CHAPTER PAGE I. THE MOUNTAIN HUT 17 II. CLIFTON AND THE BEAUTIES 42 III. MRS. CLIFTON, OF HARDBARGAIN 54 IV. THE TIDE OF FATE 65 V. THE OLD MAN AND HIS BRIDE 75 VI. THE RUPTURED TIE 84 VII. THE SEVERED HEARTS 102 VIII. LOST AFFECTION 115 IX. WOMAN’S PRIDE 142 X. THE SISTERS 156 XI. MRS. FAIRFAX AND MAJOR CABELL 161 XII. SUSPENSE 169 XIII. ARCHER CLIFTON’S SKETCHES 176 XIV. THE DISCIPLINE OF AFFLICTION 185 XV. THE BLACK SEAL 195 XVI. MR. CLIFTON’S RESOLUTION 203 XVII. THE WIDOWED BRIDE 208 XVIII. THE YOUNG MOURNER 217 XIX. CONFESSION 228 XX. A DOMESTIC SCENE 235 XXI. IN THE CITY 245 XXII. LIFE’S VARIOUS PHASES 255 XXIII. ZULEIME 265 XXIV. THE CATASTROPHE 276 XXV. “IN PALACE CHAMBERS.” 294 XXVI. GEORGIA 313 XXVII. CATHERINE 324 XXVIII. WINTER EVENINGS AT THE FARM 329 XXIX. THE RETURN 338 XXX. BETROTHAL 348 XXXI. THE POISON WORKS 363 XXXII. DEDICATION 371 XXXIII. “THE MEEKNESS OF LOVE.” 380 XXXIV. CATHERINE’S REGENCY 397 XXV. CATHERINE’S PROGRESS 406 XXXVI. THE NIGHT JOURNEY 415 XXXVII. THE GOAL 436 XXXVIII. CONCLUSION 453 THE CURSE OF CLIFTON. CHAPTER I. THE MOUNTAIN HUT. A lonesome lodge That stands so lowe in lonely glen, The little windowe, dim and darke, Is hung with ivy, brier and yewe. PERCY’S RELIQUES. Upon a glorious morning, in the mid-summer of 18—, two equestrian travellers spurred their horses up the ascent of the Eagle’s Flight, the loftiest and most perilous pass of the Alleghanies.