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Sergei V. Chekanov
Numeric
Computation and
Statistical Data
Analysis on the
Java Platform
Advanced Information and Knowledge
Processing
Series editors
Lakhmi C. Jain
Bournemouth University, Poole, UK and
University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia
Xindong Wu
University of Vermont
Information systems and intelligent knowledge processing are playing an increasing
role in business, science and technology. Recently, advanced information systems
have evolved to facilitate the co-evolution of human and information networks
within communities. These advanced information systems use various paradigms
including artificial intelligence, knowledge management, and neural science as well
as conventional information processing paradigms. The aim of this series is to
publish books on new designs and applications of advanced information and
knowledge processing paradigms in areas including but not limited to aviation,
business, security, education, engineering, health, management, and science. Books
in the series should have a strong focus on information processing—preferably
combined with, or extended by, new results from adjacent sciences. Proposals for
research monographs, reference books, coherently integrated multi-author edited
books, and handbooks will be considered for the series and each proposal will be
reviewed by the Series Editors, with additional reviews from the editorial board and
independent reviewers where appropriate. Titles published within the Advanced
Information and Knowledge Processing series are included in Thomson Reuters’
Book Citation Index.
Numeric Computation
and Statistical Data Analysis
on the Java Platform
123
Sergei V. Chekanov
HEP Division
Argonne National Laboratory
Lemont, IL
USA
Numerical and statistical algorithms are typically confined within a specific pro-
gramming language. For example, the R open-source data-analysis software uses a
specialized scripting language, which is an implementation of the “S” programming
language. Many commercial mathematical programs follow this trend. This book is
about a platform for statistical calculations using algorithms that are not confined by
a chosen language. For example, this platform allows mixing Python and Java
numerical libraries, or using them on their own. Or, one can use this book to
program statistical code using other languages, such as Groovy, Ruby, and
BeanShell. This book is about an approach to scientific programming and visual-
ization that does not set strict requirements on specific programming languages, nor
on operating systems where such calculations are performed.
There are many books written about Java—one of the most popular program-
ming languages. There are many books written about Python, which is another very
popular programming language. This book explains how to mix them, bringing
incredible algorithmic power and cutting-edge numeric libraries to scientific com-
putations and data visualization.
In this book I did not go deep inside particular scientific research area, since the
aim was to give concrete examples which illustrate which Java libraries should be
used to perform computations. In the cases when I could not cover the subject in
detail, a sufficient number of relevant references was given, so the reader can easily
find necessary information for each chapter using external sources.
Thus this book presents practical approaches to numerical computations, data
analysis, and knowledge discovery, focusing on programming techniques. Each
chapter describes the conceptual underpinning for numerical and statistical calcu-
lations using Java libraries, covering many aspects from simple multidimensional
arrays and histograms to clustering analysis, curve fitting, neural networks, and
symbolic calculations. To make the examples as simple as possible from the
computational point of view, I fully embrace the scripting approach in the course of
this book. This leads to short and clear analysis codes, so you could concentrate on
the logic of analysis flow rather than on language-specific details.
vii
viii Preface
This book uses Python as the main programming language, since it is elegant and
easy to learn. It is a great language for teaching scientific computation. For devel-
opers, this is an ideal language for fast prototyping and debugging. The book dis-
cusses how to design code snippets for numeric computation and statistics on the
Java platform. To be more exact, we will use Jython (Python implemented in Java), a
language that uses not only native Python modules, but can also access very com-
prehensive Java classes. The reader will learn how to write analysis codes, while
numerous code snippets will give you some ideas on numeric algorithms which can
easily be incorporated into realistic research application. The book includes more
than 300 code snippets to produce data-visualization plots in 2D and 3D.
I am almost convinced myself that this book is self-contained and does not
depend on detailed knowledge of computing language, although knowledge of
Python and Java is desirable. However, the reader may still need some programming
background in order to use this book with other languages, such as Groovy,
BeanShell, and Ruby, since I did not give very detailed coverage of these languages.
This book is intended for general audiences, for those who use computing to make
sense of data surrounding us. It can be used as a source of knowledge on data
analysis and statistical calculations for students and professionals of all disciplines.
This book was written for undergraduate and graduate students, academics, pro-
fessors, and professionals of any field and any age. The book could be used as a
textbook for students.
We also hope that this book will be useful for those who study financial markets,
since the numeric algorithms discussed in this book are undoubtedly common to any
knowledge discovery research. This book equips readers with the description of a
computational platform for statistical calculations which can be viewed as an inex-
pensive alternative to costly commercial products used by financial-market analysts.
I assume the readers are not familiar with Python/Jython, the main programming
language used for code snippets in this book. But some basic understanding of
statistics and mathematics would be very helpful to understand the material of this
book.
All example codes of this book can easily be transformed to Java, Groovy,
Ruby/JRuby, or BeanShell codes. You are presumed to have knowledge of pro-
gramming in Java, if you will choose the path of moving the examples to Java, or if
you will decide to create Java libraries to be deployed as jar files for a new project.
The book will discuss how to do this, and a few Java examples will be provided.
Transformations of the example snippets to scripting languages, such as Groovy,
Ruby/JRuby, or BeanShell, may require some knowledge of these scripting
languages. The good thing is that the analysis algorithms and numerical libraries
will be exactly the same, so a little effort is required to move to other languages.
Again, we will show you how to convert Jython codes to these languages. In most
Preface ix
cases, our examples should be sufficient to get started with a new language. The
more knowledge about Groovy and Ruby/JRuby you can bring, the more you will
get out of this book.
References
This book describes a software which is a collective work of many developers who
have dedicated themselves to scientific computing. The author is grateful to all
people who contributed to scientific software, and for their inspiration and dedi-
cation to science and knowledge-discovery software.
Many numeric and graphic libraries discussed in this book were released as
open-source projects. I am grateful to the authors of such open-source programs for
their enthusiasm to share their work, and for making their software publicly
available.
You can find a list of contributions to the software packages described in this
book on the jWork.ORG web page (http://jwork.org/dmelt/). A special note of
thanks to those of you who reported bugs in a constructive way, helped with
solutions, and shared your knowledge and experience with others.
Much of this project grew out of fruitful collaboration with many of my col-
leagues who devoted themselves to high energy physics. Over the course of the past
twenty-five years I have learned a lot about programming aspects of scientific
research. I would like to thank my colleagues for checking and debugging the
examples shown in this book, and here the list will be endless.
I would like to thank everyone at Springer for their help with the production
process. In particular, managing editors H. Desmond and J. Robinson, who helped
start this book in its present form.
Not least, personal thanks go to my dear wife, Tania, and my sons, Alexey
(Alosha) and Roman, for their love and patience to a husband and father who was
only half (mentally) present after coming from his work. Without their patience and
understanding, this book would not have been possible. Finally, I also thank my
parents and sister for their support of my interests in all aspects of science.
xi
Contents
xiii
xiv Contents
2 Introduction to Jython . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.1 Code Structure and Jython Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.1.1 Numbers as Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.1.2 Formatted Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.1.3 Mathematical Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.2 Complex Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.3 Strings as Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.4 Import Statements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2.4.1 Executing Native Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.5 Comparison Tests and Loops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2.5.1 The “if-else” Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2.5.2 Loops. The “for” Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
2.5.3 The “continue” and “break” Statements . . . . . . . . . 39
2.5.4 Loops. The “while” Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
2.6 Collections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
2.6.1 Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
2.6.2 Tuples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
2.6.3 Dictionaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
2.6.4 Functional Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
2.7 Java Collections in Jython . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
2.7.1 List. An Ordered Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
2.7.2 Set. A Collection Without Duplicate Elements . . . . 53
2.7.3 SortedSet. Sorted Unique Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
2.7.4 Map. Mapping Keys to Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
2.7.5 Java Map with Sorted Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
2.7.6 Real-Life Example: Sorting and Removing
Duplicates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
2.8 Random Numbers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
2.9 Time Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
2.9.1 Benchmarking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
2.10 Python Functions and Modules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
2.11 Python Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
2.11.1 Initializing a Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
2.11.2 Classes Inherited from Other Classes. . . . . . . . . . . 65
2.11.3 Java Classes in Jython . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
2.11.4 Not Covered Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
2.12 Parallel Computing and Threads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
2.13 Arrays in Jython. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
2.13.1 Array Conversion and Transformations . . . . . . . . . 69
2.13.2 Performance Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
2.13.3 Used Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
2.14 Exceptions in Python . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Contents xv
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 615
Conventions and Acronyms
This book uses the following typographical convention: A box with a code inside
usually means interactive Python/Jython commands typed in the “Jython Shell.” All
such commands start with the symbol [[[ which is the usual invitation in
Python to type a command. This is shown in the example below:
Working interactively with the Jython prompt has the drawback that it is
impossible to save typed commands. In most cases, the code snippets are not so
short, although they are still much shorter than in any other programming language.
Therefore, it is desirable to save the typed code in a file for further modification and
execution. In this case, we use Jython macro files, i.e., we write a code using the
DMelt (or any other) editor [15], save it in a file with the extension “.py”, and run it
using the keyboard shortcut [F8] or the button “run” from the DMelt tool bar
menu. Such code examples are also shown inside the box, but code lines do not
start with the Python invitation symbol [[[ . In such situations, the example
codes will be shown as:
For examples written in the Python language, double quotes and apostrophe are
interchangeable. For Java and other languages, this is not the case. So, to make our
code to be easily convertible to Java or Groovy, we will use double quotes around
strings. As in the above example, we will try to comment code lines as much as we
can. For Python, comments are preceded by the hash character.
If a code snippet is used as a Python/Jython module by other programs, then we
should write our code inside a file. A Python code always imports an external
module using its file name. Since the file names are important, we will indicate
exactly which file name should be used under the box with a code. For example, if a
program code is considered a module that has to be imported by another code
example, we will show it as:
xxv
xxvi Conventions and Acronyms
imports the file “hello.py” and executes it, printing the string. In other cases, we
will use arbitrary file names for the code snippets.
We use typewriter font for Jython and Java classes and methods. For file
names and directories, we also use the same font style with additional parentheses.
We remind that the directory name separators are backward slashes for
Windows, and slashes for Linux and Mac computers. For example, the directory
with examples will be shown as:
macro/examples/
For Windows computers, the same directory should be shown as:
macro\examples\
The dots in this example are used to indicate the upper-level directory.
We will try to avoid using abbreviations. When we use abbreviations, we will
explain their meaning directly in the text. When space allows, we will use mean-
ingful names for variables. This is all.
Chapter 1
Java Computational Platform
1.1 Introduction
Java is both a programming language and a computing platform which runs Java
code. This book uses both. But the Java programming language is not necessary
for the approach adopted in this book, since the Java platform allows the usage of
scripting languages, such as Jython/Python, Groovy, Ruby/JRuby, BeanShell, and
others.
The heart of the Java platform is the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) that runs
programs converted to Java bytecode programs. The conversion to bytecode is done
by Java compiler. Bytecode is the optimized and effective machine language of
JVM. The JVM reads this bytecode, interprets it, and executes the program.
In fact, even if you write your code using other programming languages, such as
Python and Groovy, which are simpler than the Java language, your code still will
be converted to Java bytecode programs.
The JVM is ported to different platforms and insulates the program from the
underlying hardware and operating system. Thus it provides hardware- and
operating-system independence. The Java application programming interface (API)
is also a part of the Java platform. Java API classes are used for building software
applications.
First, let us discuss the Java programming language, one of the most popular
object-oriented programming languages in use. The statistics of SourceForge reports
that the number of open-source applications written in Java is close to those
written in C++. According to the TIOBE software index (http://www.tiobe.com/), a
c Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 1
S.V. Chekanov, Numeric Computation and Statistical Data Analysis
on the Java Platform, Advanced Information and Knowledge Processing,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-28531-3_1
2 1 Java Computational Platform
is as fast as for any other program. The JIT compilation converts Java bytecode into
native machine code at runtime. The conversion step can be slow; however, this
does not matter as much for numerical calculations involving large loops due to JIT
compilation.
One should however mention that Java uses more memory than C or FORTRAN.
The main reason—JVM does a lot of internal bookkeeping for garbage collection,
program optimization at runtime, and providing a safeguard for the Java program.
Well, it is better to assign such tasks to the JVM—people who need to use Java
will have more time to think about numeric algorithms and how to advance their
respective applied disciplines.
Numerical and statistical calculations explained in this book use the DataMelt
(shorter, DMelt) software platform [1] that runs on the Java platform. It is a collec-
tion of libraries integrated with different programming languages. Unlike other sta-
tistical programs, it is not limited to a single programming language: DMelt can be
used with several scripting languages such as Python/Jython, Groovy, Ruby/JRuby,
as well as with Java. Generally, the DMelt computational platform extends the stan-
dard Java software platform in several areas:
• Adds a support for Jython, Groovy, JRuby, BeanShell, and GNU Octave high-
level scripting languages.
• Adds an IDE and interactive shells to work with these scripting languages and
with Java. It also adds a support to process programs in the command line (i.e., in
a batch mode).
• Adds comprehensive Java libraries for numeric computation and visualization,
incorporating free scientific packages from more than a hundred Java developers
around the world. At the moment when this book is written, DMelt includes more
than 30,000 Java classes from more than a hundred open-source Java libraries.
• DMelt includes online resources for library updates, class documentation, and for
example databases. The Web-based package descriptions are directly accessible
from the DMelt IDE. We will discuss this topic later.
Figure 1.1 illustrates the DMelt program structure. DMelt includes a support for
several scripting languages that can be run on JVM, third-party numerical libraries
integrated with IDE, and online services for update and documentation.
DMelt was designed to enable researches to spend their time thinking about
problems and their solutions, rather than diving into low-level coding using pro-
gramming languages. DMelt analysis macros for data manipulations are based on
Jython, an implementation of the high-level language Python. Thus, one can fully
benefit from a variety of programming possibilities offered by Python, including its
syntax clarity and high-level libraries. But Jython is not a prerequisite for this frame-
work: Java and other languages supported by DMelt can also be used to access the
mathematical and graphical libraries of DMelt.
4 1 Java Computational Platform
We should immediately warn you: the DMelt numerical and graphical libraries can
be considered neither as most efficient nor error-free. The code of DMelt does not
always follow the coding recommendations for Java developers including naming
1.1 Introduction 5
conventions and code layout. We even admit that some parts were not designed
with the highest possible performance for code execution in mind. The reason is
simple: it was not written by professional programmers. The numerical libraries
were written by many people at different times, most of them were students and
scientists who had to develop numerical and data visualization algorithms for their
own research programs, since commercial software companies either could not offer
similar programs or their products were too expensive. Many contributed packages
have been discontinued many years ago, but have been brought to life after their
inclusion into DMelt. In addition, some packages were written using Java 1.1, and
this had also some impact on the coding style of certain libraries.
Thus, a professional programmer may immediately find some parts of the code
that look unprofessionally written. This is true even for some examples shown in
this book. The reason for this was not because we were not aware of such coding
issues. In some cases, we did not find appealing reasons to keep very strict coding
standard at the expense of simplicity. For example, in most cases, we import all
classes inside a package using the statement:
We did not enforce the latter case to keep the examples of this book short and con-
cise, so we could fit the code snippets into the pages of this book. Also, it is possible
that you may not like to type long lists of imported classes during a code prototyp-
ing (personally, I do not like this style), since this can be done later during code
deployment.
A professorial programmer might find some other odds, like why some object
containers are designed to store only double values (like the P1D class to be
discussed below), while it is more practical to store integer values when necessary.
Again, the motivation was not because of omissions. The reason was that the reader
may not want to dive into extra complexity of dealing with different types, since
integers are only a subset of float values. There are plenty of other classes which are
well suited for storing integer values (we will discuss them in this book).
The main motivation for the DMelt project was to develop an accessible and
friendly tool to be used in scientific search, with a syntax oriented toward scientists
rather than programmers. The design of this project was mainly motivated by
simplicity: there are many programming languages which are required to learn for
many years before starting to write useful scientific and engineering projects. The
approach discussed in this book is very different: generally, the reader does not need
to know any programming language to start writing analysis codes using DMelt
libraries. However, if it happens that the reader knows either Java or Python (or
both) already, he or she will find this book to be also interesting, since DMelt is not
just a simplified entry to the world of the Java and Python computer programming. It
6 1 Java Computational Platform
shows how to use programming for practical purposes such as numeric calculations,
statistics, and data analysis.
The reader may also notice that a little attention has been paid to how to write and
use Java or Jython classes. Of course, classes are necessary for any object-oriented
language. The reason for this is the following: for the majority of scientific data
analysis programs, the logic of scripting programs is linear, i.e., an analysis code
typically consists of a well-defined sequence of statements to be evaluated one by
one, from the top to the bottom of the code. It is very unlikely that data analysis logic
will contain highly parallel algorithmic branches as those for the usual graphical
user interface (GUI) development.1 Certainly, the classes are necessary when one
develops Java libraries to be used by a scripting language. But, in this book, we
mainly concentrate on the scripting examples based on the existing Java libraries of
DMelt, rather than discussing how to write classes for numerical computation to be
deployed as external libraries.
1.1.4 Errors
This book may contain typos, omissions, or even errors. DMelt can also contain
bugs. If you notice any errors or if you have suggestions regarding the book and
code examples, I would be happy to hear from you. You can send your comments
to:
One can also post bug reports to the DMelt forum accessible from the main Web
page:
http://jwork.org/dmelt/
DMelt is not a software that stands still. Therefore, this book represents a snap-
shot of the time when the DMelt version 1.4 was in use, therefore, some examples
may fall out of date. Therefore, the reader is encouraged to look at the Web page
given above to find corrected examples.
1 We should probably say that this may not be totally true in future when multi-core machines will
be rather common and one will face with the question of how to parallelize analysis codes to gain
high performance. We briefly discuss this topic in this book.
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fugitives now pass to their pursuers, that it would have been easy
for them to have conversed, had they been so disposed. Not a word
was spoken, however, but Mulford went by, leaving Spike about a
hundred yards astern. This was a trying moment to the latter, and
the devil tempted him to seek his revenge. He had not come
unarmed on his enterprise, but three or four loaded muskets lay in
the stern-sheets of his yawl. He looked at his men, and saw that
they could not hold out much longer to pull as they had been
pulling. Then he looked at Mulford’s boat, and saw it gliding away
from him at a rate that would shortly place it another half mile in
advance. He seized a musket, and raised it to his shoulder, nay, was
in the act of taking aim at his mate, when Rose, who watched his
movements, threw herself before Harry, and if she did not actually
save his life, at least prevented Spike’s attempt on it for that
occasion. In the course of the next ten minutes the fugitives had
again so far gained on their pursuers, that the latter began to see
that their efforts were useless. Spike muttered a few bitter curses,
and told his men to lay on their oars.
“It’s well for the runaway,” he added, “that the gal put herself
between us, else would his grog have been stopped forever. I’ve
long suspected this; but had I been sure of it, the Gulf Stream would
have had the keeping of his body, the first dark night we were in it
together. Lay on your oars, men, lay on your oars; I’m afeard the
villain will get through our fingers, a’ter all.”
The men obeyed, and then, for the first time, did they turn their
heads, to look at those they had been so vehemently pursuing. The
other boat was quite half a mile from them, and it had again tacked.
This last occurrence induced Spike to pull slowly ahead, in quest of
another short passage to cut the fugitives off; but no such opening
offered.
“There he goes about again, by George!” exclaimed Spike. “Give
way, lads—give way; an easy stroke, for if he is embayed, he can’t
escape us!”
Sure enough, poor Mulford was embayed, and could see no
outlet by which to pass ahead. He tacked his boat two or three
times, and he wore round as often; but on every side shoals or
rocks, that actually rose above the surface of the water, impeded his
course. The fact was not to be concealed; after all his efforts, and so
many promises of success, not only was his further progress ahead
cut off, but equally so was retreat. The passage was not wide
enough to admit the hope of getting by his pursuers, and the young
man came to the conclusion that his better course was to submit
with dignity to his fate. For himself he had no hope—he knew Spike’s
character too well for that; but he did not apprehend any great
immediate danger to his companions. Spike had a coarse, brutal
admiration for Rose; but her expected fortune, which was believed
to be of more amount than was actually the case, was a sort of
pledge that he would not willingly put himself in a situation that
would prevent the possibility of enjoying it. Strange, hurried, and
somewhat confused thoughts passed through Harry Mulford’s mind,
as he brailed his sail, and waited for his captors to approach and
take possession of his boat and himself. This was done quietly, and
with very few words on the part of Spike.
Mulford would have liked the appearance of things better had his
old commander cursed him, and betrayed other signs of the fury
that was boiling in his very soul. On the contrary, never had Stephen
Spike seemed more calm, or under better self-command. He smiled,
and saluted Mrs. Budd, just as if nothing unpleasant had occurred,
and alluded to the sharpness of the chase with facetiousness and
seeming good humor. The females were deceived by this manner,
and hoped, after all, that the worst that would happen would be a
return to their old position on board the Swash. This was being so
much better off than their horrible situation on the wreck, that the
change was not frightful to them.
“What has become of the schooner, Mr. Mulford?” asked Spike, as
the boats began to pass down the channel to return to the brig—two
of the Swash’s men taking their seats in that which had been
captured, along with their commander, while the other two got a tow
from the use of the sail. “I see you have the boat here that we used
alongside of her, and suppose you know something of the craft
itself.”
“She capsized with us in a squall,” answered the mate, “and we
only left the wreck this morning.”
“Capsized!—hum—that was a hard fate, to be sure, and denotes
bad seamanship. Now I’ve sailed all sorts of craft these forty years,
or five-and-thirty at least, and never capsized any thing in my life.
Stand by there for’ard to hold on by that rock.”
A solitary cap of the coral rose above the water two or three feet,
close to the channel, and was the rock to which Spike alluded. It
was only some fifty feet in diameter, and of an oval form, rising quite
above the ordinary tides, as was apparent by its appearance. It is
scarcely necessary to say it had no other fresh water than that which
occasionally fell on its surface, which surface being quite smooth,
retained very little of the rain it received. The boat was soon
alongside of this rock, where it was held broadside-to by the two
seamen.
“Mr. Mulford, do me the favor to step up here,” said Spike,
leading the way on to the rock himself. “I have a word to say to you
before we get on board the old Molly once more.”
Mulford silently complied, fully expecting that Spike intended to
blow his brains out, and willing the bloody deed should be done in a
way to be as little shocking to Rose as circumstances would allow.
But Spike manifested no such intention. A more refined cruelty was
uppermost in his mind; and his revenge was calculated, and took
care to fortify itself with some of the quibbles and artifices of the
law. He might not be exactly right in his legal reservations, but he
did not the less rely on their virtue.
“Hark’e, Mr. Mulford,” said Spike, sharply, as soon as both were
on the rock, “you have run from my brig, thereby showing your
distaste for her; and I’ve no disposition to keep a man who wishes
to quit me. Here you are, sir, on terrum firm, as the scholars call it;
and here you have my full permission to remain. I wish you a good
morning, sir; and will not fail to report, when we get in, that you left
the brig of your own pleasure.”
“You will not have the cruelty to abandon me on this naked rock,
Captain Spike, and that without a morsel of food, or a drop of
water.”
“Wather is a blessed thing!” exclaimed Biddy. “Do not think of
lavin’ the gentleman widout wather.”
“You left me, sir, without food or water, and you can fit out your
own rock—yes, d—e, sir, you left me under fire, and that is a thing
no true-hearted man would have thought of. Stand by to make sail,
boys, and if he offer to enter the boat, pitch him out with the boat-
hooks.”
Spike was getting angry, and he entered the boat again, without
perceiving that Rose had left it. Light of foot, and resolute of spirit,
the beautiful girl, handsomer than ever perhaps, by her excited
feelings and disheveled hair, had sprung on the rock, as Spike
stepped into the boat forward, and when the latter turned round,
after loosening the sail, he found he was drifting away from the very
being who was the object of all his efforts. Mulford, believing that
Rose was to be abandoned as well as himself, received the noble girl
in his arms, though ready to implore Spike, on his knees, to return
and at least take her off. But Spike wanted no solicitation on that
point. He returned of his own accord, and had just reached the rock
again when the report of a gun drew all eyes toward the brig.
The Swash had again run out of the passage, and was beating
up, close to the reef as she dared to go, with a signal flying. All the
seamen at once understood the cause of this hint. The strange sail
was getting too near, and everybody could see that it was the sloop-
of-war. Spike looked at Rose, a moment, in doubt. But Mulford raised
his beloved in his arms, and carried her to the side of the rock,
stepping on board the boat.
Spike watched the movements of the young man with jealous
vigilance, and no sooner was Rose placed on her seat, than he
motioned significantly to the mate to quit the boat.
“I cannot and will not voluntarily, Capt. Spike,” answered Harry,
calmly. “It would be committing a sort of suicide.”
A sign brought two of the men to the captain’s assistance. While
the latter held Rose in her place, the sailors shoved Harry on the
rock again. Had Mulford been disposed to resist, these two men
could not very easily have ejected him from the boat, if they could
have done it at all, but he knew there were others in reserve, and
feared that blood might be shed, in the irritated state of Spike, in
the presence of Rose. While, therefore, he would not be accessory
to his own destruction, he would not engage in what he knew would
prove not only a most harassing, but a bootless resistance. The
consequence was that the boats proceeded, leaving him alone on
the rock.
It was perhaps fortunate for Rose that she fainted. Her condition
occupied her aunt and Biddy, and Spike was enabled to reach his
brig without any further interruption. Rose was taken on board still
nearly insensible, while her two female companions were so much
confused and distressed, that neither could have given a reasonably
clear account of what had just occurred. Not so with Jack Tier,
however. That singular being noted all that passed, seated in the
eyes of the boat, away from the confusion that prevailed in its stern-
sheets, and apparently undisturbed by it.
As the party was sailing back toward the brig, the light-house
boat towing the Swash’s yawl, Jack took as good an observation of
the channels of that part of the reef as his low position would allow.
He tried to form in his mind a sort of chart of the spot, for, from the
instant Mulford was thus deserted, the little fellow had formed a
stern resolution to attempt his rescue. How that was to be done,
however, was more than he yet knew; and when they reached the
brig’s side, Tier may be said to have been filled with good intentions,
rather than with any very available knowledge to enable him to put
them in execution.
As respects the two vessels, the arrival of Spike on board his own
was not a moment too soon. The Poughkeepsie, for the stranger to
the northward was now ascertained to be that sloop-of-war, was
within long gun-shot by this time, and near enough to make certain,
by means of her glasses, of the character of the craft with which she
was closing. Luckily for the brig she lay in the channel so often
mentioned, and through which both she and her present pursuer
had so lately come, on their way to the northward. This brought her
to windward, as the wind then stood, with a clear passage before
her. Not a moment was lost. No sooner were the females sent below,
than sail was made on the brig, and she began to beat through the
passage, making long legs and short ones. She was chased, as a
matter of course, and that hard, the difference in sailing between
the two crafts not being sufficiently great to render the brigantine’s
escape by any means certain, while absolutely within the range of
those terrible missiles that were used by the man-of-war’s men.
But Spike soon determined not to leave a point so delicate as
that of his own and his vessel’s security to be decided by a mere
superiority in the way of heels. The Florida Reef, with all its dangers,
windings, and rocks, was as well known to him as the entrances to
the port of New York. In addition to its larger channels, of which
there are three or four, through which ships of size can pass, it had
many others that would admit only vessels of a lighter draught of
water. The brig was not flying light, it is true, but she was merely in
good ballast trim, and passages would be available to her, into which
the Poughkeepsie would not dare to venture. One of these lesser
channels was favorably placed to further the escape of Spike, and he
shoved the brig into it after the struggle had lasted less than an
hour. This passage offered a shorter cut to the south side of the reef
than the main channel, and the sloop-of-war, doubtless perceiving
the uselessness of pursuit, under such circumstances, wore round on
her heel, and came down through the main channel again, just
entering the open water, near the spot where the schooner had
sunk, as the sun was setting.
[To be continued.
CAROLAN’S PROPHECY.
———
BY WILLIAM H. C. HOSMER.
———
———
BY MRS. CAROLINE H. BUTLER.
———
CHAPTER I.
“Each ambushed Cupid I’ll defy—
In cheek, or chin, or brow!”
——
CHAPTER II.
From the pave we will now step into a spacious drawing-room.
A lively Italian air, exquisitely sung by a fair young girl, falls with
delightful cadence upon the ear, while touched by the fingers of one
scarcely less fair, the piano adds its pleasing accompaniment, filling
the lofty apartment with thrilling melody. Seated in a comfortable
lolling chair, is a gentleman of middle age—the only listener, by the
by, to the charming music of his niece and daughter, yet more than
compensating by his true love of the “art divine,” and the heartiness
of his approval, for the superficial plaudits of a fashionable assembly.
This is evidently the dwelling of a man of fortune and of taste.
Elegance without ostentation mark its adornments. A choice
collection of paintings from the old masters decorate the walls, and
scattered around are various specimens of rare artistic skill and
beauty.
The song ended, a lively conversation ensued.
“So I find, Margaret, you have been gadding as usual this
morning,” said Mr. Belden, “and filling your cousin’s little head with
more folly and nonsense than her good mother can eradicate in a
twelve-month.”
“O, no, papa, I have done nothing of the kind, I assure you; and
yet I should not like to be answerable for all the mischief done that
little head and heart, too, to-day,” answered Margaret, looking archly
at her cousin. “See how she blushes. Now confess, Emma, the
image of a certain person, who so awkwardly beset us this morning,
still haunts your fancy.”
“Well, Margaret, I do confess,” replied Emma, while a crimson
glow mantled her cheeks, “that I think he possessed one of the
finest faces I ever saw. He was not more awkward, certainly, than
we were; and I much doubt whether, in fact, we were not the most
so of the three.”
“Speak for yourself, if you please,” was the reply; “for my part, I
never enjoyed any thing more. Such sideling and bowing; such
blushing, and such bobbing about; why a dancing-master might
make a fortune out of this new pas de trois. And as for you, Emma,
you really looked like a little simpleton.”
“What is all this, girls—what new adventure have you met with?”
inquired Mr. Belden.
“Only one of those awkward rencounters, papa, which happen
every day, except, perhaps, that one seldom sees a handsomer
young man than the poor fellow who came so near running us
down. Tall and erect, eyes like stars, brows black as night, and, but
for his awkwardness, a very—but, mercy, Emma, look, look—there
he is—yes, it certainly is,” she suddenly exclaimed; “do come here,
quick. See, he is evidently looking for some number. Now he is at
87; there, he stops at 91—no that is not it; see how he gazes this
way. As I live, the fellow is crossing over! Why the audacious—he
bows. Emma, Emma, he is coming up the steps!” and even as she
spoke there was a ring at the door. The girls quickly disappeared,
and the next moment Auburn was ushered into the presence of the
astonished Mr. Belden; doubtless no less astonished himself at his
position and daring errand.
Daring, indeed—but what will not love dare!
After so suddenly losing sight of his inamorata, without the
shadow of a hope that he might ever again behold her, Auburn
turned, and gloomily accompanied his friend Evans to his lodgings,
wishing, nevertheless, that he had been many fathoms deep, ere he
had thus inopportunely encountered him. His unusual taciturnity
drew forth the raillery of his friend. Auburn vainly endeavored to
shake off this depression; but the very effort only caused him to talk
the more wildly, then plunged him again into the same moody
silence. Evans jested the more, until finally, already in no very
amiable frame of mind, he became provoked; high words ensued,
and the two friends parted in anger.
“Alas! how light a cause may move
Dissension between hearts that love.”
Auburn now took refuge in his studio, vainly striving to forget his
chagrin in his late all-engrossing pleasure—painting—the mistress to
whom but that morning he had sworn eternal fealty. At length
throwing down the brush in despair, he exclaimed,
“Heavens, how that face haunts me! And must I leave the city to-
morrow, and thus lose the only chance I may ever have of meeting
her again. No, I cannot do it! and yet what folly,” he added, “why
should I allow such a trifle to disturb me thus? Even should I
discover who she is, what good can result to me!” And now the poor
artist paced the room despairingly; again he soliloquized:
“Yes, I will postpone my journey. I will haunt Broadway, Trinity,
the Opera, theatres—I will neither eat nor sleep until I have found
her.”
At this moment his eye rested upon the roguish face of his cousin
Kate, still upon his easel; and the conversation of the morning at
once flashed upon him.
“Pshaw!” he exclaimed, “it can’t be—I can’t be such a simpleton
as to have fallen in love! Pooh! no, no—it can’t be. Love! ha! ha! ha!
ridiculous!—in love! No, Miss Kate, all right yet. Let me shake off this
idle mood. Love!—nonsense!” and seizing his pallet, he first,
somewhat spitefully, removed the provoking portrait from its
position, and then commenced copying a beautiful head of Titian.
But in vain he toiled. It was soon evident he had forgotten his
subject; his head drooped upon his breast; his brush motionless, and
for many moments he remained buried in deep thought. Suddenly
starting up with such vehemence as nearly to overturn the easel, he
seized his hat and rushed from the room, plunged down stairs, and
into the street. Up Broadway he once more pushed along, nor
paused until C—— street was attained. Here, for a moment, he
halted, irresolute, then turning the corner, commenced a deliberate
survey of every house, and gazing most pertinaciously at the
windows in particular, careless of the attention which his peculiar
manner attracted. When, then, he really caught a glimpse of the
object of his search peeping through the rich hangings at the
window of Mr. Belden, it is no wonder his senses forsook him, and
that without a moment’s consideration, he impulsively rushed up the
steps, rang the bell, and found himself, as has already been shown,
in the presence of that gentleman.
One rapid glance around the room betrayed the fair object of his
search had disappeared. Then the awkwardness of his position
dawned faintly through the maze in which his wits were wandering.
But it was too late to retreat, so summoning courage to address Mr.
Belden, he inquired,
“Can I have the pleasure of speaking with Miss—Miss—your
daughter, sir?”
A frown gathered dark on the brow of Mr. Belden, as he replied,
“Who are you, sir?—and what is your business with Miss Belden,
may I ask?”
“Here is my card,” answered Auburn. “I am aware my presence
here may appear somewhat singular, yet as I leave town early to-
morrow, I must urge a few moments conversation with that young
lady.”
“Your boldness, sir, is unsurpassed. Miss Belden cannot have the
honor of seeing you.”
The reply of Auburn was interrupted by the sudden appearance
of that young lady, whom, we must frankly confess, had, with
Emma, been playing the part of eaves-dropper, and fearing her
father would really drive the rash youth away without an interview,
which her love of mischief tempted her to grant. She broke from the
entreaties of her cousin, and stepped quietly into the room.
“Ah, here is my daughter,” added Mr. Belden. “Now, sir, your
business—what have you to say?”
But poor Auburn had nothing to say. That Miss Belden was not
the one he sought, a glance sufficed to assure him; and Margaret,
too, most provokingly assumed a stately never-saw-you-before-sir
air, which rendered his embarrassment tenfold.
“I beg your pardon for this intrusion, Miss Belden,” said he at
length, “for which I can offer no excuse, except that I have been
laboring under a delusion,” and bowing, he was about to leave the
apartment, when, by chance, his eye fell upon a music-book, on
which the name of “Emma Willis” was inscribed. A drowning man will
catch at a straw—so will a desperate lover. Turning abruptly he now
hazarded the inquiry,
“Is Miss Willis at home?”
“Miss Willis is at home,” coldly answered Mr. Belden.
Auburn’s heart throbbed tumultuously.
“Can I see her for a moment?” he eagerly demanded.
“No, sir, you cannot!” exclaimed Mr. Belden now rising, and
angrily confronting his visiter; “and by what right, sir, do you longer
intrude upon my family? Your conduct at least warrants suspicion.
You first inquire for Miss Belden—you equivocate—you acknowledge
yourself mistaken, and then demand an interview with my niece.
Pray, what authority have you for such proceedings—you are not
acquainted with the young lady, I believe?”
“No, sir, I am not,” replied Auburn, now fully restored to his
senses, “and until to-day I acknowledge I never saw either this lady
(bowing to Miss Belden,) or Miss Willis. Again I ask pardon for my
intrusion. I know appearances are much against me; but the interest
awakened in my bosom for your lovely niece, even in those few brief
moments when it was my happiness to see her, and the fact that I
am forced to leave the city to-morrow, is all I can urge in favor of
my rashness; it was this alone which inspired me with boldness to
call here.”
“Boldness, indeed! If this is all you have to say in extenuation, I,
young sir, shall have the boldness to show you the door, and request
a speedy retreat therefrom,” cried Mr. Belden.
Forgetting in his anger that Mr. Belden had any grounds for such
uncourteous treatment, mortified, and disappointed, Auburn turned
indignantly upon his heel and left the house—a merry laugh from the
drawing-room ringing discordantly in his ear as he passed out.
——
CHAPTER III.
It was evening of the same eventful day in the history of our
hero, that a merry little circle of young girls were assembled at Kate
Kennedy’s; and to the amused group Miss Belden related the
adventures of the morning, giving to the whole scene an effect so
truly ludicrous, as elicited many a merry peal of laughter from her
joyous listeners. Even Emma Willis, though made to figure so largely
in the story, could not resist a smile at the ridiculous light in which
she was shown up by her provokingly mischievous cousin.
“And to think, after all,” cried Kate, “that this sudden conquest
has been achieved by a simple country girl—our own blushing Emma
here, who never before even lost sight of her lambs and chickens.
Why, from your grandiloquent description, Margaret, I should not
wonder if he should prove some foreign count.”
“Or a play-actor, from his tragic air,” said another.
“Or a poet,” cried a third.
“Or a fugitive from the Insane Hospital,” added a fourth.
“Or a writer of romances, stealing his characters from real life. I’ll
warrant his name to be Adolphus Gustavus Augustus Fitz—
something or other—”
“O, no,” interrupted Miss Belden, “his name is a thousand times
prettier than any of your Sts. and Fitz.—it is Auburn—Henry C.
Auburn.”
“Henry C. Auburn!” screamed Kate. “Say that again, Margaret!
Henry C. Auburn!—delightful!” and bursting into a fit of
uncontrollable laughter, the little gypsy clapped her hands, and
danced about the room apparently in an ecstasy of delight. The next
moment she vanished from the room, and hastily dispatched the
following note to the lodgings of Auburn.
Auburn received the note, but, ingrate that he was to his pretty
cousin, and feeling in no amiable mood of mind, he returned this
brief reply.
“Dear Kate—
“I cannot come—I told you so. Don’t annoy me any
more about your ‘charming friend.’ I hate all women but
you! Kate, I go to-morrow.
“Harry.”
He remained that night until a late hour writing and arranging his
things for his departure. Then bidding the servant call him at an
early hour in the morning, he threw himself upon the bed—but not
to sleep.
What the fair vision continually flitting through his brain and
repelling the powers of the drowsy god, needs not be told.
——
CHAPTER IV.
Summer has come with its fruits and flowers; and away from the
dust and turmoil of the city, our story takes us to a beautiful village
overlooking the bright waters of the Cayuga Lake.
It is evening. The laborers are returning from their daily toil,
some with their cradles and scythes thrown over their lusty
shoulders, others, sunk amid the fresh and fragrant new-mown hay,
are driving their teams homeward. From every branch the birds are
gayly singing; cheerful sounds greet the ear from the farm-yard, and
sweet on the gentle evening air floats the fragrance of the countless
blossoms which adorn the neat garden-plots, and climb around the
windows of the villagers.
Seated in the piazza of the comfortable inn is a traveler, who but
a half hour since alighted from the stage, and made known his
intention of spending some weeks in the village; consequently, the
best room in the house is at his service, as also the best bows of
Boniface and his attendants.
One glance will suffice us to recognize in the stranger our young
artist, yet at the second we shall wonder what can have wrought so
great a change in the outward man; why that happy, joyous air is
exchanged for one so grave and even gloomy; why that fresh and
blooming countenance is now so wan and haggard!
O, this love—this love!
Either absorbed in the beauty of the scene around him, or in his
own moody thoughts, most probably the latter, the moments passed
unheeded away, nor until aroused by his host with the
announcement of supper, did he once move from his half-recumbent
position. After slightly partaking of this repast, to the evident
discomfiture of the good landlady, who attributed the dainty appetite
of her guest, to nothing less than a dislike for her excellent fare,
Auburn strolled forth from the inn, and proceeded slowly along the
now almost deserted street.
The moon had by this time risen, casting her mild radiance over
the peaceful village, and silvering the bosom of the placid lake
below, while many a gambol did the shadows play upon the dewy
green-sward, and upon the house-tops, as the leaves of the large
elms flittered and danced in the soft evening breeze.
Suddenly a strain of delicious music broke the stillness. It
aroused Auburn from his revery; he paused, and found himself near
a small cottage, standing at some little distance from the street, the
peculiar beauty of which at once attracted him. An avenue of horse-
chestnuts and other ornamental trees led up to the entrance, while
for some distance the road and enclosures were lined with the tall,
silvery poplar. Clusters of beautiful flowers nodded their fragrant
heads in the moonlight, while the soothing murmur of a brook
winding through a grove of willows, shadowing one end of the
cottage, fell pleasantly upon the ear.
Still the music floated around him—now pensive, now gay. Well
known airs brought back the memory of other scenes; one voice,
too, was strangely familiar—he could almost fancy he was listening,
as of old, to the sweet notes of his cousin, Kate Kennedy.
The music ceased, yet still Auburn lingered. Two ladies,
accompanied by a gentleman, now appear in the piazza which
encircles the cottage. Arm in arm they saunter down the walk,
talking and laughing gayly. When near the gate, they pause for a
moment; an affectionate good-night is interchanged—one lady
returns slowly to the house, while the other two persons continuing
their walk are in a moment close to Auburn.
“Harry!”
“Kate!” were simultaneous exclamations, and the next instant the
cousins affectionately embraced.
“My husband, Harry,” said Kate, disengaging herself; and to add
to the surprise of our hero, his friend Evans claimed that happy
privilege—and a warm, cordial greeting was exchanged.
“How singular we should have thus met! I must have had some
prescience there was pleasure in store for me!” exclaimed Auburn.
“This half hour, dear Kate, have I been listening to the songs you
used to sing me, with a strange conviction that it was your voice I
heard.”
“But you surely must have known of my intended marriage,
Harry?” said Kate. “And that reminds me that you never even
answered my letter inviting you to the ceremony; and here is
George, too, who also wrote, requesting you to act upon the
interesting occasion conjointly with my dear friend—but I forget—
you do not like to hear about her—the more your loss. Say, why did
you not answer?”
“Simply because I never received your letter. The fact is, I have
been a rover since I left the city—to no place ‘constant ever.’ How
long have you been here?” continued Auburn—“I trust I have not
arrived just as you are about leaving?”
“Oh, no, we have been here but a few days, on a visit to
George’s parents. That same annoying friend of mine also dwells
here, and possibly we may remain to attend her wedding—but what
brought you here?”
“Partly pleasure—partly the hope of profit. You both know my
ardent desire to visit Italy, and the small means I possess to carry
my wishes into effect. Apart from my own desire to improve the
superior facilities which the old world affords, you are aware that in
this country it is rarely an artist arrives to eminence, or even a
reputation above the medium, unless he has first sunned himself
beneath the vine-clad hills of Italy—a foreign stamp is needed ere he
can pass current with the multitude. To Italy, then, must I go, ere I
can realize my ambitious hopes. By leading a sort of strolling life, for
a season, roaming from village to village, in the exercise of my
profession, I hope to raise a sufficient sum for the undertaking.”
“I have no doubt of your success,” said Evans. “Indeed in this
place there are several wealthy families who would doubtless be
glad of an opportunity to transmit themselves to posterity through
your fadeless tints.”
“I should not wonder, George,” said Kate, “if Emma —”
“Emma!” exclaimed Auburn.
“Yes, Emma—why, what is the matter with you—one would think
I had uttered some charm. I was going to say perhaps Emma might
sit for her portrait—her lover would like it, I dare say.”
At the word lover, the heart of Auburn, just now in his mouth,
sunk like lead—and yet he knew not why.
“Do you think,” added Kate, “you could portray
——
CHAPTER V.
Did Auburn sleep that night? “To sleep—perchance to dream—ay,
there’s the rub”—for dream he did, when at length worn out with
fatigue and a mind ill at ease, he sought his pillow. None but lovers
were ever tormented with such fancies as that night haunted the
half crazed brain of the artist. At one moment he was again walking
Broadway, and gliding before him the sylph-like form of Emma—then
within the holy walls of Trinity he listens to the solemn rites of
marriage, but, O distraction! in the fair bride he discovers Emma—
while beneath the reverend wig of the officiating priest, the roguish,
wicked face of Kate Kennedy peeps out upon him—then the scene
changes, and through the most beautiful groves he is wandering
with Emma by moonlight—when suddenly the enraged Mr. Belden
starts up before him and tears her from his arms! But Auburn
awakes and finds only his friend Evans standing by his bedside, and
the bright sunshine flickering through the sweet-briar at his window.
Up with the birds, and singing as gayly, too, was Kate, and long
ere the sun had parted the rosy curtains of the eastern sky, she was
lightly tripping o’er the dew-begemmed grass toward the cottage
where dwelt her friend. To enter the little gate, to spring with the
lightness of a fawn up the walk, scattering the bright tinkling drops
from the overhanging branches of the trees upon the flowers
nestling below, to softly open the door, and through the hall, and up
the stairs to the little chamber of Emma, arousing her from her
gentle slumbers with a soft kiss upon her rosy lips, was but the work
of a moment.
“Why, Kate, what has brought you here thus early, sweet bird?”
cried Emma, raising herself from the pillow, and drawing down the
sweet mouth of Kate again toward her.
“Come, my lady fair, up, up, and don your robes quickly,” was the
reply—“We have a delightful plan in our heads—that is George and I
—and you are to breakfast with us, George says, as also another
person, so that no time may be lost—come, haste thee, haste.”
“But where are we going?” cried Emma, springing quickly from
her couch, and removing the little muslin cap which shaded her
temples, letting escape her luxuriant raven tresses, which swept
almost to the floor.
“Oh, I have promised to be secret,” said Kate, laughing, “and
what is more for a woman—I mean to be so. Now let me play the
tire-woman,” and seizing the comb she began platting the beautiful
hair of Emma, rattling on in her usual lively strain as she did so.
“We are to have a sail on the lake, I presume—but who is the
person you spoke of as our companion?” said Emma.
“A painter and a poet—a sworn bachelor—a woman-hater—
hating you in particular—a—”
“Why, Kate, you are crazy—who do you mean?”
“Nous verrons, my dear—come, are you ready?” and throwing a
light scarf over the shoulders of her friend, away they lightly tripped.
The breakfast scene passes the powers of my pen. That Emma
Willis at once recognized in our hero the daring youth who had so
pertinaciously sought her, the vivid blush upon her cheek at once
betrayed, and that the recognition was not displeasing, the sequel
will testify. As for Auburn—no matter—suffice it to say that ere long
Emma sat to him for her portrait—not for her lover, as Kate once
maliciously hinted, but for her parents, ere they bestowed the dear
original upon our happy hero.
Kate did attend her friend’s wedding before she left the village,
and Mr. and Mrs. Henry C. Auburn are now in Italy.
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