Mr. Gustavus had listened thus far
to William Wilson's narrative with the
most absorbing interest; and he now
only interrupted him to inquire how he
had learned such minute particulars of
what passed between his daughter and
the young pseudo boot-dealer.

`From her own lips, sir,' answered
he. `After all was lost, she made a
full confession to me. The acceptance
by her of the laced handkerchief was
the first step to an acquaintance with
her which ultimately ledto her ruin.—
When a young lady suffers a young
man, a stranger, to speak with her once,
it is difficult to break off further aquaintance.
When she came home, she exhibited
before her mother and myself
the handkerchief, and told how it came
into her possession; at the same time
speaking in such terms of praise of the
politeness of the young boot-dealer, that
I saw she was pleased with him. That
he was other than he seemed, or that he
had prepared this handkerchief with her
name upon it on purpose to open an acquaintance
with her, I never suspected
until afterwards.

`The next evening, as she passed his
shop to come home, he came out and
joined her with some words about his
being still unable to hear of any other
person bearing her name; and telling
her that he was satisfied the handkerchief
was hers, but she had capriciously
refused to have it back from him after
he had found it. Thus they talked about

[figure description] Page 112.[end figure description]

it, he playfully accusing her, and she as
playfully defending herself. He escorted
her to the door, and then asked
permission to call and walk with her to
church the next evening, which was a
Sabbath evening. Ann said that he was
a stranger to her, and she would rather
wait till they were better acquainted.—
He then bade her good evening. When
she came into the house, she told us all
that had passed, and I saw from her
manner that she was more and more
pleased with the young man. I, therefore,
resolved to ascertain something
about him, and the next day went into
his boot-shop. I found the old man
there, who gave me such a good account
of him and of his business that I felt a
secret desire that he might yet address
Ann and marry her; for it struck me
that it would be a good match for her.
I, therefore, told Ann if he came home
with her again to let me know it at the
door, and I would step out and ask him
plainly what his intentions were. The
next evening he accompanied her home,
and she came in while we were at supper,
saying that he had done so; but had
left her at the entrance of the alley.
The next night he came with her to the
door, and she invited him in?'

`Did your daughter know your resolution
respecting the young man, that it
was your purpose to ask him what his
intentions were?' asked Mr. Gustavus.

`No, sir. She did not suspect my
object. She had not any idea that I
looked forward to a probable marriage.
She would never have asked him in or
permitted me to put such questions to
him. When he came in and she introduced
him, I was pleased with his
appearance, and so was my wife. He
made himself very agreeable to us all;
seemed to be very intelligent and modest,
and to show a very tender respect
to Anny, my other daughter here, who
you see is lame, poor child! He spent
the evening with us. He told us his
father was a farmer in Vermont, that
he had recently came to the city with
three thousand dollars to go into business,
and liked very much. His name
he told us was Edward Carter.

`That night my wife and I lay and
talked over the probable marriage of
this young man with our child; for we
saw that she was quite as much attached
to him as he seemed to be to her. We
congratulated ourselves upon his fine
prospects in the world; and even in anticipation
looked forward to seeing the
old farmer, his father, down at the wedding.

`The intimacy between my daughter
and this young man continued for a
week or ten days, each evening he accompanying
her home and passing an
hour or two with us. Sometimes she
would walk out with him to a confectionaries,
and once he went to church
with her. We found that her heart was
wholly wrapped up in him, and that he
seemed to think of nothing but her.—
Still he did not propose to her, and I began
to wonder at it, for he was evidently
in circumstances to marry at once, and
he seemed so much in love with our
child that it did not appear that he would
be willing long to delay the marriage.
Still, to all my questioning, she answered
that he had not yet formally proposed,
though indirectly hinted at marriage;
and once laughingly asked how
her father would like a boot-maker for
his son-in-law.

`One Sunday forenoon, two weeks
after her first acquaintance with him, I
and Mrs. Wilson were walking to
church, for we used to be in better circumstances,
then, and could be clad decently,
sir,—as we were walking to
church with Ann and her brother
Charles before us, I saw a handsome
phœton with two horses, dashing past,
driven by a young gentleman dressed in
the height of Fashion. My wife and I
at the same instant exclaimed, “What
a resemblance to Mrs. Carter!” We
saw from Ann's face that she had also
seen him, and was struck with the wonderful
likeness.'

`I should have believed that was him,
Ann,' said Mr. Wilson, were it possible.
But it couldn't be.'

`That was young Harry Temple,'
said a neighbor who was walking on
before us. `He drives in fine style for
a Sunday.'

`Well, I declare,' said my wife `I
never saw such a likeness. Ann, wan't

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you struck with it?' she asked, addressing
my daughter.

`Yes, mother,' continued Ann, who
had not yet recovered from her confusion
at the sudden surprise of seeing a
face so like her lover's. But that it
could be Harry Carter neither of us believed
for a moment. He was dressed
differently, drove an elegant equipage,
broke the Sabbath, (and Edward Carter
had represented himself as a member
of the church,) and we had been told,
moreover, that it was young Temple,
whose name for his extravagancies and
debaucheries was in everybody's month.'

`The same evening the young boot-dealer
arrived at the house to ask Ann
to walk out to an evening meeting. My
wife told him laughingly how we had
almost believed we had seen him driving
out in a splended phæton with
dashing horses, and rallied him upon
his likeness to the young roue Temple.
' `And how did this affect him?'
asked Mr. Gustavus.

`He changed countenance and colored,
and then answered,

“I do not feel it to be a compliment
at all!” seemed a little confused for
some minutes, but suspecting no wrong,
we referred it to his mortification at
being thought to look as much like a
young man whose character for vice
was so notorious. He went out with
Ann, and I sat up till their return, resolved
if he did not speak to Ann about
marrying her, that night, I would open
the subject to him. But he left her at
the door, and when my daughter entered
I saw from her happy looks that
something unusual had happened.—
Upon questioning her, she told me that
she had accepted if her parents gave
permission. This intelligence was
highly gratifying to us, sir, for we were
assured that the match was one every
way advantageous for our child. Anna's
happiness was reflected from our
own hearts. The next day I went to
the boot-store to talk with him. He
was not there, for it only suited his purposes
to be there when he could see
Ann passing, so that he could see her
and walk with her home. But I found
the old man there who spoke so highly
of his employer that I was more pleas
ed than ever with my daughter's good
fortune.'

`Do you think that the old man was
also deceived respecting him?' asked
Mr. Gustavus.

`Yes. He very naturally spoke
highly in praise of a young man who
had bought and paid cash for his stock
of goods, and seemed to be so well off
and agreeable in his manners. He did
not, till afternoon, make known to me
the fact that he had been requested to
keep secret, that he was merely learning
the business to please a man whose
daughter he was engaged to. This the
old man kept from me; but what he
told me otherwise respecting him, he
firmly believed himself.

`The same evening I was formally
waited on by the young man, and a proposal
was made to me for my daughter's
hand. As I had no objection to offer, I
gave my consent; and as he desired
that the wedding should take place the
next week, as soon as the “publishment”
was out, which would be two
weeks. I consented to this, provided
Ann was willing. I found her nothing
loth, and the next day their names were
handed by me to the clerk's office for
record according to law.'

`He gave his name, you say, as Edward
Carter?' asked Mr. Gustavus,
pointedly.

`Yes, sir. You will find it on the
records now so written,' answered William
Wilson with emphasis. `Every
preparation was now made for the marriage.
We saw the young man every
evening and were more and more
pleased with him; for he had great powers
of entertaining when he chose to
exert them; and he had now a prospect
before him—the ruin of my child—of
sufficient importance to lead him to
make himself agreeable. The day of
the marriage came. At his request the
marriage was to be privately performed
before only my family and a neighbor's,
whose daughter was about Ann's age,
was to be brides maid. A young man,
whom Temple introduced as a leatherdealer,
was his groomsman. He also
was to bring the clergyman, who, he
said, was the pastor of the church in
Vermont where he lived, and whom by

[figure description] Page 114.[end figure description]

great good fortune he had found in the
city.

`The marriage, if such can be called
the infernal mockery that was put upon
me and mine, took place. I and my
wife thought ourselves the happiest of
parents, as we embraced our daughter
as a bride. How shall I go on, Mr.
Gustavus?' said William Wilson with
strong emotion; while the sobs of his
wife were audibly heard. But I will
let you know all; for there is no shame
to us. The day after the marriage,
Temple proposed, as he said to take
his wife on a visit to Vermont. They
were to leave the same afternoon, and
after dinner a coach came for them.—
We bade them a tearful good-bye, hoping
to see them again in three weeks,
when he promised to return.

`Now, sir, comes the most painful
part of my narrative. Three days after
the marriage, and when we were expecting
that our child and her husband
had about reached his fathers, I thought
I would call in at his shop to see how
things went. I found the old man there
with a stranger, and to my amazement
I was told that Mr. Carter had sold out
the day after he married, and had no
further interest there. The sign was
taken down, and the name of the new
purchaser was hung up in its place.

`I was somewhat surprised that my
son-in-law had not told me of this; but
supposed he intended when he came
back to begin business anew in some
other part of the city. But I shortly
found out that he had not left the city
at all.'

`So I guessed!' observed David Dalton.

`I discovered it in this way. I was
at dinner, and my neighbour Mr. Felton
came in and said bluntly,

`Neighbour Wilson, you remember
once about saying how much your son-in-law,
that now is, looked like that dissipated
Temple?'

`Yes,' I answered.

`Well, I have discovered something
still more stronger. I met, not half an
hour ago, riding with this Temple, one
who looks as like your son-in-law, and
a young woman, who is the very image
of your daughter, only a little paler and
less lively. Now if this double resemblance
isn't remarkable I don't know
what is.'

`I assure you, Mr. Gustavus, that I
could not help thinking it remarkable;
and perhaps you will be surprised when
I say that I had not the most distant
suspicion of any thing wrong. I believed
him to be all that he seemed, and
that they were then two hundred miles
from Boston in Vermont. Still I could
not help thinking a good deal about what
had been told me, and closely questioned
the person who told me, who said
that had he not known my daughter was
out of town, and could never have been
known to such a person as Temple, he
should have said, that she looked more
sad than Ann was used to, that it was
she herself.'

`During the day I forgot the matter
entirely, for there being no suspicious
in my mind, it soon died out. But just
at dark my little boy, Charles here,
came running in out of breath, saying
that he had seen his sister Ann at a
window of a fine house, and that she
beckoned to him, and seemed to be
weeping; and a man, that looked just
like her husband, Edward Carter, but
wasn't he, pulled her angrily away,
and dropped the curtain. I was surprised
at this, and should have doubted
what he said, supposing he had mistaken
some other person for her, but instantly
what my neighbour had told me
at noon rushed to my mind. I felt at
once a strong desire to see for myself
who this person was. I spoke with my
wife about it, and the more we talked
the heavier our hearts grew; but from
what reason we could not tell. We felt
sad, and a sort of foreboding of evil oppressed
my spirits. Still, there was nothing
defined, nothing that took the
shape of suspicion that all was not right
with our daughter.

`Nevertheless,' said I to my wife, `I
will go to this house where Henry saw
this female, for I feel that I can't sleep
till I satisfy myself about her. I do not
believe it in Ann; still there is a feeling
about my heart that won't be removed
till I know all about this! Come,
Charles,' said I, taking my hat, come and
show me the house where you saw the

[figure description] Page 115.[end figure description]

young woman who looked so like your
sister. He said he could find it at once
and we went out together, my wife praying
that we might not bring back any
evil reports for it seemed to her that
some unknown evil was hanging over
us like a cloud.'