,
but beneath thy sweet smile I deemed it at last effaced; I left thee
to seek the king, and demand his assent to our union. I speak not of
obstacles that then arose; in the midst of them I learned Katherine was
lone and widowed,--was free. At her own summons I sought her
presence, and learned that she had loved me ever,--loved me still. The
intoxication of my early dream returned; reverse and exile followed
close; Katherine left her state, her fortunes, her native land, and
followed the banished man; and so memory and gratitude and destiny
concurred, and the mistress of my youth became my wife. None other could
have replaced thy image; none other have made me forget the faith I
pledged thee. The thought of thee has still pursued me,--will pursue me
to the last. I dare not say now that I love thee still, but yet--" He
paused, but rapidly resumed, "Enough, enough! dear art thou to me, and
honoured,--dearer, more honoured than a sister. Thank Heaven, at least,
and thine own virtue, my falsehood leaves thee pure and stainless. Thy
hand may yet bless a worthier man. If our cause triumphs, thy fortunes,
thy father's fate, shall be my fondest care. Never, never will my sleep
be sweet, and my conscience laid to rest, till I hear thee say, as
honoured wife--perchance, as blessed and blessing mother--'False one, I
am happy!'"

A cold smile, at these last words, flitted over the girl's face,--the
smile of a broken heart; but it vanished, and with that strange mixture
of sweetness and pride,--mild and forgiving, yet still spirited and
firm,--which belonged to her character, she nerved herself to the last
and saddest effort to preserve dignity and conceal despair. "Farther
words, my lord, are idle; I am rightly punished for a proud folly. Let
not woman love above her state. Think no more of my destiny."

"No, no," interrupted the remorseful lord, "thy destiny must haunt me
till thou hast chosen one with a better right to protect thee."

At the repetition of that implied desire to transfer her also to
another, a noble indignation came to mar the calm for which she had
hitherto not vainly struggled. "Oh, man!" she exclaimed, with
passion, "does thy deceit give me the right to deceive another? I--I
wed!--I--I--vow at the altar--a love dead, dead forever--dead as my own
heart! Why dost thou mock me with the hollow phrase, 'Thou art pure and
stainless?' Is the virginity of the soul still left? Do the tears I have
shed for thee; doth