"Mrs. Richard Stanfield's letter is received. Mrs. Richard Stanfield is hereby informed that General Stanfield wishes to hold no communication with her or her husband on any subject whatever; and that no letters from either of them will meet with any attention. (Signed) "PRISCILLA STANFIELD, "For Richard Stanfield." At the end was written: "Nevertheless, I wrote to my husband's father and to his sister at the time when my child was born, but I never received the slightest answer." Calista sat with burning cheeks, holding this letter in her hands. Her lips were compressed, and her eyes full of trouble. She was not thinking of the loss of property, not at all of herself in connection with it, but of the cruel injury done to her mother. "Then she did know. She knew all the time. But Mr. Settson said grandfather did not know of my existence, and it would certainly seem so from what Miss Betsy said. She must have contrived some way to keep the letters from grandfather altogether. Oh, how could she—how could she be so cruel! And there was my poor mother working herself to death to support herself and me. I never can forgive her—never. If it had been myself—but my mother—to write so to my mother! If I cannot be a Christian without forgiving Aunt Priscilla, I shall never be one. But there is the bell. I must go down. Oh, how I did want these things, and now I almost wish I had never seen them." "Forever by the goal are set Pale disappointment and regret." As soon as breakfast was over and she could get away, she renewed her examinations. The trunk contained much that was of interest to her—books of various sorts, chiefly religious and poetical; scraps carefully preserved from newspapers; an old-fashioned water-color box, well furnished with colors, brushes, &c.; a white frock, began but not finished; and divers other matters of no interest to the reader. When she had gone through them all once, she locked up the trunks and went to Miss Druett's room, where she was pretty sure to find her alone at this time, when Miss Priscilla, always methodical, was engaged in her daily scolding match with Chloe. "See here, Miss Druett, what shall I do with these?" said she, showing her the watch and ornaments she had found. Miss Druett looked at them with great interest. "I suppose your father gave your mother these things," said she. "You must not keep them here. If Priscilla gets wind of them, she will leave no stone unturned to get them into her hands." "She will never get them into her hands," said Calista.