rtrude should come to her mother's to tea that evening,
and Henry with her, and that Mrs. Miller should there charge the young
husband with inconstancy to her daughter, and demand the removal of
Isabella.

With this understanding, the old woman retraced her steps to her own
dwelling.

Had Mrs. Miller been of a different character and not surrounded by
slavery, she could scarcely have been unhappy in such a home as hers.
Just at the edge of the city, and sheltered by large poplar-trees was
the old homestead in which she resided. There was a splendid orchard in
the rear of the house, and the old weather-beaten sweep, with "the
moss-covered bucket" at its end, swung majestically over the deep well.
The garden was scarcely to be equalled. Its grounds were laid out in
excellent taste, and rare exotics in the greenhouse made it still more
lovely.

It was a sweet autumn evening, when the air breathed through the
fragrant sheaves of grain, and the setting sun, with his golden kisses,
burnished the rich clusters of purple grapes, that Henry and Gertrude
were seen approaching the house on foot; it was nothing more than a
pleasant walk. Oh, how Gertrude's heart beat as she seated herself, on
their arrival!

The beautiful parlor, surrounded on all sides with luxury and taste,
with the sun creeping through the damask curtains, added a charm to the
scene. It was in this room that Gertrude had been introduced to Henry,
and the pleasant hours that she had spent there with him rushed
unbidden on her memory. It was here that, in former days, her beautiful
countenance had made her appearance as fascinating and as lovely as
that of Cleopatra's. Her sweet, musical voice might have been heard in
every part of the house, occasionally thrilling you with an unexpected
touch. How changed the scene! Her pale and wasted features could not be
lighted up by any thoughts of the past, and she was sorrowful at heart.

As usual, the servants in the kitchen were in ecstasies at the
announcement that "Miss Gerty," as they called their young mistress,
was in the house, for they loved her sincerely. Gertrude had saved them
from many a flogging, by interceding for them, when her mother was in
one of her uncontrollable passions. Dinah, the cook, always expected
Miss Gerty to visit the kitchen as soon as she came, and was not a
little displeased, on this occasion, at what she considered her young
mistress's neglect. Uncle Tony, too, looked regularly for