When Henry was not with her, Isabella employed herself in looking after
her little garden and the flowers that grew in front of her cottage.
The passion-flower peony, dahlia, laburnum, and other plant, so
abundant in warm climates, under the tasteful hand of Isabella,
lavished their beauty upon this retired spot, and miniature paradise.

Although Isabella had been assured by Henry that she should be free and
that he would always consider her as his wife, she nevertheless felt
that she ought to be married and acknowledged by him. But this was an
impossibility under the State laws, even had the young man been
disposed to do what was right in the matter. Related as he was,
however, to one of the first families in Virginia, he would not have
dared to marry a woman of so low an origin, even had the laws been
favorable.

Here, in this secluded grove, unvisited by any other except her lover,
Isabella lived for years. She had become the mother of a lovely
daughter, which its father named Clotelle. The complexion of the child
was still fairer than that of its mother. Indeed, she was not darker
than other white children, and as she grew older she more and more
resembled her father.

As time passed away, Henry became negligent of Isabella and his child,
so much so, that days and even weeks passed without their seeing him,
or knowing where he was. Becoming more acquainted with the world, and
moving continually in the society of young women of his own station,
the young man felt that Isabella was a burden to him, and having as
some would say, "outgrown his love," he longed to free himself of the
responsibility; yet every time he saw the child, he felt that he owed
it his fatherly care.

Henry had now entered into political life, and been elected to a seat
in the legislature of his native State; and in his intercourse with his
friends had become acquainted with Gertrude Miller, the daughter of a
wealthy gentleman living near Richmond. Both Henry and Gertrude were
very good-looking, and a mutual attachment sprang up between them.

Instead of finding fault with the unfrequent visits of Henry, Isabella
always met him with a smile, and tried to make both him and herself
believe that business was the cause of his negligence. When he was with
her, she devoted every moment of her time to him, and never failed to
speak of the growth and increasing intelligence of Clotelle.

The child had grown so large as to be able to follow its fathe