“I will not talk of it again—how can I, indeed, when I do not know what it is?” He made a gesture of angry disbelief, and begged her to come at once to the object of her visit. “Well, then, I wished only at first to say, that whatever be the cause of this cruel misunderstanding between us, it will pass away. You look at me in surprise and doubt—but it _will_, Major Clifton—it _will_—it _must_—there is no truth and reality in it, and it _must_ be temporary. I have thought it all over, very sadly, but very calmly and clearly, and I know that it _must_ be transient. My faith bridges over this impracticable present in our lives, and I see the future, when you will understand me. I never did anything to offend you in my life. And God, to whom I have committed our cause, knows my innocence, and in His good time He will make it plain. It must be so. The promise of the All-Merciful, the Almighty Father, is pledged to the Right!” He turned away from her, with a stamp of fierce displeasure. He turned away from her savagely, because he felt that, had he looked and listened a moment longer, he should have abjured all his evil thoughts, and snatched her to his bosom—she was so patient, so hopeful, so beautiful with truth and love, that he could scarcely resist the impulse to fold her to his heart—false as he deemed her to be. As it was, he suppressed the true instinct—obeyed the false suspicion, and turning again sharply upon her, demanded to know, once for all, to what this new piece of hypocrisy tended. “I mean this, Major Clifton—that as our estrangement must needs be transient—do not, under its influence, let us do, or omit to do, anything that may hereafter affect, unhappily, our social relations with others.” “As——_how_, Mrs. Clifton?” “_Thus._ The county families have all called upon us. It is high time that we return their visits, if we mean to keep up the connection.” “Oh! Ay! Excellently well thought of, Maria Teresa!” he sneered. With a passing look of distress, she said— “I only fear that our pleasant intercourse with the neighbors may not be so easily resumed, if they have reason to suppose that we treat them with indifference and neglect.” “Admirably calculated, madam! A contingency has presented itself to your diplomatic wisdom, that never would have occurred to my simpler mind. So, you wish to confirm your position, and extend your connection here in the county! Well! the aristocrats of R——, have certainly taken you up with a zeal and determination that is surprising. But when they have once made up their haughty minds to patronize a new comer, it is wonderful to what length they will go. But you may thank your own fine diplomatic talents for that!”