As soon as the old woman found that he was gone, she said,-- "I will venture anything that he is on his way to see that wench again.
I'll lay my life on it." The entrance, however, of little Marcus, or Mark, as he was familiarly called, asking for Massa Linwood's blue bag, satisfied her that her son-in-law was at his office.

Before the old lady returned home, it was agreed that Gertrude should come to her mother's to tea that evening, and Henry with her, and that Mrs.Miller should there charge the young husband with inconstancy to her daughter, and demand the removal of Isabella.
With this understanding, the old woman retraced her steps to her own dwelling.
Had Mrs.Miller been of a different character and not surrounded by slavery, she could scarcely have been unhappy in such a home as hers.
Just at the edge of the city, and sheltered by large poplar-trees was the old homestead in which she resided.

There was a splendid orchard in the rear of the house, and the old weather-beaten sweep, with "the moss-covered bucket" at its end, swung majestically over the deep well.
The garden was scarcely to be equalled.

Its grounds were laid out in excellent taste, and rare exotics in the greenhouse made it still more lovely.
It was a sweet autumn evening, when the air breathed through the fragrant sheaves of grain, and the setting sun, with his golden kisses, burnished the rich clusters of purple grapes, that Henry and Gertrude were seen approaching the house on foot; it was nothing more than a pleasant walk.

Oh, how Gertrude's heart beat as she seated herself, on their arrival! The beautiful parlor, surrounded on all sides with luxury and taste, with the sun creeping through the damask curtains, added a charm to the scene.