MILDRED. A Novel. BY MRS. MARY J. HOLMES, AUTHOR OF EDITH LYLE—EDNA BROWNING—TEMPEST AND SUNSHINE—’LENA RIVERS—WEST LAWN—MARIAN GREY—HUGH WORTHINGTON—ETHELYN’S MISTAKE, ETC., ETC. “——Love soweth here with toil and care, But the harvest-time of Love is there.” SOUTHEY. [Illustration: Logo] NEW YORK: _G. W. Carleton & Co., Publishers_. LONDON: S. LOW & CO. MDCCCLXXVII. COPYRIGHT BY DANIEL HOLMES. 1877. TROW’S PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING CO., _205–213 East 12th St._, NEW YORK. TO MRS. G. W. CARLETON [OF NEW YORK CITY], _I DEDICATE THIS STORY OF_ MILDRED, IN MEMORY OF THE MANY HAPPY HOURS SPENT WITH HER OF THE “STARRY EYES AND NUT-BROWN HAIR.” BROCKPORT, N. Y., _October, 1877_. CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. The Storm, and what it Brought 9 II. Village Gossip 27 III. Nine Years Later 35 IV. Oliver and Mildred visit Beechwood 50 V. Lawrence Thornton and his Advice 60 VI. What came of it 72 VII. Lilian and Mildred 93 VIII. Lawrence and his Father 111 IX. Lawrence at Beechwood 119 X. The River 131 XI. Lawrence Deceived and Undeceived 142 XII. The Proposal 157 XIII. The Answer 173 XIV. What Followed 201 XV. The Sun Shining through the Cloud 214 XVI. The Ebbing of the Tide 228 XVII. The Deserted Hut 238 XVIII. The Guests at the Hotel 256 XIX. Lawrence and Oliver 276 XX. Oliver and Mildred 285 XXI. The Meeting 299 XXII. Natural Results 314 XXIII. Conclusion 321