whom he was separated by a distance which could
be made communicable only by correspondence.

Almost a year had sped away when the letters received by Helen became
less frequent and then stopped. She wrote again and again, but in
vain; she received no replies. The agent of the young people then
professed to write himself to her recreant lover, and informed her
that he had discovered that the attachment of the young man for her
had waned and that he was to marry a French beauty. His condolence was
apparently so sincere and delicately phrased that when he proffered
her his love there was in her breast some degree of kindly sentiment
toward him, which, while of a very different nature from her feeling
for the one who had discarded her, was yet such as to lead her to
assent finally to his suit; not, however, before many considerations
had been skilfully brought to bear upon her, not the least of which
were the desires of her kindred.

The wedding day was set, and before the assembled guests, forming a
brilliant gathering, the bride appeared in rich adornings, but
pale, her bosom, heaving with sobs. The ceremony was performed. Then
occurred a dramatic scene; some whisper seemed to reach the bride's
ear; to the amazement of the guests, she turned upon her husband and
denounced him as the blackest of traitors. She declared that her own
letters and those of her lover had been kept back, and that she knew
that her lover had landed in Scotland and would vindicate his honor.
She vowed in the presence of Heaven that she would never acknowledge
as her husband the man she had just wedded, nor would she ever
leave for him her father's roof. Amid shouts of derision, the false
bridegroom hastily left the house. The young lover had indeed landed
in the country, and was hastening to his beloved that he might prove
to her that he had been grossly slandered and she grievously deceived.
The knowledge of the situation did not reach him in time to forestall
the plans of his rival, and not until his arrival home did he find out
the full facts of the case and have his mind entirely relieved of the
thought of his love's perfidy. Legal measures were speedily taken for
the dissolution of the hateful bonds, and the young lady was united
to the one to whom, notwithstanding her acquiescence in the wishes of
others, her heart had been true.

The maid of Ardoch's story has been variously told. The most familiar
form of it is that found in Robert Burn