that diabolical trait in the female nature that loves the shudder of horror."

"I beg you, Raoul, do nothing which you will afterwards repent," cried Liane, flinging her arms around Mainau, who, almost beside himself, was about to rush at the venemous speaker.

"The female nature," repeated the old gentleman, with a malicious smile, as Mainau, stamping with fury, turned his back upon him. "Possibly the paralyzed tongue of the 'poor bayadere '—such things have happened - has recovered motion in the delirium of death, has prated confused stuff, very possible even. But what sen

sible person accepts such for truth, or makes out of such wonderful matter dishonoring accusations?"

"Go on, Liane; I fear his noble associciates will have to hear things which bring to miserable disgrace the conception of born nobility," said Mainau, cuttingly. "But speak to me. You hear, the Marshal has nothing to do with the affair, but 1 am in a fever of anxiety to know more."

"The woman in the India house was dead when I went there. For thirteen years not an intelligible word has passed her lips, and so, also, she died," replied Liane. She was for a moment silent, and closed her eyes; dizziness overcame her again, but supporting herself on the table, she continued: "What I have to say I know from a witness, who, since Uncle Gisbert's return from India, has lived in Schonwerth, a witness who does not talk idly, but knows well that what is asserted must, if necessary, be sworn to."

Liane continued her account, speaking to Mainau as if the Marshal were not present; exclamations of anger, epithets of abuse, and malicious laughing on his part, could not deter her; but as she continued to relate, more minutely still, the interview at the death-bed, he became uneasy, and would have left the room, but Mainau's taunts were too severe, and he unwillingly remained, until she told of the dying man's impressing the stamp, with the seal ring,

broke upon him. "Uncle, the Duchess and her attendants can testify to having seen the emerald ring, which you told them was solemnly given you on the tenth of September by Uncle Gisbert. And that paper, which he thus sought to legalize, does it still exist, Liane?"

Silently, with trembling hands, Liane took the chain from her neck and laid it in his hand. Mainau was indeed obliged to break open the locket; there lay the paper with the seals impressed upon it, just as the India woman had laid it away from her kissing lips.

"Addressed to me? to me?" said Mainau deeply moved, and stepping nearer to the lamp, read aloud the contents. The dying man declared in the beginning that in consequence of mental and bodily weakness he was the prisoner of his brother and the priest. Although under the impression that the Indian woman was faithless, he had nevertheless wished to bequeath property to her; but everything was done to prevent him; even the physician was bribed, and always ignored his entreaty for a legal commission, as a desire expressed only in a delirium of fever. At such moments all exerted themselves to paint, in the blackest colors, the transgression, the moral, depravity of the outcast woman, and the culpability of his relations to her; and he, in his great weakness, often through hallucinations excited to madness, had submitted. But now he knows that he has been, in a most accursed manner, deceived. He knows that a son has been born to him, of whose existence they had never spoken to him. He knows, farther, that his brother in a mad passion, persecutes this wife of his heart, and seeks to deprive her of even the smallest share in the property, in order to bring these unfortunates entirely into his power. Among all the villains who have bound him in these iron chains, not one seems capable of an emotion of pity for him; but in this moment of deep desolation he recalls to mind his young nephew, with "the wild, hot head, but generous heart." In view of

that the India woman was spotless in character, and not, as has been said, a common dancing girl when she became his. Farther he declares the little Gabriel to be his son, and implores his nephew to protect these two unfortunate, persecuted beings, and to help them to their rights by delivering to them one-third part of all his property undiminished, and to recognize his child, giving him the family name of the father. Mrs. Lohn, the faithful soul, shall, for security, personally deliver this paper to his nephew, the authencity of which he thereby vouches by placing the emerald ring, immediately after stamping the document, in the 'faithless' hands of his 'degenerate' brother."

"Fine! fine! The vagabond has painted me in flattering colors; this is the thanks for my untiring care, my many sleepless nights," said the Marshal, as he arose with nervously twitching face, while Mainau placed the paper in his vest pocket. 'He, then, was an unprincipled fellow to the very last breath, and the two lying women's tongues made him imbecile. Bah! I only am angry that a creature like that Lohn dared dupe me!"

66

Mainau stepped aside from the speaker, ostentatiously showing that now he also regarded every connection with "the most honorable and respectable man in the famfamily" as dissolved.

"Shall I, as Gisbert Mainau's empowered agent, lay this," he pointed significantly to his breast pocket, "before a court of justice?"

"Eh! we will consider the matter; we have, also, our documents. It will be seen who conquers, you, with that trumpery paper, or the Church, with the writing lying in the rarity-casket. The priest, too, is here, a different witness from Mrs. Lohn, the housekeeper! Hm! I believe that tamous paper which you take so tenderly to your heart, will cost you more headaches than you think! Meanwhile look to your lady there. This worthless intrigue which she, with such amiable readiness, has started, seems to have affected her very powerfully."

Already, while Mainau read, Liane had felt strange nervous shudders thrilling her

whole body; it seemed, too, as if a bloodred, heaving mist filled the room, in its motion grotesquely distorting the face of the Marshal sitting opposite her. Now a deep, icy night settled upon her; forcing a halfsenseless smile, she stretched out both hands in the direction where Mainau stood; then, with a low cry, fell unconscious and was caught in his arms. ser, a carriage drove rapidly to the city to bring a physician to the sick bed of the mistress of Schonwerth.

Five minutes af

For weeks there was a hard struggle between life and death, over this hardly-tried young creature's bed; but at last the physicians gave hope again, and on a lovely autumn day, the soft breeze stealing in at the open window, aroused a sense of life in her once more, and opening her eyes, their first intelligent glance fell on her husband, sitting at the foot of the bed, his station since the hour when she was laid here unconscious. It had been a new and terrible experience in the life of the selfish pleasure-seeker. By him, his support and encourager, Ulrica had stood, having been summoned by him on that fearful night. Only a few whispered words were allowed to-day, but steadily Liane progressed in her convalescence. and not many days elapsed before, leaning on her husband's arm, she walked once more through her apartments; a few days more of recovered strength, and, by Mainau's desire, (he feeling wholly unequal to the task,) Ulrica briefly informed Liane of what had followed on that night of horror, relating only what was actually necessary for her to know for that peace of mind so essential to her entire recovery.

The old Marshal, she said, on reaching the vestibule that night, found the alarmed servants gathered there, and after reproving them, turned to his valet and ordered him to request the priest to come at once to his apartment, the frightened Auton related to his master what had occurred, and the old gentleman was obliged to be assisted to his chamber, but not to his bed; he packed all night, only stopping at times to open the door and see if it could be possible that the priest had not returned. The next morning early, not even taking

leave of Leo, he rode away from Schonwerth, and the only sign of life which he gave afterwards was to claim, through his counsel, one-third of the property of his brother Gisbert. Schonwerth was to be sold at once, Mainau finding it impossible to bear even a distant sight of the pond where the terrible assault had been made.

"And we are to take you, dearest," said Ulrica, "to Rudisdorf, where you may fully recover. Mainau has leased it for a term of years, and I go now to set the new furniture in order there. Mamma had her choice to remain there or go to Dresdren to reside permanently: she chose the latter at once, and Mainau will provide her a home in that city. Mrs. Lohn accompanies us, and Gabriel will continue under the care of Leo's tutor until, as Herr von Mainau, he goes to Dusseldorf for his artistic education. And still more. What do you think? I, Ulrica, Countess of Trachenberg, have, on my own account, hired of the creditors the large farm buildings in Rudisdorf, in order to establish an extensive flower manufactory. Mainau entively approves of my plan, advances me the necessary capital, and hopes confidently with me, that I shall succeed, by diligence and energy, in freeing gradually our estate from the blot of bankruptcy which

arrogance and extravagance laid upon it. God grant me the strength for it!"

She was silent, while Liane, with clasped hands, closed eyes, and happy smile, lay scarce breathing, as if she feared even a breath might disperse all these lovely pictures; but one dark shadow flitted past her, and she started up.

"The black coat, Ulrica?"

"He has vanished without the slightest trace; it is generally believed he has fled under cloister protection. He can no longer trouble you; be at ease. He can never venture again in public; the affair created such a sensation, and the whole Protestant population were so indignant, that even his protectress, the Duchess, has found it necessary to retire for some time to Meran, 'for the benefit of her weak chest.'" Mainau entered, followed by the two boys.

Alice K. Sawyer.

A,

AMSTERDAM; B, bonnets; C, caps; D, dykes and dairies; Z, Zuyder Zee; and so on through the alphabet, every letter calls up a picture of something seen during my happy stay in Holland, and every picture is as grotesque and as brilliantly colored as the illustrations of a child's story book; for the Dutch love bright colors.

The flattest land that the sun ever shone upon, not even excepting England; canals long and short, broad and narrow, stretching their arms through the land, and reaching here and there around it and about it; houses that might date from any long ago century, low and angular in the country, and in the city rising high into the air by Spanish peaked roofs; cathedrals, large and bare and whitewashed: idle men, and hard-working, worn-looking women; and an all-pervading air of neatness, that no amount of dirt could discourage; all these are distinctive features of Holland.

Read as largely as one may of Holland and its ways, he will nevertheless be astonished when he sees it. That a country can lie so near England and Scotland, and yet be so totally unlike them in everything is singular. No doubt the physical geography of the country is the chief difference, but the physical organization of the people is hardly less different. The English are often stolid enough, but the stolidity of a Dutchman's face is beyond all expression. One would suppose that if the same bone and muscle and fibre enter into their composition as into that of others, they must sometimes relax under ordinary influences; but men, women and children have all the same faculty of gazing steadfastly at an object with an utter absence of expression. Sometimes this seems like stupidity, sometimes like wilful absence of mind, and sometimes it seems as if the figure were not flesh and blood, but putty. Then, directly, this inanimate thing brightens and flashes into life, and we find that it is not only of flesh and blood, but of spirit. Dutchmen are not moved by the same things that move other people.

o'clock in the morning, having crossed from Harwich to Rotterdam, and, coming on deck to land, we found ourselves able to look into the windows of pleasant houses near by. The quays are broad and handsome, and as neat as only Dutch quays could be, and many of the finest houses in Rotterdam are built upon them. The city is a combination of water, masts of ships, trees and bridges, with streets, houses and chimneys. The houses have roofs red tiled and oddly curved, and rise in front to a great height, the gables often leaning forward so far as to overhang the foundations more than a foot, or backward so far as to seem in actual danger of falling. These gables are far to the right or the left, also, and the effect, as one looks down a carrow street, is startling. Yet the Dutch take these leaning houses as matters of course, and think it very singular that others should notice them. To nearly every window is attached a mirror projecting at right angles a foot or more, and so arranged that the lady within can see whatever goes on upon the sidewalk below, without being herself seen. Sometimes, however, the order of exercises is reversed, and the passer-by catches of the home scene within. The people who fill th streets are as picturesque as if they had dressed for that purpose; most prominent are the caps, bonnets and wooden shoes of the peasants The caps are of almost infinite variety, but all are made of linen, lace and gold. The lace is not always nice, though it is invariably white as snow, but the gold is genuine, and often costs enormous sums, being handed down as an heirloom to be refitted with lace and linen. Originally these caps were worn by ladies of wealth, but in this century the peasants have the monopoly. The hair is twisted out of sight with the exception of a little wisp on the middle of the forehead, or a little braid over each temple. The linen cap fits close to the head, and is trimmed more or less with lace; but the crowning glory is found in the pins which are worn over

pretty glimpse

which have always pendant chains. Sometimes a clasp or buckle of gold is used, or the pin resembles a cork-screw, but always the chains are dangling, till one is nearly cross-eyed with looking at them. The same people who wear these caps wear also wooden shoes, and the glitter of the one, and the clatter of the other are tremendous. The shoes are not often worn in the house, woollen slippers being substituted for them, and when removed they are carefully washed, and set out to dry. Serious objections may be brought against wooden shoes, to be sure, but if we put it wholly on the ground of beauty, are they not to be preferred to the bare, cold feet that tread our streets in winter? The house servants in Rotterdam wear black skirts, purple tunics gathered at the waist by long white aprons, and the neatest, prettiest caps of white muslin, with full ruche around the face. So general is the use of this dress that the market-place and the streets leading from it are actually tinged with lavender, as the housemaids move in and out to do their marketing, and the livery of purple, black and white is both distinctive and becoming.

There is little to see in Rotterdam beside the houses and the people. The statue of Erasmus stands on the bridge near the market-place, aad in a neighboring street is the house in which he was born, now used as a gin shop. On it is the inscription, in Latin: "This is the little house in which the great Erasmus was born."

From Rotterdam to the Hague we went by canal, of old the national conveyance, but now thrown somewhat into disuse among the natives by the introduction of steamers and railways. Nothing could be more characteristic and, therefore, more desirable to see, than the country along the canals. The boats are drawn by men, women or horses, as the case may be, but in either event the rate of progress is slow, and one has time to see thoroughly the farm of the peasant, and the villa of the rich man.

nation naturally aquatic could have accomplished. In the very center of this field he plants a house, square, with pointed roof sloping on four sides nearly to the ground; puts trees at regular distances from the house and from each other; makes beds of the brightest flowers in the stiffest forms; makes, also, beds of cabbages and turnips in squares and rectangles; dots beautiful speckled cows all over his domain; and then-digs a canal around the whole. Broad and deep as circumstances will allow, he makes his canal, and here his wife does the washing for the family, while he waters the cattle, washes his wooden shoes, and, at intervals, gazes meditatively at the canal, and rejoices in it as a thing of beauty.

Perhaps he has a dairy. If so, it is a miracle of neatness. The dairies are built of brick, with sloping roof, tiled, slated or thatched, and the brick is often ornamented with black painted wood, put on with a degree of regularity, unequalled by anything earthly, unless, perhaps, the regularity of the flower-beds. The floors are of stone or brick, laid sloping, and somewhat hollowed in the middle, to form beds for the cows. Food is given to the cattle from a shallow trough, which is swept as neatly and as often as the floors of the house. Frequently the family use one end of the cow-house as a sitting-room, and in this case one member of the family, or a servant, sleeps here to look after the cattle. The dairy which we visited, though under the same roof as the house, was not used as a living room, but the cow-house joined the kitchen, and the bed of the master was in the corner, by the kitchen fireplace. In the wall near by is cut a window, so that he has but to raise his head from his pillow to command a view of the cow-house. Only the finest cows are kept here, others remaining always in the fields, and being milked there at noon. The milk is "sifted” into large brass cans, bright and yellow as gold, and is carried to town in carts drawn alternately by dogs and women, or by both. Dogs are cheap in Holland, and their strength is turned to account in all manner of ways. Women, too, are held at the