“It seems strange that _I_ should be the one to tell you about her,” Mr. Rosevelt said, thoughtfully, “and I am puzzled to know why he should have been so reticent. Did your father ever have any trouble with his family?” “Not that I know of; and yet,” Star said, flushing, “there _was_ some trouble about his marriage with mamma, though that seems to have been on the part of her family rather than his. Mrs. Richards once twitted me about mamma—who was a sort of cousin to her—having married beneath her.” “I do not see how that could have been, for the Mr. Gladstone who married Stella Winthrop was a very wealthy and important man in the county of Devonshire—at least, I was told so—and if your father was his son, he might have married almost any one he chose, and have conferred an honor in so doing. But this is not telling you my story. “When Stella Winthrop was of your age, and I three or four years older, we met at a large reception in London. That meeting was fatal to us both, for we loved from that hour as true lovers ever love. For six months the world was like Paradise to us, and then I was called away to the far East on business for the firm with which I was connected. I am an American, but most of my life has been spent abroad. “If I was successful in my business undertaking, it was agreed that I might claim my bride when I returned at the end of two years. The vessel on which I sailed was wrecked—I have had more than one such experience you see, my dear—and it was reported that every passenger on board was lost, while only a very few of the crew lived to tell the story of the disaster. But I was fortunate enough to secure a large cask, and with this I managed to keep afloat for two days, when I was picked up by a sailing-vessel bound for the Philippine Islands. “My first work upon reaching land was to write to Stella and tell her of my safety; but my letter never reached her. I also notified the firm that I was all right, and should proceed directly about the business upon which I had been sent, but they knew nothing of my connection with Miss Winthrop, and accordingly did not communicate with her. I kept writing at intervals to my beloved, but never heard anything in return. At last, in despair, I wrote to the firm, telling them of my engagement, and asking them to notify her of my safety and give her my address in case she should have happened to lose the one I had given her. In reply, they said that the Winthrop family had gone abroad for an indefinite stay. Of course this was a great trial to me, and I was exceedingly impatient; but my two years were over at last, and I turned my face toward England once more. I had succeeded in my business beyond my most sanguine expectations, and I looked forward to the immediate fulfillment of my hopes when I should return.