ee, quite superfluous.
But if from any of these thoughts be shed
Aught of the fragrance and the hue of truth,
To thee I dedicate the transient flower
In which the eternal beauty reappears;
Knowing, should poison mingle with the sweet,
Thou, like the eclectic bee, with instinct sure,
Wilt take the good alone, and leave the bad._

_E. S._

CONTENTS.

PAGE

I. OVERTURE 1

II. THE FATHER'S STORY 7

III. THE MOTHER'S STORY 39

Linda's Lullaby 41

IV. PARADISE FOUND 93

The Mother's Hymn 100

V. LINDA 115

Help me, dear Chords 143

Be of good Cheer 147

VI. BY THE SEASIDE 177

Linda's Song 189

Under the Pines 203

VII. FROM LINDA'S DIARY 211

VIII. FROM MEREDITH'S DIARY 235

IX. BESIDE THE LAKE 249

NOTES 263

THE WOMAN WHO DARED.

I.

OVERTURE.

Blest Power that canst transfigure common things,
And, like the sun, make the clod burst in bloom,--
Unseal the fount so mute this many a day,
And help me sing of Linda! Why of her,
Since she would shrink with manifest recoil,
Knew she that deeds of hers were made a theme
For measured verse? Why leave the garden flowers
To fix the eye on one poor violet
That on the solitary grove sheds fragrance?
Themes are enough, that court a wide regard,
And prompt a strenuous flight; and yet from all,
My thoughts come back to Linda. Let me spare,
As best I may, her modest privacy,
While under Fancy's not inapt disguise
I give substantial truth, and deal with no
Unreal beings or fantastic facts:
Bear witness to it, Linda!

Now while May
Keeps me a restive prisoner in the house,
For the first time the Spring's unkindness ever
Held me aloof from her companionship,
However roughly from the east her breath
Came as if all the iceb