to his frantic vow, he withdrew from domestic and social
intercourse,--longed to express its emotions in words as wildly
impassioned as these:--

"Thou hast called me thine angel in moments of bliss,
Still thine angel I'll prove 'mid the horrors of this.
Through the furnace unshrinking thy steps I'll pursue,
And shield thee, and save thee, and perish there too."

Oh, most beloved, yet most wretched and deluded husband, why was this
dark thread,--this cable cord, I might say,--twisted with the pure and
silvery virtues of thy character?

In the midst of this unhappy state of things, Margaret Melville arrived.
She returned with Mr. Regulus, who brought her one beautiful evening, at
the soft, twilight hour, to Grandison Place. Whether it was the subdued
light in which we first beheld her, or the presence of her dignified
companion, she certainly was much softened. Her boisterous laugh was
quite melodized, and her step did not make the crystal drops of the
girandoles tinkle as ominously as they formerly did. Still, it seemed as
if a dozen guests had arrived in her single person. There was such
superabundant vitality about her. As for Mr. Regulus, he was certainly
going on even unto perfection, for his improvement in the graces was as
progressive and as steady as the advance of the rolling year. I could
not but notice the extreme elegance of his dress. He was evidently "at
some cost to entertain himself."

"Come up stairs with me, darling," said she to me, catching my hand and
giving it an emphatic squeeze; "help me to lay aside this uncomfortable
riding dress,--besides," she whispered, "I have so much to tell you."

As we left the room and passed Mr. Regulus, who was standing near the
door, the glance she cast upon him, bright, smiling, triumphant, and
happy, convinced me that my conjectures were right.

"My dear creature!" she exclaimed, as soon as we were in my own chamber,
throwing herself down on the first seat she saw, and shaking her hair
loose over her shoulders, "I am so glad to see you. You do not know how
happy I am,--I mean how glad I am,--you did not expect me, did you?"

"I thought Mr. Regulus had gone to see you, but I did not know that he
would be fortunate enough to bring you back with him. He discovered last
winter, I have no doubt, what a pleasant travelling companion you were."

"Oh, Gabriella, I could tell you something so strange, so funny,"--and
here she burst into one of her old