Year: 1878

brief scrawl. l hope you are all getting on
comfortably at home. God bless you, and
grant US happy meeting one of these days.


"Ever yours,


j. BRENTWOOD DAcRE."


Maurice folded up the letter and replaced
it in its envelope. Then he put it in bis pock-
et-he was sitting up, now-and began to
think over what he should do.


Should he enclose the letter to Mary
He thought not.


Where was the use of her knowing that the
Colonel was prisoner? Let her stay little
longer in suspense He felt sort Of savage
satisfaction at the idea Of having her thus
much in his power. She had made him mis-
erable, aud it would be only just to let her
suffer little in consequence.


1t might be many months, perhaps years
depending on the length of the war-before
the Colonel would be released. If he could
manage to keep her ignorant of his fate, or
lead her to the conviction that he was dead,
who could tell but what his own supreme wish,
the chief aim and hope Of his life, might in
that interval, be Accomplishment He did not
think it at all improbable that this might
happen, provided she once felt herself re-
leased from her promise to her guardian.
And if the latter should write again, still ad-
dressing his letters to Mosslands, it would be
easy enough to suppress these letters. destroy
them, and afterwards deny that they had ever
been received. Nobody went to the post'office
but the servants, and they, being ignorant,
could not distinguish their masters handwri.
ting from anybody's else Therefore, there
would be no one to betray the fact of their
having fallen into his hands.


The first step in the wrong track having
been taken, it is well known that farther pro-
gress in the same direction becomes onl too
easy and natural. Maurice had yielded, from
the beginning, to the selfish and unworthy
impulse which prompted him to seek only the
accomplishment Of his own wishes, and put
aside the claims of honor and gratitude.
And the selfreproach, which, at times, ho had
felt, had grown gradually fainter and less
frequent, until now it had we'll nigh ceased to
annoy him.


81 shall never marry any woman in the
world but Mary Eustace," he had often as
serted to himself; "and shall never give up
trying to win her for my wife until she ia the
wife of some one else, which, if can prevent
it by any means whatsoever, she never shall
be. It's seldom l have failed in any under
taking upon which my mind is set, aud if
hard fight can ensure success, shall not fail
in this one, either"


So now, by way of taking one important
step toward the advancement of his purpose,
he tore up Colonel Dacres epistle, and threw
the fragments into the fire. "1hat is ont of
harms way, at any rate" he remarked, COM
placenty. "And if any more come; why Ill
give them all an equally warm reception.


Then he lit cigar, and while smoking it,
composed, mentally, a long letter to Mary,
which he had been contemplating writing
ever since be had been we'll enough to sit up,
only he had never been able quite to deter
mine what style it would be the wisest for him
to adopt. Whether it should be the lofty and
injured, or the pathetic and reproachful, or
the passionate and entreating, or a jndicious
combination of them all. He rather prided
himself upon his skill in letter writing. And
since bodily weakness prevented his follow
ing the object Of his adoraton-which he
would not have hesitated otherwise to do
he resolved to send her, from time to time,
such communications as would be best calcu'
lated to touch her heart, win her forgiveness
for past offences, and bring her gradually
round to suitable frame of mind for favor
able hearing of his renewed addresses. If
only some miserable chance, some freak of ILL.,
luck, did not reveal to her her guardians
situation, he believed he would yet succeed.


The next day, Mrs. Blanding came into bis
room with an important air, begging that he
would allow her few minutes conversation.
Mentally voting her bore, he requested her
to take a seat, which she did, and after a
little preliminary hesitation, opened the Inter
view by stating that, as she did not suppose
her services were any longer needed at Moss
lands, there would be no objection to her
leaving, as she had just received news from
home, which made it desirable that she should
return.


"You see, Mr.. Cleveland, this arrangement
was only made with the poor Colonel" (she
had, for some time past, adopted this style Of
speaking of him, taking it for granted that
he had come to an evil end,) "in consideration
of Mary being here; and she young thing
without any protector, being, in fact, as one
may say, alone in the world. I'm sure tried
to do my duty by her, to the very best of my
ability, and what she took this notion to 60
off for, nobody can tell at least 1 can't. 1t
wasn't for want of my trying to make her
happy. as you yourself, sir, ought to do me
the justice to acknowledge"


Maurice admitted that he was quite ready
to acknowledge the fact.


"But seeing that In spite of all that, she
has left, and apparently without any inten-
ton of returning, why don't think that l
am bound to remain here any longer. Tell
me, candidy, Mr.. Cleveland, do you think
that I am?"


by no MEANS" promptly responded Maui
rice, who was secretly delighted at the pros
pect of her departure, Il agree with you, in
thinking it most unlikely that Miss Eustace
will return, and therefore, Of course, you are