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UNITEXT for Physics

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Luca Salasnich

Modern Physics
Introduction to Statistical Mechanics,
Relativity, and Quantum Physics
Luca Salasnich
Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of Padua
Padova, Italy

ISSN 2198-7882 ISSN 2198-7890 (electronic)

UNITEXT for Physics
ISBN 978-3-030-93742-3 ISBN 978-3-030-93743-0 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93743-0

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
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Preface

This book contains the lecture notes prepared for two one-semester courses at the
University of Padua: “Structure of Matter”, B.Sc. in Optics and Optometrics, and
“Quantum Physics”, B.Sc. in Materials Science. These courses give an introduction
to statistical mechanics, special and general relativity, and quantum physics.
Chapter 1 briefly reviews the ideas of classical statistical mechanics introduced
by James Clerk Maxwell, Ludwig Boltzmann, Willard Gibbs, and others. Chapter 2
is mainly devoted to the special relativity of Albert Einstein but we briefly consider
also the general relativity. In Chap. 3, the quantization of light due to Max Planck
and Albert Einstein is historically analyzed, while Chap. 4 discusses the Niels Bohr
quantization of the energy levels and the electromagnetic transitions. Chapter 5 inves-
tigates the Schrödinger equation, which was obtained by Erwin Schrödinger from
the idea of Louis De Broglie to associate with each particle a quantum wavelength.
Chapter 6 describes the basic axioms of quantum mechanics, which were formu-
lated in the seminal books of Paul Dirac and John von Neumann. In this chapter,
we also discuss the stationary perturbation theory, the time-dependent perturbation
theory, and the variational principle. In Chap. 7, there are several important appli-
cation of quantum mechanics: the quantum particle in a box, the quantum particle
in the harmonic potential, and the quantum tunneling. Chapter 8 is devoted to the
study of quantum atomic physics with special emphasis on the spin of the electron,
which needs the Dirac equation for a rigorous theoretical justification. In Chap. 9,
the quantum mechanics of many identical particles at zero temperature is explained,
while in Chap. 10 the discussion is extended at finite temperature by introducing
and using the quantum statistical mechanics. The appendices on Dirac delta func-
tion, complex numbers, Fourier transform, and differential equations are a useful
mathematical aid for the reader.
The author acknowledges Dr. Fabio Sattin, Dr. Andrea Tononi, and Prof. Flavio
Toigo for their critical reading of the manuscript and their useful comments and
suggestions.

Padova, Italy Luca Salasnich

November 2021

v
Contents

1 Classical Statistical Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

1.1 Kinetic Theory of Gases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.1 Maxwell Distribution of Velocities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.1.2 Maxwell-Boltzmann Distribution of Energies . . . . . . . . . 6
1.1.3 Single-Particle Density of States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.2 Statistical Ensembles of Gibbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.2.1 Microcanonical Ensemble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.2.2 Canonical Ensemble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.2.3 Grand Canonical Ensemble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.2.4 Many-Particle Density of States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.3 Heat Capacity of Gases and Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2 Special and General Relativity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.1 Electromagnetic Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.1.1 Lorentz Invariance of d’Alembert Operator . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.2 Lorentz Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.2.1 Thought Experiment with Light Bulb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.3 Einstein Postulates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.4 Relativistic Kinematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.4.1 Length Contraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.4.2 Time Dilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.4.3 Transformation of Velocities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.5 Relativistic Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.5.1 Mechanical Work and Relativistic Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.5.2 Relativistic Energy and Linear Momentum . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.5.3 Non-relativistic Limit of the Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.6 Basic Concepts of General Relativity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.6.1 Spacetime Interval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.6.2 Curved Manifolds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2.6.3 Equivalence Principle and Einstein Equations . . . . . . . . . 32
2.6.4 Non-Relativistic Limit of General Relativity . . . . . . . . . . 34

vii
viii Contents

2.6.5 Predictions of General Relativity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

3 Quantum Properties of Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.1 Black-Body Radiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.1.1 Derivation of Planck’s Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.2 Photoelectric Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.2.1 Theoretical Explanation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.3 Energy and Linear Momentum of a Photon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.4 Compton Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.4.1 Theoretical Explanation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.5 Pair Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
4 Quantum Properties of Matter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
4.1 Heat Capacity of Solids: Einstein Versus Debye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
4.2 Energy Spectra of Atoms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
4.2.1 Energy Spectrum of Hydrogen Atom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
4.3 Bohr’s Model of Hydrogen Atom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
4.3.1 Derivation of Bohr’s Formula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
4.4 Energy Levels and Photons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
4.5 Electromagnetic Transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
4.6 Einstein Coefficients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
4.7 Life-Time of an Atomic State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
4.8 Natural Line Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
4.8.1 Collisional Broadening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
4.8.2 Doppler Broadening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
4.9 Old Quantum Mechanics of Bohr, Wilson and Sommerfeld . . . . . 64
5 Wavefunction of a Quantum Particle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
5.1 De Broglie Wavelength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
5.1.1 Explaining the Bohr Quantization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
5.2 Wave Mechanics of Schrödinger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
5.2.1 Derivation of Schrödinger’s Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
5.3 Double-Slit Experiment with Electrons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
5.4 Formal Quantization Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
5.4.1 Schrödinger Equation for a Free Particle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
5.4.2 Schrödinger Equation for a Particle in an External
Potential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
5.5 Madelung Transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
5.6 Stationary Schrödinger Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
5.6.1 Properties of the Hamiltonian Operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
5.6.2 Orthogonality of Eigenfunctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
6 Axiomatization of Quantum Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
6.1 Matrix Mechanics and Commutation Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
6.1.1 Momentum Representation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
6.2 Time Evolution Operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
6.3 Axioms of Quantum Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Contents ix

6.4 Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

6.4.1 Uncertainty Principle for Non-commuting
Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
6.5 Time-Independent Perturbation Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
6.6 Time-Dependent Perturbation Theory and Fermi Golden
Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
6.7 Variational Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
7 Solvable Problems in Quantum Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
7.1 One-Dimensional Square-Well Potential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
7.2 One-Dimensional Harmonic Potential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
7.2.1 Properties of Number Operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
7.3 One-Dimensional Scattering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
7.4 One-Dimensional Double-Well Potential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
7.4.1 One-Dimensional Double-Square-Well Potential . . . . . . 106
7.5 WKB Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
7.6 Three-Dimensional Separable Potential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
7.6.1 Three-Dimensional Harmonic Potential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
8 Modern Quantum Physics of Atoms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
8.1 Electron in the Hydrogen Atom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
8.1.1 Schrödinger Equation in Spherical Polar
Coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
8.1.2 Selection Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
8.2 Pauli Exclusion Principle and the Spin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
8.2.1 Semi-integer and Integer Spin: Fermions
and Bosons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
8.3 The Dirac Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
8.3.1 The Pauli Equation and the Spin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
8.3.2 Dirac Equation with a Central Potential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
8.3.3 Relativistic Hydrogen Atom and Fine Splitting . . . . . . . . 125
8.3.4 Relativistic Corrections to the Schrödinger
Hamiltonian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
8.4 Spin Properties in a Magnetic Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
8.5 Stark Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
8.6 Zeeman Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
8.6.1 Strong-Field Zeeman Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
8.6.2 Weak-Field Zeeman Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
9 Quantum Mechanics of Many-Body Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
9.1 Identical Quantum Particles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
9.1.1 Spin-Statistics Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
9.2 Non-interacting Identical Particles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
9.2.1 Atomic Shell Structure and the Periodic Table
of the Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
9.3 Interacting Identical Particles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
x Contents

9.3.1 Electrons in Atoms and Molecules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

9.4 The Hartree-Fock Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
9.4.1 Hartree for Bosons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
9.4.2 Hartree-Fock for Fermions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
10 Quantum Statistical Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
10.1 Quantum Statistical Ensembles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
10.1.1 Quantum Microcanonical Ensemble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
10.1.2 Quantum Canonical Ensemble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
10.1.3 Quantum Grand Canonical Ensemble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
10.2 Bosons and Fermions at Finite Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
10.2.1 Gas of Photons at Thermal Equlibrium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
10.2.2 Gas of Massive Bosons at Thermal Equlibrium . . . . . . . . 160
10.2.3 Gas of Non-interacting Fermions at Zero
Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Appendix A: Dirac Delta Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Appendix B: Complex Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Appendix C: Fourier Transform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Appendix D: Differential Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Chapter 1
Classical Statistical Mechanics

In this chapter we first discuss the kinetic theory of ideal gases and the Maxwell
distribution of velocities at thermal equilibrium. Then we consider the more general
Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution of non-interacting particles under the effect of an
external trapping potential. Finally, we analyze the statistical ensembles of Gibbs,
which are useful tools to connect the microscopic dynamics of interacting particles
to the macroscopic behavior of a thermodynamical system.

1.1 Kinetic Theory of Gases

The kinetic theory of gases was formulated in the period between 1738 and 1871
with the contribution of several scientists, among them Daniel Bernoulli, Mikhail
Lomonosov, August Krönig, Rudolf Clausius, James Clerk Maxwell, and Ludwig
Boltzmann. This theory is the first historical example of statistical mechanics, where
the macroscopic thermodynamics is described in terms of many microscopic parti-
cles (atoms or molecules). Actually, it was the description of the stochastic Brow-
nian motion of a mesoscopic particle in a liquid, as due to the collisions with the
microscopic particles of the liquid (made by Albert Einstein in 1905), that provided
compelling proof that atoms and molecules exist. Jean Perrin confirmed this fact
experimentally in 1908. In 1926, Perrin received the Nobel Prize in Physics “for his
work on the discontinuous structure of matter”.
At thermal equilibrium a very dilute gas is well described by the equation of state

PV =nRT , (1.1)

where P is the pressure of the gas, V is the volume of the gas container, n is the
number of moles, R = 8.314 J/(mol×K) is the gas constant, and T is the absolute
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 1
L. Salasnich, Modern Physics, UNITEXT for Physics,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93743-0_1
2 1 Classical Statistical Mechanics

temperature (i.e. the temperature, usually measured in Kelvin, that is zero at the
absolute zero, where the pressure of the ideal gas becomes zero). Equation (1.1)
is known as the equation of state of ideal gases and it was formulated by Benoit
Clapeyron in 1834.
August Krönig in 1856 and Rudolf Clausius in 1857 found, independently, that
Eq. (1.1) can be derived from a microscopic kinetic theory. First of all, one observes
that the number n of moles is related to the total number N of identical particles by
the formula
N
n= , (1.2)
NA

where N A = 6.02 · 1023 is the Avogadro number. After introducing the Boltzmann
constant
R
kB = = 1.38 · 1023 J/K , (1.3)
NA

Equation (1.1) can be rewritten as

P V = N kB T . (1.4)

This equation clearly shows that the pressure P is proportional to the total number
N of identical particles and to the absolute temperature T . Thus, it is quite natural
to think that the pressure P exerted by the gas is due to the collisions of the particles
on the container walls.
Let us now consider a cubic container of side L and volume V = L 3 with N
identical particles of mass m inside. Let us choose the reference system with the
Cartesian axes (x, y, x) along the sides of the box. The force Fi,x that the i-th particle
exerts, along the x direction on the container wall that parallel to the plane (y, z), is
given by
(mvi,x ) 2 mvi,x
Fi,x = = , (1.5)
t t

where (mvi,x ) is the variation of the linear momentum in the elastic collision of
the i-th particle with the wall and t is the time interval. This time interval is not
arbitrary if the particles are only interacting with the walls of the container. In this
case
2L
t = , (1.6)
vi,x

that is the time interval between two collisions of the ith particle with the same wall.
It then follows that
2
mvi,x
Fi,x = (1.7)
L
and the pressure reads
1.1 Kinetic Theory of Gases 3

N
m  2
N
i=1 Fi,x m
P= = v = 3 N vx2  , (1.8)
L2 L 3 i=1 i,x L

introducing the statistical average of a generic quantity A shared by the N identical

particles as
1 
N
A = Ai . (1.9)
N i=1

Moreover, we assume independence with respect to the direction of propagation of

the squared velocity, namely

v 2  = vx2  + v 2y  + vz2  = 3vx2  . (1.10)

It follows that the pressure P of Eq. (1.8) can be written as

mN 2
P= v  . (1.11)
3V
Comparing Eq. (1.4) with Eq. (1.11) we obtain

1 3
mv 2  = k B T . (1.12)
2 2
This remarkable formula relates the statistical average of the kinetic energy of the
miscroscopic identical particles to the macroscopic absolute temperature T of the
gas.
In this treatment the gas is indeed ideal because its total internal energy E is
simply the sum of the kinetic energies (1/2)mvi2 of the single particles, i.e.


N
1 1 3 3
E= mvi2 = N mv 2  = N k B T = n RT . (1.13)
i=1
2 2 2 2

This is the correct formula for the internal energy of a monoatomic gas, where each
atom has only three traslational degrees of freedom. In this case the equipartition
theorem holds: at thermal equilibrium there is an associated thermal energy k B T /2
for each degree of freedom.

1.1.1 Maxwell Distribution of Velocities

In 1860 James Clerk Maxwell considered the probability distribution f (v) of finding
a particle with velocity v in a volume d 3 v for the ideal gas at thermal equilibrium.
Because f (v) is a probability distribution it must satisfy the condition of normaliza-
4 1 Classical Statistical Mechanics

tion to one, namely 

f (v) d 3 v = 1 , (1.14)
R3

where R3 is the three-dimensional space of velocities. Moreover, the statistical aver-

age of a generic observable A(v), which is a function of v, is defined as

A(v) = A(v) f (v) d 3 v . (1.15)
R3

In particular, it follows that the statistical average of the square velocity v 2 reads

v  =
2
v 2 f (v) d 3 v . (1.16)
R3

Taking into account Eqs. (1.12) and (1.16), it follows that f (v) must satisfy the
crucial condition 
kB T
v 2 f (v) d 3 v = 3 . (1.17)
R 3 m

Each particle of the gas is characterized by its kinetic energy

1 2 1  
mv = m vx2 + v 2y + vz2 , (1.18)
2 2
and, due to the isotropy of the problem with respect to the velocity, it is quite natural
to assume that

f (v) = C f 0 (v 2 ) = C f 0 (vx2 + v 2y + vz2 ) = C f 0 (vx2 ) f 0 (v 2y ) f 0 (vz2 ) , (1.19)

where C is a constant fixed by the normalization to one, Eq. (1.14). The only function
f 0 (x) that satisfies the equation

f 0 (x + y + z) = f 0 (x) f 0 (y) f 0 (z) (1.20)

is the exponential function, i.e.

f 0 (x) = eαx , (1.21)

and it means that

f 0 (v 2 ) = eα(vx +v y +vz ) ,
2 2 2
(1.22)

where α is a constant fixed by Eq. (1.17). It is then straightforward to find

 3/2
m m
C= and α=− . (1.23)
2πk B T 2k B T
1.1 Kinetic Theory of Gases 5

Fig. 1.1 Maxwell 0.4

distribution (v) of the
0.35
particle speed v = |v| for kBT = 1
three values of the 0.3 kBT = 2
temperature T . In the plot we
kBT = 3
choose units such that m = 1 0.25

Φ (v)
0.2

0.15

0.1

0.05

0
0 1 2 3 4 5
v

In conclusion, the Maxwell distribution of the velocities is given by

 3/2
m − 2kmv T
2
f (v) = e B . (1.24)
2πk B T

For historical reasons one usually introduces the parameter

1
β= (1.25)
kB T

and the Maxwell distribution then reads

 3/2
mβ mv 2
f (v) = e−β 2 . (1.26)
2π

It is important to stress that, adopting spherical coordinates and taking into account
the spherical symmetry of the problem we have d 3 v = 4πv 2 dv, and we can also
introduce  
mβ 3/2 2 −β mv2
(v) = 4πv f (|v|) = 4π
2
v e 2 (1.27)
2π

that is the probability distribution of the modulus v = |v| of the velocity v, and it is
such that (Fig. 1.1)  +∞
(v) dv = 1 . (1.28)
0

We immediately find
 +∞
8 kB T
v = v (v) dv = (1.29)
0 π m
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Had a bombshell exploded in their midst, it could not have produced
a severer or more painful shock.
Ralph Houston, after the first agonized start and shudder, drew
nearer to her, and paused, pale as death, to listen further, if,
perchance, he had heard aright.
All the others, after their first surprise, stood as if struck statue still.
Major Helmstedt remained nailed to the ground, a form of iron. Deep
and unearthly was the sound of his voice, as, lifting the head of his
daughter from his breast, he said:
“Miss Helmstedt, look me in the face!”
She raised her agonized eyes to his countenance.
All present looked and listened. No one thought by word or gesture
of interfering between the father and daughter.
“Miss Helmstedt,” he began, in the low, deep, stern tone of
concentrated passion, “what was that which you said just now?”
“I said, my father, in effect, that you must not fight; that your cause is
accurst; that the charges brought against me are—true!”
“You tell me that——”
“The charges brought against me are true!” she said, in a strange,
ringing voice, every tone of which was audible to all present.
Had the fabled head of the Medusa, with all its fell powers, arisen
before the assembled party, it could not have produced a more
appalling effect. Each stood as if turned to stone by her words.
The father and daughter remained confronted like beings charged
with the mortal and eternal destiny of each other. At length Margaret,
unable to bear the scrutiny of his fixed gaze, dropped her head upon
her bosom, buried her burning face in her hands, and turned away.
Then Major Helmstedt, keeping his eyes still fixed with a devouring
gaze upon her, slowly raised, extended and dropped his hand
heavily upon her shoulder, clutched, turned, and drew her up before
him.
“Again! let fall your hands; raise your head; look me in the face,
minion!”
She obeyed, dropping her hands, and lifting her face, crimsoned with
blushes, to his merciless gaze.
“Repeat—for I can scarce believe the evidence of my own senses!
The charges brought against you, by the Houstons, are——”
“True! They are true!” she replied, in a voice of utter despair.
“Then, for three years past, ever since your betrothal to Mr. Ralph
Houston, you have been in secret correspondence with a strange
young man, disapproved by your protectress?” asked Major
Helmstedt, in a sepulchral tone.
“I have—I have!”
“And you have met this young man more than once in private?”
“Yes, yes!” she gasped, with a suffocating sob.
“On the day of the festival, and of the landing of the British upon our
island, you passed several hours alone with this person in the
woods?”
A deprecating wave of the hand and another sob was her only reply.
“Once, at least, you received this man in your private apartment at
Buzzard’s Bluff?”
A gesture of affirmation and of utter despondency was her answer.
“The night of that same visit, you secretly left the room of your
protectors for an unexplained absence of several days, some of
which were passed in the company of this person?”
For all reply, she raised and clasped her hands and dropped them
down before her, and let her head fall upon her bosom with an action
full of irremediable despair.
Her father’s face was dark with anguish.
“Speak, minion!” he said, “these things must not be left to conjecture;
they must be clearly understood. Speak! answer!”
“I did,” she moaned, in an expiring voice, as her head sank lower
upon her breast, and her form cowered under the weight of an
overwhelming shame and sorrow.
And well she might. Here, in the presence of men, in the presence of
her father and her lover, she was making admissions, the lightest
one of which, unexplained, was sufficient to brand her woman’s brow
with ineffaceable and eternal dishonor!
Her lover’s head had sunk upon his breast, and he stood with folded
arms, set lips, downcast eyes and impassable brow, upon which
none could read his thoughts.
Her father’s face had grown darker and sterner, as he questioned
and she answered, until now it was terrible to look upon.
A pause had followed her last words, and was broken at length by
Major Helmstedt, who, in a voice, awful in the stillness and depth of
suppressed passion, said:
“Wretched girl! why do you linger here? Begone! and never let me
see you more!”
“Father, father! have mercy, have mercy on your poor child!” she
exclaimed, clasping her hands and dropping at his feet.
“Minion! never dare to desecrate my name, or pollute my sight again.
Begone!” he exclaimed, spurning her kneeling form and turning
away.
“Oh, father, father! for the sweet love of the Saviour!” she cried,
throwing her arms around his knees and clinging to him.
“Wretch! outcast! release me, avoid my presence, or I shall be driven
to destroy you, wanton!” he thundered, giving way to fury, and
shaking her as a viper from her clinging hold upon his feet; “wanton!
courtez——”
But ere that word of last reproach could be completed, swift as
lightning she flew to his bosom, clung about his neck, placed her
hand over his lips to arrest his further speech, and gazing intensely,
fiercely into his eyes—into his soul, exclaimed:
“Father, do not finish your sentence. Unless you wish me to drop
dead before you, do not. As you hope for salvation, never apply that
name to—her daughter.”
“Her daughter!” he retorted, violently, shaking her off, until she fell
collapsed and exhausted at his feet—“her daughter! Changeling, no
daughter of hers or of mine are you. She would disown and curse
you from her grave! and——”
“Oh, mother, mother! oh, mother, mother!” groaned the poor girl,
writhing and groveling like a crushed worm on the ground.
“And I,” he continued, heedless of her agony, as he stooped,
clutched her arm, jerked her with a spring upon her feet, and held
her tightly confronting him.
“I—there was a time when I was younger, that had any woman of my
name or blood made the shameful confessions that you have made
this day, I would have slain her on the instant with this, my right
hand. But age somewhat cools the head, and now I only spurn you—
thus!”
And tightening his grasp upon her shoulder, he whirled her off with
such violence that she fell at several yards distant, stunned and
insensible upon the ground.
Then, followed by his second, he strode haughtily from the place.
Dr. Hartley, who had remained standing in amazement through the
latter part of this scene, now hurried to the assistance of the
swooning girl.
But Ralph Houston, shaking off the dreadful apathy that had bound
his faculties, hastened to intercept him. Kneeling beside the
prostrate form, he lifted and placed it in an easier position. Then,
turning to arrest the doctor’s steps, he said:
“Before you come nearer to her, tell me this: What do you believe of
her?”
“That she is a fallen girl,” replied Dr. Hartley.
“Then, no nearer on your life and soul,” said Ralph, lifting his hand to
bar the doctor’s further approach.
“What do you mean, Captain Houston?”
“That she still wears the betrothal ring I placed upon her finger. That I
am, as yet, her affianced husband. And, by that name, I claim the
right to protect her in this, her bitter extremity; to defend her bruised
and broken heart from the wounds of unkind eyes! Had you had faith
in her, charity for her, I should have accepted, with thanks, your help.
As it is, you have none; do not let her awake to find a hostile
countenance bending over her!”
“As you please, sir. But, remember, that if the assistance of a
physician is absolutely required, my services, and my home also,
await the needs of Marguerite De Lancie’s daughter,” said Dr.
Hartley, turning to depart.
Frank also, at a sign from his brother, withdrew.
Ralph was alone with Margaret. He raised her light form, shuddering,
amid all his deeper distress, to feel how light it was, and bore her
down the wooded hill, to the great spreading oak, under which was
the green mound of her mother’s last sleeping place.
He laid her down so that her head rested on this mound as on a
pillow, and then went to a spring near by to bring water, with which,
kneeling, he bathed her face.
Long and assiduous efforts were required before she recovered from
that mortal swoon.
When at length, with a deep and shuddering sigh, and a tremor that
ran through all her frame, she opened her eyes, she found Ralph
Houston kneeling by her side, bending with solicitous interest over
her.
With only a dim and partial recollection of some great agony passed,
she raised her eyes and stretched forth her arms, murmuring, in
tender, pleading tones:
“Ralph, my friend, my savior, you do not believe me guilty? You know
me so thoroughly; you always trusted me; you are sure that I am
innocent?”
“Margaret,” he said, in a voice of the deepest pain, “I pillowed your
head here above your mother’s bosom; had I not believed you
guiltless of any deeper sin than inconstancy of affection, I should not
have laid you in this sacred place.”
“Inconstancy! Ralph?”
“Fear nothing, poor girl! it is not for me to judge or blame you. You
were but a child when our betrothal took place; you could not have
known your own heart; I was twelve years your senior, and I should
have had more wisdom, justice, and generosity than to have bound
the hand of a child of fourteen to that of a man of twenty-six. We
have been separated for three years. You are now but seventeen,
and I am in my thirtieth year. You have discovered your mistake, and
I suffer a just punishment. It is natural.”
“Oh, my God! my God! my cup overflows with bitterness!” moaned
the poor maiden, in a voice almost inaudible from anguish.
“Compose yourself, dear Margaret. I do not reproach you in the
least; I am here to serve you as I best may; to make you happy, if it
be possible. And the first step to be taken is to restore to you your
freedom.”
“Oh, no! Oh, Lord of mercy, no! no! no!” she exclaimed, in an agony
of prayer; and then, in sudden self-consciousness, she flushed all
over her face and neck with maiden shame, and became suddenly
silent.
“Dear Margaret,” said Ralph, in a tone of infinite tenderness and
compassion, “you have suffered so much that you are scarcely sane.
You hardly know what you would have. Our betrothal must, of
course, be annulled. You must be free to wed this lover of your
choice. I hope that he is, in some measure, worthy of you; nay, since
you love him, I must believe that he is so.”
“Oh, Ralph, Ralph! Oh, Ralph, Ralph!” she cried, wringing her hands.
“Margaret, what is the meaning of this?”
“I have no lover except you. I never wronged you in thought, or word,
or deed; never, never, never!”
“Dear Margaret, I have not charged you with wronging me.”
“But I have no lover; do you hear, Ralph? I never have had one! I
never should have so desecrated our sacred engagement.”
“Poor Margaret, you are distracted! Much grief has made you mad!
You no longer know what you say.”
“Oh, I do, I do! never believe but I know every word that I speak. And
I say that my heart has never wandered for an instant from its
allegiance to yourself! And listen farther, Ralph,” she said, sinking
upon her knees beside that grave, and raising her hands and eyes to
heaven with the most impressive solemnity, “listen while I swear this
by the heart of her who sleeps beneath this sod, and by my hopes of
meeting her in heaven! that he with whom my name has been so
wrongfully connected was no lover of mine—could be no lover of
mine!”
“Hold, Margaret! Do not forswear yourself even in a fit of partial
derangement. Rise, and recall to yourself some circumstances that
occurred immediately before you became insensible, and which,
consequently, may have escaped your memory. Recollect, poor girl,
the admissions you made to your father,” said Ralph, taking her hand
and gently constraining her to rise.
“Oh, Heaven! and you believe—you believe——”
“Your own confessions, Margaret, nothing more; for had an angel
from heaven told the things of you that you have stated of yourself, I
should not have believed him!”
“Oh, my mother! Oh, my God!” she cried, in a tone of such deep
misery, that, through all his own trouble, Ralph deeply pitied and
gently answered her.
“Be at ease. I do not reproach you, my child.”
“But you believe. Oh, you believe——”
“Your own statement concerning yourself, dear Margaret; no more
nor less.”
“Believe no more. Not a hair’s breadth more. Scarcely so much. And
draw from that no inferences. On your soul, draw no inferences
against me; for they would be most unjust. For I am yours; only
yours; wholly yours. I have never, never had any purpose, wish, or
thought at variance with your claims upon me.”
“You must pardon me, Margaret, if I cannot reconcile your present
statement with the admissions lately made to your father. Allow me
to bring them to your memory.”
“Oh, Heaven, have mercy on me!” she cried, covering her face.
“Remember, I do not reproach you with them; I only recall them to
your mind. You have been in secret correspondence with this young
man for three years past; you have given him private meetings; you
have passed hours alone in the woods with him; you have received
him in your chamber; you have been abroad for days in his
company; you have confessed the truth of all this; and yet you
declare that he is not, and cannot be a lover of yours. Margaret,
Margaret, how can you expect me, for a moment, to credit the
amazing inconsistency of your statements?”
While he spoke, she stood before him in an agony of confusion and
distress, her form cowering; her face sunk upon her breast; her eyes
shunning his gaze; her face, neck, and bosom crimsoned with fiery
blushes; her hands writhed together; her whole aspect one of
conscious guilt, convicted crime, and overwhelming shame.
The anguish stamped upon the brow of her lover was terrible to
behold. Yet he governed his emotions, and compelled his voice to be
steady in saying:
“Dear Margaret, if in any way you can reconcile these
inconsistencies—speak!”
Speak. Ay, she might have done so. One word from her lips would
have sufficed to lift the cloud of shame from her brow, and to crown
her with an aureola of glory; would have averted the storm of
calamity gathering darkly over her head, and restored her, a
cherished daughter, to the protecting arms of her father; an honored
maiden to the esteem of friends and companions; a beloved bride to
the sheltering bosom of her bridegroom. A word would have done
this; yet that word, which could have lifted the shadow from her own
heart and life, must have bid it settle, dark and heavy, upon the
grave of the dumb, defenseless dead beneath her feet. And the word
remained unspoken.
“I can die for her; but I cannot betray her. I can live dishonored for
her sake; but I cannot consign her memory to reproach,” said the
devoted daughter to her own bleeding and despairing heart.
“Margaret, can you explain the meaning of these letters, these
meetings in the woods, on the river, in your own chamber?”
“Alas! I cannot. I can only endure,” she moaned, in a voice replete
with misery, as her head sunk lower upon her breast, and her form
cowered nearer the ground, as if crushed by the insupportable
weight of humiliation.
It was not in erring human wisdom to look upon her thus, to listen to
her words, and not believe her a fallen angel!
And yet she was innocent. More than innocent. Devoted, heroic,
holy.
But, notwithstanding this, and her secret consciousness of this, how
could she—in her tender youth, with her maiden delicacy and
sensitiveness to reproach—how could she stand in this baleful
position, and not appear overwhelmed by guilt and shame?
There was a dread pause of some minutes, broken at length by
Ralph, who said:
“Margaret, will you return me that betrothal ring?”
She answered:
“You placed it on my finger, Ralph! Will you also take it off? I was
passive then; I will be passive now.”
Ralph raised the pale hand in his own and tried to draw off the ring.
But since, three years before, the token had been placed upon the
little hand of the child, that hand had grown, and it was found
impossible to draw the ring over the first joint.
Ralph Houston, unwilling to give her physical pain, resisted in his
efforts, saying quietly, as he bowed and left her:
“The betrothal ring refuses to leave your finger, Margaret. Well,
good-morning!”
A smile, holy with the light of faith, hope, and love, dawned within her
soul and irradiated her brow. In a voice, solemn, thrilling with
prophetic joy, she said:
“The ring remains with me! I hail it as the bow of promise! In this
black tempest, the one shining star!”
 CHAPTER XV.
NIGHT AND ITS ONE STAR.

Two years had elapsed since the disappearance of Margaret

Helmstedt.
Major Helmstedt had caused secret investigations to be set on foot,
that had resulted in demonstrating, beyond the shadow of a doubt,
that Margaret Helmstedt and William Dawson had embarked as
passengers on board the bark Amphytrite, bound from Norfolk to
Liverpool. From the day upon which this fact was ascertained,
Margaret’s name was tacitly dropped by all her acquaintances.
It was about twelve months after the disappearance of Margaret that
old Mr. Wellworth died, and his orphan daughter Grace found a
refuge in the home of Nellie Houston.
Ralph Houston was then at home, considering himself quite released
by circumstances from his rash vow of forsaking his father’s house.
Grace, the weak-hearted little creature, permitted herself to mistake
all Ralph’s brotherly kindness for a warmer affection, and to fall
incontinently in love with him.
When the clergyman’s daughter had been their inmate for six
months, Mrs. Houston astounded the young man by informing him
that unless his intentions were serious, “he really should not go on
so with the poor fatherless and motherless girl.”
Captain Houston did not love Grace—but he rather liked her. He
thought her very pretty, gentle, and winning; moreover, he believed
her soft, pliable, elastic little heart capable of being broken!
Since Margaret was lost to him forever, perhaps he might as well as
not make this pretty, engaging little creature his wife. The constant
presence of Grace was an appeal to which he impulsively yielded.
Then—the word spoken—there was no honorable retreat.
Christmas was the day appointed for the wedding. Clare Hartley
consented to officiate as bridesmaid; Frank Houston agreed to act as
groomsman, and Dr. Hartley offered to give the fatherless bride
away.
The twenty-fifth day of December dawned clear and cold. The whole
bridal company that had assembled the evening previous set out at
the appointed hour for the church.
They reached the church a few minutes before nine o’clock. Dr.
Simmons, the pastor, was already in attendance. The bridal party
passed up the aisle and formed before the altar. Amid the solemn
silence that ever precedes such rites the marriage ceremony
commenced.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God,
and in the face of this company, to join together this man and this
woman in holy matrimony; which is commended of Saint Paul to be
honorable among all men; and therefore is not by any to be entered
into unadvisedly or lightly; but reverently, discreetly, advisedly,
soberly, and in the fear of God. Into this holy estate, these two
persons present come now to be joined. If any man can show just
cause why they may not be lawfully joined together, let him now
speak, or else, hereafter, forever hold his peace——”
Here the minister made the customary pause; and then, just as he
was about to resume his reading, there was the sound of an opening
door, and a clear, commanding voice, exclaiming:
“Stop, on your lives! The marriage must not proceed!”
At the same moment all eyes were turned in astonishment, to see a
gentleman, with a veiled lady leaning on his arm, advancing toward
the altar.
The minister laid down his book; the bridegroom turned, with a brow
of stern inquiry, upon the intruder; the bride stood in trembling
amazement. Colonel Houston alone had the presence of mind to
demand, somewhat haughtily:
“Pray, sir, what is the meaning of this most offensive conduct? By
what authority do you venture to interrupt these solemnities?”
The young stranger turned and bowed to the questioner, smiling
good-humoredly as he answered:
“Faith, sir! by the authority conferred upon me by the ritual, which
exhorts that any man who can show any cause why these two
persons may not be united in matrimony, forthwith declare it. So
adjured, I speak—happening to know two causes why these two
persons may not be lawfully joined together. The fair bride has been
for two years past my promised wife, and the gallant bridegroom’s
betrothal ring still encircles the finger of Margaret Helmstedt!”
“And who are you, sir, that ventures to take these words upon your
lips?” now asked Ralph Houston, deeply shaken by the mention of
his Margaret’s name.
“I am,” replied the young man, speaking slowly and distinctly,
“William Daw, Earl of Falconridge, the half-brother of Margaret
Helmstedt by the side of our mother, Marguerite De Lancie, who,
previous to becoming the wife of Mr. Philip Helmstedt, had been the
wife and the widow of Lord William Daw. Should my statement
require confirmation,” continued the young man, “it can be furnished
by documents in my possession, and which I am prepared to submit
to any person concerned.” Bowing to the astounded party, he
retraced his steps.
The silence of amazement bound all the hearers; nor was the spell
broken until the young lady who leaned upon the arm of Lord
Falconridge drew aside her veil, revealing the pale and lovely
countenance of Margaret Helmstedt, and crossed over to the side of
Major Helmstedt, saying:
“Father, the labor of my life is accomplished; my mother’s name is
clear forever!” and overpowered by excess of emotion, she sank
fainting at the feet of her astonished parent.
“Margaret! my Margaret!” exclaimed Ralph Houston, forgetting
everything else, and springing forward. Tenderly lifted in the arms of
Ralph, Margaret was conveyed to the parsonage, and laid on the
bed in the best chamber. Here efforts to restore her to
consciousness were vainly pursued for a long time.
When at last a change came, returning life was scarcely less
alarming than apparent death had been. For weeks she wandered in
a most distressing delirium.
It was about this time that Major Helmstedt and Lord Falconridge
had a long business conversation. The major, being perfectly
assured in regard to his identity and his claims, delivered up into his
lordship’s hands such portion of his mother’s estate as he would
have legally inherited. After the transfer was made, Lord Falconridge
executed an instrument, conveying the whole disputed property to
his sister, Margaret Helmstedt, “and her heirs forever.”
Not until Margaret was fully restored to health was the whole secret
history of her mother’s most unhappy life revealed. The facts,
obtained at intervals, were, in brief, these:
Marguerite De Lancie, tempted by inordinate social ambition, had
consented to a private marriage with Lord William Daw.
His lordship’s tutor, the Rev. Mr. Murray, became a party to the plan,
even to the extent of performing the marriage ceremony. His
lordship’s valet was the only witness. The certificate of marriage was
left in the hands of the bride. The ceremony took place at Saratoga,
in the month of July.
Two months after, early in September, Lord William Daw, summoned
by his father to the bedside of his declining mother, sailed for
England.
Marguerite received from him one letter, dated at sea, and in which
he addressed her as his “beloved wife,” and signed himself, boy-
loverlike, her “adoring husband.” This letter was directed to Lady
William Daw, under cover to Marguerite De Lancie. It was the only
one that he ever had the opportunity of writing to her. It arrived about
the time that the wife first knew that she was also destined to
become a mother.
In the January following the receipt of this letter, Marguerite went
with the Comptons to the New Year’s evening ball at the Executive
Mansion. It was while standing up in a quadrille that she overheard
two gentlemen speak of the wreck of the bark Venture off the coast
of Cornwall, with the loss of all on board.
Marguerite fainted; and thence followed the terrible illness that
brought her to the borders of death—of death, for which indeed she
prayed and hoped; for what a wretched condition was hers! She, one
of the most beautiful, accomplished, and high-spirited queens of
society, found herself fated to become a mother, without the power of
proving that she had ever possessed the right to the name of wife.
As soon as she was able to recollect, reflect, and act, she felt that
the only hope of recognition as the widow of Lord William Daw
rested with the family of the latter; and she determined to go secretly
to England. She made her preparations and departed.
She reached London, where, overtaken by the pangs of maternity,
she gave birth to a son, and immediately fell into a long and
dangerous fever. Upon recovering, she sought the Yorkshire home of
her father-in-law, and revealed to him her position.
Marguerite was prepared for doubt, difficulty, and delay, but not for
the utter incredulity, scorn, and rejection, to which she was subjected
by the arrogant Marquis of Eaglecliff. Marguerite exhibited the
certificate of her marriage, and the sole letter her young husband
had ever had the power to write to her, and pleaded for recognition.
Now the old marquis knew the handwriting of his son, and of his
chaplain; but, feeling outraged by what he chose to consider artifice
on the part of Marguerite, disobedience on that of William, and
treachery on that of Mr. Murray, he contemptuously put aside the
certificate as a forgery, and the letter, beginning “My beloved wife,”
as the mere nonsense of a boy-lover writing to his mistress.
Indignant and broken-hearted, Marguerite took her son and returned
to her native country; put the boy out to nurse, and then sought her
home in Virginia, to reflect, amid its quiet scenes, upon her future
course.
Marguerite’s confidential consultations with various eminent lawyers
had resulted in no encouragement for her to seek legal redress; she
determined to rear her boy in secrecy; and watch if, perchance,
some opportunity for successfully pushing his claims should occur.
Further, she resolved to remain unmarried, and to devote herself to
the welfare of this unacknowledged son, so that, should all his rights
of birth be finally denied, she could at last legally adopt him, and
make him her sole heir. Somewhat quieted by this resolution,
Marguerite De Lancie became once more the ascendant star of
fashion. The greater part of each year she spent in the hamlet in the
State of New York where she had placed her son at nurse,
accounting for her long absences by the defiant answer, “I’ve been
gypsying.”
Thus three years slipped away, when at length Marguerite De Lancie
met her fate in Philip Helmstedt, the only man whom she ever really
loved.
The tale she durst not tell her lover, she insanely hoped might be
successfully concealed, or safely confided to her husband. Ah, vain
hope! Philip Helmstedt, to the last degree jealous and suspicious,
was the worst man on the face of the earth to whom to confide her
questionable story.
They were married; and for a time she was lost in the power that
attracted, encircled, and swallowed up her whole fiery nature.
From this deep trance of bliss she was electrified by the receipt of a
letter, advising her of the sudden and dangerous illness of the
unowned child. Here was an exigency for which she was totally
unprepared. She prayed Philip Helmstedt to permit her to depart, for
a season, unquestioned. This strange petition gave rise to the first
misunderstanding between them. With the terrible scenes that
followed the reader is already acquainted. She was not suffered to
depart.
A subsequent letter informed her of the convalescence of her son.
A superficial peace, without confidence, ensued between herself and
husband. They went to Richmond, where Marguerite, filled with grief,
remorse, and terror, so distractedly overacted her part as queen of
fashion, that she brought upon herself, from wondering friends, the
suspicion of partial insanity.
It was at this time that she received a third letter, advising her of the
nearly fatal relapse of her child.
Knowing from past experience how vain it would be to hope for Philip
Helmstedt’s consent to her unexpected absence, she secretly
departed, to spend a few weeks with her suffering child. She
reached the hamlet, nursed her boy through his illness, and then
placed him to be reared and educated in the family of the poor
village pastor, to whom, for his services as tutor, she offered a liberal
salary.
The Rev. John Braunton was a man past middle age, of acute
intellect, conscientious principles, and benevolent disposition. From
his keen perceptive faculties it was impossible to hide the fact that
the mysterious lady, who took such deep and painful interest in this
child, was other than the boy’s mother.
Having arranged a system of correspondence with the clergyman,
and paid a half year’s salary in advance, Marguerite Helmstedt
departed for her Virginia home, full of intense anxiety as to the
reception she would meet from her husband. We know what that
reception was. Philip Helmstedt must have sacrificed her life to his
jealous rage but that she was destined to be the mother of his child.
He kept his wife from her son for fifteen years.
In the meantime Mr. Braunton, who regularly received his salary,
wondered that he received no more visits from the guardian or
mother of his pupil. As the years passed he expostulated by letter.
Marguerite wept, but could not go.
Some time after this, Braunton suddenly appeared before her on the
island to inform her that her boy, grown restive in his rustic
residence, had run away from home. Nothing could be discovered in
relation to the missing youth, and from this time Marguerite
Helmstedt’s health rapidly declined.
Once more Marguerite saw her son. In the spring of 1814 he
suddenly appeared before her in the uniform of a British soldier—
claimed her assistance, and adjured her to reveal to him his birth
and parentage. His miserable mother evaded his question, besought
him to return to the protection of Mr. Braunton, and, promising to
write, or to see him again, dismissed him.
That visit was the deathblow from which Marguerite never recovered.
She died, and, dying, bequeathed to her daughter the legacy of this
secret.
Having vindicated her mother’s honor, Margaret would now withhold
the particulars of her own perseverance and self-denial in the cause
of her brother. But her father and her lover were not to be thus put
off. Little by little, they drew from the reluctant girl the story of her
devotion to her mother’s trust. The ample income, drawn from her
mother’s legacy of Plover’s Point, had been regularly sent to Mr.
Braunton, to be invested for the benefit of William Dawson; afterward
a correspondence was opened with the young man.
When subsequently they happened to meet that day on Helmstedt
Island, the young man sought to compel, from her lips, the story of
his parentage; but Margaret refused to tell him anything, and spoke
of her mother only as his patroness.
But when he begged to be shown her grave, Margaret consented.
They took a boat and went up the river to the family burial ground at
Plover’s Point. They returned in the evening—the young soldier to
rejoin his comrades—Margaret to rejoin her friends, and to meet
suspicions which she had no power to quell.
It was some weeks after this when the famous attack upon the
parsonage was made, and young William Dawson was taken
prisoner. While upon his parole, an irresistible attraction drew him to
seek Margaret. He visited her in her private apartment, entering and
departing by the garden door. Nellie saw him depart. Margaret
besought him to come no more. After that, he lingered near the
house, and met her in her walks. The spies of Nellie Houston
discovered and reported this interview. Yet again they met in the
woods, where Margaret entreated him not to waylay her.
About that time also, Clare Hartley spoke in the presence of the
young ensign of her own and Margaret Helmstedt’s purposed visit to
Fort Warburton. The visit was not made; but William Dawson,
missing Margaret from her accustomed haunts, wandered off to the
neighborhood of Fort Warburton, where he was taken for a spy, and
as such might have been hung, had he not bribed a messenger to
carry a note to his sister, whom he now knew to be not at the fort.
The messenger, in going away, was seen by Nellie, who naturally
took him to be the young ensign. Margaret obeyed the peremptory
summons, and the same night departed for Fort Warburton. With the
terrible train of misfortunes that ensued, the reader is already
acquainted.
Immediately after the prevented duel and the parting with her lover,
Margaret sought her brother, and, taking the marriage certificate, and
the letter of Lord William Daw, embarked with her brother for
Liverpool.
On reaching England, she immediately sought the Marquis of
Eaglecliff, and laid before him the claims of his grandson. At the first
sight of the young man, the aged peer made an exclamation of
surprise. So great was his likeness to the late Lord William Daw, that
the marquis almost fancied he beheld again his long-lost son.
Legal steps were immediately taken to establish his identity and
confirm his position. Law processes are proverbially slow. In all, it
was about twelve months between the time that William Daw was
acknowledged by his grandfather, and the time when his position as
the legal heir of Eaglecliff was permanently established. And it was
more than two years from the day upon which the brother and sister
had sailed to England, to that upon which they so opportunely
returned to America.
But little remains to be written. With spring, Margaret’s beauty
bloomed again.
In June Ralph Houston led his long-affianced bride to the altar. After
an extended trip through New England, they took up their residence
in the city of Richmond, where Ralph Houston had been appointed to
a high official post.
Lord Falconridge remained through the winter, the guest of his sister
and brother-in-law. Major Helmstedt, of course, took up his abode
with his daughter and her husband.
Honest Frank Houston married Clare Hartley, with whom he lives
very happily at Plover’s Point.
I am sorry that I cannot present poor little Grace Wellworth as a
countess, but, truth to tell, the young earl never resumed his
addresses. So Grace, in fear of being an old maid, accepted the
proposals soon afterward made to her by Mr. Simmons, the minister,
to whom she makes a very exemplary wife.

THE END.

No. 82 of The New Southworth Library, entitled “The Bride’s

Dowry,” is a story in which love, finance, and selfish interest play a
part. It is quite out of the common, and has not one dull page in it
from start to finish.