e,
he could not suppress his angry disappointment; and his manner towards
her became habitually cold, and often severe. Lucie deeply felt this
ungenerous change, but without noticing it in the slightest degree; and,
indeed, it was partly compensated by the kind attentions, and even
increased affection, of her aunt, who, though not perfectly reconciled
to her choice, no longer sought to oppose it.

Madame de la Tour recovered but slowly from her unfortunate relapse; and
De Valette, endeavoring to hide his mortification and chagrin, under an
assumed reserve, was no longer the gay and constant companion of Lucie's
amusements and pursuits. She was thus left much alone; but, fortunately
for her, she possessed abundant springs of happiness in the resources of
her own mind, and the unclouded gaiety of her spirits; and every lonely
hour, and each solitary spot, glowed with the bright creations of hope,
or responded to the thrilling chords of memory. All her favorite walks
had been shared with Stanhope; there was scarcely a tree which had not
sheltered them; and every gushing stream, and forest dell, even the
simplest flower which spread its petals to the sun, breathed in mute
eloquence some tale of innocent enjoyment. These scenes, which his
presence had consecrated, where, in the freshness of dewy morn, at
noontide's sultry hour, and beneath the still and moonlight heavens, she
had admired, with him, the loveliness of nature, were now retraced, with
the enthusiasm of a fond and devoted heart.

Such feelings and reminiscences had, one day, drawn her into the green
recesses of a forest, which stretched along the river, at some distance
above the fort. The familiar and oft-frequented path, wound through its
deepest shades, beneath a canopy of lofty pines, whose thickly woven
branches created a perpetual twilight. She at length struck into a
diverging track, and crossing a sunny slope, bared by the laborious
settler for future improvement, reached a steep bank, which declined
gently to the water's edge. It was one of those cheering days in early
autumn, which sometimes burst upon us with the warmth and brilliancy of
summer, and seem, for a brief space, to reanimate the torpid energies of
nature. The sun glowed in mid-day fervor, and myriads of the insect
tribes, revived by his delusive smile, wheeled their giddy circles in
the light, and sent their busy hum upon the calm, clear air. The wild
bee, provident for future wants, had s