a," imploring her forgiveness for his leaving her so long, and
promising to return. Sometimes he spoke of her as being dead, and in
piteous accents he would ask of Durward to bring him back his
"beautiful 'Lena," who was sleeping far away among the New England
mountains.

One day when the servant, as usual, came in with their letters, he
brought one directed to Mr. Graham, which had been forwarded from
Charleston, and which bore the post-marks of several places, it
having been sent hither and thither, ere it reached its place of
destination. It was mailed at Frankfort, Kentucky, and in the
superscription Durward readily recognized the handwriting of 'Lena.

"Worse and worse," thought he, now fully assured of her worthlessness.

For a moment he felt tempted to break the seal, but from this act he
instinctively shrank, thinking that whatever it might contain, it was
not for him to read it. But what should he do with it? Must he give
it to his mother who already had as much as she could bear? No,
'twas not best for her to know aught about it, and as the surest
means of preventing its doing further trouble, he destroyed
it--burned it to ashes--repenting the next moment of the deed,
wishing he had read it, and feeling not that he had wronged the dead,
as his mother did when she burned the chestnut curl, but as if he had
done a wrong to 'Lena.

In the course of two months he went back to Woodlawn, leaving his
father and mother to travel leisurely from place to place, as the
still feeble state of the former would admit. 'Lena, who had
returned from Frankfort, trembled lest he should come to Maple Grove,
but he seemed equally desirous of avoiding a meeting, and after
lingering about Woodlawn for several days, he suddenly departed for
Louisville, where, for a time, we leave him, while we follow the
fortunes of others connected with our story.

CHAPTER XXIV.

JOHN JR. AND MABEL.

Time and absence had gradually softened John Jr.'s feelings toward
Nellie. She was not married to Mr. Wilbur--possibly she never would
be--and if on her return to America he found her the same, he would
lose no time in seeing her, and, if possible, secure her to himself.
Such was the tenor of his thoughts, as on one bright morning in June
he took his way to Lexington, whither he was going on business for
his father. Before leaving the city, he rode down to the depot, as
was his usual custom, reaching there just as the cars bound fo