Produced by Clare Graham & Marc D'Hooghe at Free Literature CHASTE AS ICE, PURE AS SNOW. A NOVEL. BY MRS. M. C. DESPARD. _Ham._ If thou dost marry, I'll give thee this plague for thy dowry: Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. ----HAMLET, Act III. Scene I. [1874] CONTENTS. PART I. A WOMAN FACE TO FACE WITH THE WORLD. CHAP. I. A PICTURE AND A FACE. II. ADÈLE AND MARGARET. III. A WOMAN FACE TO FACE WITH THE WORLD. IV. MORNING THOUGHTS--A RESOLVE TAKEN. V. FOUND--A FRIEND. VI. THE YOUNG HEIR. VII. A CUNNING TEMPTER. VIII. ARTHUR FALLS INTO THE SNARE. IX. ARTHUR'S SECRET. X. HOW ADÈLE RECEIVES THE DISCLOSURE. XI. A FACE AT THE WINDOW. XII. FLIGHT. XIII. LESSONS IN WORLD-WISDOM. XIV. LAURA. XV. A DREAM OF THE SEA. XVI. UNEXPECTED VISITORS AT MIDDLETHORPE. PART II. A MAN AT WAR WITH HIMSELF. I. MAURICE GREY. II. SOCIETY VERSUS SOLITUDE. PART III. A DOUBLE MYSTERY. I. PARTIAL DISCOVERIES. II. GO AND SEE HER. III. THE HOUSE IS EMPTY. IV. JANE'S REVENGE. V. THE LAWYER IN HIS OWN DOMAIN. VI. MR. ROBINSON PROMISES TO DO HIS BEST. VII. THE TWO FRIENDS. VIII. THE INDIAN SCARF. IX. ARTHUR ARRIVES AT MIDDLETHORPE. X. ON THE BRINK OF MADNESS. XI. THE ACCOLADE OF KNIGHTHOOD. XII. "I SHALL LIVE AND NOT DIE." XIII. ARTHUR AT WORK. XIV. TWO INTERVIEWS. XV. THE YOUNG PEOPLE UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER AT LAST. XVI. A STORM. XVII. WHAT THE STORM BROUGHT. XVIII. LIGHT IN DARKNESS. XIX. GOOD-NIGHT AND GOOD-BYE. PART IV. AT WORK WITH A WILL. I. LAURA'S TASK. II. A WASTED LIFE. III. A TALE ABOUT THE STARS. IV. MOSCOW. V. A GLIMPSE OF MARGARET'S CHILD. VI. THE LIFE OF A SOLITARY. VII. THE WORK OF MARGARET'S MESSENGER BEGUN. VIII. A TÊTE-À-TÊTE DINNER AT THE HOTEL. IX. A TORMENTED SPIRIT. X. PEACE, BE STILL. XI. HAUNTING MEMORIES. XII. TOLD AMONG THE SNOWS. PART V. THE MYSTERY SOLVED--THE WORKERS REWARDED. I. WAITING. II. THE LAWYER GAINS HIS POINT. III. THREATENED SEPARATION. IV. A DREAM INTERRUPTED, AND A STRANGE REVELATION MADE. V. ES IST NUR EIN KINDLEIN--ONLY A CHILD. VI. HADST THOU THE SECOND SIGHT? VII. FOR A SECOND TIME SAVED FROM HIMSELF. VIII. A PARTING. IX. THE NEST IS EMPTY. X. LAURA AND HER FATHER. XI. UNITED AT LAST. XII. A LONG SLEEP. PART I. A WOMAN FACE TO FACE WITH THE WORLD. * * * * * CHAPTER I. _A PICTURE AND A FACE._