At the Mercy of Tiberius

to secure success and eminence in his profession; but to-day, it seems as much a matter of astonishment to me-as it certainly was

are of the fact that he is not in your good graces. You both look so vaguely uncomforta

, whereon she was embroidering a wreath of pansies, and the d

a. The more I see of your lover, the more I dread your marriage. A man who makes no profession of religious belief, is an unsafe guardian of any woman's peace of mind. You who have been reared almost in the shadow of the altar, accustomed to hearing

ng of her white muslin cap, and adjusting them firmly on her nose

church membership, he is not necessarily godless; nor inevitably devoid of true religious feeling. Mr. Dunbar has a strong, reticent na

ke his, who was not tyrannical, and idolatrous of his own will. My dear, such men are as uncomfortable to live in the same house with, as a smoky chimney, or a woman with shattered nerves,

ered, and her c

iety of human countenances. For example: Clara Morse raves over Mr. Dunbar's 'clear-cut features, so

ction of pleats and gathers; and insult good, sound, wholesome common sense with the sickening affectations they are pleased to call 'aesthetics.' Don't waste your time, and dilute your own mind by quoting the silly twaddle of a poor girl who was turned loose too early on society, who falls on her knees in ecstasies before a hideous broken-nose tea-pot from some filthy hovel in Japan; and w

s, nor your jaundiced glasses; and these circular discussions are as fruitless as they are unpleasant

t and fervent spirit, and withal such a marvel of executive ability. Ah! happy the woman who can command his wise guardians

n he marries, I hope his wife will be worthy of him in eve

t's wrinkled cheek, and she knit

f he should ever honor a woman by the offer of his consecrated hand, it must be one of large fort

to throw much innocent surprise and questioning into the handsome brown

y step which he might take? Such a supposition would be

Want of money has palsied many an arm lifted to advance the good of the Church; and zeal without funds, accomplishes as little as rusty machinery stiff from lack of oil. If Dr. Douglass could only control even a hun

in sight of our own doors. Organized society work is good, but individual self-sacrifice and labor are much better; and if every unit did full duty, co-operative syst

th by your works, and s

, both your example and precept-for lo! these many years-by s

drew, wha

the Falls to-day, as he expected, because of some pressing business; and he wants to know if th

dled; and say to the messenger that my Uncle is not

should he be? He said he had a pile o

pausing a moment to pet her Aunt's white Maltese cat which lay dozing In the sunshine, walked away toward a Small hot-ho

te folds would one day adorn a dimpled rosy-faced infant, for whom the name Aurelia Gordon had long been selected. Fate cruelly vetoed all the details of the programme, carefully arranged by maternal affection; and the lurid sun that set in clouds of smoke on one of the most desperate battles of the Confederacy, saw Colonel Gordon's brave, patriotic soul released on that long

Leo, for h

her's coffin, lifted the cooing infant in the midst of a weeping funeral throng,

udge Dent, Mrs. Gordon had consigned her child; and transplant

ere throttled and trampled by the Many, then the fabled "Ragnarok" of the Sagas described only approximately the doom of the devastated South. In the financial and social chaos that followed the invasion by "loyal" hordes, rushing under "sealed orders" on the mission of "Rec

f Russian serfs may have stimulated agricultural activity, but that political and social Communism which the Pandora of "re

dows and orphans, and the right of minors was as dead as that of secession. In the general maelstrom, Colonel Gordon's large estate went to pieces; but after a time, Judge Dent took lessons from his new political masters in the science of wrecking, and by degrees, as fragments and shreds stranded, he collected and secreted them. Certain mining interests

. Although petted and indulged, she had not been spoiled, and remained singularly free from the selfishness usually developed in the character of an only child, nurtured in the midst of mature relatives. When eighteen years old, Leo, accompanied by her governess, Mrs. Eldridge, had been sent to New York and Boston for educational advant

w alas! too dominant; whose premature emancipation from home rule, and old-fashioned canons of decorum renders "American girlhood" synonymous with flippant pertness. Moulded by two women who were imbued with the spirit of Richter'

whom she had long secretly cherished a partiality, succeeded in placing his ring on her fair, slender hand. In character they differed widely, and the deep and tender

is great good fortune in winning her affection; but tender emotions found little scope for exercise in his intensely practical, busy life, which was devoted to the attainment of e

ions, in the charm of her presence; but her confidence in the purity and fidelity of his affection was unshaken, even by the dismal predictions of Miss Patty, who found it impossible

ening, which Mr. Dunbar had spent with her; and she could not avoid indulging regret, that he should have allowed business affairs to i

ere do you hi

e, in the co

dreadful news! Such

arcade, and stumbled over a barricade of p

er? Is it my Uncl

r feet, and caug

rington was robbed, and then mos

t be possible? M

th the body, and I shall take the carriage and drive over there at once. Dear me; I

be some mistake. Ho

nd intimate friend of General Darrington's, Mitchell feels he must do all he can. Poor old gentleman! So proud and aristocrati

murmur

o with me t

; and who could desire to contemplate so horrible a spectacle? It wi

icked world coming to? Robbery and murder stalking bare-faced through the land. It will be a dreadful blow to Mitchell, becaus

ged in the same melancholy de

rney until his health failed; and Lennox is now his lawyer and bus

f, Leo crossed the grassy lawn, and sat down near the gate, on a rustic benc

liage, that had sheltered them in cool greenery during summer heats. Overhead a red squirrel barked and frisked, and across the pale-blue sky, feathered nomads, teal or mallard, moved swiftly en echelon, their quivering

teenth century civilization, upon ethical advancement, upon Christian progress; we adorn our cathedrals, build temples for art treasures, and museums for science, and listen to preludes of the "music of the future;" and we shudder at the mention of vice, a

inated; that "original sin is neither more nor less than the brute inheritance which every man carries with him, and that Evolution is an advance toward true salvation." Meanwhile what becomes of the "Survival of the Fittest", which is only a euphemism for the strangling of the feeble b

behind the hedge of lilacs, and he lifted his hat, hoping that she would meet him at the entrance; but although she bowed in recognition, he was forced

, that my queen deigns

-colored dress, with its jabot of creamy lace, and the cluster of crimson carnations in her belt. The touch o

t General Darrington be indeed true? I have hoped

geration, and last night's tragedy is one of that c

s can be committed in our quiet neighborhood? who could have been

etection and punishment. There is unmistakable evidence that the General was chloroformed while asleep; but he must have awakened in time to d

scovered which would

ful of

ncerning the person who pe

ut a conviction; I might almo

you suspect; would it be a violation of p

anything, only-" he paused a moment;

y might cruelly wrong an innocent person; a

and I was merely wondering whether you, my sweet saint

y of taking that old man's life? The suppo

r hair, and looking down into her eyes, as br

rinvilliers, Fredegonds, Fulvias and Faustinas, quite as fabulous as Centaurs, Sirens and Were-wolves; and I feel as reluctant to shake your fair faith in womanhood, as to d

They all seemed devo

point of assuring her that his will, already prepared, would forever debar her mother and herself from any inheritance at his death; as he had bequeathed his entire estate to his adopted son Prince. Unfortunately, she learned where the will was kept, as during the interview, persons in the next room distinctly heard the peculiar noise made by the sliding door of the iron vault, where General Darrington kept all his valuable papers. She disappeared from Elm Bluff about sunset, going toward town; and last night at ten o'clock, when I left you and rode home, I saw her lurking in the pine woods not very far from the bridge over the branch, near the park gate. She was evidently hiding, as she sat on the ground half screened by a tree; but my horse shied and plunged badly, and when she rose, the full moon showed her face and figure distinctly. There was something so mysterious in her movements, that I asked her if she had lost her way; to which she curtly replied that she had not. I learn from Burk, the station agent, that her actions aroused his suspicion, and that instead of leaving town, as she said she intended, by the 7:15 train, she hung about the station, and finally took the 3:05 express this morning.

could have overpowered a m

his last illness; and I assure you she looks like some daughter of the Viking

is her

r size and a certain majestic bearing migh

ime with a young and beautiful woman,

she killed him. You do not understand all the bearings of even slight circumstances in a case like this, but we who make a study of such sad matters, know the significance of the disappearance of the will; the destruction of which could benefit only her mother and herself. The vault was open; the gold, silver, some valuable jewelry, and the will are missing fro

that you are hunt

from her lover's, and instin

bringing to punishment the person who robbed and murdered him-be it man, woman or child. Feminine youth and beauty are no aegis against the barbed javelins of justice