MRS。KARNEGIEwasawomanoffeebleintelligenceandviolenttemper；prompttotakeoffense，andnot，forthemostpart，easytoappease。ButMrs。Karnegiebeing——asweallareinourvariousdegrees——acompoundofmanyoppositequalities，possessedacharacterwithmorethanonesidetoit，andhadherhumanmeritsaswellasherhumanfaults。Seedsofsoundgoodfeelingwerescatteredawayintheremotercornersofhernature，andonlywaitedforthefertilizingoccasionthatwastohelpthemtospringup。TheoccasionexertedthatbenigninfluencewhenthecabbroughtMr。Crum’sclientbacktothehotel。Thefaceoftheweary，heart-sickwoman，assheslowlycrossedthehall，rousedallthatwasheartiestandbestinMrs。Karnegie’snature，andsaidtoher，asifinwords，“Jealousofthisbrokencreature？
Oh，wifeandmotheristherenoappealtoyourcommonwomanhood_here？_“
“Iamafraidyouhaveovertiredyourself，ma’am。Letmesendyousomethingupstairs？“
“Sendmepen，ink，andpaper，“wastheanswer。“Imustwritealetter。Imustdoitatonce。“
Itwasuselesstoremonstratewithher。Shewasreadytoacceptanythingproposed，providedthewritingmaterialsweresuppliedfirst。Mrs。Karnegiesentthemup，andthencompoundedacertainmixtureofeggsandhotwine。forwhichTheSheep’sHeadwasfamous，withherownhands。Infiveminutesorsoitwasready——andMissKarnegiewasdispatchedbyhermotherwhohadotherbusinessonhandatthetimetotakeitupstairs。
Afterthelapseofafewmomentsacryofalarmwasheardfromtheupperlanding。Mrs。Karnegierecognizedherdaughter’svoice，andhastenedtothebedroomfloor。
“Oh，mamma!Lookather!lookather!“
Theletterwasonthetablewiththefirstlineswritten。Thewomanwasonthesofawithherhandkerchieftwistedbetweenhersetteeth，andhertorturedfaceterribletolookat。Mrs。
Karnegieraisedheralittle，examinedherclosely——thensuddenlychangedcolor，andsentherdaughteroutoftheroomwithdirectionstodispatchamessengerinstantlyformedicalhelp。
Leftalonewiththesufferer，Mrs。Karnegiecarriedhertoherbed。Asshewaslaiddownherlefthandfellhelplessoverthesideofthebed。Mrs。Karnegiesuddenlycheckedthewordofsympathyasitrosetoherlips——suddenlyliftedthehand，andlooked，withamomentarysternnessofscrutiny，atthethirdfinger。Therewasaringonit。Mrs。Karnegie’sfacesoftenedontheinstant：thewordofpitythathadbeensuspendedthemomentbeforepassedherlipsfreelynow。“Poorsoul!“saidtherespectablelandlady，takingappearancesforgranted。“Where’syourhusband，dear？Tryandtellme。“
Thedoctormadehisappearance，andwentuptothepatient。
Timepassed，andMr。Karnegieandhisdaughter，carryingonthebusinessofthehotel，receivedamessagefromupstairswhichwasominousofsomethingoutofthecommon。Themessagegavethenameandaddressofanexperiencednurse——withthedoctor’scompliments，andwouldMr。Karnegiehavethekindnesstosendforherimmediately。
Thenursewasfoundandsentupstairs。
Timewenton，andthebusinessofthehotelwenton，anditwasgettingtobelateintheevening，whenMrs。Karnegieappearedatlastintheparlorbehindthebar。Thelandlady’sfacewasgrave，thelandlady’smannerwassubdued。“Very，veryill，“wastheonlyreplyshemadetoherdaughter’sinquiries。Whensheandherhusbandweretogether，alittlelater，shetoldthenewsfromupstairsingreaterdetail。“Achildborndead，“saidMrs。
Karnegie，ingentlertonesthanwerecustomarywithher。“Andthemotherdying，poorthing，sofaras_I_cansee。“
Alittlelaterthedoctorcamedown。Dead？No——Likelytolive？
Impossibletosay。Thedoctorreturnedtwiceinthecourseofthenight。Bothtimeshehadbutoneanswer。“Waittillto-morrow。“
Thenextdaycame。Sheralliedalittle。Towardtheafternoonshebegantospeak。Sheexpressednosurpriseatseeingstrangersbyherbedside：hermindwandered。Shepassedagainintoinsensibility。Thenbacktodeliriumoncemore。Thedoctorsaid，“Thismaylastforweeks。Oritmayendsuddenlyindeath。It’stimeyoudidsomethingtowardfindingherfriends。“
Herfriends!Shehadlefttheonefriendshehadforever!
Mr。Campwassummonedtogivehisadvice。Thefirstthingheaskedforwastheunfinishedletter。
Itwasblotted，itwasillegibleinmoreplacesthanone。Withpainsandcaretheymadeouttheaddressatthebeginning，andhereandtheresomefragmentsofthelinesthatfollowed。Itbegan：“DearMr。Brinkworth。“Thenthewritinggot，littlebylittle，worseandworse。Totheeyesofthestrangerswholookedatit，itranthus：“Ishouldillrequite***Blanche’sinterests***ForGod’ssake!***don’tthinkof_me_***“
Therewasalittlemore，butnotsomuchasoneword，inthoselastlines，waslegibleThenamesmentionedintheletterwerereportedbythedoctorandthenursetobealsothenamesonherlipswhenshespokeinherwanderings。“Mr。Brinkworth“and“Blanche“——hermindranincessantlyonthosetwopersons。Theoneintelligiblethingthatshementionedinconnectionwiththemwastheletter。Shewasperpetuallytrying，trying，tryingtotakethatunfinishedlettertothepost；andshecouldnevergetthere。Sometimesthepostwasacrossthesea。Sometimesitwasatthetopofaninaccessiblemountain。Sometimesitwasbuiltinbyprodigiouswallsallroundit。Sometimesamanstoppedhercruellyatthemomentwhenshewascloseatthepost，andforcedherbackthousandsofmilesawayfromit。Sheonceortwicementionedthisvisionarymanbyhisname。Theymadeitouttobe“Geoffrey。“
Findingnoclewtoheridentityeitherintheletterthatshehadtriedtowriteorinthewildwordsthatescapedherfromtimetotime，itwasdecidedtosearchherluggage，andtolookattheclotheswhichshehadwornwhenshearrivedatthehotel。
Herblackboxsufficientlyproclaimeditselfasrecentlypurchased。OnopeningittheaddressofaGlasgowtrunk-makerwasdiscoveredinside。Thelinenwasalsonew，andunmarked。Thereceiptedshop-billwasfoundwithit。Thetradesmen，sentforineachcaseandquestioned，referredtotheirbooks。Itwasprovedthattheboxandthelinenhadbothbeenpurchasedonthedaywhensheappearedatthehotel。
Herblackbagwasopenednext。AsumofbetweeneightyandninetypoundsinBankofEnglandnotes；afewsimplearticlesbelongingtothetoilet；materialsforneedle-work；andaphotographicportraitofayounglady，inscribed，“ToAnne，fromBlanche，“
werefoundinthebag——butnoletters，andnothingwhateverthatcouldaffordtheslightestclewbywhichtheownercouldbetraced。Thepocketinherdresswassearchednext。Itcontainedapurse，anemptycard-case，andanewhandkerchiefunmarked。
Mr。Campshookhishead。
“Awoman’sluggagewithoutanylettersinit，“hesaid，“suggeststomymindawomanwhohasamotiveofherownforkeepinghermovementsasecret。Isuspectshehasdestroyedherletters，andemptiedhercard-case，withthatview。“Mrs。Karnegie’sreport，afterexaminingthelinenwhichtheso-called“Mrs。Graham“hadwornwhenshearrivedattheinn，provedthesoundnessofthelawyer’sopinion。Ineverycasethemarkshadbeencutout。Mrs。
Karnegiebegantodoubtwhethertheringwhichshehadseenonthethirdfingerofthelady’slefthandhadbeenplacedtherewiththesanctionofthelaw。
Therewasbutonechanceleftofdiscovering——orratherofattemptingtodiscover——herfriends。Mr。CampdrewoutanadvertisementtobeinsertedintheGlasgownewspapers。Ifthosenewspapershappenedtobeseenbyanymemberofherfamily，shewould，inallprobability，beclaimed。Inthecontraryeventtherewouldbenothingforitbuttowaitforherrecoveryorherdeath——withthemoneybelongingtohersealedup，anddepositedinthelandlord’sstrongbox。
Theadvertisementappeared。Theywaitedforthreedaysafterward，andnothingcameofit。Nochangeofimportanceoccurred，duringthesameperiod，intheconditionofthesufferingwoman。Mr。
Camplookedin，towardevening，andsaid，“Wehavedoneourbest。
Thereisnohelpforitbuttowait。“
FarawayinPerthshirethatthirdeveningwasmarkedasajoyfuloccasionatWindygatesHouse。BlanchehadconsentedatlasttolistentoArnold’sentreaties，andhadsanctionedthewritingofalettertoLondontoorderherwedding-dress。
“NOTSOlargeasWindygates。But——shallwesaysnug，Jones？“
“Andcomfortable，Smith。Iquiteagreewithyou。“
SuchwasthejudgmentpronouncedbythetwochoralgentlemenonJuliusDelamayn’shouseinScotland。Itwas，asusualwithSmithandJones，asoundjudgment——asfarasitwent。SwanhavenLodgewasnothalfthesizeofWindygates；butithadbeeninhabitedfortwocenturieswhenthefoundationsofWindygateswerefirstlaid——anditpossessedtheadvantages，withoutinheritingthedrawbacks，ofitsage。Thereisinanoldhouseafriendlyadaptationtothehumancharacter，asthereisinanoldhatafriendlyadaptationtothehumanhead。ThevisitorwholeftSwanhavenquitteditwithsomethinglikeasenseofleavinghome。
Amongthefewhousesnotourownwhichtakeastrongholdonoursympathiesthiswasone。TheornamentalgroundswerefarinferiorinsizeandsplendortothegroundsatWindygates。Buttheparkwasbeautiful——lesscarefullylaidout，butalsolessmonotonousthananEnglishpark。Thelakeonthenorthernboundaryoftheestate，famousforitsbreedofswans，wasoneofthecuriositiesoftheneighborhood；andthehousehadahistory，associatingitwithmorethanonecelebratedScottishname，whichhadbeenwrittenandillustratedbyJuliusDelamayn。VisitorstoSwanhavenLodgewereinvariablypresentedwithacopyofthevolumeprivatelyprinted。Oneintwentyreadit。Therestwere“charmed，“andlookedatthepictures。
ThedaywasthelastdayofAugust，andtheoccasionwasthegarden-partygivenbyMr。andMrs。Delamayn。