you and all will be well."

"It is impossible, I tell you; it is too late."

"Why too late, Francis?" I exclaimed, as I stepped forward, unable
to restrain myself any longer.

"Leopold!" she cried, turning deadly pale, and covering her face with
her hands.

"Francis," I went on gently, "nothing is changed; I still regard you
as my betrothed wife."

And saying this I tried to take her hand in mine. But the touch
pained her; she sprang back as if she had received the discharge of
an electric battery.

"Your betrothed! You have given me to understand this by the manner
in which I have been treated!"

"It grieves me to the heart, Francis--I cannot tell you how much. I
come now from a sick-bed, and what the lawyers did whilst I lay
insensible in the fever was in opposition to my wishes, and quite
contrary to my intentions."

"And was it contrary to your intentions to cause my grandfather the
shock which led to his death?"

"Most certainly it was, and I did my utmost to prevent it; but
you would not assist me, and afterwards it was too late. It was the
executors carrying out the last will and testament of the deceased, and
it was out of my power to interfere with them. And if the consequences
hastened your grandfather's death, you cannot blame me, Francis. For
after a calm consideration of all the facts, you will be bound to
agree that I was a better friend both to him and to you than you have
been to yourselves. Because of a little misunderstanding which I could
easily have explained, you have brought all this trouble on yourself,
and caused me the most acute suffering. Still all may be well."

"All may be well! Oh, Leopold, Leopold! how can you say so, when the
gulf between us is so wide," she replied, with a profound sigh. "You
threatened me with force, and you have meanly carried that threat into
execution! You had it in your power to drive me to extremities, your
one fixed idea being to compel me to marry Aunt Roselaer's heir. I
have heard this so often I am sick of the subject; and though I
acknowledge you are right from a worldly and material point of view,
I had given you credit for better things. Don't you understand, that
were I to marry you now under constraint, I should tug at my chains
until they made life unbearable to us both, or until they broke!"

"I agree with you, Francis, if you regard our engagement in this light,
and I release you from your promise."

"Thank you, but I had already taken m