d away by the same magnetic influence, and longed to see
her character exposed to a test so powerful and dangerous.

Mr. Gleason went for the children, as he continued to call them, and
when the time for his arrival drew near, there was more than the usual
excitement on such occasions. Mittie could never think of her sister's
coming without a fluctuating cheek and a throbbing heart. Mrs. Gleason
wondered at this sensibility, unknowing its latent source, and rejoiced
that all her affections seemed blooming in the fervid atmosphere that
now surrounded her. Perhaps even she might yet be loved. But it was to
Helen the heart of the step-mother went forth, whom she remembered as so
gentle, so timid, so grateful and endearing. Would she return the same
sweet child of nature, unspoiled by contact with other grosser elements?

Clinton felt an eager curiosity to see the sister of Mittie, for whom
she cherished such precocious jealousy, yet who, according to her own
description, was neither beautiful nor lovely. Louis was all impatience,
not only to see his favorite Helen, but the lovely blind girl, who had
made such an impression on his young imagination. It is true her image
had faded in the sultry, worldly atmosphere to which he had been
exposed; but as he thought of the blue, sightless orbs, so beautiful yet
soulless, the desire to loosen the fillet of darkness which the hand of
God had bound around her brow, and to pour upon her awakening vision the
noontide glories of creation, rekindled in his bosom.

For many days Mrs. Gleason had filled the vases with fresh flowers, for
she remembered how Helen delighted in their beauty, and Alice in their
fragrance. There was a room prepared for Helen and Alice, while the
latter remained her guest, and Mittie resolved that if possible, she
would exclude her permanently from the chamber which Mrs. Gleason had so
carefully furnished for both. She could not bear the idea of such close
companionship with any one. She wanted to indulge in solitude her wild,
passionate dreams, her secret, deep, incommunicable thoughts.

At length the travelers arrived; weary, dusty and exhausted from
sleepless nights, and hurried, rapid days. No magnificent sun-burst
glorified their coming. It was a dull, grayish, dingy day, such as often
comes, the herald of approaching autumn. Mittie could not help
rejoicing, for she knew the power of first impressions. She knew it by
the raptures which Clinton always expr