"I begged my father to see Malcolm, and tell him to keep out of my husband's way. He explained all to the unhappy man, and related his sad story. "He had been wrecked, taken prisoner, and landed in Algiers, without the possibility of communicating one line to his friends. "In company with six others, after an absence of seven years, he had made his escape. He promised my father to leave the country, for he saw that with the fancy which had seized my husband's brain, nothing else could restore domestic harmony. Accordingly he went, but the evening before, I was sitting in the parlor of the manse. It was autumn--the windows were open, and I was alone. I saw the figure of a man walking slowly up the path that led to the house. He crossed the porch, and for one minute, stood gazing in at the window. It was Malcolm Graham. He held up once more the golden lock. "'Farewell, Mary; I cannot gae without your blessing.' "'God bless you forever and ever,' was the reply which burst from my trembling lips. He walked hastily away, stood at the gate for one moment, waved his hand, and was gone. "I hoped for peace now that he had left the country. While he was in Scotland, your father would sit for hours gloomy and silent without exchanging a word; then he would suddenly take his hat, and set out to search for Malcolm, imagining that he was always lurking about the manse. And even after he had gone, I could not regain his confidence. "The memory of my poor cousin was the shadow in your father's life, the ghost that haunted him day and night. "Malcolm was gone for several years, but your father never wholly recovered his spirits. "In the meanwhile, Effie was born, and the duties of daughter, wife and mother fully engrossed my daily life. "When you were about nine years old, Malcolm suddenly returned. He was now a rich man; he bought a home, furnished it, and took home a widowed sister and child to preside over his household. "Life had disciplined his Christian character; he was cheerful and serene. It made me happy to hear that he was foremost in all the schemes for good around the neighborhood, and the name of Malcolm Graham was everywhere revered. "He was often called 'the good old bachelor,' for though many mammas would have liked to place their daughters at the head of his establishment, it was evident that no such thoughts ever disturbed the dreams of 'good Uncle Malcolm.' "From the time that he returned, your father's gloom and restlessness increased. The mania had seized upon him again, and nothing would do, but that the wide ocean must separate his wife from the country where Malcolm lived, although we had no kind of social intercourse. We met at church, and that was all. Much to my aged father's grief, hasty preparations were made to go to America.