"I fear you will distrust my judgment," she said, "in placing your daughter in close companionship with that young lady. But really, the strange outburst from Miss King is wholly unaccountable to me. I cannot understand where she contracted such ideas." "I think I can," Mrs. Maxon answered, quietly, remembering Helena's references to her friend in her letters. "I am about to take the young lady home with me, and I hope I can rid her of some of her morbid ideas. It is well for young ladies to make marriage a secondary, not the first consideration of life; but it is very unfortunate to view the matter through Miss King's diseased eyes. There must be some cause for her peculiar state of mind. I shall try and fathom it." CHAPTER V. A YOUNG CYNIC. Mrs. Maxon sat on the pleasant veranda of her home, at Elm Hill, with a snowy piece of needlework in her hands. Mr. Maxon lounged back in a rustic chair, smoking a fragrant cigar. Dolores swung lazily in a hammock near by, a beautiful picture of indolent repose. From within, floated a rarely musical voice in snatches of song: The day is drawing near, my dear, When you and I must sever; Yet whether near or far we are, Our hearts will love forever, Our hearts will love forever. O sweet, I will be true, and you Must never fail or falter; I hold a love like mine divine, And yours--it must not alter, O, swear it will not alter. She sang the simple words to a light flowing air, with a rippling accompaniment. Then, suddenly striking rich chords of harmony, she broke into a song that might have served well as a passionate response to the other ditty: I will be true. Mad stars forsake their courses, And, led by reckless meteors, turn away From paths appointed by Eternal Forces. But my fixed heart shall never go astray. Like those calm worlds, whose sun-directed motion Is undisturbed by strife of wind or sea, So shall my swerveless, and serene devotion Sweep on forever, loyal unto thee. I will be true. Light barks may be belated, Or turned aside by every breeze at play; While sturdy ships, well manned, and richly freighted, With broad sails flying, anchor safe in bay. Like some firm rock, that, steadfast and unshaken, Stands all unmoved, while ebbing billows flee, So would my heart stand, faithful if forsaken. I will be true, though thou art false to me. "How wonderfully Lena's voice has improved during the last year;" Mrs. Maxon said, with motherly pride, as the song ceased. "And she sings, too, with great feeling; do you not think so, Miss King? She seemed to throw so much intensity into those words just now, as if they came from her very heart."