r evident relief
of mind to narrate the story of her life's trials and vicissitudes
since her marriage. She spoke with less reserve than was wise, and
notwithstanding the reverence with which she alluded to him, the
consort she unconsciously described seemed at best the prince of
Utopians. That he was wealthy and lavish could not be doubted. The
wife's unguarded revelations gave Burr food for speculation. Many
pertinent questions by him elicited answers which he locked away in
the safe of memory.

The minutes flew rapidly--an hour went by, yet the master of the
house came not, and at length Madam Blennerhassett renewed her
suggestion that an excursion to the edge of the island might prove
pleasant.

"We shall see him return from the Ohio shore; at least, I hope so."

She reminded her guests that she was an Englishwoman, accustomed to
long walks, and, with the buoyant energy of an Artemis, led the way to
the near green wood.

"I will pilot ahead with Colonel Burr, and you, Mr. Arlington, shall
be taken care of by Miss Hale, who is as familiar as a dryad with
these glades. How romantic! Virginia and New England wander together
on a solitary island in the Ohio."

The elevated level of ground upon which the party halted lay open to
the sunshine, and it was completely covered by a thick bed of wild
pansies.

The view from this fragrant knoll surpassed expectation. While the
admiring spectators were gazing across the river, now on the village
of Belpre, now on the farther off rude fortress aptly named Farmers'
Castle, there came floating by a long, slender craft, rigged somewhat
like a schooner, and displaying from its mast the flag of the United
States. The music of a violin, faintly heard, was wafted across the
water from the deck, upon which could be seen a bevy of ladies, a few
dancing, others waving handkerchiefs to those watching from the
island. By means of a field-glass which Mrs. Blennerhassett handed
him, Burr could bring out plainly the forms and faces of the
passengers. His attention was immediately fixed upon one striking
figure--that of a woman in black, who stood apart from her
fellow-voyagers in a pensive attitude, gazing into the sky. A cheer
arose from the boat's crew, and the report of a small cannon boomed
and echoed along the woody shores; yet Burr still held the magnifying
lens before his eye, and a certain agitation was observable in his
behavior.

"That," said he, handing back the glass, "is