"'No other person,' was the reply; 'but I have something to explain which may change the aspect of my news. It seems that within the past few months a heavy mortgage has been laid upon the plantation, and it must be sold.' "'A mortgage!' I said; 'that is something which prevents a man holding or selling his own land, is it not?' "'It is a debt for which the estate is pledged,' answered the lawyer; 'but I wonder you do not understand it better, for your own signature is attached.' "Then I remembered that, during the stay of Mr. Lawrence at our house, Mr. Dennison had called me to the table in his library and asked me to sign a paper. He explained to me clearly enough, no doubt, that the paper might deprive me of some claim for dower; but I did not heed it at the time, and now it was to fall upon me with all its force. The plantation must be sold, the lawyer said, for he was one of the executors to the will. The mortgage once cleared off and the debts paid, there would still be a handsome property left. "All at once I was seized with intense love for the old place. Where should I ever find a home so rich in comforts, so beautifully surrounded? "'Is it not possible to keep the place?' I demanded, with growing interest. "'No; the mortgage was given, I imagine, in order to raise funds for some dazzling speculation in which Mr. Lawrence was concerned. At any rate, there is no money to pay it with, and the estate must go to the hammer.' "'This is cruel, it is unjust,' I said, angrily. "'It was wrong and foolish to involve the estate as Mr. Dennison has,' answered the executor, 'and the loss is a heavy one. Let us be thankful that our good friend has left enough without that.' "'But his losses were brought on by Mr. Lawrence?' I questioned, speaking the name with a thrill of pain. "'No! they were fellow-sufferers. It is understood that Lawrence has lost heavily, and will perhaps be ruined.' "Instantly my heart swelled with sympathy for the man who had helped to impoverish me. "'Oh! if he had but left the estate unburdened, I should not care.' "Heaven knows I was thinking of the man who had, perhaps, wronged me, but the executor misunderstood my words and looked at me wonderingly. I saw this, but could not explain that the great wish of my heart was that there might be enough to redeem the losses that had fallen upon Lawrence. I could not endure to think of him as a poor man. A poor man--that is a terrible word to the ears of a Southern lady. "The executor tried to explain everything clearly, and I made an effort to understand. He was anxious about the property, and thought the times unpropitious. The North and South were that hour verging closer and closer toward a civil war, in which the value of property would become uncertain, and I might be a sufferer.