y articles of dress which I had been shyly
accumulating for my approaching marriage.

It was but a scanty outfit, but to me it appeared munificent as that of a
princess. I could never weary of looking at these beautiful garments; I
placed them in one light, and then in another; I folded and unfolded
them, and finally ended by trying them on, and admiring in the mirror
their perfect adaptation to my face and figure. A long time must have
passed in this way, when the hall clock struck the hour of midnight.
Astonished at the lateness of the night, I threw down the laces and
ribbons which I was combining into some airy article of dress, and was
preparing to remove my bridal attire, when I was amazed to hear a key
turning in the lock of my door. Fear and surprise nailed me to the floor.
The door glided softly open and in stepped Mr. Richard Bristed! He seemed
surprised to see me thus.

"What! up and dressed?" he exclaimed, in a loud whisper. "O my beauty! my
wife! I have come to claim you to-night. You shall be mine. No power on
earth shall withhold us now!"

"How strangely you talk, Richard," said I. "You forget it is so late. We
cannot go to church at this hour."

"Ah, dearest, this is church! See, I have brought you this ring. We will
stand up before God and our own hearts, and I will marry you here. We
need no other witnesses than ourselves and this ring!"

Though my youthful heart was blinded by love and passion, I was not
prepared for this. Excitement and the strangeness of the proposition
overcame me, and I broke forth into sobs.

He endeavored to soothe me, urging his request with a pleading force
which I could scarcely withstand.

"I am not prepared, Richard," said I, drying my tears; "this is so
sudden, so unlooked for, I must have time for thought."

But thought only revealed a gaping abyss, from which I must fly.

He continued to urge his plea; but seeing I would not yield, his
countenance changed. The sweet, seductive smile vanished. He grew white
as the moonbeam, and, clenching his hand and setting his teeth, bent over
me, whispering huskily:

"Agnes, I shall not step from this room to-night. I have the key. You
have promised to be mine. You shall keep that promise. To-night you shall
keep that promise!"

If he was pale, I became paler. A cold chill crept over me. But I took my
resolution, unyielding as death, not to grant his request.

A chasm seemed to yawn before me. The loneliness and friendle