in order." 
 Standing, as before, by the hearth, he spoke 
 sternly ; his eyes were pitiless. 
 
 " First : Mrs. Dumaresque was startled at 
 seeing me on that first day. We had not 
 met in ten years. All that she had suffered 
 in that time surged in upon her in the sur 
 prise of the recognition. Nor did she wish
 
 i! J4 WITH THE BEST IXT 
 
 that T should refer in others hearing to lu-i 
 unhappy marriage, or ask questions as to her 
 change of name. 
 
 >St ( on<.l : She told me on the way to St. 
 Tgnace that slie was separated from her hus 
 band; that lie had left her and would never 
 return. The story was not known to new 
 acquaintances, and she dreaded discussion of 
 it and heartless gossip. But she asked me 
 to tell you all she had eoniided to me. She 
 said you looked like a woman whose diseiv- 
 tion could be trusted. I thought it safer not 
 to speak of the sad complication for awhile. 
 If questions were put to you. you had nothing 
 to conceal, nothing to embarrass your an 
 swers. As to the disguise of name and the 
 curtained episode in her life, she was right. 
 as usual, I said. Even my wife, while she 
 was a model of discretion, might lind it diffi 
 cult to parry the catechism of hotel gossips, 
 were half the history, and not all, known. 
 Some dav, when you and she had become 
 the fast friends I hoped you would be, she 
 could tell you her story in her own way. I 
 believed you would prefer this. 
 
 " Third: My remark" upon her wedding-ring 
 and her reply need no comment after what
 
 A MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 295 
 
 Captain Dale has said of Mrs. Dumaresque s 
 peculiar views on the subject of divorce. 
 
 " Fourth : As to the many admiring glances 
 I have bent upon her, and my open enjoyment 
 of her society, my frequent allusions to col 
 lege days and our old intimacy, my appeals 
 to her for legend and song and recitation, 
 and my applause of the same, all this was 
 as frank as it was innocent. To her I am a 
 hoy who reminds her of earlier and happier 
 days. That is my only claim upon her regard. 
 Nothing could make this clearer to the mind 
 of either of us. The affection I have for her 
 is precisely the same in kind that I feel for 
 Mrs. Gillette. 
 
 u Fifth : I turned deadly pale when I had 
 made her horse rear, and put her in peril of 
 her life. What man would not even had 
 the woman endangered by his carelessness 
 been his maiden aunt, or " a sardonic smile 
 distorting his handsome face " his mother- 
 in-law ? 
 
 " So much for defence. Now for recrimina 
 tion. Mrs. Gillette is the victim of a disease 
 that must end fatally. Any shock or excite 
 ment may make this end imminent. She is 
 extremely ill this moment so ill that Mrs.
 
 wrnr Tin-: ju-:*r I\TK.\TIO.\$ : 
 
 Pale and Mrs. Wilkes will not leave her room 
 to-night. You, and your mother. aided 
 and abetted by vour sillv cousin, have proha- 
 blv done one innocent woman to her death. 
 You have certainlv blasted the reputation 
 of another as innocent, and whose sorrows 
 should have wo;i you to sympathy, even if 
 none of you are capable of appreciating her 
 heroism, her filial devotion, and the blameless. 
 beneficent life of a tnn> Christian. r l he mau- 
 lle of pious charity would seem to be out of 
 fashion in your church. 
 
 The gibe stung bitterly. 
 
 I ntil the matter was mentioned in Mrs. 
 Manly s room to-nii/lit. not one of us three 
 dropped a Avo v d derogatory to Mrs. Duma- 
 rcsijiu 1 , in the hearing of a fourth person. 
 Mamma is incapable of such conduct as you 
 impute to her . " 
 
 Regardless of the torrent of tears that 
 welled up with the denial, he bowed ironi 
 cally. 
 
 "To Mrs. Cameron s daughter, I can onlv 
 Fay. in reply, that hotel talk freelv quotes that 
 worthy lady and Mrs. Manly as authority for 
 the most damaging stories atloat concerning 
 Mis. 1 )uniares,|ue. and gives them credit foi
 
 A Jums-rj/j/AYi 1 Ki isoDE. 29 
 
 unmasking a cunning conspiracy against the 
 peace ami purity of fashionable society! 
 Unless I add that every charge brought for 
 ward" by Mrs. Cameron this evening Avas 
 retailed to Bertie Gates, two or three hours 
 before we heard it, by a dissolute fellow of 
 the baser sort, and Mrs. Cameron cited as 
 endorser. Bertie knocked the liar down, but 
 I shall make it my business to see him in the 
 morning, and repeat the lesson." 
 
 U I beg you will not ! " holding up a white. 
 agonized face. "Ask mamma ask Mrs. 
 Manly if we did not agree that nothing 
 should be underhanded, that every chance 
 should 1)0 given Mrs. Dumaresque for self- 
 defence 
 
 "Consistent witli the indulgence of a 
 ladylike taste for carrion! I do not doubt it. 
 Xor the rectitude of your motives. If this 
 end has been brought about with the best 
 intentions, Heaven save me from becom 
 ing the object of deliberate wrong-doing! 
 Don t sit up for me ! I am going out for 
 a walk. Probably a long one. I could not 
 sleep." 
 
 All this had passed so quickly that Clara, 
 hearkening to the echoes of his departing 
 
 O *- *-
 
 footsteps, lost tlicm in the refrain the cornet 
 was still playing : 
 
 " O fair DMV," ! foii.l Hove ! 
 O Duvt! with t!u- white, \vhite breast ! " 
 
 Tin; house was still : the wind brought to 
 her open window the wasli of the waves on 
 the shingles, when, wearv and sick, she threw 
 herself, yet in her evening dress, upon her 
 pillow, still listening vaiidv for feet that came 
 not all the ni^ht. 
 
 Kmmett watched out the dark hours, and 
 saw the day break in pearl and topaz and 
 rose-color, Ivin^ prone under the balsam oov- 
 ert ii])on the led^e where lie and his bride 
 had read Ami " for thi ee beatific hours one 
 golden, lialmv afternoon," in the second 
 i[Uarter of their honeymoon.
 
 A MIUSVlOlElt EPISOUE. 299 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Mo HE wonderful things are happening 
 every day tlian that I should have met Mr. 
 and Mrs. Gates upon their wedding tour last 
 summer. 
 
 Nor was it extraordinary that they took in 
 Mackinac during the two months trip that 
 extended over two-thirds of the continent. 
 
 The strange element of the " happening " 
 was that we ran full against one another at 
 
 o 
 
 the base of Friendship s Altar, on the anni 
 versary of the famous pedestrian party given 
 in Mrs. Emmett Morgan s honor. 
 
 It is a pilgrimage," Gem said, her tender 
 blue eyes wistful and deep with memories. 
 kk We planned to be here to-day." 
 
 She wore a piquant sailor-hat, and a tailor- 
 made gown of the same color she had sported 
 on the day they celebrated. A cluster of 
 maiden-hair fern was in her hand. Some 
 sprays, selected from this, were fastened in 
 the side of Bertie s cap.
 
 ,,no \VITII Tin-: /;/>/" I.\TI-:.\TI<).\S: 
 
 I have matches and tinder in inv pocket 
 for ma-a-king a lire in Scott s Ca-ave don t 
 vou know?" observed the bridegroom. 
 
 His moustache h;id secured a local habita- 
 tinn, if not a name : his cheeks had the 
 contour of a shapely pear, rather than the 
 cherubic round that used to suggest an 
 apple. The lithe ligure, ingenuous eyes, 
 ;ind boyish laugh were unaltered; but his 
 joyousness had a fuller ring than in the days 
 of irresponsible bachelorhood. Ills behavior 
 to his little wife was the prettiest, thing im 
 aginable, if I except her reception of his 
 graceful devoirs. One grew more hopeful 
 of the world s future in beholding their hap 
 piness. 
 
 As we looked about for a convenient rest 
 ing-place in the shadow of th- great rock. 
 (Jem quoted from the legend of The Six 
 Friends : 
 
 They sat down upon fallen trunks and 
 upon mossy stones, and talked lon c ^ and 
 lovingly of what each had felt and suffered, 
 and. above all. Jone since their last parting. 
 ()n<- of the loveliest tiling.- ire have done was 
 to spend a whole fortnight with Her at New 
 port last month."
 
 A MIDSUMMER Er 
 
 They told me all about it, while we lin 
 gered there. The golden-green light shivered 
 upon Bertie s bared blond head, and Hashed 
 against the new ring upon Gem s hand. A 
 weak, low wind moved the balsam-trees to 
 sigh and fragrance. The tale of the bright 
 young creatures who, in talking, now and 
 then touched the gray, grim Altar, as in 
 caress, was a duct upon a theme dear to us 
 all. 
 
 I had seen a notice of Mrs. Gillette s death 
 at her home in New York, a week after Mrs. 
 Cameron s visit to the Island. I learned, 
 now, that Bertie and Grace Wilkes, the 
 latter at Karen s urgent invitation, had ac 
 companied them to the city. Bertie gave me 
 an account of the evening sail from Mackinac. 
 
 "She wouldn t go below," he said, "but 
 had her invalid-chair taken on deck. Mrs. 
 Dumaresque was on one side of her, Grace 
 Wilkes on the, other, yon know. Not one of 
 us spoke until the chains and tiers of electric 
 lights that meant the big hotel drew closer 
 and closer together, as we sailed a\v;iv, and 
 were at last fused into one monstrous star, 
 pulsating like a fiery heart, don t you know? 
 Then, she said in the low, sweet voice that
 
 : <!:! \VITII 
 
 never got old ;uul thin, you kno\v : * You 
 called her once "Pearl and Princess of 
 I.-dands." daugliter. She is a glorious rubv 
 to-night. And, partly to herself lieauti- 
 f ul for situation ! A bride adorned for her 
 husband! You said that evening little 
 flatterer! that I ahvavs had the right words 
 read\ . None but the old, old words eonie. 
 to me no\v ! I suppose because I learned 
 them \vhen 1 was young. " 
 
 The next chapter of the tale was entiivlv 
 new to me. On the day of her mother s 
 funeral Karen received news of her husband s 
 death in Si. Petersburg, of small-pox. The 
 woman \vhose fair, false face had ruined him 
 deserted him when the character of the dis 
 ease was discovered. He died in a hospital, 
 and was hurried into the earth by hireling 
 hands. Pv a will made a year before his 
 decease, and entrusted to the American con 
 sul at Paris, the wreck of her once handsome 
 fortune was bequeathed to his wife. 
 
 " She accepted this as evidence that he 
 would have; come back t;) her in time, had he 
 lived." said ( iem. Put she would not touch 
 the money. She settled it upon (irace 
 Wilkes. You know she was married
 
 .1 MIDSUMMER EPISODE. 303 
 
 didn t you ? She was staying with Karen at 
 Newport when she met her fate. How does 
 Karen look? Lovelier and more queenly 
 than ever in the widow s mourning 1 she will 
 
 o 
 
 never lay aside 
 
 ^Bertie Grates! 
 
 " My lo-ove ? " 
 
 " I know what you mean when you tug 
 your moustache with the left hand ! You 
 would contradict me if you dared ! " 
 
 u You haven t asked after Romeyn, * 
 drawled the unabashed husband, ostenta 
 tiously irrelevant. " My wi-ife may consider 
 the discussion of that one of her particular 
 favorites a sa-afer topic -don t you know? 
 Hespeir: his summers at Newport, too. lie 
 was ve attentive to us. Came to see us 
 every iv, and spent next-to-every evening 
 with - . For the sa-ake of Auld Lang Syne 
 
 O */ 
 
 don t you know?" 
 
 Typography by J. S. dishing & Co., Boston. 
 Presswork by Berwick & Smith, Buston.
 
 A 000124884