fair made some noise, and every one was
astonished at the ruin of a person whom they considered rich and
miserly.

As the sale was stated to be in consequence of his departure from the
country, the gossips would have been unable to discover the genuine
motive if the news had not come from Antwerp that De Vlierbeck had
resolved to pay his debts and was wretchedly poor. The cause of his
misfortune--that is to say, his liability for his brother--was known,
though all the circumstances were not fully understood.

As soon as the publication was made, the poor old gentleman led, if
possible, a more retired life than ever, in order to avoid explanations.
Resigned to his fate, he quietly awaited the day of sale; and, although
his feelings often strove to master his resolution, the constant care
and encouragement of his noble-hearted daughter enabled him to encounter
the fatal hour with a degree of pride.

In the mean while he received a letter from Gustave at Rome, containing
a few lines for his child. The young man declared that absence from
Lenora had only increased his affection, and that his only consolation
was the hope of future union with her by the bonds of marriage. But in
other respects the letter was not encouraging. He said with pain that
all his efforts to change his uncle's determination had, up to that
time, been fruitless. De Vlierbeck did not conceal from Lenora that he
no longer had a hope of her union with Gustave, and that she ought to
strive against this unhappy love in order to escape from greater
disappointment. Indeed, since her father's poverty had become publicly
known, Lenora was convinced that duty commanded her to renounce every
hope; yet she could not help feeling pleased and strengthened by the
thought that Gustave still loved her, and that he, whose memory filled
her heart, dreamed of her in his distant home and mourned her absence.

She kept her promises to him faithfully. How often did she pronounce his
name in the solitude of that garden! How often did she sigh beneath the
catalpa, as if anxious to trust the winds with a message of love to
other lands! In her lonely walks she repeated his tender words; and
often did she stop musingly at some well-remembered spot where he had
blessed her with a tender word or look.

But poor De Vlierbeck was obliged to undergo additional pain; for, as if
every misfortune that could assail him was to be accumulated at that
moment on his devoted head, he rec