CONTENTS.
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
|---|---|---|
| I. | THE MOUNTAIN HUT | [17] |
| II. | CLIFTON AND THE BEAUTIES | [42] |
| III. | MRS. CLIFTON, OF HARDBARGAIN | [54] |
| IV. | THE TIDE OF FATE | [65] |
| V. | THE OLD MAN AND HIS BRIDE | [75] |
| VI. | THE RUPTURED TIE | [84] |
| VII. | THE SEVERED HEARTS | [102] |
| VIII. | LOST AFFECTION | [115] |
| IX. | WOMAN’S PRIDE | [142] |
| X. | THE SISTERS | [156] |
| XI. | MRS. FAIRFAX AND MAJOR CABELL | [161] |
| XII. | SUSPENSE | [169] |
| XIII. | ARCHER CLIFTON’S SKETCHES | [176] |
| XIV. | THE DISCIPLINE OF AFFLICTION | [185] |
| XV. | THE BLACK SEAL | [195] |
| XVI. | MR. CLIFTON’S RESOLUTION | [203] |
| XVII. | THE WIDOWED BRIDE | [208] |
| XVIII. | THE YOUNG MOURNER | [217] |
| XIX. | CONFESSION | [228] |
| XX. | A DOMESTIC SCENE | [235] |
| XXI. | IN THE CITY | [245] |
| XXII. | LIFE’S VARIOUS PHASES | [255] |
| XXIII. | ZULEIME | [265] |
| XXIV. | THE CATASTROPHE | [276] |
| XXV. | “IN PALACE CHAMBERS.” | [294] |
| XXVI. | GEORGIA | [313] |
| XXVII. | CATHERINE | [324] |
| XXVIII. | WINTER EVENINGS AT THE FARM | [329] |
| XXIX. | THE RETURN | [338] |
| XXX. | BETROTHAL | [348] |
| XXXI. | THE POISON WORKS | [363] |
| XXXII. | DEDICATION | [371] |
| XXXIII. | “THE MEEKNESS OF LOVE.” | [380] |
| XXXIV. | CATHERINE’S REGENCY | [397] |
| XXV. | CATHERINE’S PROGRESS | [406] |
| XXXVI. | THE NIGHT JOURNEY | [415] |
| XXXVII. | THE GOAL | [436] |
| XXXVIII. | CONCLUSION | [453] |
THE CURSE OF CLIFTON.
CHAPTER I.
THE MOUNTAIN HUT.
A lonesome lodge
That stands so lowe in lonely glen,
The little windowe, dim and darke,
Is hung with ivy, brier and yewe.
Percy’s Reliques.
Upon a glorious morning, in the mid-summer of 18—, two equestrian travellers spurred their horses up the ascent of the Eagle’s Flight, the loftiest and most perilous pass of the Alleghanies.