ow much
influence she has with the Governor; but unless she has changed
wonderfully in her feelings, she would do anything in the world to serve
you, Agnes, as she ought."

"Oh, blessings on you, Grace! I will go; there _may_ be hope in it; and
if poor Lewie could only die free; for die he must, the doctor assures
me--perhaps before the flowers bloom."

"Father will go with you, Agnes. I have been talking with him about it."

"Oh, how very, very kind you all are to us!" said Agnes. "Then, no time
must be lost, Grace; and if uncle will go with me, we will start as
early as possible in the morning."

Agnes rose early the next morning, with something like a faint tinge of
color in her cheek, lent to it by the excitement of hope; and after
visiting her brother, to give some explanation of the cause of her
absence, she took her seat in the carriage by her uncle, for they must
ride some miles in order to reach the cars.

They reached the Capitol that afternoon; and Agnes, who felt that she
had very little time to spare, left the hotel a few moments after their
arrival in the city, and, leaning on her uncle's arm, sought the
Governor's house. Agnes felt her heart die within her as she ascended
the broad flight of marble steps. Years had passed, and many changes had
taken place since she had met Ruth Glenn. Would she find her again in
the Governor's lady?

Mrs. F---- was at home, and Mr. Wharton left Agnes at the door, thinking
that, on all accounts, the interview had better be private. "He should
return for her in an hour or two," he said, "when he intended to call
upon the Governor, who had once been a class-mate and intimate friend."

Having merely sent word by the servant that an old friend wished to see
Mrs. F----, Agnes was shown into a large and elegantly-furnished parlor,
to await her coming. In a few moments, she heard a light step
descending the stairs, and the rustling of a silk dress, and the
Governor's lady entered the room.

Could it be possible that this blooming, elegant, graceful woman was the
pale, nervous Ruth Glenn, whom Agnes had befriended at Mrs. Arlington's
school? To account for this extraordinary change, we must go back a few
years, which we can fortunately do in a few moments, and give a glance
at Ruth Glenn's history.

She had left school almost immediately after Agnes and her cousins,
having been recommended by Mrs. Arlington to a lady who was looking for
a governess to her children. Here