hat the case was indeed a hopeless one.
Mary Douglas was the only being to whom Lady Rosamond had confided the
secret relative to her father's wishes. Some days preceding her
departure the beautiful features of the young girl bore traces of grief.
In the arms of her fond companion she had wept sad and bitter tears.
"This shall be the last exhibition of my feelings," vehemently cried
Lady Rosamond, "you will never again see a tear of mine, at least from
the same cause, but darling promise me now that you will never divulge
my secret?"
"Accept my promise, Rosamond," returned Mary, impressing a fond kiss
upon the lips of the gentle and loving girl.
The promise thus made was faithfully kept to be referred to in after
years as a dream of the past which was still fresh in the beauty and
loveliness of true friendship.
Lieutenant Trevelyan bore the knowledge of Lady Rosamond's departure
with firm composure. He was kind, genial and entertaining. The strange
and uneasy expression came and went with no remark save that it gave
much annoyance to the kind hearted secretary.
The latter saw that no advances were made on the part of the young
lieutenant. Her ladyship would depart while the story would remain
untold.
It is needless to enter into the details attendant upon Lady Rosamond's
removal from Government House. Sad and tender were the scenes. Mary
Douglas could not repress the stifling sobs and outbursts of grief. True
to the previous determination, her ladyship had schooled herself for the
trying moment. Under the tender care of Sir Howard, the lovely girl took
leave of Fredericton, leaving behind those whom she fondly loved. She
carried with her many reminiscences of the scenes and trials through
which she had passed never to be forgotten throughout her lifetime.
In the meantime a question arose in political affairs which required the
mature deliberation of Sir Howard. The boundary dispute was now argued
within every district with an earnestness that showed the importance of
the cause. The present grievance had grown out of a former one.
In the treaty of 1873, the description of boundary limits between the
United States and the Colonies was vague. Owing to a want of proper
procedure, England and America merely took their limits from a certain
point on the coast, one choosing to the right the other to the left.
The interior boundary was the watershed dividing the sources of the
Connecticut and St. Croix rive
|